Tag: government drones

A Robot Stole My Job!

Submitted by: Ooze the other one

A ROBOT STOLE MY JOB!

What would normally require a crew of six personnel has been effectively replaced by an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV); this author has mixed feelings losing one of his previous contract jobs to a drone.

An unmanned surface vessel with solar cells, camera, GPS, weather monitoring sensors, and a capability of carrying a payload of 154 pounds is shown operating in a publicity photo.
A Persistent Uncrewed Surface Vehicle from SeaTrac: SP-48 Data Collection and Communicatin USV (https://www.seatrac.com/), capable of carrying various payloads, including Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

The coolest job on planet earth has become a distant memory for this author. 

Astronaut?  Nope. 

Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition photographer?  Nope. 

National Geographic photographer?  Nope. 

Admin for TBP?  No comment.

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Making A Fortune: 19 Million Public Employees Across America Cost Taxpayers Nearly $1 Trillion

Authored by Adam Andrzejewski via Forbes.com,

For the first time in history, 19 million public employee salaries at every level of government across America have been mapped and posted online.

The work of our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com tells a compelling story: Public service is supposed to be about serving the people. However, the good intentions of America’s 19 million public employees come at a very high price for the people – nearly $1 trillion. In many cases, taxpayers generously fund these employee salaries.

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US vs. THEM (PART II)

In Part I of this article I discussed why the “Us versus Them” mindset permeates society and how Trump has become a lightning rod for hate. Now I will assess his progress in fighting the Deep State and try to peer into a murky future.

Image result for deep state versus trump

In addition to not being Hillary, the main reasons I voted for Trump was he promised to build the wall, he promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, he promised to end our foreign military interventions, he said he would bring fiscal sanity to the budget, he said the Federal Reserve had blown an immense stock market bubble, he questioned the fake economic data spouted by government drones, and he called out the fake news bullshit media. When I regularly assess his progress on these issues, the standard response from Trump acolytes is “Would you rather have Hillary?”. No, I would not. But that doesn’t get Trump off the hook for his failures in my book.

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California DMV Worker Sleeps 3 Hours a Day at Work for 3+ Years, Keeps Job

Via Reason

Vchalup/Dreamstime.com

An employee of the California Department of Motor Vehicles spent hours asleep most workdays for almost four years, according to a state audit. Despite that, she’s still employed. And that’s just the most eye-popping moment in a report that detailed several instances of “misuse of state time and property and economically wasteful activities” that together cost tapayers more than $200,000.

From February 2014 to December 2017, the unnamed data operator “likely slept for at least three hours each day” for a total of 2,220 hours of misused time, the report says. The employee’s frequent naps cost the state “more than $40,000 in salary for her wasted work time.”

The constant sleeping forced the woman’s colleagues to pick up her slack. Data operators are expected to process an average of 560 documents per day, but she was only able to average 200, so her colleagues had to “take on her unfinished workload.” The work she did do was subpar and mistake-ridden, according to her employee evaluations.

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GOVERNMENT AT ITS FINEST

“There is a dedication to willful incompetence in many corporate government departments.” – Steven Magee

I recently concluded a month long interaction with multiple government drones working for the State of Pennsylvania. Some of them were friendly and partially competent. Some were truculent and unhelpful. The fact I had to contact them a half dozen times to get their screw-up fixed is par for the course when dealing with government workers. These interactions prove to me once again everything government touches becomes a bureaucratic exercise in futility. The attitude of government workers is consistently dis-interested and unconcerned with the problems of the citizens paying their salaries.

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The Department of Nice

Guest Post by The Zman

The other day, I was at the Department of Nice. It is in the Imperial Capital area and while it is not a very pleasant commute, once you are there, it is very nice. It’s still technically winter here, but the weather was very mild, in the 60’s with a gentle breeze. Many of the nice people, who work in the Department of Nice, took advantage of the nice weather and were out enjoying a walk around campus. It’s nice that they call it a campus. It has that same feel, like an oasis, where you see none of the coarseness of the adult world.

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A WONDERFUL DAY AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE

Guest Post by Indentured Servant

It’s bad already. I’m having to take over all of my parents affairs and was told by the SSA on the phone that I needed to go to any local SS office to take care of a few things and she gave me a list of documents I needed to bring with me.

I drive around the building looking for a place to park. There’s a brand new multi story parking garage but it is of course, closed. The bestest parking spots were all reserved for employees and the handicapped. I finally find a place on the street and put two tires up on the snow berm to avoid being towed. I notice that I’m parked right across from a perfectly plowed parking lot that is chained at every entrance with a sign saying the lot is closed. So, on a 17 degree, crystal clear, blue sky day I leave my handgun in the car and make my way to the entrance/lobby.

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The Day At The DMV

Guest post by The Zman

My driving license had expired so I was forced to head down to the local motor vehicle office to get it renewed. The state offers a “service” for renewing by mail, but this requires getting a separate eye exam, filling out some forms and hoping that the postal service does its job. Having had my state tax returns lost the last two years, my confidence in that link in the chain is not very high, so I elected to do it the old fashioned way. That meant standing in lines and dealing with surly functionaries of the state.

When you enter the place, you are “greeted” by a functionary that asks you for the purpose of your visit. You are then assigned a number or directed to a kiosk. More on that in a bit. The numbers are assigned in a way that almost seems random. The person in front of me got “G23” and I was given “B80.” The idea is to make sure no one waiting truly knows who is next in the queue. Maybe they had riots in the past or perhaps people sold their place in line. Maybe there is no reason for it.

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Do Not Trust Governments or Their Employees

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Rule of Law

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California has upheld the criminal conviction of Robert Kahre, the man who tried to circumvent the IRS by paying his employees in gold coin. He relied on the face value of the gold coins being below the legal threshold that triggers withholding taxes. A $20 gold coin is legal tender for only $20 — not its gold value. Gold was never demonetized. From a strict construction perspective, Kahre was correct and should not have been charged legally. However, the IRS interprets the value of the gold, not the legal tender value. The Court held that Kahre didn’t do his duty to serve as a tax collector for the United States, for which you, as an employer, are not paid. Kahre is currently serving a 15-year sentence.

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Blatant Union Greed:Chicago Teachers Set Strike Date Oct 11

Submitted by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Chicago teachers have a 13% raise (over four years) offer on the table, but that is not enough. They set a strike date of October 11 because the city wants the union to contribute more than 2% for their underfunded pensions, among the worst funded pensions in the nation.

The Chicago public school system is bankrupt. Its bonds are deep in junk status.

If mayor Rahm Emanuel had any brains, he would be begging Governor Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan for legislation that would allow municipalities and taxing bodies the right to declare bankruptcy.

There are two words that describe the current state of affairs: Greed and Corruption.

What follows is a guest post courtesy of Union Watch.

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Do “Blue Lives” Matter?

Guest Post by Eric Peters

Do “blue lives” matter more than other lives?hero lead

According to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, they do. He signed a new law last week making attacks on armed government workers – you know, cops – a “hate crime” subject to harsher and additional penalties than would otherwise apply.

Edwards – a former armed government worker himself – has an interesting view of crime and punishment, as well as of rights. These vary in degree according to such things as the color of the uniform one wears.

Punch a mere peon (not uniformed) in the face because you hate the guy’s guts and it’s still a crime, but a lesser one. “Hate” enters into it only if the person receiving the punch happens to be a certain category of person, such as a uniformed one.

One of the state’s armed enforcers.

The presumption being you didn’t exactly like him, either.

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