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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Late Night Open Thread: Feds Against ForPol Outrages, Anyone?

Late Night Open Thread: Feds Against ForPol Outrages, Anyone?

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Hey guys — let’s make it a four-day weekend!

Per Al-Monitor, “US government employees plan walkout over Biden’s Gaza policies”:

US federal employees across nearly two dozen agencies plan to walk off the job Tuesday to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war, according to organizers of the dissent effort who spoke to Al-Monitor.

The group — calling itself Feds United for Peace — consists of dozens of government employees who will be observing a “Day of Mourning” to mark 100 days of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The organizers, who are choosing to remain anonymous, say they expect “easily hundreds” of others to join in their walkout after securing commitments from individuals at 22 federal agencies…

One of the walkout organizers said that rather than quit, they felt “a moral obligation and a patriotic duty” to influence change from inside. They blamed the White House for policy decisions they lament, including the obstruction of cease-fire resolutions at the United Nations and weapons sales to Israel that have bypassed Congress…

IIRC, that ‘change from the inside’ defense was endlessly mocked when those in the Trump administration used it.
 
The press release is, of course, being seized as a precious gift by the GOP. Per Axios:

Top House Republicans plan to press federal agencies to punish workers who participate in a planned walk out next week in protest of the Biden administration’s support for Israel…

What they’re saying: “Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement.

– Johnson said he and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will “be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings” against anyone who participates in Tuesday’s demonstration.

– “They deserve to be fired,” Johnson said.

Between the lines: The conservative magazine National Review made the case that the protest violates federal law, pointing to a statute punishing any federal employee who “participates in a strike … against the Government of the United States” with a fine or up to a year in prison…

Okay, Johnson can’t wrangle a budget resolution past his Angry Toddlers Tantrum Caucus, and Comer can’t find any actual Biden impeachment-worthy facts for all his ‘inquiries’, but — Look! Over there! Dems in possibly criminal disarray!

The sterling FUD idealists are, of course, entitled to do as their consciences dictate. But I’m not tremendously impressed (and I may have been prejudiced in advance by the recent spate of anonymous ‘official’ letters of protest) by those whose proudly shared concerns extend as far as taking a workday afternoon off, but not so far as to give up their jobs supporting the Inferno.

Reader Interactions

113Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    I can’t say what I want to say about Mike Johnson, because it’s probably a federal offense.

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    So apparently we won’t have Vivek to push around any more; reports are that having finished a distant fourth in Iowa, he’s bowing to reality and suspending his campaign. DeSantis managed to eke out a second place finish, a mere thirty or so points back from Trump, so he’ll live on to endure further humiliation. Haley, well I guess we’ll see how she does in NH.

  4. 4.

    Spanky

    Uh huh. I think the technical term for this action is “PTO”, although the feds may have a slightly different term.

  8. 8.

    Another Scott

    “easily hundreds”

    Google tells me that 245,000 federal employees work in DC, and there are 2,870,000 total federal employees.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  12. 12.

    Brachiator

    @dmsilev:

    DeSantis managed to eke out a second place finish, a mere thirty or so points back from Trump, so he’ll live on to endure further humiliation. Haley, well I guess we’ll see how she does in NH.

    In early exit poll analysis, NBC notes that older voters really came out and predictably voted for Trump. These are really dedicated Republicans. And yes, this doesn’t say much about the general election. But you have to look at whether Trump enthusiasm persists.

    Hayley is not doing well. However, she has done well with Republican voters who believe that Biden won the election. This is a potential weakness for the GOP.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: Used to be, now not quite so much. 

    Many, many federal employees are on telework plans now so they have to telework when the government is closed as a result of the weather (unless they take leave).

    Federal Offices in the Washington, DC area are Closed. Maximum Telework is in effect.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  17. 17.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: Hey, Nikki won Johnson County.  Ronnie didn’t win any.  You know the old saying, as Johnson County goes, so does the nation!!

    They do say that, right??

    With a little less than 97% in, TIFG is at 51.05% so he’s probably going to stay above 50%. Too bad.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    Jackie

    @rikyrah:

    Had not thought about this side effect of our frigid weather:

    Teslas being unable to charge. They are being abandoned at charging stations

    😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

  19. 19.

    hitchhiker

    Tell them to keep going in whatever direction they’re walking.

    Strictly performative bullshit that will change nothing and serve no purpose except to give the press a way to print their “Biden is doing it All. Wrong.” stories.

  20. 20.

    Jackie

    Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his campaign and after being accused of being a fake MAGAt, kissed TIFG’s ass with his endorsement.

  21. 21.

    wjca

     “Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement.

    Whereas Republican congressmen refusing to do their jobs (you know, little things like passing spending bills before the fiscal year starts on October 1st; or even ever) is fine.  Even though their actions, too, cut off support/aid to Israel.  Got it.

    But then, they aren’t walking off the job so much as sitting down on the job.

  22. 22.

    pthomas745

    So, in other words, dozens of employees will take “annual leave” and a day off.

    Whoop de do.

  23. 23.

    wjca

    @dmsilev: he’s bowing to reality and suspending his campaign.

    The reality in question being that his billionaire marks won’t be pitching more big bucks at him.  So it’s time to find a new grift.

  24. 24.

    AlaskaReader

     

    Headline: Fed Workers to Stage Walkout in Protest of Biden Policies

    This purported fed worker ‘walkout’ sounds more like a Republican/right wing organized ratfuck theater event than it being a spontaneous group of federal employees who are registered Democrats.

    …especially since, ‘anonymous organizers’, and the Republican talking heads have what look like coordinated ‘prepared statements’ ready at hand.

  26. 26.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    With a little less than 97% in, TIFG is at 51.05% so he’s probably going to stay above 50%. Too bad.

    Noting that caucus results don’t mean much, Trump did less well than his recent polling.

    Overall, more than 70 percent of Republican adults would be satisfied with Trump as a nominee.

    There may be cracks in Trump’s wall, now that Republican voters are making a decision about who they want.

  27. 27.

    Jackie

    TIFG’s celebration song is being blasted at his victory celebration: YMCA

    Does TIFG really have no idea…?

  33. 33.

    Bupalos

    @Brachiator: my guess is this is actually more or less misinformation. “Dude on tic-tok sez” is not a great source, and the verbage used “left to rot”, “abandoned”, is ridiculous.

  35. 35.

    Brachiator

    @wjca:

    Whereas Republican congressmen refusing to do their jobs (you know, little things like passing spending bills before the fiscal year starts on October 1st; or even ever) is fine.  Even though their actions, too, cut off support/aid to Israel.  Got it.

    You excellently note GOP hypocrisy.

  36. 36.

    Brachiator

    @Bupalos:

    I’ve seen a couple of news stories about the Tesla problem.

    One expert told the news outlet that cold weather can impact the ability of electric vehicles to charge properly.

     

    “It’s not plug and go. You have to precondition the battery, meaning that you have to get the battery up to the optimal temperature to accept a fast charge,” said Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association.

    Still not sure of the extent or how this affects other EVs.

  37. 37.

    Bupalos

    @NotMax: they don’t play THAT badly. I mean, they have heat management systems for the batteries. You basically lose up to 20% of your range. This Tesla story appears to be a problem with two charging stations in Chicago. It’s the chargers not working or throttling down I think. Dunno. My bolt had no problem topping up in an unheated detached garage at 0 degrees last night. I’ve used a charging station a grand total of 1 time.

  39. 39.

    Bupalos

    Did they do a searing expose on all the diesels with gelled fuel, and talk about how these internal combustion engine trucks were left to rot?

    This seems like clickbait for the anti-ev pro-global warming set.

  41. 41.

    Chetan Murthy

    @NotMax: I made onion soup on Saturday.  It was good, but …. not as good as I’ve had before.  I used an instant pot recipe, and Better than Bouillon chicken stock instead of beef stock.  I guess next time I’ll have to do it on a stovetop.

  42. 42.

    Jay

    @Bupalos:

    Never had a problem with gelled diesel fuel.

    I had a Toyota P/U. with two tanks, a small one for diesel, a larger one for biodiesel. Started on diesel, ran on biodiesel. Had a heater coil in the biodiesel tank. -40 and 5 minutes after starting on diesel, I could switch to biodiesel.

    The biggest problem with starting a diesel in cold weather, is not heating up the glow plugs enough, then killing the batteries with attempts to start.

  43. 43.

    eclare

    @rikyrah:

    Yeah in Memphis people are being asked not to charge their cars.  We are in an official state of emergency due to about six inches of snow and extreme (for us) cold.  The high today was twelve, don’t know what it was with wind chill.  I may leave the house on Thursday, high of 34, but sleet is also forecast, so who knows.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    @Chetan Murthy

    You mentioned before you don’t care for most beef stock. Nothing intrinsically wrong with chicken stock but it’s not near as hearty. Turkey stock might do better? Here’s another off the cuff thought regarding using chicken stock – toss a bone-in chicken thigh or two (or legs) in the instant Pot as well. Bones add an oomph .

  46. 46.

    Chetan Murthy

    @NotMax: I have turkey thighs that I’ve frozen to use for making “dinde au vin” — I guess I could make it, and keep the bones and use those in onion soup too.  I also have turkey Better than Bouillon — I’ll try that!

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    @Chethan Murthy

    Entire thigh. In Instant Pot, maybe 22 minutes under pressure. Or 28 if using frozen unthawed thighs. Natural release rather than quick release, also too.

    Or just bones is you already have ’em.

  51. 51.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Regarding the Tesla story, the TikTok seems overblown — and contrary to the narrator, Tesla is a Northern California company.

    While not as extreme as Chicago, I just spent a four-day weekend in Lake Tahoe with overnight temps ranging from 8-17 degrees. Lost some charge overnight, but that’s to be expected.* As others have said, batteries and cold weather don’t play nicely. I did ensure the car was mostly/largely charged before heading back to the hotel for the night. Charging was a little slower, but not significantly.

    Likewise, range was a bit shorter, but again that’s expected, and one reason one the trip up I added an extra charging stop to top off. That and Tesla got busted for exaggerating its range estimates while on the road (confirming what ever Tesla owner knew), so there was no way I was going to arrive in Lake Tahoe around midnight with an estimated 30 miles of charge left.

    *In fact, if your Tesla is doesn’t have much charge left, the car will alert you when it’s cold that it’s advisable to charge it because of the battery drain in cold weather.

  53. 53.

    Geoduck

    @Jackie: Yeah, you hear stories about the lengths people have to go to in places like Alaska to keep their regular car batteries functioning in super-cold weather.

  54. 54.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Bupalos: FYI, while the battery may be warm when you arrive at a Tesla charging station, pre-conditioning for fast charging is a separate action. (It happens automatically when you tell the map to take you to a charging station, as long as there’s sufficient time to do it.) Without pre-conditioning, the Tesla will charge, but not as quickly.

    It’s possible some of the Chicago drivers discovered that they had low charge, and immediately headed to the nearest charger — not leaving sufficient time for pre-conditioning. I’ve done it myself once in a while.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    @Chetan Murthy

    Six of one, 2 times 3 of the other, really. For simply soup, remove them and devour them separately as an entree at the same or another meal.

    In all honesty, spitballing here and pulling from IP experience with other dishes as have never tried making onion soup with anything other than beef stock.

  57. 57.

    HumboldtBlue

    @NotMax: ​ 

    Six of one, 2 times 3 of the other

    Proverb. (idiomatic) The two alternatives are equivalent or indifferent; it doesn’t matter which one we choose.

  61. 61.

    frosty

    What a strange comment thread this is. Half onion soup, half EV charging LOL.

    I don’t make onion soup but I will say that the vendor of my 100 Ah lithium trailer battery says it will be damaged if it’s charged below freezing. That must be what the preconditioning is about.

  62. 62.

    ColoradoGuy

    So one out of ten thousand Federal employees taking the day off will affect Netanyahu … how?

    What possible linkage is there between the two? Mind waves? Bad vibes? It reminds me of when the activist Left would take giant puppets to this or that street rally, providing comic relief on the TV news for a minute or two.

  67. 67.

    Tony Jay

    “Of course there are ways to express disagreement with US support for Israel’s war on Gazan civilians, but if you don’t want to help Republicans you should find ways that stop short of threatening not to vote Democratic.”

    “How about we arrange a one-day walkout of Federal employees?”

    “Lazy Government teatsuckers! Ratfucker frauds! You just want a day off!”

    “…. so not that then either?”

    Maybe, just maybe, when you find yourself echoing traditional GOP smears of Government workers, it’s time to step back and ask yourself if maybe you’re entering ‘get off my lawn’ territory. Maybe.

  76. 76.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Betty Cracker: Maybe I’m misapprehending things, but it seemed to me that the laughter was mostly due to the manifest …. ineffectuality of the protests.  It isn’t so much whether one agrees with their cause, but rather, that their protest seems to be such … weak tea.  There was that same flavor to the “anonymous open letter” I read about a while back.  I mean, there’s a channel for these sort of things — the “dissent channel” in the State Department.  But an “anonymous open letter” ?  What’s that?

  78. 78.

    Tony Jay

    @Betty Cracker:

    It just needs saying every now and again. The tendency to retreat into comfortable “Whatever you lot are doing, you’re doing it wrong” scolding is a strong one, and the wingnuts have written all the scripts for that one.

    I saw a LOT of this in the UK between 2016-19.

  79. 79.

    Tony Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    But isn’t that on a level with the ‘Green Lantern theory/Obama didn’t even try’ style nonsense trotted out by bad-faith merchants? As in “What you’re thinking of doing doesn’t instantly and comprehensively solve this terribly huge problem you’ve identified, so what you’re doing is pointless, self-defeating and exactly what The Enemy wants, which now makes you the enemy!”

    Recipe for doing sweet fuck all and sitting down with your mouth safely shut. Isn’t it?

  81. 81.

    piratedan

    I kinda interpret the federal workers walkout as a protest for better choices, alas you have to play the cards you’re dealt, not the cards you wish you had.  Would that the citizens of Israel not elected Bibi, or that he made the choices that he made or that the Palestinians decided that Hamas was not an a viable political option or that the two had found each other as common cause to raise their profiles due to each other…..

    In my darker moments I sit back and think about my own consumerism and wonder if the products I buy aren’t funding our own fascism at home versus my tax dollars doing it abroad.

  82. 82.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Tony Jay: The criticism isn’t that they’re doing it wrong: it’s that they’re so weak as to be irrelevant.  But hey, maybe tomorrow it’ll turn out that they number more than dozens.

    Also, the point of ridiculing those who say “Obama didn’t even try” is that the things they want are not things Obama could have done in any case — or at least, not without paying such a terrible price that they’d not be worth doing.  This is very, very different from what I see as the criticism of these Fed employees.  In particular, their paltry numbers (hey, maybe their strike will number in the thousands, wouldn’t that be great?) invite ridicule, b/c that *is* in their power to change: if they really did (do?) have thousands of like–minded colleagues, that would change everything wouldn’t it?

  83. 83.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Tony Jay: BTW, I haven’t seen any criticism of the *substantive* positions these employees are taking.  And I certainly am not going to criticize them on that basis: there are good reasons for thinking Biden is getting stiffed by Bibi, and I hold no love for the man.  As long as we backstop Bibi, he can do what he wants, and what he wants is short-term evil and *regardless* is long-term bad for Israel.

    Also, back to “stylistic critique”: when I read “The group — calling itself Feds United for Peace — consists of dozens of government employees” …. well, the analogy to the famous Arrested Development clip came to mind instantly.  And I’ve never even watched the series: just seen the clip; so I don’t have any idea what the clip was about in the show.

  84. 84.

    AlaskaReader

    What I find interesting about these alleged  ‘protesters’ is that they haven’t as yet materialized and yet people are already variously analyzing them, categorizing them and assigning motive to their actions, all before they’ve actually materialized.

    Are you sure this isn’t being staged managed by ratfuckers co-ordinating with the oppo machine out to discredit Biden?.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    @AlaskaReader: Is it surprising that government employees would be reluctant to publicly voice displeasure with government policy, knowing that it might negatively affect their careers? I don’t think so.

    Yes, I suppose this could be a rodent copulation operation. Or maybe it’s real people who are upset enough about the destruction of Gaza to take action publicly now. I think the latter is more likely. From the article linked in the OP:

    Biden administration officials have tried to address the internal frustrations. As first reported by Al-Monitor, Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in “listening sessions” with Arab American, Muslim and Jewish staffers.

    Other senior State Department and White House officials have since held similar meetings with staff members, and Blinken has sent two department-wide emails to update concerned staffers after his trips to the Middle East.

    State employees have also held sessions — which one attendee described as being often “frank and emotional” — with an in-house mental health professional.

    The protest may or may not fizzle, but the discontent sounds real enough.

  86. 86.

    AlaskaReader

    @Betty Cracker: I’m not discounting the fact that there may be legitimate concerns, I am curious if it’s not just a few someones (the alleged organizers) exploiting those legitimate concerns for their own (or other’s) interests.

    TIme have changed but when I was a fed employee, collectively the bunch I worked with and networked with were conscious of the constrainsts we worked under in regards ‘protest’.   Collectively, we did a lot of protesting back in the sixties, some of those sixties ‘protests’ ended up being staged managed by our opposition.   Many more were misrepresented in the press at the bidding of private interests, maybe many more  than that were misrepresented to the press by the very government we protested against.

    Not everything has changed.  Some of the ‘protests’ of recent times have also shown that same stage managing. Antifa, BLM, Occupy

    In any case, it’s speculative since it’s not actually materialized as yet.

     

    In reference to something you said about the alleged Willis ‘affair’, in Alaska the state’s top law don’t bother with affairs, they serially skip right to the non-consensual abuse of their workmates.

  87. 87.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: One thing I keep in mind about these public protests is that participants are only a small and distinct set out of a much larger group of people who are appalled by Israel’s actions in this war. I think the protests have tended to overshadow the more widely shared position.

    And undermines it as well. If I hated the Palestinian people, I could see paying people to block highways, yell at Christmas shoppers, and chant, “Houthis, Houthis, make us proud. Turn another ship around!”

  88. 88.

    Tony Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Sorry, been driving into work through what appears to be weather straight from Iowa Import/Export Inc.

    I hear what you’re saying, but isn’t this –

      the point of ridiculing those who say “Obama didn’t even try” is that the things they want are not things Obama could have done in any case — or at least, not without paying such a terrible price that they’d not be worth doing.

    – pretty much in the same ballpark as the criticism being thrown at these potential striking Feds? There’s never a perfect analogy, but it’s close enough. What they would like to achieve (changing the Biden Administration’s policy towards Israel/Palestine) is impossible, for a swathe of different reasons. Just not going to happen. They can’t do that. So what they’re doing instead is not sitting silently with their thumbs up their arses, they’re doing what they – can – do, something in their own power, in order to publicise their position and make a moral statement about US policy in as dignified and non-damaging a way as possible.

    For that they’re dismissed as irrelevant? As lazy poseurs who just want a day off work? As GOP ratfuckers who want to damage Biden’s election chances? And that’s here on BJ. It’s ‘with us or against us’ mood-music straight from the wingnut orchestra and I simply don’t like to see it without calling it out. There are enough wedges being hammered into the non-fascist coalition already, can’t we all just stop swinging?

    I guess what it comes down to is that I personally think they’re right to be disgusted with Biden’s I/P policy, I’ve been pretty open about that here, it’s no big secret. I also understand why Biden is following that policy and what he’s trying to achieve without burning down the house. None of this is in any way easy or comfortable. but I see protests like this as vital events in a functioning democracy that should be celebrated even if they don’t in and of themselves have the power to change policy in a click of the fingers, and I’m also pretty sure that the only people who benefit from the reflexive shitting on groups within the wider Democratic Party ecosphere who don’t  agree with very divisive and controversial policy choices only benefits the genuine ratfuckers who like nothing more than an opportunity to point at clickable examples of “Dems in disarray” and “Biden Tyranny!! ZOMG!!!”

     

    Of course, if it turns out that this group are a bunch of ratfucking Trumpites and or faux-Leftist plants who are only doing this to smear shit on the walls, I’ll be happy to agree that in this single instance I was not entirely correct. 8-)

  89. 89.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    @dmsilev:

    So apparently we won’t have Vivek to push around any more; reports are that having finished a distant fourth in Iowa, he’s bowing to reality he cant find any more suckers to fleece and is suspending his campaign. 

    /fixed

  90. 90.

    AlaskaReader

    @Tony Jay: to be clear, I’m not discounting those with legitimate cause to protest, I’m not demeaning those who have already protested, and made their voices known.

    I also applaud their acts, and especially in regards their right in a democracy such as ours that is in constant in need of reminders of that fact.

    I am curious about this single source story of anonymous organizers who want to take credit for something before it has happened. That part where ‘someone’ wants to get out ahead of some supposed future ‘action’ and take credit for it is raises my curiosity.

  91. 91.

    Tony Jay

    @AlaskaReader:

    Excellent, and so you should. Trust, then Verify is about the only thing that hollow-souled B-movie pillock ever had scripted for him I ever agreed with.

  93. 93.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Another Scott: ​

    Heh.

    The federal government is closed Tuesday in DC because of the weather.

    Well, kinda sorta. If you’ve got a telework agreement, you’re expected to work from home today, no matter how rarely you normally telework.

    That means most of the DC-area Federal workforce will be working today. Including everyone at the agency where I used to work – the PTB decided to ‘reimagine’ our office space while we were out due to the pandemic, and the revamping isn’t done yet. So they’re all teleworking today, just like any other work day.

    I’m not missing it at all, especially not this morning. :^)

    ETA: If they get a few hundred Federal workers to call in sick to protest Biden’s Gaza policy, who’s going to even notice?

  94. 94.

    Kathleen

    @Betty Cracker: This situation has been going on for years. It’s interesting that these protesters always wait until there’s a Democratic president to be target of their ire. No Republicans ever. Just Democrats. Same thing happened with Snowald. NSA had been around for years. All of a sudden a guy who ended up in Russia decided to steal classified documents and voila Obama became the one and only bad guy.

  95. 95.

    Chris T.

    @Bupalos:

    Did they do a searing expose on all the diesels with gelled fuel, and talk about how these internal combustion engine trucks were left to rot?

    Of course not. We all know that diesel fuel is perfect!

    More seriously, any time charging stations go down, it’s a problem for those who don’t have home chargers. The MBA types, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that EV chargers don’t require any attention, while gasoline pumps do. So when a gasoline pump (or entire station) goes off line, someone notices right away and they start the process of fixing it. But when an EV charger goes off line, either nobody notices, or some flag is set in some computer system so that a tech will go look at it in six months or so.

    The (entirely predictable) result of this is that charging infrastructure is (relatively) crappy while gasoline refueling infrastructure is (relatively) robust. When things (weather or whatever) get extreme—something which happens to both systems—one system gets fixed and one doesn’t.

    Since I charge at home, in a garage, I have very few of these issues myself. But we (Spousal Unit and I) take the dangerous gasoline fueled vehicle on longer trips, for multiple reasons, only a few of which have to do with refueling. Fortunately neither vehicle has ever burst into flames, even if the gasoline-powered one is sixty times more likely to do so.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: I think protesters are almost always a subset of a larger group that agrees on an issue, but I don’t think protests inherently obscure the existence of the non-protesting portion of the group. And yeah, it’s wise to pick less obnoxious ways to express dissent. IMO, in-your-face techniques that make ordinary passersby uncomfortable are almost always counterproductive. A workplace walk-out seems pretty tame to me.

    @Kathleen: Maybe people who have good faith disagreements on policy (i.e., not Greenwald, et al) protest when Democrats are in office because they think there’s a chance Democrats will hear them and change course. Personally, I think it’s better to be consistent in your opposition no matter who’s in charge. But there’s a logic to protesting when you think your own side has fucked up, and it doesn’t necessarily rely on “let’s kneecap Democrats so we can hurt the cause I claim to support.”

    I also think Tony Jay made a good point at #79 when he said holding one’s tongue for fear that speaking out won’t result in immediate change or might create discord that gladdens the hearts of opponents is a “recipe for doing sweet fuck all and sitting down with your mouth safely shut.”

  98. 98.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Yes, the work place walkout won’t garner much backlash, I think. For one thing, I think it will not involve very large numbers, and it likely won’t be very big news story either.

    Also, the walkout may happen to coincide with a reduction in the intensity of the Gaza war. We won’t know if this is the case for a few more days, though. That could shift public opinion some.

  99. 99.

    Tony G

    @Jackie: So … Teslas cannot charge in cold weather?  Is this a problem only with Teslas or with all Electric Vehicles?  “Does not function in cold weather” is pretty much the definition of an impractical technology, given the fact that most of the country has cold weather for at least a few days each year.

  100. 100.

    ETtheLibrarian

    @lowtechcyclist: fed here, you either work or you have to take leave. I am taking leave because EFF that. My personal computer is not for work purposes and the world will not end if I take unscheduled leave. Telework agreements were good for the government and those that wanted to telework. Not so much for those that didn’t want to telework.

  101. 101.

    Kathleen

    @Betty Cracker:  I will have to agree to disagree. I’m to the point that I believe most protests and criticism of Democrats are not done in spirit of good faith opposition. Much of the criticism comes from and groups whose stated mission is to destroy Democratic Party (Justice Dems and DSA). This is why I’m jaded.

    ETA I also find it suspicious that the only representatives targeted by protesters have been Black or Jewish.

  102. 102.

    Another Scott

    @lowtechcyclist: +1.  All true.

    I was “heh-ing” about a public walking out.  It’s hard to do while teleworking.

    There are no doubt good people who plan to protest.  My spider sense tingles when the first place we hear about it is from bigwig GQPers and their mouthpieces though.

    Enjoy your well-earned retirement!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  103. 103.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kathleen: We’ll definitely have to agree to disagree on this. I’m aware of anti-Dem leftist groups like Justice Dems but don’t believe they’re anything close to a majority of dissenters within the party. Repubs are homogenous, but Dems are a fractious coalition with a wide diversity of opinion, and holding it together requires tolerance of dissent, IMO.

    Also, I don’t think it’s fair to accuse dissenters of exclusively targeting POC or Jewish people. The protest we’re discussing in this thread targets Biden’s ME policies. The Sunrise group protest that got a lot of attention around here a few years back targeted Nancy Pelosi. Being good politicians who understand the coalition, Biden and Pelosi tend to engage dissenters instead of telling them to hush.

  104. 104.

    Ella in New Mexico

    – Johnson said he and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will “be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings” against anyone who participates in Tuesday’s demonstration.

    Having been married to a 40+ year Federal employee I can assure Comer and his gang of shit that calling in sick for one day does not require a doctor’s note or any explanation, as a matter of fact.

    We’re right in the middle of the Sick Season, the time of year we’re seeing multiple viral infections including flu, COVID, RSV and various rhino and adenoviruses. People also take sick leave for other reasons, such as caring for a sick relative, going to doctors and dental appointments or physical therapy.

    As a matter of fact, my husband is home today because he’s supporting me at the bedside while my Dad is in the hospital post-stroke.

    Stick that in your bung hole boys. Ain’t nuthin you gonna be able to do about this.

  105. 105.

    Paul in KY

    @rikyrah: Pity the poor, poor Tesla owner (who votes GQP)…

    Do feel sorry for Juicers and the like who also are having these problems.

  106. 106.

    Paul in KY

    @AlaskaReader: I was thinking that. The ‘protesters’ are all GQPers. It would be sweet, if they were disciplined and were directed to Squeaker Johnson’s comments when they protested.

  111. 111.

    AlaskaReader

    @Paul in KY: Never give Republicans any of that ‘benefit of doubt’.

    (…and especially when it involves Reagan and even more specifically after he has gone to the length he has to prove he does not deserve any, people more recently coming to the story of Reagan should never be allowed to drink the Reagan hagiography.)

  112. 112.

    AlaskaReader

    @Ella in New Mexico: Johnson may or may not realize what he can actually do in the manner of his stated wish to ‘discipline’ fed workers,

    But look at it from a talking points view, he has already achieved what he wanted by getting the press to sit up and bark at his command,

    …for the intended ‘audience’, they likely believe Johnson has already ‘owned the libs’ involved.

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