News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by Dalewyn on Saturday February 01, 2025 @06:03PM (#42903427)
>Americans saw the first four years and astonishingly decided they wanted more of it, by a decent margin.

Also keeping in mind that Biden ran 2020 campaigning to return to the previous (Obama-era) status quo and Biden/Harris ran 2024 campaigning to further maintain that status quo. The status quo after given another 4 years of chance was flatly rejected in favor of a return to change.

>I question each day whether that needs to be respected or we should resist.

Well, considering you guys villified Republicans and Trump voters post-2020 (and justifiably so to some degree), I would assume the answer was always the former. Indeed, certain Democrats crying that 2024 was stolen or the like are hypocritical echoes of the same from Republicans and Trump voters in 2020. The pendulum swung back, as it always does.

>I also wonder if his supporters have any idea of what is going on.

I do, at least.

With regards specifically to Phyllis Fong, I have no confidence that an Inspector-General that occupied the office for twenty two years straight[1] can ethically perform their prescribed role. I am in complete agreement with her termination, we need someone (anyone) new and different in there.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Agriculture...

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by khazhoux on Saturday February 01, 2025 @06:17PM (#42903567)
> With regards specifically to Phyllis Fong, I have no confidence that an Inspector-General that occupied the office for twenty two years straight[1] can ethically perform their prescribed role. I am in complete agreement with her termination, we need someone (anyone) new and different in there.

Are you "in complete agreement" because of actual things Fong did, or because you think that 22 years experience in a position is disqualifying?

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by Dalewyn on Saturday February 01, 2025 @08:10PM (#42904493)
>because you think that 22 years experience in a position is disqualifying?

Yes.

An Inspector-General is in charge of inspecting and auditing, as the name would suggest. That requires being impartial in absolute terms, because you must be able to call out problems no matter how inconvenient they are.

Being in a position of power means an inevitable accrual of reputation and influence, and 22 straight years of accrual is ridiculous. Her excessively long tenure is also unusual; the longest-serving Inspector-General besides her served for 8 years, shortest being 2 years not counting acting IGs, average is about 4 years each IG not counting her 22 year tenure.

So yes, I support her termination because her long tenure lends me no confidence she can perform her duties ethically anymore. There must be a regular changing of the incumbent to head off the office being bought or otherwise corrupted. There are millions of other D.C. bureaucrats to replace her with, and even more Americans overall. There is no reason to keep her specifically for this long and I daresay that the lack of a term limit for this office has to be an oversight.

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by g-b-r on Saturday February 01, 2025 @08:46PM (#42904781)
> An Inspector-General is in charge of inspecting and auditing, as the name would suggest. That requires being impartial in absolute terms

Yes, she's sure going to be replaced by someone impartial...

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by khazhoux on Saturday February 01, 2025 @09:59PM (#42905287)
Thank for you for a thoughtful answer.

In a nutshell, you're advocating for a term-limit on roles like this, which is an entirely valid argument.

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by Dalewyn on Saturday February 01, 2025 @11:16PM (#42905766)
You got it. I would also support this termination if Biden or Harris had done the same. 22 years is way too long of a tenure by any reasonable measure for an office like this.
Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by anigbrowl on Saturday February 01, 2025 @06:10PM (#42903493)
What is wrong with being reappointed to the same job for 22 years? What if she's just...competent? Your argument seems to be that anyone having the same job for that long must be corrupt in some way, but you don't provide anything to support that premise. Ironically, you're implicitly endorsing the resort to illegal means for her removal, rather than following the process defined in law.
Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by sidibe on Saturday February 01, 2025 @07:49PM (#42904299)
"she" suggests DEI, not competence

-someone who reads blue check drivel on X

Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by nullocator on Saturday February 01, 2025 @06:19PM (#42903588)
Are you arguing Phyllis deserved to be fired because she had a lot of experience and was a dedicated employee? That's a pretty hot take. I hope for your sake you are independently wealthy, lest someone who can impact your life comes along and determines you shouldn't be employed anymore because you've been doing it too long. You think twenty two years is too long to be in a profession, perhaps the next person will think 10 years or 5 years are too long, gotta get someone (anyone) new and different in there, and you out.
Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by kakaface on Saturday February 01, 2025 @07:06PM (#42903966)
What has she done in those 22 years that benefited regular people and not her pocket? Do you guys realize Trump was the only president that left office worth less after presidency? Sources here are the same NYT that blamed Trump for colluding with Russia? Same sources that said Biden laptop was a conspiracy? Same sources that called Trump racist for saying Covid came from a lab? Lol do your own research
Re:Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefull... by agieocean on Saturday February 01, 2025 @08:24PM (#42904605)
You're trying to spin him losing money because he's an idiot into a positive narrative you have lost the plot