January 18, 2019

Vaporizing Another Norm, Trump Goes Partisan Inside the Pentagon

Source: GovExec.com

The generals tried hard to keep politics out of the Pentagon, but even they don’t have the firepower to stop Donald Trump.

The president went to the Pentagon on Thursday to deliver what was supposed to be a speech announcing the findings of the Defense Department’s missile defense review. Instead, the president used senior uniformed and civilian DOD leaders as a backdrop for a partisan political speech. This time, Trump bashed Democrats and previous unnamed presidents while proclaiming his own greatness on everything from missiles to the budget, the Iran deal, and the military’s overall strength.

It was unprecedented, even for a commander in chief who has used troops as backdrops since his 2016 campaign. Trump started his presidency by crossing unwritten lines — and perhaps Constitutional boundaries — by giving a politically charged speech inside CIA headquarters at Langley, Va. and, one month later, disparaging the American press before troops at the Tampa, Fla., headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Both drew sharp criticism, for politicizing America’s strictly apolitical intelligence professionals and troops who swear oaths to serve the Constitution and are expected to do theirs sometimes life-threatening jobs without regard to the party of the president.

More recently, when Trump visited troops in Iraq and in Germany, he was again criticized for the political nature of his rallies and message, especially after troops were permitted to bring red “Make America Great Again” hats for him to sign.

Paying the critics no mind, Trump made no attempt to keep his Thursday appearance politically neutral.



Read more: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2019/01/vaporizing-another-norm-trump-goes-partisan-inside-pentagon/154261/?oref=river

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He is damaging the Armed Forces of the United States.

January 15, 2019

New Poll: Nearly Three-Quarters of Federal Workers Oppose Shutdown, Majority Oppose Wall

Source: Govexec.com

Federal employees remain overwhelmingly opposed to the partial government shutdown, according to a new poll by Government Business Council and GovExec.com, with 72 percent against it and just 21 percent supporting it.

The results vary little from the last GBC/GovExec survey, conducted during the first week of agencies closing their doors, when 71 percent of federal workers said they opposed the shutdown. Now in its 25th day, federal employees appear cemented in their shutdown views.

Just 34 percent of federal employees support President Trump’s request for funding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, while 56 percent oppose it. Of those against the wall, more than four out of five are strongly opposed to it. One in 10 respondents said they were neither for nor against Trump’s push for the wall.

Those working at shuttered agencies, which includes more than 800,000 employees who are not currently receiving pay, generally reflect the opinions of the federal workforce at large. Employees at closed agencies were only more opposed to the shutdown than their colleagues at fully funded agencies by 3 percentage points. Employees who are currently working—either at shuttered agencies without pay or at funded agencies—were slightly more opposed to the shutdown than their furloughed colleagues.

Read more: https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2019/01/poll-nearly-three-quarters-federal-workers-oppose-shutdown-majority-oppose-wall/154183/?oref=top-story

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Overwhelming opposition to the shutdown, AND the wall by civil servants.

JUST SAY NO! Stand strong. End the lockout!