One of my former coworkers from the IRS sent me this screenshot of this article yesterday. It got me thinking that the morale of federal employees is at an all-time low since the new administration let DOGE on the loose. DC is essentially located in Virginia, where a plethora of federal employees and contractors reside. Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a feeling conservatives are going to have an uphill battle in Virginia.
Interestingly, before the government shutdown, I was getting inquiries from job recruiters trying to fill IRS positions. They explained that it seemed DOGE had used a chainsaw instead of a scalpel, and they let key people go without a solid plan to ensure the work they were already behind on would get done. But now it looks like the Trump administration is going to use this opportunity to let even more IRS workers and contractors go and “shrink” the size of government. Again, I think they are confusing what they really want; there’s a difference between limited government and the size of government.
On Tuesday, Trump suggested not all furloughed workers will get back pay from an Oval Office he decked out in gold. Talk about horrible optics and a lack of common sense.
But then again, these were the same folks who confused the Four Seasons Hotel with Four Seasons Total Landscaping when they needed to hold a press conference.
I sure didn’t expect the NY Football Giants to beat the Philadelphia Iggles last night.
I’ve mentioned that almost all of my interviews are done by AI. In case you are wondering what that’s like, the AI tool I’ve had to use the most is Apriora, and this is the sample interview they provide as a guide. Also, here’s the Candidate FAQ.
Here are some screenprints of the end of the video, which show you how the AI tool scores or evaluates the interview.
This might be old news to you, but it was new to me.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump at the White House in July, sets aside $85 million to relocate the space shuttle Discovery from its current home at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia to the NASA-run Johnson Space Center in Houston.
But the Smithsonian Institution, which operates the National Air and Space Museum, is fighting to keep the spacecraft. In a message sent to Congress, the organization said it would be “unprecedented” for the federal government to remove an object from its collection and send it somewhere else.
“The space shuttle Discovery is not on loan to the Smithsonian from NASA,” the message read. “Ownership was transferred to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.” It’s unclear if Congress even has the authority to order the Smithsonian to transfer an artifact. And yet NASA and the Smithsonian agree that the minimal cost to move the shuttle ranges from $120 million to $150 million, much higher than the $85 million previously authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Transporting Discovery, the roughly 1,200 miles between Virginia and Texas, would be a complicated undertaking. The two Boeing 747s specially equipped to carry space shuttles, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), are both retired and on display, one in California, the other in Texas. On top of that, NASA and the Smithsonian say the Discovery shuttle must be disassembled to move.
Man, talk about a waste of taxpayer dollars. Right now, to see Discovery is free, but it would cost $30 after the move to Houston. I took the kids to see it a few summers ago.
In other Smithsonian news:
Wary of changes under Trump, ‘citizen historians’ are documenting the Smithsonian
I commend President Trump on this peace deal in the Middle East. If it holds, give him the Nobel Peace Prize next year. I think giving it to him this year would be premature. But then again, he’s declaring war on ANTIFA, which isn’t even an official group or organization.
Citizen Trump on who’s to blame and is accountable for a government shutdown.
This you, Trump?
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@governor.ca.gov) October 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Massive traffic jam at China’s largest toll station
