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DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

politico.com

31–40 of 75 posts

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i can go dig up other examples of countries that did bad things which are forgiven now, if you'd like.

Like the Confederacy? Wait, bad example.

just wondering, do you want the US to be hated "forever"? or what is it that you are arguing for?

i thought it was a fairly obvious statement that over the thousands of years of history, many bad things have been done, but after several generations, we are able to heal.

if you think that in the year 2200, the world will still hate the US because of today, i disagree.

the year 2500? i doubt the people of that time, excepting a few ancient historians, will even know it happened.

"forever" is a long time.

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

for awhile, sure. but we can look at japan, germany, etc. and recognize that it wont be "forever". edit: woops, i guess everyone apparently still hates japan and germany and will hate them forever, too. does everyone still hate spain?

A good proportion of the older generations still disdain or mock Germany as nazis-in-waiting. There may be an end to the damage done to their global reputation, but it's not here yet 80 years down the line.

> There may be an end to the damage done to their global reputation, but it's not here yet 80 years down

Let's not forget that in the early part of the 20th century, Germany was the powerhouse of mathematics and sciences such as physics and chemistry, to the extent that top scientists basically had to learn German (1) and/or study in Germany (2).

How long did it take Germany to recover that preeminent position?

Its a trick question: they did not recover it.

1) https://hsm.stackexchange.com/questions/162/how-did-german-b...

2) e.g.

> In 1926, Oppenheimer left Cambridge for the University of Göttingen to study under Max Born; Göttingen was one of the world's leading centers for theoretical physics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer#Early_ca...

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the Confederacy? Wait, bad example.

just wondering, do you want the US to be hated "forever"? or what is it that you are arguing for? i thought it was a fairly obvious statement that over the thousands of years of history, many bad things have been done, but after several generations, we are able to heal. if you think that in the year 2200, the world will still hate the US because of today, i disagree. the year 2500? i doubt the people of that time, ex…

> do you want the US to be hated "forever"?

No.

What I want and what I get don't always match up.

The US will suffer from this era on the international stage for generations, in a completely self-inflicted blow. Its continued existence as the present-day USA is by no means guaranteed, either.

Present-day Germany isn't Nazi Germany; I certainly hope people will hate Nazi Germany forever.

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#35
post #4
post #2

The amount of damage inflicted by this admin will take over a generation to assess, if circumstances are stable enough to do so.

I think you'll eventually find that the United States has lost much of its credibility and goodwill forever.

Post WW2, the US set up some fantastic levers of power that let it establish and maintain its hegemony at arms length: the United Nations and the UNSC. NATO. The petrodollar. Pax Americana could've gone on forever.

However, those levers of power are subtle enough that once the US voted ignorant jackasses into power, they wrongly thought that's just how the world is, they can do what they like, including -- critically! -- dismantling the levers of power.

It's like that image of the idiot sawing off the branch he's sitting on. How else can you explain the US trying to fuck up the UN and NATO?

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#36
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you'll eventually find that the United States has lost much of its credibility and goodwill forever.

Post WW2, the US set up some fantastic levers of power that let it establish and maintain its hegemony at arms length: the United Nations and the UNSC. NATO. The petrodollar. Pax Americana could've gone on forever. However, those levers of power are subtle enough that once the US voted ignorant jackasses into power, they wrongly thought that's just how the world is, they can do what they like, including -- critically…

> Pax Americana could've gone on forever.

Hubris is the undoing of all empires. And hubris is basically entropy for humanity.

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#39
Last night a jam was canceled in Brazil: "bee-conservation musical". People say it's a waste of US tax payer funds (USAID), but they don't understand the real cost. 600 people are now suffering from PTSD and attending survivor therapy after being deprived of the bee-conservation musical. Our homeless can wait, the "bee-conservation musical" must go on.

(Europeans: this is sarcasm)

Re: DOGE overstated savings, government watchdog says

#40
post #34
post #30

And all you techno futurist republicans voted for this. And you’ll do it again cuz money or whatever.

The right's platform has devolved into, essentially, "whatever owns the libs"

Eh, I'm not going to dispute the validity of Cleek's Law, but ~everything Trump, et al, are doing has been an extremely popular idea with different segments of the right for thirty, forty years.

That goes for DOGE, both the idea of "drowning the government in a bathtub" and the specific cuts they made (eg, wrecking foreign aid), that goes for ICE, even the Iran War, which is widely regarded as the unpopular thing that might actually sink the administration, is something a solid 30% of the base has been salivating over since Reagan and are only upset that he hasn't "finished the job" yet.

If you think it's all purely reactionary you haven't been paying attention for the last 40 years.

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