I'm assuming this is only because it's getting harder and harder to find qualified people and adding on unreasonable constraints is only making the situation worse.
*qualified people who are willing to accept the GS pay band
lotta people would, esp. if you can get outside of the greater DC area, and can do "cool sexy spy things".
speaking pashto ain't gonna get you to SME L6 at a FAANG but could get you doing cool stuff as a contractor or full-on Fed.
and hate on the GS band but it's at least adjusted for inflation
Nixon started the "war on drugs." About marijuana activists, he said: > I want a Goddamn strong statement on marijuana, I mean one that just tears the ass out of them. You know, its a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish.
The background checks for agencies often include going back and talking to high school friends and neighbors. They will ask about drug use.
Having friends and neighbours that will lie for you (or be unaware of your gravest moments of joint smoking) seems like a good level of trustworthiness.
if they're lying about weed they're lying about... what else? theft? fraud? violent crime? domestic abuse?
the point is that there are no surprises about a candidate, not that some guy they've known since 3rd grade will cover for them.
cuz their job won't involve talking to people they've known since 3rd grade
Frankly, I'd have to be high to accept a job in the intelligence community. I was recruited once in college, got a bad feeling and never regretted it for a second. Democracies shouldn't have giant unaccountable spy orgs.
> Democracies shouldn't have giant unaccountable spy orgs. All governments on the planet have giant unaccountable spy orgs. Why should a democracy forgo one of the most effective tools the world has ever seen? Accountability is a strange word to use with any government agency. Most government bodies are only accountable to themselves.
to paraphrase a former boss:
"Everybody [all countries] plays the Great Game. You don't get to not play. Choosing to not play just means when you play you always lose."
Same is true for office politics, market research, academic publishing, etc.; "publish or perish" -- you play the game or you're not an academic.
Tell that to all our infantry who aren't in any danger. Selling used military equipment is not being at war.
US weapons, US intel, US alliances and organizations... I doubt Russia looks at it and thinks "Oh, OK, the US is totally not involved. They're our friends!" Even when we're not actively sending troops, we're busy making enemies for the next war...
they regularly declared the US was their primary enemy well before invading Ukraine, and actively leveraged aggressive information and political influence operations to destabilize the US
there is no "making enemies for the next war" -- they were always enemies
For an intelligence officer, I would say, yeah, you should probably never be high or drunk. Maybe "never been high/drunk" is too strict. If you're mopping the mess hall, you can probably go home and have a six pack if you want. Just not on the job...
What!? That’s absurd. Have you considered the practical implications of that for even a moment? Who takes that job?
Mormons, apparently. They also tend to have good foreign language skills and a willingness to serve. But they represented in the FBI etc to the point it's slightly problematic.
The drawback GP is missing is that selecting too heavily from one group can have unintended adverse effects since you lose out on diversity of ideas and approaches - I would absolutely expect many intelligence officers to drink and do other things people might frown upon, because very often the people they need to know and talk to _won't_ be teetotallers or care much about such things.
> The US has had a heavy hand in this situation for a decade. You can argue that it's the right thing to do, but it's not like the US just got involved once Russia invaded. It’s worth remembering that this war actually started close to a decade ago and not in 2022. Based on that it does sound like the US got involved around the time Russia invaded.
I mean, a decade ago Ukraine was de facto Russian territory.
If by that you mean Paul Manafort helped install a Russian puppet as president who was ousted by the Ukrainian people, then you could argue that, but Ukraine is a sovereign and has been since the 90s. Your argument is the same as Putin's, claiming it isn't an invasion because Ukraine is Russia's!
So why is getting shitfaced the night before flying a plane or jumping in a 20 story crane okay but not smoking a joint?
Because cannabis can have effects up to a week after if I remember correctly. And it’s not very predictable. Alcohol is cleared out at a predictable rate and has no effect after a few hours, you’ll just be tired.
You did NOT remember correctly. The only way you're going to have effects for a week is by using it for a week! The effects are VERY predictable, as studies have shown first-hand through trials for many decades. The only thing that isn't absolutely certain is an individual's rate of processing THC-COOH, which is only a leftover metabolite of what was once psychoactive THC (THC-A). You will absolutely test positive for THC-COOH a week after a single usage, sometimes up to a month; because it's stored in your fat. For this reason, it can even be detected up for multiple months in heavy users! An inactive metabolite is unable to cause any psychoactive effects.
Or... just decriminalize it altogether, including forgiveness of past use.
As long as republicans continue to say no to that, it's impossible to do. Democrats basically never have actual control over the American Government, it's happened like 4 years out of the past 20, and that's not a new phenomenon. Even in the times they have had "full" control of all portions of government, republican senators are still able to "block" stuff through made up rules and "norms" that democrats don't want…
You mean the couple times that D had super majority of both houses and the WH for 2 years never happened?
Or... just decriminalize it altogether, including forgiveness of past use.
It requires the approval of the United Nations Economic and Social Counsel's Commission on Narcotic Drugs to remove a schedule 1 item from a member countries drug schedules provided the World Health Organization approves any uses as medicinal. They schedule drugs through Article 6 of our Constitution which makes treaties law of the land. Our ability to change drug laws in the US is outsourced to the UN. It's not a "R…
Congress ratifies treaties, they can un-ratify or override them.