'A Sense of Dread' for Civil Servants Shaken by Trump Transition

This is getting to be a thing by now. A stupid thing, though. Extremely stupid.

As I've said before, if you're not happy, quit. Bureaucrats are non-partisan actors. They administer the government regardless of who's in office. Regardless of political party. If leftist bureaucrats don't like the new regime, they should quit. Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Boo-Hoo: 'Civil Servants' Upset by Arrival of Trump":

The feel-good story of the year so far:

Across the vast federal bureaucracy, Donald J. Trump’s arrival in the White House has spread anxiety, frustration, fear and resistance among many of the two million nonpolitical civil servants who say they work for the public, not a particular president.

At the Environmental Protection Agency, a group of scientists strategized this past week about how to slow-walk President Trump’s environmental orders without being fired. At the Treasury Department, civil servants are quietly gathering information about whistle-blower protections as they polish their résumés.

At the United States Digital Service — the youthful cadre of employees who left jobs at Google, Facebook or Microsoft to join the Obama administration — workers are debating how to stop Mr. Trump should he want to use the databases they made more efficient to target specific immigrant groups.

Also at Twitchy, "‘Mutiny against democracy’? Trump-induced triggering at EPA escalates."

Civil servants at EPA threaten to "slow-walk" or even ignore orders if Pruitt "abandon[s] EPA's role in the world" https://t.co/kMMgAs2LqO pic.twitter.com/Cm4Ym85jhe

— Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) February 11, 2017

President Trump Allegedly 'Vexed' by Challenges of Governing

Pfft.

He's getting off to a great start, working at the "speed of Trump," as Sean Hannity likes to say.

So I take this Politico piece with lots of salt.

See, "Trump vexed by challenges, scale of government."

Being president is harder than Trump thought, according to aides and allies https://t.co/HnyyiaLS9k pic.twitter.com/WGPI9FNJnf

— POLITICO (@politico) February 11, 2017

Vietnam Veteran Dies With Maggots in His Wounds (VIDEO)

I can hardly believe this story, at the Tulsa World, "Physician assistant who resigned in wake of veteran's death rehired at another Oklahoma VA center."

And video, at Fox News, "4 quit VA facility after veteran with maggots in wound dies: Employees resign after investigation was conducted in Oklahoma; veteran Pete Hegseth reacts on 'America's Newsroom'."

Before the Election, Teachers Told Their Students Everything Would Be Okay. Now They're Freaking Out

I attended an immigration rights forum at lunch yesterday, sponsored by the Latino faculty members, which included a representative from the Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition. People are scared. The event was emotional. Lots of crying. I feel for these folks. In fact, I'm gathering information, including legal defense resources. With the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, I'd say the fears are well justified.

In any case, leftists thought unicorns and rainbows were going to continue in a third Obama term under Hillary Clinton. It's not happening, and school teachers are at a loss for words.

At LAT, "Teachers told their students everything would be OK after the election. Now, they're not so sure":

For months leading up to the presidential election, elementary school teacher Ingrid Villeda tried to instill in her students a certain faith in democracy.

The 18-year veteran of L.A. Unified’s schools looked for simple ways to decode the ugly back-and-forths on TV. She taught her fifth-graders about the virtues of a democratic nation in which ordinary citizens study the candidates’ policy positions and then choose their leaders. She wore suffragette white on election day and told them the story of how women fought for and won the right vote.

Within the walls of Villeda’s school, 93rd Street Elementary, where roughly three-quarters of the students are Latino, Donald J. Trump and his vow to deport millions of immigrants living in the country illegally seemed far away and fictional. That is, until the morning after the election, when Villeda’s students ran to her in the schoolyard, the sleepless night written on their faces.

“People really don’t like us?” asked a girl from Mexico. “What are we going to do about that?”

Recalling this moment in a phone conversation, Villeda began to cry. “They’re looking at me to be able to stand in front of them and say, ‘You’re okay; we’re going to be fine.’ ”

For students and teachers in the nation’s second-largest school system, the repercussions of America’s choice for president are likely to be both profound and lasting. In L.A. Unified, 74% of the roughly 600,000 students are Latino, and many have relatives and acquaintances who are living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Children are coming to school shrouded in anxiety, asking teachers to interpret the day’s headlines for them, examining each bit of news for its potential threat.

“Am I safe?” many want to know, voicing new concerns about immigration raids or hate-inspired attacks against religious and ethnic minorities as well as LGBT people.

“All week long they’ve been kind of like zombies, numb from shock, and so have a lot of educators,” said Martha Infante, 46, a social-studies teacher at Los Angeles Academy Middle School. The day after the election, she said, was the most difficult day of her career...

Still more.

President-Elect Donald J. Trump Selects U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General (VIDEO)

At NYT, via Memeorandum, "Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General."

It's a great pick.

And naturally, all leftists can do is bawl about how Sessions was accused of racism 30 years ago, allegations which apparently derailed a judicial appointment.

See Pema Levy, at the hate-site Mother Jones, "Sessions' Anti-Immigration Influence Will Go Far Beyond His Role as Attorney General: Thirty years ago, charges of racism derailed his confirmation for a judgeship. Now he’ll be vastly more powerful."

And at ABC News:

Kellyanne Conway Discusses Trump's Transition and First 100-Days (VIDEO)

Politico reports that there's infighting going on, "Trump team rivalries spark infighting."

But Kellyanne Conway gave no hint of acrimony or dissension, on Hannity's last night, "Kellyanne Conway on Trump's transition and 100-day plan."

BONUS: Check this great post at Hot Air, "Kellyanne Conway for chief of staff":

As noted yesterday, Trump has three constituencies rather than the usual two to please in appointing cabinet members and senior aides. He’s got his true believers, the people who voted for him; he’s got the people who worked for him and who actually helped him get elected, the spoils-system recipients; and he’s got the majority of the country, the Democrats, independents, and Trump-skeptic Republicans who watched the returns Tuesday night thinking Do I need to buy gold? The ideal pick for each job is someone who checks all three boxes. When push comes to shove, his voters need to be satisfied first. But if you can find a pick who makes everyone happy, why not pick them?

The only position I’ve seen Kellyanne Conway touted for so far is White House press secretary, which makes some sense. She was Trump’s most effective surrogate during the campaign by a country mile. If you’re looking within Trump’s inner circle for someone to be a day-to-day liaison to the national media, you couldn’t do better. But here’s the problem: Press secretary is a stupid, garbage job. The daily press briefing is one of the dreariest rituals in modern politics. Those who are good at it have perfected the art of saying nothing meaningful in a lot of words. Given what Conway accomplished in steering Trump to one of the unlikeliest national victories in American history, it’s borderline insulting to reward her with a position that lame.

Chief of staff, arguably the single most influential job in the White House apart from the presidency itself, would be better and would recognize the magnitude of her accomplishment. You could say the same for Steve Bannon, the campaign’s CEO and reportedly a top contender for the position, but between his Breitbart pedigree, his support for the alt-right, and the dirty laundry that the media aired this summer and will gleefully revisit if he’s named as COS, choosing him would freak out the third group I named above and will be treated by the press as confirmation of all their worst fears about Trump, rightly and wrongly. There’ll be headlines about how picking Bannon is a declaration of war on minority America — and on the rest of the GOP, given Bannon’s antipathy to Paul Ryan — and that’ll set the tone for everything going forward. (Besides, everyone understands that Bannon will be an eminence grise even if he’s not named to any formal position.) Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is another contender for the job. He seems capable and his instincts appear sound (he was reportedly in favor of dumping Corey Lewandowski over the summer), but he’s a political novice. As a friend said to me yesterday, Trump naming his daughter’s husband to a major position like COS without any experience would come off like something a Panamanian dictator would do. I think all three groups above would tolerate it, but there would be a lot of “huh?” and “amateur hour” reactions in group three, fairly or not.

Trump Transition Team Planning First Months in Office

There's some concern that top policy experts, former government officials, and military personnel, etc., won't serve in a Trump administration, and hence the transition is hampered by a dearth of qualified candidates. (And there's speculation that the Trump camp may have "blacklisted" potential foreign policy / national security recruits.) Indeed, word is that the transition team had yet to call the Pentagon by this afternoon (although I didn't save that tweet; I'll update with it later if I see it.).

In any case, all the academic foreign policy experts are buzzing about this, these of course being the same people who'd never serve in a Trump administration.

Actually things didn't seem so dire at this Wall Street Journal piece, from early today, "Donald Trump Transition Team Planning First Months in Office: Donald Trump’s transition team has had smaller staff than previous Republican nominees":

In his first days in office, Mr. Trump has said, he plans to announce he will reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, and will withdraw consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He plans to order his commerce secretary to identify, and then remedy, all foreign trade “abuses that unfairly impact American workers.” He plans to lift restrictions on tapping energy reserves, approve the Keystone XL pipeline and cancel billions in payments to United Nations climate-change programs.

The New York businessman has vowed to cancel President Obama’s promise to protect from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, and start deporting as many as two million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

The first 100 days of the Trump administration “will focus on three to five structural reforms from day one, including controlling the southern border,” Mr. Gingrich said. “It will almost certainly include very dramatic civil-service reform to allow us to fire people who are incompetent or corrupt or breaking the law.”

Several of Mr. Trump’s early initiatives could likely be accomplished through executive orders and regulatory changes, which would make it easy for him to execute because he can bypass Congress. But he could also seek congressional input to foster a better relationship with lawmakers, and his senior staff will have to decide soon on what agenda to set.

Also:

The Trump transition team is working on two floors of an office tower about a block from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. The team working on appointments meets on the eighth floor.The group includes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the transition chairman; Rich Bagger, a former New Jersey state senator who was formerly Mr. Christie’s staff chief and is executive director of the transition; and former Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner, the transition team’s principal domestic policy adviser.

On the seventh floor are offices of The five main policy teams are being overseen by Ron Nicol, a former Navy officer and longtimeadviser to the Boston Consulting Group. The economics team is headed by William Walton, the head of a private-equity firm, and David Malpass, who was chief economist at Bear Stearns and a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York in 2010.

The national security team is headed by former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.). Retired Army Lt. Gen. J. Keith Kellogg heads the defense team, while former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is in charge of domestic issues. The management and budget team is headed by Ed Meese, who served as attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, and Kay Coles James, who served in both Bush administrations.

A sixth team, run by Ado Machida, a former domestic policy aide to then-Vice President Dick Cheney, is devoted to reviewing President Barack Obama’s executive actions, as well as regulation overhauls and immigration. The immigration team is made up of staffers with ties to Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who has long called for tougher immigration laws, and includes a unit dedicated to figuring out how to build Mr. Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border...

Ed Meese! The dude's still hangin'!

And see, "Trump’s Transition Team Works to Form Cabinet: Jeb Hensarling, a foe of financial regulation is floated as a candidate for powerful Treasury secretary role, as process heats up."

Oregon State Police Get Death Threats in LaVoy Finicum Shooting (VIDEO)

Death threats have come in from around the country. Unambiguous death threats.

At KOIN 6 News Portland:

Michele Fiore Speaks to Crowd Outside Federal Courthouse in Portland on February 12, 2016 (VIDEO)

Following-up from the other day, "Michele Fiore, Unlikely Mediator in #Malheur Militia Standoff in Oregon."

Via the Portland Oregonian:



Also, "Michele Fiore takes questions after courthouse speech."

Still more, "'In my opinion Mr. Finicum was murdered,' says Nevada Assemblyman John Moore."

Last Four Holdouts Plead Not Guilty in Occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

Jennifer Dowling reports, for KOIN News 6 Portland, "Last 4 occupiers plead not guilty to federal felony."

Michele Fiore, Unlikely Mediator in #Malheur Militia Standoff in Oregon

She's a big, beautiful American babe.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Who is the gun-toting, brash-talking Nevada lawmaker who helped end the Oregon standoff?"

An Inside Look at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "Last Four Holdouts Surrender at #Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)."

At KOIN News 6 Portland:

Last Four Holdouts Surrender at #Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO)

I'm back to work for the spring semester, and I was in class yesterday during the final stand at the Malheur refuge. Honestly, from checking Twitter during my breaks, I thought David Fry was going to do something rash. At one point he was said to have put a gun to his head.

Fry says he is pointing a gun at his head. #Oregonstandoff

— Molly Young (@mollykyoung) February 11, 2016

"I told everybody that I will have a pistol and I will kill myself." #Oregonstandoff

Others are trying to talk him down.

— Molly Young (@mollykyoung) February 11, 2016

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff ends with a 'hallelujah'," and "Oregon standoff: Last four occupiers surrender at Malheur refuge."

And watch, at ABC News, "Dramatic End to Armed Standoff in Oregon."

Oregon Standoff: FBI Surrounds Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff: FBI moves in on last refuge occupiers."

Plus, lots of activity on Twitter.

FBI Surrounds Occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: — Portland https://t.co/P7Q2LSeyca

— FBI Portland (@FBIPortland) February 11, 2016

Holdout occupiers at Ore. wildlife refuge argue with negotiator, yell at law enforcement: https://t.co/eqQpfDyWj4 pic.twitter.com/EacXDSxuQL

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 11, 2016

Sean Anderson said they will surrender in the morning when legislator, reverend are at checkpoint. Unclear if he is speaking for Fry, Banta.

— Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) February 11, 2016

Expect updates...

TSA: The Total Security Abyss

From Michelle Malkin:

While a TSA agent pawed my hair bun this weekend, presumably on high alert for improvised explosive bobby pins, I pondered the latest news on the Somalia airplane terror attack.

Intelligence officials released video footage of airport employees in Mogadishu handing a laptop to a jihadist suspect before he boarded Daallo Airlines Airbus Flight D3159 last week. The device allegedly contained a bomb that exploded on the plane, which created a massive hole out of which the bomber was fatally sucked. Two other passengers were injured in the blast before the pilot successfully made an emergency landing.

Several airport workers have now been arrested and the FBI is in Africa assisting the investigation.

The Somalia incident is not the only suspected in-flight inside job of late. Investigators believe a ramp worker at Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh airport was recruited by ISIS to plant a bomb on the Russian airliner that crashed last fall in the desert of the Sinai Peninsula. All 224 passengers and crew members aboard Metrojet Flight 9268 perished.

America can rest easy knowing that TSA aggressively tackled my harmless chignon like the Denver Broncos on Super Bowl Sunday.

But as the TSA carries out its multibillion-dollar charade of homeland security on babies’ bottles of breast milk, veterans’ prosthetic devices and suburban moms’ updos, who is screening the screeners?

Chilling. Man.

Keep reading.

LATEST: It's Day 40 of the Malheur Occupation

It goes on.

At the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff Day 40: What you need to know."

And watch, from Sunday, "Occupier takes joy ride in pickup truck with federal plates." It's the crazy loon David Fry.

Ammon Bundy Issues 'Call to Action' from Jail: 'Arm Yourself with Ideas...' (VIDEO)

Here's the latest, at the Portland Oregonian, "Oregon standoff Day 38: What you need to know Monday."

And watch:


Expect updates...

Roadside Memorial to LaVoy Finicum Removed from U.S. 395; Patriots Restore (VIDEO)

Jeez, just let it stay up for a few days.

His funeral was only yesterday.

Following-up from yesterday, "About Two Dozen People Visited LaVoy Finicum Memorial on U.S. 395 Today."

At KOIN News 6 Portland:

More Than a Thousand People Flock to Kanab, Utah, for Funeral of Robert 'LaVoy' Finicum (VIDEO)

At USA Today, "Man killed in Ore. standoff remembered as father, patriot":

ST. GEORGE, Utah — An Arizona rancher who was shot to death in a showdown with law enforcement authorities in Oregon last week was remembered Friday as a man who loved his family, his God and his country during funeral services in Utah.

More than a thousand mourners dressed in Sunday best, some in cowboy hats and boots, gathered at a Mormon church near the Kanab airport for services paying tribute to Robert "LaVoy" Finicum of Cane Beds, Ariz., who died Jan. 26 following the monthlong siege at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

“I know my dad’s working just as tirelessly on the other side to protect his family and our freedoms,” one daughter said. Finicum’s 11 children spoke in quick succession during the services.

“He often commented to me about all the good people who were coming to see him and how it encouraged him,” Finicum’s wife, Jeanette, said.

One of those people was Cedar City resident Beth Stephenson, who wrote a condolence card for Finicum’s family while waiting for the funeral to begin.

Stephenson said she introduced herself to Finicum during his brief stop in Cedar City last month for a radio talk show interview before returning to Oregon.

Stephenson, who was working next door to the radio station, said she was impressed with Finicum’s sincerity so she decided to go to the station during a break in the interview.

“I had a strong feeling that he was doing the right thing. ... It was a really strong impression that this was a really great man,” Stephenson said...

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "Supporters from Across the U.S. Gathered for LaVoy Finicum Funeral Services in Kanab, Utah (VIDEO)."

Supporters from Across the U.S. Gathered for LaVoy Finicum Funeral Services in Kanab, Utah (VIDEO)

There's video at the report.

Watch, at Fox News 13 Salt Lake City, "Supporters from across the country gather in Utah for funeral of LaVoy Finicum":

Hundreds of people gathering at Kanab church for the funeral of LaVoy Finicum. pic.twitter.com/MjY8U9fLU4

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Shawna Cox, one of the protesters who was with Finicum and arrested the day he died, just arrived at the funeral. pic.twitter.com/f6DuIIeMfb

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Supporters of LaVoy Finicum continue to arrive at a Kanab church, reaction at 4pm. pic.twitter.com/mq0jNX8pML

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Two of Finicum's 11 children speak. They say "the federal government broke the law not their father." pic.twitter.com/4MJrdZHXi6

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

Finicum children are calling for a private investigation regarding their father's death. pic.twitter.com/mnwEYaEElI

— Robert Boyd (@Robertboydfox13) February 5, 2016

KANAB, Utah -- More than a thousand people from across the country gathered in Kanab Friday for the funeral of Arizona rancher LaVoy Finicum, who was shot and killed by authorities in Oregon during the standoff and protest at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

LaVoy's two eldest daughters spoke at a press conference after the services, saying they believe their father didn't break the law, but the federal government did. The family is calling for a private, independent investigation into LaVoy's death.

LaVoy Finicum's family said a lot of people in the past week have only focused on the way he died, but they said it's more important to focus on the way he lived

Horses with empty saddles galloped past LaVoy Finicum's family and supporters, as they carried the casket to his final resting place. It was one last ride for the lifelong rancher.

"We've often said LaVoy was born a century too late, you know, so the honor of being led off in a wagon and escorted by horseback is an honor for any cowboy,” said David Cluff, one of Fincium’s cousins.

Many of the people attending the funeral said they never even met LaVoy, but they wanted to be here because they share the same values.

"This is a great American patriot,” said Loie Corson, who attended the services. “I didn't know him, and I might not have done it the way he did, but I really feel in my heart that he tried to do it through the system. He tried to take the legal channels, and when you go up against the system: it's tough.”

PREVIOUSLY: "About Two Dozen People Visited LaVoy Finicum Memorial on U.S. 395 Today."