Althouse: At the Friday Night Café...

February 14, 2025

At the Friday Night Café...

... you can talk all night.

Friday night... and Valentine's Day!

32 comments:

Jersey Fled said...: Happy Valentines Day to all !; 2/14/25, 5:31 PM
Enigma said...: Pew estimates there are about 2.4M federal employees.

- Only 77,000 (3.2%) feds accepted the Fork in the Road offer.
- For Valentine's Day, Musk and Trump sent ~200,000 (8.3%) recent-hire feds away.

That still leaves 2M+ feds, or about as many present at the end of Trump 45. It's not clear how many more might leave, as Congress -- pork and bargaining -- will matter.

If nothing else, Biden's team stuffed the federal workforce in a way that matched their immigration policies. Many, many, many duplicative and unneeded people came in very recently. Units that were once lean became fat, and units that were fat became morbidly obese.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/07/what-the-data-says-about-federal-workers/

https://www.fedweek.com/federal-managers-daily-report/crs-charts-growth-changes-in-federal-workforce-since-2000/; 2/14/25, 6:36 PM
Lucien said...: So when Mayor Adams was under indictment and headed toward trial, no one was clamoring for Hochul to remove him; but now that the case against him is being dismissed there’s somehow a stronger argument for removing him?
Sounds like it would be a nakedly political decision to retaliate against a nakedly political decision.; 2/14/25, 6:38 PM
Leland said...: It has only been 4 weeks Enigma. 10% in 4 weeks isn’t bad. On the other hand, if you want to troll Trump on how Milei did it faster…. I’m struggling to see the negative of Trump trying to out do Milei.; 2/14/25, 6:52 PM
Enigma said...: @Leland: You are misreading me. The 200K layoffs make a lot more sense to me than the Fork in a Road offer. Biden's hiring spree was insane. Still, I care much more about Congress and the March 15 debt limit than anything happening now. This is a "shock and awe" start to set the tone, but only Congress can make deeper changes stick.; 2/14/25, 6:57 PM
Big Mike said...: I am in a nice restaurant sitting across from the most lovely woman in America, who is my wife. The rest of you can just eat your hearts out.; 2/14/25, 7:01 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: Big Mike messing up Valentine's Day Dinner by being on the phone. Tsk tsk.; 2/14/25, 7:04 PM
Flat Tire said...: Big Mike, You are both blessed. Oops, got something in my eye.; 2/14/25, 7:06 PM
Breezy said...: According to doge.gov, ~850k people were hired into the Fed government in the last 3 years. One third of 2.5mil hired in the last three years…. Let that sink in.; 2/14/25, 7:08 PM
Jersey Fled said...: “ According to doge.gov, ~850k people were hired into the Fed government in the last 3 years.”

All paid with borrowed money.; 2/14/25, 7:31 PM
Josephbleau said...: There are 52mm (2024) public school students in the us, and 3.5mm public school teachers. So 14.5 kids per teacher, and 14.5% of the population is in public school. 3.5mm * $120,000 is $350 billion per year in teacher pay and benefits. (120,000 per year is my estimate with a 25% fringe factor).

So 350mmm/ 52 mm is $6700 per kid per year. Just for salary, no buildings or energy or food etc.

14.5 illegal kids can keep one teacher in business.; 2/14/25, 7:36 PM
Josephbleau said...: Dammit, I can’t delete the comment, my mistake can’t be hidden! 3.5 mm * 120,000 is 420 billion. iPad calculator.; 2/14/25, 7:41 PM
Jersey Fled said...: https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/1890564615752315183?s=61

I think I like this Zeldin guy; 2/14/25, 7:48 PM
Big Mike said...: @Vault Dweller, the lady was in the rest room. Obviously.; 2/14/25, 8:04 PM
Jupiter said...: "14.5 illegal kids can keep one teacher in business."
Yeah, they're whining about that in Colorado. Seems that attendance is WAY down since ICE said they might go into schools.; 2/14/25, 8:28 PM
Jupiter said...: Did Theodore Roosevelt really say, "To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a Liberal, tell him the truth"?; 2/14/25, 8:29 PM
Drago said...: Big Mike: "@Vault Dweller, the lady was in the rest room. Obviously."

You are not Peter O'Toole. Stay out of the ladies restroom.; 2/14/25, 8:38 PM
Drago said...: Unless its a military unit reunion, then all bets are off.; 2/14/25, 8:39 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: I too am at a very expensive restaurant, with my former super model wife.

Later, after our $100 dollar bottle of champange and $200 steak and lobster dinner, we'll repair to our expensive Hawaiian beach retreat. And enjoy ourselves. Of course, why shouldn't we be happy, given my 6-5 height, six-pac abs and beautiful kids, and brilliant investments?

Of course, I'm telling the truth because we all do on the internet.; 2/14/25, 8:41 PM
Jaq said...: So Putin got the phone call from Trump and Trump conceded that Putin had legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine in NATO, and as soon as it is done, he hangs up the phone and orders an attack on Chernobyl, right on Russia's border because Putin wants to deal with a radiation emergency in Russia proper.

I kind of predicted that Ukraine would do something like this, well I predicted that they would do something to try to queer things between Russia and the US and blame it on Russia, but this has only got to have made Trump even more angry with Zelensky, and more determined to see him gone. Once you see through their propaganda, it's kind of amusing to read the news stories in the Western media about this war. I used to laugh at the Soviets who had to read Pravda for their news, not any more.; 2/14/25, 8:50 PM
Big Mike said...: The waitress recognized us because she had been our server when we at the same restaurant in early January to celebrate our Golden Anniversary. This was our 51st Valentine celebration together, and if it wasn’t our best it nevertheless was surely up there.; 2/14/25, 9:08 PM
Big Mike said...: @RCOCEAN, don’t tell me you forgot flowers (blue roses because any idiot can buy red ones)! And what about custom chocolate truffles sprinkled with gold dust? Did you forget those too?

Kids these days. No sense of romance.; 2/14/25, 9:14 PM
Jerry said...: A good Valentine's day. After 32 years, it's not the fancy dinner that's important to us. It's the being together. And so, we try to find interesting places to go. Thankfully, there's a goodly number of fun places around the area - though the Tibetan place closed down years ago. Tried a new place with a large menu of handmade noodles and dumplings - and we'll definitely be going back there.; 2/14/25, 10:28 PM
gadfly said...: In a speech in Munich, Vice President J.D. Vance scolded European leaders for boycotting populist parties.

“The organizers of this very conference have banned lawmakers representing populist parties on both the left and the right from participating in these conversations,” Vance said. “Now, again, we don’t have to agree with everything or anything people say. But when people represent, when political leaders represent, an important constituency, it is incumbent upon us to at least participate in dialogue with them.”

Come on, JD - Trump and Musk don't listen to anyone who disagrees with their viewpoints either, including all members of opposition political parties.; 2/14/25, 11:13 PM
Josephbleau said...: This spring is going to be a great time to pick up a cheap house in the northern Virginia counties near DC. Perhaps a foreclosure. Arlington is nice.; 2/14/25, 11:26 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: Measles outbreak doubles in texas.CDC got rid of more people.good luck with the brain worm guy in charge.; 2/14/25, 11:31 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: Measles outbreak doubles in texas.CDC got rid of more people.good luck with the brain worm guy in charge.; 2/14/25, 11:31 PM
James K said...: “Of course, I'm telling the truth because we all do on the internet.”

I believe you, because if you were lying you wouldn’t have said “former super model wife.”; 2/14/25, 11:56 PM
James K said...: “Of course, I'm telling the truth because we all do on the internet.”

I believe you, because if you were lying you wouldn’t have said “former super model wife.”; 2/14/25, 11:56 PM
gadfly said...: Vance said to EU country leaders, united under NATO, that Europe must embrace the rise of anti-establishment politics, stop mass migration, and curb progressive policies.

So VPJD is for antiestablishmentarianism defined as:

"A policy or attitude that views any power structure as corrupt, repressive, or unjust."

So our Ohio-born hillbilly opposes all social and political establishments, except {obviously) oligarchical rule by a select few.

And as the song goes: "All the Federales say we coulda had him any day but we let him slip away, out of kindness, I suppose."; 2/15/25, 3:39 AM
wendybar said...: "For all the Democrats engaged in a weeping and gnashing of teeth exercise, let’s remember that President Trump is just following Bill Clinton’s bureaucracy-cutting example.

He cut the number of federal workers by 377,000, which was more than 10%. He also offered buyouts of $25,000 to try to reduce the workforce by 277,000.

I do not remember lawsuits by Democrats or Republicans to block Clinton from doing this. I also do not remember the media being outraged and seeking to destroy Clinton. They supported him."

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/trump_is_just_following_bill_clinton_s_bureaucracy_cutting_example.html; 2/15/25, 4:20 AM
Eva Marie said...: A little night music:
Toots Thielesmans and Peggy Lee
Making Whoopee
https://youtu.be/8EdUAWYWxjY?si=VNwA2Ir6V0rLx2iK; 2/15/25, 4:35 AM