"Outrage bloomed across the federal government over Elon Musk’s demand"

 

In his 1776 essay, the American Crisis, Thomas Paine wrote, “Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country.” That long ago mood, with the Continental Army on the run from the British, has echoes today in the obedience in advance we see offered to Trump from those who panic at the thought of running afoul of him. But while some people, businesses, organizations, and other entities compete to see how low they can go in bowing to Trump, plenty of Americans, all across the country, refuse to do so.

Outrage bloomed across the federal government over Elon Musk’s demand that every federal employee (federal judges and their staff included, although, in some courthouses, there was a suggestion that only chambers of judges nominated by Democratic presidents received emails) send in “approximately five bullet points” reflecting what they accomplished last week.

Although it seemed clear likely that the email violated all sorts of chain and command and security requirements and that responses weren’t required, in back and forth over the weekend, in some offices, management suggested compliance, like Eagle Ed Martin in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia who told his people to respond carefully and be general but that “We are happy to be participate.” It seems like some people have forgotten Musk is an unelected private businessman trying to infiltrate federal agencies without legal authority to do so.

Late in the day, OPM sent out a memo to “all” federal employees telling them that unless they had an excused absence today, they had to respond to the “five bullets” request by 11:59 pm tonight. Apparently, OPM has forgotten that most government employees aren’t supposed to work outside of normal business hours.

One person, who said they were a federal employee, posted on Bluesky, “to recap: a Musk groyper told me to send 5 bullets about my work, my agency said to do it, my department said not to, the OPM director said to, my department hasn't responded, there's a vague threat of firings, and there's preexisting guidance saying I'm not required to do shit.” That about sums it up.

Thomas Paine began American Crisis with the famous words: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.”

His conclusion to that essay would seem to have a message for us, almost as though this is 1776, (just not the way Marjorie Taylor Greene meant it when she tweeted that). Paine wrote, “There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeeds, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice.”

It is indeed madness. Democracy or nothing.

We’re in this together,

-Joyce Vance