Biden warned his new staff "I will fire you on the spot" if they disobey this one rule

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/21/biden-warned-his-new-staff-i-will-fire-you-on-the-spot-if-they-disobey-this-one-rule.html

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Half of the shit-drivel coming out of 45’s mouth over the past four years would have gotten me fired on the spot (rightfully) had I said it. Also divorced, arrested, and hated by every decent human being (also rightfully).

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Whatever the party, there’s always some arsehole who thinks they’re above the rules and are too “indispensable” to face consequences. I hope Biden applies this rule across the board to cabinet members as well. After the past four years, we’ve had more than enough of toxic bosses in the federal government for a lifetime.

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I know Biden has a lot of crappy political skeletons in his closet (Anita Hill hearings, the crime bill, supporting predatory credit card companies, etc.) but I like to think he is human enough to learn and grow. He’s spent so much of his life in politics, and he knows this is his last stop, maybe he can help initiate some real change.

As much as I wanted Bernie in the White House it might be better for the country that Biden is there instead, because all the classic American mouth-breather griping about “socialism” loses a lot of power when directed at Biden.

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Damn. Just… wow. (And echoing @longtimelurker and @gracchus, I too would have been walked out the door for most of the crap that The Orange Coward had said.)

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I thought “You’re fired!” was the other guys schtick?

Still, I guess the point is to have a positive work environment and a reversal of the shenanigans for the last 4 years.

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A spammer and a lazy plagiarist. Are you competing in some kind of waste of oxygen contest?

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“beep boop, Hello, fellow humans. I too wish to comments on your internet website. Beeop boop.”

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Interesting – he said “working with me” instead of “working for me.”

Subtle change, but IMHO profound. Not the sort of thing that people do out of calculation, more just who they are.

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“I am a human with soft skin and emotions, citizen. Accept me or face the consequences.”

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I gotta say, that’s frickin crazy if he means it how he said it. Pretty easy to get someone fired, just go complain about them.

If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot,

He’s talking about in his presence, not hearsay. I’d assume that if one employee has a problem they have a means of dealing with that.

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Rule #2 should be: “Speak truth to power”. No pandering.

But that’s a tougher rule to suss out.

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He’s having a West Wing moment.

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This is meta, but I can’t help but be reminded of:

“Click Here to Learn One Weird Trick of a Get Fired from the Biden Administration!”

Seriously though, the changes that are already showing up across the executive branch are breathtaking in a good way. A colleague pointed out this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/politics/white-house-website-pronouns-trnd/index.html

Likewise, the whitehouse.gov website now has a clearly stated accessibility policy (and the site has accessibility features and is actually keyboard-navigable!):

Key quote:

These guidelines not only help make web content accessible to users with sensory, cognitive and mobility disabilities, but ultimately to all users, regardless of ability.

I’m impressed and pleased.

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yeah, I guess I read it a different way, but I see what you mean.

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I think it’s great that respect in the workplace is a top issue.

At the same time, the amount of nepotism in his past isn’t acceptable. That family members and business associates of family members have anything to do with any of his positions would be unacceptable in the modern private workplace. Certainly not allowed at my company. There is a huge complicated dance when spouses or siblings end up working at my company, and HR gets deeply involved in the process. (not that it’s wrong, but it has to be handled more carefully)

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Super happy to see Trump gone too, and decency is something that should be implied. What I worry is that Biden is already backtracking on “immediate 2K checks”, now postponed for March.
This is just the beginning of Democrats losing all the progressive and youth vote for 2024. Wait and see: Trump or someone worse will win if they don’t deliver M4A, covid relief and student debt forgiveness.

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Rule #3: Do not talk about the Fight Club that previously took up residency.

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To the contrary, I think that Rule #3 should be “Form a congressional commission and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Fight Club that previously took up residency.”

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