Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 1
…is now officially America’s National Bird:
https://apnews.com/article/biden-bill-sign-bald-ea...WASHINGTON (AP) — The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country’s national bird.
President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle — familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body — as the national bird.
No. of Recommendations: 1
amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle - excerpt by Dope<\i>
---------------
There are a vast number of things that have long gone unnoticed that will benefit from some DOGE sunlight. We all have heard about this one,
There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit. Last year, for instance, the Government Accountability Office released a report revealing that 17 out of 24 federal agencies are utilizing less than 25 percent of their office space. Not one of the agencies used even half the office space it occupied, topping out at 49 percent.
According to GAO, federal agencies spend about $2 billion every year to operate and maintain these buildings, plus an additional $5 billion per year to lease office buildings. Amazingly, one of the GAO’s recommendations was to spend even more taxpayer money “to reconfigure existing space to increase utilization.
-------------
It would be fun and effective for every interview with a Trump admin official to start with a 30 sec Doge report providing updates on the latest waste, fraud or abuse that has been uncovered. Call out specific agencies or specific legislators for what they sponsor and make them defend it. Why exactly do we need to study the effect of cocaine on squirrel behavior? And list a few of the embarrassing grants that have been approved, Grants that would never be funded by taxpayers if they only knew the spending was going on, grants where additional rounds of funding are being sought.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Up until a few decades ago, the bald eagle was an endangered species.
Before I was 30, I never saw one in the wild, even though I spent a lot of time in their native habitat.
Now, although it can’t be said that they are “everywhere”, we often see them up north at our cabin.
Even here, 18 miles outside of Ann Arbor, we occasionally see them sitting atop one of the twin Russian fir trees in our front yard.
We have a twelve pound dog that we often put on the exposed back deck while we do yardwork….. EXCEPT when we know there’s an eagle in the neighborhood.
She’d make a tempting eagle snack.
Just one of the many things I never worried about forty years ago.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Up until a few decades ago, the bald eagle was an endangered species.
Yes. I was surprised. Evidently some eagles were eating animals and birds killed by lead buckshot, and it might be the source of odd things like thin shells and other ailments, but they've rebounded and adapted. We seem to produce carrion waste in areas (fishing, etc.), and they thrive on that.
