We're Moving to Substack

After 17 years at this address, I'm moving to Substack. It'll be the same stuff only on a cleaner screen and with some new options for reader engagement. I'm still posting after all these years, and have no plans to stop anytime soon.  

You can find me at: theskepticalbureaucrat.substack.com. Please take a look.

I'll keep this Blogger account going indefinitely - it's basically been my diary - but new posts will go on Substack along with a selection of golden oldies that I'm copying from Blogger and dropping into Substack.

Lastly, to you government workers out there, in this time of reorganization and uncertainly I offer the benediction given by Headley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles.

"Now go do, that voodoo, that you do, SO WELLLLL!"

Back to the Office You Go, But Not Quite Yet

The House has some details to attend to before normal operations resume, so it'll be a few more days before all the furloughed feds must head back to the office. 

But for today, please enjoy one of my favorite things: a federal holiday during a government shutdown. A regular employment double negative. All of us who were already home are now out of the office times 2.  

And since we're all home, you might want to watch the National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery. It's online [here], starting at 11 AM. See you all there.

Lawfare Unlocked: Maryland Files Suit Over FBI Relocation Decision

And so, as inevitably will happen in every dispute between two parties in the USA, it's come to a lawsuit.  The big players in Maryland politics are desperate to snatch back that FBI HQ land development deal from the District of Colombia, where the Trump administration recently decided that it should go. 

Their arguments leave me completely unpersuaded, but then, there isn't any money in it for me whichever way the decision goes. 

Maryland's case relies first of all on the premise that a 100 percent proper site selection process resulted in the choice of the Greenbelt, Maryland, site.

Maryland earned the new FBI headquarters through a fair and transparent selection process that took more than 10 years – a rigorous evaluation that identified Greenbelt as the site best suited to meet the FBI's security, operational space, and mission needs," said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown during the news conference.

However, that fair and transparent process had earlier resulted in the selection of the Springfield, Virginia, site, after which a brand new GSA official dropped into the process and overruled the selection committee to award the project to Maryland. 

Most interestingly, that official came from a career at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which coincidentally is the owner of the Greenbelt property. A cynical person might suspect some kind of funny business went on there. 

Anyway, the Greenbelt selection was in turn overridden by the Trumpening, which changed the project concept from one of new, purpose-built, construction to the adaptive reuse of an existing federal office building, the Ronald Reagan Center in DC's Federal Triangle. 

That change in project concept creates what might be Maryland's strongest argument, which is that the Federal Triangle site cannot meet all of the physical security standards that should apply to an FBI HQ. 

And what standards are those exactly? Well, that probably gets into Matters of Official Concern which I must avoid. But I think it can be said without revealing anything sensitive that one of those standards rhymes with "get back." 

The Maryland side must be feeling pretty sure of itself when it plays the security card. We all know that security is sacrosanct in government business, right? 

Wrong! You see, those standards must be interpreted, and application policy followed, not to mention risk assessments performed, cost/benefit analysis done, and final decisions to be made by the responsible officials, including the potential decision to waive standards and accept risk. 

Oh, let me tell you, from the bottom of my governmental heart, nothing is guaranteed where security standards are concerned. 

I'll venture one small guess about what might become of that "get back" problem. It could be risk-analyzed away by someone who reasons that in a built-up urban landscape such as the Federal Triangle a vehicle-borne attacker would have limited approach routes to a target such as the Reagan Building, and therefore adequate "get back" really kinda exists. 

By contrast the Greenbelt site would have practically unlimited straight and level high-speed approaches to its perimeter. 

How's that for being a security problem solver? If this shutdown continues a few more weeks I might just send GSA or DHS a resume and pitch them on my alternative risk mitigation powers.

The FBI Relocation Project Must Comply With the DHS Risk Management Process

Assuming the FBI HQ relocation to the Reagan Building really happens, then some unlucky people will be impressed into a Facility Security Committee and charged with carrying out the extensive Risk Management Process that the Interagency Security Committee requires of federal civilian office facilities.  

I was a bit surprised to find that the RMP is made available in the public sphere, but there it is to inform our public debate over the new FBI HQ. 

The RMP consists solely of process, you understand, and all details about security standards are kept out of public view. Still, please browse that process at the link above and prepare to be impressed by its comprehensiveness, starting with the determination of a facility's baseline Level of Protection and ending with the paperwork for accepting less than the full Level of Protection. 

One suspects that the FBI's Facility Security Committee and its unhappy Chair will be most interested in that last part of the process because, as the RMP recognizes, sometimes the full LOP is not achievable.

In an existing facility, physical limitations and budgetary restrictions may make the necessary LOP [Level of Protection] unachievable. For example, additional standoff distance might not be available; upgrade of window systems to resist blast loads might require complete renovation of the façade so the window system will stay attached to the walls and thus be cost-prohibitive; or the current design of the air handling system could prohibit relocation of air intakes to a less vulnerable area.

Oh, you can say that again. That paragraph ought to have been highlighted in bright neon. 

The full LOP also may not be cost-effective, which is a consideration that could be in play given the vast cost avoidance of the Reagan Building option over the Greenbelt site - reportedly $1.5 billion versus $3.5 billion. 

The process has wiggle room, of course, most notably in the authority given to senior officials to make "intangible adjustment" to the requirements. It is my guess that the White House was sold on the Reagan Building option despite its most glaring physical security vulnerabilty - which rhymes with "get back" - entirely because some clever person saw a way to work around the non-achievable LOP. 

Maybe he'll be right about that, but the acid test will be whether or not he personally signs off on the acceptance of that risk. Do that and it's his ass that'll be on the line. 

Meanwhile DHS and/or the FBI have a whole lot of work to do on that extensive RM process. If the shutdown goes on much longer I might pitch them my consulting services while I wait to go back to work. I'll even use the business name "Rosslyn Shuttle" just to make my qualifications clear!

Senate Majority Moves on New FBI HQ Project in DC, Leaving Maryland Behind

Maryland Senator leans hard on the security argument to oppose administration plan to relocate FBI HQ to federal triangle instead of Greenbelt. https://t.co/BjGSclyH9F

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) October 29, 2025

Maryland's Senator Van Hollen makes two points in his immediate response to today's approval of a prospectus for the relocation of the FBI HQ to the Reagan Building, one of which is laughable and the other of which is serious and heretofore ignored.

First, the laughable one. He calls the majority side's unilateral approval "wholly partisan." No kidding. As all adults know, every government decision is made for political reasons; there are no exceptions. And that's actually how it should be in a representative government. When Senate Democrats have had the whip hand they've used it, as they will again the next time they take the majority. But today, they are out of power. Vae Victis.   

Now the serious point, which is one that Senator Hollen has made before: the Reagan Building will certainly fail to comply with the applicable physical security requirements for an FBI Headquarters building. He rightly calls this a failure to address "glaring security issues" and points out that this matter went unmentioned in today's prospectus. 

Granted, his motive in making that objection is far from disinterested - billions in development money are at stake - however, he's performing a public service anyway a la Adam Smith's 'invisible hand.' 

Out of gratitude for that, I'll do him a favor and point out that the Interagency Security Committee security standards he refers to were not "developed following the 9/11 attacks" but instead originated in 1995 after the Oklahoma City federal office building bombing. That's a common mistake, but a lazy one since you could look it up. Van Hollen's staffers are doing him a disservice. 

My own unsolicited advice is to demo and rebuild the current FBI HQ on the same site. I won't elaborate on my reasons since I've aired them often enough before, and I'm sure I will again as the FBI relocation project creeps on for years to come.

   

One Month In and Substitute Teaching Is Looking Attractive

Reading the political tea leaves, you can get the impression that the shutdown may be settled soon. I'd caution against optimism on that. The Trumpening creates unprecedented conditions that make the old rules of Washington in-fighting no longer apply. 

Looking on the sunny side, you'll note that October is a three-paycheck month for most of us feds (since there are 26 biweekly pay periods in a year but only twelve months), and that may provide a little bemusement. 

I haven't seen this nugget covered by the news media, but at some DOS Bureaus certain of the exempted employees - those are the ones who have to come in to the office despite the shutdown - are actually getting paid. That's because they perform functions the administration has defined as priorities. 

But please keep that quiet, since the large majority of exempted employees are still working without pay. Getting backpay for them after the shutdown ends is authorized by law but is not required, so we'll see how that goes. 

Well, at least us furloughed employees can be happy that we're saving on commuting gas and parking costs. Take that, Arlington County parking meter enforcement quasi-cops!

India Found Out: Issue Visas in Haste, Repent at Leisure

India blew that visa thing big-time. https://t.co/qcUGYE2itV

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) October 23, 2025

In defence [note the British spelling, another imperialistic legacy] of those Indian visa officers of 1608, they didn't have our modern investigative resources, such as social media screening. 

A little less trust, a little more skeptical rigor, and they might have saved the vast subcontinent from a few centuries of grief.

    

The Crime of the Colombian Mariner (or, At Length Did Cross a Reaper Drone)

Great slant to how the NYT reports this exchange of accusations: It’s “The administration has provided no evidence to support [its] claims“ while Petro’s “description of Mr. Carranza and his boat could not be immediately confirmed.” https://t.co/YziPnKB5bv

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) October 20, 2025

As an aside, that old Coleridge poem (here) is well worth re-reading, provided of course that you were able to read it the first time back in high school. But that is not my point today.

Today, I'm struck with admiration for the creative power shown by the New York Times in its differing insinuations about the dueling narratives from Trump and Petro, his Colombian counterpart, over one of those kinetic interceptions of drug boats that we're carrying out in the Caribbean Sea. 

Petro, like Trump and his administration, provided no evidence for his claim, which is that an innocent fisherman was killed. But in his case, far from dismissing his claim, the NYT could not "immediately" confirm it. 

That sounds like they almost could confirm it. You get the impression that we should stay tuned because they might well confirm it later today. Or they at least have a good chance of confirming it someday. Just a few missing details to nail down and - wham! - Petro's claims will get the NYT's seal of approval.  

With such nearly poetic talent for between-the-lines messaging on display, I can't understand why the legacy news media is in free fall. 

   

Gaza's Famine is Over and Not a Meal Too Soon

Palestinians in Gaza celebrate the end of the war and announce that they have enough food to feed all of Gaza for 3 months.

“The genocide and famine are over.”

What do you notice?

pic.twitter.com/BkEsPOKqlz

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) October 9, 2025

That poor fellow in the clip above has survived a long hard-fought battle with food deprivation these past two years, but it looks like he's finally got malnutrition whipped. 

While it's none of my business, if I may make a suggestion, Gazans might want to cut down on the carbs in that new three-month supply of food. 

  

A Hollow Threat Against an Empty Embassy

Stop blowing up our drug boats or the fortress embassy gets it. https://t.co/8JufdGZ3iN

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) October 7, 2025

Oh, please don't threaten that shutdown embassy office building, Mister Venezuelan Badguy. There's nobody there that you'd want to harm anyway, and if you were to blow it up we'd just have to rebuild it someday. 

Our taxpayers will thank you for your attention to this matter.

By the way, how coincidental is it that the embassy office compound in question was vacated years ago, long before the present government 'shutdown?' 

That touches on my favorite philosophical question about these shutdowns: when we have a federal holiday - or, even better, a snow day - during a shutdown, is that like a double negative that means the government office or embassy is open again?

Now that I'm furloughed, I have plenty of time to ponder that question.

Gov't Shutdown, Unlimited Free Time And No Income

Like about 65 percent of all those who work for [REDACTED] the foreign affairs department of the Washington DC area's largest employer, I've been furloughed. 

Oh, no! What does that mean exactly? Well, I've been banished from the office, and from remote work, and even instructed not to use my official cell phone except to check for more instructions. 

This must be what retirement will be like, except for the part about not being paid. My impression so far is that I can live with it.

In fact, this preview of My Golden Years has revived an earlier interest in making use of that retirement annuity lifetime federal fellowship to do something academic, such as researching and maybe even publishing something about a few pet topics.

For instance, public security measures can be studied as artifacts of material culture. Haven't you ever thought that anti-ram barriers in the city landscape might well unintentionally reveal something about our society and how it has changed over time?     

But all that lies in the future! I have a late relative who worked at DOS for over 50 years, and happily so. I don't plan to break her record, although I now see myself coming rather close. 

I say to you: don't despair, live frugally while we wait out the shutdown and, as 95-year old Clint Eastwood reminds us, the secret to a long life is to not let the old man in.  

Our Disinformation Karen is Back, and Of Course She's Demanding to Speak to Your Supervisor

Who can I sue for her being appointed to that board in the first place? https://t.co/tonZ9uMkK9

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) September 19, 2025

 

So, to review the bidding on this rather old matter, a few years ago Miss Dismal [my pet name for that Mis-Dis-and-Mal information lady] lost her position as DHS's Disinformation Governance Board Czarina after only a few weeks, which she attributed to an information campaign waged against her by, among others, Fox News. 

She sued Fox for, esentially, beating her at her own game of information warfare. That suit has now been soundly dismissed. How soundly was it dismissed, you may wonder? NBC News has this sucinct report of the judge's ruling:

In rejecting Jankowicz’s claims, the judge said that 36 of the 37 statements made on Fox News programs were about the disinformation board and not Jankowicz. The judge ruled that the remaining statement — which was also a reference to the board and not Jankowicz, despite showing an image of her as it was said — was not disinformation because it was a factual statement that matched the wording in the board’s own charter describing its purpose.

Such fun! After that ruling, Miss Dismal ought to give up on lawfare entirely. 

Interestingly, I see that her Wikipedia entry omits any mention that Miss Dismal has registered with the U.S. Justice Department as a foreign agent due to her post-DHS employment by a UK busybody group, one that has received funding from the UK and Australian governments, the U.S. State Department, and USAID. (Presumably, USAID has by now written its last check to Miss Dismal's new employer.)

As for me, I am relieved to know that, even though she's no longer in a position within DHS, Miss Dismal is still hard at work protecting us all against foreign and domestic opinionators who, if left unpoliced, would sneak their unapproved thoughts into our precious information spaces. 

Thanks to her and so many others like her both in and outside government, the internet will be Sanitized For Your Protection!    

Is Paris Burning? Yes, Again!

A two-state solution is the only way. From the Seine to the Sea! https://t.co/jdTVomHwqt

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) September 11, 2025

We forget how good the French are at rioting, but after all, they kind of set the standard for popular uprisings back in 1789.  

Not that I think the current disorder will get anywhere near the intensity of that first one. Still, a de facto political monarchy that runs roughshod over popular interests might just want to take a lesson from 1789.

Our 'Maryland Man' Deportee Can Look Forward to an Unforgettable Experience in Eswatini

Eswatini National Day - United States Department of State@ “The longstanding friendship between our nations reflects a shared commitment to security” and now a commitment of deportees, as well. https://t.co/xgXNSHJtDC

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) September 7, 2025

The Kingdom of Eswatini welcomes visitors:

As one of the few remaining monarchies in Africa, culture and heritage are deeply engrained in all aspects of Swazi life, ensuring an unforgettable experience for all who visit. As well as the rich culture, the overwhelming friendliness of the people makes all visitors feel truly welcome and very safe. Add to that stunning scenery of mountains and valleys, forests and plains; plus wildlife reserves across the country that are home to The Big Five; and a fascinating mix of modern and traditional festivals, ceremonies and events, and you have all that’s best about Africa in one small but perfectly formed and welcoming country.

 

Trump to Traffickers: I"m the Captain Now

https://t.co/o5xOQ6HRFg pic.twitter.com/s9ktAlDQUi

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 2, 2025

He's not waiting for arrest warrants or calling for trafficking vessels to stop and be boarded.  

This new drug war will be much less restrained than the ongoing cleanup of DC. 

There Are Not Really 55 Million Foreigners Living in the USA

It's NIV holders only, and much more good info in this thread. Simmer down now. https://t.co/7nPdmZRGKl

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) August 22, 2025

Before responding to news media stories about the recent DOS announcement that it will review all existing visa holders for possible ineligibility, please be advised that all visa holders do not reside here.

Get it straight, news media. The State Department said visas will be revoked if there are indications of "overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization." Nothing more or less.

Object to that initiative if you wish, but try not to fan the flames of public ignorance while you're doing that.

Egypt's NYC Consulate Shows One Way to Control Visitor Access

Behind those security doors no one can hear you scream. https://t.co/zXC0yvjk5z

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) August 21, 2025

Some security types call it a sally port, others some call it a Compound Access Control facility. By whatever name, it's the protected space where people who walk off the street seeking access to a secured facility can be identified and inspected before they are either admitted or turned away.

Egypt showed us an unusually kinetic access denial when it put the boots to those protestors at its New York City consulate. If I may say so, that reception exceeded even what NYC once accepted when the city was cleaned up during Giuliani Time.  

Egypt can get away with that kind of thing because a declared diplomatic premise such as its consulate is not subject to the criminal jurisdiction of the host country. For all you private sector entities who have to deal with your own unruly protestors, Don't Try This at Home.

  

FSO Confesses to Being a Romantic Fool

 

\Well, well, well. What he did for love? Where have we heard those lyrics before? 

Kiss your job goodbye 

Your last day is tomorrow

Wish her luck, but none to you 

Now you've got the shove

So we're rid of, what you did for love 

Oh, dammit, now I've got that song stuck in my head. 

As is more than obvious from the video above, yet another male FSO has shown extremely poor judgement in the serious matter of his obligation to report continuing contacts with persons from criteria countries. 

Not like that's never happened before, but this one keeps talking about it to women he's just met who are wearing wires. That's a double whammmy. First he compromises himself via-a-vis the Chi-Coms, and then he falls right into a trap set by one of the sillier anti-government activist groups. 

This sad news makes me wonder yet again whether the State Department wouldn't be better served if it went to exclusively female embassy staffing in those hostile countries where the local intelligence services like to run sexual entrapment games on western diplomats. 

Women FSOs have not been 100 percent immune to that approach, it must be admitted, but they nevertheless seem nowhere near as foolish as their male counterparts. 

Until the day comes that we raise an order of celibate monks to do diplomatic work in places like China, female FSOs might be our safest bet.

China Plans to Build a Fortress Embassy in London, To Which Security-Based Objections Are Raised

Allowing the Chinese to build this in the heart of London is complete and utter madness https://t.co/EaG4S3uTh2

— Camilla Tominey (@CamillaTominey) August 7, 2025

BBC has more on this, including a regular Chinese laundry list of security concerns:

The plan itself involves a cultural centre and housing for 200 staff, but in the basement, behind security doors, there are also rooms with no identified use on the plans. 

There is another fear, held by some opponents, that the Royal Mint Court site could allow China to infiltrate the UK's financial system by tapping into fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of London. 

The site once housed Barclays Bank's trading floor, so it was wired directly into the UK's financial infrastructure. Nearby, a tunnel has, since 1985, carried fibre optic cables under the Thames serving hundreds of City firms. 

And in the grounds of the Court, is a five-storey brick building - the Wapping Telephone Exchange that serves the City of London. 

According to Prof Periklis Petropoulos, an optoelectronics researcher at Southampton University, direct access to a working telephone exchange could allow people to glean information.

Against all that, if there are any good arguments in favor of this Great Diplomatic Wall of China, I didn't catch them.

DSS Doing Immigration Enforcement, Not a Big Stretch From Visa/Passport Fraud

“Similarly, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) has assigned approximately 600 special agents, or about 24% of its workforce, to assist in these operations, despite their usual focus on passport fraud and the protection of diplomats.” https://t.co/Hx0ccCEp2g

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) August 8, 2025