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0 pointsmlyle11mo ago0 comments

Did DOGE not ditch hundreds of probationary employees at NOAA, cancel numerous contracts, get 1000 people to take early retirement offers, get rid of buildings, etc?

And now the current funding request enacts a ~30% funding cut.

I'm not sure the factual issue you're seeing. Is it that the statement wasn't definitive enough in saying that DOGE apparently was a large part of instituting these cuts?

(Yes, I know OPM implemented many of these programs, but they're apparently at DOGE's request, named after the "Fork in the Road" initiative at Twitter, using data gathered by DOGE IT staffers, &c. If we give credit for any cuts, we have to give them credit for significant cuts at NOAA.)

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msgodel11mo ago

My understanding is this was set up to happen roughly a decade ago and is just now manifesting. It has pretty much nothing to do with DOGE.

counters11mo ago

We don't if, or to what extent, DOGE was involved or influential in the decision-making here.

Yes, the DMSP program was aging and slated to wind down as replacements - both federal and commercial - came online in the second half of the 2020's. But in general, if valid and useful data continues to stream from these types of satellites, you use it and monitor for disruption.

As someone who uses the DMSP data every single day, let me be very clear: there was no warning or expectation that such an abrupt change was going to happen. Yes, we all have contingency plans for if a satellite fails or a data link goes down. But to be given basically 5 days notice that a significant, mission-critical asset would be taken offline? That doesn't - and shouldn't - happen.

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freejazz11mo ago

The sentence that is quoted is about how both of these things are simultaneously happening right now, even if one was precipitated earlier

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