Off we go!

The first full week of the Biden Administration is now history. It was pretty cool. There have been around thirty Executive Orders issued from the White House. I would be in deep kimchi if I tried to summarize them all, plus there is a proposal to re-organize the Supreme Court outside that framework, and the Senate has seen a bill proposed to make the District of Columbia a state with two energetic new Senators. It is a challenge to try to stay objective about all the objectives in them, since the sheer number is remarkable in and of itself.

Based on the number alone, it seems like the new President wants to get his work done early, just in case. The staff who advises him decided yesterday was Climate Day and had Special Climate Emissary John Kerry use his private jet to come to DC to tell us that there might be some modest inconvenience for the rest of us.

Today is Jobs Day, and I am anticipating some direction for people losing well-paid union jobs to be useful in finding well-paid green union jobs in some other state. It is a little confusing, but that is expected from a new Administration that apparently has no idea how long the current President will be doing the job. I wish everyone well on that.

I was doing the Swamp Postcard this week and naturally considered it in the context of advising employees the best way to minimize potential problems in the workplace. Our staff labored mightily and returned the same fundamental advice it has consistently provided since this all started last year. Avoid crowds. I saw the alert from the Department of Homeland Security about domestic terrorism. They mentioned their partners in the Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities, and so I knew it had to be a real threat even though they did not speak of any threat in particular.

As a consequence, the National Guard presence in DC is likely to continue through the summer. I added a quick note: “avoid humor in the workplace.” I think the addition is only prudent, since joking around about the confusion could be misconstrued. In a transition season like this one, it is better to maintain a distinctly low profile and show support for unity, even with the domestic terrorists, although they couldn’t tell me specifically which ones to look out for.

That is OK. I think we have a pretty good idea on that score.

Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com