Matt Gaetz

Quote: Gandler

How on earth does Buttigieg make his gayness a defining point of his political face? I watched all of the debates when he was running, and several speeches by him, and I do not recall him mentioning it once.... I have not even heard him say some offhand story where he said, "my husband...." (I hear straight pols say, "my wife..." all of the time....) I just don't understand this world people are in where Butigieg does not shut up about being gay.

I see him as a below average Secretary in the cabinet. Him being gay is not an issue to me.

I don't think cabinet level folks should take full paternity or maternity leave and not do their job. Just because something is "available" it doesn't mean that you have to do it. Many top level folks forego those benefits to fulfill their duties. Many people decline jobs in the cabinet to have more family time. Working for the White House is not exactly a 9 to 5 job.

He ranks above Austin because Austin committed dereliction of duty and the feckless President should have fired him on the spot. You don't get fired for being sick, you get fired for not telling the boss that you are out and work a plan with him for coverage as needed.

Beyond that...more importantly, I think he has been part of the process of spending a lot of money without realistic goals. He was part of the team that was rejected in the election.

There are some weirdos who are gay but they are matched by a lot of straight weirdos. Since statistics show about 7.6% of the population is LGBT, there are likely a whole lot more straight wackos than gay ones.

Quote: RonC

I see him as a below average Secretary in the cabinet. Him being gay is not an issue to me.

I don't think cabinet level folks should take full paternity or maternity leave and not do their job. Just because something is "available" it doesn't mean that you have to do it. Many top level folks forego those benefits to fulfill their duties. Many people decline jobs in the cabinet to have more family time. Working for the White House is not exactly a 9 to 5 job.

He ranks above Austin because Austin committed dereliction of duty and the feckless President should have fired him on the spot. You don't get fired for being sick, you get fired for not telling the boss that you are out and work a plan with him for coverage as needed.

Beyond that...more importantly, I think he has been part of the process of spending a lot of money without realistic goals. He was part of the team that was rejected in the election.

There are some weirdos who are gay but they are matched by a lot of straight weirdos. Since statistics show about 7.6% of the population is LGBT, there are likely a whole lot more straight wackos than gay ones.

Family leave is there to take no matter what the position or status. If employees see bosses taking leave then they will think it;s okay to take leave...which it is. If they see their bosses NOT taking leave then they will feel pressured to not take their leave. And what do they do when their boss says "I didn't take any leave when we gave birth. Do you really need leave then?" No workplace should be dependent on any one person being ever present and that includes Cabinet secretaries.

Quote:

In government appointments, a "deputy" position serves as the second-in-command to the head of a department or agency, essentially acting as a primary assistant and assuming leadership responsibilities when the primary official is unavailable, often overseeing day-to-day operations and managing specific areas within the agency's scope while reporting directly to the primary leader; they typically require Senate confirmation for appointment, similar to the top position they support.

Quote: GenoDRPh

Family leave is there to take no matter what the position or status. If employees see bosses taking leave then they will think it;s okay to take leave...which it is. If they see their bosses NOT taking leave then they will feel pressured to not take their leave. And what do they do when their boss says "I didn't take any leave when we gave birth. Do you really need leave then?" No workplace should be dependent on any one person being ever present and that includes Cabinet secretaries.

I disagree. If you need extended family leave you shouldn’t be in certain positions. President. Secretary of State. Speaker of the House. Waiter at Outback Steakhouse.

Actually, one of those shouldn’t be on the list. Let’s see if Geno can figure out ‘which one of these just doesn’t belong’?

Quote: SOOPOO

I disagree. If you need extended family leave you shouldn’t be in certain positions. President. Secretary of State. Speaker of the House. Waiter at Outback Steakhouse.

Actually, one of those shouldn’t be on the list. Let’s see if Geno can figure out ‘which one of these just doesn’t belong’?

Family leave is usually temporary. Certainly everyone else can figure sh!t out and run the department temporarily.

Presidents don't get a vacation. They just get a change in scenery. Presidents get leave all they want, though. All they have to do is invoke the 25th Amendment to put he VP in charge for a day or two and take care of business. If the entire country isn't dependent on a single person always being on the clock certainly a Federal department or private workplace can withstand the absence of a key leader during family leave.

Have you lived your rhetoric? Tell me you never ever took a day off for family matters-birth of your children, illness or death in your entire career.

More anti-worker rhetoric from the GOP...

Quote: SOOPOO

I disagree. If you need extended family leave you shouldn’t be in certain positions. President. Secretary of State. Speaker of the House. Waiter at Outback Steakhouse.

Actually, one of those shouldn’t be on the list. Let’s see if Geno can figure out ‘which one of these just doesn’t belong’?

I disagree
Everybody should have a right to family leave
If an emergency arises, the tech is in place to take the reins immediately if needed.

Quote: SOOPOO

I disagree. If you need extended family leave you shouldn’t be in certain positions. President. ...

See now, President can play golf while doing much of his work. Hard to beat that.

Quote: GenoDRPh

Family leave is usually temporary. Certainly everyone else can figure sh!t out and run the department temporarily.

Presidents don't get a vacation. They just get a change in scenery. Presidents get leave all they want, though. All they have to do is invoke the 25th Amendment to put he VP in charge for a day or two and take care of business. If the entire country isn't dependent on a single person always being on the clock certainly a Federal department or private workplace can withstand the absence of a key leader during family leave.

Have you lived your rhetoric? Tell me you never ever took a day off for family matters-birth of your children, illness or death in your entire career.

More anti-worker rhetoric from the GOP...

I literally took 1 hour off for the birth of my first child. Was doing 24 hour overnight shift and got call at 5:30am that wifey needed me to take her to hospital ‘soon’. Got relief from OR by 6am, baby at 4pm, back to work for next scheduled shift by 7am.
Got lucky for baby 2 and needed no time off.
I didn’t say there is never a reason to take a day off. I said, or if not specific, implied, that certain jobs you shouldn’t take multiple consecutive weeks/months off. I took literally just a few ‘sick days’ off during my 35 year career.

Your attitude is just different than mine. I may be in the minority on this.

But here’s my retirement story. I ‘accrued’ an ungodly amount of sick time during the second half of my career. I was in a union, and I think I got the equivalent of TEN days off a year. You could sell your vacation time back for good $$, but sick time unused got you a pension credit only worth maybe 10% of what vacation time could be sold for. Others upon nearing retirement would just start taking planned sick days…. I think unethically. And then still sell their unused vacation time. I retired with around 1/2 year of sick time.

It’s just the difference between you and me.

Quote: SOOPOO

I literally took 1 hour off for the birth of my first child. Was doing 24 hour overnight shift and got call at 5:30am that wifey needed me to take her to hospital ‘soon’. Got relief from OR by 6am, baby at 4pm, back to work for next scheduled shift by 7am.
Got lucky for baby 2 and needed no time off.
I didn’t say there is never a reason to take a day off. I said, or if not specific, implied, that certain jobs you shouldn’t take multiple consecutive weeks/months off. I took literally just a few ‘sick days’ off during my 35 year career.

Your attitude is just different than mine. I may be in the minority on this.

But here’s my retirement story. I ‘accrued’ an ungodly amount of sick time during the second half of my career. I was in a union, and I think I got the equivalent of TEN days off a year. You could sell your vacation time back for good $$, but sick time unused got you a pension credit only worth maybe 10% of what vacation time could be sold for. Others upon nearing retirement would just start taking planned sick days…. I think unethically. And then still sell their unused vacation time. I retired with around 1/2 year of sick time.

It’s just the difference between you and me.

The difference is I am pro-worker and think organizations should be able to withstand people in certain high ranking jobs taking a few weeks or a few months off for certain legally defined and legally protected reasons. That's just good organizational management. Apple just kept right on chugging along when Steve Jobs took months off to treat his pancreatic cancer, and when he had his liver transplant.

Look at the big picture. You don't think employers should pay their workers a minimum wage, and now you want to take away medical leave or leave for birth/adoption. What other worker's rights do you want to take away? Unpaid lunch breaks, maybe? How about worker safety rules?

Quote:

According to George Washington, enslaved people at Mount Vernon had two hours off for meals during the day. The dinner break took place in the early afternoon. While enslaved workers at Mount Vernon labored throughout the year, there were regular days off as well as a few holidays.