Life lessons from the WORST JOB I've ever had.

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A blind woman, a ‘dream job,’ and the toll of the government shutdown – USA Today

A blind woman, a ‘dream job,’ and the toll of the government shutdown

The historic funding crisis inflicted pain on Americans across the country. Christine Grassman still hasn’t fully recovered.

By Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY

FALLS CHURCH, VA – It all started right before dragon boat practice.

Christine Grassman and her husband, Gary, had an important race coming up. In less than a week, the couple would be off to Florida for the national championships.

Much like the Grassmans, who are blind, dragon boating is often misunderstood. It’s confused with rowing, but they’re not the same. Dragon boaters use paddles and face forward; rowers use oars and face backward.

Read more: I survived breast cancer. Now I race dragon boats for Team USA. | Opinion

The lesser-known sport is also favored among people with disabilities – “paradragons,” as Christine and Gary call themselves. The two were “bit by the dragon” just after the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly four years later, Christine, at 56, is the president of their team, the “Out of Sight Dragons.”

On the morning of Oct. 11, Christine’s phone lit up with a text just as she and Gary were gearing up for one of their last workouts before nationals. Her supervisor at the U.S. Department of Education relayed a message that their team had received “reduction in force” notices. That’s Washington-speak for a layoff. She instructed Christine to check her own email.

She did. She let a “few choice phrases” slip. Her last day would be Dec. 9.

Christine was distraught. She also wasn’t alone. President Donald Trump’s administration fired more than 4,000 federal workers that weekend, just 10 days into what eventually became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Read more: Education Department lays off roughly 20% of its workforce amid shutdown

In the past, such ordeals caused furloughs that, while harmful, were only temporary and ended with federal workers eventually getting paid for their forced time away from the office. That’s what happened during Trump’s first term, when the government shuttered for 35 days, setting a record at the time.

In Trump’s second term, the administration’s decision to fire its employees during another historic shutdown became one of the funding crisis’ defining challenges.

The upheaval that people like Christine endured underscored just how harmful Washington gridlock can become for many Americans, including civil servants. That tumult has in turn affected some people with disabilities, who are employed at slightly higher rates in the federal government versus the private sector. Federal law has historically required agencies to plan to meet specific hiring goals for people with disabilities.Read more: Their time at the Education Department may be over. The grieving isn’t.

Claire Stanley, director of advocacy and governmental affairs for the American Council of the Blind, said Christine wasn’t the only blind or low-vision federal employee she knew who was initially laid off during the shutdown. Many others, though not fired, spent weeks without pay.

“All of us were kind of holding our breath,” she said.

Christine spoke to USA TODAY for this story in her personal capacity as an advocate for other blind people – she is the president of the Fairfax chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia – and as a member of AFGE Local 252, the union for Education Department employees. She said her views are not representative of the agency.

From a ‘dream job’ to nightmares

On Oct. 29, four weeks into the government shutdown, Christine sat in her apartment, resting both palms flat on her dining room table. Pixie, her Norwegian forest cat, lounged on a couch nearby, his sandy brown fur complementing the dark maroon upholstery.

For a multitude of reasons, she was on a higher dose of anxiety medication. Worries about caring for her aging parents usually live more toward the back of her mind. Since she was fired, those fears had shoved their way to the front.

Her mother has Alzheimer’s; her father, a longtime firefighter, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They both still live in Long Island, New York, Christine’s hometown.

Nightmares were making it harder to sleep. Her stomach hurt frequently.

Despite all those concerns, the previous 24 hours had brought some hope. On Oct. 28, a federal judge in California temporarily paused her firing, along with thousands of others. With most federal agencies still largely closed, though, she wasn’t back on the job yet.

The news offered only limited comfort. It did little to soothe her concerns about the long-term future of the federal law she has helped implement since 2019. Though housed in the Education Department, it’s not really about education at all.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: A blind woman, a ‘dream job,’ and the toll of the government shutdown

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White House fires commission expected to review Trump construction projects – The Washington Post

WP Exclusive

White House fires arts commission expected to review Trump construction projects

The move comes as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to build a White House ballroom and a triumphal arch in Washington.

Updated, October 28, 2025 at 7:44 p.m. EDT, today at 7:44 p.m. EDT

By Dan Diamond

The White House on Tuesday fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that had expected to review some of President Donald Trump’s construction projects, including his planned triumphal arch and White House ballroom.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts is terminated, effective immediately,” reads an email reviewed by The Washington Post that was sent to one of the commissioners by a staffer in the White House presidential personnel office.

The commission, which was established by Congress more than a century ago and traditionally includes a mix of architects and urban planners, is charged with providing advice to the president, Congress and local government officials on design matters related to construction projects in the capital region. Its focus includes government buildings, monuments and memorials. White House officials have traditionally sought the agency’s approval.

President Joe Biden appointed the six sitting commissioners to four-year terms, several of which would have extended through 2028. Their termination comes as the White House gears up for several Trump construction projects, including his planned $300 million White House ballroom, and seeks to install allies on key review boards.

A White House official confirmed that the Commission of Fine Arts members had been terminated.

“We are preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Bruce Becker, an architect who was appointed to the commission last year and was terminated Tuesday, praised its work in an interview Tuesday night. The agency “plays an important role in shaping the way the public experiences our nation’s capital and the historic buildings it contains, which serve as symbols of our democracy,” Becker said.

The White House in July also fired Biden appointees from the National Capital Planning Commission, another urban-planning agency that is required to review external construction projects at the White House. Trump allies now make up a majority of the 12-member board, including its chairman, Trump staff secretary Will Scharf.

The White House has said it will soon send Trump’s ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which will decide whether to approve the new building. White House officials previously declined to comment on whether they planned to also send the plans to the Commission of Fine Arts, and whether approval from that agency was necessary for the ballroom project to move forward. An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing construction said that “all necessary agencies and entities who need to review the project” were in the process of being consulted.

What the new ballroom means for the White House

Above above video from WP: The new White House ballroom marks one of the biggest changes to the presidential residence in decades — raising questions about tradition, legacy and power. (Video: Jonelle La Foucade/The Washington Post)

The Commission of Fine Arts has traditionally reviewed and voted on major projects at the White House, such as approving a tennis pavilion project overseen by first lady Melania Trump in 2019. But President Trump may sidestep its review of his ballroom, citing historical precedent and his desire to rush its construction, architectural experts said. During a 1947 battle with President Harry S. Truman, who sought to add a balcony to the White House, CFA’s then-chairman said the panel could serve only in an “advisory” role to the president. Truman ultimately proceeded with his plans, setting an example that Trump appears ready to follow.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: White House fires commission expected to review Trump construction projects – The Washington Post

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Tell me, if *I* regularly "hallucinated" on the job, how long before I was separated?
AI up here being treated like a rich white man's nephew in the workplace!

"Researchers say AI transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said" from AP News
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Armed robber Rawiri Walkley fires shots at member of public after stealing $20k worth of cigarettes

Walkley, with his son-in-law Solo Turner and a 14-year-old, pulled into Grove Place, a cul-de-sac near the Dinsdale…
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Southern University head coach Terrence Graves fired after 1-6 start to Jaguars’ season

BATON ROUGE — Southern University coach Terrence Graves has been fired just days after the Jaguars’ Homecoming game…
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