Post AzFvnMr8OsrtdfjlNg by marsroverdriver@deepspace.social
 (DIR) More posts by marsroverdriver@deepspace.social
 (DIR) Post #AzDCtMwm5g4ZPAwWjg by marsroverdriver@deepspace.social
       2025-10-14T19:15:40Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Once again, NASA's fabled Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is being literally decimated -- around 10% of the Lab (actually 11%) is being laid off today.If you're having déjà vu, that's not your imagination: around 10% of the Lab was laid off *last* year as well, and that was *on top of* shedding a whole bunch of contractors before *that*.At some point, you don't have enough people left to run your Mars rovers, your deep space orbiters, your Earth orbiters. It dies.https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce--update/
       
 (DIR) Post #AzDCtO5JrOVAvxwrh2 by marsroverdriver@deepspace.social
       2025-10-14T20:18:18Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Among the genuinely terrible results of the JPL layoffs: they laid off Jennifer Herman. JENNIFER HERMAN. She's not only one of the absolutely nicest people I know, she is also -- in Gene Kranz's terms -- tough and competent. She's an irreplaceable power subsystem engineer: hard-working, endlessly valuable, and a hell of a lot smarter than the people who laid her off.Here's more about an utterly remarkable engineer I consider myself lucky to know: https://deepspace.social/@marsroverdriver/114120211890011633#space
       
 (DIR) Post #AzDCtP5M8k7q2MyPOC by EllisDee@wolfgirl.bar
       2025-10-14T21:16:34.360903Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @marsroverdriver maybe the Democrats could just vote to reopen the government
       
 (DIR) Post #AzFvnMr8OsrtdfjlNg by marsroverdriver@deepspace.social
       2025-10-16T02:39:45Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @EllisDee Maybe the GOP, who control both houses of Congress as well as the White House, could do it without them.They know perfectly well that they could rescind the Senate's filibuster rule if they wanted -- with a simple majority, which they obviously have. They've done it for other things. You know, for things they actually wanted to do.If the government is closed under these circumstances, it's because the Republicans want it closed. It actually is that simple.
       
 (DIR) Post #AzFvnODrJsdjsRNQRM by EllisDee@wolfgirl.bar
       2025-10-16T04:49:09.956343Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @marsroverdriver the Dems are the ones voting no