By Timothy D. Naegele[1]
The government that governs least governs best. Having worked in and with government for most of my life[2], I have yet to find any portion of government that functions properly, much less efficiently and effectively.
When I worked in The Pentagon, it was affectionately referred to as "Fort Fumble." The waste was gargantuan in scope; and the only reason why our enemies had not defeated us is that they are more inefficient—and yes, screwed up—than we are.
Elon Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE)[3] are taking a sledgehammer or wrecking ball to government. Obviously, the threshold question is whether programs that Americans depend on for their existence and survival will be thrashed.[4]
The inmates have been running the asylum in Washington. They have always done that. It can be argued that government should be "abolished," except for essential national security needs. It does not work, and is run by people who are totally incompetent, or far far worse.
After working in The Pentagon for two years, I went to the U.S. Senate and worked with other government agencies. I realized that The Pentagon was the best organized and most efficient by far. The other agencies were a shambles and a joke—and a very bad one at that. They are run by utter morons at all levels, and it is truly a case of the inmates running the asylum.
But it is true in every government agency throughout the country. From federal judges, who are pompous, arrogant, condescending morons[5], to those who make decisions at the Social Security Administration and the VA, through thousands of other agencies that most of us have never dealt with—but which affect the lives of countless Americans—the "inmates" should be jettisoned and arguably the agencies closed.
When I left Capitol Hill after working there for three and a half years, there was only one word that stuck in my mind, and that was "S-I-C-K." I vowed that my kids would never work there; and thank God they never have. It is Hollywood at its worst, which is why the phonies in both towns admire each other so much. They are all sickos.[6]
Screwing a congressional aide is endemic to a sick institution, and the Congress is sick. Imagine this: all they have to do is pontificate (e.g., make speeches), raise money, pass laws, and get reelected. The laws are worthless in most cases, yet they never get removed from the books.
New laws are added to the old laws, and agencies get funded year after year that outlived their usefulness generations ago, but no one has the guts to abolish them or cut off their funding. Just turn on C-SPAN and listen to our "elected representatives" in both the House and Senate talking to empty chambers about nothing, literally nothing.
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© 2025, Timothy D. Naegele
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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6 and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams. He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com
[2] See https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ ("Accomplishments")
[3] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Government_Efficiency ("Department of Government Efficiency")
[4] See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14400245/Trump-makes-awkward-turn-firing-300-federal-workers.html ("Trump makes awkward U-turn after firing federal workers without realizing crucial defense role")
[5] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/justice-and-the-law-do-not-mix/ ("Justice And The Law Do Not Mix")
[6] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2023/09/19/americas-sodom-and-gomorrah/ ("America’s Sodom And Gomorrah"); see also https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14384945/chuck-schumer-anti-trump-whistleblower-line.html ("Social media goes wild after Chuck Schumer's new anti-Trump 'tip line' blows up in his face")
Schumer is smart, but evil and thoroughly partisan. The good of the country never crosses his mind.
When I left the Senate, I became an Independent; and I have never veered from that decision. I had seen enough of both the Democrats and Republicans to turn my stomach.
