Resistance Survival Guide #329 The federal government has contracts. It has grants. It has cooperative agreements. Then it has Other Transaction Agreements, a category whose name sounds as though somebody forgot to finish the form. Other Transaction Agreements can help agencies develop prototypes, conduct research, work with companies that avoid traditional federal contracting, and move …
Resistance Survival Guide #328 Interagency programs sound impressively coordinated when officials announce them. Several departments will combine expertise, share resources, eliminate duplication, and deliver one seamless government response. There may even be a diagram featuring circles, arrows, and the word synergy behaving suspiciously. Then something fails. Suddenly, the lead agency was only coordinating. The funding …
Governments make international commitments through treaties, executive agreements, memoranda of understanding, joint declarations, security arrangements, diplomatic notes, side letters, and documents wearing titles so harmless they sound like office supply requests. Some create legally binding obligations. Others carry political or moral weight without creating legal obligations. Both can influence foreign policy, military cooperation, migration, trade, …
Congress approves money. The president signs the legislation. Officials announce that help is on the way. Then the money enters the federal budget system and develops the survival instincts of a frightened house cat. Months later, communities are still waiting. Grants have not opened. Contracts have not been awarded. Agencies refuse to explain the delay. …
Resistance Survival Guide #324 Government rules always sound wonderfully firm when officials announce them. Everyone must comply. Standards will be enforced. Exceptions will be rare. Accountability has arrived wearing a sensible blazer. Then someone finds the waiver process. Waivers and exemptions are not automatically corrupt. Governments need limited flexibility for emergencies, unusual circumstances, genuine hardship, …
Resistance Survival Guide #310 A law can remain on the books while its protections disappear in practice. An agency does not need to publicly repeal a regulation to weaken it. Officials can reduce investigations, change case closure rules, redirect staff, stop making referrals, lower penalties, or quietly classify complaints as matters that require no action. …
Resistance Survival Guide #303 Ethics complaints are not verdicts. They are signals. A single complaint may be weak, political, sloppy, or exaggerated. A pattern of complaints, missing disclosures, delayed investigations, repeat names, quiet settlements, and ignored warnings is where the smoke starts getting rude. This Resistance Survival Guide teaches you how to read ethics filings, …
Resistance Survival Guide #290 Most people focus on national politics while major decisions affecting daily life are often made much closer to home. Zoning changes, public contracts, law enforcement policies, development projects, campaign donors, and infrastructure decisions frequently emerge through local government processes long before they appear in headlines. Understanding how to monitor public records …