The Foreign Service on Screen: Embajada Gringa

There are endless myths about how to acquire an American visa - what to say, what to bring, what not to admit etc. We FSOs try to take them in stride.

Freeze!

So there's a federal hiring freeze...AND a new directive to signifcantly ramp up our scrutiny of visa applicants.

Those two things will definitely work together.

Hypocritic Immunity

I realize I'm a bit late on this one, but it's still worth bringing up.

After years and years of shrieking about BENGHAZI BENGHAZI BENGHAZI and how Hilary Clinton LET OUR PEOPLE DIE, we get this gem of a bill from Ted Cruz and other Senate Republicans:

 A trio of GOP senators have introduced legislation that would cut security, construction, and maintenance funds for U.S. embassies around the world in half until the president moves the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Turns out our safety is nothing but a political bargaining chip for these people.

Oh yeah, and one of my colleagues was shot a few weeks ago (currently recovering well).

Shut Your Hatch

With a new administration coming in, us Foreign Service Officers are beset -from within and without - with questions about our opinions. How do we feel about Trump? Will we all quit en masse? What about the wall etc. etc.

Well, it turns out there's a thing called the Hatch Act. Passed in 1939, this is a law which restricts employees of the Executive Branch from engaging in certain political activities.

The origins of the Act are hardly noble - it grew out of opposition to the New Deal - but it certainly makes sense to try and prevent public officials from becoming instruments of partisanship.

In practice, of course, things are a little murkier.  Plenty of my colleagues maintain a social media presence and it doesn't take a crystal ball to divine their opinions.  But the question is - at what point do one's private opinions became a matter of public concern? I favor less control, not more. I'd rather people be allowed to voice their opinions, even if embarrasses the administration.