> One of my children described to me what our problem is in recruiting. She said, “Dad, the problem is you’re the man.” I thought that was a compliment, so I said, “Thank you, I really appreciate that.” She said, “Dad, I don’t mean that in a good way. I mean you’re the ‘Man.’ Who would want to work for the ‘Man’?” I think she’s right. But I said to her, “You know, if people saw what this ‘Man’ and ‘Woman’ of the FBI was like, and what we do, and the challenges we face, I think they’d want to come work for us.”
Given that even after his daughter explained the term to him, he still doesn't know that 'The' is part of the phrase, I'm not sure if The Director of the FBI knows what the phrase 'The Man' means...
Well shoot, you keep producing plausible explanations: so now he might be so narcissistic that he thinks the reason he can't find capable subordinates is because people are intimidated by his awesomeness.
Wow, that is a stretch and reads like an advocacy of Bible skip code or Nostradamus predictions. So the best case scenario is that he doesn't understand conversational context? Well I stand corrected: he is either a liar, suffers from a mental disorder, or isn't a native English speaker.
"This is an enormous challenge for us, as for everybody in the government who’s sitting here, because we do not have the dough. We cannot compete on dough."
How are we not funding competitive salaries in this field when it's absolutely crucial to the safety of the nation?
> How are we not funding competitive salaries in this field when it's absolutely crucial to the safety of the nation?
The same could be asked about soldiers, teachers, and many others. Funding doesn't correlate well at all with to importance to society.
Football coaches are the highest paid employees of very many universities in the U.S., more than Nobel prize winning scientists, world-changing artists and social scientists, and life-saving doctors. Bench-riding professional athletes usually make more than the general commanding all U.S. forces in the Mideast.
If you believe those "tech salary" HN threads, there are top engineers at top tech companies making $400K. That's how much the president of the US makes. Good luck.
Exactly. And then there is a long chain of dept. heads, managers and so on in there. There is no way they'll accept making less money than some developer, even if they happen to be very good.
Now if they wanted to be creative they could for example build more offices out in other parts of town, make them more accessible, more moderen, allow a lot more vacation time, say start at 6 weeks, allow sabaticals and so on. But I just don't see FBI going that route.
I don't like that I'm paying the salary of people that spy on me, I'd really not like it if they were paid more than me. The USG dedicates very few resources to actual IT defense, the vast majority of the funding goes to attacking and intentionally crippling our own infrastructure.
Since when are we worried about safety of the citizens? It is more cost efficient to worry about safety of the corporations. And it is a great way for corporations to externalize their security costs. What's not to love?
(sarcasm)
Because all the funds we earmark for public safety are gobbled up by lowlife middlefolk and their cronies, the snake oil salefolk. Look at our defense spend, and compare it with the pitiful recompense seen by the people we expose to risk.
It's important to note that this means handicapped people are no longer allowed desk jobs as analysts at the FBI. Missing a limb? You can't fight crime anymore!
That's not my primary concern, though, per se. My concern is that firing and disqualifying people who are otherwise talented MUST reduce clearance rates. It's can't NOT do that. If FBI employees looking fit is more important to Mr. Comey[1] than arresting murderers, I have absolutely no interest in his organization.
[1] “I want you to look like the squared-away object of that reverence,” Comey wrote in a memo to agents. “I want the American people to be able to take one glance at you and think, ‘THERE is a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.’” http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/fbi-fitness-test
The FBI fitness test: hire people who have a higher statistical possibility of being narcissistic. (Wikipedia: "Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one's own attributes.")
Respect my authority. Bow and be reverent when I question you. Be glad I don't beat you to a bloody pulp right here when nobody is looking.
This sounds like way too much, but the sibling comment is a bit too little. Saying fatsos don't get a badge and a get a shittier title IS a deliberate status punishment. Reminds me of strong negative opinions I have about high school, where push-up ability translates into pecking order position.
Comey's statement does seem at least slightly vainglorious. He certainly has a high opinion of how the FBI should be viewed (exceeding, for instance, 'professional' or 'public servant's), and believes it should be obvious who FBI agents are, which will annihilate their undercover operations. So he is sacrificing a lot in order to get big(ger), dumb(er, due to firing and not hiring good investigators) jocks.
But I don't think it is meant to engender obedience or fear in civilians. I think it is just a Bad Decision.
Given that even after his daughter explained the term to him, he still doesn't know that 'The' is part of the phrase, I'm not sure if The Director of the FBI knows what the phrase 'The Man' means...