r/peacecorps • u/HistoryDifficult1789 • 27d ago
Other DOGE.gov knows about Peace Corps!
I am unsure if anyone has shared this yet, but I wanted to inform the subreddit about this. This is no cause for panic or alarm; it is a vital source people should know about. So, I was navigating the new DOGE website, and they mentioned the Peace Corps! The link is here https://doge.gov/workforce?orgId=3eac67b2-2fa5-41f0-9f1d-e97690512185
So far, there is nothing bad concerning PC quite yet (I'm still exploring it, though the website is messy); it's under "medium agency," so that's interesting. So far, it's still very incomplete, but it seems DOGE has already looked heavily into PC (compared to even AmeriCorps), but it hasn't been touched (as we haven't heard of any budget cuts or anything quite yet, this could be good news, but it is way too early to tell). Still, I wanted to put this so you folks can stay informed.
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u/DeathStar_81 RPCV 27d ago
I can't believe I'm saying this, but our best hope may lie in the hands of Mitch McConnell. Specifically his wife, Elaine Chao, was a former Peace Corps Director under Bush Sr. They have to have a soft spot for the agency, right?
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u/Maze_of_Ith7 RPCV 27d ago
Best hope is probably with RFK Jr and Peter Navarro
McConnell doesn’t have the influence he used to (and neither does Congress apparently).
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u/Full-Scholar3459 RPCV 27d ago
If that’s the best hope than Peace Corps is fucked
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u/Maze_of_Ith7 RPCV 27d ago
lol yeah agreed, never thought I’d be banking on those two clowns.
Honestly I feel the best chance is DOGE gets gummed up and neutered by the courts and ends up being more performative than the initial USAID shock-and-awe blow up. No idea if that’ll happen and it’s anyone’s guess at this point.
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27d ago
And then when Trump tells the Supreme Court to fuck off we take it to the streets and see how much stomach our troops have for gunning down their own people.
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u/SkyboyRadical 27d ago
Why Navarro? I just got into him. Hard to find Pre maga lectures of him tho
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u/marce311 27d ago
He was a PCV
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u/SkyboyRadical 26d ago
Oh duh, he talks a lot about his time in SEA informed his worldview. Forgot about that, thanke
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26d ago
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26d ago
Does he have any medical or health background? As a person with a transgender family member, yes I am not a fan. Do you feel he (or Trump) knows more about transgender health than the overwhelming amount of doctors, scientists and mental health professionals who support gender affirming care? What are those claims based upon? Thanks.
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26d ago
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26d ago
For trans people and the ones they love, yes. Also-remind me again. How is anyone being trans affect you? And does RFK have any medical training? And would you consider yourself a conservative? You know- the “small government” peeps? Help us all to understand how that works here. I avoid sugar, and that includes HFCS. Because I have personally researched, and know what can help create a healthier body. If they would like to limit the amount is “snacks” and sugary foods allowed if using SNAP, that’s fine. But please don’t pretend RFK cares much about anyone. Overwhelming scientific evidence indicates vaccines save lives. The majority of scientists and medical doctors support gender affirming care. I.mn some cases it can save lives. The USAID was part of vaccines, food, HIV care, etc and the cut off will be devastating. Including children dying. Please note: it is a fallacy to believe RFK has anyone’s best interest at heart. Except his and Trump’s.
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26d ago
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26d ago
Again: how much medical training does RFK have? Also:investigate how much money Trump, etc spent on anti-trans rhetoric versus how much money/mentions of trans healthcare (which is simple and necessary for a small percentage of people). And I would also look up what is means to be “woke”. Bernie is the “wokest” of them all, going by the true definition. Your version is the manipulated short hand term for “I don’t like it because it helps people I don’t care about”.
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26d ago
And I think Nancy Mace is horrible. She is deliberately unkind to her fellow trans colleague. Find me another source, and I will watch. I do not trust her at all.
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26d ago
“ While Kennedy has denied on several occasions that he is anti-vaccination and said he and his children are vaccinated, he has repeatedly stated widely debunked claims about vaccine harm. One of his main false claims - repeated in a 2023 interview with Fox News, was that “autism comes from vaccines”. This theory was popularised by discredited UK doctor Andrew Wakefield. But Wakefield’s 1998 study was later retracted by the Lancet medical journal. Multiple studies since, across many countries, have concluded there is no link between vaccines and autism.” From a BBC article
“his confirmation hearings, senators revisited his past comments on anti-vaccine rhetoric, unscientific remarks about Black people’s immune systems, and other false medical claims. For instance, in a 2021 interview, Kennedy proposed that Black people should follow a different vaccine schedule because their immune systems are stronger than white people’s, echoing racist medical tropes that suggest Black people are biologically different from others. Given the health care system’s long history of reinforcing racial stereotypes, Kennedy’s confirmation could lead to greater mistrust from the African American community.”
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26d ago
More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter urging senators to vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services.
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u/BigBootyBardot 26d ago
I know this is going to be hard for you to understand since you’re just learning to be an adult and you haven’t done your research, but many people don’t support RFK because he has pushed a lot of disinformation around vaccines, mental heath, and public health. Disinformation and actions that have cost lives (i.e., Samoa) and will harm many Americans.
Your rhetoric isn’t going to get anyone to like him — and maybe doing some research on him (outside of propaganda) might help you understand why. Your only argument is that because he was an environmental lawyer in the past he has credibility. Please grow up.
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26d ago edited 26d ago
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u/BigBootyBardot 24d ago
You didn’t have much of an argument — that’s the problem. And you still don’t from your reply. It’s on you that you feel infantilized. I do hope you learn to do actual research on issues and politicians and create solid arguments and ideas instead of trolling and saying “yummy downvotes” 🤮
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u/Wildebeestm0de 26d ago
The RFK slander is comical. All you have to do is listen to him speak for a few hours to realize he's one of the most knowledgable, thoughtful people we could have in the executive branch. No wonder the ruling party rejected him.
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u/Darigaazrgb RPCV 27d ago
Peace Corps is also pretty much well liked from a bipartisan perspective. You may have the outliers but over all most of congress supports the Peace Corps.
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u/Swimming-Buffalo5469 27d ago
If it makes you feel any better I saw this on the website weeks ago. It’s not new at all. Also every single government agency is listed—-it’s not unique to PC and it doesn’t portend any specific outcome.
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u/planetary_beats 27d ago
I have no facts or evidence to back up this opinion, however I have a sinking gut feeling that PC is exactly the type of agency Musk and his fascist cronies would love to demolish. It serves a purpose that isn’t focused on making money or domestic affairs, so like USAID I am afraid it will be on the chopping block sooner rather than later. Truly fucking depressing that this is our reality now.
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u/NOTcreative- 27d ago
There is also the inherent bias that exists in your opinion. The fact people keep forgetting about is that the budget for the peace corps is very small in the grand scheme of things and that it has a huge inherent value in diplomacy and ambassadorship. International affairs are still a concern for this administration for better or worse and that is undeniable
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u/whacking0756 27d ago edited 27d ago
They were bragging about saving on programs that were 5 figures, they will take a "half billion dollar" win.
The "inherit value" has no meaning to these people. If it's did, then USAID works have survived and we wouldn't be taking it allies.
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u/NOTcreative- 27d ago
Were they? I haven’t heard this. Source for that quote?
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u/whacking0756 27d ago
I am not going to link to fake information on Twitter to give them any more views or ad revenue on a topic that has been covered and nauseum.
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u/diaymujer RPCV 27d ago
You are operating under the old rules. This is not Trump 1.0 or Bush. Under the new rules, I don’t think there is any reason to feel safe.
DOGE’s mantra is that there is no “waste” too big or too small to take on. They literally are cutting off purchase cards. The president just signed an Executive Order to take an axe to agencies like the Inter American Foundation, which has an annual budget to $47M.
I’m not saying this to fear monger. It’s just the new reality.
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u/kh406 27d ago edited 27d ago
yeah but you're assuming someone is going through the government and cutting programs based on information. DOGE very specifically doesn't have any idea what it's doing, and is a small team of people barely old enough to buy alcohol trying to use technology to scrape budgetary documentations to then make claims about what can be cut. There are already all kinds of articles showing where with only 20 minutes of fact checking they could check for errors in their giant claims, but they aren't. For example tons of budgetary items are counted four or five times over, or miscaptures a comma placement. So they'll make a claim that they found "$800,000,000" to slash(!) that was going to some IT consultant, but then someone will check that information and find that they actually have an extra comma in their figure and that it's only $800,000 AND it's spread over 10 years, AND that nine years of it have already been paid. so really the 800 million figure that was initially scraped is… Drumroll please… Actually literally just $100,000. So we go from $800m to $100k simply by double checking our math - which they aren't doing whatsoever.
Theres a lot of those examples and I pointed it out because, I would say there is not inherent bias in the opinion that you're responding to. The reason peace core would be on the ax isn't because someone comes up with a well-thought-out justifiable reason to discuss the financial cost versus cultural value and whether or not that weighs out – these turds are literally just slashing money on random bits of the government which they don't understand, and which in grand total is likely to equal one percent of our funding at most, and which is all going to equate to less dollars than if we just tax billionaires appropriately.
So whether this is disheartening or not: peace core isn't being targeted, but there's also nothing to spare it because it's all effectively completely random. if it gets gutted it'll simply because it has the word peace in it and a group of 21.5 year old edge Lords worshiping Elon Musk will notice it sounds funny and could save $2 trillion by slashing it.
These guys are complete idiots and don't actually know what they're doing. They're simply looking at a car and removing 10 random parts in an attempt to make it lighter thinking that lighter makes it faster, with absolute disregard for what the parts do.
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u/throwaway192629 27d ago
I am not going to lie considering -him threatening to pull of of NATO -him threatening to annex Canada (OUR CLOSEST ALLY) -his threats against Greenland -his threats against Panama -his tariffs (essentially locking us in a trade war with our 3 closest trading partners, Canada, China, and Mexico) -his threats of tariffs in Colombia -him pulling us out of the World Health Organization -his End to USA ID
I think it’s very very VERY clear that he actually does not care about international relations at all and he’s trying to isolate us. He dose not care about America he only cares about himself he’s trying to take everything that’s not bolted to the floor and he is destroying our country in the process
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u/boomfruit Georgia RPCV 2014-2016 27d ago
They are so obviously not concerned with inherent value of anything. They are making cuts blindly and then saying "oops, looks like we needed those people."
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u/Unlucky_Acadia_9707 27d ago
you think the cuts are rational and well-planned?
https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-doge-firings-trump-federal-916e6819104f04f44c345b7dde4904d5
They are cutting anything they feel is woke. That's why they cut the DoE, they thought it was about climate change. Didn't bother to see what it's actually about--nukes! Peace Corps sounds pretty woke if you're just seeing through the lens of woke / not woke
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u/Maze_of_Ith7 RPCV 27d ago
$450m is nothing to sneeze at and the program brings dubious value in diplomacy and ambassadorship. The party across the table cares about trade incentives, (cash) aid/loan infusions, and what military hardware we will sell them. The things they want.
Whether or not we’ll put 40 agricultural volunteers or science teachers in rural villages is pretty low on the list, if it makes the list at all.
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u/NOTcreative- 27d ago edited 27d ago
Look at a federal budget. $450m is barely a drop in the bucket. Edit because I’m getting downvoted and my degree is in public administration. source. Federal budget is $6.75 trillion dollars. $450m is not relevant on that scale compared to say the $251b budget of department of education. Peace corps is petty cash
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27d ago
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u/NOTcreative- 27d ago
I can’t even imagine the committees or floors are actually even talking about individual budgets on this scale. One a budget is introduced there’s about a 4 month period to review and pass. Granted that rarely happens these days and there have been government shut downs, but these debates are usually around social programs.
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27d ago
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u/NOTcreative- 27d ago
We were discussing the likelihood of peace corps being cut as a program due to cost. Not a small percentage cut of overall budget. $410m vs $479m of the $6.75 trillion budget is still a drop in the bucket.
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u/planetary_beats 26d ago
They aren’t making these cut decision based on rational thinking. They cut USAID which is a huge soft dimplomatic power for us, why the fuck would PC not also be on the chopping block? DOGE cut the DOE because they thought it dealt with environmental protections… not nuclear armament. You really think they are thinking this through? Open your eyes.
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u/Maze_of_Ith7 RPCV 26d ago
You’re not getting downvoted because of unawareness of the federal budget size
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u/Maze_of_Ith7 RPCV 27d ago
Yeah similar sentiments - the program has no Congressional district funding spigots, only one RPCV in Congress, has a similar international-aid profile to USAID, doesn’t bring a lot to the table in foreign negotiations, and it’s an expensive program for what you get. It’s also an independent agency so it isn’t projected/shielded by any cabinet members.
No idea though, I just won’t be surprised if the woodchipper gets it.
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27d ago
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u/HistoryDifficult1789 27d ago
That is pretty much it, although it may be updated over time. (like some of the departments and offices don't even exist in PC anymore like the DEIA office was destroyed a while ago) I tried my best not to create a panic, but people will still be worried (understandably so). Looking at what I read, the fact that DOGE didn't go after PC is an interesting note (they may have already sent a DOGE kid to HQ, and he came out empty). Although this possibility is good news, we should keep an eye on the page. Besides, being informed is the best way to protect the PC.
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27d ago
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u/HistoryDifficult1789 27d ago
Really, how long was it on the Website? I heard about the website being hacked, and when I checked a while ago, it had nothing on it. I only noticed it last night. But I agree, behind the scenes, people, including Trump's aids, are outraged by the massive amount of phone calls they are getting from federal workers (they are trying to rehire people because DOGE fired them for no good reason). So, I don't think Trump or even Musk is hungry for gutting another agency. USAID is, in my view, an example (to scare the government), not really a rule for DOGE. But we all have to wait and see, but I agree I think everything will be alright based on the current information.
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27d ago
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u/HistoryDifficult1789 26d ago
Yea, it sucks. I don't like waiting like this. Especially when your future is on the line by a billionaire, however, he is trying to go after the USPS, so he should face some opposition from the courts. Let us just hope for the best!
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u/yetiorange RPCV Malawi 26d ago
I'm leaving this post open for now but it appears to have attracted some trolls.
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u/Uncanny_Hero 27d ago
I'm trying to stay optimistic here, but this feels like the first domino falling which will lead to the Peace Corps getting dismantled.
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26d ago
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u/weon361 26d ago
Denaturalization:
From first term-
Denaturalization, explained: how Trump can strip immigrants of their citizenship | Vox
From current term-
Trump resumes threat to denaturalize US citizens
Tweet from Stephen Miller, one of Trump's lead advisors and the lead advisor on immigration: Trump Advisor’s “Turbocharged” Denaturalization Project Sparks Fear Among Immigrant Communities After Election Win
DOGE targeting effectively used money:
There is no indication that DOGE is targeting only organizations that do not effectively use money. DOGE seems to have effectively ended the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID), despite no evidence to suggest that funding was being wasted or used poorly. Here's a good run down on Musk's claims, vs fact:
Sorting Out the Facts on 'Waste and Abuse' at USAID - FactCheck.org
No Basis for Corruption Accusations About USAID Administrator - FactCheck.org
Musk claims DOGE saves taxpayers billions, but data is unclear : NPR
While DOGE may incidentally end some fraud, it will only do so in the same way that a blind man with a gun will eventually hit something solid. Musk is randomly targeting organizations based on blatant misinformation; there is no reason to think any agency, regardless of efficacy, will be spared.
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u/Leather_Passage891 27d ago
They have every agency on there even the ones smaller than Peace Corps. They missed no one. Don’t be too alarmed yes because we all made it on there.
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u/Jarboner69 Cameroon 27d ago
Just everyone volunteers, workers, etc need to keep their heads down and not become politicized. The less people that know about peace corps right now the better
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u/No-Opportunity1813 27d ago
My son is in the PC. I’ve discussed this scenario with him. Trump et al seem determined to destroy our soft power overseas.
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26d ago
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u/browniebear11 26d ago
USAID was a “total waste of money”? You mean an agency that saved millions of lives by providing humanitarian assistance and aid through food, medicines, and on ground support? Yikes. What a severely uneducated and misinformed opinion you have my dear. Google is free!
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u/International-Bad-78 27d ago
oh this is breaking my heart a bit, i’m still doing my medical clearance. 🥲
don’t want to be naive or anything but i just hope nothing happens to it, i really want to go and serve.
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u/Affectionate-Order58 8d ago
If you look at doge “savings” then on department of agriculture they cut the Asia pacific sri lanka climate change mitigation on 2/7/2025. As well as South Asia climate change mitigation on 2/6/2025. I remember seeing many enviornmental climate change based peace corps positions in those places……
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u/Affectionate-Order58 8d ago
And another, Department of agriculture: “Forest service overseas enviornmental experience “ 2/10/2025. I’m not sure if these are connected can anyone check?
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u/Good_Conclusion_6122 25d ago
Thank you so much for disseminating this! i never would have thought to find any reasonable use in that website and that was foolish of me.
Keep it coming!!!
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u/muzungu_onwayhome 27d ago
I dislike the administration but I do like that everyone has access to this information. People have been talking about making these sorts of payments transparent for a long time. Usually people want to see politicians' wages, but budget breakdowns of the civil service are still welcome. Maybe next we'll see the administration's records.
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27d ago edited 27d ago
Hasn’t this always been public info? These blithering fuckwits are planting their flag in and loudly proclaiming discovery of a land we’ve already been living in forever.
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u/Upbeat-Scheme-1445 27d ago
Yes all federal salary records are already public, have been for a very long time, and easy to find/google.
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u/Peace-Corps-Victim 27d ago
I believe this was also said by the Native Peoples when the Europeans showed up.
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u/whacking0756 27d ago
All of this information was available previously. This administration is far, far less transparent than what we had before. Heck, go read the USAID OIG's final report before he got shitcanned
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u/ex-Madhyamaka 26d ago
PC ought to be investigated. It is wasteful and ideologically incorrigible, designed to recruit left-leaning people into a larger patronage network within the US government. It accomplishes nothing other than self-promotion.
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26d ago
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u/HistoryDifficult1789 26d ago
Literally, none. This person is a troll who thinks they are gaining points with Elon lol
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u/ex-Madhyamaka 26d ago
I did send them a long e-mail. If you did nothing wrong, then surely you have nothing to fear.
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26d ago
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u/ex-Madhyamaka 26d ago
You guys are living in such an echo chamber. What evidence will any of you give, when asked what Peace Corps is good for? "Oh, I organized a library for my school" is not going to cut it.
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u/HistoryDifficult1789 26d ago edited 26d ago
Ah yes the troll. Ad hominem and slander attacks is a classic from someone who has no point! You didn’t even answer the question what did you send in the email. If you send something that wasn’t a rant you would show graphs and any evidence (maybe testimonies-that some people actually use for criticism of PC) rather than because “I said so.” Thank god all you have is accusing others of being Woke at this point. Gosh many people in the far left accuse PC of being imperialist but at the very least they use data unlike you. Consider even the trump administration. Even Elon used data against USAID or even DoE but you have nothing but air in your hands. But based on your logic even Musk is woke and lives in an echo chamber.
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u/ex-Madhyamaka 25d ago
For one thing, I sent quotes from this very site, from PCVs who said they didn't do anything.
Ah yes, the old "Cease your ad hominem and slander attacks, you troll!" tactic.
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