Asymmetrical Information

No more comments on US policy? So this fine
blog must be renamed, not to AI, but to the
All-Atkins-All-The-Time blog.

I'll miss stories about the Fed, SEC, Iraq,
drugs, &c.

I'm with you on the deleting old posts. You never know how something written in the heat of the blog could be used against you in the future.

My background check was on my mind when I stopped blogging. I sure miss it.

Congratulations!
Do you know yet where you will be posted?

Congrats on the Foreign Service!

By the way, when you say "patronize" I'm assuming you mean that you hope you can rely on our continued patronage and not that you want us to continue to treat you in a condescending manner.

I'm having a hard time figuring out whether "AsymmetricAL Information" is proper grammer vs. "Asymmetric Information"

Jane,
Very disappointed, given that I don't respect the striped pants briaged, and you most definitely have you head screwed on straight. But congrats on getting a job. Hopefully you'll manage to work for someone like Richard Perle (ah the prince of darkness!)

And ya.. so what the hell are you going to talk about, given that this was almost entirely a policy/economy blog...

I can still comment on the economy, financial issues, etc. . . just not US national policies. It's a fine line, but I think you'll find that 95% of the quality Jane Galt content you've come to expect is still there.

WOW. Congratulations... hope you get your pick of postings. Lets hope wherever they send you, there's an internet connection somewhere..

BTW, when you say "US policy", you really mean US "foreign" policy right?

w00t! =)

Congratulations on getting past the orals.

Next time I'm in Monrovia, I'll drop by the embassy to say hi. ;-)

ps -- love the new look.

"The use of force between nations is war,
the threat to use force is diplomacy."

_Long Shot for Rosinante_ -- Alexis A. Gilliland

Can you tell us what position you're going for?

I'd sure like to see free-marketers like you running the economic policy of our occupation forces in Iraq. Make it just like Hong Kong, only bigger!

Oops. Unless things have changed, you will refrain from commenting on US policy, foreign and domestic, other than in a favorable light. If you think US labor policy stinks, you ain't allowed to say so. If you think US military policy stinks, you ain't allowed to say so (as a couple of posts here suggest, that is foreign policy). If you think trade policy, judicial appointments, the budget ... you name it ... stinks, you ain't 'pose to say so. Every one of those issues is something that you may need to "represent" to your foreign counterparts. It is ok to say a judicial decision is stupid, 'cause you boss (you serve the president, though not at the pleasure of the president) doesn't make judicial decisions, just appointments. Even then, part of you job is the represent the US, warts and all, in a favorable light. That means you have some decisions to make as regards your little hobby here. There is also a requirement, not always enforced, that all your published writings be reviewed by the Department before pubication. Since this web log stuff is available to the public, I don't think there is any need to quibble about whether it qualifies as "publishing".

The odds that your writings represent a hazard to your security clearance are slight. Having opinions is not a security risk.

By the way, I have had a house mate and an employee who both gleefully announced they had been accepted into the Foreign Service, but their description of the process of selection and assignment they went through didn't sound quite right. OK, turns out they were actually working for a close cousin of State. Dearie, are you sure it was the State Department you applied to? If not, get your story straight.

It's a great way of life. Enjoy it.

K

Well, I took the foreign service exam, passed the oral, and was told I'd been accepted into the Foreign Service, so if I'm not, I'll be very much surprised.

Congratulations!

I am pleased to hear that you will be entering the Foreign Service. I'm sure you will make a superb representative for our country. It is good to know our government can spot a good mind when they see one.

So you finally ran out of benefits. Hooray for welfare reform. Now you should be recognizing the need to get married to secure that 2d income check.

Good Fortune!!

Congratulations, and good luck in all endeavors. Now, as you hop-scotch the planet on your Air Force G-V, issuing memos that cause Kings and Nations to quake, remember we small folk you had occasion to exchange ideas with!

Not to belabor the point, but those of us who are not really good a compartmentalizing find it tough to seperate what we learn in confidence from what we learn from open sources. It's not that writing extensively about policy issues without mistakenly refering to something you learned in a confidential communication is impossible. It would just take a lot of mental effort, a slower approach to saying what is on your mind. Lots of folks with access to classified information find a bit of inscrutability and a Cheshire-catlike grin the best approach to the problem. You will also want to discuss the idea of running a web log with your boss and with your security officer. Imagine a conscientious security officer finding out that you are running a publishing shop on the side from anybody but you. Ow.

The good news is, you will have enormous opportunities to write, for pay and promotion, without ever writing to your ethereal friends again.

Did you get picked off the econ list? Is there still an econ list? Or even more impressively, will you be a mighty political officer?

Ah, it lost my post.

Just wanted you to remember to check under any possible previous addresses for stuff that the Internet Wayback Machine might have picked up (though nothing shows up at janegalt.net, if that's all you've ever used).

And congrats.

And, by the way, a nice little money thing right now would be: for you and the readers, what would be your top choice of investments for rolling over a $2000-or-so state pension into an IRA? Of course, any suggestions would be given without warranty, past performance no indicator, if-you-lose-it-all-don't-blame-me. (Yes, I'm a greedy, free-advice-grubbing scumbag, but I'm hoping that the implied compliment to your wisdom will be sufficient to overcome that.)

Congratulations! I wish you the best!

Congratulations, Megan, on passing what I've always understood to be one of the toughest entrance examinations in the world.Since you're undoubtedly crammed full of knowledge at the moment, can you tell me who defined diplomacy as the art of saying:"Nice doggie, nice doggie" while you hunt for a big stick? I've forgotten the author. Best wishes and let us know where you wind up. Mike Brennan

Sounds like either Will Rogers or Mark Twain....

Nice new look and congrats on the job.

Nitpicks:

I can not resize the window for comments. I've seen this on other sites that, I assume, must use movable type. This is a minor but continual annoyance as I must read and comment in an itty-bitty window on my huge monitor.

Bug: I can't scroll past the right-hand column even though the text of your postings apparently continues down past it. That may be a bug in my browser (IE 5.x on NT 4.0), but who knows?

Anyway, I'll continue to enjoy your site and hopefully your new job won't too strongly affect your ability to comment freely.

Bolie IV

Bolie, someone on another blog suggested hitting F11 twice and you should be able to scroll down.

Huh... the F11 thing worked for both, though it'd be nice not to have to. It's a good workaround. I'm typing this in a comments window that takes up half my screen. :)

Bolie IV

Have fun in Khazakstan, Haiti, New Guinea, Liberia, or wherever you wind up!

Nice new look, and good luck with the new job. But...I will miss the girls.

That was a shock. For a minute I thought some hacker had redirected the address or something.

Congratulations, Megan. If you can convince people that lots of Americans are like you, we may just see that little anti-Americanism problem dry up. I'll certainly be glad to know you're representing us.

As for the new look...I guess we all grow up and move on and have to throw out some of the decor that used to adorn our walls. But I'm *really* going to miss your smiling typist and navy wannabe posters. They had become a familiar (dare I say cherished) sight, and I feel like somebody broke in and rearranged my room while I was away.

Keep em flying, Miss U.S.A.!

Congratulations and good luck. Watch out for the Ambassador Pouncetrifles and the First Secretary Magnans.

Bolie: Try Mozilla or (especially) Phoenix. It's a better blogreading experience.

I love the new look--no slow-loading illos and
the type is large.

Congrats on the new job, and I hope you'll be continuing to blog.

Congratulations. It would be a disappointment, though if you cannot comment on economic policy, particularly IMF policy as we watch what happens in Brazil.

Congratulations, Megan. Please try to keep up the Econ postings at least - I'm still waiting to find out how I can get any return on this fur-bearing trout farm...

Wow! Good for you. :) Best of luck in the new career ... and the new design looks terrific.

DevilBunny,

Alas, I can't install browsers on my computer at work, where I do most of my browsing (at home, I take care of a 2 year old and sleep). The F11 thing works (and for other sites using Moveable Type - I just wish they'd fix the pop-up).

Bolie IV

Jane,
Could you consider increasing the type size and/or make the type darker in color?

Your new blog is harder to read and this becomes a barrier between the reader and the quality of the information therein. Take it under consideration. Thanks.

You Go, Girl, go to it!
Unless Foggy Bottom has changed, your vast knowledge of economics will have you in charge of distressed tourists who have lost their wallets and Passports someplace just this side of Lower Slobovia.
I hope your Dad has made certain that there is a big red "PI" stamped on your file and that he isn't shy about calling in markers for you.
Your inate abilities will push you to the top under any circumstances but there is no reason for you to spend two or three tours somewhere proving you can be allowed out in polite company when you have been there and done that.
"Bon Voyage!"

Congrats on the new position. I hope things happen for you quickly, these type of things have a tendency to drag out.
Another movable type blog, sheesh , I better change soon or I will be the only one left in blogger.

I don't know, since it will be difficult to confirm that you are an avowed Marxist/Idiotarian, I'm not sure you can pass the background check. However, if you can sneek under the radar and make it, I welcome the injection of some common sense into the striped-pants brigade. Maybe you can even persuade them to form an "American Desk." Good luck in your endeavors!

Congratulations, Jane!

Hang a big sign that says "A is A" over your desk, just to confuse them.

Please Keep Us Posted on your assignments, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about the background check. Back around 1975, John Kenneth Galbraith wrote an article for Esquire about the many security clearance investigations he'd undergone over the years (the Freedom of Information Act had just passed, and he'd obtained his FBI file. He noted that his friends had a truly amazing ability to figure out what would get him cleared, and provide the appropriate answers. The fact that he he invariably ended up sounding like a conservative amused him mightily.

w00t! you go poke with stick and make nice! was it Krauthammer who said that war is an extention of diplomacy by other means, or someone else saying the opposite? I'm a bad, bad ex-polisci major... I'll just stick to cussing people out in Urdu and Arabic, shall I?

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