re: What is the most hated federal agency to you guys?

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The State Dept. at least since WWII, has been running the country's foreign affairs & look at how messed up this country's been since then. It is comprised, to a very large degree, of Good Ol'Boys, Old Money Ivy League alums & nepotism has always run rampant in its halls. Its wokeism flies way below the radar but is very very deadly.

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I don't know about all that, but let me tell my passport application story:

I was invited to join a large family group in Paris and surroundings for a 12 day trip. All expenses paid, except for airfare. The trip was going to begin in ~8 weeks.

I didn't have a passport, but I quickly completed the application, paid the "expedited" processing fee (allegedly 3 weeks, I believe) and started waiting. After four weeks, I called and asked what the delay might be. I'm a US citizen, never arrested or any other trouble with the law, 45 years old (at the time) ... seemed like a formality to me. The guy on the phone says, "We need more information." I had already met or exceeded all the requirements listed on the application, so I asked "Like what? Could you be more specific?" He said, "Well, more educational records." I'd already sent copies of my high school, college, and graduate degree diplomas, and told him so. I was kind of puzzled and asked "How far back do I need to go?" His response was "As far back as you think we need."

What kind of bullshite is that? But I got my arse over to St Philip Neri and requested 40 year old academic records from K - 5. One of the secretaries made a crack about security clearances and FBI interviews, I told her I was just trying to get a passport. They were amused. I wasn't.

My "expidited" passport arrived three days before my scheduled departure date. frick the State Dept.