2026-07-23T23:12:28Z https://njump.me John Skiles Skinner https://njump.me/npub1g0xfxg6lldnhd5gkv2f689hrp9l8409d7l53dg7tm2ncdn8n8xgs9d2jju https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/accounts/avatars/000/000/002/original/655701dbdcccccef.jpg https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/accounts/avatars/000/000/002/original/655701dbdcccccef.jpg https://njump.me/nevent1qqstafhum229cs7tsezul6qzvct3yz8mxulld7hxgx53p7ezwnuc7yczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez7t2gvk In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8yer663vt9zvu8usvu9n9aqa3plv3ujamqrn3rsvtwlanyqpc9wgn0g7e0'>nevent1q…g7e0</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>To target a &#34;criminal or immigration nexus&#34; the software pulls Americans&#39; personal data from across the government, including data from Health and Human Services and other agencies unrelated to law enforcement.<br/><br/>How did ICE and Palantir get all this data together? 2026-01-31T03:11:50Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdddtqpchzkj20c0rxfrh32ypdx4kywkjyhn6q9ey4rr2rrwawqpczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezzwry0d The &#34;DOGE is gone&#34; articles are clickbait but this one gets it closer to the truth: DOGE is not gone, it just claims to have &#34;no centralized leadership&#34; anymore — in other words, its leadership is hiding in an attempt to avoid blame.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/11/doge-no-longer-has-centralized-leadership-under-white-house-tech-team-personnel-head-says/409765/">https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/11/doge-no-longer-has-centralized-leadership-under-white-house-tech-team-personnel-head-says/409765/</a> 2025-11-25T04:03:34Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsxsejzpev4wew9z0zkaqwypldkam5ue8r4kg3yasp59v93qf9mcvczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez0fhgus In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspcmzf8yq4naaqx4h8gmpgszqt9r8vv7j02acc0ea3uqqs5w2jeccr3h3kj'>nevent1q…h3kj</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I&#39;ll save you my soapbox about how Wikipedia&#39;s bureaucracy is superior to any real-world government and we should seriously think about implementing it at the national level. Suffice it to say, Wikipedia is my fave thing online and I hope I&#39;ll still be editing about 19th century roller skaters in 20 more years. 2025-11-08T06:09:24Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqspcmzf8yq4naaqx4h8gmpgszqt9r8vv7j02acc0ea3uqqs5w2jecczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezmz8crf In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqstznupjwnpkashpzs6vv9q0tjjgarqffjl8sqq6z928mu8r8fcscc4au858'>nevent1q…u858</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I believe &#34;Grokipedia&#34; is doomed.<br/><br/>Every Wikipedia article is shaped by the 3 core content policies:<br/>1. Neutral point of view<br/>2. No original research<br/>3. Verifiability (my favorite)<br/><br/>Without policy to anchor the text, there&#39;s really no basis to reject any assertion, so no one can meaningfully edit. Grokipedia lacks this and so will fail for the same reason Conservapedia before it failed. 2025-11-08T06:08:01Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqstznupjwnpkashpzs6vv9q0tjjgarqffjl8sqq6z928mu8r8fcscczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez76xwj5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyxxg8vx0rvvvrw55e0c0eh5wdzjlm2xlc5aj2cksyr69psntqn5qx38f9j'>nevent1q…8f9j</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>For years I&#39;ve been fighting neo-Confederates who REALLY DO NOT want the term &#34;white supremacist&#34; to appear in the biography of the 1874 governor of Texas. <br/><br/>The trouble for them is: reliable sources say that Richard Coke *was* a white supremacist. The policy on Wikipedia is: reliable sources win!<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Coke">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Coke</a> 2025-11-08T06:05:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyxxg8vx0rvvvrw55e0c0eh5wdzjlm2xlc5aj2cksyr69psntqn5qzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez7fslh5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsfmkrltk7wykgf6lpzfwqz8nmp6jak86xde288yl6ee8m7ft5unhchykchp'>nevent1q…kchp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The mechanism here is similar to the now-famous durability of one particular photo of a human penis. Once a good-enough image is in place, there&#39;s no longer a good justification to replace it. So it stays.<br/><br/>Consensus is Wikipedia&#39;s system of decision-making, and it is fundamentally stable.<br/><br/><a href="https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/wikipedia-penis">https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/wikipedia-penis</a> 2025-11-08T06:04:56Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsfmkrltk7wykgf6lpzfwqz8nmp6jak86xde288yl6ee8m7ft5unhczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezuqhr42 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswqjuuk7cksznapxcussnxdae0xa7dtwuwvc2l6umemarege23u5q7jqtvn'>nevent1q…qtvn</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I love how slow Wikipedia moves during controversy. For YEARS after the &#34;GamerGate&#34; harassment campaign, editors refused to give up the URL of the *original* meaning of the word: A gamergate is a kind of ant.<br/><br/>Without a consensus to the contrary, the ants keep it.<br/><br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170916140417/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate">https://web.archive.org/web/20170916140417/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate</a> 2025-11-08T06:03:32Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqswqjuuk7cksznapxcussnxdae0xa7dtwuwvc2l6umemarege23u5qzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezh5c0tv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr7uepjntg2nma03tyl0tnqg0pjfgm2sthkar43z4zp6tjc9staeg9d2ndy'>nevent1q…2ndy</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>To write about the largest mass mailing in American history, &#34;Understanding AIDS&#34; in 1988, I visited an original copy in the Cornell Human Sexuality rare manuscript collection.<br/><br/>The brochure uses good science, kindness, and frank talk about sexuality — shockingly created by an Evangelical Christian.<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_AIDS">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_AIDS</a> 2025-11-08T06:02:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsr7uepjntg2nma03tyl0tnqg0pjfgm2sthkar43z4zp6tjc9staegzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez493qch In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0cthara9pdjm5ullluh6ncvp2qr3zsnerf43nlhxzdkml72zrt6cjdn34z'>nevent1q…n34z</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I wrote up the first meteorite impact recorded with audio and video. &#34;A near-death experience&#34; for the homeowner who went out for a walk and narrowly missed the meteorite hitting the front sidewalk. The impact was captured on their front door security camera moments later.<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottetown_meteorite">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottetown_meteorite</a> 2025-11-08T06:01:58Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs0cthara9pdjm5ullluh6ncvp2qr3zsnerf43nlhxzdkml72zrt6czyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez996ykh In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9k0ztxnlj3szydz6rss6mu58v579rzu9e597l0k35x45r6y7dvrg4zlqlj'>nevent1q…lqlj</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Then there&#39;s the inspiring, embarrassing, inimitable Paul Swan. &#34;The most beautiful man in the world&#34; and maybe the queerest one. An unintentional inventor of Camp.<br/><br/>I had a lot of fun writing Swan&#39;s bio, even visiting a sculpture of his to snap a picture.<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Swan_(dancer)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Swan_(dancer)</a> 2025-11-08T06:00:59Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9k0ztxnlj3szydz6rss6mu58v579rzu9e597l0k35x45r6y7dvrgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez3u8m55 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrkc036fe2ypg6zcuv5r40vnyx3helqh62chlgh732as90rlvk42qr09m4q'>nevent1q…9m4q</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Remember the last innocent, joyful thing that happened on Twitter before Twitter became irredeemable? To me, it was the time the Library of Congress hooked Lizzo up with James Madison&#39;s crystal flute.<br/><br/>I co-wrote this article about the instrument and fought a battle about the definition of twerking.<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_flute">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_flute</a> 2025-11-08T06:00:12Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrkc036fe2ypg6zcuv5r40vnyx3helqh62chlgh732as90rlvk42qzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezx3jyv4 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsy6gagswvccjwnfz5khqkp6p46xjjzd6a9x8y4dhjkzzkf5s5zvtgldlreg'>nevent1q…lreg</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>His whole life is incredible, but what stays with me most is his retirement. A friend once told me this paragraph epitomizes a happy human life, well-lived.<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/512/543/980/860/554/original/b9fd207f41b3c660.png"> <br/> 2025-11-08T05:59:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsy6gagswvccjwnfz5khqkp6p46xjjzd6a9x8y4dhjkzzkf5s5zvtgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezwkr48q In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsp0jm2prrauqg2kqlv6gcekdy3qt2sccwqc5sc266kjvxu9y8u8ds0th5wr'>nevent1q…h5wr</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Of the more than 60 articles I&#39;ve written, this is probably my favorite one: the biography of Bright Star, aka Fred Murree, a Pawnee professional roller skater known in the 19th century as &#34;the fastest man on wheels&#34;<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Murree">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Murree</a> 2025-11-08T05:58:25Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsp0jm2prrauqg2kqlv6gcekdy3qt2sccwqc5sc266kjvxu9y8u8dszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez87c0qd As of today I have been a Wikipedia editor for 20 years<br/><br/>🧵of my favorite things I&#39;ve seen and done in my two decades on the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit 2025-11-08T05:57:38Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs8f9v2j42xl860f9yy8w9vkemtz65nmntq97w5rsa578km2wt593gzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezeurkxq Is there a database of Trump administration crimes / allegations of crimes? Violations of administrative law like the Antideficiency Act, Hatch Act, and Privacy Act are pretty hard for most people to remember. Seems like we should be cataloging them somewhere. 2025-10-17T02:47:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszy33hte5cp0akhexgkfrj4c3pw7aqznxxtj8yu98vmpt2x0cqueczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez2faqj9 &#34;six of her 13 children have died. Usman, 40, told CNN her most recent loss was in March, just days after a US-funded nutrition program that had provided therapeutic food packets to her malnourished twins was abruptly halted&#34;<br/><br/><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/21/africa/nigeria-malnutrition-crisis-usaid-intl">https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/21/africa/nigeria-malnutrition-crisis-usaid-intl</a><br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/244/015/891/375/990/original/4228f3b51ae04bdc.jpg"> <br/> 2025-09-21T19:49:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrgg74m8fn40y7j6zr80qpcfsc93s2flu0khuyzft5pyvvf7vs7fczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezp4x32z In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspqn97z6lzg3t3u7kj0ck35mszwh9jaesdst7m4sv6swulk5ta2hqq3cqzq'>nevent1q…cqzq</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Broken link, fyi 2025-08-28T18:15:11Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsqyhr4wghzekc8zdm862ekzhsdnkglsrnlflm23r3pvxmk8hkj3ggzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezdp9ft6 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsye6q78tahdhv7ny2jegsdetxpr9a6vsjc4axcqt79qd7wqhvzcvcapwpkq'>nevent1q…wpkq</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Finally, note: DOGE and the Trump administration are so opposed to remote work that they rushed CDC employees back to the office without active shooter training.<br/><br/>Other security measures failed because of staffing shortages. The shooter killed himself because no one else managed to. 2025-08-17T04:08:00Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsye6q78tahdhv7ny2jegsdetxpr9a6vsjc4axcqt79qd7wqhvzcvczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezc9gr00 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9p822d0ytyufz6fkwrmsk863r29genrgaze97fr6yp4v2ut7caxc6jn427'>nevent1q…n427</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Follow-up:<br/><br/>The CDC boss has attempted to improve communication about this. There have been some comms hiccups but considering her boss is RFK Jr., I find her openness and honesty brave.<br/><br/><a href="https://archive.is/2025.08.12-214833/https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/12/cdc-all-hands-meeting-wake-of-gunman-attack/">https://archive.is/2025.08.12-214833/https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/12/cdc-all-hands-meeting-wake-of-gunman-attack/</a> 2025-08-17T04:07:31Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9p822d0ytyufz6fkwrmsk863r29genrgaze97fr6yp4v2ut7caxczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezj30guy In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsy2mfj9kc3azvdgmrv7r7943ccmyqgvm95an5rdv0w323fn720tps9vvv6x'>nevent1q…vv6x</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>This meme expresses the hopelessness that government workers feel. We are enemies of the people, according to our own bosses. Violence against us is tacitly (or explicitly) sanctioned.<br/><br/>Black-majority places, and public health workers, in particular.<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/688/081/920/904/original/fc80d1d4075f5ecc.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-08-17T02:14:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsy2mfj9kc3azvdgmrv7r7943ccmyqgvm95an5rdv0w323fn720tpszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezn7sh8h In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsplaxw6d0kqq9c4kkpp8kcwa49kxnuxdn707vxtez6tny9kvluyzc8zztc2'>nevent1q…ztc2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>You know why CDC has blast-proof windows? A response to the Oklahoma city bombing, in 1995. That&#39;s how long the American right wing has been mass-killing federal workers.<br/><br/>The bombing followed the Gingrich Revolution of 1994, when hatred of government workers rushed into the political mainstream. 2025-08-17T02:13:47Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsplaxw6d0kqq9c4kkpp8kcwa49kxnuxdn707vxtez6tny9kvluyzczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezdcf7p9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsd8adl4k6ngrl4gg6d3855yk8gj38gm6ukheet4jqyj50sdwv342ql4t8xw'>nevent1q…t8xw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>CDC leadership also hasn’t been very communicative. To be fair to them, their staff who would would have dealt with this situation were mostly fired by DOGE.<br/><br/>So my fellow civil servants at the CDC feel abandoned. They are hated with a murderous rage and no one cares. 2025-08-17T02:13:21Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsd8adl4k6ngrl4gg6d3855yk8gj38gm6ukheet4jqyj50sdwv342qzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezr37u3j In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0xjls202umejelr2udy0xajeg53npjsxghl4zv8s5aak28sdy0mgcrcln7'>nevent1q…cln7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Trump has made no comment. The White House has found the time to post a video of the arrest of that guy who threw a sandwich at a cop, but nothing about a cop killed defending the government&#39;s own employees.<br/><br/>Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose district includes parts of Atlanta, has also said nothing. 2025-08-17T02:13:03Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs0xjls202umejelr2udy0xajeg53npjsxghl4zv8s5aak28sdy0mgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez27f6gf In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqzzx2md6qhv5lakkgl69cxsw66peswl0yjpm8vndsl0u9ycd5veczjasa6'>nevent1q…asa6</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>But a white guy with a COVID conspiracy manifesto isn&#39;t news at this point. After all, that’s who runs the government now!<br/><br/>The CDC is a part of Health &amp; Human Services, headed by RFK Jr., whose conspiracy-addled ideology is indistinguishable from the motivations of this terrorist.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/15/cdc-shooting-january-6th-for-public-health/">https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/15/cdc-shooting-january-6th-for-public-health/</a> 2025-08-17T02:12:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsqzzx2md6qhv5lakkgl69cxsw66peswl0yjpm8vndsl0u9ycd5veczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vueztzvmlw In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9sj4c3dt659zp77ku6cgk6e590k5yjjgq6ev69v22zmydv9jd9nqh5txrz'>nevent1q…txrz</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Miraculously, he didn’t hit a single CDC employee! But he did kill David Rose, the police officer who responded, who leaves behind two children and a pregnant wife.<br/><br/>I can&#39;t help but imagine the vast attention this case would have received if the race of the shooter and the victim were reversed.<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/679/452/806/670/original/04b67a645403c30e.jpg"> <br/> 2025-08-17T02:12:02Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9sj4c3dt659zp77ku6cgk6e590k5yjjgq6ev69v22zmydv9jd9nqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez36x42z In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsg8xjruv2xc5hfe640ut8mnnvla23s85k76v8a7exm8f36s6ha44g52m0wk'>nevent1q…m0wk</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>First the terrorist tried to enter campus in a car filled with guns. When he wasn&#39;t allowed past the gates, he started firing from a CVS drugstore across the street. From a semi-automatic weapon, 500 shots is a lot. He was at it for a long time.<br/><br/>Here are the weapons &amp; shell casings he left behind.<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/674/016/870/194/original/b84cbb5ebdc0f82e.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/674/032/484/132/original/759b195c1922c277.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/674/014/521/556/original/3a3de7df742db618.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-08-17T02:11:32Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsg8xjruv2xc5hfe640ut8mnnvla23s85k76v8a7exm8f36s6ha44gzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezk923j8 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvp3npgr3gl8a3lwt2wp7dgxjmtdd7u98m352kafhws2pp7ukdfmgrxrmde'>nevent1q…rmde</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Here is video taken by an employee, caught outdoors when the shooting started, crouching behind a stone retaining wall<br/><br/>Content warning: gun shots, obviously<br/><video controls width="100%" class="max-h-[90vh] bg-neutral-300 dark:bg-zinc-700"><source src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/115/041/669/811/703/915/original/f08666e694078ef8.mp4"></video><br/> 2025-08-17T02:09:48Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvp3npgr3gl8a3lwt2wp7dgxjmtdd7u98m352kafhws2pp7ukdfmgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezhqn2tl A terrorist targeted federal workers last week. There wasn’t much reporting on it. But I’m not finished thinking about it! 🧵<br/><br/>An anti-vaxxer fired more than 500 gunshots into CDC Atlanta, shattering 150 &#34;blast-proof&#34; windows on 6 buildings. Employees were pinned down in terror. 2025-08-17T02:09:11Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvvrshaf60tyuv60ydrerdfpqrcz6w4he8l4rlnq8mlxpvef09nlczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezgyjagg Most types of business exhibit linear growth. But VC will only fund exponential growth.<br/><br/>The result: companies that would create a lot of jobs and actually maintain their products never get funded and never start. If you must hire more to make more product, that&#39;s unacceptable linear growth.<br/><br/>We live in an exhausting VC hype machine because it&#39;s more profitable to repeatedly hype up and cash out of short-term exponential growth spurts than to build something real.<br/><br/>Paragraphs by [@Mer__edith](<a href="https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith">https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith</a> )<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/949/351/501/624/697/original/f6f904ecc7c221dd.jpg"> <br/> 2025-07-31T18:53:59Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqspu5q5up6ddltadhh9sgcxyrf70jxratrw6txmaskhjkaag0xesngzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vueze39qnc In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqweuw6yuj5gfgnglcjf4nz56495hrthwkur39w9v2lnqwphcq8qqy5dq2c'>nevent1q…dq2c</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>This is familiar. I get harassed so much for the perception that I am gay that it prompted me to start to identify myself as genderqueer. Like the harassers must be picking up on *something* right? And perhaps I should give that thing a name? But maybe the thing is just general strangeness. 2025-06-25T01:46:40Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs230etqh6ytt9k3umv2e3tvnrx0ucw8sgwa9pxcresn3nwllavffszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez8xutcd In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrc89jtf69eusqt7jsghewpwhxxcs5l86zyvnsjwsm8u8xaw0j4wg4ukpdl'>nevent1q…kpdl</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Today a federal judge recognized that DOGE&#39;s cancelling of grants is transparently discriminatory:<br/><br/>&#34;I am hesitant to draw this conclusion, but I have an unflinching obligation to draw it – that this represents racial discrimination. And discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community. That’s what this is. I would be blind not to call it out.&#34;<br/><br/><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/16/judge-rebuke-trump-nih-cuts-00409095">https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/16/judge-rebuke-trump-nih-cuts-00409095</a> 2025-06-17T01:47:13Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsrc89jtf69eusqt7jsghewpwhxxcs5l86zyvnsjwsm8u8xaw0j4wgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez63s8zg The majority of DOGE&#39;s &#34;work&#34; is to use LLMs to search federal grants for the keywords &#34;LGBTQ,&#34; &#34;BIPOC,&#34; and similar, and then to cancel those grants.<br/><br/>They are targeting minorities in the most literal, automated way. The outcomes of this are all over their own website:<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/696/161/023/437/669/original/de0bd9f9e8ce4741.png"> <br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/696/161/040/889/149/original/d4b38868f2ea3d92.png"> <br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/696/161/033/035/685/original/0657eb3bbaa0a0ea.png"> <br/> 2025-06-17T01:45:45Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs0dl5vfgyuuzxzlfctshacvh975rlv82yvnzkjg0x0p7r5rdvhucqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez2r0y9n DOGE is a woodchipper<br/><br/>&#34;Records show Lavingia programmed the AI system to make intricate judgments based on the first few pages of each contract — about the first 2,500 words — which contain only sparse summary information.&#34;<br/><br/><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-veterans-affairs-ai-contracts-health-care">https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-veterans-affairs-ai-contracts-health-care</a> 2025-06-06T14:47:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9d8zf8vcyhgq8dd8e9zqd0q9l8wut4hn9yhjdetsgnyef86x3scczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vueznm7dl2 DOGE fired the people who built it, parasitized our organizations, and killed the project. But the Direct File codebase lives on. Paid for by American taxpayers, the code is yours.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.404media.co/directfile-open-source-irs-tax-filing-software-turbotax-is-trying-to-kil/">https://www.404media.co/directfile-open-source-irs-tax-filing-software-turbotax-is-trying-to-kil/</a> 2025-06-04T19:05:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdnua37me0f5xwfs0cd5rtg4n7hn3j8qh83j0y4595zudrxsrp9zgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezvuvqs7 My 18F colleagues and I are fighting #DOGE. We swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and WE ARE NOT DONE.<br/><br/><a href="https://18f.org/announcement-of-legal-challenge/">https://18f.org/announcement-of-legal-challenge/</a> 2025-05-28T20:09:06Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsv0g85ffwxt5dlcdsn8nr0zufjr0nd4e27ewkqn8pvugu5486n3sczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez3hxcux I&#39;ve been a doomer about DOGE data grabbing, but I&#39;ll admit it never occurred to me Musk could fire his way to stealing all copyrighted material ever<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/486/529/421/618/344/original/3f7e0bc43a216bde.jpg"> <br/> 2025-05-11T01:10:13Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsp2aew3wwq6vdr6w96taq236p7sfts3grtz87ptg0fejm8vepv2lczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezxc2c77 I taught a US citizenship class to South Sudanese refugees in Nebraska, 2006-2007. Fleeing civil war, they worked arduous jobs at a meat packing plant. Many had no literacy in any language.<br/><br/>But they studied hard for a citizenship exam which many native-born Americans would not be able to pass.<br/> <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/289/983/333/399/999/original/322a5f3527475b64.jpg"> <br/> 2025-04-06T08:07:23Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqszysphpyzvgphq0wkxa3twecgg7zqp3xn3nvvn88yrrnduqlec6pszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezyp68ph In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsddma94yjzp06acl3uxjhl9cqjft0yrnqu3gtflrvt4826qme0lqs67wsq0'>nevent1q…wsq0</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I believe the firings and the AI have the same purpose: to get humans out of the loop of evaluating contracts. To automate the process of spending government money. To rig up a computer that sends taxpayer dollars directly to the broligarchy. And to make sure democracy can&#39;t switch that computer off. 2025-03-22T00:09:55Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsddma94yjzp06acl3uxjhl9cqjft0yrnqu3gtflrvt4826qme0lqszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez3vnl8c In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsppt7ze8k2y09cmw8yjaejmwn505m4x9ajcdfsrheft4d5yfz9n7q7rtljn'>nevent1q…tljn</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The AI&#39;s &#34;plan&#34; to simplify the FAR was generic and unusable, of course. But it is a subject that Ehikian and DOGE keep returning to: Contracting. Acquisition. The money.<br/><br/>They want to file the corners off of the process that regulates government spending. They want to consolidate all government contracts in one place. And put AI in charge. 2025-03-22T00:09:14Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsppt7ze8k2y09cmw8yjaejmwn505m4x9ajcdfsrheft4d5yfz9n7qzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez54vv8c In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8u0jh0x0hanqxkvtuw3y90kklj9rqvh6tgl9nanaadj0wl8jt5ds9ewpqd'>nevent1q…wpqd</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>On stage, Ehikian asked GSAi to &#34;write me a plan to rewrite the FAR&#34;<br/><br/>The FAR, Federal Acquisition Regulations, are laws that control how the gov&#39;t buys stuff. They are legendary in their complexity for a good reason: to prevent corruption. To protect taxpayer money from theft by beltway bandits. 2025-03-22T00:08:22Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs8u0jh0x0hanqxkvtuw3y90kklj9rqvh6tgl9nanaadj0wl8jt5dszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezzmntr2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9tczdt5cnl7wcc3wunmm5udk0kea8cxed7rjdyw453ast0valuwc02tv4s'>nevent1q…tv4s</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Honestly: From the 2013 failure of healthcare.gov to today, the government *almost* learned how to build software. We were close. Then a bunch of white men in suits swooped in to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.<br/><br/>Maybe they are just incompetent. But I think it&#39;s worse than that. 2025-03-22T00:08:03Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9tczdt5cnl7wcc3wunmm5udk0kea8cxed7rjdyw453ast0valuwczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezm9alsz In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvmt05ndj2nt07r7e4w6mhw32lkc2vqxh03e28feuz8mgf6cn7z8c0nqlf2'>nevent1q…qlf2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Listen: maybe I&#39;m wrong and this is just the worst software deployment of my career, not actually a conspiracy against democracy.<br/><br/>Maybe these guys just don&#39;t see they are frittering away all product and service design knowledge in the agency. And don&#39;t even know that they lack this knowledge. 2025-03-22T00:07:44Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvmt05ndj2nt07r7e4w6mhw32lkc2vqxh03e28feuz8mgf6cn7z8czyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez8lsk3a In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsf8sanrhvkptnztq7ghjemtpjp2q8ujec303fpmugv4kep2xrlnxqgunn7j'>nevent1q…nn7j</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Together, these two faiths crave the end of American liberal democracy and government. You can smell it at GSA.<br/><br/>They won&#39;t replace us with AI because 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏&#39;𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. They want our work to end. DOGE is firing us as fast as possible, and that is the whole plan. 2025-03-22T00:07:25Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsf8sanrhvkptnztq7ghjemtpjp2q8ujec303fpmugv4kep2xrlnxqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vueze3mrsg In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsv6jyx3rlhxjzm2laze2gktm0wxxdm5xe6n53r9czgkhgdl7exg3g5kl0qu'>nevent1q…l0qu</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>There is a quasi-religion in Silicon Valley that views AI as godlike. This faith has always been parallel to Evangelical Christianity: it has salvation (transhumanism), the rapture (the technological singularity), and demons (Roko&#39;s Basilisk)<br/><br/>Lately the AI faith has fully fused with Christian Nationalism. 2025-03-22T00:07:01Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsv6jyx3rlhxjzm2laze2gktm0wxxdm5xe6n53r9czgkhgdl7exg3gzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezky2xdv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyag2atstdndehudl7thvunusrh3w2pvkld95amytaxg2xkyddylsd604rp'>nevent1q…04rp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>One viewer said &#34;if this is the tool meant to replace us, thank God&#34;<br/><br/>Everyone is afraid for their jobs, their projects, and their democracy. There is a widespread impression that AI is supposed to replace the people who are fired.<br/><br/>I actually don&#39;t think that&#39;s the plan. Let me explain: 2025-03-22T00:06:18Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsyag2atstdndehudl7thvunusrh3w2pvkld95amytaxg2xkyddylszyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezgcq0wt In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswes5cx046gn06g9qp2sku4g3h99cf65vsvma7feksfgcqflahfyqezmdsl'>nevent1q…mdsl</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>While saying &#34;this is incredible&#34; over and over, Musk&#39;s GSA head Stephen Ehikian asked GSAi to &#34;write me a website.&#34; The output was not compliant with federal law. It said &#34;Welcome to Our Company&#34; on it and did not resemble a federal website at all.<br/><br/>😟 This garbage demo had a terrified audience 2025-03-22T00:05:36Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqswes5cx046gn06g9qp2sku4g3h99cf65vsvma7feksfgcqflahfyqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezufxq02 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdc2gru647cez2ata779zwlajgyh6a9mt6z2arumtgcy47vtv66sqv7r05m'>nevent1q…r05m</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>As a fed, I am accustomed to knowledgeable and diverse coworkers who don&#39;t get snookered by the latest buzzwords.<br/><br/>But yesterday at GSA headquarters, 6 white guys in suits (one without a tie!) took the stage. They demo&#39;d GSAi like it was pure magic to them.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/gsa-staff-all-hands-meeting-ai/">https://www.wired.com/story/gsa-staff-all-hands-meeting-ai/</a> 2025-03-22T00:05:12Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsdc2gru647cez2ata779zwlajgyh6a9mt6z2arumtgcy47vtv66sqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezwuan9m In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsg2end4xg7gvfrjkrjpruhz3jqzm7qzwaxd7uw0amcvhahyaa9e5sf34n33'>nevent1q…4n33</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>As my coworker explains in this demo, we knew AI&#39;s capability is limited<br/><br/>&#34;The principle is to show you *not* that AI is great for everything, not to try to encourage you to stick AI into every product.... You can get yourself into trouble thinking that it can do things that it can&#39;t.&#34;<br/><video controls width="100%" class="max-h-[90vh] bg-neutral-300 dark:bg-zinc-700"><source src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/carhengeclub/media_attachments/files/114/203/153/682/909/593/original/74f40089fcbec9d4.mp4"></video><br/> 2025-03-22T00:04:00Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsg2end4xg7gvfrjkrjpruhz3jqzm7qzwaxd7uw0amcvhahyaa9e5szyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez7mza6f In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvj9vqyq7r5vdw20e7enwx8u468f0dn76t8wwnmu3svzlu4xh7anqwgg6ur'>nevent1q…g6ur</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>No one from the new admin wrote a single line of code for it. But GSAi has become their proud &#34;AI-first strategy.&#34;<br/><br/>(Previously at my job, rather than AI or any tech we put *people* first. See 18F&#39;s work on &#34;human-centered design.&#34;) 2025-03-22T00:03:29Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvj9vqyq7r5vdw20e7enwx8u468f0dn76t8wwnmu3svzlu4xh7anqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez4khwjv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvty0frwxr3ps7y2dpw39qcxehplyhm8lfthhsgmf7shs7a33s87sj2la6m'>nevent1q…la6m</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>From Nov 2023 to Jan 2024 I worked on a tool we called the AI sandbox. Our goal: let federal software devs test out AI tools in a safe way, to discover if they have any use.<br/><br/>Renamed GSAi, the tool has been claimed by DOGE. It is being rolled out on an alarming accelerated schedule. 2025-03-22T00:02:30Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsvty0frwxr3ps7y2dpw39qcxehplyhm8lfthhsgmf7shs7a33s87szyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuez5vtx8y I helped build a government AI system. DOGE fired me, rolled the AI out to the whole agency, and implied the AI can do my job and the jobs of the others they&#39;ve fired.<br/><br/>It can&#39;t. But, what DOGE accidentally revealed about themselves in the process is fascinating. 🧵 2025-03-22T00:02:11Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsx5temyku2uzv8yktvtmuw7rzwps4ney4ejycch9w9vdg86szr7dczyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezh0f547 I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F.<br/><br/>18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov&#39;t websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.<br/><br/>We made this website to tell our story:<br/><br/><a href="https://18f.org/">https://18f.org/</a> 2025-03-02T06:52:07Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqsw2u8guhnqwpftvc2heecsvhu5xcvhlge8t6gwtplsudeh0mgz0dqzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezfx5hqv * Waste queer-phobes&#39; money<br/>* Speak in a way broligarchs cannot control<br/>* Hack the planet 🌎<br/><br/><a href="https://johnskinnerportfolio.com/blog/domain_name_battlefield/">https://johnskinnerportfolio.com/blog/domain_name_battlefield/</a><br/><br/>My article in <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub19he68lljc7m3ndrrzjvdpzcp2r80g8alvwfnq5vf7g4jzh5tlerq9wynqw" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>2600 Magazine</span> (<span class="italic">npub19he…ynqw</span>)</a></span> Magazine 2025-01-25T23:23:40Z https://njump.me/nevent1qqs9tudsxg3hjfn0lskcrasfpjq8v0vjelcqx7y86xhyut4t89rdrvgzyppueyertlakwak3ze3f8gukuvyhu74u4hm7j94re0d20pkv7vuezxujrm0 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrfymvp5a3yvldux5kenfc3gqgzg7jp9eygfqamfe2w2sarxw7fugze4n0w'>nevent1q…4n0w</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>nice! An impressive references list 2024-11-05T16:31:17Z