Happy #StarWarsDay, everyone! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day
It has been many years since I was tempted by the power of the Dark Side.
I found my way back to the light because the Jedi still saw something of good in me.
May the 4th be with you and yours, always.
Donald J. Trump is the most corrupt President in U.S. history. Cryptocurrencies have opened up new horizons for his abuses of entrusted power for political profit, creating new conflicts of interest, but his emolumental corruption is at issue. 🎁📰Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/us/politics/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html?unlocked_article_code=1.D08.VisA.53nzmtkdTQCt
1.5.2025 19:57Donald J. Trump is the most corrupt President in U.S. history. Cryptocurrencies have opened up new horizons for his abuses of entrusted...#HowToCitizen by @baratunde
🌱 Show up & participate
⚡ Understand power
❤️ Invest in relationships
🤝 Commit to the collective
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters
We can find hope & light in these profoundly American stories: “The keys to rebuilding our democracy are in the story of fire recovery in Altadena.“ 🇺🇸🛠️🗽
The rule of law in the United States continues to be under the greatest threat in my lifetime, with fundamental human rights and civil liberties in question. I wrote about it more today, along with other emerging issues around technology and government.
Please read & share: https://civic-texts.ghost.io/despite-doubt-and-denial-authoritarianism-accelerates-in-the-united-states/
No leader or government agency genuinely interested in “radical transparency” cuts FOIA staff: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/hhs-firings-federal-health-agencies-foia-requests-public-records/
or gags scientists & doctors, censors data, clamps down on communications, & adopts secrecy in rulemaking: https://www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com/p/alexander-howard-discusses-hhs-secretary #OpenGov
They are coming for international students, as Don Moynihan writes today, but not for crimes. Rather, for their speech:
https://open.substack.com/pub/donmoynihan/p/the-attack-on-international-students
They will purge civil servants & then try to weaponize the state against donors, nonprofits, press, law firms, & business leaders:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/path-american-authoritarianism-trump If you follo the news, you know competitive authoritarianism is already happening.
The most important thing agencies & companies can do on social media is listen & offer support — not post. Unfortunately, accounts tend to be made by PR & marketing folks whose job is to promote products & services, not do crisis management. Adobe’s Bluesky disaster is a case study for everyone to study.
https://petapixel.com/2025/04/10/adobe-deletes-bluesky-posts-after-furious-backlash
Julia Angwin’s reflections on a threat model for opposing authoritarianism: https://buttondown.com/JuliaAngwin/archive/a-threat-model-for-opposing-authoritarianism/ are an excellent preface for her New Yorker article. Both are worth your time.
Their principles:
Keep hope alive
Clean-up digital footprint
Don’t give legal excuses
Compartmentalize
Find community
Rainy, cloudy, & clammy in Washington, but it’s Friday. TGIF. What was the best thing that happened to you this week? What achievement will you remember? I encourage you to brag.
11.4.2025 14:19Rainy, cloudy, & clammy in Washington, but it’s Friday. TGIF. What was the best thing that happened to you this week? What achievement...Read facts.
Mostly slow news.
Not too much.
https://civic-texts.ghost.io/what-should-be-in-your-civic-information-diet/
I wrote up what I saw in Washington this weekend, along with what the Council of DC had done beforehand.
https://civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-at-the-handsoff-protests-in-washington/
By 2035, our sense of self will be challenged by personalized AI agents that eerily predict our interests, needs, desires, or flaws.
We will see the emergence of a delta between students & professionals who overly depend upon AI & people who retain the capacity for computation & critical thinking.
First time I’ve gotten an in-app notification from LinkedIn News — a “showcase page” — about breaking news. I learned LinkedIn now has 250 staff producing editorial content in a format that closely resembles journalism you might read at a news media website at first browse. As most folks now realize, a platform operated by a tech company (Microsoft) publishing like material this raises complex policy issues. Keep an eye on this.
https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a523356/
Nations with strong data protection laws, healthy institutions, constitutions that center human rights & civil liberties, & open democratic systems have the best chance at mitigating the worst impacts of automation, algorithmic regulation, & AI on society.
https://civic-texts.ghost.io/by-2035-will-ai-and-related-technologies-change-what-it-means-to-be-human-for-the-better-or-worse/
Will AI & change what it means to be human by 2035? https://civic-texts.ghost.io/by-2035-will-ai-and-related-technologies-change-what-it-means-to-be-human-for-the-better-or-worse/ Hundreds of experts surveyed by Imagining the Digital Future offered predictive insights about how life will change over the next decade, including yours truly. In many ways, those futures are already here.
2.4.2025 17:15Will AI & change what it means to be human by 2035?...No /About page.
No /FOIA.
No PIO.
No calendars.
No visitor logs.
No list of staff.
No asset disclosures, or ethics agreements.
No weekly press conferences.
No open meetings.
No advisory committee.
The U.S. DOGE Service is not even close to the “most transparent organization in government ever.”
2.4.2025 02:16No /About page.No /FOIA.No PIO.No calendars.No visitor logs.No list of staff.No asset disclosures, or ethics agreements.No weekly press...Happy April Fools Day! https://civic-texts.ghost.io/happy-april-fools-day-no-joke/ The USA is in a constitutional crisis. (No joke.)
1.4.2025 20:31Happy April Fools Day! https://civic-texts.ghost.io/happy-april-fools-day-no-joke/ The USA is in a constitutional crisis. (No joke.)A Signal Truth: Any posts that conduct public business are public records that must be archived.
https://civic-texts.ghost.io/a-signal-truth-posts-that-conduct-public-business-are-public-records-2/
(Art by Ben Landgren for #SunshineWeek)
New post from the Archives: when the Chief Records Officer of the United States told me that blog posts and electronic messages are public records
https://e-pluribusunum.org/2025/03/28/chief-records-officer-of-the-united-states-says-blog-posts-and-signal-messages-are-public-records/
NARA hasn’t published official guidance on official use of Signal yet, but I know what they would say.
What #SignalGate means for transparency & accountability — and what Congress & the Justice Department should do now. https://civic-texts.ghost.io/what-signalgate-means-for-transparency-accountability-and-what-congress-the-justice-department-should-do-now/
25.3.2025 18:57What #SignalGate means for transparency & accountability — and what Congress & the Justice Department should do now....⬆️
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