The Senate passed the reconciliation bill 51-50. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/07/01/senate-vote-big-beautiful-bill-trump/ On to the House. If they enact it and send it on to the President, millions will lose health care & food benefits — and the U.S. will scale up a police state […]

Good morning from DC 🥵 If we need to connect: 🤳 Signal: digiphile.97 💡📲 https://civic-texts.ghost.io 📧 [email protected] 🐦 X.com/digiphile 🦋 digiphile.bsky.social 🧵 threads.net/@digiphile 📇 linkedin.com/in/alexanderbhoward 👍 facebook.com/alexhoward 📸 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

I updated my newsletter, with an apology for being out of touch. I will be updating more: American democracy has reached a tipping point as an authoritarian takeover accelerates. https://civic-texts.ghost.io/american-democracy-nears-tipping-point-as-an-authoritarian-takeover-accelerates/

Trustworthy government statistics about the economy, public health, energy, the environment, education, agriculture, campaign finance climate change, crime, & immigration are a crown jewel of every market democracy. The Trump administration is now trying to block politically inconvenient data […]

More brilliant reporting on Trumpian corruption: nyti.ms/4iNzTYv But NYT does readers, nation, & Americans a disservice by not identifying monetizing the presidency as corruption. Ruling families in authoritarian regimes make patronizing family businesses the cost of access to state power.

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 […]

#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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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 […]

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.

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 […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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 […]

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 […]

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.”

Happy 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 […]

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/

The cherry trees next to Nationals Park are in bloom. An osprey returned to rebuild its nest along the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Rowers & sailors are out on the rivers. Spring arrived in Washington. Time to come out of hibernation, stretch, & grow, again. Onwards to longer days.

I picked up a great souvenir at #SunshineFest this #SunshineWeek. It goes well with an artifact from the Sunlight Foundation (RIP). “Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Our #sunshineweek conversation on AI & FOIA is streaming live https://www.youtube.com/live/qnd3H6sN_Uc #sunshinefest

New essay: It’s a historic mistake for the U.S. government to eviscerate human capacity to uphold the Freedom of Information Act and hope generative AI can somehow make up the difference. https://americansforprosperityfoundation.org/essay/ai-and-foia-evolution-devolution-or-revolution/

Great idea for #sunshineweek and the rest of the year, too! It would be awesome if journalism based on records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also always published documents or data, especially when governments take down websites & original sources […]

I’ve mown lawns, shoveled snow, babysat, & been an EMT, cook, carpenter, waiter, desk clerk, teacher, coach, reporter, editor, consultant, moderator, MC, analyst, advocate, & more. I’ve learned a ton in every job, including to respect anyone willing to work hard for a paycheck.

“As our lives are increasingly blurred between online & offline, we need to rethink how we organize.” - Dizzy Zaba https://www.beyondbifurcatedorganizing.org/ Stop saying what happens online isn’t part of the real world. Start finding out how to use digital tools more effectively to build power.

I am not particularly enjoying 2025 so far. This week’s challenge: managing the care of a kiddo sick with influenza. 🦠 Today, I am grateful for access to rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 & flu, vaccines, & telemedicine. Along with my health, I take none of them for granted. Don’t wait: vaccines.gov

Nations should respond to information disorder by prebunking emerging propaganda campaigns with evidence shared through trustworthy infomediaries, not censorship. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/11/health/misinformation-training-psychological-resistance-wellness/index.html Inoculate people […]

Secretary Kennedy keeps tweeting & talking about “radical transparency,” but his policy action tell a different story. I talked about he’s done and what it means in a recent podcast […]

The tech press will need to be wary of reporting a rebranded “self-deportation app” from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency as a novel or innovative use of government technology without decribing its true function or purpose. What is this? Uncivic […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

The biggest threats to open government data remain political: https://sunlightfoundation.com/2017/03/10/the-biggest-risks-to-open-government-data-are-political/ Today’s example: ending air quality data from U.S. embassies due to defunding […]

Last night, the Trump administration ended 18F after more than a decade in which its staff helped agencies to deliver better, more effective services for the American people. It is a loss for open culture, open source software, and open vision for digital […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

🚨🌥️Secretary Kennedy proposed eliminating public comment from proposed HHS decisions https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/28/rfk-jr-eliminating-public-comment-hhs-decisions-richardson-waiver/ It’s a frontal attack on the public’s right to know public business […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

The Trump administration ended the U.S. Open Government Advisory Committee today, which was chartered to co-create a national plan to improve government transparency & accountability for the Open Government Parternship, & offer recommendations on emerging issues. Grim sign […]

For 15 years, I’ve come here to think about what Lincoln would do. He was flawed, as are we all, but I find comfort & purpose here, 20 score & 8 years since our nation was founded, conceived in liberty.🗽 We must rededicate ourselves to the proposition that […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

I am pro-democracy. I am against authoritarianism. I am against corruption. I am for for good governance. I believe in the rule of law & the consent of the governed. I believe in freedom of information, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition our government. 🇺🇦🏛️🇺🇸

We are seeing the “Twitter Files” playbook run on the U.S. government, at the same time Musk runs the hostile takeover plays he ran on Twitter. Formerly obscure open data gets amplified on X with intentional distortion, co-creating bespoke alternative realities […]

My daughter & I finally unboxed Wyrmspan & learned how to play. She beat me, which fills me with pride. If you enjoy Wingspan🦅 & love dragons🐉 then this may also be up your alley. I have a LOT more pattern detection to do before I grok how to build […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

February 21, 2025, DC — AP sued the White House Chief of Staff Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, & Taylor Budowich, 10 days after the Trump administration began denying access in an unconstitutional effort by President Trump to control the speech of the free press […]

I bought the last carton of eggs at the Trader Joe’s near Eastern Market in DC at 9:30 AM. Paid $3.49. Shortages due to bird flu could grow worse. 30M culled in recent months. More to come. Vaccinating ~300M birds may not protect flocks, as influenza virus […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

I took my daughter on a walk to our local museums & talked about art 🖼️ & science 🚀 on her winter holiday. We are blessed with an abundance of evidence of human creativity💡& ingenuity 🧫 here in Washington, alongside memorials and monuments. It’s good to […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Weaponized transparency at DOGE makes a mockery of good governance https://civic-texts.ghost.io/weaponized-transparency-at-doge-makes-a-mockery-of-good-governance-2/

On Friday, the Deputy Archivist of the United States announced his early resignation after decades of honorable public service. Another civil servant will keep NARA operating. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/politics/national-archives-leadership-forced-out-trump/index.html His departure will be […]