Generating bonds of trust in these #fediverse ecosystems, and building a distribution of information with maximum #transparency, avoiding exposure to the redistribution of information by #BigTech, is the only remedy against #AIgen 
️
4/5
Whenever @WIRED reaches out to #DOGE for comment, they never hear back :
Discussed @ 9.20 m - https://youtu.be/wmvgJXBEeI4?si=l0IECRJYhdAOjish&t=560
Yes, this happened.
No Scandinavian country could possibly rival with this grade of transparency. Kudos, USA!
#politics #GovernmentFinance #GovernmentSpending #transparency
"The White House budget office has taken down its website where approvals of federal funding provided in appropriations laws are statutorily required to be posted for public viewing, a move likely to face major blowback from members of Congress and government watchdogs."
https://rollcall.com/2025/03/24/white-house-scraps-public-spending-database/
The US District Court of Appeals for DC just issued an order “Upon consideration of the petition for writ of mandamus & the emergency
motion for a stay” in NM v #ElonMusk
It “ORDERED that respondents file responses to both the emergency motion &
the mandamus petition by 5PM on Mon, March 24, 2025. Any replies are due
by 5PM on Tues, March 25, 2025.”
The same judges hearing #Trump’s #AliensEnemiesAct appeal are hearing Musk’s appeal: Henderson, Millett, & Walker
The #Trump admin is appealing a judge’s order requiring #ElonMusk & #DOGE to comply w/evidence demands from Democratic state ofcls who claim the #billionaire is exercising #unconstitutional #power across the US govt.
The #DOJ is arguing the lower court judge’s “unusual & highly invasive” order “raises grievous separation-of-powers concerns” by requiring a presidential adviser & the WH to turn over info about their activities….
#law #USpol #transparency #TrumpPurge
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-19/trump-administration-fights-order-to-turn-over-doge-information
DOGE Makes Its Latest Errors Harder to Find
Elon Musk’s group obscured the details of some new claims on its #website, despite promises of #transparency. But The Times was still able to detect another batch of mistakes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/us/politics/doge-errors-funding-grants-claims.html
"The website is... revealing its [Doge's] struggles w/the machinery & terminology of #government.
If the group is now going to fill its site with uncheckable claims, then it loses its value."
As Idaho Pushes to Reform Its Coroner System, Counties Seek to Make It Less Transparent
—
A bill moving forward with bipartisan support is described as a first step to addressing problems highlighted in a state report and by ProPublica. Meanwhile, counties seek to end access to coroners’ records that were key to ProPublica’s findings.
In #groundbreaking news, #Ohio finally unveils its revolutionary new #construction update: the thrilling "403 Forbidden" adventure. 
Spoiler alert: It's so exclusive, even the construction workers can't access it! 
Bravo, Ohio, for reimagining #transparency with the mystical powers of #nginx #wizardry. 
https://newsroom.intel.com/corporate/ohio-one-construction-timeline-update #403Forbidden #HackerNews #ngated
MAGA Loses It as DOGE Staffer Identities Revealed
#MAGA is furious that #public employees were identified.
https://newrepublic.com/post/192086/maga-doge-staffers-identities-revealed
"The #NYT identified several dozen employees working for #DOGE, but conservatives were surprisingly unhappy about the #transparency...
knowing who’s behind the seismic cuts is apparently not a priority for #conservatives, who would seemingly rather keep DOGE’s operators in a literal #DeepState"
The association said that it had been given no warning of Leavitt’s announcement & that there had been no prior discussions about it with the White House. “The WHCA will never stop advocating for comprehensive #access, full #transparency & the right of the American public to read, listen to & watch reports from the White House, delivered without fear or favor,” Eugene Daniels, the president of the association, wrote.
The reporters who witness the events distribute a series of “pool reports” to a wider group of journalists, including hundreds of #news outlets that cover his daily activities & remarks.
The pool is most often made up of #journalists from organizations like CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, ABC News, Fox News & The New York Times.
The White House press sec, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday that the #Trump admin would start handpicking which #media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential #press pool, the small, rotating group of #journalists who relay the president’s day-to-day activities to the public.
#transparency #censorship #propaganda #Trumpaganda #law #FreePress #journalism #news
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/business/media/trump-white-house-press.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=B9514BE3-AF72-47B9-9A01-5BC446D2C865
Trump is forcing powerful people and groups to take sides (for him, if at all possible). State, county, and city #cops seem to be loyal to Trump to the exclusion of almost all else. ICE is 100% loyal to Trump (remember the #MuslimBan? Remember that SCOTUS ordered #ICE to stop the detainments and deportations? Remember that they waited several days, ignoring the court order, and didn't stop until Trump gave them the OK? They are his police force).
My take is that Trump hates the Forestry Service (he's publicly shafted them more than once and criticized them repeatedly). He also doesn't like the Capitol #Police (they upheld their oaths on J6) or the FBI (they investigated him) or the CIA (they also probably investigated him, plus he needs that "deep state" narrative to keep the GOP all riled up).
I don't think he's sure about the military, hence the purges of leadership.
In case you didn't get this, I find all this very, very, very bad. When someone clearly staging a coup starts to line up his personal violence-making forces, that is bad. Very bad.
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/21/database-federal-police-misconduct-trump-deletes
#Design #Guides
Defense against dishonest charts · How not to lie with data visualizations https://ilo.im/162ger
_____
#Charts #DataViz #Accuracy #Transparency #Content #EthicalDesign #DeceptiveDesign #ProductDesign #VisualDesign #WebDesign
NY Court of Appeals upholds #police misconduct transparency law and makes it retroactive in a huge win for law enforcement #transparency. #FOIA https://www.courthousenews.com/ny-top-court-rejects-carveouts-to-shield-old-nypd-disciplinary-records/
This is what Putin and Trump are trying to stop: https://iaccseries.org/the-21st-iacc-vilnius-declaration-confronting-global-threats-standing-up-for-integrity/
They need the dark
money to stay in power. They need their power to keep the money.
#ukraine #transparency #coup #AmericanCoup .
Did DOGE Take Credit for Spending Cuts Related to President Carter’s Death?
[tldr: yes]
Inaccuracies on DOGE’s website raise questions about DOGE’s activities and transparency.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/did-doge-take-credit-for-spending-cuts-related-to-president-carter-s-death
"DOGE did not terminate at least some of the contracts and leases listed on its website. Even if #DOGE played an active role in terminating some of these contracts, it may be overstating the value of its cuts."
An important win for #transparency
Yes, #secrecy is necessary - sometimes, but when the crooked politicians seeks to use the principle of national security to hide their own failings then all bets should be off the table. This occurred during the #Johnson #maladministration, But revelations about the FO hiding evidence of #WarCrimes under #Starmer it is still necessary.
"Musk and his rats have nothing whatever to do with rooting out 'waste and fraud.' Their real purpose is to usurp Congress’s authority over spending, under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution."
~ Robert Reich
#Musk #DOGE #secrecy #transparency #FOIA #destruction #DeedsDoneinDarkness
/5
