Back of Russell Vought’s head as he sits in a suit in an orange chair in the senate budget committee hearing
Field trip this morning to the Senate to see Russell Vought, secret President, who shuttered CFPB and tried and failed to kill the Consumer Bureau.
#SaveCFPB solidarity forever with @nteu335.bsky.social
Liberian flag with “make America ai ready” text
SMS that says “hey there noticed you have responded yet.” The message was sent at 1:41am
I signed up for the department of labor’s “Make America AI Ready” SMS-based AI class and so far they 1. Appear to be using the Liberian flag, and 2. Are texting a lot of “u up?” style messages after midnight.
RFK parking lot with piles of dirt and ice
Reporting live on possible peak bloom in dc — the the snowcrete icebergs at RFK are still hanging in there! cc @capitalweather.bsky.social
Wonderful news for NYC. Our new CTO, Lisa Gelobter, is a brilliant technologist and a deeply principled leader who has spent her career ensuring technology serves people, not the other way around. Mayor Mamdani continues to assemble a remarkable team. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/n...
This is excellent news. Lisa is a perfect person to lead the city's technical direction. (More on her pioneering history here: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/n... )
😘😘😘😘
She’s so, so good! www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/n...
Mamdani has named Lisa Gelobter as the city's new CTO, a great choice on many levels. She cares about the city and about New Yorkers, she has strong technical chops *and* a strong focus on equity, and she knows how to get things done
If you don't know her, fix that: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Ge...
On Lawfare Daily, @jshermcyber.bsky.social spoke to @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social and @erie.bsky.social about how state enforcers and regulators can better work with technologists, what technologists are suited to help with, and what roles technologists can play. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...
It was an honor to share messages like this from John Doe government tech workers fighting back against data abuses. Thank you, @eff.org!
😭😭😭
@Erie.bsky.social accepting the EFF Award: “Speaking up is hard and it's scary. But it will only get harder and scarier from here. The best time to do it was yesterday. The second-best time is today. These are not choices we will always have.”
Carl!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Let's put a spotlight on our EFF Awards winners! ✨
@erie.bsky.social has been busy filing federal court declarations to protect American's data and warning Congress about 'DOGE burning the house down'. Don't miss her at the EFF Awards on Sept 10 in San Francisco! eff.org/effawards
Great piece in @fedscoop.bsky.social by @erie.bsky.social
“… design is meaningless without trust. […] Americans will not want to use even the most elegant services if they don’t trust the government to protect their data.”
fedscoop.com/america-by-d...
Anyone else here play the theremin? I built my last one but am thinking of upgrading.
DOGE employees are lieutenants of Musk, not the President. This is an insider threat to keep an eye on.
The former CFPB official - who was invited to testify at the hearing by subcommittee Democrats - said she believes "deeply" in the promise of using better IT to improve government efficiency. "Done right, it can save money, reduce fraud, and make government work better for everyone," Meyer said, adding, "I've seen it happen." "But what's happening right now under DOGE is not modernization," she said. "It's chaos. And it's chaos with a human cost. When DOGE arrived at my agency, they didn't modernize anything. Instead, they broke the consumer complaint system." Meyer also claimed that "DOGE is centralizing access to some of the most sensitive data the government holds - Social Security records, disability claims, even data tied to national security - without a clear security plan, proper oversight, and I question the basic vetting of Al tools they're using to analyze it." "Let me be clear: this is not modernization," she said, asserting, "It's a heist." "DOGE is burning the house down and calling it a renovation," Meyer said. "This path is making government less efficient, less secure, and less capable of protecting the people it's supposed to serve." "The cheapest, fastest, and most effective way to modernize IT in the federal government is to get technical people into government, and then to empower the people who've taken an oath to serve," Meyer said. "The most expensive, slowest, and least effective way is to lose al of your technical talent and sloppily outsource it once you realize what you have done."
Powerful testimony yesterday from @erie.bsky.social, formerly of the US Digital Service, to the House Oversight Committee on Cyber, on the topic of IT modernization. "This is not modernization. It's a heist." WELL SAID!
I stress the same point in papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
"refusing to apply the law to a
technology until after it is fully developed and entrenched – and then crafting
accommodative laws that treat the extant incarnation of technology-based
business models as inevitable – is a choice."
I loved this interview with @erie.bsky.social
"I think Americans give up a lot of power if we agree with the premise that new technology requires new rules of the road."
😭🇺🇸❤️
Loved this interview with my former colleague, Erie Meyer, the soul of the CFPB
Q: What book most shaped your conception of the future?
A: I would say Shirley Chisholm’s autobiography “Unbought and Unbossed"...She has a saying, “I don’t measure America by its achievement but by its potential.”
Politico: What could the government be doing regarding technology that it isn’t?
Me: Enforcing the law.
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
cc Andrew Ferguson
BTW, DOGE wants to end this program, created by USDS. They say there aren't enough users. Let's prove DOGE wrong it's a great program that simplified filing your taxes
File your taxes using IRS Direct File, a free, secure, accurate and accessible product from the IRS. It is available in 25 states and allows you to import your tax information, like your W-2, directly from the IRS.
Visit DirectFile.irs.gov to check eligibility and learn more.
🚨In 2023 fraudsters stole over $390M from Americans through payment apps. This number has increased by over 200% since then, but Republicans are trying to prevent the #CFPB from supervising big tech digital apps. Congress must vote NO on S.J.Res.28 @erinwitte-cfa.bsky.social @erie.bsky.social
🚨Last year, fraudsters stole over $390 million from Americans via digital payment apps. That is a 200% increase from just a few years ago. 📈
We need a #CFPB that can keep up with innovative scammers and rein in big tech app providers. VOTE NO on SJ Res 28. @erie.bsky.social @savecfpb.bsky.social
