I've been here since the 2022 Great Twitter Exodus, and I've apparently never posted an #introduction, so…
I'm a #GenX techie who's lived in #Boston since the late 80's.
My 15 minutes of fame were being fired by #DOGE from #USDS early in 2025 and sounding the alarm in every media outlet that'd listen since nobody else was doing it. I'm not a fan of limelight, so I stopped when others took up the baton.
My politics are aggressively progressive and antifascist, and I post about them a lot.
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#USDS
Haken dran – das Social-Media-Update der c't: Ein Wort-Lüge-Verhältnis von 1:1 (mit Torsten Beeck)
Kapitelmarken, KI-unterstützt 00:00:25 - Nachhak 00:03:27 - #TikTok #USDS JV unter Druck 00:12:42 - Upscrolled und Skylight Social 00:28:08 - #Threads findet #FIFA "gefährlich" 00:31:19 - #WhatsApp wird zum #VLOP 00:36:32 - #Meta pausiert #KI-Avatare für Teenager 00:39:52 - EU leitet zweite #DSA-Untersuchung gegen #X ein 00:51:55 - Social-Media-Verbote für Minderjährige in #UK und #Frankreich 00:57:11 - Funktionen und Emotionen 01:03:52 - Wie kommt der Graue Haken 2025 zu Markus #Söder?
Webseite der Episode: https://hakendran.podigee.io/531-ein-wort-luge-verhaltnis-von-1-1-mit-torsten-beeck
Mediendatei: https://audio.podigee-cdn.net/2327694-m-3a36fab909ac4d017dfe475683bf0719.mp3?source=feed
Attracting technical talent into state and local government is a good thing, especially after the destruction of #USDS and #18F, but… volunteer? C’mon, #Virginia.
The proposal allocates nearly half a million dollars to go to an advisory board and the cops to collect biometric data on volunteers. 🤦🏻♂️
Former #USDS Leaders Launch Tech Reform Project to Fix What #DOGE Broke
The plan, which is still in its early stages, is spearheaded by former USDS administrator #MikeyDickerson.
Called #TechViaduct its goal is to create complete reboot how #US delivers services to citizens. Viaduct cadre of experienced federal tech officials is in process of cooking up specifics on how to remake government, aiming to produce initial recommendations by the spring.
https://www.wired.com/story/former-usds-leaders-launch-tech-reform-project-doge/
https://archive.ph/aUptk
"The value of tech expertise in #government is real. That’s why #USDS and #18F existed and succeeded for over a decade.
This isn’t that…They gutted the #institutionalknowledge, fired the people who knew how to do this right, and replaced it with a system where people from private companies get guaranteed access to government data and decision-making through employees who are explicitly planning to return to those same companies." @mmasnick.bsky.social
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/23/trump-admin-reinvents-us-digital-services-program-after-elon-musk-fired-all-their-actual-tech-experts/
Trump Admin Reinvents US Digital Services Program After Elon Musk Fired All Their Actual Tech Experts
#US government launches 'Tech Force' to replace #IT staff #DOGE fired
Washington rediscovers that modern IT doesn’t run itself
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/15/us_government_tech_force/
If ONLY we had something like a US Digital Service... we could call it #USDS and they could help modernize IT across #FederalGovernment.... why has NO ONE thought of this?!?!? </s>
Also, some #MSPB actions currently in process are frozen. For example, the #USDS employees illegally fired on February 14 reached a settlement with the government immediately before the shutdown, and that settlement has a specific timeline for payout, but the clock is frozen until the shutdown ends.
That's small potatoes for me since I found a new job pretty quickly, but a big deal for my colleagues who didn't or who may even be still unemployed nine months later.
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#politics #USPol #shutdown
TLDR The former U.S. Digital Service (USDS) employees who were improperly fired by DOGE on February 14 have been certified as a class by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and have reached a settlement with the government over their firing. I am a member of the class and stand to benefit from this settlement. Read the whole thread for additional details. Feel free to reply with any questions you have after reading the thread.
#politics #USPol #USDS #DOGE #MSPB
🧵1/9
Sitting in the shade, wearing my favorite #USDS T shirt, waiting for the #AllstonBrightonParade to pass by. Hoping for a selfie with #MichelleWu.
#Allston #Brighton #Boston #BostonMA #BrightonMA #parade
"I wondered why there wasn't a centralized DOGE software engineering playbook with all of our learnings; overall, I was surprised by the lack of knowledge-sharing within DOGE. It seemed like every engineer started from scratch."
This playbook did exist at #18F and #usds. #DOGE deleted it and fired us.
"I went and talked to a bunch of experts and some former USDS/ GSA government people, who could explain the importance of why US Digital Service, now the US DOGE service, was such a legally ingenious way for them to establish DOGE. Because before then everyone had thought it would be a Federal Advisory Committee, of which there thousands, and they're important, but they're not particularly powerful."
#VittoriaElliot, Wired, 2025
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💥یواس دی اس (USDS) - استیبل کوین جدید پروتکل اسکای 🚀
دستگاه جدیدی برای دسترسی به جوایز و نرخ پس انداز اسکای! 🎯
🔑ویژگی ها:
- جوایز توکن اسکای 💸
- نرخ پس انداز SSR 💎
- تبدیل به دای 🔄
لینک خبر:https://zurl.co/NQbUk
Brief mention in “Yomiuri Shimbun” article in Japanese
I imagine most of my readers are not going to make much of this, but since I’m trying to capture everything here for posterity, note that I was mentioned briefly in an article in the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun last Saturday.
Notice my photo there in the lower right corner of the page. On the off chance that you read Japanese, you can click on the image above to see a high-resolution version on the off chance that you read Japanese.
Here’s a (machine) translation of the section of the article that mentions me:
In an executive order issued on January 20, the first day of his inauguration, Trump reorganized a White House department called the “US Digital Service,” which was responsible for managing the federal government’s IT systems, to create DOGE.
The true nature of this organization remains shrouded in secrecy. When the staff were hired, they were exempted by the President from background checks and drug tests that intelligence agencies use to check whether they are foreign spies. Details of the staff are not made public, which has been criticized as a lack of accountability to the public and Congress.
“DOGE staff were given special badges that allowed them to enter any government building. They were based in a room in a building adjacent to the White House, but no one knew what they were doing.” Jonathan Kamens (55) (pictured), who was fired from US Digital Services in February, reveals the strangeness of the organization.
When US media tracked them down, they found that most DOGE staff are in their teens to 30s. Some are said to have a history of being inclined toward white supremacy. “They were exempt from background checks because they are the kind of people who would not pass a rigorous test. It is very worrying that such people have access to a highly confidential system,” Kamens points out.
The article is online here, but it’s behind a paywall.
Featured guest on “WatchCats” podcast March 25
Experienced ex-govies Julian Sanchez and Noah Kunin, started the WatchCats podcast a couple of months ago to report on DOGE and its doings throughout the federal government. I am the featured guest on the March 25 episode. Listen for the inside story of what went down at USDS between the election and when 44 USDSers (including me) were fired by DOGE on February 14.
This is the first long-form interview I’ve given about what went down at USDS, and I think it’s the first long-form interview from anyone who was involved (though I’m not certain, so if I’m wrong please let me know so I can correct the record).
Thanks also to John Proffitt for his insightful blog posting about this.
Relatedly, here is my op-ed in The Hill referenced in the podcast episode.
Featured guest on “WatchCats” podcast March 25
Experienced ex-govies Julian Sanchez and Noah Kunin, started the WatchCats podcast a couple of months ago to report on DOGE and its doings throughout the federal government. I am the featured guest on the March 25 episode. Listen for the inside story of what went down at USDS between the election and when 44 USDSers (including me) were fired by DOGE on February 14.
#politics #USPol #DOGE #USDS #WatchCats
https://blog.kamens.us/2025/03/27/featured-guests-on-watchcats-podcast-march-25/
Elon Musk’s DOGE is gutting the US Digital Service and its citizen-focused approach to tech development is going with it.
On #TechWontSaveUs, I was honored to speak with Kate Green and Milo from We The Builders to discuss understand how government can build technology differently and what’s wrong with how DOGE thinks of efficiency.
Listen to the full episode: https://techwontsave.us/episode/269_doge_is_gutting_the_us_digital_service_w_kate_green_and_milo
DOGe attorney, Jacob Altik, "is now defending in court the DOGE email system used to send email blasts to the entire U.S. government workforce." fedscoop.com/doge-lawyer-... #OPM #USDS #coup #frauds #law
Lawyer linked to DOGE is defen...
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Table of #DOGE members.
(36 - 40) (of 68)
From #Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Government_Efficiency#DOGE_members
36) #ScottLangmack, Liaison, #HUD
37) #JeremyLewin, Liaison, #CFPB, #USAID, #DOS
38) #KendallLindemann, Expert (HR), #EOP, #USDS
39) #KathrynArmstrongLoving, Federal detailee, #EPA
40) #TarakMakecha, Finance executive, DOS
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