Byron Allen

The 7 Democrats who voted to fund Homeland Security amid ICE crackdowns

Reminder. Here are the House Democrats who crossed party lines and voted to fund ICE.

House Democrats who voted to fund ICE:
- Tom Suozzi (D-NY)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Don Davis (D-NC)
- Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX)
- Laura Gillen (D-NY)
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA)
- Jared Golden (D-ME)

American Idolism “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism,” is a line taken straight from President George Washington’s Farewell Address of…

5 years later and this article is still incredibly relevant. The blurring of boundaries between church and state in American identity is a massive part of the current state of affairs.

medium.com/discourse/am...

@gluesenkampperez.house.gov so when you voted for the SAVE Act did you realize it might undermine the ability for married women to vote? What happens when State Department funding goes out the window along w/ the ability to access a new passport, which many will need if the act passes the Senate.

@garyseconomics.bsky.social The key message is growing inequality drives poverty - agreed. But, what's the 'why care' for those harder to reach circles you mentioned? It feels like they need to hear a self-interested - or macro hook like (e.g. cpag.org.uk/news/cost-ch...). What's the best hook?

Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

I found a ‘dead’ person collecting Social Security in Seattle “Dead” Ned Johnson turns out to be very much alive. It took him weeks to convince the system he was breathing and to start clawing his benefits back.

The richest man in the world took over $5K out of this guy's bank account, claiming he was dead. The richest man in the world said he was saving money.

He was not dead.

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’ Musk’s loyalists at DOGE have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies, pushed out tens of thousands of workers, and siphoned millions of people’s most sensitive data. The next step: Unleash the AI.

It's not wild. It works. And it is the opposite of what happened with DOGE give what I read from @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/elon-m... 3/

You need a cross-functional team with experience that spans both (non)technical facets. You need to show up with empathy + a collaborative spirit to envision, articulate, design and build a solution that drives value. You need to work well with the individuals that best understand the data. 2/

Want to build a high-performing AI/ML team that delivers value into production at speed? 1/

Know anyone working in an open-weights strategy for the UK?

The savings referenced in the notes would suggest a ~24% savings (I think). Adding to your point, that target sounds ambitious for an 'insert AI here' strategy. In contrast, one that leverages a mix of tech and non-tech tools/techniques could conceivable reach that target without sacrificing quality

Message from Meta support: Hi Gil, Thanks for your response. Upon checking, this site focuses on political commentary, particularly involving Silicon Valley tech billionaires and their influence on politics. There are several reasons why a website might be blocked: 1. Content Sensitivity: The site addresses topics like the "Network State" concept and critiques of tech industry figures. Some networks or platforms may flag such content as sensitive or controversial, leading to restrictions. 2. Regional Restrictions: Depending on the country or region, certain political content might be subject to censorship or blocking. Can you please give me an overview of your website's content? I just want to check further since it's being flagged as non community standards compliant. Looking forward to your response so that we can sort this out as soon as we can.

Facebook is blocking readers from sharing The Nerd Reich newsletter.

I assumed this was a simple error rather than nefarious censorship.

But Meta support says my newsletter might be blocked because it "addresses topics like the 'Network State' concept and critiques of tech industry figures." 👀

If you're in MAGA or that one-third of America that chose not to show up and vote - you're probably not reading this post - but you should also really read this book to better understand what you voted for. You don't just vote for a candidate - you also vote for all the favours they owe.

So, go read this book. Perhaps especially if you are in tech - whether you cut code or call yourself a product manager.

Regarding our current political env, that's just the problem (or opportunity from their perspective?) there is no next thing to move on to if they destroy the US government. They get to make it up. And fail at that. Rinse and repeat, theoretically converging on an undefined goal... if allowed to.

It feels like individuals (the most successful ones) in Silicon Valley don't need to build that same kind of trust - at least not with their client/customer. They fail and move on with regularity... There is always the next thing to move onto after failure thanks to an investor safety net.

Strategically, it's a bad play. I don't have the luxury of an endless cushion to fail into. I'm in professional services where if one requires a cushion to survive their own career they already lost too much trust.

I've channelled aspects of 'failing better' to have more honest and thoughtful conversations about failure. It's a useful tactical lesson - not a strategic one though.

The point made in this book around 'failing better' struck a cord with me as it's something you've heard all the time in tech for 10+ years.

I'm in tech but only have one foot in Silicon Valley, which is a bad way of saying I use tools (e.g. cloud providers and open source) and techniques (e.g. design thinking) that come out of that ecosystem.

If you have questions like what are Musk and Thiel trying to do to the US government, this book would help give you some background context that might help.

'What Tech Calls Thinking' by @adriandaub.bsky.social was a great read (especially given the current politics in the US). It's a few years old but still very relevant🧵

Is a Tech-Led Network State Taking Over the U.S. Government? The United States is currently evolving into a Network State, says a military analyst who writes regularly on the subject.

Yet another great read from @gilduran.com keep going!
www.thenerdreich.com/network-stat...

YouTube video by Factually Speaking Everyone is WRONG about the CFPB

CFPB is not funded by tax payers and has an enviable ROI🫠

youtu.be/URB-Cf6maSA?...

You tagged me but I'm a different Byron Allen to the one you're referring to.