Don Moynihan

When is this going to end? What is there to even say anymore?

We each find our way through these times

As an academic, I am doing this:

Uplift those whose research you admire. Diversify the academy.

Many ways to do this:

-Nominate for awards (did 2 yesterday)
-If you are in an academy, nominate to it (did 3 this month)
-cite them in a paper and/or talk

Every conversation would go like this

These hurdles are compounded by problems at Brand USA, the destination marketing organization that promotes inbound travel into the United States, which saw the One Big Beautiful Bill Act slash its funding from $100 million to $20 million. The cuts came after the U.S. Commerce Department fired nearly half of Brand USA’s board members in April.

Trump defunding Brand USA wins today "metaphors that are a bit too on the nose."

Travelers to the U.S. must pay a new $250 'visa integrity fee' — what to know Travelers to the U.S. must pay a new "visa integrity fee" to visit, but questions remain as to how and when it will be implemented. Here's what we know so far.

Tourists visiting America:
*Hand over your social media
*At risk of being detained, imprisoned and deported for the vaguest of reasons
*Now being asked to pay $250 for the privilege

Intl tourists contribute more than $200B to the US economy. But lets fix that problem!
www.cnbc.com/2025/07/18/v...

Revisiting the Origins of Civic Tech In era of DOGE, what can we learn from a different approach to tech and government

DOGE took over the US Digital Service; what lessons can we learned from the civic tech movement that it eviscerated?
@emilytav.bsky.social & Kathy Pham compiled a history of the the creation of USDS, and describe an alternative vision of govt tech.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/revisiting...

Yeah, this is it for far too many of them.

No sense that there are life and death consequences for normal people, it’s just a parlor game for bored elites.

Yes, TBF they did not have a wide selection, but Erdinger definitely owes me a t-shirt or something

At some point you realize that much of the punditocracy is half reality TV show, half high school - who are the big new personalities? where is the buzz? don't get too bogged down in the details!

Imagine being disappeared in one dictatorship, making it to America, and then being disappeared again

A photogenic beer with an alpine background

Beer time (Alp Grum in Switzerland)

In shocking news, deal with the devil turns out to have some downsides

How to use the public comment process to reduce administrative burdens The rulemaking process is a way to get your voice heard: here is how to do it right

If you think writing a public comment is difficult or best left to experts please know you are wrong! Here is a guide from someone who worked in the federal govt open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...

Another thread on why this is a bad idea bsky.app/profile/pamh...

i just did this for $10/month. worth every penny.

The End of Colbert's Show Signals Trouble One of the first signs of authoritarianism is headwinds against comedians

You can measure a society’s political freedom by how openly comedians are able to mock or satirize the government. CBS’s decision to silence Stephen Colbert, announcing the impending end of The Late Show, is another incipient sign of trouble in the United States.

open.substack.com/pub/fridains...

Trump admin. tells judge it can fire at least some career feds at any time for any reason The administration is seeking to upend civil service protections long in place for federal employees.

The end goal here is a completely at will workforce and they are already making those arguments www.govexec.com/management/2...

Here’s what Jon Stewart said about Colbert in the oral history of @thedailyshow.com

“… Colbert has a verbal equity that is second to none […] you could stuff 10 pounds of shit into a 2 pound sentence and he would Baryshnikov his way through it. Steven has an agility, verbally, that’s unmatched.”

This is a case where writing a public comment would have real value. A simple observation is that fraud reduction efforts often find little fraud but instead increase burdens on eligible applicants

Anyone know what this guy is? seen while hiking in Swiss Alps (sound on for full effect)

ACA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows

This is a really big deal that will impact MILLIONS of people:

"For example, if someone paid $60 a month for their health insurance this year, they might be looking at $105 a month next year. "
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Unprecedented and illegal: Russ Vought refuses to release White House budget as required by law. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Great interview with @emilytav.bsky.social and @kathypham.bsky.social on “civic tech.” Love the comment that civic tech = civic duty + technology.

Good reason to be concerned about the weaponization of the legal system to target Trump’s enemies

Checking in on the brave men of #Pizzagate as they encounter the story of a president who allegedly shared “secrets” with the world’s most famous pedophile

The more political appointees in an administration, the more people potentially influenced by where their next job is coming from. Career civil servants are in theory and practice are harder for businesses to influence as well as being less motivated by politics. Hence these “reforms.”

More on the new class of political appointees created by Trump fedscoop.com/trump-white-...

The "financial decision" being "it is expensive to mock a President who will fuck with our businesses"

Sam Corcos, CEO of an Andreessen Horowitz–backed health startup that has ties to SpaceX, told IRS engineers that Direct File was a good product.
Then met with private tax prep industry, and recommended killing it.
This is why we can't have tech innovation in govt.

We already have Schedule F (turning career civil servants into at-will employees).
Now Trump is announcing Schedule G: Opens space at top ranks of govt for Trump loyalists as policymakers, with no limit on hires. Continues pattern of politicization.
www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...