There's a very big difference between what "government efficiency" means to you, and what it means to a neoliberal.
To you, "efficiency" means something like when you show up in a hospital emergency room, you are seen by a doctor promptly, and they are properly equipped to treat you.
To a neoliberal, "efficiency" means the hospital has as few staff and resources as possible.
As a result, you are likely to be seen by a doctor less promptly, and they will be less well equipped to treat you.
But rich people will pay less tax.
#auspol #politics #economics #economy #government #neoliberalism
government
Elon Musk’s lobbyists spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like gifts and meals for Texas elected officials this year.
But, in most cases, state transparency laws do not require them to disclose which elected officials they wine and dine.
https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-texas-lobbyists-influence-law?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #ElonMusk #Texas #Law #SpaceX #Tesla #Government #Business #Musk
#Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable #evidence of #human-caused #climatechange by shuttering #observatory https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-admin-tries-to-kill-the-most-indisputable-evidence-of-human-caused-climate-change-by-shuttering-observatory/ar-AA1HLdjJ #censorship #government #science
A quotation from George Carlin
Folks, I hate to spoil your fun, but — there’s no such thing as rights. Okay? They’re imaginary. We made ’em up. […] Now, if you think you do have rights, one last assignment for you. Next time you’re at the computer, get on the Internet, go to Wikipedia. When you get to Wikipedia, in the search field for Wikipedia I want you to type in “Japanese-American 1942,” and you’ll find all about your precious fucking rights, okay? […] Just when these American citizens needed their rights the most, their government took ’em away. And rights aren’t “rights” if someone can take ’em away — they’re privileges. That’s all we’ve ever had in this country is a Bill of Temporary Privileges. And if you read the news, even badly, you know that every year the list gets shorter and shorter and shorter.
George Carlin (1937-2008) American comedian
Show (2008-03-01), It’s Bad for Ya, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California (HBO)
Sourcing, notes: wist.info/carlin-george/54395/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #georgecarlin #godgivenrights #internment #abuseofauthority #billofrights #civilrights #government #power #privileges #rights
I was annoyed that the swiss government closed down their mastodon server, so I've made @swissgov that gets the RSS feed from https://news.admin.ch and posts it. It's all English
#switzerland #swiss #politics #news #government #bot
Edited 3d ago
Here's the impact of what our purchased Senate just did. There's still a chance for it to be prevented by the House. Call your representative! You can find them here:
Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
#News #KristiNoem #DHS #Ethics #USPolitics #Government #Nonprofit
"What Bannon here describes as a stable ‘social structure’ undergirded by the grunt work of those who keep society functioning properly is in fact a liberal system of #government, erected on the basis of foundational liberal ideas" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-fixed-theme-of-american-history/
“ProPublica’s reporting revealed these cancelled contracts were delivering essential services … and exposed the cruel and dumb AI formulas DOGE bros used to cancel contracts,” Sen. Blumenthal said. “Veterans and all Americans deserve transparency.”
#DOGE #Veterans #AI #Health #Government #Technology #Journalism #Transparency
#JohnRoberts: "I Never Thought the #Leopards Would Eat *My* #Judiciary". The #chief #justice who handed an #oligarch a crown is once again surprised by the consequences of his own actions by Allison Gill https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/john-roberts-i-never-thought-the #democracy #constitution #civilliberties #courts ##trump #maga #fascism #government #immunity #classaction #womenshealth #publichealth #privacy #choice #education #immigration #deportation #corruption #greed #putin
Edited 6d ago
States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
—
Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fema-grants-trump-emergencies?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FEMA #Hurricane #Disaster #Emergency #Government #Trump
Our guests on ALAYT this week are Pollyanne Birge of the City of Spokane's Office of Neighborhood Services as well as independent artist Madison Merica.
They talk about the City-led zine "This Is Spokane: A Civic Guide for Neighbors."
Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”
—
The senators are calling for a federal watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of VA contracts. Among their concerns: ProPublica revealed DOGE used artificial intelligence to mark contracts as “munchable.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-veterans-affairs-ai-senator-investigation?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Reid: Why did the Iran hostage crisis take place?
Todd: Because fundamentalist radicals took over the #government
Reid: They overthrew the shah who we imposed on Iran because the Dulles brothers, one at the #CIA and one at the state department, decided that the oil beneath the soil of Iran belonged to BP and belonged to us. And when mossadegh, who was the leader of #Iran, the #democratically elected leader of Iran,
A Republican attempt to prevent individual U.S. states from enforcing their own AI regulations has cleared a key hurdle. @Techcrunch has more:
#MAGAs should ask themselves:
why do so many MAGAs end up in prison ?
> Is it a #government #conspiracy ? <
that target the MAGAs?
(not possible... the government is MAGA)
it is because
there are many MANY criminals among the MAGAs
(Supremacist, Neonazi, fascists, racist, a LOT of scammers )
...
and they commit many MANY crimes
and it is obvious that this is the case
when the "Leader" of a movement
is a criminal.
Listen carefully:
In #Trump #Big #Beautiful #Bill
#MAGAGOP inserted a "particular" law
If the Bill passes, very few #Americans will be able
to sue the #Government for damages.
The law prescribes that:
the Complainant must first deposit in FULL the sum
asked for compensation
plus the expense Government (which uses tax payers" money)
'assumes' will spend against you.
It means: if you sue for $1 million
you first have to deposit $1 million, plus an 'amount' decided by the Government.
....
RESIST.
📩 In a letter to the 🌹 #PrimeMinister, Foxcroft said she understood the need to address "the ever-increasing welfare bill" but said cuts to personal independence payments and #UniversalCredit should "not be part of the solution"❗️
#UKLabour #WelfareState #VickyFoxcroftMP #KeirStarmer #Government #DisabilityBenefits #LabourParty #DisabilityCuts
If our public lands are sold off, we’ll never get them back
Republicans are proposing the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of public lands within the next five years. Think about that for a second…3,300,000 acres. That the equivalent to 5,156 square miles, which is larger than either the states of Rhode Island or Delaware and nearly as large as Puerto Rico and Connecticut. It would be the same as lopping off one-tenth of Louisiana or Alabama. Here’s the rub – the 3.3 million acres is just the beginning, as more than 250 million acres would become eligible. That’s 1.45 times the size of Texas, folks! More area than any state except Alaska.
“Less well understood is the fact that the bill makes more than 250 million acres of public lands eligible for those sales, including via nomination by any interested party.”
“Over 250 million acres of public lands are eligible for sale in the bill, including local recreation areas, wilderness study areas and inventoried roadless areas.”
Source: americanprogress.org and wilderness.org
Source: blm.govIf you have ever tried to hike longer distances in the east, midwest, Great Lakes, south, and much of the Great Plains, it is not necessarily an easy thing to do. With the exception of certain trails like the Appalachian Trail, it is quite difficult because of trespassing laws related to private property. Even a mega trails like the Appalachian and North Country have to obtain easements and/or sometimes have to alter their routes.
West of the 100th Meridian, numerous outdoor activities would be limited or completely unavailable if it was not for our public lands. These include, but are not limited to:
Want to go off-roading? Good luck if our public lands are sold-off.
Want to go hunting? There will be less options without these public lands.
Want to hike through the glorious Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and other mountain ranges? These options will be less likely if public lands are sold off. Furthermore, what happens to the Continental Divide Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Arizona Trail, the Colorado Trail, the Tahoe Rim Trail, and other scenic corridors if this bill passes in its current form?
Want to mountain bike? Your options will be reduced by this public lands sell-off.
Want to go camping in the forest, the desert, or aside an Alpine lake in the mountains? You’d be out of luck, if this public lands sell-off happens.
Want to kayak, canoe, or fish? Yet again, options will be reduced by this sell-off.
The problem with short term thinking like this proposed public land sell-off is once it is gone, there is little or no chance of ever getting the land back. It would be very unlikely if ANY OF US would ever have another chance to explore sold off land again in our lifetimes.
“This proposal is a direct attack on our jointly held ownership of the very soul of America – its public lands.”
Even more infuriating is the likelihood that these lands will be sold at “giveaway” prices for the claim that it will add more land for more housing. Instead, these lands will be sold to help offset the tax breaks being proposed for billionaires. These very same public lands will likely end up being bought by billionaires and corporate interests from both inside and outside the United States.
If selling off our shared land upsets you, please call, write, email, text, or talk to your senators and representatives in Congress. Don’t let them inflict irreparable and unnecessary pain on our beautiful nation for badly conceived short-term political or economic reasons. This proposal is a direct attack on our jointly held ownership of the very soul of America – its public lands.
“Whatever happened to: ‘This land is your land, this land is my land…”?
(Lyrics by Woody Guthrie)
Peace!
#ecosystems #environment #geography #government #history #landUse #nature #publicLands #tourism #travel #Wilderness
New York State is hiring for two roles in accessibility
https://www.ny.gov/new-york-state-digital-service/we-are-hiring
#a11y #accessibility #newyork #statejobs #GetFediHired #Jobs #government #PublicInterestTech
Edited 16d ago
Hello World!
I just spoke with a #US #Senator office about the #fediverse . They're asking for more information to help spread around #Capital #Hill in small bite sized easy to understand pieces. I'm obviously going to give them @elena beautiful #movie on the #fedi (with some light editing which she's agreed to).
I'll of course show them https://fediverse.info/ and https://fedi.tips/ which are great websites. I figured I'd give them examples of amazing #AP projects such as #mastodon , #pixelfed , #peertube , #bandwagon , and #bonfire ; even things like @admin .
I'd love to know from folks any EASY to understand projects that best encompass the Fediverse and explanations of it.
What are some projects you'd hand to your friends and family that would explain and display to them what we are?
I'll say this isn't going to happen over night. There's lot of questions around regulations, trust & safety, etc. But I feel it's pertinent to at least get the conversation going, especially considering the current state of disdain for big social media and the impending legislation around these things.
I'll finally state if there's anyone in this list that does NOT want to be involved with this, that's totally fine and I understand and I can exclude you from the materials I give to them.
#boost #boostplease #government #laws #activityPub
@benpate @peertube @bonfire
@stefano @dansup @Mastodon
As the #GOP #hypocrites keep reminding us, this is a country of laws. Be #lawful in your actions. Show your #badge, #identification. Show a #valid #warrant. Show your #face. Otherwise, you're just a #masked #hoodlum grabbing and kidnapping people.
#ICE #DHS #NoSecretPoliceAct #government #USPolitics #resist #fascism
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dhs-denounces-despicable-california-proposal-192120497.html
Two prominent East African political activists are suing the governments of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, claiming they were abducted and tortured by security agents. Read more from @Semafor
https://flip.it/tyZuEB
#Tanzania #Uganda #Kenya #Africa #Politics #Government #Security #Corruption