Tom
@alttag.bsky.social
Not that kind of doctor. (PhD, Computer Information Systems) Reformed software developer. Job: Data policy, AI, research. Interests: Org behavior, education, law, economics. Opinions are my own.
Reposted by Tom
ok, whoa. the DOJ just told me that the unredacted version of the document in question contains an image of a victim’s face overlayed on the face of the Mona Lisa image. so, that's why it's redacted. jesus christ
cool. glad we protected her identity at least www.404media.co/the-doj-reda...
The DOJ Redacted a Photo of the Mona Lisa in the Epstein Files
While Epstein’s victims endure the fallout of their photos and names being exposed in the Department of Justice’s latest tranche of files, investigators redacted the identity of the most famous portra...
www.404media.co
February 5, 2026 at 10:26 PM
ok, whoa. the DOJ just told me that the unredacted version of the document in question contains an image of a victim’s face overlayed on the face of the Mona Lisa image. so, that's why it's redacted. jesus christ
Reposted by Tom
About 500 BYU students, alumni and others protested Thursday against Border Patrol’s presence at a job fair on the Provo campus, chanting “BYU get ICE out” and “Border Patrol has got to go.”
(Video by The Tribune’s Francisco Kjolseth)
Read more here: www.sltrib.com/news/educati...
(Video by The Tribune’s Francisco Kjolseth)
Read more here: www.sltrib.com/news/educati...
February 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM
About 500 BYU students, alumni and others protested Thursday against Border Patrol’s presence at a job fair on the Provo campus, chanting “BYU get ICE out” and “Border Patrol has got to go.”
(Video by The Tribune’s Francisco Kjolseth)
Read more here: www.sltrib.com/news/educati...
(Video by The Tribune’s Francisco Kjolseth)
Read more here: www.sltrib.com/news/educati...
It’s nearing time for quarterly metrics reporting to the executive.
See below for a fun story that may make you rethink your metrics. I know some of ours have certainly been gamed.
See below for a fun story that may make you rethink your metrics. I know some of ours have certainly been gamed.
Was curious and googled and found this similar story (though they're not throwing the chicken out)
corporater.com/blog/the-chi...
corporater.com/blog/the-chi...
Be Careful What You Measure
Learn why all your KPIs are important, and why one cannot measure the health of an enterprise based on a single metric like the Chicken KPI!
corporater.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:20 AM
It’s nearing time for quarterly metrics reporting to the executive.
See below for a fun story that may make you rethink your metrics. I know some of ours have certainly been gamed.
See below for a fun story that may make you rethink your metrics. I know some of ours have certainly been gamed.
Reposted by Tom
The only response here is a motion to enjoin the whole operation
If the government's position is "I'm sorry your honor but we don't be the capacity to both respect constitutional rights and conduct the operation as it is currently being conducted" the answer is "then you must stop the operation"
If the government's position is "I'm sorry your honor but we don't be the capacity to both respect constitutional rights and conduct the operation as it is currently being conducted" the answer is "then you must stop the operation"
Flooding the zone with shit, but for the legal system. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
Surge in Immigration Cases in Minnesota Pushes Prosecutors and Judges to Brink
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:29 PM
The only response here is a motion to enjoin the whole operation
If the government's position is "I'm sorry your honor but we don't be the capacity to both respect constitutional rights and conduct the operation as it is currently being conducted" the answer is "then you must stop the operation"
If the government's position is "I'm sorry your honor but we don't be the capacity to both respect constitutional rights and conduct the operation as it is currently being conducted" the answer is "then you must stop the operation"
Reposted by Tom
NEW: Records also show DHS rushed Mobile Fortify out after abandoning its own facial-recognition oversight rules. Central privacy review was sidelined under orders from a Project 2025–linked former Heritage Foundation lawyer now serving as DHS chief privacy officer.
www.wired.com/story/cbp-ic...
www.wired.com/story/cbp-ic...
February 5, 2026 at 8:32 PM
NEW: Records also show DHS rushed Mobile Fortify out after abandoning its own facial-recognition oversight rules. Central privacy review was sidelined under orders from a Project 2025–linked former Heritage Foundation lawyer now serving as DHS chief privacy officer.
www.wired.com/story/cbp-ic...
www.wired.com/story/cbp-ic...
Reposted by Tom
Our faculty assembly just voted to prioritize merit raises over COLA raises, because the tenure track "fuck you, got mine" mentality has worked so well for us in the last decade.
January 30, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Our faculty assembly just voted to prioritize merit raises over COLA raises, because the tenure track "fuck you, got mine" mentality has worked so well for us in the last decade.
🧵 Listing books about lawyers and judicial officials who tried to reform Nazi Germany’s efforts from within, and exploration of why they failed.
Consensus premise seems to be moral capture is more likely than whistleblowing or internal reformation.
Consensus premise seems to be moral capture is more likely than whistleblowing or internal reformation.
I know of They Thought They Were Free, what are some other books?
February 5, 2026 at 8:14 PM
🧵 Listing books about lawyers and judicial officials who tried to reform Nazi Germany’s efforts from within, and exploration of why they failed.
Consensus premise seems to be moral capture is more likely than whistleblowing or internal reformation.
Consensus premise seems to be moral capture is more likely than whistleblowing or internal reformation.
Reposted by Tom
cannot possibly convey how actually crazy-making it can feel, after spending 20 years monitoring all these orgs blaming sex workers and the internet for enabling a vast sex trafficking network, to now see Jeffery Epstein’s inbox
February 5, 2026 at 4:16 PM
cannot possibly convey how actually crazy-making it can feel, after spending 20 years monitoring all these orgs blaming sex workers and the internet for enabling a vast sex trafficking network, to now see Jeffery Epstein’s inbox
Reposted by Tom
A few friends passed this email HHS sent today along to me:
"Federal employees have the right to be free from prohibited personnel practices, including retaliation for whistleblowing."
"Federal employees have the right to be free from prohibited personnel practices, including retaliation for whistleblowing."
February 5, 2026 at 3:46 PM
A few friends passed this email HHS sent today along to me:
"Federal employees have the right to be free from prohibited personnel practices, including retaliation for whistleblowing."
"Federal employees have the right to be free from prohibited personnel practices, including retaliation for whistleblowing."
Reposted by Tom
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
If this is true, I am constantly preventing harm.
My actual job description is activist and here’s what I tell people in despair all the time: do not underestimate how much harm you can prevent by being just a little bit annoying.
This is one reason I keep trying to remind people of the power that we have. That we have *always* had. Not because I’m in denial, but because I know history. I’m no sophisticated intellectual, but I do know we’re going to win even though the bad shit is really terrible right now.
February 5, 2026 at 1:09 PM
If this is true, I am constantly preventing harm.
Reposted by Tom
ohhh ‘democracy dies in darkness’ was aspirational
February 4, 2026 at 3:47 PM
ohhh ‘democracy dies in darkness’ was aspirational
Reposted by Tom
"AI makes it cheaper to contribute to Open Source, but it's not making life easier for maintainers. More contributions are flowing in, but the burden of evaluating them still falls on the same small group of people. That asymmetric pressure risks breaking maintainers."
also relevant to slop science
also relevant to slop science
February 2, 2026 at 2:48 PM
"AI makes it cheaper to contribute to Open Source, but it's not making life easier for maintainers. More contributions are flowing in, but the burden of evaluating them still falls on the same small group of people. That asymmetric pressure risks breaking maintainers."
also relevant to slop science
also relevant to slop science
Reposted by Tom
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review
If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:17 AM
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
Reposted by Tom
the founder of latinos for trump was detained by ICE & deported so idk what they were really expecting here
Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset
Republicans are freaking out about Hispanic voters after a Texas upset
Democrats flipped a deep-red state senate district over the weekend that has the party worried about November.
dlvr.it
February 4, 2026 at 12:01 AM
the founder of latinos for trump was detained by ICE & deported so idk what they were really expecting here
Reposted by Tom
This is a really detailed and extensive report.
tldr - immigrants' fiscal impact is so positive that it would be absolutely foolish to adopt anti-immigrant policies (which of course this administration is doing bc of racism)
tldr - immigrants' fiscal impact is so positive that it would be absolutely foolish to adopt anti-immigrant policies (which of course this administration is doing bc of racism)
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
February 4, 2026 at 2:53 AM
This is a really detailed and extensive report.
tldr - immigrants' fiscal impact is so positive that it would be absolutely foolish to adopt anti-immigrant policies (which of course this administration is doing bc of racism)
tldr - immigrants' fiscal impact is so positive that it would be absolutely foolish to adopt anti-immigrant policies (which of course this administration is doing bc of racism)
On the other hand, people in leadership are resigning so frequently now that our new intern might be promoted to Undersecretary by the end of the month.
Alert to everyone working for this fascist administration:
Quit your job.
Quit your job.
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
February 4, 2026 at 3:43 AM
On the other hand, people in leadership are resigning so frequently now that our new intern might be promoted to Undersecretary by the end of the month.
Reposted by Tom
This is real and it is happening and I fear no one knows what to do about it.
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
February 3, 2026 at 10:48 PM
This is real and it is happening and I fear no one knows what to do about it.
Reposted by Tom
Sharepoint is a product built in hell for the torture of souls, and somehow distributed via an enterprise software license.
February 4, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Sharepoint is a product built in hell for the torture of souls, and somehow distributed via an enterprise software license.
Reposted by Tom
“We use version control!” the manager fired back, the day after I personally watched their database admin use freaking Microsoft Excel to manually “version control” his stored procedures.
February 3, 2026 at 3:03 PM
“We use version control!” the manager fired back, the day after I personally watched their database admin use freaking Microsoft Excel to manually “version control” his stored procedures.
Reposted by Tom
Leadership failure
There was a piece a few months back, on "how good engineers write bad software," that I thought really captured the MegaCorp environment really well
It comes down to the C-suite sucking at its job IMO
bsky.app/profile/appa...
There was a piece a few months back, on "how good engineers write bad software," that I thought really captured the MegaCorp environment really well
It comes down to the C-suite sucking at its job IMO
bsky.app/profile/appa...
Why are Apple and Microsoft in a race to the bottom on worst software
February 3, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Leadership failure
There was a piece a few months back, on "how good engineers write bad software," that I thought really captured the MegaCorp environment really well
It comes down to the C-suite sucking at its job IMO
bsky.app/profile/appa...
There was a piece a few months back, on "how good engineers write bad software," that I thought really captured the MegaCorp environment really well
It comes down to the C-suite sucking at its job IMO
bsky.app/profile/appa...
Reposted by Tom
A super important paper, and one that I'm sure was incredibly difficult to publish. An exploration of sexual misconduct in legal academia (and why it's not talked about enough), something I'm sure is also true in other fields as well.
February 2, 2026 at 10:07 PM
A super important paper, and one that I'm sure was incredibly difficult to publish. An exploration of sexual misconduct in legal academia (and why it's not talked about enough), something I'm sure is also true in other fields as well.
Reposted by Tom
I was a White House ethics lawyer.
I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules.
I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.
I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules.
I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.
Foreign countries are bribing our president to sell out the American people.
Trump family businesses made $187 MILLION from this deal, and just months later he gave the UAE some of our most top-secret AI tech.
They are selling our national security to the highest bidder.
Trump family businesses made $187 MILLION from this deal, and just months later he gave the UAE some of our most top-secret AI tech.
They are selling our national security to the highest bidder.
February 2, 2026 at 7:28 AM
I was a White House ethics lawyer.
I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules.
I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.
I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules.
I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.
Reposted by Tom
Tear gas is banned in international warfare, yet classified as a “riot control agent” that law enforcement can use for crowd control.
“It just doesn’t work well, and it hits the weakest people the most, and causes the most complications in them,” an anesthesiology professor at Duke University said.
“It just doesn’t work well, and it hits the weakest people the most, and causes the most complications in them,” an anesthesiology professor at Duke University said.
Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On
In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways. The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surf...
www.propublica.org
February 3, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Tear gas is banned in international warfare, yet classified as a “riot control agent” that law enforcement can use for crowd control.
“It just doesn’t work well, and it hits the weakest people the most, and causes the most complications in them,” an anesthesiology professor at Duke University said.
“It just doesn’t work well, and it hits the weakest people the most, and causes the most complications in them,” an anesthesiology professor at Duke University said.
Reposted by Tom
Adding to this with one of my biggest gripes:
If rights in the Constitution aren’t enforceable by individuals when such rights have been violated or if the rights are held otherwise non-justiciable, then those rights in the Constitution cease to exist.
If rights in the Constitution aren’t enforceable by individuals when such rights have been violated or if the rights are held otherwise non-justiciable, then those rights in the Constitution cease to exist.
Again, my big takeaway from four-plus years of reporting on the Trump Hotel DC—
Norms aren’t laws and, unless they’re enforced quickly, laws ain’t shit.
Norms aren’t laws and, unless they’re enforced quickly, laws ain’t shit.
February 3, 2026 at 3:19 AM
Adding to this with one of my biggest gripes:
If rights in the Constitution aren’t enforceable by individuals when such rights have been violated or if the rights are held otherwise non-justiciable, then those rights in the Constitution cease to exist.
If rights in the Constitution aren’t enforceable by individuals when such rights have been violated or if the rights are held otherwise non-justiciable, then those rights in the Constitution cease to exist.