Antone Johnson
@antone.bsky.social
Full-stack general counsel to emerging tech/social ventures, platforms + products ⚖️ (ex- Google, eHarmony, MySpace). Incurable policy wonk, wag, proud Californian (SF + LA) 💙 🇺🇦 🎗️
https://linktr.ee/antonejohnson
https://linktr.ee/antonejohnson
Reposted by Antone Johnson
The U.S. Department of Metaphors remains in a constant state of readiness, and no amount of illegal DOGE cutbacks and firings can stop its essential work.
SS United States to be sunk, turned into an artificial reef www.crossingbroad.com/2025/02/the-...
The South Philly Skyline Will Never be the Same, Goodbye SS United States
The SS United States is finally leaving South Philly . The once proud vessel that used to be the gold standard of the past just rotted in obscurity for almost 30 years. Like the Dallas Cowboys. If yo...
www.crossingbroad.com
February 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The U.S. Department of Metaphors remains in a constant state of readiness, and no amount of illegal DOGE cutbacks and firings can stop its essential work.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Unfortunately firings have continued at the National Nuclear Safety Administration.
I’ve been contacted by an NNSA worker who was fired, then told her termination was paused, then told she was fired again. She says there were numerous others at NNSA treated the same way.
These people keep us safe.
I’ve been contacted by an NNSA worker who was fired, then told her termination was paused, then told she was fired again. She says there were numerous others at NNSA treated the same way.
These people keep us safe.
Days after "accidentally" firing nuclear safety workers, Trump and Musk have "accidentally" fired the people racing to protect the American public from bird flu.
This is stupid beyond belief. A better president would intentionally fire DOGE and everyone involved with it.
This is stupid beyond belief. A better president would intentionally fire DOGE and everyone involved with it.
USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them
In a statement, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...
In a statement, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."
www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...
February 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Unfortunately firings have continued at the National Nuclear Safety Administration.
I’ve been contacted by an NNSA worker who was fired, then told her termination was paused, then told she was fired again. She says there were numerous others at NNSA treated the same way.
These people keep us safe.
I’ve been contacted by an NNSA worker who was fired, then told her termination was paused, then told she was fired again. She says there were numerous others at NNSA treated the same way.
These people keep us safe.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, with an empowering and emotional speech.
"The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here. They point to a group of people who don't look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems"
"The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here. They point to a group of people who don't look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems"
February 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, with an empowering and emotional speech.
"The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here. They point to a group of people who don't look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems"
"The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here. They point to a group of people who don't look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems"
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Two DOGE workers are now at CISA (DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) I've confirmed. Edward Coristine, the 19-yr-old known as Big Balls, and Kyle Schutt, a 37-yr-old software engineer. Marisa Kabas (bsky.app/profile/mari...) was first to report about Coristine. My piece for Wired
DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency
DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
www.wired.com
February 20, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Two DOGE workers are now at CISA (DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) I've confirmed. Edward Coristine, the 19-yr-old known as Big Balls, and Kyle Schutt, a 37-yr-old software engineer. Marisa Kabas (bsky.app/profile/mari...) was first to report about Coristine. My piece for Wired
Reposted by Antone Johnson
yeah the mistake they made was assuming their colleagues would have some bare minimum of professional pride or backbone
For the past week The AP has been trying to engage the Trump WH re: the "Gulf" ban. Today, I'm told, AP exec editor Julie Pace sat down with WH chief of staff Susie Wiles. AP is not wavering re: its editorial independence, so it seems unlikely anything was achieved in the meeting
February 20, 2025 at 1:31 AM
yeah the mistake they made was assuming their colleagues would have some bare minimum of professional pride or backbone
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Remarkable thread offering guidance to current and prospective NSF grantees about how to navigate the times ahead — from an NSF program officer who was fired in yesterday's DOGE purge (!)
Upon learning that yesterday would be my last day as a program officer at the National Science Foundation, I shared this parting message with my colleagues. The next few months will be frenetic and stressful for them. Here are some things that you can do to help them with the mission ahead. (1)
February 20, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Remarkable thread offering guidance to current and prospective NSF grantees about how to navigate the times ahead — from an NSF program officer who was fired in yesterday's DOGE purge (!)
Reposted by Antone Johnson
President Zelenskyy has been one of the greatest leaders of our time, guiding Ukraine through the darkest period of its recent history, rising up to Russia’s unwarranted aggression, being an inspiration to the Ukrainian people and ensuring that Ukraine’s voice is heard on the world stage.
February 20, 2025 at 12:14 AM
President Zelenskyy has been one of the greatest leaders of our time, guiding Ukraine through the darkest period of its recent history, rising up to Russia’s unwarranted aggression, being an inspiration to the Ukrainian people and ensuring that Ukraine’s voice is heard on the world stage.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
February 19, 2025 at 8:50 PM
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
Reposted by Antone Johnson
With all due respect, Congressman, he’s not trying to distract from anything here.
He’s a grandiose pathological narcissist. A narcissistic sociopath. A malignant narcissist. A psychopath. A megalomaniac.
This is what he thinks of himself. And what he wants others to think of him.
He’s a grandiose pathological narcissist. A narcissistic sociopath. A malignant narcissist. A psychopath. A megalomaniac.
This is what he thinks of himself. And what he wants others to think of him.
Dear media:
Please do not waste time hyperventilating about this dumb comment.
It’s intended to be a distraction from all of the damaging actions he’s taking.
Focus on those.
Please do not waste time hyperventilating about this dumb comment.
It’s intended to be a distraction from all of the damaging actions he’s taking.
Focus on those.
February 19, 2025 at 10:12 PM
With all due respect, Congressman, he’s not trying to distract from anything here.
He’s a grandiose pathological narcissist. A narcissistic sociopath. A malignant narcissist. A psychopath. A megalomaniac.
This is what he thinks of himself. And what he wants others to think of him.
He’s a grandiose pathological narcissist. A narcissistic sociopath. A malignant narcissist. A psychopath. A megalomaniac.
This is what he thinks of himself. And what he wants others to think of him.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Really important to point out that part of the reason Russia is gunning for Signal in such an ass-backwards way is that all the normal ways they have to break into communications haven't worked on Signal.
Today, Google Threat Intelligence is alerting the community to increasing efforts from several Russia state-aligned threat actors (GRU, FSB, etc.) to compromise Signal Messenger accounts.
cloud.google.com/blog/topics/...
cloud.google.com/blog/topics/...
Signals of Trouble: Multiple Russia-Aligned Threat Actors Actively Targeting Signal Messenger | Google Cloud Blog
Russia state-aligned threat actors target Signal Messenger accounts used by individuals of interest to Russia's intelligence services.
cloud.google.com
February 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Really important to point out that part of the reason Russia is gunning for Signal in such an ass-backwards way is that all the normal ways they have to break into communications haven't worked on Signal.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
REVEALED: we identified the operator of an overtly racist X account, "GlomarResponder," as ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.
ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account
The Observer has identified the operator of “GlomarResponder,” an overtly racist social media account, as ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.
www.texasobserver.org
February 19, 2025 at 10:04 PM
REVEALED: we identified the operator of an overtly racist X account, "GlomarResponder," as ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding for refugee settlement
(this is a big deal as many have been questioning why it hadn't happened yet)
apnews.com/article/cath...
(this is a big deal as many have been questioning why it hadn't happened yet)
apnews.com/article/cath...
US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding for refugee settlement
Catholic bishops are suing the Trump administration over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s large...
apnews.com
February 18, 2025 at 11:59 PM
US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding for refugee settlement
(this is a big deal as many have been questioning why it hadn't happened yet)
apnews.com/article/cath...
(this is a big deal as many have been questioning why it hadn't happened yet)
apnews.com/article/cath...
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Trump is now an aide in Russia’s regime change plan for Ukraine.
Europeans need to act NOW, not after the German elections, to make sure Ukrainians have an alternative. All the worst came true and there is no other way to put it than that the US is in Russia’s team now.
Europeans need to act NOW, not after the German elections, to make sure Ukrainians have an alternative. All the worst came true and there is no other way to put it than that the US is in Russia’s team now.
Trump snaps back at Zelenskyy, blaming Ukraine for the war
The Ukrainian president has been excluded from the administration’s negotiations with Russia seeking an end to the war.
www.politico.com
February 19, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Trump is now an aide in Russia’s regime change plan for Ukraine.
Europeans need to act NOW, not after the German elections, to make sure Ukrainians have an alternative. All the worst came true and there is no other way to put it than that the US is in Russia’s team now.
Europeans need to act NOW, not after the German elections, to make sure Ukrainians have an alternative. All the worst came true and there is no other way to put it than that the US is in Russia’s team now.
Who on earth would ever come in at that valuation today given the fundamentals? Serious question.
Scoop: X (Twitter) is the latest Musk-affiliated company to receive investment interest after Trump’s win. The company is in talks to raise a funding round at a $44B valuation, the same as his acquisition price in 2022 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Musk’s X Is in Talks to Raise Money at a $44 Billion Valuation
X, Elon Musk’s social media company formerly known as Twitter, is in talks to raise money from investors at a $44 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter — the same price that ...
www.bloomberg.com
February 19, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Who on earth would ever come in at that valuation today given the fundamentals? Serious question.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
So many people of the people who can literally afford to be strong are so appallingly, embarrassingly weak.
February 19, 2025 at 5:24 AM
So many people of the people who can literally afford to be strong are so appallingly, embarrassingly weak.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
“She's smart, fearless, and she never speaks in mushy political talking points—she talks like a normal person.” 🎯
@mallorymcmorrow.bsky.social please let me know when you declare for the Senate race. We need you and your voice.
@mallorymcmorrow.bsky.social please let me know when you declare for the Senate race. We need you and your voice.
People can smell BS a mile away. Building a real relationship with voters/constituents (ya know, people) requires getting rid of performing nonsense and showing up as yourself, even if it’s not perfectly polished. www.newsweek.com/mallory-mcmo...
Rising star Mallory McMorrow tells Democrats to leave the "bulls***" behind
McMorrow sat down with Newsweek to talk how her party could solve their messaging problem, why most people don't care and how to engage Gen Z.
www.newsweek.com
February 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM
“She's smart, fearless, and she never speaks in mushy political talking points—she talks like a normal person.” 🎯
@mallorymcmorrow.bsky.social please let me know when you declare for the Senate race. We need you and your voice.
@mallorymcmorrow.bsky.social please let me know when you declare for the Senate race. We need you and your voice.
We are literally paying $8-10 a dozen for eggs BECAUSE OF THIS BIRD FLU. Am I hallucinating or wasn’t this a signature campaign issue?
First nuclear weapons management, now this. No one - Democrat or Republican - voted for this kind of incompetence.
NEW: The USDA acknowledged that over the weekend, it accidentally fired "several" agency employees who are working on the federal government's response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.
The agency adds it is trying to quickly reverse the firings.
The agency adds it is trying to quickly reverse the firings.
February 19, 2025 at 3:09 AM
We are literally paying $8-10 a dozen for eggs BECAUSE OF THIS BIRD FLU. Am I hallucinating or wasn’t this a signature campaign issue?
Reposted by Antone Johnson
"EIGHT....MILLION....DOLLARS!"
February 19, 2025 at 1:41 AM
"EIGHT....MILLION....DOLLARS!"
Clowns. 🤡 But clowns wielding flamethrowers, to quote one of @sykescharlie.bsky.social favorite lines.
"The $7.992 billion mistake was discovered simply because it was the first item The Upshot reviewed, after sorting the list by the savings amount."
This isn't the hard kind of math
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...
February 19, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Clowns. 🤡 But clowns wielding flamethrowers, to quote one of @sykescharlie.bsky.social favorite lines.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Ok this is making the rounds and tbc the scale of what is happening to the federal workforce and with impoundment is unprecedented - but I think we need to be really careful about assuming this is going to all hit at once in March or that we know the size of the impact 1/
It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession. Just based on 200K+ federal firings & pullback of contracts, the March employment report (to be released April 4) seems certain to show bigger job losses than any month ever outside of a few in 2008-9 and 2020.
February 19, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Ok this is making the rounds and tbc the scale of what is happening to the federal workforce and with impoundment is unprecedented - but I think we need to be really careful about assuming this is going to all hit at once in March or that we know the size of the impact 1/
Wow! Blanket knee-jerk RTO mandates can have a notable effect on productivity. Your tax dollars at work:
Trump ordered all federal workers back to work in physical offices. So how is that going? Per the Washington Post:
February 18, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Wow! Blanket knee-jerk RTO mandates can have a notable effect on productivity. Your tax dollars at work:
Reposted by Antone Johnson
So few understand enough to ask this question, but it is the central question for Meyer and the SoS and everyone else, including the legislators being asked to vote on this.
Has literally ANY non-controlled-corporation threatened DExit?
February 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM
So few understand enough to ask this question, but it is the central question for Meyer and the SoS and everyone else, including the legislators being asked to vote on this.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
Adams’s lawyers’ letter actually makes a pretty good case for Hochul to remove him.
Letter from Mayor Adams' lawyers to DOJ (dated Feb. 3 but filed on court docket today) makes clear the immigration policy oriented quid pro quo Adams was seeking storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 18, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Adams’s lawyers’ letter actually makes a pretty good case for Hochul to remove him.
Reposted by Antone Johnson
NEW: Letter from 900+ former federal prosecutors warns of decisions at Justice Dept
"Some of you have been ordered to make charging decisions based expressly on considerations other than the facts & the law, including to serve solely political purposes"
www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/u...
"Some of you have been ordered to make charging decisions based expressly on considerations other than the facts & the law, including to serve solely political purposes"
www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/u...
www.thejusticeconnection.org
February 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
NEW: Letter from 900+ former federal prosecutors warns of decisions at Justice Dept
"Some of you have been ordered to make charging decisions based expressly on considerations other than the facts & the law, including to serve solely political purposes"
www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/u...
"Some of you have been ordered to make charging decisions based expressly on considerations other than the facts & the law, including to serve solely political purposes"
www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/u...