Alexander Howard
@digiphile.bsky.social
Dad, writer, cyclist, citizen, cereal dilettante. Advocate for freedom of information, open governance, & democracy. Lover of the Oxford Comma, hater of hubris. Recovering journalist. Trying to move carefully, & fix things. https://civic-texts.ghost.io
Pinned
Alexander Howard
@digiphile.bsky.social
· Jun 23
Good morning from DC 🥵
If we need to connect:
🤳 Signal: digiphile.97
💡📲 civic-texts.ghost.io
📧 [email protected]
🐦 X.com/digiphile
🧵 threads.net/@digiphile
🐘 mastodon.social/@digiphile
📇 linkedin.com/in/alexanderbhoward
👍 facebook.com/alexhoward
📸 instagr.am/digiphile
🖥️ youtube.com/digiphile
If we need to connect:
🤳 Signal: digiphile.97
💡📲 civic-texts.ghost.io
📧 [email protected]
🐦 X.com/digiphile
🧵 threads.net/@digiphile
🐘 mastodon.social/@digiphile
📇 linkedin.com/in/alexanderbhoward
👍 facebook.com/alexhoward
📸 instagr.am/digiphile
🖥️ youtube.com/digiphile
The Trump Administration “denied causing… harm, even as it has made the scale of the damage harder to measure—halting data monitoring & dismissing inspectors general who might have documented it.”— @agawande.bsky.social
“This is common in cases of public man-made death.”
Authoritarian blindness.
“This is common in cases of public man-made death.”
Authoritarian blindness.
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
www.newyorker.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The Trump Administration “denied causing… harm, even as it has made the scale of the damage harder to measure—halting data monitoring & dismissing inspectors general who might have documented it.”— @agawande.bsky.social
“This is common in cases of public man-made death.”
Authoritarian blindness.
“This is common in cases of public man-made death.”
Authoritarian blindness.
Reposted by Alexander Howard
"That about-face, as much as any action Ms. Bondi has taken this year, demonstrated the near-complete breakdown of the Justice Department’s traditional independence to prosecute cases based on facts and the law, as opposed to presidential fiat."
The rule of law is breaking down in front of us.
The rule of law is breaking down in front of us.
Four months ago, Bondi's DOJ declared that Epstein files warranted no further investigation. But it took Bondi four hours to open an investigation anyway once Trump demanded--and only into Democrats @ericalgj.bsky.social @glennthrush.bsky.social @alanfeuer.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
Justice Department to Investigate Epstein Ties, but Not to Trump
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:26 AM
"That about-face, as much as any action Ms. Bondi has taken this year, demonstrated the near-complete breakdown of the Justice Department’s traditional independence to prosecute cases based on facts and the law, as opposed to presidential fiat."
The rule of law is breaking down in front of us.
The rule of law is breaking down in front of us.
Reposted by Alexander Howard
No crypto! Just old-fashioned corruption
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 15, 2025 at 10:03 PM
No crypto! Just old-fashioned corruption
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Video of @whitehouse-47.bsky.social under construction on a cloudy day in November.
The American flag 🇺🇸 is being flown at half-staff by law after the death of Vice President Richard Cheney, until the date of his internment.
uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?p...
The American flag 🇺🇸 is being flown at half-staff by law after the death of Vice President Richard Cheney, until the date of his internment.
uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?p...
November 14, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Video of @whitehouse-47.bsky.social under construction on a cloudy day in November.
The American flag 🇺🇸 is being flown at half-staff by law after the death of Vice President Richard Cheney, until the date of his internment.
uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?p...
The American flag 🇺🇸 is being flown at half-staff by law after the death of Vice President Richard Cheney, until the date of his internment.
uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?p...
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Constitutional calvinball
November 14, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Constitutional calvinball
DHS is expanding a centralized database of that dozens of states can to verify citizenship status to vote, despite concerns about disenfranchisement:
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove... It’s not hard to see how this could be misused or abused in next year’s midterm elections.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove... It’s not hard to see how this could be misused or abused in next year’s midterm elections.
DHS expanding citizenship system for voter verification, despite concerns about potential disenfranchisement
Twenty-six states are in line to use a revamped DHS system to check their voter rolls for non-citizens, although the network has raised concerns about privacy and accuracy — including if it could kick...
www.nextgov.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:58 AM
DHS is expanding a centralized database of that dozens of states can to verify citizenship status to vote, despite concerns about disenfranchisement:
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove... It’s not hard to see how this could be misused or abused in next year’s midterm elections.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove... It’s not hard to see how this could be misused or abused in next year’s midterm elections.
Anchorage, Alaska will try online voting: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Estonia has been able to do it securely.
The open source approach is the right one.
A local pilot is the right scale.
But I’m still not sure this is the right time.
Estonia has been able to do it securely.
The open source approach is the right one.
A local pilot is the right scale.
But I’m still not sure this is the right time.
Will People Trust Voting by Phone? Alaska Is Going to Find Out.
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Anchorage, Alaska will try online voting: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Estonia has been able to do it securely.
The open source approach is the right one.
A local pilot is the right scale.
But I’m still not sure this is the right time.
Estonia has been able to do it securely.
The open source approach is the right one.
A local pilot is the right scale.
But I’m still not sure this is the right time.
Reposted by Alexander Howard
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Donald Trump pardoned a slew of people involved in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, including fake electors.
We fought to expose the truth and these pardons can’t erase that. We were the first to obtain the fake elector certificates.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
We fought to expose the truth and these pardons can’t erase that. We were the first to obtain the fake elector certificates.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
November 13, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Donald Trump pardoned a slew of people involved in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, including fake electors.
We fought to expose the truth and these pardons can’t erase that. We were the first to obtain the fake elector certificates.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
We fought to expose the truth and these pardons can’t erase that. We were the first to obtain the fake elector certificates.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Here’s a gift link (no paywall) to the article, “Catholic bishops condemn ‘indiscriminate mass deportation’ in rare statement”:
wapo.st/448fDw6
wapo.st/448fDw6
November 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Here’s a gift link (no paywall) to the article, “Catholic bishops condemn ‘indiscriminate mass deportation’ in rare statement”:
wapo.st/448fDw6
wapo.st/448fDw6
The US House voted to agree to the Senate amendment to #HR5371, 222 - 209.
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
216 Republicans, 6 Democrats.
(2 did not vote.) clerk.house.gov/evs/2025/rol...
The longest government shutdown in American history will end, but a long winter of our discontent lies ahead.
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
216 Republicans, 6 Democrats.
(2 did not vote.) clerk.house.gov/evs/2025/rol...
The longest government shutdown in American history will end, but a long winter of our discontent lies ahead.
November 13, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The US House voted to agree to the Senate amendment to #HR5371, 222 - 209.
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
216 Republicans, 6 Democrats.
(2 did not vote.) clerk.house.gov/evs/2025/rol...
The longest government shutdown in American history will end, but a long winter of our discontent lies ahead.
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
216 Republicans, 6 Democrats.
(2 did not vote.) clerk.house.gov/evs/2025/rol...
The longest government shutdown in American history will end, but a long winter of our discontent lies ahead.
“For the first time since 1948, the "household survey," from which the unemployment rate is calculated, was not carried out last month, according to Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors”
Authoritarian blindness that leaves an information void that can be filled with lies or spin.
Authoritarian blindness that leaves an information void that can be filled with lies or spin.
www.reuters.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:27 PM
“For the first time since 1948, the "household survey," from which the unemployment rate is calculated, was not carried out last month, according to Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors”
Authoritarian blindness that leaves an information void that can be filled with lies or spin.
Authoritarian blindness that leaves an information void that can be filled with lies or spin.
“former officials who worked on the White House website in past administrations say that the official government website should be a trusted and reliable resource, not be a place for mischaracterizing the truth & taking cheap shots at the opposing party”
www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/p... They are correct
www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/p... They are correct
How the Trump administration seeks to ‘weaponize’ the White House website to troll Democrats and amplify its message | CNN Politics
While the second Trump administration’s social media strategy has long embraced memes and videos mocking Democrats, former White House officials are raising concerns about the irreverent approach blee...
www.cnn.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
“former officials who worked on the White House website in past administrations say that the official government website should be a trusted and reliable resource, not be a place for mischaracterizing the truth & taking cheap shots at the opposing party”
www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/p... They are correct
www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/p... They are correct
Reposted by Alexander Howard
New: A judge in Washington has ruled images from Flock surveillance cameras are public records and that anyone can request them. Highlights the pervasiveness of this tech and just how much surveillance is being done. Very notable ruling
www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
Judge Rules Flock Surveillance Images Are Public Records That Can Be Requested By Anyone
A Washington judge said images taken by Flock cameras are "not exempt from disclosure" in public record requests.
www.404media.co
November 12, 2025 at 3:22 PM
New: A judge in Washington has ruled images from Flock surveillance cameras are public records and that anyone can request them. Highlights the pervasiveness of this tech and just how much surveillance is being done. Very notable ruling
www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Once again, if you wrote a story in which the jetsetting corrupt FBI chief took a government plane to the "Boondoggle Ranch" an editor would tell you to get a different job, because you're not cut out for writing believable stories.
New WSJ: After flying an FBI jet to see his girlfriend sing at a wrestling match, FBI director Kash Patel took the jet to a private Texas hunting resort called the Boondoggle Ranch. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Kash Patel’s ‘Effin Wild’ Ride as FBI Director
In just one week in October, he ticked off his bosses with premature comments about a terror investigation squeezed in a trip to the ‘Boondoggle Ranch’ on the bureau jet.
www.wsj.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Once again, if you wrote a story in which the jetsetting corrupt FBI chief took a government plane to the "Boondoggle Ranch" an editor would tell you to get a different job, because you're not cut out for writing believable stories.
“for government to be capable of achieving the policy goals its sets, it needs the right people, focused on the right substantive work, with purpose-fit systems, & test-and-learn frameworks”— @pahlkadot.bsky.social on Robert Moses’ unfinished business in New York City. (Not the way one might think.)
Robert Moses's unfinished business should be Mamdani's priority
The mayor-elect has 25,000 job applicants in 24 hours and a civil service system designed to keep him from hiring any of them
www.eatingpolicy.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“for government to be capable of achieving the policy goals its sets, it needs the right people, focused on the right substantive work, with purpose-fit systems, & test-and-learn frameworks”— @pahlkadot.bsky.social on Robert Moses’ unfinished business in New York City. (Not the way one might think.)
Reposted by Alexander Howard
My new one @slate.com: The Supreme Court Just Took a Scary Voting Case That Has Trump Salivating. He Might Be Disappointed.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Trump’s Biggest Voting Bugaboo Reached the Supreme Court. Should We Be Worried?
President Donald Trump’s obsession with mail-in balloting reached the Supreme Court on Monday.
slate.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
My new one @slate.com: The Supreme Court Just Took a Scary Voting Case That Has Trump Salivating. He Might Be Disappointed.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Alexander Howard
“Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches” electionlawblog.org?p=152989
"Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches" #ELB
NYT: A spending package expected to be approved as part of a deal to reopen the government would create a wide legal avenue for senators to sue for as much as half a million dollars each when federal ...
electionlawblog.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
“Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches” electionlawblog.org?p=152989
“Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity, or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless”-Warren Buffett
November 11, 2025 at 10:54 PM
“Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity, or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless”-Warren Buffett
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Bluesky should steal this idea, and build on it by allowing independent journalists to prominently link to their pubs/newsletters from the their profiles
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Threads targets podcasters with new features, aiming to become the home for show discussions
Threads targets podcasters with new features, aiming to become the home for show discussions | TechCrunch
Threads is targeting podcasters with new features, including dedicated links in the bio and more visible links in the feed.
techcrunch.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Bluesky should steal this idea, and build on it by allowing independent journalists to prominently link to their pubs/newsletters from the their profiles
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Reposted by Alexander Howard
Good for them.
One of many costs to US murder (sorry, no better word for it) in Caribbean:
"United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal."
"United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal."
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Good for them.
Reposted by Alexander Howard
"an unusual mass deportation to a country with a poor human rights record that the United States had bombed earlier this year in an effort to set back its nuclear program"
but we're sending them back dissidents "who repeatedly told American authorities that Iran would persecute them"
but we're sending them back dissidents "who repeatedly told American authorities that Iran would persecute them"
“For decades, Iranians fleeing persecution have found protection in the United States. But this fall, the Trump administration deported a planeload of people to Iran after making a deal with Tehran.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/w...
‘It Feels Like I’m in a Nightmare’: Inside the First Deportation Flight to Iran
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"an unusual mass deportation to a country with a poor human rights record that the United States had bombed earlier this year in an effort to set back its nuclear program"
but we're sending them back dissidents "who repeatedly told American authorities that Iran would persecute them"
but we're sending them back dissidents "who repeatedly told American authorities that Iran would persecute them"
“When democracy struggles to deliver, people turn to strongmen, authoritarians & now algorithms….but replacing democratic deliberation with algorithmic efficiency doesn’t solve the underlying crisis. It merely substitutes one form of distance between people & power for another.”
Learn from Taiwan!
Learn from Taiwan!
Opinion | This Is No Way to Rule a Country
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM
“When democracy struggles to deliver, people turn to strongmen, authoritarians & now algorithms….but replacing democratic deliberation with algorithmic efficiency doesn’t solve the underlying crisis. It merely substitutes one form of distance between people & power for another.”
Learn from Taiwan!
Learn from Taiwan!
“Rampant spending on infrastructure for artificial intelligence may also be concealing economic weakness in America. Will the bubble burst? As with railways, electricity & the Internet, a crash would not mean that the technology does not have real value. But it could have wide economic impact.”
📈🤖📉
📈🤖📉
Tom Standage’s ten trends to watch in 2026
This is Donald Trump’s world—we’re all just living in it. As the Trumpnado spins on in 2026, here are ten trends to watch from the editor of The World Ahead
www.economist.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:52 PM
“Rampant spending on infrastructure for artificial intelligence may also be concealing economic weakness in America. Will the bubble burst? As with railways, electricity & the Internet, a crash would not mean that the technology does not have real value. But it could have wide economic impact.”
📈🤖📉
📈🤖📉