steve k
@stevekovacs.com
Your boy in government (former). Tech policy, public transportation, public lands, public everything.
ugh can't believe they're making a new version
January 21, 2026 at 6:37 PM
ugh can't believe they're making a new version
Reposted by steve k
Last year a whistleblower said DOGE had illegally accessed a Social Security database. SSA now acknowledges it's true—& that DOGE employees had secret agreement w/ unidentified political advocacy group to use SocSec data to help overturn election results. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
January 21, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Last year a whistleblower said DOGE had illegally accessed a Social Security database. SSA now acknowledges it's true—& that DOGE employees had secret agreement w/ unidentified political advocacy group to use SocSec data to help overturn election results. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Here comes the opening salvo in the Plausible Deniability Offensive of 2027 www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data
Some DOGE personnel had more access to data than previously acknowledged, according to a court filing.
www.politico.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Here comes the opening salvo in the Plausible Deniability Offensive of 2027 www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by steve k
Scandal. Heads would roll in any other city with a modicum of accountability
Unbeknownst to the public, a small group of officials from the city of Atlanta, the Atlanta Beltline and MARTA voted to stop all work on the Eastside Beltline light rail project more than six months ago: www.ajc.com/news/2026/01...
Eastside Beltline light rail work secretly halted last year
A group made up of officials with the city of Atlanta, the Beltline and MARTA made the decision in a closed-door meeting without ever informing the public.
www.ajc.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Scandal. Heads would roll in any other city with a modicum of accountability
Reposted by steve k
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said th...
www.404media.co
January 19, 2026 at 2:31 PM
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
Reposted by steve k
This David French article shows the analytic peril of ignoring the way normal policing and repression work in communities of color. The so-called "dual state" he's highlighting (laws applied unequally, non-compliance met with violence) is *exactly* what Black Lives Matter was protesting.
Opinion | An Old Theory Helps Explain What Happened to Renee Good
www.nytimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:03 PM
This David French article shows the analytic peril of ignoring the way normal policing and repression work in communities of color. The so-called "dual state" he's highlighting (laws applied unequally, non-compliance met with violence) is *exactly* what Black Lives Matter was protesting.
mr president we all chipped in and got you something sir
January 16, 2026 at 4:09 PM
mr president we all chipped in and got you something sir
Reposted by steve k
A new Trump program “will fast-track construction of new & untested reactor designs built by private firms, with an explicit goal of having at least 3 nuclear test reactors up & running by…July 4.” Critics worry that the tight deadline & “lack of transparency” are “compromising safety.” 12/17/25…1/
Trump’s rush to build nuclear reactors across the U.S. raises safety worries
A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed.
www.opb.org
January 14, 2026 at 6:27 PM
A new Trump program “will fast-track construction of new & untested reactor designs built by private firms, with an explicit goal of having at least 3 nuclear test reactors up & running by…July 4.” Critics worry that the tight deadline & “lack of transparency” are “compromising safety.” 12/17/25…1/
This should be the end of Big Recognition. Please impound and incinerate all circular tables, off-the-rack evening wear, and sous vide chicken breasts in yellow goo sauce.
María Corina Machado on her meeting with Trump: “I presented the president of the United States with the Nobel Peace Prize”
January 15, 2026 at 11:50 PM
This should be the end of Big Recognition. Please impound and incinerate all circular tables, off-the-rack evening wear, and sous vide chicken breasts in yellow goo sauce.
This is a completely self-aware bit, right? Four (4) reporters aren't really doing an A1 "on the one hand, on the other hand" at Ye Olde Pickle Factory, right? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
One State, Two Very Different Views of Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:25 PM
This is a completely self-aware bit, right? Four (4) reporters aren't really doing an A1 "on the one hand, on the other hand" at Ye Olde Pickle Factory, right? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
This is just a note to inform you that you have the authority to acquire a Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk from GSA auctions. www.gsaauctions.gov/auctions/pre...
Personal Property Management System
www.gsaauctions.gov
January 15, 2026 at 2:44 PM
This is just a note to inform you that you have the authority to acquire a Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk from GSA auctions. www.gsaauctions.gov/auctions/pre...
Reposted by steve k
Y'all, I am taking notes from inside a local NC Meet the Candidates gathering. Follow along as I bite my tongue for two hours.
First up is Sheriff Shelby White who has switched to the GOP and is running unopposed. Mercifully, his short speech was non-partisan local LE updates.
First up is Sheriff Shelby White who has switched to the GOP and is running unopposed. Mercifully, his short speech was non-partisan local LE updates.
January 14, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Y'all, I am taking notes from inside a local NC Meet the Candidates gathering. Follow along as I bite my tongue for two hours.
First up is Sheriff Shelby White who has switched to the GOP and is running unopposed. Mercifully, his short speech was non-partisan local LE updates.
First up is Sheriff Shelby White who has switched to the GOP and is running unopposed. Mercifully, his short speech was non-partisan local LE updates.
today in new urban radfrastructure: www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/vid...
Thrasher’s DIY: Sunset Dunes San Francisco
Kanfoush takes on another full-park renovation and shows you all the tips and tricks you need to up your concrete credentials. Peep the first sessions for proof of concept.
www.thrashermagazine.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:36 PM
today in new urban radfrastructure: www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/vid...
Reposted by steve k
At the end of Donald Trump’s first year back in office, roughly 300,000 fewer Americans worked for the government. Franklin Foer spoke with 50 federal employees who were either fired or forced out:
The Purged
Donald Trump’s destruction of the civil service is a tragedy not just for the roughly 300,000 workers who have been discarded, but for an entire nation.
bit.ly
January 11, 2026 at 7:04 PM
At the end of Donald Trump’s first year back in office, roughly 300,000 fewer Americans worked for the government. Franklin Foer spoke with 50 federal employees who were either fired or forced out:
Reposted by steve k
American exceptionalism is real, and bad for most people's pocketbook, ability to raise a family, health and freedoms.
From @adambonica.bsky.social, who asks what would America look like if we matched up with OECD country averages.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
From @adambonica.bsky.social, who asks what would America look like if we matched up with OECD country averages.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
January 11, 2026 at 7:27 PM
American exceptionalism is real, and bad for most people's pocketbook, ability to raise a family, health and freedoms.
From @adambonica.bsky.social, who asks what would America look like if we matched up with OECD country averages.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
From @adambonica.bsky.social, who asks what would America look like if we matched up with OECD country averages.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
What are we expected to do, how are we expected to act, when DHS sub-agencies show up at purple county polling stations this November? How are we to react as people are threatened with weapons and yanked out of voting lines?
January 7, 2026 at 9:39 PM
What are we expected to do, how are we expected to act, when DHS sub-agencies show up at purple county polling stations this November? How are we to react as people are threatened with weapons and yanked out of voting lines?
Reposted by steve k
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
The Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. More or less effective than posting into the void? Hard to say, but -- in 2026 you're gonna have to work on manifesting your poster's rage in more direct, concrete, and physical ways. Calling your senator is a low stakes way to exercise that muscle group.
January 3, 2026 at 2:44 PM
The Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. More or less effective than posting into the void? Hard to say, but -- in 2026 you're gonna have to work on manifesting your poster's rage in more direct, concrete, and physical ways. Calling your senator is a low stakes way to exercise that muscle group.
Reposted by steve k
Welcome to the Public Domain, THE MALTESE FALCON (1930) 🦅💎
🕵️ Sam Spade is on the Case of the Disappearing Copyright as The Maltese Falcon novel joins the public domain.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
🕵️ Sam Spade is on the Case of the Disappearing Copyright as The Maltese Falcon novel joins the public domain.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
January 1, 2026 at 5:25 AM
Welcome to the Public Domain, THE MALTESE FALCON (1930) 🦅💎
🕵️ Sam Spade is on the Case of the Disappearing Copyright as The Maltese Falcon novel joins the public domain.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
🕵️ Sam Spade is on the Case of the Disappearing Copyright as The Maltese Falcon novel joins the public domain.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
Weather dot com and Accuweather and all them guys are leaving billions on the table by not allowing comments on the weather. Threads on discreet days and maybe even hours. Comment on a sunny day in Milwaukee on March 17 1997: "whos still here in 2025?" Full on forum fights about barometric pressure.
December 31, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Weather dot com and Accuweather and all them guys are leaving billions on the table by not allowing comments on the weather. Threads on discreet days and maybe even hours. Comment on a sunny day in Milwaukee on March 17 1997: "whos still here in 2025?" Full on forum fights about barometric pressure.
around the corner from the enshittification department
December 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
around the corner from the enshittification department
the core mistake of the Q collaborative fiction is that its version of elite depravity is sieved through the operatic garment-rending conceits of end-times surrealism, whereas 2025 elite depravity is just a mildly annoying polycule comprising two failchildren and a wealthy meatloaf-complected lech
November 22, 2025 at 3:32 PM
the core mistake of the Q collaborative fiction is that its version of elite depravity is sieved through the operatic garment-rending conceits of end-times surrealism, whereas 2025 elite depravity is just a mildly annoying polycule comprising two failchildren and a wealthy meatloaf-complected lech
hey what if we took the first stanza of yeats the second coming and made it the government
March 25, 2025 at 2:24 PM
hey what if we took the first stanza of yeats the second coming and made it the government
me about to start up the natsec group chat
March 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
me about to start up the natsec group chat
(Of course Mr. Peck worked for the EPA and would have already been RIFed, leaving Peter Venkman with no natural predators)
March 21, 2025 at 10:49 AM
(Of course Mr. Peck worked for the EPA and would have already been RIFed, leaving Peter Venkman with no natural predators)