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DOGE Catch-All

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DOGE Cites ‘DEI,’ LinkedIn Profiles It Doesn’t Like In Killing Off HUD Contracts​

DOGE cites contractors’ DEI programs, not performance, to cancel work

talkingpointsmemo.com

DOGE Cites ‘DEI,’ LinkedIn Profiles It Doesn’t Like In Killing Off HUD Contracts

DOGE is moving to cancel all awards for some Housing and Urban...
talkingpointsmemo.com

“DOGE is moving to cancel all awards for some Housing and Urban Development contractors, citing “DEI”-related work and other factors that are separate from the substance of the contracts being cancelled.

An internal HUD email reviewed by TPM said that DOGE was moving to cancel “all awards” for eight contractors after a “DOGE review of their websites and LinkedIn profiles.”

It’s a stunning and candid admission of what DOGE is doing at HUD: taking contracts away from organizations not because of the quality or substance of their work, but because of unrelated political issues. In this case, the email cited President Trump’s anti-“DEI” executive order as a reason to end the contracts — not because the awards themselves were in violation of the order, but because the organizations presented themselves and their work in a way that ran afoul of the administration’s preferences.

… Kevin Martone, executive director of contractor Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc., told TPM that HUD told him the awards were being cancelled because “operations and performance in connection with the subject awards is not in compliance with” the “DEI” executive order.

When TPM asked if the substance of the HUD awards to Technical Assistance Collaborative had any relation to DEI initiatives, Martone replied: “None whatsoever.”

HUD did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment. …”
 
nycfan said:

DOGE Cites ‘DEI,’ LinkedIn Profiles It Doesn’t Like In Killing Off HUD Contracts​

DOGE cites contractors’ DEI programs, not performance, to cancel work

talkingpointsmemo.com

DOGE Cites ‘DEI,’ LinkedIn Profiles It Doesn’t Like In Killing Off HUD Contracts

DOGE is moving to cancel all awards for some Housing and Urban...
talkingpointsmemo.com

“DOGE is moving to cancel all awards for some Housing and Urban Development contractors, citing “DEI”-related work and other factors that are separate from the substance of the contracts being cancelled.

An internal HUD email reviewed by TPM said that DOGE was moving to cancel “all awards” for eight contractors after a “DOGE review of their websites and LinkedIn profiles.”

It’s a stunning and candid admission of what DOGE is doing at HUD: taking contracts away from organizations not because of the quality or substance of their work, but because of unrelated political issues. In this case, the email cited President Trump’s anti-“DEI” executive order as a reason to end the contracts — not because the awards themselves were in violation of the order, but because the organizations presented themselves and their work in a way that ran afoul of the administration’s preferences.

… Kevin Martone, executive director of contractor Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc., told TPM that HUD told him the awards were being cancelled because “operations and performance in connection with the subject awards is not in compliance with” the “DEI” executive order.

When TPM asked if the substance of the HUD awards to Technical Assistance Collaborative had any relation to DEI initiatives, Martone replied: “None whatsoever.”

HUD did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment. …”
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“…Many of the eight targeted contractors featured language around diversity initiatives on their websites and LinkedIn profiles. Some touted the same kind of standard DEI principles that exist across the corporate and non-profit worlds. It’s not clear if that’s the kind of anodyne commitment that DOGE took as a reason to end work with the contractors.

Martone told TPM that HUD had initially cut contracts for his organization that dealt more explicitly with DEI initiatives in the week after the Trump “DEI” executive order was issued. After that, he said, HUD officials told him that other contracts would proceed so long as DEI-related work stopped. But HUD’s move this week caught him completely off guard.

… In the message, the Office of Technical Assistance addressed employees by saying that the Trump administration had “cancelled all HUD funding,” including technical assistance awards for the eight contractors. The message ordered the contractors to “cease all substantive work” while giving them 90-120 days to wind down operations. …”
 
nycfan said:


Seems short-sighted
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“… The government currently monitors dozens of active volcanoes near population centers, including Mount Spurr near Anchorage, Alaska, and the most active volcano in the world, Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii. Hundreds of thousands of people live near these two volcanoes alone. Without the observatories in place, scientists would be unable to do the work that leads to early warnings for evacuations or for changes to air travel.

…
NOTUS confirmed that the General Services Administration sent notice of its plans to terminate the lease for the building that houses much of the Alaska observatory’s equipment and staff in Anchorage, and for a building in Hilo, Hawaii, that houses at least some staff and equipment. Both the Hawaii and Alaska observatories are run by the United States Geological Survey.

Agencies are also planning to fire the government experts who could help relocate some of these observatories or preserve the leases for the buildings.

… The Alaska building, one of several used by USGS on the Alaska Pacific University campus, has a lease termination set for August, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The lease on the Hilo Iron Works building has already been paid for through May 2027, according to a letter reviewed by NOTUS from Hawaii Rep. Jill Tokuda to Doug Burgum, the secretary of the Department of the Interior. It’s unclear when staff and equipment would need to relocate or what money would be saved by terminating that lease.

“Without this facility, HVO may no longer be able to maintain a continuous presence on Hawaii Island to monitor ongoing volcanic activity, endangering the crucial scientific and technical expertise offered by HVO staff, who may be forced to relocate or quit,” Tokuda wrote in the letter. …”
 
nycfan said:
“… The government currently monitors dozens of active volcanoes near population centers, including Mount Spurr near Anchorage, Alaska, and the most active volcano in the world, Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii. Hundreds of thousands of people live near these two volcanoes alone. Without the observatories in place, scientists would be unable to do the work that leads to early warnings for evacuations or for changes to air travel.

…NOTUS confirmed that the General Services Administration sent notice of its plans to terminate the lease for the building that houses much of the Alaska observatory’s equipment and staff in Anchorage, and for a building in Hilo, Hawaii, that houses at least some staff and equipment. Both the Hawaii and Alaska observatories are run by the United States Geological Survey.

Agencies are also planning to fire the government experts who could help relocate some of these observatories or preserve the leases for the buildings.

… The Alaska building, one of several used by USGS on the Alaska Pacific University campus, has a lease termination set for August, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The lease on the Hilo Iron Works building has already been paid for through May 2027, according to a letter reviewed by NOTUS from Hawaii Rep. Jill Tokuda to Doug Burgum, the secretary of the Department of the Interior. It’s unclear when staff and equipment would need to relocate or what money would be saved by terminating that lease.

“Without this facility, HVO may no longer be able to maintain a continuous presence on Hawaii Island to monitor ongoing volcanic activity, endangering the crucial scientific and technical expertise offered by HVO staff, who may be forced to relocate or quit,” Tokuda wrote in the letter. …”
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“… Relocating the equipment in the Alaska volcano observatory building could cost more than $1 million and would be so technically challenging it would risk damaging sensitive devices and computers, multiple sources familiar with the situation told NOTUS.

“Unfortunately, there are currently no transition plans or alternate points of contact I can provide,” one of the fired General Services Administration officials wrote in an email. “Contacting your Senator, Congressperson, Governor, or other elected officials may be required to escalate.”

A source inside the federal government told NOTUS that contacting any of these officials in writing could pose great professional risk for any government workers who do so.

…Possible public safety risks from cutting leases extend far beyond the Department of the Interior. GSA had planned to cancel the lease for the office that oversees one of the U.S.’s most important nuclear waste sites in Carlsbad, New Mexico, but reversed course on March 5, NOTUS reported.

“DOGE is like a bull in a china shop, and the havoc they’re creating by tearing down essential government functions is going to have severe public safety impacts,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. …”

volcano GIF
 
Batt Boy said:
is this fake? surely we are not studying this.
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Is it fake? No, the grant is real, but you’re getting info from a well-known right wing propaganda site that has completely and intentionally misrepresented what the project is about.
Specifically, it is about finding natural fiber-based solutions for feminine hygiene products which are safer alternatives than synthetic fibers and sustainable, which are perfectly good ideas for human health and environmental management.

From the actual project description…

THIS INTEGRATED PROJECT INVOLVES RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING COMPONENTS PROPOSED TO ADDRESS THE GROWING CONCERNS AND ISSUES SURROUNDING MENSTRUATION, INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS POSED TO USERS OF SYNTHETIC FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS (FHP), ADVANCING RESEARCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FHP THAT USE NATURAL MATERIALS, AS WELL AS PROVIDING MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT (MHM) EDUCATION FOR YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS.THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE:A) TO PRODUCE THREE NATURAL FIBERS; REGENERATIVE COTTON, REGENERATIVE WOOL AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA);B) TO DEVELOP PATENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE FEMININE HYGIENE SANITARY PRODUCTS USING THE THREE NATURAL FIBERS;C) TO EVALUATE THE FHP MADE FROM EACH OF THE NATURAL FIBERS IN COMPARISON TO THE STANDARD SYNTHETIC PRODUCT;D) TO EDUCATE YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS ABOUT MHM THROUGH AN EXTENSION PROGRAM;E) TO ENHANCE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES ANDF) TO PROVIDE A LOCAL FIBER PROCESSING CENTER FOR FIBER GROWERS IN LOUISIANA.
 
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superrific said:
Are you a biologist? A medical doctor? How would you know what to study? God, I'm so sick of this armchair science.

Here's a thought: a menstrual cycle is hormonal. Trans men have a different hormonal cycle than women, because of the hormones they are administered. So studying menstruation in XX who take male hormones helps us understand menstruation in general. I don't know if this is what they are studying, but it's certainly a plausible and good scientific reason for doing so.

So many great discoveries were found by people doing stuff others thought stupid. "Why are you trying to determine if light bends around the sun? Who cares? Surely we're not studying this." Good thing we didn't have you making decisions about what to study, because we wouldn't have relativity.

"Why are you studying the interactions between molds and bacteria? How stupid," said people pre-penicillin.

"Surely we're not spending money studying gila monster spit," said people before Wegovy.

"Why are you studying whether or not a single magnet moving back and forth on an infinite magnetic tape can compute algorithms," said people before computers.

If you're not a biologist, this should be your opinion about the propriety of biological research. It happens to be the same as mine. "Hmm, interesting. I wonder what they might get out of that study."
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The grant doesn’t have anything to do with trans men. The authors merely mentioned trans men in the context of how many people are undergoing menstruation at any point in time. It was arguably an unnecessary thing to bring up, but they were trying to be inclusive in their approach when highlighting the impact of the project.
 
BlooVooDoo said:
Is it fake? No, the grant is real, but you’re getting info from a well-known right wing propaganda site that has completely and intentionally misrepresented what the project is about.
Specifically, it is about finding natural fiber-based solutions for feminine hygiene products which are safer alternatives than synthetic fibers and sustainable, which are perfectly good ideas for human health and environmental management.

From the actual project description…

THIS INTEGRATED PROJECT INVOLVES RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING COMPONENTS PROPOSED TO ADDRESS THE GROWING CONCERNS AND ISSUES SURROUNDING MENSTRUATION, INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS POSED TO USERS OF SYNTHETIC FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS (FHP), ADVANCING RESEARCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FHP THAT USE NATURAL MATERIALS, AS WELL AS PROVIDING MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT (MHM) EDUCATION FOR YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS.THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE:A) TO PRODUCE THREE NATURAL FIBERS; REGENERATIVE COTTON, REGENERATIVE WOOL AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA);B) TO DEVELOP PATENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE FEMININE HYGIENE SANITARY PRODUCTS USING THE THREE NATURAL FIBERS;C) TO EVALUATE THE FHP MADE FROM EACH OF THE NATURAL FIBERS IN COMPARISON TO THE STANDARD SYNTHETIC PRODUCT;D) TO EDUCATE YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS ABOUT MHM THROUGH AN EXTENSION PROGRAM;E) TO ENHANCE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES ANDF) TO PROVIDE A LOCAL FIBER PROCESSING CENTER FOR FIBER GROWERS IN LOUISIANA.
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Thanks, but I don't get my news there. The link was passed on to me by a MAGA relative who likes to still call me college boy. I ignore 99% of what he sends, but this seemed fake.
 
Batt Boy said:
Thanks, but I don't get my news there. The link was passed on to me by a MAGA relative who likes to still call me college boy. I ignore 99% of what he sends, but this seemed fake.
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I just meant that the source in the link (college fix) was right-wing propaganda. I feel I know you well enough to realize that’s not the kind of stuff you read.
 
nycfan said:


IMG_5444.jpeg
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“… A Feb. 26 executive order directing the 30-day spending pause, with exceptions for “critical services,” cast the measure as an effort to ensure that “employees are accountable to the American public.”

As a result of the move, government scientists who study food safety say they are running out of cleaning fluid for their labs; federal aviation workers report cuts to travel for urgent work; and contractors who help identify U.S. soldiers killed in combat were told to pause their efforts, said three forensic genealogists who, like other workers interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Musk has turned to the cards alongside contracts and workforce cuts to help slash a promised $2 trillion from the federal budget — a feat that experts say is impossible without drastic changes to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The card purchases accounted for roughly $40 billion in the last budget year, according to the General Services Administration, which oversees the program.

And while independent watchdogs such as the Government Accountability Office have for years scrutinized government card purchases — and uncovered transactions that violated strict rules or lacked documentation — the challenges amount to a fraction of overall spending.

… A Trump administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly said the effort was about strengthening oversight of how the government does business.

“If there are temporary disruptions, we will make sure those are not permanent or not hurtful,” the official said.

… When the National Park Service last month told staff their travel and purchase card limits would be set to $1 the next day, the email, reviewed by The Post, sent workers into a “tailspin,” said an employee.

The employee reported immediate disruption across the region as the limit radically altered daily operations, grinding shipping to a halt and preventing the delivery of entry passes scheduled to arrive at various parks ahead of the summer season. Staffers could not buy medicine and supplies needed to care for visitors and the horses ridden by some park rangers, the employee said, adding that the pause was poised to imperil monthly subscriptions and services vital to park operations.

… At the Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, the card reduction means workers cannot place orders for lab supplies, including personal protective equipment and ethanol used to disinfect surfaces, according to several employees. Some labs in close proximity have started sharing reagents to make them last longer, “but it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue to work,” one employee said, “which I fear is the point.” …”
 
BlooVooDoo said:
The grant doesn’t have anything to do with trans men. The authors merely mentioned trans men in the context of how many people are undergoing menstruation at any point in time. It was arguably an unnecessary thing to bring up, but they were trying to be inclusive in their approach when highlighting the impact of the project.
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But even if it did, why would Batt Boy be capable of determining whether it was money well spent?
 
Move Fast & Destroy Democracy

GIFT LINK --> Move Fast and Destroy Democracy

"... For tech leaders at this moment, the digital world they rule has become not enough. Leaders, in fact, is the wrong word to use now. Titans is more like it, as many have cozied up to Trump in order to dominate this world as we enter the next Cambrian explosion in technology, with the development of advanced AI.

I cannot explain fully why a small majority of U.S. voters did what they did, because it is for many and varied reasons, including inflation, immigration, a ginned-up panic over trans athletes, and post-pandemic yips, in which I have only glancing expertise. There is no doubt we all are muddling through unusually aggrieved times. But I can tell you how we got that way, because of the part I do know about, which has been a crucial element to what has happened: the wholesale capture of our current information systems by tech moguls, and their willful carelessness and sometimes-filthy-thumb-on-scale malevolence in managing it.

When combined with a lack of empathy and enormous financial self-interest—which I’ve been pointing out at least since Silicon Valley potentates marched up to Trump Tower in late 2016 like sheeple to pay homage to the president-elect—it is basically a familiar trope: greed (of the few) over need (of the many).

And that has resulted in the damaging and warping and siloing of us all, courtesy of many of the people I wrote about in my book Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, about the promise and then souring of Silicon Valley. It is these characters who want to reign like kings not just over tech, but over everything everywhere, and all at once. To update the old Facebook maxim of “Move fast and break things”: Move fast and crush everyone. This was bad enough as a business axiom, but when it’s applied to the entire apparatus of our democracy, it’s terrifying. ..."
 
nycfan said:
Move Fast & Destroy Democracy

GIFT LINK --> Move Fast and Destroy Democracy

"... For tech leaders at this moment, the digital world they rule has become not enough. Leaders, in fact, is the wrong word to use now. Titans is more like it, as many have cozied up to Trump in order to dominate this world as we enter the next Cambrian explosion in technology, with the development of advanced AI.

I cannot explain fully why a small majority of U.S. voters did what they did, because it is for many and varied reasons, including inflation, immigration, a ginned-up panic over trans athletes, and post-pandemic yips, in which I have only glancing expertise. There is no doubt we all are muddling through unusually aggrieved times. But I can tell you how we got that way, because of the part I do know about, which has been a crucial element to what has happened: the wholesale capture of our current information systems by tech moguls, and their willful carelessness and sometimes-filthy-thumb-on-scale malevolence in managing it.

When combined with a lack of empathy and enormous financial self-interest—which I’ve been pointing out at least since Silicon Valley potentates marched up to Trump Tower in late 2016 like sheeple to pay homage to the president-elect—it is basically a familiar trope: greed (of the few) over need (of the many).

And that has resulted in the damaging and warping and siloing of us all, courtesy of many of the people I wrote about in my book Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, about the promise and then souring of Silicon Valley. It is these characters who want to reign like kings not just over tech, but over everything everywhere, and all at once. To update the old Facebook maxim of “Move fast and break things”: Move fast and crush everyone. This was bad enough as a business axiom, but when it’s applied to the entire apparatus of our democracy, it’s terrifying. ..."
Click to expand...
"...What is happening is shocking, in a way. But if anyone is not surprised, it’s tech reporters who saw, over the past decade, what these people were becoming. Musk’s behavior is emblematic of tech’s most heinous figures, who now feel emboldened to enter the analog world with the same lack of care and arrogance with which they built their sloppy platforms. They denigrate media, science, activism, and culture, and spend their time bellyaching about the “woke-mind virus” and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Those programs, despite their occasional annoyances, were directionally correct. As I often point out, the opposite of woke is asleep; the opposite of DEI is homogeneity, inequity, and exclusion. That’s just the way an increasing number of techies want it and, with Trump and Musk at the wheel, the goal toward which they are now reengineering our country.

Before the stakes got even higher, there was a warning about what was happening as AI expanded. With trillions of dollars there for the taking, investments are being made by the same small coterie of companies and people that now controls the entire federal government. So are the important decisions about safety and more, which should be made by an independent and fair government and its citizens.

...Where is the hope, then? One glimmer came to me this past year in an interview I did with the historian Yuval Noah Harari, in which he pointed out that science and illumination were not the immediate beneficiaries of the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, in about 1440, though some tie those developments together. In fact, even a century later, Copernicus’s groundbreaking On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres sold only 500 copies. What was a best seller right after the press was in heavy use was a book by an obscure writer named Heinrich Kramer titled “The Hammer of Witches,” a demented treatise on satanic women who stole men’s penises and hid them in a nest in a tree, I kid you not. When we spoke, Harari noted that the popularity of the book spurred witch hunts, in which tens of thousands of people—mostly women—were killed.

“The thing is the printing press did not cause the scientific revolution. No,” Harari told me. “You have about 200 years from the time that Gutenberg brings print technology to Europe in the middle of the 15th century until the flowering of the scientific revolution.”

He went on: “How did, in the end, we get to the scientific revolution? It wasn’t the technology of the printing press; it was the creation of institutions that were dedicated to sifting through this kind of ocean of information, and all these stories and developing mechanisms to evaluate reliable information and to be trusted by the population.”

That is, indeed, the possible exit from the mess we now find ourselves in—swimming in oceans of information with an ever-decreasing number of facts to keep us afloat.

Except, unlike the expansion that tech gave to the enlightened before, the institutions of today, such as media, science, and education, are being slowly destroyed by technology.

And there seems to be no way out of this world, especially as egomaniacal entrepreneurs like Musk and others fork over small pieces of their vast fortunes to buy up everything from global media to, yes, a president of the United States.

And there they are, thus, everywhere we look, running everything, a fate that Paul Virilio predicted in a 1994 interview with the now-defunct technology journal CTHEORY, when he worried that “virtuality will destroy reality.” That is precisely what is happening 30 years later, although it is much worse than I think we are prepared to acknowledge, even now as Musk presides over Oval Office press conferences and White House Cabinet meetings as Trump’s enforcer and sees himself as a kind of global superhero. ..."
 
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