An excellent interview with Elizabeth Warren ... ... about the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ... ... how much banks loathed it ... ... how much money it has put back in the pockets of Americans, by cracking down on deceptive and usurious bank charges ... ... and why Musk in particular would hate the CFPB: He wants X to be a financial app, and doesn't want to treat his customer's privacy and rights seriously
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Save the CFPB From Elon Musk – Mother Jones
"I wrote in my notebook, from the front seat of a silent Tesla carrying me, its driver, and one other person through a pastel-toned tunnel, that 'nothing can prepare you for how fucking stupid this shit is.'" David Roth on this year's CES https://archive.is/mo4AS
I'm working at a cafe today and "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House comes on during the chorus I look to my left far across the cafe where two young women, maybe 20 years old, are sitting together they both have their heads tilted back and eyes closed, mouthing DON'T DREAAAAAAAMMM it's OHHHHHHH-VER like they're onstage in American Idol man, I had no idea Gen Z kids even *knew* that song
Well what do you know Marko Elez, one of the young software guys Musk has illegally turned loose to alter critical government high-tech services ... ... was, just back in December, posting on X about how he wanted there to be a "eugenic immigration policy" ... ... how "you could not pay me to marry outside my race" ... ... and "Normalize Indian hate", referring in this case to folks from India the Wall Street Journal just broke the story (gift link): https://www.wsj.com/tech/doge-staffer-resigns-over-racist-posts-d9f11a93?st=8613EM&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink image
In addition to formal government institutions, Musk is also trying to tear apart Wikipedia That is almost certainly, as this analysis notes, because Wikipedia is "a last bastion of shared reality" ... ... and Musk, in contrast, only wants online sources that repeat his sort of conspiratorial blather The piece:
The Atlantic
Elon Musk Wants What He Can’t Have: Wikipedia
Musk and other right-wing tech figures have been on a campaign to delegitimize the digital encyclopedia. What happens if they succeed?
 Unpaywalled: https://archive.is/1mjMq image
"Of course it's a coup" as ever, Timothy Snyder cuts to the chase
Of course it’s a coup
Miss the obvious, lose your republic
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Big crowds outside the Treasury department, protesting the government-systems takeover by Musk and his twentysomething software lackeys
Bluesky Social
Bluesky
Over at [@WIRED](
Flipboard
WIRED (@WIRED) on Flipboard
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Follow WIRED on Flipboard, to explore their latest magazines and flipped articles.
 ), reporters like Vittoria Elliott are doing excellent work documenting Musk's takeover of the federal government In this piece, she tracks down the names of the people Musk has installed at various agencies these guys are all 19 to 24 year old engineers -- one is a Thiel fellow Story here:
WIRED
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
 Unpaywalled: https://archive.is/L2C7d
US media has traditionally been far more clear-eyed about antidemocratic purges abroad so here's an exercise in how a US correspondent might describe the events of the last week in Washington, were it occurring overseas
Doomsday Scenario
Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government
Imagining how we'd cover overseas what's happening to the U.S. right now
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I"m doing this as we speak torrenting the entire 102-gig English text of Wikipedia so I have a local copy
Infosec Exchange
Em :official_verified: (@Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange)
This is your timely reminder that you can download an offline copy of the whole Wikipedia. And you really likely probably should. Here's how: ht...
 (via @Em :official_verified:)