Today I find myself wondering why the MAGA theme song is YMCA instead of Time Warp? After all YMCA is about “playing with boys,” while Time Warp would seem more aligned to the ideas MAGA says they stand for of bringing back the good old days.

Firefighters Outraged After Immigration Raids Target Active Wildfire Response

Medicare pilot program to use AI for pre-approval of medical procedures

Why can your driver’s license not be used for voting without registration? You must prove citizenship to obtain a government-issued ID to vote. Why do you still need to register? Think about it.

Trump Announces Executive Order Plans on Voter ID Requirements

Trump cancels Kamala Harris’ Secret Service detail that was extended by undisclosed Biden order

The only reason to cross county lines is when counties lack sufficient population to form a district on their own. In counties with a population for more than one district, it should be split with the straightest of lines. For example, look at where Texas wants to violate this logic here. Why? The GOP is unhappy with having 66% of Texas districts and wants at least 80%. The lines get so squirrely because, according to 2020 data, approximately 84% of Texans live in urban areas. People in urban areas tend to lean left because they are exposed to diverse groups of people more frequently. So you see GOP-drawn maps taking several low-population counties into a district with a sliver of a populous county to dilute the urban vote. Zoom into any county with a population large enough to be its own district, and you will see how it’s been divided to suppress the voice of that 84%.

A significant campaign promise of Trump was to release UAP files. If there is nothing to them, then why the holdup? The demand to see them is so huge that releasing the UAP files, even if they contain nothing, would likely overshadow the Epstein files in the news. Perhaps there are no aliens; instead, they are just suppressing technology that could harm industries with lobbyists. Maybe their release would just be embarrassing to those with influence. Makes even a skeptic wonder how shocking those UAP files must be and why.

Here are the DOGE steps and the order in which they are being carried out:

1. Estimate the number of jobs that will become redundant if an agency standardizes on the same updated tools.
2. Add in any jobs where DOGE people are unsure of their function or seem redundant, such as QA roles.
3. Lay off that percentage of people, plus a few more if the numbers are not impressive, regardless of those positions relative to the above perceived inefficiencies. (aka people are people and interchangeable)
4. Set a tight deadline to complete the transitions, assuming no layoffs.
5. Inform the remaining staff about the new responsibilities they need to assume and learn, in addition to their existing tasks. Added bonus, many more will quit or retire at this point.
6. Start the transition even if the tools needed for the transition are not ready yet.
7. Look for a scapegoat when not only the transition fails to meet the deadline, but also when necessary work, such as system patches, fails to be completed.
8. Decide to eliminate the agency or hire staff to above pre-DOGE levels to clean up the mess, depending on the level of rioting in the streets.

From my vantage point, we are rapidly approaching step 7. Granted, there will be some variance by project. Please don’t take my word for it. Reach out to anyone you know still working in or with a federal agency and ask.

Many private companies are using a similar game plan for AI adoption. Do not get me wrong, I’m all about automation. A lot of my over 40 years as a developer has been to automate my job away. The point is that you should get the new system working before laying off people, not after.

So on the plus side, despite the current state of the job market, the future for contract labor looks promising in the near future. Similar to the boom from Y2K. I think maintaining contact with your old project is key, since employers will be looking for people with the skill sets of those laid off, as bringing in new people generally takes a good while to get them up to speed.

Oklahoma is trying to out Texas, Texas.

Oklahoma requires ‘America First’ certification test for teachers fleeing blue states

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Near Russia After Medvedev’s Warning

Trump Is Dismantling the VA to Privatize Veterans’ Health Care

Liberals started leaving a while back, with the governor trying to override/annex the liberal cities, but now it seems the right has had enough as well.

‘Moving to Texas is over’: Podcasters who followed Joe Rogan to Austin rail against state

Seriously? Yep, absolutely not a cult.

GOP Bill Seeks to Rename Kennedy Center for Trump

One might think that multiple versions of Epstein’s client list will likely appear in the news. The first version of Epstein’s client list will probably receive the most coverage. Therefore, it doesn’t really pay to hold onto a list you plan to release or to release it only if someone else does.

House Republicans Block Release of Epstein Files

Right-Wing podcaster Steve Bannon warned at Turning Point USA that failing to resolve this could cost Trump 10% of the MAGA movement, as recent polls show his approval rating falling from 50% to 44%.

Not boding well for jobs or paying bills

US inflation picks up again in June, rising at 2.7% annual rate

DOJ drops charges against Utah doctor accused of falsifying Covid-19 vaccine records

Current Disasters FEMA is working on

Fate of US disaster relief agency FEMA still being discussed

Kerr County Struggled to Fund Flood Warnings. Under Trump, It’s Getting Even Harder

‘I Knew What I Was Signing up for’: ICEBlock App Creator Moves Forward Amid Threats

Trump Officials Want to Prosecute Over the ICEBlock App. Lawyers Say That’s Unconstitutional - Wired

Watching The Atomic Cafe to remind myself of the 1950s we seem to be heading back to. If you are not old enough to remember the 1950s, you might want to watch this collection of shorts from the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Includes the classic “Duck and Cover”.

Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After ‘Almost 100%’ Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight

Looks like food prices will be on the rise again.

Looks like prices will be going up again.

US Urges China to Prevent Iran From Shutting Down Strait of Hormuz, Key Trade Route

The White House’s new flagpoles replaced the Rose Garden.

Trump Remakes the White House with New Flagpoles

They have finally come to realize that things have changed since the 1800s. Now, if they would stop writing off unknowns as UAPs, not to be reported, and actually confirm what all the “unknowns” flying over the border are.

Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction