ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data • Hacker News Board

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#61

Post by direwolf20 » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:33 PM UTC

steve1977 wrote: post #50

simonw wrote: post #2

Any time I see people say "I don't see why I should care about my privacy, I've got nothing to hide" I think about how badly things can go if the wrong people end up in positions of power. The classic example here is what happens when someone is being stalked by an abusive ex-partner who works in law enforcement and has access to those databases. This ICE stuff is that scaled up to a multi-billion dollar federal agen…

Also always keep in mind that what is legal today might be illegal tomorrow. This includes things like your ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and much more. You don't know today on which side of legality you will be in 10 years, even if your intentions are harmless.

The reaction from the masses: "But that isn't true today, anything could happen in the future, and why should I invest so much work on something that's only a possibility?"

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#62

Post by godelski » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

koolba wrote: post #19

simonw wrote: post #2

Any time I see people say "I don't see why I should care about my privacy, I've got nothing to hide" I think about how badly things can go if the wrong people end up in positions of power. The classic example here is what happens when someone is being stalked by an abusive ex-partner who works in law enforcement and has access to those databases. This ICE stuff is that scaled up to a multi-billion dollar federal agen…

> The classic example here is what happens when someone is being stalked by an abusive ex-partner who works in law enforcement and has access to those databases. There’s a world of difference between a government using legally collected data for multiple purposes and an individual abusing their position purely for personal reasons.

When did legality make something right?

The whole social battle is a constant attempt to align our laws and values as a society. It's why we create new laws. It's why we overturn old laws. You can't just abdicate your morals and let the law decide for you. That's not a system of democracy, that's a system of tyranny.

The privacy focused crowd often mentions "turnkey tyranny" as a major motivation. A tyrant who comes to power and changes the laws. A tyrant who comes to power and uses the existing tooling beyond what that tooling was ever intended for.

The law isn't what makes something right or wrong. I can't tell you what is, you'll have to use your brain and heart to figure that one out.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#63

Post by direwolf20 » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

ck_one wrote: post #16

simonw wrote: post #2

Any time I see people say "I don't see why I should care about my privacy, I've got nothing to hide" I think about how badly things can go if the wrong people end up in positions of power. The classic example here is what happens when someone is being stalked by an abusive ex-partner who works in law enforcement and has access to those databases. This ICE stuff is that scaled up to a multi-billion dollar federal agen…

This is the moment for Europe to show that you can do gov and business differently. If they get their s** together and actually present a viable alternative.

Europe can't do business differently. Or at least it doesn't seem to be able to. China can.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#64

Post by steveklabnik » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

j16sdiz wrote: post #15

plagiarist wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same people saying that will also defend police wearing masks, hiding badges, and shutting off body cameras. They are not participating in discussions with the same values (truth, integrity) that you have. Logic does not work on people who believe Calvinistic predestination is the right model for society.

Wait. Is calvinistic predestination the majority view of republicans? I thought most of them are some form of (tv) evangelism, or secularism I am not American and genuinely curious on this.

A lot of American Christians aren't hyper committed to the specific theology of whichever flavor of Christianity they belong to, and will often sort of mix and match their own personal beliefs with what is orthodoxy.

That said, I'm ex-Catholic, so I don't feel super qualified to make a statement on the specific popularity of predestination among American evangelicals at the moment.

That said, in a less theological and more metaphorical sense, it does seem that many of them do believe in some sort of "good people" and "bad people", where the "bad people" are not particularly redeemable. It feels a little unfalsifiable though.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#65

Post by alwa » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

j16sdiz wrote: post #15

plagiarist wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same people saying that will also defend police wearing masks, hiding badges, and shutting off body cameras. They are not participating in discussions with the same values (truth, integrity) that you have. Logic does not work on people who believe Calvinistic predestination is the right model for society.

Wait. Is calvinistic predestination the majority view of republicans? I thought most of them are some form of (tv) evangelism, or secularism I am not American and genuinely curious on this.

Some, probably; not all (and certainly not the current president, who in his more senile moments muses about how his works have probably earned him hell [0]).

But the same observation applies to lots of other attitudes, too—like “might makes right” and “nature is red in tooth and claw” or whatever else the dark princelings evince these days. I feel like “logic matters” mainly pertains to a liberal-enlightenment political context that might be in the past now…

Does reality always find a way to assert itself in the face of illogic? Sure! But if Our Side is righteous and infallible, the bad outcomes surely must be the fault of Those Scapegoats’ malfeasance—ipso facto we should punish them harder…

https://time.com/7311354/donald-trump-heaven-hell-afterlife-...

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#66

Post by helterskelter » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

ungreased0675 wrote: post #22

j16sdiz wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait. Is calvinistic predestination the majority view of republicans? I thought most of them are some form of (tv) evangelism, or secularism I am not American and genuinely curious on this.

No, none of that is true. Remember, Republicans represent half the country, not some isolated sect living in small town Appalachia.

> Republicans represent half the country

This statement isn't necessarily wrong because about half of elected government officials are Republican, but I want to point out that less than 60% of eligible Americans voted in 2024, so we're talking about <30% of Americans who vote Republican.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#67

Post by WrongOnInternet » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #2

Any time I see people say "I don't see why I should care about my privacy, I've got nothing to hide" I think about how badly things can go if the wrong people end up in positions of power. The classic example here is what happens when someone is being stalked by an abusive ex-partner who works in law enforcement and has access to those databases. This ICE stuff is that scaled up to a multi-billion dollar federal agen…

"I've got nothing to hide" is another way of saying "I don't have friends that trust me," which is another way of saying" I don't have friends."

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#68

Post by direwolf20 » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #55

dashundchen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ICE has been harassing and following legal observers to their houses. They've shot and executed at least two people who were exercising their legal right to record their activity. The FBI has been showing up at the door of some people who dare to organize protests against ICE. Stingrays have been deployed to protests, ICE is collecting photos of protestors for their database, and has been querying YCombinator funded…

[flagged]

Renee Good blocked half the [small, suburban, low traffic, no lane markings] road and told the officers they were free to drive around her. I don't know what the blockage was about the but she seemingly wasn't trying to get in anyone's way.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#69

Post by 10xDev » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

therobots927 wrote: post #43

billy99k wrote: post #23

[flagged]

You’re right. We should throw away the constitution so we can deport.. (checks notes) 600,000 undocumented immigrants, only 5% of which have committed a violent crime.

I mean, I don't like CCP tech or public executions of disarmed citizens but saying only 5% is a bit nuts.

Re: ICE using Palantir tool that feeds on Medicaid data

#70

Post by gruez » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

sosomoxie wrote: post #27

billy99k wrote: post #23

[flagged]

Yeah I'm against ICE and I don't want any immigrants deported.

/s?

Otherwise you're proving his point, which is that there's no middle ground, only "ICE raids terrorizing people" and "sanctuary cities/states where local governments refuse to do any sort of immigration enforcement and specifically turn a blind eye to immigration status".