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Staying with the US Digital Service

mattcutts.com

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Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#161

Post by hydrogen18 »

artimaeis wrote: post #156
hydrogen18 wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

learc83 used the term "the government" in his post. I would not say that every US government employee is personally responsible for the current surveillance state. But when someone suggest "the government" is about to cross the line, it reeks of bullshit. "The government" (our government in my case) has crossed the line so many times on so many different issues. The citizens never did anything. If the federal governm…

> "The citizens never did anything" Snowden pulled the veil on many issues similar to what you're referring to. I'm fairly certain he was a citizen at the time. I'd reference Chelsea Manning, because she acted as a citizen when betraying her oath to the military. I could see arguments against that, though. The government came down hard on both these individuals. It's a damn shame. And please don't take this to be a p…

You're confusing "the citizens" with two specific citizens. I've never called out Chelsea Manning or Edward Snowden specifically. We did nothing in spite of the actions of those individuals. They laid everything bare out in the open for everyone to see. In the case of Chelsea Manning at great personal expense. The citizens did nothing in response other than make a racket.

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#162

Post by ocdtrekkie »

scrollaway wrote: post #96
woof wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even better than Stalin? Or was your use of the word "inarguably" some kind of code?

Even though most people in the US don't understand why, Putin is really liked in Russia. I guess those same people will have a lesson on what it's like to have a leader most of the world doesn't like/respect/understand :)

It's very hard for people to step into the perception of another locale. One of the examples I see is in Congress, people often lament members of Congress and wonder why they continually get reelected. But while everyone else all over the country may hate that Congressman, there's a pretty good chance the locals love him and feel that he's representing their community well.

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#163

Post by wtbob »

thogenhaven wrote: post #80
new_hackers wrote: post #4

What is the mood like with Trump coming into office? Is USDS going to remain alive and well?

There is a good article about it here: https://backchannel.com/the-final-days-of-obamas-tech-surge-... "I also spoke to a number of former team members. Publicly, almost all of them expressed optimism that the work would continue: The transition was proceeding cordially, the efforts to reform government IT were bipartisan, and Congress would back their efforts, which had already saved money for taxpayers and delivere…

> But lurking behind every statement was an existential dread that Donald Trump would either pull the plug on one of the great achievements of the last eight years, or worse — he might order the best and brightest to work on projects that violated their moral codes.

Certainly there are other people who have had the same concern that President Obama, Mr. Bush, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Reagan, Mr. Carter and so on all the way back to Mr. Washington would order them to work on projects which violate their moral codes?

For that matter, surely any employee must have at least some concern that his employer will order him to do something unethical?

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#164

Post by scott_s »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #39
spoon16 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the USDS project selection criteria is that we prioritize work that based on what will do the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the greatest need. I do not believe a Muslim Registry does any good for anyone. Being involved in building one would require formally changing our values which would be visible to everyone in USDS. Disclaimer: personal opinion, I am currently serving on a USDS team, m…

> One of the USDS project selection criteria is that we prioritize work that based on what will do the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the greatest need The USDS is a taxpayer-funded public entity. The "greatest good..." is determined by the law, written by our duly elected representatives. You don't get to serve the public and selectively reject the law. If the Congress passes a law you disagree w…

I feel that is a rigid and too literal take on how government works.

At any given time, there are more laws to enforce and enact than people and other resources to enforce and enact them. Deciding what exactly to enforce or enact is - in other words, their priorities - is often left up to individual agencies. For example, the Obama administration prioritized immigration enforcement by targeting those found at the border, or those who committed crimes [1]. In another instance, marijuana use is illegal under federal law, but some local laws allow it, and the Obama administration explicitly deprioritized enforcement in such cases [2].

Finally, I think there are valid cases where individuals within government should exercise their own judgement and resist direct orders if they feel they are unjust. One such case is when Governor Schwarzenegger ordered the pay reduction (down to federal minimum wage) of 200,000 state employees until the state legislature agreed on a budget [3]. The person who was supposed to enact this order, state controller John Chiang, resisted.

"Under Schwarzenegger’s plan, the workers would receive their full salaries once a budget was approved. But California had enough cash in its accounts, and, in Chiang’s view, the Governor’s move could violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. Moreover, he thought, it was cruel. It was the height of the financial crisis, and mortgage defaults were up more than a hundred per cent over the previous year." [3]

[1] http://www.npr.org/2016/08/31/491965912/5-things-to-know-abo...

[2] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/president-obama-marijuan...

[3] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/21/resisting-trump...

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#165

Post by hugs »

therealmarv wrote: post #97

Very inspiring to learn about US Digital Service. I wished somehow Germany would have something similar.

USDS was modeled after a similar initiative in the UK (the Government Digital Service). Maybe Germany could be next? Or maybe an EU-wide digital service?

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#166

Post by dkhenry »

shostack wrote: post #157
dkhenry wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand your feeling, and even if you could get to the 163k pay rate (which you might not) you would be looking at a different lifestyle. Its important to go into the process knowing that a Job at the USDS isn't going to make the most financial sense, many people have turned down packages many multiples of 163k for the opportunity to make a difference on a scale that people would only dream about. If your not ex…

Does that fact tend to "filter out" those who are not young and unencumbered by financial obligations like mortgages and families or those who are well off?

I have a wife, three young children, and a mortgage, and it didn't filter me out. The money isn't the biggest challenge, it is tough work and it takes a long time to reach the pay off. The daily grind up against the machine that is government will wear you down faster then anything else.

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#167

Post by dkhenry »

thisnotmyacc wrote: post #129
codeonfire wrote: post #49

Trump is going to shut this down unfortunately. I don't think people have really come to terms with what is going to change. If there is anything digital that needs done, some republican backed defense contractor is going to do it for 100x the price.

This sort of scare mongering is just plain weird.

I don't think its weird, I think its what has become normal. People operate on speculation and fear more then facts.

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#168

Post by primitivesuave »

codelitt wrote: post #134
verst wrote: post #18

Congrats Matt. It was a pleasure to meet you at the USDS ice cream social last fall. Today was my last day at 18F. I'm returning to private sector, for now. I'm proud of what we accomplished in building cloud.gov. I think 2017 will be a big year for the platform.

Wow! Just took a look at the pricing page[^1]. This seems like a very expensive service. What makes it cost so much in comparison to what we see in the private sector? There's some info here[^2], but it's pretty general. [1]: https://cloud.gov/overview/pricing/rates/ [2]: https://cloud.gov/overview/pricing/pricing-model/

Cloud.gov services can only be purchased by federal agencies. The pricing ensures that it is a cost-recoverable service. I for one am happy to see my tax dollars moved out of other federal agencies and into USDS.

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#169

Post by knz »

walrus01 wrote: post #44
potatosoup wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The registry was already there under Obama: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article... Also, it would be silly to assume that we didn't have a database of "country from" for immigrants or visitors. "Muslim" is not a country, it's a religion, so you'd need some serious behavior profiling for that -- probably FB/Google are ones you should be after. (Disclaimer: am immigrant, am minority.)

CBP/ICE already collects retinal scans and fingerprints of people with visas from many countries. Plus there's the FBI face recognition database.

> CBP/ICE already collects retinal scans and fingerprints of people with visas from many countries. Plus there's the FBI face recognition database.

Permanent residents too (no retinal scan but digital fingerprints and photo every time you pass through immigration at an airport).

Re: Staying with the US Digital Service

#170

Post by pc86 »

gsch wrote: post #84
stale2002 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then they should have acted 8 years ago, because the "Muslim registery" already exists under Obama

The registry existed under Obama, but it was created in 2002 after 9/11, partially suspended in 2011, and fully suspended last month [0], though it looks like it remains to be seen whether the suspension will be undone. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Entry-Exit_R...

NSEERS is not even remotely a Muslim registry. It says if you're from one of five countries or are specifically selected, you have to pass additional scrutiny to enter the US and are subject to additional notification and reporting requirements.
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