Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com' • Hacker News Board

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#961

Post by jpadkins » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:12 PM UTC

ants_everywhere wrote: post #567

mmastrac wrote: post #236

The reason security clearances are so important, and why people are so upset about randos going through so much sensitive government information, is that things like this can be used by adversaries to lean on these employees in the future. One of these kids might have worse skeletons in their closet. Given how well-known their names are, adversaries of the USA are likely combing through their own intelligence archive…

> The reason security clearances are so important...puts the entire American system in pretty serious danger. Remember when Michael Flynn was National Security Advisor? The guy had secret meetings with Russian spies and gave a talk at GRU headquarters. In the first administration there were obvious spies from our adversaries working in top government positions, and the same seems to be true of this administration. Al…

wait, you actually believe all this dis-info?

The CIA doesn't control Trump. They have been passively and actively subverting him since 2015. It's sad to see someone fall for their psy-ops.

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#962

Post by WalterBright » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:17 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #881

WalterBright wrote: post #755

I was fascinated by electricity, chemistry, firecrackers, rockets and hotrods as a boy. It is a miracle I survived. My dad told me that God looks out for little boys, as otherwise they would not make it to adulthood.

Thats a great line "My dad told me that God looks out for little boys" - I wish it were true but it sounds good.

One time my Cub Scout den mother showed us how to make an electric motor with large nails, copper wire, tin cut from a tin can, wood, and fasteners. Hooking it up to a dry cell caused it to spin merrily.

I then wondered what would happen if I plugged it into the wall socket.

It buzzed violently for a few seconds and then burst into flames. I learned what AC current was that day.

I think I was 8 at the time.

Yes, I have been shocked by 110VAC many times. (It's the basis of my superpowers.)

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#963

Post by wholinator2 » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:19 PM UTC

gyudin wrote: post #559

BryantD wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend Marc-André Argentino's research on the Com; he's a conspiracy researcher who got his PhD on QAnon. He leans left, if that's a factor for you. His general overview: https://www.maargentino.com/the-pillars-of-the-com-network/ That piece doesn't get specific at all about Com activities but be aware that some of the manifestos and other material he discusses is quite disturbing.

He cites same journalist Krebs that has no cybersecurity background. Even Marc-André Argentino himself is a master of arts in theology and not a real cybersecurity specialist.

This coming from Gyudin, who cites no credentials and is not a real journalism specialist. See? Real easy to discredit someone by credentialism. Instead, you can read his article and take apart his points, since you're unsatisfied by his interpretation

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#964

Post by tpmoney » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:23 PM UTC

bfrog wrote: post #841

DanielHB wrote: post #815

I just want to highlight one thing about this whole government takeover debacle. The reason you have the separation of power (legislative, judiciary, executive) is not to be efficient, it is to prevent generational abuse. Even a well intentioned benign autocrat if given power would not part ways with said power voluntarily. So even if the current administration is "good" there is no reason why this kind of power coul…

This only works even remotely if the politicians agree to work together on some level. Modern US politics went all in on Newt Gingrich’s blockade method to ensure the big bad democrats can’t look like they ever do anything. And here we are with only slightly less broken healthcare with the ACA, a plan originally from GOP, which is constantly hounded on for being terrible. All while drug and medical prices fleece ever…

We’ve been hearing for decades now that congress is hamstrung because “one side” refuses to cooperate. And yet, apparently when it comes to things like banning tik-tok, or renewing the various PATRIOT ACT provisions, they can get it done with barely a quibble.

Almost all of congress’ problems are of their own making. At what point do we stop accepting the excuse from half of congress that their hands are completely tied and start holding them accountable for fixing it.

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#965

Post by code_for_monkey » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:24 PM UTC

crnkofe wrote: post #843

I still can't believe Musk came up with a name that shortens to DOGE. This is next level political trolling. Then again people got what they voted for.

i dont want a government that does next level trolling

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#966

Post by dang » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:30 PM UTC

watwut wrote: post #782

WalterBright wrote: post #755

I was fascinated by electricity, chemistry, firecrackers, rockets and hotrods as a boy. It is a miracle I survived. My dad told me that God looks out for little boys, as otherwise they would not make it to adulthood.

When a girl does that, she is seen as irresponsible and stupid.

(This comment was unfairly flagged and I turned off the flags on it.)

What you say is often true and was even more often true in the past. If it was your experience, I'm sorry to hear it.

A friend of mine, one of the more brilliant people I've met, told me that her parents built her brother a workshop because "a boy needs a workshop". When she said she needed a workshop too, she was told she didn't. My sister had similar experiences. At the time, this was taken to be obvious.

Things have changed since then, but not completely, and not at the same rate everywhere.

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#967

Post by knicholes » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:34 PM UTC

scrollaway wrote: post #946

cooper_ganglia wrote: post #938

The HN response to all this has actually been very strange to me. From my perspective, this presidency, and especially Musk working on DOGE, should be one of the most exciting, positive things discussed on here! I would've thought this crowd would've loved lower taxes (more money to build things!), less regulation (less restrictions to build things!), and an unfamiliar friendliness towards the tech industry (more peo…

Speaking as a European entrepreneur, the current administration’s dismantling of the government has made things extremely unstable and made certain I do not choose the US for where to do business in the coming months/years. A Delaware c corp was on the table for our latest incorporation. Instead, it’ll be in Paris. You’ve given free rein to some people to do wildly unstable shit and remove basically all accountabilit…

Really? All people on X are advocating for the extermination of the Jews?

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#968

Post by genewitch » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:38 PM UTC

jfengel wrote: post #155

the_snooze wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the very least, it’s a field day for foreign intelligence in DC. Offering these guys some money, women, status, or drink would pay massive dividends.

Have they even done the training that says "watch out for women trying to get into your pants"? Or did they just show up?

There's a rumor that the doge team went and did their metadata dump at treasury on midnight on the 21st or whatever. But what I think would be more interesting is if musk hasn't done anything, and all this crying and screaming is just at the threat of peeking at the books.

Because that seems more both their style.

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#969

Post by tomrod » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:48 PM UTC

jpadkins wrote: post #961

ants_everywhere wrote: post #567

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The reason security clearances are so important...puts the entire American system in pretty serious danger. Remember when Michael Flynn was National Security Advisor? The guy had secret meetings with Russian spies and gave a talk at GRU headquarters. In the first administration there were obvious spies from our adversaries working in top government positions, and the same seems to be true of this administration. Al…

wait, you actually believe all this dis-info? The CIA doesn't control Trump. They have been passively and actively subverting him since 2015. It's sad to see someone fall for their psy-ops.

What here is disinformation?

Re: Teen on Musk's DOGE team graduated from 'The Com'

#970

Post by tomrod » Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:57 PM UTC

jdross wrote: post #185

I realized I’m treading in extremely hostile waters here, but the stories I hear from folks working in DOGE are closer to “I spend 8am to 2am with the leaders of department X going through all contracts and outflows and identifying what is important versus wasteful given a target of saving $X million per day, and there are some great people in this department who really know what’s been going on and it’s been great t…

I have a few questions regarding your story versus what the public understands. I see you have been positively harangued for your comment, please view my questions as honest dialectic.

1. What is the metric these folks are using to identify fraud, waste, and abuse?

2. Given that we have had independent OIGs for ages, why was fraud, waste, and abuse not previously reported?

3. Given that Congress folks are running every 2-6 years and shine like a shiny button (and get a lot of political cred) when championing substantive removal of fraud, waste, and abuse, why have no Congress people similarly exercised their Constitutional role of oversight for any of these agencies for decades?

4. Why do the agencies targeted tend to have overlap with investigations into or run-ins with Elon Musk's companies?

5. Why do forensic accountants take a long time to flag and identify fraud, waste, and abuse, even when working with compliant insiders, versus Musk's DOGE taking minutes to hours to identify fraud, waste, and abuse?

6. How is labeling groups with different ideas, such as Lutheran Family Services in the service of immigrants and refugees as terrorists, conducive to the identification of fraud, waste, and abuse? Which law enforcement office led the review of this group in particular to make this designation, which Mr. Musk and others decided to (potentially libelously) use to inflame public opinion against them?

I have no doubt that DOGE folks probably feel pretty proud of the work they are doing. That doesn't mean they are actually having the outcomes they are commissioned for -- improving efficiency. Having worked some within government support, process bottlenecks are regulatory or otherwise required by statute. People spend time really considering the decisions and improving them incrementally.