3 ms·

FedAid: A tool for civil servants to describe their work with clarity

2 points by johanam 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
toomuchtodo 2y ago
Why would civil servants use this versus ignoring the request for updates (per the guidance from their leadership)? The solution to these requests is not to enable them. In sign of division, some US agencies tell workers to ignore Musk ultimatum - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43163051 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43163051 Kash Patel tells FBI staff to ignore Elon Musk’s productivity email as signs of power struggles emerge in D.C. - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43148436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43148436 Top leadership at the State Department has instructed its employees to ignore @elonmusk ’s productivity inquiry, saying, essentially—we will evaluate our own people. A sign not all Trump officials are on board with Musk’s DOGE email. - https://x.com/Yamiche/status/1893517922586239358 https://x.com/Yamiche/status/1893517922586239358 | https://archive.today/9w4TW https://archive.today/9w4TW
- johanam 2y ago
  utimatly, that's a personal and institutional choice 2.3m federal workers must make tonight. i'm just here to help if push comes to shove. many federal workers never graduated high school and might struggle with this and get inadquate advising from their union or supervisors, if they have one.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    As it relates to employment legal advice to federal workers (including enabling them to provide information they shouldn’t be providing, or providing information that jeopardizes their employment that would not have been had they remained silent), they need an attorney, their union rep, or other representation. If this tool gets them fired, they potentially have no recourse. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/musk-what-did-you-do-email-draws-suit-from-federal-unions https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/musk-what... | https://archive.today/4ETZZ https://archive.today/4ETZZ https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.444883/gov.uscourts.cand.444883.17.0.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.44... I am somewhat confident you have positive intent, but operating from a position of good faith in this environment, for these workers, is not possible. They must assume a defensive footing against a malicious adversary. Anything that can be used against them will be (as the goal is to purge as many federal workers as possible).
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    Update: The output from this tool would potentially be used to automatically select federal workers for termination. DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43176204 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43176204 https://www.wired.com/story/doge-autorif-mass-firing-government-workers/ https://www.wired.com/story/doge-autorif-mass-firing-governm... https://web.archive.org/web/20250207070643/https://media.defense.gov/2003/Jun/27/2001713234/-1/-1/1/03-110.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20250207070643/https://media.def...

2 points by johanam 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Why would civil servants use this versus ignoring the request for updates (per the guidance from their leadership)? The solution to these requests is not to enable them. In sign of division, some US agencies tell workers to ignore Musk ultimatum - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43163051 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43163051 Kash Patel tells FBI staff to ignore Elon Musk’s productivity email as signs of power struggles emerge in D.C. - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43148436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43148436 Top leadership at the State Department has instructed its employees to ignore @elonmusk ’s productivity inquiry, saying, essentially—we will evaluate our own people. A sign not all Trump officials are on board with Musk’s DOGE email. - https://x.com/Yamiche/status/1893517922586239358 https://x.com/Yamiche/status/1893517922586239358 | https://archive.today/9w4TW https://archive.today/9w4TW

johanam 2y ago
utimatly, that's a personal and institutional choice 2.3m federal workers must make tonight. i'm just here to help if push comes to shove. many federal workers never graduated high school and might struggle with this and get inadquate advising from their union or supervisors, if they have one.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  As it relates to employment legal advice to federal workers (including enabling them to provide information they shouldn’t be providing, or providing information that jeopardizes their employment that would not have been had they remained silent), they need an attorney, their union rep, or other representation. If this tool gets them fired, they potentially have no recourse. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/musk-what-did-you-do-email-draws-suit-from-federal-unions https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/musk-what... | https://archive.today/4ETZZ https://archive.today/4ETZZ https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.444883/gov.uscourts.cand.444883.17.0.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.44... I am somewhat confident you have positive intent, but operating from a position of good faith in this environment, for these workers, is not possible. They must assume a defensive footing against a malicious adversary. Anything that can be used against them will be (as the goal is to purge as many federal workers as possible).
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Update: The output from this tool would potentially be used to automatically select federal workers for termination. DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43176204 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43176204 https://www.wired.com/story/doge-autorif-mass-firing-government-workers/ https://www.wired.com/story/doge-autorif-mass-firing-governm... https://web.archive.org/web/20250207070643/https://media.defense.gov/2003/Jun/27/2001713234/-1/-1/1/03-110.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20250207070643/https://media.def...