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Yes, what actually happened is important. In that Constitution story, a government website that has the Constitution's text was updated in a peculiar way. It c

Yes, what actually happened is important. In that Constitution story, a government website that has the Constitution's text was updated in a peculiar way. It could be interpreted as having been related to habeas corpus rights, as that was in the middle of the removal. It could also be interpreted as unintentional, as the deletion started in the middle of Article I Section 8. You'd think a targeted deletion wouldn't include so much unrelated text. Then again, you could say that it's just an incompetently done targeted deletion. It's debatable! Maybe it was intentional and maybe the order came from the top. Or maybe it was just a run of the mill tech SNAFU. In this situation, Trump, on Trump's social media platform, posted that he wants this CEO to resign. That's not debatable, it's verifiable fact. It happened. We know the man at the top is saying this. So yeah, stop with the false equivalencies and pay attention to what's actually happening.

tptacek 1y ago
Just so we're clear that you apparently still think it's possible that an order came down from the top to delete Congress's authorization to form a Navy from the Library of Congress's online annotated Constitution, which isn't even in the first SERP for me on Google for "online constitution", but I guess you've gotta start somewhere.
- fzeroracer 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - tptacek 1y ago
    It's exactly because I think this is the most dangerous President in American history that I find these kinds of claims so risible and worth knocking down.
    - fzeroracer 1y ago
      And in doing so you are inadvertently providing cover for their actions. The constitution fuck up was likely a mistake, but at the same time you should be reacting like the way others did because it sends a clear, strong message that people are watching. And in this scenario your counterargument is so incredibly weak that you're not knocking down anyone's claims, you're just weakening your own position.
      - tptacek 1y ago
        Ridiculous. The LOC thing doesn't even make sense as a movie plot. I'm not going to pretend it does just so I can keep the same polarity as you. It probably just doesn't make sense for us to keep talking about this.
        fzeroracer 1y ago
        You started the tangent with the Library of Congress thing and then demand people stop talking about it when they push back against your staked out position. I'm not sure what you expect other than it seems you've consistently ignored the point of people's posts here in favor of extrapolating something completely different.
- CamperBob2 1y ago
  Dude, he altered a weather map with a Sharpie on live TV.
  - tptacek 1y ago
    The theory behind this Constitution thing is as if, after altering the weather map, the weather changed.
    - CamperBob2 1y ago
      Well, it would have if he had been allowed to use nuclear weapons on the hurricane instead of just a Sharpie.
    - sjsdaiuasgdia 1y ago
      I remember this blog post coming across HN when it was posted: https://rachelbythebay.com/w/2025/07/07/support/ https://rachelbythebay.com/w/2025/07/07/support/ It's a good story, but what I'm remembering and is relevant here is this: > At some point, I realized that if I wrote a wiki page and documented the things that we were willing to support, I could wait about six months and then it would be like it had always been there. Authoritarians and fascists recognize this potential to create new "truths". If you say it enough, it's the truth. If you change things and say it's always been that way, then it was. If you're willing to drag through the mud, fire, prosecute, imprison, harm, or kill those who push back, fewer people push back. Even if everyone "knows" it's false, it no longer matters - most operate as if it is true. Let's not forget that years later, Trump felt the need to inflict revenge on NOAA employees connected to sharpiegate: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/two-high-ranking-noaa-employees-connected-sharpiegate-incident-put-lea-rcna221113 https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/two-high-rankin... That's why this shit makes people nervous, why people are on edge about information changing on government websites for no apparent reason. Trump has repeatedly shown a willingness to inflict his view of reality on others, with force, and without regard for facts. You trivialize it at your own peril.
      - tptacek 1y ago
- sjsdaiuasgdia 1y ago
  I described the situation you referenced to show why it is not the same as this situation. I did not declare ownership of a position. Personally I'd say it's 99.99% in favor of run of the mill SNAFU. The 0.01% is mostly an allowance for the tendency of authoritarian systems to occasionally act in incredibly clumsy and incompetent ways. I feel this may be a factor of personal loyalty and ideological alignment receiving more consideration than competence in hiring and advancement decisions within authoritarian systems.

tptacek 1y ago

Just so we're clear that you apparently still think it's possible that an order came down from the top to delete Congress's authorization to form a Navy from the Library of Congress's online annotated Constitution, which isn't even in the first SERP for me on Google for "online constitution", but I guess you've gotta start somewhere.

fzeroracer 1y ago
[flagged]
- tptacek 1y ago
  It's exactly because I think this is the most dangerous President in American history that I find these kinds of claims so risible and worth knocking down.
  - fzeroracer 1y ago
    And in doing so you are inadvertently providing cover for their actions. The constitution fuck up was likely a mistake, but at the same time you should be reacting like the way others did because it sends a clear, strong message that people are watching. And in this scenario your counterargument is so incredibly weak that you're not knocking down anyone's claims, you're just weakening your own position.
    - tptacek 1y ago
      Ridiculous. The LOC thing doesn't even make sense as a movie plot. I'm not going to pretend it does just so I can keep the same polarity as you. It probably just doesn't make sense for us to keep talking about this.
      - fzeroracer 1y ago
        You started the tangent with the Library of Congress thing and then demand people stop talking about it when they push back against your staked out position. I'm not sure what you expect other than it seems you've consistently ignored the point of people's posts here in favor of extrapolating something completely different.
CamperBob2 1y ago
Dude, he altered a weather map with a Sharpie on live TV.
- tptacek 1y ago
  The theory behind this Constitution thing is as if, after altering the weather map, the weather changed.
  - CamperBob2 1y ago
    Well, it would have if he had been allowed to use nuclear weapons on the hurricane instead of just a Sharpie.
  - sjsdaiuasgdia 1y ago
    I remember this blog post coming across HN when it was posted: https://rachelbythebay.com/w/2025/07/07/support/ https://rachelbythebay.com/w/2025/07/07/support/ It's a good story, but what I'm remembering and is relevant here is this: > At some point, I realized that if I wrote a wiki page and documented the things that we were willing to support, I could wait about six months and then it would be like it had always been there. Authoritarians and fascists recognize this potential to create new "truths". If you say it enough, it's the truth. If you change things and say it's always been that way, then it was. If you're willing to drag through the mud, fire, prosecute, imprison, harm, or kill those who push back, fewer people push back. Even if everyone "knows" it's false, it no longer matters - most operate as if it is true. Let's not forget that years later, Trump felt the need to inflict revenge on NOAA employees connected to sharpiegate: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/two-high-ranking-noaa-employees-connected-sharpiegate-incident-put-lea-rcna221113 https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/two-high-rankin... That's why this shit makes people nervous, why people are on edge about information changing on government websites for no apparent reason. Trump has repeatedly shown a willingness to inflict his view of reality on others, with force, and without regard for facts. You trivialize it at your own peril.
    - tptacek 1y ago
sjsdaiuasgdia 1y ago
I described the situation you referenced to show why it is not the same as this situation. I did not declare ownership of a position. Personally I'd say it's 99.99% in favor of run of the mill SNAFU. The 0.01% is mostly an allowance for the tendency of authoritarian systems to occasionally act in incredibly clumsy and incompetent ways. I feel this may be a factor of personal loyalty and ideological alignment receiving more consideration than competence in hiring and advancement decisions within authoritarian systems.