(Intro – spoken)
They say they’re cutting taxes.
But not for us.
They cut the crumbs… and serve cake to the top.
Tell me how that’s just?

⸻

(Verse 1)
They campaign on a tax slash, actin’ like it’s generous,
But the cuts don’t reach the bottom, only benefit the treacherous.
Trickle down’s a myth, we’re soaked in the drought,
While the rich get richer and we’re scraping it out.

They slashed council funds, then they shuttered the parks,
Took the heat from the homes and the light from the dark.
Libraries closed, and the buses got sold,
But they still got a chauffeur on the government roll.

Universal credit ain’t enough for a bed,
While a hedge fund donor gets another tax shred.
Cut welfare and claim we’re lazy and fat—
Try surviving on that, where the rent eats your flat.

⸻

(Chorus)
📉 What’s left? After the paycheck’s gone?
Bills, food, travel—still gotta carry on.
📦 What’s left? When the fridge is bare?
No heat, no hope, but they say it’s fair.

💸 What’s left? When the tax man comes,
But the tax cuts only feed the platinum ones.
📉 What’s left? Just debt and stress,
While they sip champagne and we clean the mess.

⸻

(Verse 2)
They were born on third base, thought they hit a home run,
Never seen mum cry over bills by the sun.
Silver spoon logic, they don’t know the price,
Of bread, milk, bus fare, or sleepless nights.

Empathy’s absent in that House of Shame,
Where they gamble our futures like it’s just a game.
“Cut the fat!” they shout—but they mean the poor,
While they renovate their office with taxpayer decor.

Ain’t no bootstraps when your shoes are gone,
When you’re working two jobs just to keep the lights on.
Ain’t no safety net when they’ve ripped it apart,
Now it’s payday loans and a broke-down heart.

⸻

(Bridge – spoken/half-sung)
They cut the lifelines, then blame us for drowning.
Tell us “tighten the belt”—when it’s choking and hounding.
But you don’t feel the pinch from your penthouse view…
You feel pity? Nah. We see right through.

⸻

(Chorus – repeat with more emotion)
📉 What’s left? After the paycheck’s gone?
Bills, food, travel—still gotta carry on.
📦 What’s left? When the fridge is bare?
No heat, no hope, but they say it’s fair.

💸 What’s left? When the tax man comes,
But the tax cuts only feed the platinum ones.
📉 What’s left? Just debt and stress,
While they sip champagne and we clean the mess.

⸻

(Outro)
So tell me again how this system’s just?
When the ones with the most ask the least of us.
This ain’t envy—it’s survival, plain.
You can’t lift yourself up when you’re chained by the game.

Yeah, they cut us down to climb up more,
But we ain’t silent—we’re keeping score.
Next time they say, “We’ve got your back,”
Ask them first: Whose hands hold that axe?

What’s Left?

Back by popular demand, Hannah White, Paul Johnson and Anand Menon reunited on stage to record a special live episode of The Expert Factor – the podcast for people who haven’t had enough of experts.  

Nine years to the day since the UK voted to leave the EU, as the directors of three of the UK’s leading think tanks – the Institute for Government, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and UK in a Changing Europe – got together to discuss, explore and explain the big questions facing Keir Starmer’s Labour government and Britain’s opposition parties in an increasingly unpredictable world.

The event was held in partnership with UK in a Changing Europe.

The Expert Factor Live!

From the heatwave to the recently approved budget, Harrisonburg City Mayor Deana Reed and City Manager Andy Banks, address a number of things happening in Harrisonburg.  Ribbon cutting for the new splash park at Ralph Sampson Park and the recent issues with the city's water treatment plant were also discussed.

062425_Mayor Deana Reed & City Manager Andy Banks

The CIA, like other agencines in the intelligence community, is exploring how AI can boost its mission on both the human and open-source intelligence domains. As head of the open source enterprise for the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation, Kevin Carlson is helping usher in AI for the OSINT mission set. During a recent interview on the sidelines of the Special Competitive Studies Project’s AI+ Expo, Carlson shared the potential for AI in open-source intelligence, how the CIA is looking to operationalize AI, the impact of the technology on the CIA workforce, and much more.

U.S. Cyber Command played a role in American military’s operation against Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, according to top Pentagon officials. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in a briefing at the Pentagon Sunday morning that, “The strike package was supported by U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Space Force and U.S. European command,” later thanking the cyber operators, among others, who made the mission possible. However, no further details about Cybercom’s efforts were disclosed. The command referred DefenseScoop to the Pentagon for comment, where a spokesperson said they had nothing further to provide at this time beyond the transcript from Sunday’s press conference. Although details about Cybercom’s assistance for Operation Midnight Hammer, the code name for the strikes, remain murky, experts — most of whom spoke to DefenseScoop on condition of anonymity — outlined a number of possibilities for how the organization may have contributed to the effort. 

As the Army seeks to continue its transformation effort to become more efficient, the department’s chief information officer is looking to streamline systems and processes. And no longer will “that’s the way it’s always been done” be an acceptable justification for maintaining the status quo. There have been directives from top levels of Army leadership to cut down on business systems and automate capabilities where possible. CIO Leonel Garciga said last week at an industry event that there’s a big push right now from the secretary and the chief of staff to question: “do we need all of these systems, why do we have them?” calling some of it really old.  Unveiled at the end of April, the Army Transformation Initiative is a top-down effort to improve how the service operates by shrinking headquarters elements, becoming leaner, slashing programs that aren’t efficient and changing how money is spent. The goal is to cut obsolete programs and systems that don’t contribute to success on the modern battlefield. 

The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon.
If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

How the CIA is using AI for its open source intelligence mission

This week we’re looking at AI and public services. How far could AI tools help to tackle stagnant public sector productivity? What dangers are associated with AI adoption? And how can these dangers be addressed? 

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being touted as a game-changer across various sectors, including public services. But while AI presents significant opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness, concerns about fairness, equity, and past failures in public sector IT transformations loom large. And, of course, the idea of tech moguls like Elon Musk wielding immense influence over our daily lives is unsettling for many. So, what are the real opportunities AI offers for public services? What risks need to be managed? And how well are governments—particularly in the UK—rising to the challenge? 

In this episode, we dive into these questions with three expert guests who have recently published an article in The Political Quarterly on the subject: Helen Margetts – Professor of Society and the Internet at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. Previously, she was Director of the School of Public Policy at UCL. Cosmina Dorobantu – Co-director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute. Jonathan Bright – Head of Public Services and AI Safety at The Alan Turing Institute. 

Mentioned in this episode: Margetts, H., Dorobantu, C. and Bright, J. (2024), How to Build Progressive Public Services with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. The Political Quarterly.

Transcription link:
https://uncoveringpolitics.com/episodes/ai-and-public-services/transcript

Date of episode recording: 2025-02-13T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:42:48
Language of episode: English (UK)
TAGS: AI, government, politics, bureaucracy, political quarterly, efficiency
Presenter:Alan Renwick
Guests: Helen Margettes, Cosmina Dorobantu, Jonathan Bright
Producer: Eleanor Kingwell-Banham


AI and Public Services

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins attempted to assuage lawmakers’ concerns Tuesday over how the agency plans to deliver critical health tech services amid drastic cuts to its workforce. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Collins said the VA is full steam ahead on planned deployments of its oft-troubled electronic health record at additional facilities, and is also pushing forward on the rollout of its External Provider Scheduling tool. The VA said in February that it had dismissed 1,000 employees, while the Associated Press reported in March that it planned to cut 80,000 staffers. The Oracle EHR system, meanwhile — plagued by technical problems since its launch during the first Trump administration — is scheduled to be deployed at 13 medical facilities by 2026.

A suite of Elastic products will be discounted for agencies by up to 60% under a new deal announced Tuesday by the General Services Administration. The agreement, part of the GSA’s OneGov strategy to modernize how the government purchases goods and services, will give agencies access to discounts of Elastic’s self-managed solution starting at 27.5%, climbing to higher savings based on governmentwide annual spending. Stephen Ehikian, GSA’s acting administrator, said in a press release that the pact “represents a significant step in our efforts to drive cost efficiencies and modernize IT infrastructure across the federal government.” Additionally, discounts start at 15% for FedRAMP Moderate cloud deployments via GovCloud, jumping to 32% at the top volume tier. The pricing options are locked in for orders made prior to Sept. 30, 2027.

The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon.
If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

VA secretary pledges progress on EHR rollout amid workforce cuts; GSA inks deal with Elastic to discount products for agencies

TILLIT LAW Federal Contract Claims Insights

Claims for Increased Cost of Performance in Fixed Price Contracts

Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

When you bring up AGI—artificial general intelligence—in polite conversation, most people look at you like you’re crazy.

They smirk. Glance away. Pretend they didn’t hear you.

But every so often, someone leans in.

And when they do, they whisper.

They’re not laughing.

They’re worried.

They’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on—and how close we really are.

Hi. My name is Anton Volney.

I’m not a policymaker. I’m not a computer scientist.

But I am paying attention.

And for the past year, I’ve had a pit in my stomach.

Because I think we’re all about to get blindsided by a world-changing force.

A force we built ourselves—but don’t understand.

A force we can’t stop—but don’t know how to control.

A force that’s going to rewrite reality at a pace we’re not emotionally, spiritually, or institutionally ready for.

And if that sounds dramatic—

Good.

Because the people at the top—the CEOs, the national security experts, the insiders at OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind—they’re not calm.

They’re not saying, “Hey, we have 50 years to figure this out.”

They’re saying:

It might already be here. Or arrive in months. Not decades.

Subscribe: www.antonvolney.com/subscribe

Permission to be Powerful - The Government Knows_ The Terminator Is Coming... In The Next 1000 Days

On this week’s Priorities Podcast, the StateScoop team breaks down what the recent cancellation of the Digital Equity Act will mean for states and communities that were expecting the funding to improve connectivity, access to devices and digital skills training. Keely Quinlan explains that a recent letter — signed by 156 people representing the 140 organizations that serve communities across 39 states — asks for it to be reinstated. And StateScoop reporter Sophia Fox-Sowell offers a preview of her reporting on food banks and their use of state data. Data is important for their efforts, she explains, but access is uneven.

Top stories this week: 

State and local governments overseeing populations of at least 50,000 people have 10 months remaining to comply with new accessibility rules, to ensure that people with disabilities of all sorts can find information and use services. Code for America has developed an AI-powered tool that helps them get organized. So far it’s being used by Salt Lake City, Utah, and the State of Georgia.

A new report from the emergency tech firm Carbyne paints a troubling picture of the nation’s 911 system, highlighting a growing wave of outages and cyberattacks, along with an outdated infrastructure that threatens public safety. It shows that nearly 90% of emergency communication centers across the U.S. experienced at least one system outage in the past year caused by aging equipment or cyberattacks.

In a letter last week to Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick and Adam Cassady, acting administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, more than 140 state and local organizations asked for the Digital Equity Act to be reinstated. The letter claims the act’s cancellation could leave residents and some businesses behind on issues of economic opportunity, education, health care and online safety.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday.
For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,Soundcloud or Spotify.


Inside report: Food bank data and the Digital Equity Act

The Defense Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has officially kicked off its effort to improve how the Pentagon manages cybersecurity risks with advanced automation and continuous monitoring capabilities. The DOD CIO published a request for information Wednesday on Sam.gov calling for industry’s input on emerging technologies, solutions and business practices that can support the department’s attempt to revamp the Risk Management Framework (RMF). The initiative largely seeks to replace the legacy framework with a multi-phased construct that will be demanding for cyber and acquisition professionals. Officials are hoping to speed up capability delivery to warfighters. The RFI states: “Although RMF enhances security through continuous monitoring and risk-based decision-making, it’s often seen as slow and cumbersome. To meet the urgent demands of modern cyber threats and accelerate innovation, the DoD is working to streamline the RMF process — aiming for greater efficiency without compromising on security.”

Federal agencies would be barred from using artificial intelligence linked to the Chinese government under legislation introduced Wednesday by a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers. The No Adversarial Al Act proposal from Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., the chair and ranking member of the House Select Committee on China, respectively, is a companion to legislation from Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.  The bill is the latest in a series of other congressional proposals focused on DeepSeek, a Chinese startup whose low-cost AI model has stirred panic in U.S. tech and AI companies.

The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon.
If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

DOD CIO solicits industry to inform revamp of ‘cumbersome’ cybersecurity risk framework; Congress seeks ban on government use of foreign adversary AI

The government kinda sucks because... if we can come up with 100 solutions (actually 140) and they don't do anything but protect corporate profits... what good are they anyway?  This is one of our favorite shows - a morning show devoted to the top 100 solutions the government can ignore, like it always does, and we don't.  So tune in - turn it up - and join the conscious revolution!   Be on the right side of history - join us at CFTG.ca!

100 solutions the government can ignore

Host David Lillis talks about the current political climate.  

Political News, Political Views (06/26/25)

The Social Security Administration has moved on to its third chief information officer of the Trump administration, tapping yet another individual with Department of Government Efficiency affiliations. According to an update to CIO.gov, a federal page that features IT leaders in the government, Aram Moghaddassi has taken over as SSA’s top IT official after previously working at the agency in a different role. Moghaddassi, who has also worked at the Labor Department, was at one point given access to IT systems at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, FedScoop previously reported. Per his LinkedIn profile, Moghaddassi previously worked for two Elon Musk-owned companies: the social media platform X and Neuralink. Moghaddassi is at least the third DOGE associate to be named CIO at SSA since President Donald Trump took office in January. 

By and large, people don’t seem to be trying to access technology created by DeepSeek — the Chinese AI firm that’s rattled leading U.S. AI companies and lawmakers — on government systems. But it has happened at least once at a federal civilian agency. Since January, there’s been one attempt to access DeepSeek at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to FedScoop. The USDA successfully prevented access to the technology and has blocked DeepSeek through Microsoft’s Defender for Cloud Application service since Jan. 28, the spokesperson added. DeepSeek is banned along with other public AI sites “based on risk levels that Microsoft provides in their Defender applications,” the person said. The agency did not say whether there were attempts to access the technology before the block was implemented. Lawmakers are increasingly concerned about DeepSeek, a China-based large language model developer that threatens the dominance of American AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. In the view of many federal officials, the company’s technology raises serious security concerns. Last Wednesday, lawmakers proposed the No Adversarial Al Act, which would ban the use of DeepSeek on government devices, create a registry of foreign adversary AI systems and establish a method for these technologies to be delisted.

The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon.
If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

SSA makes another DOGE switch at CIO; Federal workers at at least one agency have tried to use Deepseek

Podcast Monday - RM Contractors Crypto Corner 063025

The government is corrupt and it sucks living under it. 

The Government is Corrupt

Unbalanced Pricing & Associated Risks in Federal Contracts

When you talk about operations at the edge, the State Department is up there among federal agencies with largest forward-deployed mission sets. With more than 270 posts that diplomats work out of in foreign territories, the State Department has a massive footprint at the edge. And according to Gharun Lacy, State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber & Technology Security, each of those posts comes with its own unique challenges in securing their digital operations. Earlier this month, I hosted Lacy for a fireside chat at the GDIT Emerge: Edge Forward event, during which we discussed how State is innovating at the edge to boost security of consulates and embassies, how the department incentivizes innovation, the adoption of emerging technologies at the edge, and much more.

U.S. authorities unsealed indictments, seized financial accounts and made an arrest in the latest attempt to crack down on North Korean remote IT workers as part of a coordinated action that the Justice Department announced Monday. The workers obtained employment at more than 100 U.S. companies using stolen and fake identities, costing them millions in damages and losses. The crackdown also included the seizure of websites and searches of 29 known or suspected “laptop farms” across 16 states that hosted victim company-provided laptops used to deceive companies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the DOJ’s National Security Division arrested Zhenxing “Danny” Wang of New Jersey on Monday pursuant to a five-count indictment of Wang and eight alleged co-conspirators, all Chinese and Taiwanese nationals. A second five-count indictment from the Northern District of Georgia charged four North Korean nationals. 

The Department of Homeland Security is canceling a $10 billion IT and software contract, a move that comes amid the Trump administration’s push to route all deals through the General Services Administration. In a posting Friday, DHS said the decision to scrap all existing IT value-added reseller deals under its FirstSource III contract aligns with recent executive orders and was made following “a thorough analysis of active contract awards and solicitations to assess mission-criticality and continued needs.” The cancellation also includes solicitations and evaluations of proposals submitted via a second category for software, per the posting, and no additional awards will be made. 

Also in this episode: Deloitte's Ed Van Buren and Google Public Sector's Amina Al Sherif join SNG host Wyatt Kash in a sponsored podcast discussion on why agentic AI is essential for agencies striving to scale operations, lower costs and enhance efficiency. This segment was sponsored by Deloitte.

The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon.
If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The State Department’s innovation-driven approach to security at the edge

Just in time for another hot California summer, the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment this year launched CalHeatScore, a data-powered tool that’s designed to help local governments and their constituencies better prepare for levels of heat that can become health hazards. On this week’s Priorities Podcast, Walker Wieland, manager of the office’s Extreme Heat Ranking System Development Section, says that heat affects everyone, but it especially affects groups like low-income populations, the elderly and people who live in cities, who must suffer the urban heat island effect. “Extreme heat really disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations throughout California,” Wieland says. “Some examples are the very young, older adults, those that work outside for a living, those with preexisting chronic health conditions. These are the people that are most commonly more sensitive to extreme heat and ultimately end up in the emergency room.” He explains how the tool can be used by members of the public to plan their summer schedules, but also by communities to guide policies, such as the opening of additional cooling or respite centers.

This week’s top stories:

The Senate voted Tuesday to remove from the federal budget bill a proposed moratorium on states enforcing their own artificial intelligence laws. The ban that was championed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., lost virtually all support before the vote. The defeat is being celebrated by states and advocacy groups as a win for state sovereignty.

The Supreme Court last week ruled to protect the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone and internet services in rural areas and schools through a number of programs, including the E-Rate program. The fund collects billions in fees from telecommunications services and users each year to support rural broadband networks, internet for health care centers and low-income households.

Taking a page from President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week signed a bill establishing a $10 million store of cryptocurrencies that lawmakers said will position the state for economic prosperity. Two other states — Arizona and New Hampshire — have passed legislation to create their own crypto reserves, but Texas is the first to fund one with state dollars. One expert, though, told StateScoop the fund’s small size makes the move largely symbolic.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday.
For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,Soundcloud or Spotify.

The tool helping vulnerable populations in California beat the heat

stay tuned for more taxfraud warfare updates

extraterrestrial (kiss me)

A podcast covering the latest news & trends facing top government leaders on topics such as technology, management & workforce. Hosted by Billy Mitchell on FedScoop and released Monday-Friday.

Each Wednesday, StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast explores the latest in state and local government technology news and analysis. Listen to in-depth conversations with government and industry’s top executives, and learn about trending stories affecting state and local IT leaders ranging from modernization and digital accessibility to the latest advances in generative artificial intelligence.

Creative music producer.

Music, quirky, inspired, enjoy!

Radio friendly & TV friendly tracks.  HD quality.  No swear words.

If you’re messaging me, tell me which song you liked.  It’s hard to know who is copying & pasting, and possibly a bot.

#snafflesmusic

Government Contracts Law Firm Focused on Assisting Businesses Contract with and Litigate against the U.S. Federal Government

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
not a big fan of the government
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
-
-
-
from the visionary minds of 
@7aerys & @faeble-online

The leading think tank working to make UK government more effective. 

Stay up to date with all of our commentary, analysis and events by visiting our website and subscribing to our newsletter.

UCL (University College London) is consistently ranked among the world's top ten universities (QS World University Rankings 2010 - 2021). Our excellence extends across all academic disciplines, from one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences to world-renowned centres for architecture (UCL Bartlett), education (UCL IOE) and fine art (UCL Slade School).

UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 13,000 staff and 43,000 students from 150 different countries. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL was the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men.

UCL Minds brings together UCL’s knowledge, insights, and ideas through events, activities, and digital content open to everyone. Find out what’s on UCL Minds: www.ucl.ac.uk/minds

Orion Neighborhood Television is Lake Orion's community media center. We focus on community and non-profit programming, media production education, and empower our residents to share their ideas with the world.

31 year veteran Sports talk host. Follow on Twitter @BigOShow. Watch the daily show on #YouTube search & Subscribe #BigORadioShow.

Broadcasting since 1985 - Solutions to world problems since 2012 - Now we rebuild and repurpose till we get it right. www.cftg.ca  'nuff said - tx for checking this out.
Darin;

New tracks tagged #Government