Stone Cold Blue

Stone Cold Blue

@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

Here for news and cute animals. Oh, and to resist. Supporter of Feds and views are my own. Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.

18.4K followers13.7K following5.7K posts

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Bloomberg Government
@bgov.com

President Donald Trump’s latest staff shake-ups echo a return to his tumultuous first administration, which was marked by a revolving door of staff, volatile public firings, resignations, and persistent internal White House conflict.

bit.lyTrump’s Staffing Shake-Up Mirrors First Term’s Revolving DoorPresident Donald Trump’s latest staff shake-ups echo a return to his tumultuous first administration, which was marked by a revolving door of staff, volatile public firings, resignations, and persistent internal White House conflict.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

PBS News
@pbsnews.org

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the Trump administration remains "full-bore ahead" with a sweeping reorganization of the Forest Service and other agencies after a judge blocked the changes last week. https://to.pbs.org/4i0EIAG

to.pbs.orgRollins says USDA is 'full-bore ahead' on Forest Service reorganizationThe Trump administration wants to move Forest Service headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City, shutter 23 research stations, and close many regional offices and replace them with state offices.
Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

In a great win for those of us who live in DC, the Grand Prix Race “will not return to Washington D.C. next season.” Via @popville.bsky.social: www.popville.com/2026/10/gran...

popville.comGrand Prix Race “will not return to Washington D.C. next season.” - PoPvillephoto by Victoria Pickering Freedom 250 Grand Prix Statement on 2027: "THIS SUMMER'S FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX WAS AN INCREDIBLE EVENT THAT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED TO BE A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME CELEBRATION OF O...

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Alt National Park Service
@altnps.bsky.social

This is deeply disturbing. The Pentagon has approved letting DHS test a military “heat ray” weapon for use at the southern border, according to a September memo obtained by CNN. It’s called the Active Denial System, it fires an invisible energy beam that heats the surface of the skin,

Stone Cold Blue reposted

National Security Counselors 🕵
@nationalsecuritylaw.org

omfg "FLRA members also wrote the HHS officials appeared to use generative AI tools to draft its legal brief. They wrote that 22 of the department’s 29 footnotes, and 35 of its 42 ... citations are 'fictitious, erroneous, or irrelevant.'"

govexec.comHHS telework rollback challenge upheld by FLRAFederal Labor Relations Authority members wrote that HHS seemingly used generative AI tools to draft its legal brief, since many of its citations were “fictitious, erroneous, or irrelevant.”

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Norm Eisen
@normeisen.bsky.social

Think our effort to address the damage done by DOGE Is over? Not at all! We just won summary judgment proving that they abused our data And we are also litigating in fed court on behalf of the countless people they injured at USAID

Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

It’s completely f*cked up and most agencies haven’t figured it out yet based on what I am hearing. And no system is ready to support the changes. Would love for someone to ask agencies for the costs associated with trying to hand-jam these changes

GovExec@govexec.bsky.social

Agencies have to cap top performance ratings at 40% of the federal workforce, but employees say they don’t know how the rules will work or how their scores will be decided. Jory Heckman captures the confusion. buff.ly/CAo9rOj

buff.ly‘A rushed and complicated system.’ Federal employees say they’re in the dark over limited top ratingsA mandate to limit outstanding performance scores has managers playing a numbers game and risks pitting teammates against each other.
Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

Creating lasting damage that will take generations to overcome

The New Republic@newrepublic.com

Hegseth seems to be trying to turn the entire military into a volunteer regiment for his warrior cosplay, purging the professionals who might remind him that wars are won through judgment, discipline, and logistics rather than pull-ups and testosterone. trib.al/YHj4deX

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Amanda Katz
@katzish.bsky.social

Feeling perhaps irrationally upset about this amid the unnecessary human deaths the administration is also causing. But you can’t put back mature trees. He repeatedly destroys our public goods as he appropriates them to himself and his glory

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

This design appears to completely eliminate the much-beloved loop road and public park at Hains Point, and cut down the cherry trees which line the road. The park is a public space used by tens of thousands of Washingtonians and heavily visited by tourists. /photos not my own.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

MeidasTouch
@meidastouch.com

NEW: The Trump DOJ has filed its response after a federal judge demanded answers about Trump’s post announcing detailed plans to overhaul the East Potomac golf course, despite DOJ telling the court just two days earlier that Trump had given the project only “preliminary thought.” 1/

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PoPville
@popville.bsky.social

Trump announces East Potomac Golf Course will close November 15th for “approximately 15 months” - The saga continues: www.popville.com/2026/10/trum...

popville.comTrump announces East Potomac Golf Course will close November 15th for “approximately 15 months” - PoPvilleEast Potomac Golf Course Update. President Trump wrote on his Truth Social: "I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior, under the auspices of Secretary Doug Burgum, and in conjuncti...

Stone Cold Blue reposted

ProPublica
@propublica.org

In 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a Florida home, pledging it would be his principal residence. Seven weeks later, he attested a neighboring property would also be his principal residence. In reality, he does not seem to have lived in either home. (Published Dec. 2025)

propublica.orgTrump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records RevealThe Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

He had verbally told reporters he supported it. Poll numbers must have been REEEAALLY bad after they took a week to workshop it.

NBC News@nbcnews.com

President Trump overrules Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the execution of a former Army officer convicted in a 2009 mass shooting, a reversal that followed an outcry from both Republicans and Democrats.

nbcnews.toWhite House overrules Pete Hegseth again, this time on livestreaming executionFormer Army Maj. Nidal Hasan was convicted in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood and is scheduled to die by firing squad in December.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Steve Herman
@newsguy.bsky.social

Be honest. - Agencies forced to rehire ~25,000 'essential' employees -Public health/safety services degraded - HHS, HUD, VA crippled -End of US public diplomacy (State cuts; VOA silenced) -USAID shutdown linked to spikes in disease, hunger, violence in Africa - DOGE staff stole private data

Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

Cruelty is the point.

PBS News@pbsnews.org

The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, and some researchers worry that the changes will underestimate how many Americans are disabled. https://to.pbs.org/4jrY6I1

pbs.orgHow proposed cuts to this major national health survey could disadvantage Americans with disabilitiesAs many as a quarter of wheelchair users and more than a third of people who are blind or deaf could be miscategorized as not disabled because of the shorter survey, according to some advocates and re...
Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

Always a classic: “We want to put them in trauma.”

ProPublica@propublica.org

Ahead of the 2024 election, @andykroll.bsky.social got his hands on some secret tapes of Trump's budget director, Russell Vought. One thing Vought said hit Kroll like a ton of bricks: that he wanted to put government workers “in trauma.” Listen to this episode: https://propub.li/4yO4q11

Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

Step right up! Guess how long it will be filled and not green or peeling or killing ducks! It’s anyone’s game! 🎪 It’s supposed to be 85 here on Weds…

Washingtonian@washingtonian.com

Water is finally making its way back into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. After a nearly $16 million renovation, peeling paint, and months of repairs, the iconic landmark is slowly returning to normal.

washingtonian.comThe Reflecting Pool Is Finally Being Refilled - WashingtonianAfter a botched renovation and months of sitting empty, the Reflecting Pool has water in it again.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

PBS News
@pbsnews.org

"I am thoroughly unamused right now," Judge Ana Reyes said. She added: "I have given the government every single benefit of the doubt that it would not do precisely what it has done." https://to.pbs.org/4rXvRmt

to.pbs.orgFederal judge orders Trump administration to halt work for a day on historic D.C. golf courseU.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Monday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course, a historic D.C. golf course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to rema...

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Rachel Maddow
@maddow.bsky.social

"It’s generally illegal for executive branch officials to play a role in awarding contracts that would have a direct impact on their own finances..." www.propublica.org/article/geor...

propublica.orgThe Pentagon Gave $350 Million in Contracts to a Firm Closely Tied to a Senior Defense Department OfficialThe top Pentagon official left Alvarez & Marsal Capital after ProPublica started looking into his financial ties. The contracts with a related company are another example of firms close to the Trump a...

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Rachel Maddow
@maddow.bsky.social

Military-base housing is “reserved for military who have earned those quarters from fighting in wars and defending our country... They should not be used for people in the White House. It’s an abuse.” www.vanityfair.com/story/stephe...

vanityfair.comMAGA’s Petit Trianon? Katie and Stephen Miller’s House on a Military BaseFrom her house on a military base, Katie Miller treats Washington’s most powerful to cakes, farm animals, and sake-squirting hibachi chefs. "I can’t fucking stand her,” says one ally. But "Stephen Mil...

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Project On Government Oversight
@pogo.org

“The revolving door has always been there, but it seems to only get worse over time. Under this administration, that doesn’t seem to prioritize things like ethics and conflicts of interest; it’s even worse than it has been previously.” -@veritasdhg.bsky.social in @fedscoop.bsky.social ⬇️

fedscoop.comThe revolving door for tech officials at Trump's DHSIT leaders at the agency have flirted with the boundaries of ethical and legal limits with various ties to federal contractors, government experts say.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

New whistleblower complaint: The Trump admin pushed the FBI to investigate Los Angeles protesters in violation of their constitutional rights and the bureau's policies, a former FBI supervisor alleges in a new whistleblower complaint.

nbcnews.comFBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protestersThe former analyst says supervisors were told not to put things in writing, so many of the directives came in face-to-face meetings.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Bloomberg Government
@bgov.com

The Department of Homeland Security gave contractors just 14 minutes last week to bid on a project, raising questions about whether officials unfairly stifled competition as they strained to get funding out the door before the fiscal year closed.

bit.lyA 14-Minute Window to Bid on a DHS Contract Shows Year-End RushThe Department of Homeland Security gave contractors just 14 minutes last week to bid on a project, raising questions about whether officials unfairly stifled competition as they strained to get funding out the door before the fiscal year closed.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

David Ho
@davidho.bsky.social

I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.

nytimes.comNational Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

NBC News
@nbcnews.com

The Las Playas Intaglio, a giant fish carved into the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, is now considered the oldest example in the Americas of a geoglyphic, the ancient art form that is carved into or drawn on the ground. nbcnews.to/4j0Wyo9

Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

“Trump Justice Department’s latest bid to sideline 17 transgender troops’ revoked retirement lawsuit fails” via @theadvocatebr.bsky.social: www.advocate.com/politics/nat...

advocate.comTrump Justice Department’s latest bid to sideline 17 transgender troops’ revoked retirement lawsuit failsA federal judge rejected the government’s request to send the case to an Air Force records board, clearing the way for the troops to press their claims in court.
Stone Cold Blue
@stonecoldblue.bsky.social

“Watchdog won’t discipline agencies over partisan shutdown posts but warns against ‘derogatory’ messaging” via @govexec.bsky.social: Pansies. (Apologies to pansies, I wanted to use another “p” word.) www.govexec.com/oversight/20...

govexec.comWatchdog won’t discipline agencies over partisan shutdown posts but warns against ‘derogatory’ messagingMany departments blamed congressional Democrats for last year’s funding lapse by posting banners on agency websites and modifying furloughed employees’ out-of-office messages.

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Matt Novak
@paleofuture.bsky.social

One of the funniest parts of DOGE was all these dipshits simultaneously complaining about all the supposed waste in government while also whining that all the equipment was antiquated. What, you think slashing funding will magically modernize all the equipment?

FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY DUFFY URGES CONGRESS TO QUICKLY PASS $30 BILLION FOR ADDITIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL UPGRADES

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GovExec
@govexec.bsky.social

The “favorite Trump policy” question is out. But OPM’s replacement still asks applicants to show how they’d handle a policy they disagree with. Erich Wagner breaks down what changed and what didn’t. buff.ly/sCyM7Ux

buff.lyFollowing court order, OPM replaces “favorite EO” question for jobseekersThe Office of Personnel Management’s latest essay question for federal job applicants asks less about their personal politics and more about their ability to follow instructions.

Stone Cold Blue reposted

Bloomberg Government
@bgov.com

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, aviation industry groups, and organized labor on Monday backed proposed legislation to provide $30.1 billion in additional funding to modernize the air traffic control system nationwide.

bit.lyDuffy Hypes $30 Billion Bill for Air Traffic Control UpdatesDepartment of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, aviation industry groups, and organized labor on Monday backed proposed legislation to provide $30.1 billion in additional funding to modernize the air traffic control system nationwide.