Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alexander Howard

@digiphile.bsky.social

19K followers 1.2K following 6.7K posts

Dad, writer, cyclist, citizen, cereal dilettante. Advocate for freedom of information, open governance, & democracy. Lover of the Oxford Comma, hater of hubris. Recovering journalist. Trying to move carefully, & fix things. https://civic-texts.ghost.io

civic-texts.ghost.io

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · Jun 23

Good morning from DC 🥵

If we need to connect:
🤳 Signal: digiphile.97
💡📲 civic-texts.ghost.io
📧 [email protected]
🐦 X.com/digiphile
🧵 threads.net/@digiphile
🐘 mastodon.social/@digiphile
📇 linkedin.com/in/alexanderbhoward
👍 facebook.com/alexhoward
📸 instagr.am/digiphile
🖥️ youtube.com/digiphile

Scan for Signal https://signal.me/#eu/fHRMT1WY3aPfBVNVm-_aoT_YBCTUoIbGO2tZ6x-mw4Ocz89wzTVLf4JuJBQjs0Fj

2 3 13

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

This isn’t just about US government, but all members. There is an open response for Israel, which has acted contrary to Open Government Declaration principles & OGP values for years:
www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-response...
@OpenGovPartnership.org should suspend both nations if there is no change.

https://opengovpartnership.org/ogp-response-p…

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

@OpenGovPartnership.org may have a huge opportunity in the USA this winter, should @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social win election & direct the Mayor’s Office to engage New Yorkers in cocreating an open government plan, in contrast to @ericadamsfornyc.bsky.social.
OGP shouldn’t openwash US government now.

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

If Trump doesn’t withdraw, @opengovpartnership.org
will face an unprecedented governance challenge this winter: removing the US government from its steering committee if the USG doesn’t deliver & implement a co-created plan. (USG violated OGP participation & implementation standards for 2 cycles.)

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

If nations, states, & cities refuse to uphold @opengovpartnership.org values, enforce illiberal policies, & engage in overt authoritarianism & brazen corruption, tthey must not be allowed to remain in governance of multilateral organizations explicitly focused on fighting those plagues.
#OGPSummit

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

As has been true since before @BarackObama.com co-founded @opengovpartnership.org in 2011, open government endures in the United States: digiphile.medium.com/open-governm...
But under Trump, US government transparency & accountability are now under dire threat: digiphile.medium.com/open-governm...

Medium

https://digiphile.medium.com/open-governmen…

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1h

@opengovpartnership.org should suspend the USA if there is no 6th US National Action Plan for Open Government co-created with the American people at the end of 2025 accompanied by public reaffirmation of the Open Government Declaration by President Trump.
It’s also plausible this admin may withdraw.

1 1 1

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 14h

I also can’t help but wish @lastweektonight.com had focused public attention on the Presidential Library Anticorruption Act & invited @warren.senate.gov & @raskin.house.gov to talk about it: www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...

1 3

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 14h

Fantastic episode that goes deep into an issue that’s of great public interest.

Remedies for secrecy, corruption, & NARA capacity are spot-on.

One miss: @lastweektonight.com could have noted William Bosanko, deputy archivist of the USA, was forced out, after Trump fired the 12th AOTUS w/o cause.

1 3 15

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 14h

Getting cited on @lastweektonight.com is a great validation of good work.

1 9 41

Reposted by Alexander Howard

Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · 2d

Great @lastweektonight.com segment on presidential libraries!

Makes the byzantine relationships between the National Archives and private presidential foundations easy to understand (TL;DR they are problematic and exploitable).

NARA needs more funding and library donation loopholes need closed.

Presidential Libraries: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

www.youtube.com

1 3 13

Reposted by Alexander Howard

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 1d

John Oliver is right. Secret donations to presidential libraries enable bribery, while public access to presidential records is at an all-time low.

Use our action center tool to tell Congress to close the secrecy loopholes and increase transparency.

1 28 54

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 17h

Still haven’t learned. xkcd.com/386/

5 45

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 18h

The fight in Congress must not be about healthcare: it’s about the constitutional powers of the first branch of US government & the rule of law in the USA, from appropriations bills to the amendments on display in the National Archives today. Agree, @schumer.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social?

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 1d

If appropriations bills are not seen as enforceable contracts, why should any Member of Congress vote to fund any part of the federal government under Donald Trump? You're voting to provide money for lawlessness. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/there-is-n...

There is no budget "deal" to be made

President Trump has so broken the constitutional framework as to make joint normal, responsible government impossible.

www.doomsdayscenario.co

2 9

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 18h

“It’s clear the immunity decision has emboldened Trump to be more blunt about his efforts to use…the criminal justice system to punish his enemies. We’re closely watching prosecution of @jamescomey.bsky.social & @replamonica.bsky.social & what happens to selective & vindictive prosecution arguments”

What to watch in the Supreme Court’s new term

www.politico.com

3 7

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 18h

“The President warns of threats to our system of government & elections. But with escalation of military force against [American] citizens, this administration proves the most immediate threat to our constitutional order is…coming from inside the White House.”
www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/federalism...

The ‘Chipocalypse’ is now

A training ground for the military?

www.ifyoucankeepit.org

1 5

Reposted by Alexander Howard

annalissroy.bsky.social @annalissroy.bsky.social · 20h

I talked to Bill Nye — yes, former “science guy” — about President Trump’s proposed cuts to NASA funding and what they would mean.

7 46 160

Reposted by Alexander Howard

Anna Hickey @annahickey.bsky.social · 20h

There's an overwhelming amount of litigation surrounding the Trump administration so over at @lawfaremedia.org we have tried to make it easier to parse it. You can find district court, appellate level, and SCOTUS cases all in one place!

Check it out ⬇️

1 25 61

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 21h

When Nambia slid into authoritarianism, many Americans didn’t recognize it, numbed by bread, circuses, & soma, amused to death by ubiquitous infotainment, exhausted by floods of shit, lies, & outrage.

Foreign correspondents became their best source of truth.
digiphile.medium.com/what-would-y...

“What would you say if you saw it in another country?”

For years, professor Brendan Nyhan has asked us “what would you say if you saw this in another country?”

digiphile.medium.com

2 4

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 21h

Fall 2025, Nambia — The Trump regime is partnering with paramilitaries & partisan media to co-create copaganda for state social media outlets online, feeding mass participatory delusions to justify its corrupt President invoking the Insurrection Act & mobilizing military in cities to repress dissent

Nik Streng @nikstreng.bsky.social · 21h

The Feds are giving right wing influencers and media outlets special privileges to the ICE building in Portland. They’re lying about local media getting the same access.
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Feds grant ICE building access to conservative media, influencers, ignore local Portland press

Not all news organizations have been granted the same access to the ICE facility and the people who work there.

www.oregonlive.com

1 5 5

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 22h

Why hasn’t @opengovpartnership.org put the US government back under review after the Trump administration’s authoritarian actions?

Why is the US government still on the OGP steering committee of a multilateral org focused on good governance?
groups.google.com/g/us-open-go...
#ogpsummit #opengov

Why hasn’t OGP put US government under review?

groups.google.com

1 3

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 23h

No @dcopengov here to ccz

Are there @councilofdc.bsky.social members who have a problem with renewed secrecy? cc @cmchenderson.bsky.social @cmchenderson.bsky.social @robertwhitedc.bsky.social

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

Despite USG acting contrary to process for years, pushing weak plans with no US civil society & public buy-in, making a mockery of good governance under Trump, & Biden ignoring OGP, @opengovpartnership.org featured Blinken & Power onstage with no critical US voices, & banked millions in USG funding.

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

Censorship is so 1984, but there will always be people who wish to suppress speech, curtail expression, & ban books in every nation. Access information is a human right. Please speak up, support your local library & community bookstore, read for everyone’s rights to read & know.
bannedbooksweek.org

2 7

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

“until Mike Johnson and John Thune figure out how they’re going to preserve and enforce the literal force of law that their appropriations bills are supposed to have, it’s hard to see why Democrats in either chamber should vote to enable ongoing lawlessness.” www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/there-is-n...

1 11

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

Is @opengovpartnership.org’s greatest weakness its inability to hold nations that backslide accountable politically, financially, or legally?

Who is exploring how & why the OGP model has failed in the USA?

Who is exploring how OGP has ignored US reformers, activists, & champions?
#OGPSummit

Open Gov Partnership @opengovpartnership.org · 2d

OGP’s greatest strength is its community of open government reformers, activists, and champions.

As we kick off the 2025 OGP Global Summit, explore how the OGP model has accelerated progress on the adoption of open government reforms since 2011.

#OGPSummit #OGPSpain

1 2