Why? It’s called Social Security. This follows Treasury and other divisions, which had access blocked but turned over on appeal, and I am still unhappy about those. And this is another example of WHY do they need access to sensitive information? People have a right to have that protected. It makes me crazy to see all these young (mostly) hackers getting access to information that they ought NOT have! The “waste, fraud, and abuse” line was “tired out” a long, long time ago. It’s *still* tired, and I feel it really isn’t applicable anymore at this point. We have heard it so much that it must be seared into our brains.
Annnnd here we go! A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday that extends a ban on billionaire Elon Musk’s aides from accessing private information on millions of Americans held in the Social Security Administration’s computer systems. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander of Maryland said Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had failed to show the need for the “unprecedented, unfettered access” it had sought to the SSA’s data to achieve its stated goal of rooting out fraud. “ Oh, yea! And it gets better! Hollander had issued a temporary restraining order last month restricting DOGE access to SSA data, but it was due to expire on Thursday. The preliminary injunction cements the restrictions for a longer time while the case plays out. Whew!
So here we have a judge’s pushback against DOGE, and considering I depend on Social Security, it was quite a relief. I’m just concerned again because the appeals court in her area always rules for the tRump administration. Silly question, perhaps, but can an appeals court verdict be appealed? But anyhow, back to our story. Judge Hollander stated the plaintiffs would likely succeed on their claim that DOGE had violated privacy laws. Gee, ya think? However, it does allow DOGE access to data that has been stripped of private information. BUT, they have to go through the training and background checks that anyone who wishes to work with Social Security has to do. I still don’t like that, considering DOGE is made up of hackers, or feels like it is, but at least it’s an attempt to keep them out of information they do not need. The government says it will slow them down, but she wasn’t having that. Too bad, so sad. If they want to get in there, they have to do so while abiding by the law.
“During a hearing on the injunction in Baltimore on Tuesday, Hollander expressed skepticism about DOGE’s need for the broad access they have sought to data in order to find what she described as questionable assertions of widespread fraud.” And also: Hollander said DOGE and any DOGE-affiliated staffers must purge any of the non-anonymized Social Security data that they have received since Jan. 20. They are also barred from making any changes to the computer code or software used by the Social Security Administration, must remove any software or code they might have already installed, and are forbidden from disclosing any of that code to others. THERE we go! The judge is slapping them with “hell, NO”. So glad that someone did. I hope it sticks. One more, then I’ll stop with the quotes. Despite the fraught political context surrounding the DOGE access case, Hollander admonished Bradly Humphreys (the lawyer for DOGE) when he suggested during Tuesday’s hearing that her questioning was starting to “feel like a policy disagreement.” “I do take offense at your comment because I’m just trying to understand the system,” the judge said during Tuesday’s hearing.
We have a win, for now. The injunction against their effort in Social Security stands while the case is in progress. DOGE has to pull out anything they did. And our private information is protected. They do NOT need our personal information. DOGE needs to keep their sticky fingers OUT of our Social Security!
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Put me on the street because YOU NAZIS allow pigs at the money trough…well…time to go shopping for a way to give you nazis some ww2 feedback. Being adopted in the tortured group, that has been traumatized since 1619…there are many willing to provide the means. Does the number 400 million ring any phucking bells? Some advice…better not wear any red hats with Morons Are Governing America…the temptation may be too great to ‘correct’ you, as Mr. Grady expressed in The Shining. Before you pansies get up my ass…how nice the boys in Arlington paid for your freedom to be offended. The most dangerous man is he who fights for freedom…and is willing to sacrifice for the greater good. As Ned Beatty, playing the corrupt senator in Shooter, said: there’s always one SOB who thinks HE can make a difference, and you have to kill him to convince him otherwise. Arlington PROVES there’s more than one asshole. Of course he ended up with a bullet to the head. Oops!!!! Funny…the one thing you NEVER hear from the American Nazi Party is talk about FREEDOM!!! These dick suckers don’t believe in freedom..
they only believe in CONTROL. You want to be a slave? Then put on that swastika. I like clarity.
Whooo, Scott, you blew my hair back with this one – but thank you for pointing out some things Americans seem to forget. Also Morons Are Governing America *dies laughing* I want to put that one a hat. Seriously! And I wish I could make one that Greenland started and went viral – Make America Go Away!
You’ve triggered an essay question: Compare and contrast your definition of FREEDOM with the MAGA/Nazi definistion.
Be careful. Scott’s liable to attack you for daring to question his attitude. He’s done it before. When someone dares to point out that he’s behaving in a manner absolutely akin to whatever he’s ranting against, he attacks that person. (I’ve been on the receiving end of his “when you criticize me/my words, you’re just a Nazi” screeds. And, honestly, he’s just too full of himself to realize his own double standard.)
Thanks for the heads up. I relish and respect Scott’s input but I was thinking not so much of his reference to Freedom as a college essay question to any Maggaot mentioning Freedom