David Crouch

[David Crouch @davolala]

@MovistarArenaCo @TuBoletaColombi no entiendo por qué para reclamar las entradas a un concierto necesitan tomar una foto de mi documento de identidad y tarjeta de crédito. En caso de que ocurra algo con mi identidad o tarjeta les hago responsable.

[David Crouch @davolala]

@moondrencht Wilson

[David Crouch @davolala]

@brillaas LP

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

British mobile operator 02 created an AI voice bot called “Daisy” to combat phone scammers.

Daisy is an “elderly grandmother” that isn’t very good with technology. She’s a bit hard of hearing and goes on random tangets ahout knitting and food recipes.

Scammers waste time chatting with her instead of scamming real people.

Glorious.

***

Link: https://t.co/nyBmZ9gwYR

[Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 @JessicaBRiedl]

“Why aren’t you cheering Trump & DOGE? I thought you wanted spending and deficit cuts!"

Because I’ve been doing this for 25 years and can’t be tricked by gimmicky nonsense. Trump’s first term added $8 trillion in enacted spending hikes and tax cuts to the deficit - half of which was unrelated to the pandemic. This time around, Trump has proposed roughly $8 trillion more in tax cuts and spending hikes over the decade. And right now, a GOP Congress is preparing to abandon most reconciliation cuts and instead add $325 billion this year in new spending. We’re headed towards $4 trillion deficits within a decade.

So, no, I don’t get excited when DOGE cancels $1 billion in govt contracts. Or saves $3 billion in federal workforce reductions out of a $7,000 billion budget. Not when Trump and Congress are also preparing to add $800 billion more annually in proposed new tax cuts and spending.

And no, the huge savings are not coming. Even (unrealistically) eliminating 20% of the federal workforce would save $60 billion, and overhauling federal systems to sharply reduce payment errors may save perhaps $80 billion (and is probably unlikely too). For all of DOGE’s bluster, administrative and executive reforms would at best save 1-2% of federal spending and offset only a small fraction of Trump’s red ink agenda.

That leaves trying to unilaterally impound spending such as USAID—which is wildly illegal—or actually going to Congress to pare back spending the constitutional way. But Trump has already taken Social Security, Medicare, defense, veterans, border (and interest) off the table, which is 2/3 of all spending and is driving deficits. And the GOP Congress seems ready to give up on cutting the remaining one-third of spending. Want to cut spending and the deficit? How about they stop passing budget-busting bills. Don’t brag about your coupon-clipping frugality at the same time you are buying a $250,000 Ferrari. I’m not going to cheer Trump and DOGE for adding “only” $750 billion to deficits instead of $800 billion. We’re still going backwards.

I’ve spent decades studying the federal budget. I know that $7 trillion(!) behemoth inside and out – where the money really goes, and where the savings opportunities lie. So I can also detect bullshitters who talk tough about trillion-dollar spending cuts without doing their homework. It’s the ones who claim most spending goes to undefined “waste,” federal salaries, immigrants, foreigners, Ukraine, or non-working welfare recipients. It’s the ones who claim we can easily balance the budget or cut $1 trillion without specifying exactly what line-items to cut. Or that we can return to 2019 spending levels for each program, which means a 20% inflationary cut, defaulting on the federal debt, and kicking off every senior who has since retired into Social Security and Medicare. It’s all hot air and empty bluster. Tough talk without following through on anything substantive. Just wait until you see the final deficit numbers in October.

And this is why GOP movements to cut spending always fail. They make absurdly ambitious promises without doing their homework, understanding where the money goes, and specifying real plans to fix it. You can’t significantly cut the deficit just by cutting waste, firing bureaucrats, and defunding immigrants and foreigners. There are no easy short cuts. You have to stop cutting taxes and then address Social Security, Medicare, defense, and a lot of other popular programs. Wake me when the GOP goes there.

So, no, I will not get excited about a couple billion in DOGE savings on one hand while Trump pushes Congress to add $8 trillion over the decade in tax cuts and spending with the other hand. I’m not that gullible.

[Benjamin Ryan @benryanwriter]

A lot of people are portraying USAID as some sort of bastion of looney DEI excesses. Let’s take a look at what the sudden arresting of their operation is doing to global health. Please read the thread (my thread, not Ryan James’):

[David Crouch @davolala]

@DarrellLerner Send

[David Crouch @davolala]

@humanecharlotte He looks like he could be my brother! We found Che a few weeks ago near revolution park.

[Thomas H. Ptacek @tqbf]

I’m sorry, I simply cannot be cynical about a technology that can accomplish this.

[Matt Schnuck @mattschnuck]

A famous researcher predicts divorce with 91% accuracy.

He invented a game to protect against the #1 relationship killer.

Here it is (in 3 minutes):

[David Crouch @davolala]

@WUTangKids What did they think was gonna happen letting @Oficial_RC3 become a cop in Miami?

[David Crouch @davolala]

@KennyPrawat Having sexual relations in class Kenneth? so scandalous

[David Crouch @davolala]

@sarahgcrouch @Miangoboy That TV is about 10 times bigger than our old computer monitor TV in Miango 😂

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Acknowledging the weaknesses of your argument makes it stronger.

Admitting flaws signals confidence and builds credibility: it shows you care more about getting it right than proving you're right.

If you think your case has no flaws, your thinking is flawed.

#WednesdayWisdom

[David Crouch @davolala]

Saturday morning #PremierLeague football is back!! I spiced up my usual breakfast of bacon and eggs with some triple cream brie to celebrate the occasion. #itsacelebration #spursFCftw

[90s Football @90sfootball]

Here's just over 2 minutes of Dennis Bergkamp being brilliant. Enjoy!

[Daniel Pink @DanielPink]

"The first step in improving the quality of our arguments is to stop thinking of them as fights or competitions. . . . The point of engaging in argument is to improve our understanding of one another and of important issues." https://t.co/KsfZUsc5gc

[David Crouch @davolala]

Friday morning commute music #ghostwriter #RJD2 ♫ https://t.co/vdBlOgeDjs

[David Crouch @davolala]

@KennyPrawat I know you want me, I know I want cha

[David Crouch @davolala]

@slinganswers when will I be able to login to the @NBCSportsApp with my Sling login info?