Randall Degges

America Tips Into Fascism Today is different than before.

This is the best article I’ve read to date on the state of the USA in 2025. Sad, but critical read: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...

Best stress-reduction purchase of 2025 so far: a Steam Deck. This thing is amazing.

It’s so relaxing playing Stardew Valley when waiting around for things, in a Lyft, etc.

A++++ can’t recommend it enough.

Just got a new work laptop. Feels like I just started a brand new job. =)

A D.O.J. Whistleblower Speaks Out

I find this terrifying: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/p...

Anyone here use @synthesia.io ? I've heard so much about it, but after creating an account it's nearly impossible to generate a video. The onboarding is busted in a lot of ways.

Is there any simple way to just try it out BEFORE paying? oO

Congress is making more than 250 million acres of public lands available for sale. The Senate reconciliation package is a disturbing giveaway that will mandate the “disposal” of public lands across the western United States.

Fuck this: www.wilderness.org/articles/blo... PROTECT PUBLIC LANDS!

Finally trying out Claude Code for the first time. Let's see if it can make some test fixes for a massive codebase. >:D

Using AI to write unit/integration/performance tests is so clutch. I've been experimenting with it for test generation on a massive project with lots of complexities and it's working absolutely fantastic with Claude 4. A+++.

Suspicious Email Text Hi Randall Degges, I hope this doesn’t come out of the blue too much — I’m reaching out as a fellow developer with an idea that I think could be worth a short conversation. I’m James, a senior developer based in Singapore. I’ve worked with US clients for years, and over time, I’ve built a small team I trust and work well with. The thing is, getting direct access to US-based roles can be tricky without being a citizen or resident, even if the technical side is fully covered. That’s why I’m hoping to find someone based in the US who’d be open to a low-key collaboration: you’d handle client interviews and communication, and my team would take care of the technical work. I came across your GitHub profile (https://github.com/rdegges) and was really impressed by your background. You seem like someone who could easily land strong opportunities, and I think we could complement each other well. Nothing spammy or shady — your presence helps open doors, and my team delivers solid work behind the scenes. No pressure at all — if this sounds interesting or you’re just curious, I’d be happy to chat and share more. Best, James

Am I being phished by North Korea?

important context about the concentration camps in el salvador:

The refusal to provide people due process before shipping them off to foreign prisons is criminal and intolerable. It must not be normalized. Everyone who believes in justice and America needs to speak up now.

Senator Chris Van Hollen has requested an urgent meeting with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to address the situation involving Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was “mistakenly”deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador.

This Is a Constitutional Crisis YouTube video by Sen. Adam Schiff

The constitutional crisis is here.

The President is disobeying lawful court orders. His advisors and allies are cheering him on. And Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains trapped in a jail in El Salvador.

youtu.be/HGTIELDTHOo?...

The biggest Nazi concentration camp wasn't in Germany itself. Trump and Bukele aren't special and new, they're shitty and old.

There are three key facts in the Holocaust Encyclopedia produced by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is the second key fact: What distinguishes a concentration camp from a prison (in the modern sense) is that it functions outside of a judicial system. The prisoners are not indicted or convicted of any crime by judicial process.

This, from the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Trump makes BOMBSHELL news in Oval Office, grabs GLOBAL headlines YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen

As a US citizen, this news makes me absolutely sick to my stomach: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd5G...

Not only is Trump and his entire administration directly defying a conservative Supreme Court's orders, they're blatantly lying about it to all of us.

If this isn't fixed, democracy is 100% dead.

It is essential for the rule of law that everyone involved in this end up in prison. Nothing else is a sufficient deterrent against the intentional, repeated abuse of government power to systematically deny fundamental rights.

Appeals court judges rule in favor of tossing thousands of ballots in close NC supreme court race In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruled that ballots were wrongly allowed.

Reminder for NC residents: There are likely only ~ 9-10 days left to check if your name is one of the 60K being challenged and confirm your identity. Check your family's names too. Link to check in the article.

abc11.com/post/jeffers...

🚨 By a vote of 220-208, the House has PASSED HR 22 the SAVE Act that will strip voting rights away for millions of Americans.

All Republicans voted YES as well as 4 Democrats:
Jared Golden (D-ME)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA)
Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
Ed Case (D-HI)

The bill now moves to the Senate.

Fell a bit behind on email this week. Went from inbox 0 to inbox 110 >.>

For this year's April Fools' at Snyk, I built and released a thing!

If you've ever found yourself thinking that security tools were "boring", check out our new Snyk Greybeard tool: bit.ly/42pk70R

It's a wrapper for our Snyk CLI tool that adds sarcastic commentary to your security scan results!

How Each Pillar of the 1st Amendment is Under Attack In an address to Congress this month, President Trump claimed he had "brought free speech back to America." But barely two months into his second term, the president has waged an unprecedented attack ...

krebsonsecurity.com/2025/03/how-... fantastic article by @krebsonsecurity.com.web.brid.gy

TL;DR: The Trump regime is rapidly pushing the USA into a dictatorship. Only time will tell how this ends.

I'm officially addicted to these cotton candy grapes. Save me.

So tired of being sick. Had the flu for the past ~2 weeks and still coughing a lung. Ugh.

Great article everyone should read: www.solipsys.co.uk/new/SellYour...

"The response to authoritarianism isn't acquiescence. Bullies respond to one thing and one thing only: a punch in the face." - @govpritzker.illinois.gov

This is a friendly reminder for everyone: you don't have to compromise your morals, and you certainly don't have to engage with others if you don't feel like it.

Final note: you know what they call someone who's in the same bar as a Nazi? A Nazi.

I voluntarily removed myself from the group and shared a message saying, "Thanks for sharing. 0 tolerance for fascism." (or something along those lines).

Within minutes the Trump-promoting individual was attempting to connect with me on LinkedIn and trying to debate what fascism is.

Storytime: I've been a member of a non-profit group that's attempting to build various personal AI solutions. Today, someone shared some disturbing posts from one of the organization's leaders who was promoting Trump.