iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Life presents us with two paths.

It’s dark and raining. On the left, a banner for NJ transit. On the right, a banner for the American Dream.

John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Major ruling from the en banc Fourth Circuit in AFSCME v. SSA, which validates the core basis for Article III standing in the many Privacy Act cases against DOGE & other agency database incursions. "DOGE is the nosy janitor." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Happy #SunshineWeek! Sunshine takes many forms. One of them is the system of records notice (SORN)—a dry but powerful set of disclosures that federal agencies must publish before establishing or modifying a system of personal data. They're required by the Privacy Act of 1974. A thread:

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Letters sent by @epic.org yesterday calling on the FTC and nine states to investigate and block Meta's plan to add facial recognition to its Ray-Ban smart glasses. A privacy, safety, and civil liberties disaster in the making—unless enforcers step up. epic.org/epic-urges-f...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Biblically accurate Olympic cauldron

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Two sad, fallen Lime scooters glowing beneath the ice

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Many noncitizens are still required by law to register with the Selective Service. On top of the obvious safety and privacy threats that disclosing their data to DHS/ICE would pose, it would also heighten distrust and drive down registration rates. www.sss.gov/wp-content/u...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Looks like the Selective Service is planning to disclose (or already disclosing) personal data to unspecified agencies regarding 'potential violation[s]' of law—which in the present context may well include sending immigrants' records to DHS/ICE: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-23111.pdf

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Meanwhile, in the 1903 World Series: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Wo...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

DC folks—anyone recognize this dog? Found her wandering yesterday in North Michigan Park (8th & Buchanan NE). Small, white, and has a brown left ear. Very friendly, but no collar. We're taking care of her for now and will get her checked for a chip tomorrow. Hoping to find her owner soon!

Small white dog with a brown left ear faces the camera

Side view of a small white dog with a brown left ear

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Signs are looking good this morning!

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

The Ferguson commission loves to insinuate that doing rulemaking and unfairness enforcement are somehow an intrusion on Congress's power, but they're right there in the damn statute! Not using those tools to protect consumers is flouting what Congress told you to do.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Anyway, here's the process for recalling the mayor in DC. code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/counci...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

The Trump administration, not content to hollow out federal protections for consumers, is seeking comment on what state laws should be detonated under the false pretense of serving "interstate commerce" (translation: bottomless corporate greed). public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-15604.pdf

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Bowser should resign in disgrace and flee the District if this is the best she can muster in response to a militarized authoritarian takeover of the city she nominally leads.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

These two paragraphs were formulated in a lab to inflict maximal pain on Tolkien-loving privacy advocates. www.wired.com/story/palant...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Hey NYT, you're not actually required to—indeed, shouldn't!—regurgitate the President's transparently made-up reason for doing a thing, particularly when it's refuted by your own reporting. This is about seizing control; everyone (even you I suspect) gets that. Crime is just the paper thin excuse.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Shoutout to our fig tree, which produces like a boss every year without needing any help from us. Tomatoes, you could learn a thing or two.

Jars of fig jam sitting on a counter in a room painted light blue

Green figs growing on a tree next to a light blue house

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

You absolutely love to see it: "[Commissioner] Slaughter remains a rightful member of the Federal Trade Commission until the expiration of her Senate-confirmed term on September 25, 2029[.]" Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... Order: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

"Incorrect, we will not be doing work today."

Grey and white cat sits to the left of a silver laptop with a paw on the user's arm.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Blown away by the success of @epic.org’s inaugural rooftop garden. A testament to the hard work and green thumbs of many colleagues!

A mixture of pots and raised beds full of flowers, herbs, and vegetable plants sitting on a black roof against a brick wall.

Four pots containing tomato plants sitting on a pallet next to a brick wall, all on a rooftop.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

SCOTUS evidently thinks your privacy (and the privacy of hundreds of millions of others) counts for less than the DOGE's urgent need to crowbar into federal databases and funnel all of your information into an illegal Palantir-brand piggybank of personal data.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

"Mistakenly deported" is a bananas way to describe what happened here, as if the premeditated disappearing of the man to a foreign gulag was all a paperwork mixup.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

This is the line in the WaPo story that makes me wonder.

However, it’s unclear whether the park, which is at the center of Washington’s historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood, will remain open. The decision ultimately rests with the U.S. Park Police, which did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

And by the way, Congress made the point explicit when it came back to amend the Privacy Act in 1988: no national data bank.

“Nothing in the amendments made by this Act [amending this section and repealing provisions set out as a note below] shall be construed to authorize—
“(1) the establishment or maintenance by any agency of a national data bank that combines, merges, or links information on individuals maintained in systems of records by other Federal agencies;
“(2) the direct linking of computerized systems of records maintained by Federal agencies;"

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Sounds nice and all, but by his own reasoning Chair Ferguson doesn't have the authority to make this assurance because he now (eagerly) takes orders from the President. One more example of why it's a bad idea to throw a century of FTC independence in the dirt!

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Early contender: Stephen Hawking (Erdős–Bacon 6) was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, though not himself Catholic.

Stephen Hawking has an Erdos-Bacon number of 6

Stephen Hawking was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Guess we’d better do what he says, don’t want to disappoint the cat.

Cat in front of yard signs stating “support government workers” and “fight fascism in America”

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Here's the personal data DOGE has accessed or sought to access, compiled into one terrifying image (from @emmbadger.bsky.social & @sheeraf.bsky.social's excellent story: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...). And as the article notes: "If anything, this list is an undercount."

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Even if you set aside the glaring lack of presidential authority, the independence of the EAC, etc.—Trump claiming the registration form will require proof of citizenship "consistent with 52 U.S.C. 20508(b)(3)" is bananas. That provision literally says the form can't require "formal authentication"!

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

What a joke of an EO—a combination of empty threats and illegality doomed to failure in court: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... Order: The form going to require proof of citizenship consistent with 20508(b)(3)! Meanwhile, § 20508(b)(3): The form can't require formal authentication. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Could the rule of necessity come into play here? scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcont...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Trump/Musk are now trying to strong-arm *states* into coughing up datasets to DOGE using federal funding as leverage. Of course this has zero to with "fraud" and "abuse" at federal agencies and everything to do with tightening their grip on democratic institutions. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

I don't expect moral leadership from Paul Weiss, but it's a bit surprising to see them roll over and die at their first brush with authoritarian jackassery. Hope this follows them around for a long, long time.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Same energy, minus everything that would make it funny or charming.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Yes, hello FTC? I'd like to report someone impersonating Andrew Ferguson on Twitter. He's claiming the President can fire FTC commissioners at will, but the real Andrew Ferguson admitted 5 months ago that's not true (which of course has been binding SCOTUS precedent since 1935).

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

...catching and scarfing a mouse one summer night in a scene ripped from the Serengeti, and sitting on Amanda and her keyboard approximately 150 million times. She gave us a lot of love over a long life, and we'll miss her fiercely. 4/4

Tortie staring up through a window, backlit by the sky

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Her feats in life included escaping from our old building to sun herself in the neighbors' garden, chasing a trespassing tuxedo cat out of our back yard like a bat out of hell, raising the alarm when her roommate suddenly fell ill... 3/4

Tortie scaring away a tuxedo cat on a fence

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Julep was sweet, savvy, and elegant, with a ruffle of orange on her chest like a Victorian jabot. Though when it was time for a scratch or a treat, she didn't hesitate to tug your hand to her chin or meow with the force of a klaxon. And she loved to have a seat at the table. 2/4

Tortie reaching out to grab cameraman's hand

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Yesterday we said goodbye to Julep, the grande dame of the Erickson-Davisson household. She joined the family 16 years ago in the earliest days of our time in DC, leaping into Amanda's arms on a visit to the New York Ave shelter. There was never any question about bringing her home after that. 1/4

Tortie sitting on a couch next to headphones

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Great decision for many reasons, but one weedy (and important) point jumps out: the court correctly recognized that wrongful disclosure of personal data, even within gov't, confers Article III standing. No need to look at second-order effects: the invasion of privacy is a concrete harm on its own.

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

He sure did! www.reddit.com/media?url=ht...

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John Davisson @johndavisson.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Wild view of the basilica tonight.

National basilica lit with Christmas lights in the fog

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