Marci Harris
@marcidale.bsky.social
POPVOX Inc / POPVOX Foundation cofounder; JD/LLM; former congress staffer; past fellowships at HKS Ash Center, New America; taught poli sci / public policy at SJSU, USF
Not too long ago at a dinner w/ exec & leg branch folks, the host went around the table & everyone shared an idea of some tool or process fix that they would like to see... One guy suggested that every new law should have a list of what each agency was supposed to do. (!!!???)
Some thoughts from Oslo on what World Cup controversies can teach us about the questions ahead for AI in law & government open.substack.com/pub/marcidal...
What World Cup Controversies Teach Us About AI and Law
From the "Hand of God" to VAR & microchip "heartbeats," ref calls still break hearts. Some of the same questions arise when it comes to technology in law & policy.
open.substack.com
It's time to reimagine democracy. Let's see what innovative political scientists, economists, sociologists, public servants, fiction writers, lawyers, journalists, futurists, computer scientists, and technologists have to say: bit.ly/3YVtP8O @hlandemore.bsky.social @kjephd.bsky.social
🚀 Join our Reboot Democracy Workshops this fall, an @innovateus.bsky.social series led by @bethnoveck.bsky.social, and Danielle Allen, @harvardash.bsky.social Real practitioners, real tools starts Sept 11! Learn more and register for workshops: rebootdemocracy.ai/blog/reboot2...
*Attention public servants leaving service* Departure Dialogues offers a meaningful way to pass along what you’ve learned about strengthening the programs you've spent years implementing, without the politics. Thank you for your service! 🫡popvox.org/departure
Departure Dialogues Project — POPVOX Foundation
Departure Dialogues captures insights from former federal employees to help Congress strengthen agency performance and close gaps between policy and practice.
popvox.org
Stop saying this! It is not the enlightened judo you think it is. Militarized policing of urban centers in red states is a briar patch that some would be very happy to be thrown into. JUST. STOP.
Acyn@acyn.bsky.social · last yr.Newsom: Perhaps the president could deploy the National Guard in every corner of Mississippi. Murder rate is out of control there. And the governor may want to make that phone call.
There’s a widespread myth that Americans hate traffic cameras. It’s simply not true. On the contrary, researchers have consistently found that Americans broadly support using automatic enforcement to curb crashes. And for good reason: It works. Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
Automated Traffic Enforcement Is More Popular Than You Think
Cameras that ticket drivers who run red lights and speed are effective and widely popular with city residents. So why are they banned in so many places?
bloomberg.com
I have had SO many questions about the Abundance™️ debates & at times felt aligned, at times opposed, confused, excited… and SO lost for a clear definition. This new piece from @niskanencenter.bsky.social’s Steve Teles on “Abundance Varieties” is SO clarifying! www.niskanencenter.org/abundance-va...
Varieties of Abundance - Niskanen Center
We will know that abundance has succeeded when there is a proliferation of “abundances,” different governing projects attached to previously existing ideologies, interests, and parties.
niskanencenter.org
Smart update for Login.gov! (& yes am speaking from personal experience as someone still having issues w/ new drivers license being mailed to correct address & having perfectly good passport for ID verification) www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
The public’s one account for government. | Login.gov
Use one account and password for secure, private access to participating government agencies.
login.gov
Perfect: “I am not new here. I am not novel. I’m the cigarette you keep saying you’ll quit. I am not some sleek, futuristic glyph. I am the battered, coffee-stained backbone of writerly panic—the gasping pause where a thought should have ended but simply could not” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations
“In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...
mcsweeneys.net
More of this please! “After some delays, the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service will launch on Aug. 18, 2025, running twice daily between New Orleans and Mobile. This route will include stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula.”
Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · last yr.OPINION: 'When we invest in transit infrastructure, we invest in education, jobs, health care and—ultimately—a better quality of life for all Mississippians," Dr. Selika Sweet writes.
Good to know, actually: "Internal emails obtained by WIRED show a hasty process to onboard OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI providers to the federal government. xAI was on the list—until MechaHitler happened." www.wired.com/story/xai-gr...
xAI Was About to Land a Major Government Contract. Then Grok Praised Hitler
Internal emails obtained by WIRED show a hasty process to onboard OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI providers to the federal government. xAI was on the list—until MechaHilter happened.
wired.com
Shared some thoughts on the ratcheting up of redistricting rhetoric between Texas and California, which illustrates "The Reformer's Dilemma" (unilateral reform creates a strategic disadvantage for reformers) open.substack.com/pub/reconsti...
The Fairness Trap: California’s Redistricting Commission and the Reformer’s Dilemma
California played fair in a game where everyone else played to win. Now it's rethinking whether it can afford to keep doing so.
open.substack.com
Voting age lowered to 16 in the UK www.bbc.com/news/live/c9...
16 and 17-year-olds to be able to vote in next general election as government says it will lower voting age in UK
Lowering the voting age across the UK means around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election.
bbc.com
Voting age lowered to 16 in the UK www.bbc.com/news/live/c9...
16 and 17-year-olds to be able to vote in next general election as government says it will lower voting age in UK
Lowering the voting age across the UK means around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election.
bbc.com
REALLY ominous crossing of a threshold here with Grok going even beyond passive bias to actually *asserting* a point of view and issuing calls to action
My very non-ag boyfriend when I ask if he knows what that machine is cutting the wheat: “I dunno.. a wheat Zamboni?” 😂😂😂
“To be serious about reclaiming its constitutional role, Congress must start by rebuilding its own capacity.” - @marcidale.bsky.social thehill.com/opinion/cong...
A year after Loper Bright, Congress has failed to step up
Rules on everything from firearm bump stocks to environmental permitting are being invalidated or reopened, but Congress has taken no meaningful steps to review or update those laws and is now acti…
thehill.com
On the 1-yr anniversary of SCOTUS overturning the Chevron doctrine, Congress has not only failed to step up, but is now slashing sources of nonpartisan expertise. The First Branch is sadly validating critics & failing the Loper Bright test. t.co/Es622hMHPP
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5374349-a-year-after-loper-bright-congress-has-failed-to-step-up/
t.co
Spare a thought for the Senate clerks, parls, SAA staff, pages, & other nonpartisan staff spending their weekend in OBBB land 🫡
Senate Press Gallery@senatepress.bsky.social · last yr.#Senate floor update: Reading of the substitute amendment to H.R. 1 began at 11:08 p.m. At 4:08 a.m., after 5 hours and of reading, we are at page 257 of 940.
One morning, sitting in an immigration office in Memphis, Kasper Eriksen found himself transformed. A day before, he was a welding foreman, a husband and father of four. Now, he was a detainee, bound and shackled in a detention shuttle in Tennessee. www.mississippifreepress.org/ice-arrests-...
ICE Arrests Mississippi Father at His Citizenship Hearing
ICE arrested Kasper Eriksen, a Mississippi father, at his citizenship hearing, imprisoning him and threatening him with deportation.
mississippifreepress.org
The solution here is that we need to treat governance as a critical job that demands physical stamina and presence. We need to normalize requiring the disclosure of health limitations from those who are responsible for national security, the economy, etc.
I know now is not the time but FOLKS, can someone please schedule a neutral time in the near future to discuss the f$%$# gerontocracy?
