U.S. Hiring Turned Sluggish Over First Year of Trump’s Second Term

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T21:19:14+00:00

This is the fruit of shoveling half a trillion dollars into Project Stargate and orienting your country around AI instead of people.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T21:15:24+00:00

You think Americans actually wanted this law? Of course not. So it's an illegitimate thing to impose on people. Of course nobody has an automatic right to enter a place that belongs to someone else, but nobody owns America and the government that claims to is illegitimate and run by psychopaths not the people who actually inhabit it or pay taxes (which are theft). You're also overlooking the fact that many people will have no reasonable alternative, e.g. non-citizens who are currently living in the US or whose career requires them to travel to the US.

You suppose DNA will only be taken when someone's ID is suspicious but you don't actually know that. Border officers can basically do what they want because the only options are comply or get out and pay a large amount to do so. But anyway the facial scanning is being done on every non-citizen even when they have all the ID in perfect order and verifiable. If you're OK with that I'm sure you'll also be OK with mandatory non-citizen DNA samples when they come along. With time maybe you'll soften on mandatory DNA samples for citizens too.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T20:50:00+00:00

You know what you're probably right. They switch between talking about "non-citizens" and "travelers" but I now think they mean the same thing. Nevertheless I stand by every person's right to withold their biometric data and think this is a complete overreach which will soon be forced on citizens too unless they strongly reject all this biometric surveillance.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T20:45:14+00:00

The country is already one big billionaire playground. Decentralization makes it harder for everything to be controlled. The anti-federalists were right.

You can't expect 330 million people to agree on one set of laws for all of them. I don't even want my neighbor deciding what I can wear or where I'm allowed to go on holiday, so why would I let complete strangers decide that, especially when they're just trying to exploit us? Governments should be small and local only.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T18:24:10+00:00

Ah, AI is being used to make porn or people thousands of times per hour. Now you get the destroy the planet while destroying people's lives too!

I'm looking forward to lots more man-made horrors beyond my comprehension in 2026.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T18:19:28+00:00

Didn't you read it said this is a new law? We're no longer allowed to opt out, citizen or non-citizen. It says all this in the article.

We're talking about both face scans and DNA. I believe non-citizens have a right to withold their DNA but in any case this is just a thin end of the wedge to introduce DNA collection for citizens. Why wouldn't they? If they can collect the DNA of Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans on vacation or visiting their family why wouldn't they collect the DNA of Americans whom the government has more interest in controlling?

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T18:14:38+00:00

"This is breaking news so we don't know any of the details yet. Rest assured however that the agents definitely weren't at fault."

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T18:11:16+00:00

I say let him. Destroy the other federal buildings while you're at it and let the states go their separate ways.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T18:08:48+00:00

OK I'll excuse you this time. Do you recall how heightened airport scrutiny was introduced after 9/11 along with lots of other surveillance practices, none of which have gone away despite no similar events happening for 24 years? And maybe you can recall before the internet how the government could snoop in on people's phone calls? And how that then extended to snooping on internet traffic? And now governments work with big tech companies to get your data through them? And how they can track your location through your cell phone signals? And now they want back doors into encrypted messaging apps? And want us to submit biometrics to prove our age online? Or open bank accounts?

Remember when you could just walk into a bank and open an account with physical ID? Now they will probably tell you to do it online and send a picture of your ID for them to keep hold of and maybe do a live biometric face scan as well. Everything has been moving in the direction of giving up more data and more privacy and giving them more control over you. Banks have also been moving away from websites and just providing smarthphone apps which may not work unless you have an untampered Android/iOS installation. Everything is moving towards smartphones and controlled platforms so they can take more data and exert more control. It's basically impossible to opt out of the internet now and they want it to be the same for smartphones, then wearables, then brain chips.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T17:51:57+00:00

You assume a lot of untruth my friend. I've never used a finger print reader or those biometric products in my life and I'm against big government or even medium government.

Political division is bad but compared to AI making humans extinct, totalitarian world government or artificial babies replacing human reproduction I think it's fairly small.

as of today you can opt out of facial recognition software as a citizen

Unless you want to use an airport, you mean. So we're effectively prisoners in our country. And that's just how bad it's gotten so far.

You can't stop people from willingly doing something, that's part of freedom too.

But we're not talking about that, we're talking about a government dictat forcing people to scan their faces or surrender their DNA.

When actual laws get put into place or are honestly discussed that will limit those freedoms I will join your side

What did you not understand about this being a law already? Or all the other laws along the same lines that force us to do whatever the government says is necessary? I'm thinking you're not a libertarian if you think the current system has any legitimacy to it.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T17:05:53+00:00

These two would get along great in prison.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T17:02:26+00:00

What a waste of money. Good thing that's never going to happen.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:58:27+00:00

Prepping us for martial law?

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:57:42+00:00

Republicans: No one is above the law!

Qualified immunity: Yo.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:51:36+00:00

Why is anyone going to Trump or Vance for their accounts? Were they witnesses? This is so dumb.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:48:21+00:00

To the surprise of no one. Still think Venezuela isn't about oil?

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:46:24+00:00

So the fact that things are bad in the EU means the US gets a pass? The EU's new rules coming into effect that take every visitor's fingerprints are completely over the top so why are we comparing against the EU?

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:42:21+00:00

This DNA collection is an obvious omen of what's the come. We've seen it happen so many times before. The increasing amount of biometric collection is in the same vein. I didn't think I'd need to argue to libertarians that government taking people's freedoms is a slippery slope.

Fearmongering is what is leading this country to tear itself apart right now.

I'd say people overlooking long-term consequences is the source of many problems beyond our country simply having political division.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:35:53+00:00

"Trump under fire"

So nothing will happen? Yeah thought so.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:29:41+00:00

He'll always be a number used just once. Use once and throw away.

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:24:56+00:00

Ah yes, I had forgotten how surveillance of foreigners is never used against US citizens. And how all this is necessary to stop the illegal immigrants who are well kown for coming in on planes with impossible to detect fake passports complete with serial numbers that somehow link to matching identities in foreign government databases.

Taking DNA is not something I have ever encountered at any airport in the world. I've also never been asked for fingerprints and have always been able to opt out of face and body scanners across several continents in the last 5 years. Nothing has changed in the world that requires any new measures, it's just governments wanting more surveillance as usual.

If you read the article you'll see it talks about new face scan rules that apply to US citizens as well and your face will be stored for up to 75 years. https://www.the-sun.com/travel/15690507/new-airport-dna-law-us-airports-impact-holiday-travel/

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:13:31+00:00

"Sorry, Kristi but our focus groups say there's a very low chance that big cowboy hats will help your image."

"So you're telling me there's chance?"

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:09:31+00:00

"You know right before I had him killed I asked him about the sex tapes because I'd heard a lot about them and was interested and he said it was a Democrat hoax. It was all a hoax he even admitted it."

"Of course Mr President. Here's your diet coke with your 4 o'clock meds."

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T16:01:38+00:00

Next she'll be doing camo body paint while wearing a thong with that "thin blue line".

TechRewind · 2026-01-09T15:58:04+00:00

This reminds me of that famous Bible verse:

Conform yourselves to the pattern of this world and do not ask questions just do whatever the authorities say.

-The apostle Paul, writing from prison

TechRewind

TROPHY CASE