Esparanza: A Daily Outsider Public Service Initiative

  EAKED AUDIO: Acting FEMA Director’s Plan for "FEMA 2.0" Drop Site has obtained leaked audio from acting FEMA director David Richardson.     In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River in Asheville, North Carolina, members of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force search a flood damaged area with a search canine on October 4, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images). Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 2:00pm EST, the new acting director of FEMA, David Richardson, held a “town hall” with staff. Drop Site obtained 30 minutes of leaked audio from today’s meeting ,  as well as 10 minutes of leaked audio from Richardson’s introductory meeting on Friday, May 9, 2025. Both are transcribed in full below., The former acting director, Cameron Hamilton, was fired just one day after giving Congressional testimony, where he stated: “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Ma...

 

 We present the following courtesy Route 50 on key challenges faced by Local Government:             Robert Way via Getty Images How local governments are keeping AI under control By Kaitlyn Levinson | In the absence of national legislation, such governments are increasingly adopting AI governance policies and practices on their own, one expert says.     Trump is shifting cybersecurity to the states, but many aren’t prepared By Madyson Fitzgerald  |   Only 22 of 48 states in a Nationwide Cybersecurity Review met recommended security levels. Election officials wary of shift to Texas’ centralized voter-registration system By Natalia Contreras  |   Some lawmakers say a bill requiring counties to switch to TEAM would make it easier to monitor voter rolls. But the system has had its problems. Ohio judge permanently blocks social media age verification law By Nick Evans |   Gov. Mike DeWine is eager to appeal the decision, and state lawma...

 

Courtesy: https://open.substack.com/pub/nouvelledroite/p/a-brief-history-of-progress?r=1y3fw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Alain de Benoist traces the historical development and evolution of the idea of progress, which emerged around 1680 and became a central tenet of Western civilization. Benoist explains how progress, defined as a cumulative process where each new stage is considered superior to previous ones, originated from Christian concepts but was secularized during the Scientific Revolution. The theory of progress rests on three key ideas: a linear conception of time oriented toward the future, the fundamental unity of humanity evolving together, and humanity's ability to master and transform nature. The essay shows how this ideology was strengthened by scientific advancement, bourgeois economics, and industrialization, reaching its peak in the 19th century when it was used to justify colonialism and Western superiority. However, by t...