Dan Vock

Washington v. Washington, DC. "We're from the federal government, and we are here to help." 😂

Ken Paxton just filed a lawsuit to remove me from office.

But this seat doesn’t belong to him or me — it belongs to the people.

My message to Ken Paxton:

Come and take it.

James A. Lovell Jr., Commander of Apollo 13, Is Dead at 97

One of the coolest people I’ve ever met. (And meeting him might be one of the coolest benefits of becoming an Eagle Scout) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/s...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasts Pritzker, Johnson during Chicago area visit U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem used a visit to the Chicago area on Friday to criticize Illinois politicians, blasting Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference …

“I’m here today because the elected leaders in this state of Illinois are ignoring the law,” Noem said, **even though a recent finding from a federal judge affirmed the legality of such laws.**
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/08/k...

FYI

Twenty years in DC and I still don’t know which direction Shady Grove or Glenmont will take you

Mostly green, TBH

What to know about Trump’s deployment of federal police in D.C. Republicans paint D.C. as a lawless war zone that only they can fix.

This is very good local news coverage by the @51st.news about Trump sending federal troops to DC...where crime is down, not up.

"Of course, Trump’s sudden emphatic focus on crime in D.C. could well be political. For weeks, he’s been trying to shift the conversation..."
51st.news/explainer-tr...

We're in the final hours of fundraising to hire @maustermuhle.bsky.social, the journalist behind this coverage, full-time! If you find it valuable and want to ensure he continues reporting on D.C. pitch in: ⬇️⬇️⬇️
givebutter.com/SsQ8CG

More federal law enforcement will be patrolling DC streets at the request of Trump - WTOP News More federal law enforcement officers will be patrolling D.C. streets to combat crime and, in the words of President Donald Trump, make the city safer.

Seems like we have a lot of extra low-flying helicopters today too wtop.com/dc/2025/08/f...

Trump ends investigations into Chicago's zoning practices The Department of Housing and Urban Development ended separate investigations into the city's zoning practices that advocates said led to racial and environmental discrimination.

“Patricia Fron, executive director at the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, told Crain’s it is "unprecedented” for HUD to walk away from enforcing the Fair Housing Act.”

www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/tru...

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.

Trump's team tosses a dart at Pritzker over Great Lakes plan as tensions rise

This case involves a district-court injunction that threatens to upend immigration officials' ability to enforce the immigration laws in the Central District of Cali- fornia by hanging the prospect of contempt over every investigative stop of suspected illegal aliens. Not only is the Central District the Nation's most populous district overall; at best estimate, it harbors some 2 million illegal aliens out of its total popu- lation of nearly 20 million people, making it by far the largest destination for illegal aliens. Given the Administration's commitment to enforcing the Nation's immigration laws-under which illegal aliens are subject to investigative stops and detention

to facilitate removal-it should be no surprise that the Los Angeles area is a top en- forcement priority. When immigration-enforcement stops involve briefly detaining a suspected illegal alien, they must comply with the Fourth Amendment's reasonable-suspicion requirement—a low bar that "is considerably less than * * * a preponder-ance." United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7 (1989). Like most Fourth Amendment tests, that context-specific inquiry requires considering the totality of the circum-stances. And here, those circumstances necessarily include that illegal presence is widespread in the Central District, where 1 in every 10 people is an illegal alien; that many locations unlawfully employ illegal aliens and are known to hire them on a day-to-day basis; that certain types of jobs-like day labor, landscaping, and construc-tion—are most attractive to illegal aliens because they often do not require paper-work; that the vast majority of illegal aliens in the District come from Mexico or Cen- tral America; and that many only speak Spanish. Needless to say, no one thinks that speaking Spanish or working in construc- tion always creates reasonable suspicion. Nor does anyone suggest those are the only factors federal agents ever consider. But in many situations, such factors-alone or in combination-can heighten the likelihood that someone is unlawfully present in the United States, above and beyond the 1-in-10 baseline odds in the District. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are entitled to rely on these factors when ramping up enforcement of immigration laws in the District.

New: The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to halt an injunction that’s currently preventing it from racially profiling Hispanic people while conducting immigration arrests in part of California. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Blazing new trails: 13 Minnesota cities are considering municipal cannabis stores As some Minnesota cities fret over regulating newly legalized and normalized marijuana sales, others see an opportunity.

Minnesota, and municipal weed

apnews.com/article/minn...

Your friendly reminder that the District of Columbia is the *only* jurisdiction in the entire country in which there are no local prosecutors accountable to the people who actually live and pay taxes there.

(And that there should be.)

Trump to Sign Order Easing Path for Private Assets in 401(k)s President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that aims to allow private equity, real estate, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets in 401(k)s, a major victory for industries look...

Trump will sign an executive order today that allows your 401K money to be invested in private equity. Aside from what that means for your retirement fund, it will also roughly DOUBLE the amount of money P.E. firms have at their disposal to take over companies/hospitals/housing/etc.

Stanford newspaper sues Trump administration over student deportations The lawsuit challenges Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ability to revoke student visas and deem an individual deportable based on the content of their speech.

Stanford University’s student-run newspaper sued two senior Trump administration officials Wednesday, challenging Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ability to revoke student visas and deem an individual deportable based on the content of their speech.

Trump’s Deals With Top Colleges May Give Rich Applicants a Bigger Edge

🎁 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/u...

I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

BREAKING: With #2030Census prep already underway, President Trump says he's instructed Commerce Dept to "immediately begin work" on a "new" census that excludes people living in the states without legal status from a count the 14th Amendment says must include “whole number of persons in each state”

I chipped in. I hope you can too.

Vice President JD Vance heads to Indianapolis to talk redistricting; U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan’s seat likely under attack U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan said potential redistricting of Indiana’s First Congressional District would silence the voices of his constituents.

As Vice President JD Vance heads to Indianapolis on Thursday to discuss redistricting with Gov. Mike Braun, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan said potential redistricting of Indiana’s 1st Congressional District would silence the voices of his constituents.

RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development The Department of Health and Human Services plans to cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” said Mike Osterholm, an Univ. of Minnesota expert on infectious disease

mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives,” said Dr. Paul Offit—a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

‘She needs to have a democracy to grow up in’: The moms who left Texas to defend its future Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids wh...

‘She needs to have a democracy to grow up in’

Democratic lawmakers fled Texas to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids what democracy requires.

19thnews.org/2025/08/texa...

The Trump administration is on a pro-Confederacy roll, with two monuments brought back in 24 hours. The "Confederate Memorial," its name since its construction in 1914, will be reinstalled in Arlington Cemetery.

trib.al/b1L3866

Trump names himself chair of L.A. Olympics task force, sees role for military during Games Trump’s news conference may prompt questions about whether a president with a penchant for showmanship might assume an unusually active role in planning the Olympics.

Trump names himself chair of L.A. Olympics task force, sees role for military during Games

Blagojevich, Wis. Dems Get ‘Daily Show' Cameos The former governor supports the hiding Democrats during his show spot.

There was also The Daily Show bit about Wisconsin Dems fleeing into Illinois in 2011. As part of the bit, John Oliver met with Blago and asked: "If you had that information would you sell it to me? Because that information would be [bleeping] golden." www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/b...

It's also fascinating that the guy who finally broke ranks with his Democratic colleagues in the Texas Senate and returned to give Republicans a quorum is now... the mayor of Houston.

Texas pharmacist to head NCSL(2) • Stateline Texas State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D) at work in San Antonio. Photo by John Gramlich SAN ANTONIO – The pharmacy where Leticia Van de Putte works in this Spanish-speaking part of town is surrounded...

The 2003 Daily Show segment seems to be lost to internet obscurity, but I definitely remember the segment with then Sen. Leticia van de Putte. @stateline.org remembers: stateline.org/2006/05/24/t...

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Gov. JB Pritzker Pledges That Illinois Will Do "Whatever It Takes To Preserve Democracy"

Again, I just find it fascinating that Colbert is interviewing Pritzker about redistricting -- 22 YEARS after Colbert interviewed Texas lawmakers who fled to New Mexico to stop something very similar www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJAX...