Crucially, there is STILL TIME TO STOP THIS. The Trump administration has proven legally incompetent and vulnerable to concerted pushback. But this only works if people who care about democracy refuse dooming, and realize they still have agency. www.vox.com/politics/462...

The Administration acknowledged that it will stop the survey that measures food insecurity, just as tariffs push up food prices and the deep cuts to food assistance enacted in July start to take effect. Congress must intervene to save these vital data. www.wsj.com/economy/trum...

The H1-B visa thing is, like everything else in the Trump administration, set up to carve up exceptions for friends and punish enemies. It’s the authoritarian thru-line that stitches everything together.

The mortgage fraud claim against Lisa Cook is false, per documents obtained by Reuters. Bill Pulte's accusation, the sole pretext Trump used to fire her from the Fed, was that she claimed two homes as primary residence. These docs show she did not. www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...

Once again, Florida shows what’s waiting for other states that careen toward universal school vouchers: public schools that can’t pay teachers, school closures that dislocate communities, & budget woes from trying to fund two separate education systems. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Come work with me at @tcifiscal.bsky.social as our new communications & engagement associate! thecommonwealthinstitute.org/wp-content/u...

Everyone deserves a union. Congratulations to Fairfax County workers and SEIU 512! #OrganizeTheSouth #UnionsForAll

There were two herons tonight within eyeshot of the t-pott bridge on my walk with @tedheck.bsky.social . I'm going to be sad when Brown's Island is temporarily closed, but at least the bridge will stay open. #rva

Kilmar, speaking to “all the families who have been separated, or to all the families who have been threatened with family separation” near the end of his remarks: “God is with us, and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all of you.”

📣“We shouldn’t have to go out there and do wrong to our own people.” 📣 43 African American soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas refused deployment for riot control at DNC in Chicago, #tdih 1968. Punished with court-martial, hard labor, & reductions in rank. www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fo...

Glad to live in a city where the schools and school board have a lot of folks who are doing what they can.

"Despite predictions of substantial millionaire flight, the # of millionaires and ultra-wealthy individuals in Massachusetts grew significantly over the first two years the Fair Share Amendment was in place. The state has experienced revenue gains...that are more than double...initial expectations"

REMINDER: If billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos paid their fair share, we could afford to EXPAND benefits and strengthen Social Security’s customer service! Instead, Republicans are cutting Social Security and giving tax cuts to billionaires.

The richest people in the country got a massive tax break while Virginians who need help to afford health insurance got completely, utterly screwed by the federal Republicans who voted for the Big, Dumb Belching Bear Bill. Now Virginia’s government has to figure out how to clean up their mess.

Virginia Sec of Finance Cummings says at annual budget presentation that there's no impact from OBBB in FY2026. Because apparently people losing access to food assistance (shown in his own slide) doesn't matter

Things looking bad for jobs in Virginia--bear in mind that most federal workers who took "The Fork" don't actually become unemployed until September 28 (or end of December if in the second wave). Note espec. manufacturing jobs dismal here (despite the beloved "right to work").

In addition to the expected "Virginia is the best" content, #VaGov dropped the info that Virginia has had $2.5 Billion in federal grants delayed or cancelled this year. Although about $2.2 billion were eventually reinstated, that's a lot of uncertainty and turmoil

I was re-reading Tiya Miles's book about Harriet Tubman. And I was reminded again that we are all called to take action within our capacity to address injustice in our own time. And that Tubman was embedded within a COMMUNITY which is what enabled her to do+ tiyamiles.com/books/night-...

1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely. Here's why.

re: today's discourse in Va politics Words can have a different intent from impact, and impact matters. Historical movements can have a different intent from impact, and impact matters. Our fears are based in history & ongoing reality, and, children are starving today in Gaza.

I just sent this out. The Jewish people have moral frameworks for this moment. It is a choice not to heed them. Please let us meet this moment, let us see the shattered Temple around us, right now, and our responsibility to it.

This article is as clear and coherent about what is happening at Virginia institutions of higher education as anything I have read. It has nothing to do with antisemitism or civil rights; it is a coordinated and hostile political takeover.

"We feel an imperative to recognize and resist the Trump Administration’s weaponization of antisemitism against our university. As Jews, recognizing the signs of authoritarianism and the risks of letting them go unchallenged is a part of our heritage."

1. We interrupt this programming for some LEGITIMATELY GOOD NEWS Violent crime in Baltimore has PLUMMETED to historic lows How did the city do it? Baltimore adopted a comprehensive set of "woke" policies, treating violence as a public health issue

In comparison #rva public schools has less than that per year to serve 22k students in 40+ buildings. We don't have enough annual funding to properly repair our buildings. www.wtvr.com/news/local-n...

This is from NYC, but there were also more courthouse arrests today in Virginia. I'm embarrassed to admit I'm not doing it, but if you're in Richmond, doing court watch with Ojos RVA is the local response to this attack on our courts as a place where all can seek justice and pay their debts

Thank you to the 47 senators from both parties who stood up for Congress’s constitutional powers by voting for @kaine.senate.gov Iran War Powers Resolution. An overwhelming majority of Americans support diplomacy with Iran, not an illegal and disastrous war of choice. thehill.com/homenews/sen...

Oh yeah! CoochWatch was *IT*. Got airplay on the Rachel Maddow show even. I am so ready for some more CoochWatch action! For context, some are thinking that now Pres. Ryan has been forced out, Ken Cuccinelli will be appointed as President.

From @altnps.bsky.social on Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/1C5y44... "...Trump is using the power of the federal government to impose ideological control over universities. At the University of Virginia, President James E. Ryan has agreed to resign under pressure from the Trump administration, [1/

there was a concerted elite effort over the past five years to make America as bigoted as possible, conducted so openly that Chris Rufo was simultaneously tweeting "i am going to be lying about this subject" and being quoted on the precise subject he declared that he was lying about in the NYT

Today was the biggest rally/march I've seen in #rva since I've moved here, and these people made me extremely happy

The GOP wants to make your interaction with the government Difficult, complex, and time-consuming. So you are denied or don't even bother, Whether that is applying for Medicaid or registering to vote. Which is the opposite of efficiency. From Wittman in the east to Griffith in the west.

As Jim Parrott & I say, we need more housing but many people also need rental assistance because their incomes are too low to afford the lowest rent. Leaving them behind leads to costly #evictions & sometimes life threatening #homelessness. @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @centeronbudget.bsky.social

FORGE is an excellent organization that provides services for trans survivors and training for service providers. They just lost over $500,000, more than half their funding, due to abrupt DOJ cuts. (1/2)

Gutting the IRS isn’t just about taxes, it’s about starving public goods. Trump’s cuts threaten the programs working people rely on while letting the wealthy off the hook. More in @businessinsider.com: www.businessinsider.com/larry...

Men in plainclothes, one in a balaclava, raided the Charlottesville courthouse today. They abducted a local painter whose case (allegedly fighting with his roommate) was being dismissed, and another who was there paying fines. They took them away in unmarked vans. dailyprogress.com/news/local/c...

$44.7 million dollars for renters, first time home buyers, and other affordable housing programs the governor would rather the Commonwealth hold as reserve funds, leaving Virginians to make up the difference. Don't they know we have an affordability crisis?

I'm grateful that this is happening and hope folks are able to support it!

Excited to see HB2686 approved today. It will go into effect July 1. ✅Transparent policies, ✅ Auto-Enrollment, ✅ Evidence-based, ✅ Informing Families Let’s challenge our assumptions about who can excel at math. eduprogress.org/automatic-enro…

Went for a walk with @tedheck.bsky.social and was welcomed home to rva by a heron! (Saw some while out of town but none in Richmond since February.) #HeronOfTheDay

You can now read about projects that were interrupted when 18F was disbanded. One of them was with the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), which ensures military service members and Americans overseas are able to vote, and that their votes are counted. 18f.org/projects/#fe...

18F, the federal government’s technology shop, was demolished by Musk’s team shortly after midnight. It was a cost-recoverable org, charging agencies for their expertise, using a consulting model. Its cost to government was negligible, its benefits huge. My team there once saved DoD $500 billion.

"To be clear, the DOGE effort is illegitimate and likely illegal." "But for anyone looking for real taxpayer savings, Pentagon contracts would be the place to start." @nationalpriorities.bsky.social‬

Move fast and break America's foundations of prosperity. If you're the wealthiest, most powerful person in the country, you have an incentive to stop innovation & freeze competition where it is. The rest of us have a stake in it continuing. bsky.app/profile/arch...

🔥 Hot off the (digital) press 🔥 Our #VaBudget comparison now includes the compromise proposal released on Thursday. The compromise budget is a win for Virginia students and families. #VaLeg See what choices budget negotiators made ⤵️

A readable and clear overview of the proposed changes to the #RPS budget for the upcoming school year, including concrete examples within each category of what services would be expanded or maintained. Thank you @alifarukrva.bsky.social !

Today's heron (from this morning before the rain) may be the same one as yesterday: it was hanging in almost the same spot. I promise I sometimes see other herons in other #rva locations (the James was high covering many of the rocks the herons often use).

Boy, it's a good thing that, after 2020, we committed enough federal funding to shore up unemployment insurance systems to ensure that our UI systems are ready for this! Oh, no, wait—Democrats funded that, DOL built a software dev team, and then Republicans killed it. www.cnbc.com/2025/02/15/w...

Here’s 700 million facts: bit.ly/va-contributions Thank you @itep.org for the data (and the graphic) #PolicyValentines #TciValentines #TaxValentines

My spouse @tedheck.bsky.social tells me I should post my not-that-good #rva heron-of-the-day photos instead of just taking them. Here's today's, we'll see if I keep going.