Joshua Tauberer
@joshdata.me
Civic technologist and engineering manager. Founder @govtrack.us. More active at https://mastodon.joshdata.me/@josh.
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
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The 51st
Information with representation, by and for District of Columbia residents. A worker-led, independent nonprofit newsroom.
51st.news
November 19, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Speaking of journalism needing more money... we need more money. But we also need readers! You can help us by subscribing (on a paid or free basis!) and telling your friends, family, and anyone who will listen to subscribe to @51st.news
Cheney's lies were on the critical path to my career in govt accountability.
At the start of the Iraq War I believed surely the government couldn't lie that blatantly. My embarrassment at my naivete changed how I viewed government.
(My origin story came before this but it's on the path.)
At the start of the Iraq War I believed surely the government couldn't lie that blatantly. My embarrassment at my naivete changed how I viewed government.
(My origin story came before this but it's on the path.)
November 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Cheney's lies were on the critical path to my career in govt accountability.
At the start of the Iraq War I believed surely the government couldn't lie that blatantly. My embarrassment at my naivete changed how I viewed government.
(My origin story came before this but it's on the path.)
At the start of the Iraq War I believed surely the government couldn't lie that blatantly. My embarrassment at my naivete changed how I viewed government.
(My origin story came before this but it's on the path.)
But did he get to shoot one last man in the face before he died.
November 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
But did he get to shoot one last man in the face before he died.
Whose heritage did they think they were promoting?? It was White Heritage all along.
Heritage is having the "are we the baddies?" discussion today (answer: yes, they are)
www.rawstory.com/heritage-fou...
www.rawstory.com/heritage-fou...
Right-wing think tank staff revolt as boss defends interview with neo-Nazi
Several staff members of the Heritage Foundation took to X today to protest their own boss's defense of a recent softball interview by Tucker Carlson with avowed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.Kevin Roberts, p...
www.rawstory.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Whose heritage did they think they were promoting?? It was White Heritage all along.
Soldiers that are paid by private entities are called mercenaries.
Just saying.
Just saying.
October 24, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Soldiers that are paid by private entities are called mercenaries.
Just saying.
Just saying.
I was wrong on this. SNAP and some other entitlement programs rely on annual appropriations even though they are considered mandatory spending because the authorization is written as an entitlement, I guess.
www.cbpp.org/research/foo...
www.cbpp.org/research/foo...
October 24, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I was wrong on this. SNAP and some other entitlement programs rely on annual appropriations even though they are considered mandatory spending because the authorization is written as an entitlement, I guess.
www.cbpp.org/research/foo...
www.cbpp.org/research/foo...
Normally SNAP comes out of multi-year mandatory spending and wouldn't be subject to an appropriations lapse, but SNAP itself expired on Sept 30, also, by coincidence. At least that's the best I can make of what's happening.
So this is not actually caused by the shutdown, I guess?
So this is not actually caused by the shutdown, I guess?
Yesterday DSS informed states they won't be providing SNAP benefits on Nov 1 due to the shutdown
I spoke to a number of affected people
The abject panic is real
Young families, senior citizens
GOOD people
Make no mistake:
This is on Republicans
They MUST negotiate and end this shutdown
Now!
I spoke to a number of affected people
The abject panic is real
Young families, senior citizens
GOOD people
Make no mistake:
This is on Republicans
They MUST negotiate and end this shutdown
Now!
At least 25 states plan to cut off food aid benefits in November
The pause in benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would begin in states from California to Alabama just before the busy holiday season.
www.politico.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Normally SNAP comes out of multi-year mandatory spending and wouldn't be subject to an appropriations lapse, but SNAP itself expired on Sept 30, also, by coincidence. At least that's the best I can make of what's happening.
So this is not actually caused by the shutdown, I guess?
So this is not actually caused by the shutdown, I guess?
The White House demolition is being privately funded by Google, Lockheed, and others, according to The Hill.
If the President can just privately fund whatever government programs lack appropriations, that's another nail in the coffin of the Constitution.
If the President can just privately fund whatever government programs lack appropriations, that's another nail in the coffin of the Constitution.
October 22, 2025 at 12:43 PM
The White House demolition is being privately funded by Google, Lockheed, and others, according to The Hill.
If the President can just privately fund whatever government programs lack appropriations, that's another nail in the coffin of the Constitution.
If the President can just privately fund whatever government programs lack appropriations, that's another nail in the coffin of the Constitution.
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
Covering all the bases!
Republican Leaders are simultaneously saying that the Jews funded No Kings rallies AND No Kings rallies were promoting antisemitic h/t @atrupar.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Covering all the bases!
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
i am the guy at antifa hq who makes sure everyone has their 1099 in order before a big "protest"
October 18, 2025 at 11:36 PM
i am the guy at antifa hq who makes sure everyone has their 1099 in order before a big "protest"
Christian white men are going to have to work a lot harder to convince me they don't actually talk like this. Because the evidence is piling on that that's actually how they are.
Torba is a piece of shit, but this idea that men talk like racist assholes by default and it’s somehow anti-masculine to criticize it is fucking untrue and men should push back against it. No, “male communication” is not racist and sexist and hateful when the conversation is being had by good men.
No, this is how Nazis talk in their own spaces. I don’t know abut this dude, but I never talked about gassing people and raping women when I was hanging out with my pals.
October 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Christian white men are going to have to work a lot harder to convince me they don't actually talk like this. Because the evidence is piling on that that's actually how they are.
Bari Weiss, now leading CBS News, peddled the conspiracy theory that I personally - called out by name - shilled for the Harris campaign in how I ran GovTrack.
This shit is personal to me. The Right made it personal.
This shit is personal to me. The Right made it personal.
October 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Bari Weiss, now leading CBS News, peddled the conspiracy theory that I personally - called out by name - shilled for the Harris campaign in how I ran GovTrack.
This shit is personal to me. The Right made it personal.
This shit is personal to me. The Right made it personal.
In “As a Jew” Sarah Hurwitz is on a search for blame. And I don't like where it leads. A book review.
joshuatauberer.medium.com/in-as-a-jew-...
joshuatauberer.medium.com/in-as-a-jew-...
In “As a Jew” Hurwitz is on a search for blame
If you can relate to Sarah Hurwitz’s ambition, as I very much do, of wanting to connect deeper and more authentically to what it means to…
joshuatauberer.medium.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:43 PM
In “As a Jew” Sarah Hurwitz is on a search for blame. And I don't like where it leads. A book review.
joshuatauberer.medium.com/in-as-a-jew-...
joshuatauberer.medium.com/in-as-a-jew-...
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
I could come around for this guy if he goes bigger and bans more AI.
News: Sen. Josh Hawley wants to ban self-driving cars, is planning legislation on it soon.
“I think we ought to ban autonomous vehicles,” he told me, calling them “not safe” and saying it would be “terrible for working people” if they become the norm.
www.businessinsider.com/josh-hawley-...
“I think we ought to ban autonomous vehicles,” he told me, calling them “not safe” and saying it would be “terrible for working people” if they become the norm.
www.businessinsider.com/josh-hawley-...
Sen. Josh Hawley wants to ban driverless cars — and says he'll introduce a bill on it 'soon'
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told BI that he wants to see driverless cars banned nationwide, and that he's introducing a bill on the topic soon.
www.businessinsider.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:08 PM
I could come around for this guy if he goes bigger and bans more AI.
The only thing I was afraid of walking around downtown #DC today (as always) wasn't other people but being hit by a motor vehicle at one of those intersections where roads don't come in at right angles.
September 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
The only thing I was afraid of walking around downtown #DC today (as always) wasn't other people but being hit by a motor vehicle at one of those intersections where roads don't come in at right angles.
Wish I could be there.
(I am currently scheming an online national civic tech conference for winter/spring. Get in touch if interested.)
(I am currently scheming an online national civic tech conference for winter/spring. Get in touch if interested.)
Were we go!!!
Citycamp.NYC is tomorrow. We have 280+ people registered for the first public interest tech / data / design unconference in 10 years.
We still have tickets to the after party!!!
donorbox.org/events/79431...
#nerdsassemble #citycamp #citycampnyc #pitech #civictech
Citycamp.NYC is tomorrow. We have 280+ people registered for the first public interest tech / data / design unconference in 10 years.
We still have tickets to the after party!!!
donorbox.org/events/79431...
#nerdsassemble #citycamp #citycampnyc #pitech #civictech
September 6, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Wish I could be there.
(I am currently scheming an online national civic tech conference for winter/spring. Get in touch if interested.)
(I am currently scheming an online national civic tech conference for winter/spring. Get in touch if interested.)
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
There should be an ad hoc emergency conference of the states and Illinois should convene it. Not because it'd have any legal power, of course, but because there should be a united front in the form of a body able to speak with their combined voice, a coordinating committee if you prefer.
September 6, 2025 at 5:14 PM
There should be an ad hoc emergency conference of the states and Illinois should convene it. Not because it'd have any legal power, of course, but because there should be a united front in the form of a body able to speak with their combined voice, a coordinating committee if you prefer.
Which "Judeo" views is he talking about? The right to abortion? (No.) The importance of debate? (No.) Jews not going to hell? (No.) Education? (No.) Health? (No.) Welcoming guests and immigrants? (No.) Repairing the world? (No.) It's bullshit and orthodox jews fall for it every time.
OMB Director Russ Vought speaking at NatCon now.
Says US "has a religious heritage, that in which its civic life is based on — Judeo-Christian worldviews. And that, while we may give religious liberty to everyone, that there is an importance in a foundation and a structure to our system…"
Says US "has a religious heritage, that in which its civic life is based on — Judeo-Christian worldviews. And that, while we may give religious liberty to everyone, that there is an importance in a foundation and a structure to our system…"
September 3, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Which "Judeo" views is he talking about? The right to abortion? (No.) The importance of debate? (No.) Jews not going to hell? (No.) Education? (No.) Health? (No.) Welcoming guests and immigrants? (No.) Repairing the world? (No.) It's bullshit and orthodox jews fall for it every time.
Dear National Guardsmen of DC,
Thank you for your service
picking up litter.
It's your calling.
Thank you for your service
picking up litter.
It's your calling.
August 28, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Dear National Guardsmen of DC,
Thank you for your service
picking up litter.
It's your calling.
Thank you for your service
picking up litter.
It's your calling.
Union Station, DC this morning with National Guardsmen, Amtrak police, and Homeland Security. The main concourse was pretty empty.
August 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Union Station, DC this morning with National Guardsmen, Amtrak police, and Homeland Security. The main concourse was pretty empty.
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
Lots of great info here for DC folks -- if you find this stuff at all useful and can afford it, subscribe to the @51st.news!
How many troops are there? How long will this last? How much is this COSTING? And ... well... what are they even doing? We answered these questions and more. 51st.news/national-gua...
What’s going on with the National Guard in D.C.?
Their presence so far has been limited, but with growing numbers that could change.
51st.news
August 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Lots of great info here for DC folks -- if you find this stuff at all useful and can afford it, subscribe to the @51st.news!
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
If anyone has videos of police clashing with civilians in Washington, DC, feel free to send them to me anonymously at emgarcia.85 on Signal
August 14, 2025 at 3:34 PM
If anyone has videos of police clashing with civilians in Washington, DC, feel free to send them to me anonymously at emgarcia.85 on Signal
I am so glad Martin gets paid to report on DC issues for all of us. It's so important.
On a personal note, I wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for helping @51st.news meet its $125k fundraising goal! Your support, whether in single dollars or big donations, is invaluable to helping us grow our staff, coverage, and ambitions. THANK YOU. ❤️ givebutter.com/SsQ8CG
Time to Grow The 51st
Help us hire Christina and Martin Full-Time!
givebutter.com
August 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I am so glad Martin gets paid to report on DC issues for all of us. It's so important.
Reposted by Joshua Tauberer
Trump federalizes and militarizes D.C.'s police: We don't need it substack.govtrack.us/p/trump-fede...
Trump federalizes and militarizes D.C.'s police: We don't need it
When I walk my toddler home from daycare every evening, it is safe.
substack.govtrack.us
August 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Trump federalizes and militarizes D.C.'s police: We don't need it substack.govtrack.us/p/trump-fede...