Waldo Jaquith
@waldo.net
Thought follower. Public servant. Male software developer. Alumnus of 18F, the Obama White House, Georgetown's Beeck Center, U.S. Digital Response, the Biden-Harris Transition Team, and the Biden administration. He/him. Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Shout-out to @virginiamercury.com and @cardinalnews.org for a) having full RSS feeds and b) including bill numbers in their coverage of state legislation, the combination of which made it trivial for me to add a listing of news coverage of every bill before the Virginia General Assembly.
HB1374: Virginia Military Institute; governance.
Repeals the provisions of law that establish the board of visitors of Virginia Military Institute and transfers the governance of Virginia Military Institute to the board of visitors of Virginia State...
www.richmondsunlight.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Shout-out to @virginiamercury.com and @cardinalnews.org for a) having full RSS feeds and b) including bill numbers in their coverage of state legislation, the combination of which made it trivial for me to add a listing of news coverage of every bill before the Virginia General Assembly.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
I feel like I'm losing my goddamnned mind.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
Opinion | Libertarians Tried to Warn You About Trump
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I feel like I'm losing my goddamnned mind.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them
February 9, 2026 at 2:11 AM
I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them
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It has been said that in every family there is one who loads the dishwasher like a celebrated Scandinavian architect and then there are the others, who load it like raccoons on meth.
I am the architect. I am right. They are meth-addled trash goblins. It pains me.
I am the architect. I am right. They are meth-addled trash goblins. It pains me.
February 9, 2026 at 11:39 AM
It has been said that in every family there is one who loads the dishwasher like a celebrated Scandinavian architect and then there are the others, who load it like raccoons on meth.
I am the architect. I am right. They are meth-addled trash goblins. It pains me.
I am the architect. I am right. They are meth-addled trash goblins. It pains me.
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I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
WaPo editorial board when TX imposes a legislative gerrymander: don't freak out guys! Not a threat to democracy!
When VA responds to TX with *referendum* on their own gerrymander: brass-knuckled hypocrisy, anti-democratic gamesmanship.
There is hypocrisy here, all right, but not from VA.
When VA responds to TX with *referendum* on their own gerrymander: brass-knuckled hypocrisy, anti-democratic gamesmanship.
There is hypocrisy here, all right, but not from VA.
February 8, 2026 at 12:08 AM
WaPo editorial board when TX imposes a legislative gerrymander: don't freak out guys! Not a threat to democracy!
When VA responds to TX with *referendum* on their own gerrymander: brass-knuckled hypocrisy, anti-democratic gamesmanship.
There is hypocrisy here, all right, but not from VA.
When VA responds to TX with *referendum* on their own gerrymander: brass-knuckled hypocrisy, anti-democratic gamesmanship.
There is hypocrisy here, all right, but not from VA.
The investigation into the murder of Renee Good was terminated because the findings might undermine Trump’s declaration that she had driven over an ICE officer.
If you’re tracking signs of fascism, “no research that might have findings counter to Dear Leader’s claims” is a big one.
If you’re tracking signs of fascism, “no research that might have findings counter to Dear Leader’s claims” is a big one.
February 7, 2026 at 5:37 PM
The investigation into the murder of Renee Good was terminated because the findings might undermine Trump’s declaration that she had driven over an ICE officer.
If you’re tracking signs of fascism, “no research that might have findings counter to Dear Leader’s claims” is a big one.
If you’re tracking signs of fascism, “no research that might have findings counter to Dear Leader’s claims” is a big one.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Renee Good’s vehicle after an immigration agent fatally shot her, but Trump administration officials ordered them to stop investigating. About a dozen prosecutors have since resigned, leaving the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office in turmoil.
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Renee Good’s vehicle after an immigration agent fatally shot her, but Trump administration officials ordered them to stop investigating. About a dozen prosecutors have since resigned, leaving the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office in turmoil.
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at this point when someone gets on substack I just assume that they know and don't care.
February 7, 2026 at 5:12 PM
at this point when someone gets on substack I just assume that they know and don't care.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
trans women playing women’s sports
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
trans women playing women’s sports
I thought this was wrong for years but, yes, this is the way. Partisan redistricting is corrosive and anti-democratic, and I think Democrats need to embrace it even more fervently than Republicans, with trigger language to revert to nonpartisan redistricting when Republicans cooperate.
on the balance i think partisan gerrymandering is bad but the only way it ends is if democrats weaponize it against republicans everywhere they can. wiping out republican lawmakers in blue states might bring the GOP to the table to end the practice.
February 7, 2026 at 4:23 PM
I thought this was wrong for years but, yes, this is the way. Partisan redistricting is corrosive and anti-democratic, and I think Democrats need to embrace it even more fervently than Republicans, with trigger language to revert to nonpartisan redistricting when Republicans cooperate.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
Cancun Ted over here argued that “partisanship is inherent and permissible in the districting process” in an amicus brief he filed with the Supreme Court in the Texas redistricting case last September. www.cornyn.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
February 7, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Cancun Ted over here argued that “partisanship is inherent and permissible in the districting process” in an amicus brief he filed with the Supreme Court in the Texas redistricting case last September. www.cornyn.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
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this is so funny, god bless louise lucas, Hero of the Commonwealth
February 7, 2026 at 2:20 PM
this is so funny, god bless louise lucas, Hero of the Commonwealth
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
So about TrumpRx: We crunched the numbers today and about half of the drugs on there have cheaper generics available already. www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...
February 6, 2026 at 11:09 PM
So about TrumpRx: We crunched the numbers today and about half of the drugs on there have cheaper generics available already. www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/t...
@nicholasdoyle.bsky.social Did you back Chris Keup's most recent album on Kickstarter? I spotted your name in the liner notes—or somebody who shares your name. :)
February 7, 2026 at 2:38 AM
@nicholasdoyle.bsky.social Did you back Chris Keup's most recent album on Kickstarter? I spotted your name in the liner notes—or somebody who shares your name. :)
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
the Spectator accidentally recycled a subhed from a previous day’s article about Tehran
February 6, 2026 at 6:07 PM
the Spectator accidentally recycled a subhed from a previous day’s article about Tehran
This is a great observation. I hadn't been able to put my finger on this line but, yes, this is it. There are for sure prominent Dems who are to the left of Spanberger who have zero fight in them, and I'll take one Spanberger over ten of them.
VA Gov. Spanberger (moderate, was in CIA) and NYC Mayor Mamdani (left, is in DSA) both taking steps to block local law enforcement from helping ICE as it violently violates people's rights is a good example of how the relevant divide in the Dem coalition isn't center-left, it's fight-don't fight.
February 6, 2026 at 9:51 PM
This is a great observation. I hadn't been able to put my finger on this line but, yes, this is it. There are for sure prominent Dems who are to the left of Spanberger who have zero fight in them, and I'll take one Spanberger over ten of them.
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Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
Yes let's do a deal with this administration lol Dems
HAPPENING NOW: DHS just expedited Liam Conejo Ramos' asylum hearing to this morning, meaning it's possible the five-year-old and his family could be deported as soon as today.
Rep. Joaquin Castro: "The Trump administration is trying to take him away again." www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Rep. Joaquin Castro: "The Trump administration is trying to take him away again." www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Five-Year-Old Liam Ramos Is In His Asylum Hearing Right Now
www.huffpost.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Yes let's do a deal with this administration lol Dems
~Fifteen years ago, a local woman blogged about her dog, Pizza, who was (IIRC) half greyhound and half mastiff. Pizza had gone off exploring in the woods, and returned with the hindquarters of a deer, which he dragged into the house. I still think about Pizza. What a hero.
February 6, 2026 at 4:29 PM
~Fifteen years ago, a local woman blogged about her dog, Pizza, who was (IIRC) half greyhound and half mastiff. Pizza had gone off exploring in the woods, and returned with the hindquarters of a deer, which he dragged into the house. I still think about Pizza. What a hero.
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Have no fear, New York Times is ON IT.
February 6, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Have no fear, New York Times is ON IT.
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
The Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the Washington region’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station to be named after Trump in exchange for releasing the federal funds required to build a long-delayed tunnel between New York and New Jersey
Trump wanted Dulles Airport, Penn Station named after him — in exchange for releasing federal funds
Trump has named several landmarks and initiatives after himself since he returned to office.
www.nbcnews.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM
The Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the Washington region’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station to be named after Trump in exchange for releasing the federal funds required to build a long-delayed tunnel between New York and New Jersey
Reposted by Waldo Jaquith
They’re trying to run the Kilmar Abrego Garcia playbook with a five year old boy in a bunny hat because nobody can find peace if they embarrass the Trump administration publicly. Normal people didn’t like it with Garcia and they really aren’t going to like it for Liam.
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos
The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:51 AM
They’re trying to run the Kilmar Abrego Garcia playbook with a five year old boy in a bunny hat because nobody can find peace if they embarrass the Trump administration publicly. Normal people didn’t like it with Garcia and they really aren’t going to like it for Liam.