Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social
Helping you understand how government works—or doesn’t. Freelancing again. Illinoisan in D.C. Reach me at [email protected]
Subscribe to my newsletter https://danvock.substack.com/
Subscribe to my newsletter https://danvock.substack.com/
Pinned
Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social
· Oct 19
‘Devil’s ideology’: President Donald Trump’s darkening rhetoric escalates attacks and often targets Illinois
President Donald Trump’s language to discredit opponents has included Illinois and the Chicago area where protesters have been compared to domestic terrorists and the president has called for…
www.chicagotribune.com
My story on the front page of @chicagotribune.com today looks at the darkening rhetoric from Trump and the administration, as well as why experts on democracy say that’s a troubling sign (gift link) www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/19/t...
Reposted by Dan Vock
My two Eagle Scout sons had a co-ed troop that was nothing less than fabulous. Learning to be a leader, to care for your community and each other, to serve your country in small ways is not the exclusive domain of one sex or the other.
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
My two Eagle Scout sons had a co-ed troop that was nothing less than fabulous. Learning to be a leader, to care for your community and each other, to serve your country in small ways is not the exclusive domain of one sex or the other.
A friend of mine from my Boy Scout troop is now a captain in the U.S. Navy, and though I've lost touch with him on a regular basis, he seems like a badass.
As an Eagle Scout, this feels incredibly short-sighted. So many dudes in my Boy Scout Troop joined the military because they were in scouting.
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
Documents show the U.S. military is planning to sever all ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:49 PM
A friend of mine from my Boy Scout troop is now a captain in the U.S. Navy, and though I've lost touch with him on a regular basis, he seems like a badass.
As an Eagle Scout and a Vigil Honor member (iykyk) I can’t tell you how much better Scouting America has become by including girls and becoming more inclusive than when I was a kid.
Scouting was never about being “masculine.” It has always been about helping other people though.
Scouting was never about being “masculine.” It has always been about helping other people though.
Hegseth is very very terrified, deep deep down of something to do with maleness www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
Documents show the U.S. military is planning to sever all ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
As an Eagle Scout and a Vigil Honor member (iykyk) I can’t tell you how much better Scouting America has become by including girls and becoming more inclusive than when I was a kid.
Scouting was never about being “masculine.” It has always been about helping other people though.
Scouting was never about being “masculine.” It has always been about helping other people though.
Reposted by Dan Vock
Here is a list of famous Eagle Scouts. And ask yourself if this seems like a smart move en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
List of Eagle Scouts - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Here is a list of famous Eagle Scouts. And ask yourself if this seems like a smart move en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Reposted by Dan Vock
Passing off every BSA alumni and all their parents seems like really bad politics!
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Passing off every BSA alumni and all their parents seems like really bad politics!
Reposted by Dan Vock
"[A]nti-fascist groups the US state department recently named as foreign terrorist organizations... barely qualify as groups, let alone terrorist organizations, and pose no active threat to Americans."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Anti-fascist groups named as US terror threats ‘barely exist’, experts say
Designation of groups from Italy, Germany and Greece labelled ‘ridiculous’ as experts say no active threat posed
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"[A]nti-fascist groups the US state department recently named as foreign terrorist organizations... barely qualify as groups, let alone terrorist organizations, and pose no active threat to Americans."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Dan Vock
November 25, 1818: While Mary Shelley draws sketches of the Colosseum within the amphitheater during their Rome trip, Percy begins to pen his prose fragment, "The Coliseum." It is a romantic look at the ruins, overgrowth of plants & human hands that made the arena. Story: archive.org/details/essa...
November 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
November 25, 1818: While Mary Shelley draws sketches of the Colosseum within the amphitheater during their Rome trip, Percy begins to pen his prose fragment, "The Coliseum." It is a romantic look at the ruins, overgrowth of plants & human hands that made the arena. Story: archive.org/details/essa...
TFW you have so many ribbons and medals you get them out of order sometimes 🙄
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is seeking to humiliate an American hero.
Senator Kelly flew 39 combat missions during the Gulf War in 1991 and flew four space shuttle missions (commanding two of them).
Senator Kelly flew 39 combat missions during the Gulf War in 1991 and flew four space shuttle missions (commanding two of them).
November 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
TFW you have so many ribbons and medals you get them out of order sometimes 🙄
Reposted by Dan Vock
Trump has brought a national chill to U.S. science. But what about state actions? 🚩🏛️
For @science.org, I spoke with researchers across disciplines, career stages, and geography to find out how being a red state researcher can stoke fear, and acts of resistance 🔬🏳️🌈: tinyurl.com/4yf8pf62
For @science.org, I spoke with researchers across disciplines, career stages, and geography to find out how being a red state researcher can stoke fear, and acts of resistance 🔬🏳️🌈: tinyurl.com/4yf8pf62
In red states, many academic researchers feel fear–and resolve
State-level mandates prompt changes and small acts of resistance at universities
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Trump has brought a national chill to U.S. science. But what about state actions? 🚩🏛️
For @science.org, I spoke with researchers across disciplines, career stages, and geography to find out how being a red state researcher can stoke fear, and acts of resistance 🔬🏳️🌈: tinyurl.com/4yf8pf62
For @science.org, I spoke with researchers across disciplines, career stages, and geography to find out how being a red state researcher can stoke fear, and acts of resistance 🔬🏳️🌈: tinyurl.com/4yf8pf62
Reposted by Dan Vock
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Definitely an interesting read. I wonder the extent to which people coming to Florida register as Republicans because the GOP primary is the most competitive race in most contests, since the Florida Democratic Party seems pretty anemic over the last decade or two.
Fascinating article by Seth McKee, Dan Smith & Olivia Zhang showing that in-migrants to FL increasingly register as Republicans upon their arrival in the ☀️ State
The trend is uniform regardless of whether the in-migrants come from blue or red states
academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
The trend is uniform regardless of whether the in-migrants come from blue or red states
academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
November 25, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Definitely an interesting read. I wonder the extent to which people coming to Florida register as Republicans because the GOP primary is the most competitive race in most contests, since the Florida Democratic Party seems pretty anemic over the last decade or two.
Reposted by Dan Vock
What time do you get in?
Officially moving to Chicago tomorrow. I assume JB Pritzker will be waiting for me at the airport
November 25, 2025 at 1:13 PM
What time do you get in?
Reposted by Dan Vock
“Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine:
The grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.” — www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine
Grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield this year has resulted in thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:29 PM
“Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine:
The grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.” — www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Reposted by Dan Vock
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Dan Vock
TIMIRAOS: ".. Powell is likely to weigh two approaches .. The first: cut rates, as markets now expect, and use the exquisitely negotiated post-meeting statement to signal a higher bar for further reductions."
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
Fed Chair Powell’s Allies Provide Opening for December Rate Cut
A divided committee, missing data and a whiff of stagflation leave Powell to choose between two paths—each with drawbacks
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
TIMIRAOS: ".. Powell is likely to weigh two approaches .. The first: cut rates, as markets now expect, and use the exquisitely negotiated post-meeting statement to signal a higher bar for further reductions."
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
Reposted by Dan Vock
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, pardoned by Donald Trump, has been accused of facilitating millions of dollars’ worth of payments to Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Zhao also financed the Trump family's entrance into the cryptocurrency market.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas
Crypto tycoon pardoned by Donald Trump faces US court complaint from families of victims of October 7 attack
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Reposted by Dan Vock
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by Dan Vock
We found that 11 of Trump’s DOT appointees disclosed between $12 million and $52 million in stock holdings and other financial interests in airlines, railroads, oil and gas corporations, transportation technology firms and other related businesses.
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public
ProPublica has identified dozens of instances in which the Trump administration’s DOT has moved to cut, soften or delay safety regulations for cars, trucks, planes, trains and even oil pipelines. Expe...
www.propublica.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:00 AM
We found that 11 of Trump’s DOT appointees disclosed between $12 million and $52 million in stock holdings and other financial interests in airlines, railroads, oil and gas corporations, transportation technology firms and other related businesses.
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
Reposted by Dan Vock
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Reposted by Dan Vock
Mark Kelly: "My wife, Gabby Giffords, meeting with her constituents, shot in the head. Six people killed around her, a horrific thing. She spent six months in the hospital. We know what political violence is and we know what causes it too, The statements that Donald Trump made incites others."
November 25, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Mark Kelly: "My wife, Gabby Giffords, meeting with her constituents, shot in the head. Six people killed around her, a horrific thing. She spent six months in the hospital. We know what political violence is and we know what causes it too, The statements that Donald Trump made incites others."
Reposted by Dan Vock
It's not every day that a U.S. Senator and his wife get sued by the IRS. The feds claim that Sen. Jim Justice R-WV and his wife owe the IRS over $5 million.
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 AM
It's not every day that a U.S. Senator and his wife get sued by the IRS. The feds claim that Sen. Jim Justice R-WV and his wife owe the IRS over $5 million.
Reposted by Dan Vock
Don Bacon is already retiring. This is in reference to immediately leaving office as soon as possible.
Rep. Don Bacon was so appalled by the Trump administration's proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan that he considered resigning in protest, the Nebraska Republican told Axios.
www.axios.com/2025/11/25/d...
www.axios.com/2025/11/25/d...
Scoop: GOP Rep. Don Bacon weighed resignation over Trump's Russia-Ukraine peace plan
Rep. Don Bacon said he was "so angry" at Trump's proposed Ukraine plan that he "thought about" resigning in protest.
www.axios.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Don Bacon is already retiring. This is in reference to immediately leaving office as soon as possible.
Reposted by Dan Vock
2/
“I have no idea what they’d court-martial him for.”
“It’s preposterous.”
-- Eliot A. Cohen, a military historian who worked for President George W. Bush
reporting by @gregjaffe.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
“I have no idea what they’d court-martial him for.”
“It’s preposterous.”
-- Eliot A. Cohen, a military historian who worked for President George W. Bush
reporting by @gregjaffe.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Pentagon Opens Inquiry Into Senator Mark Kelly Over What Hegseth Calls ‘Seditious’ Video
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:58 AM
2/
“I have no idea what they’d court-martial him for.”
“It’s preposterous.”
-- Eliot A. Cohen, a military historian who worked for President George W. Bush
reporting by @gregjaffe.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
“I have no idea what they’d court-martial him for.”
“It’s preposterous.”
-- Eliot A. Cohen, a military historian who worked for President George W. Bush
reporting by @gregjaffe.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Reposted by Dan Vock
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Pentagon Investigates Misconduct Allegations Against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly
The review comes after Kelly, a retired Navy captain, appeared in a video with other lawmakers telling military members not to obey unlawful orders.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...