The Trump arch is extra dumb, but opposition rooted in preserving the sight line between the Lincoln Memorial and Robert E. Lee’s mansion —formally the National Memorial to Robert E. Lee—might be even dumber. www.nps.gov/arho/learn/m...

National Memorial to Robert E. Lee - Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

National Memorial to Robert E. Lee

nps.gov

The Dem-led Va. General Assembly is about to appoint more Court of Appeals judges, and I’m afraid they’re going to make the same mistake they always do: prioritizing “experience” and established party loyalty of current trial judges over ideology and genuine aptitude/talent. 1/4

As someone who walks past the county building 2 times a day, almost every day, this article is complete and total horseshit. ArlNow is a propaganda outfit, plain and simple, and if you live in Arlington and aren’t a fascist, you need to stop reading. ASAP.

ARLnow@arlnow.bsky.social · last wk.

Arlington leaders acknowledge safety concerns around government headquarters

“Guy who would remove Arlington from the map and exile its residents if he could BLASTS policies that Arlingtonians overwhelmingly support, the consequences of which only exist in the imagination of half-wits like himself” There, fixed it for you.

ARLnow@arlnow.bsky.social · last wk.

NEW: House committee blasts Arlington’s ‘sanctuary’ policies in latest escalation

There’s no replacing the camaraderie of a public defender’s office, but the best alternative I’ve found in private practice is simply spending more time with my clients, getting to know them better, and making sure they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will fight my ass off for them.

If Flock is really just snapping pics of stolen cars and such, why does the company have a valuation of $7.5 billion? The police-prison industrial complex is profitable, but it's not THAT profitable. Know what is, tho? Commodified data sets built from constant surveillance of anyone with a car.

Looks like Adam Schiff received the advance copy of Flock’s new PR strategy memo.

Sen. Adam Schiff@schiff.senate.gov · last mo.

Flock cameras and other license plate readers have popped up seemingly everywhere around the country. What are the risks? Who's benefiting from these cameras? We break it down: youtu.be/VWDuZenSBvE?...

Democrats who still support Flock at this juncture have MANY questions to answer. Democrats who support Flock to such an extent that theyre still reciting Flock PR scripts in defense of the very technology that is being used against their constituents need to be voted out of office.

That Flock so readily reduced their model retention period from their previous “gold standard” of 30 days to 7 days should tell you all you need to know about how much the retention period actually matters. This “reform” will not reduce abuses of the technology even marginally.

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Flock just announced some pretty huge changes that are clearly the result of increased scrutiny on the company from journalists, activists, and local communities. An indication that it sees the current state of affairs as untenable: www.flocksafety.com/blog/flock-g...

I wish I were more shocked at the willingness of self-styled progressive leaders to read PR scripts provided to them by a Palantir-adjacent, Thiel/Andreesen-funded big brother surveillance company whose CEO has described those leaders’ progressive constituencies as “terrorists”

It’s wild how when AES won, pundits immediately declared that he’d need to tack to the center to convince moderates not to vote for MAGA. But when Crowley beat Hong—a literal socialist—by 0.5%, the same pundits are describing it as a mandate for the Big Dem status quo, leftists be damned.

The term “progressive” has become to Democrats what “organic” is to produce: a meaningful differentiator in its inception, bastardized over time to sell less-educated consumers a product that is barely different than the version they wish to avoid.

Although it’s easy to start a nonprofit, professionalizing & making it sustainable is another story—esp. when your focus is CJ reform, the “popularity” of which waxes & wanes among donors & legislators Rob took over as JFV ED when it was unclear if we could make that transition successfully 1/3

Rob Poggenklass@rpogge.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Some personal news: after 3 1/2 years, I’m moving on from @justicefwdva.bsky.social. Doing criminal legal reform with these public defenders has been enormously rewarding. I’m grateful to @bradleyrhaywood.bsky.social and others for the chance. The org will continue its essential work. 1/3

Harrisonburg is leading the charge to end mass surveillance in localities in VA! Community members earned a historic victory landing the state’s first resolution banning the use of ALPRs. Contract cancelled, cameras dark by 7/31, no future ALPRs without a vote! Incredible win!

Justice Forward VA@justicefwdva.bsky.social · 2mo ago

HAPPENING NOW: Harrisonburg, City Council will vote on a resolution to ban the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) in the “Friendly City”. The policy is the result of community efforts to end the use of mass surveillance technology in Hburg. harrisonburg-va.granicus.com/player/event...

Worth noting: the only dissent in this case was from Clarence Thomas. Hopefully our governor keeps this in mind before she hands her veto pen to the Va. Assoc. of Commonwealth’s Attorneys again next year.

Rob Poggenklass@rpogge.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In a concurring opinion today, Justice Gorsuch specifically mentions the governor's recent veto of a @justicefwdva.bsky.social / @salimforva.bsky.social bill to ban 4th Amendment plea waivers. Gorsuch suggests 4A waivers may be unconstitutional, an argument VA's public defenders have made for years.

In a concurring opinion today, Justice Gorsuch specifically mentions the governor's recent veto of a @justicefwdva.bsky.social / @salimforva.bsky.social bill to ban 4th Amendment plea waivers. Gorsuch suggests 4A waivers may be unconstitutional, an argument VA's public defenders have made for years.

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 3mo ago

❗SCOTUS ruled today a defendant can't just waive away their rights to an appeal if that'd be a miscarriage of justice. Gorsuch wrote a concurrence saying: If we don't limit this, prosecutors will keep pushing their luck. And he cited Bolts' article on waivers in Virginia to show how far they go:

TFW when your iPhone screen breaks and in attempting to open your messages app with "best guess" screen taps, you accidentally Facetime the majority leader of the Virginia Senate (who actually picks up). Oops!

Imagine believing Va Senate Dems aren’t moderate *enough*. There are already de facto veto votes in Senate Courts, held by legislators with law degrees, who’ve prosecuted and defended cases, and sat through committee debates to ensure the concerns of VACA & police were taken into account. 1/

I don’t expect @abigailspanberger.com to agree with criminal justice reform advocates often, but I do expect better than Youngkin-grade veto explanations Nothing in the press release regarding the Governor’s veto of SB23 (banning 4th Amendment plea waivers) is true. 1/

Normalize calling out performative advocacy.

love how we killed the old, frail anti-nuke ayatollah just to have him replaced with his young, healthy son who wants nukes and who just had his father, mother, wife, and child murdered on the same day by his mortal enemy. surely this will bring peace to the region

So much effort was put into HB441, which sought to conform the Judicial Inquiry & Review Comm’n to best practices, and make it so half-assed, end of session public shaming wouldn’t be Va’s only form of judicial accountability Last night Senate courts basically treated HB441 like junk mail. Harrumph

Goad (Legal Expert)@goad.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Chair Senator Scott Surovell says that matters involving Bar discipline will be done in closed session. First up is retired judges subject to recall. Richard McCue is asked by Surovell why his review scores are so low. Says he has made adjustments since reviews, no further questions.

only the Democratic Party surpasses the NBA's ideological commitment to byzantine refracted incentive-wizardry over ever actually just dealing directly with a problem

Albert Burneko@albertburneko.bsky.social · 7mo ago

oh no, the Utah Jazz are in danger of hitting the third apron of the tank umbrella, and then would have only 90 days to get back under the apron threshold before possibly being subjected to losing a trade exception or the worse of two future second-round picks falling between the 45th and 60th overa

The Prairieland Trial starts today. For Trump, this is a test case to see if he can use overbroad federal racketeering (RICO) statutes, which have always been unjust, to imprison non-violent activists—specifically leftists—for their speech & assembly. 1/8 theintercept.com/2026/02/11/p...

Texas “Antifa Cell” Terror Trial Takes On Tough Questions About Guns at Protests Against ICE

Trump hit Prairieland ICE demonstrators with terrorism charges. Jurors will take on issues of guns at protests, criminalization of speech.

theintercept.com

Hear me out: mandatory minimums… but only for people who propose new mandatory minimums.

Just had a Super Bowl halftime where the singer: 1) boasts about the poor place he’s from; 2) boosts the value of agriculture; 3) celebrates small town life; 4) highlights the joy of inter-generational celebrations; and 5) promotes marriage. And tomorrow, the MAGA movement will attack it.

Voted for Laken Riley.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 8mo ago

SEN. OSSOFF: “.. why are roving gangs of masked men — who look like they couldn’t pass the Army physical exam — dressed up like pretend Delta Force operators, on our streets, demanding papers, dragging people from their cars, and shooting people to death?” @acyn.bsky.social

How many LWOP sentences, Flock contracts, mandatory minimums, pretextual stops, Brady violations & overall indefensible hypocrisy will it take before the public understands what a disappointment the “progressive prosecution” movement has been?

You know you’ve done some cool shit as a criminal justice reform advocate when you have strong & informed opinions (based on precedent!) as to which of your friends are best at drafting legislation.

I’ve never lost a debate about the efficacy or fairness of mandatory minimums, nor would any electeds if they learned the policy & how to properly respond to idiots. But, you know, if you’re explaining you’re losing, or whatever (losing votes, integrity, opportunities to correct injustice, etc)