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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Virginia congressman upset with USDOT’s rollout of AI tools for air traffic control at DCA

The FAA should not use my constituents as guinea pigs for an unproven AI air traffic control system. The safety of the 24 million people traveling through DCA each year must be the top priority. Residents of this region are still uncertain about air safety after last year’s fatal accident, and the Administration did shockingly little to educate the traveling public about this development before implementing it in one of the most complex airspaces in the world.

Unfortunately, I was informed today that air traffic controllers were not consulted on the ‘SMART’ system’s design and development, and were not trained on using it prior to the system’s adoption at local airports. I was further informed that the air traffic controllers have been told the ‘SMART’ system can adjust schedules and potentially even routes. Despite outward appearances, the airlines reportedly were privately ‘panicking’ about the hasty implementation of this system. I do not know why the Administration felt the need to race it into use, but it is unacceptable to use AI as a substitute for rebuilding the human-directed air traffic controller workforce.

Dangerously rushing a system that holds Americans’ lives in its hands is not a good use case for artificial intelligence. I call on the FAA to immediately suspend its operation, at the very least until it is clearly established beyond doubt via air traffic controller feedback and independently verified stress testing that the technology is safe.

Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Closing the Kennedy Center would be a major loss for the community, and not just those who can afford tickets to fancy shows

A fourth grade viola player in D.C. public schools, posing with her mom, relishes the opportunity to play with a professional orchestra at The Reach at the Kennedy Center in 2025.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The Athletic is not amused

Worst coach quote: Mizzou's Eli Drinkwitz objected to Kansas using the rivalry's Civil War history to cast his Tigers as literal "villains." Fair, so far. After winning 38-21 in Lawrence (and calling for national unity on 9/11), he could've noted the original Missouri Tigers were Union-state militiamen. Instead, he said, "We left Kansas bleeding again," linking his team's victory to violence committed by pro-slavery forces, AKA ... literal villains.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I really wanted to take home something it nothing appealed to me. Came back and ordered this instead

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Man, Texas ruining the internet for everyone (This was United WiFi at Dulles)

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

What is the bloody orb doing in the middle of the ESPN app? (It’s much brighter than the screenshot suggests).

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Bike the Drive Sunday should be fun! (Yes, I’m going)

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Malört wasn’t really a thing in Chicago until the Millennials came around

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker drinking Malört straight from the bottle

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Had a blast last night at the Warped Tour Flashband showcase at the @theatlantisdc.bsky.social. It was a sold out show and the crowd was amazing. It was my first show for a real audience and they literally started chanting my name! (It helps our singer is also named Dan)

Me rocking a red strat and singing on stage

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I’m playing guitar in a “Flashband” concert at the Atlantis in D.C. tonight. The theme is the Warped Tour. Our band, known as Warped Four, will be playing Weezer, Green Day, Lit, Fall Out Boy and Blink-182. Come see us play! It’s all ages. Doors open at 7. Show starts at 8.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Seeing reports of National Guard, IcE and US Park Police helicopter near the Rhode Island Avenue metro station in D.C. this morning

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Maybe he was jealous of Minnesota’s Capitol

Golden quadriga atop the Minnesota Capitol

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

The fact that the delivery companies are the biggest offenders isn’t much of a surprise — it seems their drivers are incentivized to park dangerously — but the fact that the city is doing something about it is a nice twist.

Amazon got the most fines for bike lane violations — $152,250 — and the second most bus lane violations with $46,630. FedEx was the other top offender, followed by UPS, a few beverage companies and several rental vehicle companies.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

New York really showing the benefits of professionally run city fireworks

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The New York Times @nytimes.com does mention that OTHER publications highlighted the problem but both were AFTER my first story. ;)

Those potential dangers began attracting attention, with articles in the Detroit Free Press and Consumer Reports.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

How segregated are your state's schools? A new report shows how deep the divides persist more than 70 years after Brown v. Board of Ed

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Look, I know why Versailles is a fraught place to sign a treaty. But there have been many Treaties of Versailles before World War I, too.

A page from Wikipedia called

“Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation)”

The Treaty of Versailles is the 1919 peace treaty that followed the Paris Peace Conference and officially ended World War I.

The Treaty of Versailles may also refer to:

Treaty of Versailles (1756), a defence alliance between France and Austria
Treaty of Versailles (1757), an expansion of the 1756 Versailles treaty to Saxony, Sweden, and Russia
Treaty of Versailles (1758), a confirmation of the 1756 and the 1757 Versailles treaties
Treaty of Versailles (1768), a treaty in which the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France
Treaties of Versailles (1783), a treaty that ended French and Spanish hostilities against Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War
Treaty of Versailles (1787), a treaty between France and the Vietnamese lord Nguyễn Ánh
Treaty of Versailles (1871), a treaty that ended the Franco–Prussian War

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Also, the Grand Canal at Versailles

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I get why this is such a big deal but also the water being green isn’t terrible. I have this photo from 2024 hanging in our house.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Not really sure how I got placed. I’m listed as American Baptist and possibly Episcopalian but not United Methodist which seems a lot closer 🤷‍♂️

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Congratulations to my friends and colleagues at the @chicagotribune.com for their Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting!

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Almost a day later this is what I got…

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Let’s do this, Illinois! 🦅

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

I’m not sure they are going to sell many jerseys with this ad…

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Props to The Daily Illini for this www.instagram.com/p/DWYOenhDmC...

An Instagram post by The Daily Illini showing Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler with a DI-branded broadsheet that says “ELITE ILLINI” in bold orange and white lettering

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Peak bloom this year seemed to come out of nowhere. It seems a few days ago the experts were saying early April.

A very large cherry tree with white blossoms in full bloom under gray skies

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Local Scout executive in D.C. area sent out a statement saying no child will be excluded from Scouts but the statement doesn’t mention the word “transgender” and avoids pretty much anything controversial.

From the Desk of the Scout Executive/CEO Mario A. Pérez

Scouting friends,

I want to give you an update on the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Roger Krone, CEO of Scouting America with the Department of War. The MOU must still be signed by the Secretary of War, so the full document has not been released. This is intended to be an annual agreement not a contract.

Let me be absolutely clear, particularly in light of some inaccurate claims, no child is being excluded from Scouting. Scouting America continues to welcome and serve all youth. We will continue our work to give all young people and their families the opportunity to participate in Scouting, including the many thousands who meet on or near U.S. and overseas military bases.

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

The National Governors Association used to frame policy debates for the rest of the country. Now it's just trying to get all of its members through the door at the White House. What happened? Check out my take on the NGA's recent troubles in my free newsletter danvock.substack.com/p/what-happe...

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

In the suburbs, the mayor of West Chicago, a state rep and a state senator (running for state comptroller) joined students at West Chicago Community HS in a walk out Friday too. (Photos from Casa Michoacán DuPage on Facebook)

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

I pointed this out in my newsletter but this tactic of ICE agents surrounding construction workers while they are roofing seems too common to be an accident. It happened again in Minnesota, per ProPublica

A screenshot of a ProPublica story: “On my first day out reporting, I came upon an incident that had been unfolding for over an hour. Late in the afternoon on Thursday, Jan. 22, three construction workers clung to a roof, bracing themselves against the slanted plywood of an unfinished two-story house on the far south side of Minneapolis. Federal agents had massed in the house and in cars on the street, conducting a raid on the construction site. The agents called for the workers to come down. They refused. They stayed on the roof, exposed to the elements in negative 4 degree weather.”

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

A lot of people are saying this or other Trump monuments would be torn down after he’s gone, but I’m reminded of the tacky nationalistic monument that mars the Roman Forum, derisively known as Mussolini’s typewriter

The Vittoriano as seen from Piazza Venezia. In the foreground is the hedge with the shape and colors of the flag of Italy that is located in the center of the square. The monument is almost all white with a jumble of marble steps, colonnades, friezes and statues of triumphant allegorical figures

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Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Not sure if they’re texting but Johnson says they’re talking. From a speech in DC today. (He’s at a conference of mayors.)

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