Will Singer

@wsinger.bsky.social

341 Followers 226 Following

mostly DC: local politics, government, and news media

An excerpt from the story: Aangad came to the stage. The first question flashed on the monitor: “Which amendment ended slavery?” Aangad answered. Incorrect. “Thirteenth!” Aangad cried on the couch. “I said Thirteenth!”
During 2025, corrections of errors resulting in an increase in beginning net position of $165,646,861 were required to properly state the financial statements. Due to a scope limitation and disclaimer of opinion, no details are available to disclose which statement of net position balances were impacted in the prior year.
Florida contributes 4 challenge coins commemorating its governor, state officials, and their clever meme.
Elevated view of Freedom Plaza at 14th & Pennsylvania Ave NW. All of these statues are recent additions: a liberty goddess at left, Caesar Rodney on horseback at right, plebeian minuteman types in between. Folding chairs are arranged in a neat rectangle. A few dozen people are milling about in business or business-casual dress, along with uniformed park rangers. A podium with the NPS logo is in front.
After they wrapped up their research, the authors sat down with Trump to check their facts. He drifted on to why his “love affair” with Venezuela went back to his years of owning the Miss Universe pageant, which featured many beautiful Venezuelans. What he really wanted to relate was a conversation he had had with a historian whose verdict was that Trump was “without question, the most powerful man the planet [had] ever known — by a long way.” The historian had sent Trump a two-page memo from which he read. “If President Trump is the American Eagle, then William the Conqueror was merely a sparrow.” Curious about the identity of the historian, Swan tracked down a golf caddie in Florida, who confessed a passion for history.
Show notes for this song from Brian Foss of KEXP’s Sonic Reducer show. “Somehow” this song entered heavy rotation on KROQ and was the station’s number-two song (get it) in August 1982.
A still from the 1989 movie “Major League.” Construction Worker #2 says, “You know, these guys ain’t so fucking bad.”
Former England striker Sue Smith, of EA FC fame, says it’s possible the USA are *possibly* not certain to be eliminated at the first opportunity
Nine CT-114 Tutor planes flying in a tight diamond formation. The planes, called Snowbirds, are white against a deep blue sky.
A screenshot from emma.msrb.org listing a bunch of recent random series of publicly sold bonds issued by the District of Columbia (cusip-6 from the newest one is 25476F)
U.S. Park Police standing on Freedom Plaza
A Wikipedia entry for Incitatus, advising readers that “Caligula’s horse” directs here, but there’s a different page for the Australian prog-rock band Caligula’s Horse.
An opinion poll asking how DC voters would feel about a mayoral candidate endorsed by the Washington Post.
A report from the Capital Weather Gang: “Getting some questions about Chihuahuas game this evening (6:30pm Wed against the Bulldozers)… “Doesn’t look like a rainout situation, but there is a chance a shower or two could pop up before or during the game.”
Screen grab of a popup window on dchousing.org, stating that the HCVP customer service center is temporarily closed for structural issues.
Screenshot of a zip recruiter search for deputy mayor jobs in Washington, DC
“Basically, [McDuffie] is comfortable carrying the water for large corporations,” Cheh says.
A letter from the mayor asking about the basis of the revenue estimate. I am unable to type the whole thing because it is 6:43 on the Friday of a week
A current (Feb 2026) digital ad for the Washington Post: “Read what’s trending from The Washington Post: The 10 best books of 2024”
A chat correspondence between a human and the AI. The key statement comes from the AI: “You’re right to be upset. I bulk-trashed and archived hundreds of emails from your [redacted] inbox without showing you the plan first or getting your OK. That was wrong—it directly broke the rule you’d set…. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“You can rent the space…as a couple. You can bring your friends…. You can go take pictures. You can rent the space for special events or whatever you want to do in that area. It’s multi-use. But, it’s all around sexual activity,” Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Ivan Capifali told the Sun-Times. “They’re very responsible business owners. They’re not irresponsible. They came to us. They were very honest and transparent with us and we appreciate that. They explained their business model to us. There’s a lot of activities they want to do. We issued a cease-and-desist order until we can figure this out.”
A cropped screenshot showing a game of crossplay (the NYT version of scrabble) in which the Computer has played the word “PFFT” in the top corner for 42 points.
A screenshot of a google search for “how does a newsroom work” with AI slop answering and sharing a video that promises to give the most superficial answer
[Forester VP and AI skeptic] Gownder said historically, the loss of industrial and manufacturing jobs in the USA’s “rust belt” was driven by globalization not robotics, and he sees a similar scenario playing out now with AI. “Outsourcing is a very popular one,” he said. “They’re firing people because of AI, and then three weeks later they hire a team in India because the labour is so much cheaper.”
Excerpt from a daily report of MPD arrests, identifying the delivery driver arrested by MPD for a misdemeanor charge of driving without a permit. MPD rendered the driver to federal agents on the scene.
A still image from an Associated Press video entitled “Trump says he’s ’surprised’ and ‘honored’ his handpicked board votes to rename Kennedy Center.” The caption states the new name will be Trump-Kennedy Center and “Trump, the board’s chairman, often referred to it by that name prior to the vote.”
A map showing most of ANC 7F
The ad, depicting a disgruntled worker contemplating revolution while drying his hands on corporate’s cheapo towels
A whitetail buck with at least 8 antler points seen in Leafy Ward 4
The iconic “Public Market Center” sign and clock at Pike Place Market.
A listserv email praising the accomplishments and minimizing the racism of Senator Francis Newlands
An email that I received from Speaker Mike Johnson, addressed to me as “friend,” wishing me a happy Veterans Day (although I am not a veteran) and offering the assistance of his office “If you or a loved one need help with a federal agency.” Nothing in the email presumes that I’m a constituent.
Letters from the Second Civil War. My very dear Kylie, O, that this infernal war would end, and I could again feel your sweet caress. Lonely are the nights of our occupation of the nation’s capital. I procured some Ranch Flavor Corn Nuts and a Code Res Mountain Dew at the 7-11, and that did cheer my spirits for the eve. With all my heart, Tylor
An enormous oak tree with visibly tangled roots and plenty of spanish moss hanging from the branches, shading a lawn on a sunny day
[I]t’s clear that Trump is a president who, much like the witch in “The Wiz,” don’t want nobody bringing no bad news. Publish a sour jobs report? Lose your job as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insist on seeing scientific data regarding vaccine guidelines? Hope you enjoyed your month as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As official government data becomes more politicized, it’s increasingly important that independent sources maintain their integrity. Journalists in particular have a professional obligation to pursue and provide the truth to the best of their abilities. That’s the job. I hope and trust that most of my colleagues still have the courage to do it right.
In response to a fundraising message from Sen. Schumer, I suggested that he raise money by promising to resign from leadership when a fundraising goal is met
An advertisement for the Washington Post that begins: “Now is not the time to stop reading.”
Part of a fundraising text from the Vindman for Congress campaign
The author, at a young age and in a soccer uniform
A Giant Food delivery truck pulled over by a marked U.S. Park Police vehicle, an unmarked white vehicle in front, and an unmarked black vehicle behind.
A doe and fawn eating my neighbor’s lawn
TV personality, convicted felon, and U.S. President Donald Trump embraces TV personality, former judge, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Trump has the mien and neck of a Galapagos tortoise. His right hand is in the foreground and his left hand in the background, but still his left hand looks half the size—it’s practically swallowed by the suit jacket that looks like it fits the right hand. Everyone else’s hands look proportionate to one another.
The well-shaded floor of a temperate forest in summer, with a few small packages of sunlight among the leaves. An earthworks rises about 10 feet high but is not readily identifiable as an artificial structure, because everything here is covered in leaf litter, fallen logs, and trees. This photo was taken from the north.
News headline: The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work
A screenshot from the website of Anacostia Organics, a weed store in DC. This photo includes DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, store owner Linda Mercado Greene, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and then-Councilmember Trayon White, smiling and cutting a ribbon at the store’s opening.
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A proposed capital budget entitled “RFK Campus.” Trust me, it’s super vague. Somebody misspelled “East Capitol Street.” All of the money is for feasibility study, but that makes no sense.
A score of a 6-inning kid baseball game: Cheetahs scored 7 runs on 6 hits and committed 4 errors. Cyclones scored 3 runs on 6 hits with 5 errors.
A line chart depicting the decline in revenue transferred from the DC Lottery to the General Fund over a 25-year period. In nominal dollars, revenues peaked in FY 2001 at $84 million and then slumped to a low of $33.5 million in FY 2023, despite the introduction of mobile sports gambling in 2021. The data source is DC Lottery annual reports.
Term sheet, sec. 3.2.4.9: The Commanders will “endeavor” to hold 200 stadium events per year, including but not limited to NFL games, “concerts, family shows, sporting events, private events, other ticketed and non-ticketed events and activities that are hosted in NFL stadiums.”
A nearly incomprehensible combination of words legally describing a portion of Ward 6 boundaries. The text spills off the screen.
That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill. On the contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. The windmill was, in fact, Napoleon's own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was Comrade Napoleon's cunning. He had seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference. This, said Squealer, was something called tactics. He repeated a number of times, "Tactics, comrades, tactics!" skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh. The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.
Phil Mendelson says: "The situation with Congress has nothing to do with the delay, despite what anybody may say. The executive has to give the CFO a proposed balanced budget for next year. That has nothing to do with the Senator Collins bill, the CR, or the challenges we have with Congress, which have to do with the current fiscal year. I can't be clearer about it."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses reporters at an airfield in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on March 25, 2025. He is wearing a dark suit jacket over a white dress shirt with both the collar and next button unbuttoned. The sunshine is bright and it appears to be early morning. He may have just awakened. Hegseth is almost smiling as he speaks and squints.
A screenshot of the fairness meter with the dial pointed to the extreme indicating “unfair left leaning.”
David Mills writes: “I think we know what Jeff Bezos means by “personal liberty” and “free markets”: a society that lets him make as much money as he can, that enables him to control as many people’s lives as he needs to, and that requires nothing of him that he does not want to do.”
Kenneth, the NBC page from 30 Rock, says I AM IRRITATED RIGHT NOW
A photo from the Oval Office of Stephen Miller, some white guy with the gaunt face and sunken eyes of Stephen Miller with hair implants, and Elon Musk wearing a cap to cover his bad hair.