The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. I reread it today; nothing in the law allows a president to defund PBS and NPR. In fact, Congress specifically sought to insulate public media from political pressure.

“Airplanes can’t fly without weather observations and forecasts; ships crossing the oceans rely on storm forecasts to avoid the high seas; farmers rely on seasonal forecasts to plant and harvest their crops which feed us.”

Carl Zimmer@carlzimmer.com · last yr.

“Five former National Weather Service directors have taken the unusual step of signing onto an open letter warning that cuts to the organization by the Trump administration may soon endanger lives.” Gift link: nyti.ms/3YrIw3Q

Call me old fashioned, but I think any president creating a meme coin hustle to recruit anonymous financial backers and rewarding the biggest spenders with “a night to remember” private dinner with the president kinda feels like an impeachable offense.

COMPARE: the results of fighting back to the results of not fighting back

Statement on the Academic Freedom and Independence of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been…

Statement on the Academic Freedom and Independence of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education

The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been instances of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grants and contracts for colleges and universities being cancelled or suspended, paired with promises of reinstating funding in return for compliance with a list of demands for institutional overhaul.

politicalsciencenow.com

"Wine moms" or "resistance libs" or whatever they're called are basically the only faction that hasn't shamed or embarrassed themselves over the last decade, and probably our only hope, so put respect on their f'ing name.

If you want a sober, expert description of why we should now characterize the US as a competitive authoritarian regime —not a democracy— and what we can do about it— I highly recommend spending an hour listening to Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky in this video: www.youtube.com/live/nS-nJQN...

Backsliding and Resistance in the United States

YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center

youtube.com

We are speedrunning the Declaration of Independence, folks.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · last yr.

It sure looks like they’re going all in on the “the executive branch can ignore court orders if it thinks the court lacks jurisdiction” thing

Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive. No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief. 1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.

I thought Congress was in charge of setting spending levels but what do I know

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

JUST IN: Federal health agencies have to slash their spending by more than a third, on top of the 10,000-person staffing cuts.

Is it really too much to ask media outlets reporting on invading Greenland & Canada to lead with "THIS IS WILDLY ILLEGALLY UNDER BOTH OUR NATO AND UN TREATY COMMITMENTS, WHICH ARE ALSO PART OF US LAW"? The normalization of this is wildly inappropriate & there is no excuse for it.

Jeff Stein@jeffstein.bsky.social · last yr.

Scoop: White House officials are studying the costs of taking over Greenland, attempting to determine price-tag to maintain & what revenue could be gained, per sources Government officials working on Greenland www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Elites who have failed the Lando test: -Columbia University -Harvard University (in process) -Paul Weiss -Wilkie Farr -Skadden Arps -Noah Feldman

Brendan Nyhan@brendannyhan.bsky.social · last yr.

Lando's leadership of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back turned out to be a tragically prescient parable for our time. Leaders of institutions: Pay attention! A story in four parts. cc: Paul Weiss, Columbia University bcc: all law firms, universities, and civil society organizations

As @ericjeisner.bsky.social and I explain here, the Constitution is only as strong as the people who breathe life into its words. That's why John Tyler could get away with an unconstitutional claim to be president—an error that has stuck. If we don't stand up for the Constitution, it quickly erodes.

The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself

In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next?

hnn.us

The rule of law, being destroyed right in front of us. "For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law"

Eric Columbus@ericcolumbus.bsky.social · last yr.

This is *extremely* alarming — White House fires a career federal prosecutor because he (1) went after a politically connected businessman and (2) criticized Trump during a 2020 congressional bid. “White House fires a career prosecutor” is itself unprecedented. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Note to editors and producers: If an executive order demands action that is illegal or outside of the president’s authority, then you should not describe it as ordering something. You should say it seeks to achieve some outcome and then note it is illegal or beyond the power of the president.

Members should just be posting these every day

Congressman Don Beyer@beyer.house.gov · last yr.

We've heard concerning things about the Social Security Administration lately, so I decided to check for myself. SSA says Wednesday is the best day to call, so I called then. Their system told me there would be a two-hour wait time, told me to call back, and then just hung up.

This is a very important point. Breathlessly vague headlines and summaries of these executive orders created for the executive powers it does not have. This kind of press contributed to authoritarian regime change.

Josh Marshall@joshtpm.bsky.social · last yr.

It's critical for everyone to remember what an Executive Order is. It is the President communicating orders to members of the executive branch. Policies to pursue, actions to take, etc. They are not laws. They are not close to being laws. They are formalized memos to employees. That's all.

Trump's Executive Order regarding election regulations are empty words 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Timothy Snyder@timothysnyder.bsky.social · last yr.

This is a very important point. Breathlessly vague headlines and summaries of these executive orders created for the executive powers it does not have. This kind of press contributed to authoritarian regime change.

Confederate monuments were *quite literally* an effort to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” by promoting the Lost Cause work of white supremacists who wanted to rewrite the history of the Civil War and, yes, Reconstruction.

Greg Greene (he/him/his)@greene.haus · last yr.

I _think_ this portion of the “restoring history” EO is meant to compel restoration of Confederate monuments. Aside from this being mere guidance, though, I see a snag: how does it “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” to remove shrines to people who rebelled against us?

"Creating a ruckus" is his euphemism for wrote an op-ed in a newspaper. The Constitution protects all people under U.S. jurisdiction (not just citizens) from government actions penalizing them for speech, use of the free press, or peaceful assembly.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.

Marco Rubio on Rumeysa Ozturk: "We revoked her visa ... once you've lost your visa, you're no longer legally in the United States ... if you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it. We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country."

President Trump Issues Dangerous Executive Order That Would Shift to Presidency More Power Over the Conduct of Federal Elections and Potentially Disenfranchise Millions of Voters electionlawblog.org?p=149153

President Trump Issues Dangerous Executive Order That Would Shift to Presidency More Power Over the Conduct of Federal Elections and Potentially Disenfranchise Millions of Voters #ELB

I am still making my way through this new Trump executive order on election administration (helpfully posted by Chris Geidner). There is a lot in here, but let me make three four initial points as I s...

electionlawblog.org

The President does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to dictate the content of voter registration forms. This EO is an incredibly dangerous power grab. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose and

whitehouse.gov

This is, quite literally, how democracies die www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...

So WIRED talked to actual federal auditors about how government auditing works—and how DOGE is doing the opposite. “In no uncertain terms is this an audit,” claims the second auditor. “It’s a heist, stealing a vast amount of government data."

'It's a Heist': Real Federal Auditors Are Horrified by DOGE

WIRED talked to actual federal auditors about how government auditing works—and how DOGE is doing the opposite.

wired.com

“There are 13 million legal foreign residents (green card holders) in the US. If the administration can deport Khalil, it means those 13 million people must live in fear if they dare speak up or publish something that runs afoul of government views.” journalism.columbia.edu/news/cjs-fac...

Chief Judge Boasberg rules in favor of @aclu.org and @democracyforward.org on #AlienEnemiesAct Temporary Restraining Order granted. Based on strength of argument that "the AEA does not provide a basis for the President's proclamation." Clearly the right legal outcome Read @ilyasomin.bsky.social

The “Invasion” Executive Order and Its Dangerous Implications

Immigration expert analyzes Trump's "invasion" Executive Order and how it could expand federal and state powers, enabling detention without trial and unauthorized war.

justsecurity.org

“coordinated personnel changes– are consistent with a strategy of “personalizing” the security forces. That personalization is a hallmark of strongman rule.” theconversation.com/what-happens...

What happens when leaders have loyalists in charge of men with guns: Lessons for the US from Nicaragua, Syria and other authoritarian countries

Donald Trump’s moves to install loyalists in US security agencies and the military echo the actions of strongmen worldwide who prioritize personal loyalty over competence and respect for the law.

theconversation.com

1/ This is wildly illegal. That is not a question on which reasonable legally informed folks can disagree. It doesn't fucking matter that he ran on doing illegal things. They are still illegal. And striking at Congress's power of the purse is worse than illegal. It's anti-constitutional.