This is what authoritarians do - use the powers of the state to humiliate and degrade their opponents in public so that others will not challenge them

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 10mo ago

“The source told CBS News that [Kash Patel and Dan Bongino] asked for "large, beefy" agents to conduct an arrest of Comey "in full kit," including Kevlar vests and exterior wear emblazoned with the FBI logo.” The leadership of the FBI is now in the hands of infantile psychopaths.

Democrats should become the anti-corruption party. 72% of voters think a member of Congress would likely accept a bribe if offered one. 80% say donors run DC. The solution isn’t left vs right, it’s clean vs corrupt. But first, Democrats must reform themselves and reject big money.

The Democrats' Path Forward: Become the Anti-Corruption Party

But to reform the system they first need to reform the Democratic Party.

open.substack.com

Where we are as a country - the president does not make the law

A new piece I wrote appearing in FOREIGN AFFAIRS today www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...

Warnings From Weimar

Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.

foreignaffairs.com

www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...

Warnings From Weimar

Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.

foreignaffairs.com

I keep seeing the Trump-Intel deal called socialism, but there’s a term for this. This parallels what Mussolini did—the Italian state was one of the world’s largest industrial owners while keeping private companies. Nazi Germany did this too. So did Francoist Spain. It’s called state corporatism.

Authoritarian regimes frequently struggle to govern effectively because accurate information doesn't reach the leadership. Trump is basically designing a system to create this problem.

David S. Bernstein @dbernstein.bsky.social · 12mo ago

We don’t *know* that this administration is getting rid of any intelligence officer who provides information contrary to Trump’s decreed view; but we don’t not know that either. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

I suspect the John Bolton thing is less likely a show trial than a show investigation. The powers of the FBI/DOJ/prosecutors provide the ability to systematically persecute people for years, ruining their lives and costing them enormous amounts of money in legal fees with little recourse.

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout. On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar. This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media. Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

My take is that senior officers are completely unprepared for this moment. When demo is healthy, there is little tension btw adhering to civilian control & serving democracy Faced w/ the manifest clash in principles these missions present, they are doing what's familiar--following orders.1/

Clay Copper@claycopper.bsky.social · 12mo ago

What's a MAJ supposed to do when they watch GOFOs and COLs do nothing and say nothing about what went down with LA, the parade, Bragg, and criticism of MoH recipients? There's no top cover, no leadership, no hard convos. Just abdication and servility from the top creating difficulties on down.

To reiterate: there is no legitimate justification for this. Violent crime is at a 30-year low in D.C.

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 12mo ago

"So we're getting this information from multiple sources [...] within the mayor's office and within Metro Police Department, that President Trump, come tomorrow, will deploy the National Guard along the streets of DC." www.wusa9.com/video/news/n...

hegemonic enshittification how are ya www.wired.com/story/enshit...

The Enshittification of American Power

First Google and Facebook, then the world. Under Trump 2.0, US statecraft is starting to mimic the worst tendencies of Big Tech.

wired.com

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 12mo ago

Spain shuns US F-35 jets as tensions grow with Washington on.ft.com/4m7LofW

A fun reminder that a loss of 60,000 jobs in and around academia is ~50% more than all coal mining jobs in the entire country.

Steve Herman@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy · last yr.

The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact

He's right, and it's not just Brazil. Around the world, at least 31 democratic leaders who committed similar crimes have been jailed or banned from office since 2010. The failure to hold Trump accountable in the US was a unique and systemic failure of our institutions and political culture.

An Exceptional Failure of Democratic Accountability: How American Institutions Protected Power While Global Democracies Upheld Justice

How Elite Deference Eroded America's Rule of Law, Defying the Global Norm.

open.substack.com

Farrukh@implausibleblog.bsky.social · last yr.

Brazilian president to the American people, "If Trump was Brazilian and did what he did at the Capitol, he'd be on trial in Brazil"

The first session of The Civic Forum is today at noon EST! Link is here: www.crowdcast.io/c/civicforum.... Come for a short lecture on democratic erosion in the U.S. Full series info here: www.thecivicforum.com

The "unitary executive theory" is a fancy name for a strategy used by authoritarians worldwide, rebranded for the US. It’s a legal blueprint for a power grab, and my new article explains how it turns the law itself into a tool for undermining democracy:

How to Dismantle a Democracy, Legally

The unitary executive theory is a masterclass in autocratic legalism.

open.substack.com

I hope @christiehenry.bsky.social understands that for many in Xinjiang, the “peace” she saw is what scholars have elsewhere termed “the peace of the prison-yard.” (Plenty of good scholars at Princeton who could’ve helped them avoid this. Just embarrassing.)

Jason Protass@protass.bsky.social · last yr.

ICYMI, On her curated tour, head of Princeton UP Henry says directly to camera: “the ability for multiple languages and cultures to coexist in such a magical wonderful way is a story that will help the rest of the world learn to live, how to live in peace, rather than war.”

yep! unpaywalled:

How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.

wired.com

quiggy@quiggy.itch.io · last yr.

wired please make information this important free without paywall

It's good to see the OPM hiring memo has started to get the attention it deserves. We're going to sorely miss the smart, hardworking, career federal workers who serve the public--not the party in power--when they're gone. Let's break down what this means and why it's a major concern: 🧵⬇️

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Targeting Chinese Students Threatens the Bottom Line at American Universities

A big decline in Chinese student enrollment could hurt the finances of many universities and damage U.S. competitiveness, experts say.

wsj.com

UPDATE: I've written a deeper dive on these numbers and what's driving this unprecedented judicial pushback. open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...

The 96% Rebellion: District Courts Mount Historic Resistance, But the Supreme Court Looms

GOP-appointed judges join an unprecedented judicial pushback against executive overreach. The data is stunning—but will it matter when cases reach higher courts?

open.substack.com

Adam Bonica@adambonica.bsky.social · last yr.

Stunning. May was brutal for Trump in federal court: 96% loss rate ⚖️. Even GOP-appointed judges have ruled against the admin 72% of the time. District courts are doing their job defending the Constitution. Soon the Supreme Court may be the only court unwilling to defend the rule of law.

Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

Steve Kerr: "I believe in academic freedom. I think it's crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to. And they should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say, by our government. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Ben Ross@benross.bsky.social · last yr.

Steve Kerr wore a Harvard basketball shirt after the Warriors’ win tonight: “Yes, this is me supporting Harvard. Way to go. Way to stand up to the bully.”

This is very bad and why it's so important for people of good faith to speak out. Resistance to authoritarianism is a coordination game.

Eric Lipton NYT@ericlipton.nytimes.com · last yr.

The fear among academics and lawyers now talking on the record on just about any topic that involves the federal government or the White House is really extraordinary and worrisome, and getting worse, it seems to me, every week. Dissent by an establishment figures becoming verboten in the US

DOGE/Musk preferentially cancelled grants and contracts to recipients in counties that voted for Harris in 2024. Among cancellations with election data available, 92.9% and 86.1% cancelled grants and contracts went to Harris counties, representing 96.6% and 92.4% of total dollar amounts.

🧵 This is a perfect example of what I've be describing as disordered discourse, and it's threat to democracy. Politicians are afraid to speak openly about key issues. Why? Because disordered discourse has captured the system itself—forcing obedience, punishing dissent, and making truth irrelevant.

Mehdi Hasan@mehdirhasan.bsky.social · last yr.

“Frightened for the safety of their families.” America, 2025.