@deviatar.bsky.social
nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/13/m...
Mamdani Is Falling Short of New York City’s Greenway Dream - Streetsblog New York City
Advocates had hoped Mayor Mamdani would quickly adopt simple policies to improve how the city creates and maintains green infrastructure. He must get back on track, they say.
nyc.streetsblog.org
“The real problem for any democracy, then and now, is not the single authoritarian leader and the cronies around him, but the support by those who know better.” momentmag.com/are-we-in-we...
Are We in Weimar America? Similarities and Differences
Living in Trump’s America as a historian gives me a better understanding of the subject I have been researching for most of my lifetime: Weimar Germany
momentmag.com
Did not expect David to be writing about the dual state, but I agree with him. I invoked it last month at workshop with respect to the boat strikes. The administration has asserted a prerogative to kill outside the law abroad and now at home. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
Opinion | An Old Theory Helps Explain What Happened to Renee Good
nytimes.com
Trump's bombings are "murder" and "summary executions," says @tessbridgeman.bsky.social, and Hegeth should watch "where he travels when he’s no longer in office" due to potential prosecution by "international tribunals." On the pod Tess powerfully lays out this case: newrepublic.com/article/2041...
Hegseth Defense Collapsing as Fresh Leaks on Strikes Grow More Damning
As new info makes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s illegal killings look even worse, an expert in national security law explains why his case is imploding—and what must happen now to secure accountabi...
newrepublic.com
Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable A deep dive into international law applicable to US lethal operations against suspected drug boats By Mike Schmitt, Tess Bridgeman, Ryan Goodman @mikeschmitt.bsky.social @tessbridgeman.bsky.social @rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Operation Southern Spear: Why the Drugs, Boats, and Crews are Not Targetable
A deep dive on the international law applicable to the U.S. military's lethal operations against suspected drug boats
justsecurity.org
Really important point: it’s not just the second strike that was illegal www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
Second Strike Scrutiny Obscures Larger Question About Trump’s Boat Attacks
nytimes.com
SOUTHCOM announces another boat strike. Notable that the Pentagon carried out this strike on the same day that Adm. Bradley appeared before members of Congress to defend the Sep. 2 strike.
Drug traffickers are not an army and carrying drugs is not an armed attack on the US. There is no plausible legal justification for the US attacking boats suspected of carrying drugs and killing everyone on board. These are murders.
Charlie Savage@charliesavage.bsky.social · 9mo agoMemo Blessing Boat Strikes Is Said to Rely on Trump’s Claims About Cartels Accounts of a secret Justice Department memo offer a window into how administration lawyers approved the president’s desired course of action. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
The Trump economy is a dumpster fire
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 9mo agoTrump's ballroom fiasco looks even worse against backdrop of bad economic news: *layoffs mounting *food stamps expiring *health care premiums soaring *consumer sentiment sliding On the pod, Elizabeth Pancotti is great in explaining the opening here for Dems: newrepublic.com/article/2024...
Updated this post with the news that Mexican authorities failed to rescue the lone survivor of these latest boat strikes.
Louis V. Galdieri@lvgaldieri.com · 9mo agoHow the Boat Strike Videos Dehumanize and Gamify Murder The latest boat strike video shows US military attacks on four boats in the Eastern Pacific. The strikes killed 14 people and left one survivor, who is, according to Pete Hegseth, now in the hands of Mexican authorities. Edited together to…
I wrote about Trump’s missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, and about the secret Justice Department opinion that underwrites them. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...
Opinion | The Secretive Office Approving Trump’s Boat Strikes
nytimes.com
We can't be sure what Hegseth's meeting with senior military officers next week will entail - all the more reason to prepare for plausible contingencies. Start with Eugene Fidell's new Q&A: www.justsecurity.org/121421/hegse...
The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism” By Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism
The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism”
United Nations Special Rapporteur Ben Saul writes about the U.S. military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
justsecurity.org
The US terrorizing civilians on the high seas is an odd thing for the Vice President to boast about
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 11mo agoVance on Trump's strikes on boats: "I wouldn't go fishing right now in that area of the world."
Vance on Trump's strikes on boats: "I wouldn't go fishing right now in that area of the world."
Analyzing the legal and moral stakes of the Caribbean strikes – and how Congress could respond. From Annie Shiel, @jwrchappell.bsky.social, Priyanka Motaparthy, Wells Dixon and Daphne Eviatar: www.justsecurity.org/120794/legal...
Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean Strikes
If allowed to go unchecked, the Caribbean strikes could encourage additional unlawful executions by the United States and other leaders.
justsecurity.org
The Trump administration is claiming to be shutting down am major wind-power project over "national security interests." Like...continuing to rely on foreign countries for imported oil? www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-econ...
The Real Reason Trump Is a Threat to the Economy
It’s not just the agenda. It’s also the shambolic, vibes-based way he’s pursuing it.
thebulwark.com
The Many Ways in Which the September 2 Caribbean Strike was Unlawful … and the Grave Line the Military Has Crossed By leading expert @martylederman.bsky.social www.justsecurity.org/120296/many-...
The Many Ways in Which the Caribbean Strike was Unlawful
Legal expert on domestic authority and law most relevant to the US strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boat
justsecurity.org
An important resource for active duty military nlgmltf.org/military-law...
FAQ on Refusing Illegal Orders - Military Law Task Force
This FAQ (drafted by members of the MLTF) can also be found in printable PDF format here: Illegal Orders FAQ – 17JUN2025 DoD Instruction 1325.06 permits a servicemember to possess a single copy of this document. Do I have the right to refuse illegal orders? A. Yes! All members of the military have […]
nlgmltf.org
Turns out Trump’s claim he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it was not theoretical. His logic for killing Venezuelans at sea would apply equally here in the US. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...
Trump Claims the Power to Summarily Kill Suspected Drug Smugglers
nytimes.com
In win for infectious diseases, Florida to end all school vaccine requirements Exposing vulnerable people to vaccine-preventable disease is just part of life, Ladapo said. arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
In win for infectious diseases, Florida to end all school vaccine requirements
Exposing vulnerable people to vaccine-preventable disease is just part of life, Ladapo said.
arstechnica.com
Trump’s Chicago Occupation Could Cost Four Times More Than Housing City Homeless Sending troops to Chicago could cost $1.6 million per day, four times as much as housing the city’s homeless — plus it’s illegal, experts say. Full story: theintercept.com/2025/09/03/t...
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 11mo agoPritzker: "He has no idea what's he's talking about. There is no emergency that warrants deployment of troops. He is insulting the people of Chicago by calling our home a hellhole, and anyone that takes his word at face value is insulting Chicagoans too."
This lethal strike against a Venezuelan ship, killing 11 civilians, was a blatant violation of international law and deserves much more attention than it’s getting. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...
Trump Administration Says Boat Strike Is Start of Campaign Against Venezuelan Cartels
nytimes.com
National guardsman in DC will now carry weapons. What could possibly go wrong? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...
Hegseth Authorizes National Guard Troops in D.C. to Carry Weapons
It remains unclear whether the National Guard soldiers will be armed as they walk through the city.
nytimes.com
Trump and Hegseth are wrecking our military's ability to protect the country and turning its focus inward, no matter American tradition and the law strictly limit that
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 12mo agoAs Trump tightens his grip on the DC police and escalates his deployment of the National Guard there, it's probably worth noting that an internal Department of Homeland Security memo says operations like the one in LA may be needed "for years to come." newrepublic.com/article/1990...
Arendt’s Law, via Paul Krugman: “Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Hackification
Arendt’s Law comes for economic data
open.substack.com