Jacob T. Levy
@jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory, Associate member of Philosophy, Coordinator of Research Group on Constitutional Studies, McGill. Posts here speak only for myself. Americo-Canadian; liberaltarian; aging geek. http://jacobtlevy.com
-20 in Texas, -21 in Iowa, -26 Georgia obviously jump out, but I'm also struck by +1 in Montana, Utah, Kansas +2 in Oklahoma, Alabama, South Dakota www.newsweek.com/map-shows-do...
Map shows Donald Trump’s approval rating in each state on Columbus Day
Trump's approval rating has turned negative in several Republican-leaning states ahead of November's midterm elections.
newsweek.com
s5e7 of 30 Rock is one of those episodes that becomes even funnier and more meta over time, in this case because a) everyone eventually comes to understand that HFPA and the Golden Globes were absolutely for sale and b) Tina Fey nonetheless goes on to host the Golden Globes ceremony multiple times.
Brian Kilmeade is not putting up with Rachel Campos-Duffy’s propaganda. “It would be the biggest mistake of his administration to work with Russia. That is the modern Hitler of our generation.”
I am way too online for my own good, and I had an unreasonably large twitter following, and I really *enjoyed* twitter for a lot of years, and yet leaving there and never looking back was maybe the easiest what-felt-like-a-big-ethical decision I've ever made.
fundamentally i do understand why Gruber finds Xitter more welcoming, and that's because the verticals he's looking for (tech and AI discussion, largely pro-positive) are not here
imo more than anything i think this is true in the sense that if you don't care about any non-AI/tech vertical, this is true the problem, of course, is that Xitter isn't just a tech discussion forum
fundamentally the kotsko piece on social media remains as correct as always: fundamentally the modes of thought that Xitter (and to a lesser extent, Bluesky) shape are just outright bad for anyone involved in center-left/left-wing politics adamkotsko.substack.com/p/social-med...
Social media is a psyop to make the left stupid
Yet another dispatch from the frontiers of social media detox
adamkotsko.substack.com
Here are the details: literally any time, any place, any network.
Team Talarico@teamtalaricohq.bsky.social · 11h agoFox host: President Trump said you all should have a debate… Is that in the works? Are you requesting one with him? Ken Paxton (lying): Oh well, no, look... We can never quite work out the details.
okay, wrote this up for tomorrow. sign up for my newsletter and it'll be in your inbox, whoosh. open.substack.com/pub/noahberl...
Democrats Suddenly Are Willing to Call Nazis By Name
Consensus white supremacy is looking wobbly.
open.substack.com
Noah Berlatsky@nberlat.bsky.social · 15h agofwiw, I don't think brooks is really confused. I think he's committed to white supremacy and dislikes it being criticized bluntly.
In my mind the defining feature of Trump II is that is ✨actually✨ a kakistocracy. RFK Jr and Russ Vought have very little in common politically, but they do share one essential quality: they are absolutely the worst person alive for the jobs they have.
Nick (derogatory) 🎃@slothropsmap.bsky.social · 17h agoThis is right. Trump II is the worst administration in our history because Trump has no ideology beyond "evil" and is too lazy to govern, so he hands his power to whoever wants it. Every flavor of evil shows up, and each one gets the job where it can do the most damage.
This is right. Trump II is the worst administration in our history because Trump has no ideology beyond "evil" and is too lazy to govern, so he hands his power to whoever wants it. Every flavor of evil shows up, and each one gets the job where it can do the most damage.
The Cafibulator 🏳️⚧️@cafibulator.bsky.social · 17h agoit’s a good distinction and an excellent summary you’ve got there. it’s not that he expressly follows any codified ideology, it’s that he only has his baser instincts and he’s drawn an audience of people that consider hemming to that baser instinct foundational out of the woodwork.
Trump's attitude toward other people's corruption is weird. If it has nothing to do with him— Blagojevich, Cuellar, Fiore— he's happy to pardon, to normalize corruption. But if it's one of his subordinates doing it w/o his permission (or taste), he blows his top. www.foxnews.com/politics/tru...
Trump and Rubio weigh firing Kimberly Guilfoyle as misconduct and donor bailout allegations mount
Kimberly Guilfoyle faces mounting allegations in Greece as JD Vance and Marco Rubio weigh in on the embattled ambassador's growing controversies.
foxnews.com
BREAKING: A judge has ordered an immediate halt to the taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads, including any slated to run tonight. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Well, I've got a nice big nasty smile hiding my dark aura as I wave goodbye to this schmuck who left Montreal and moved to Mississippi. He's not missed.
Saving this one for the next upsurge of "landlords are intrinsically and structurally evil which is why we need the beneficent state to decide the cost of housing" discourse.
Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH@geauxgabrielle.blacksky.app · yesterdayPeople also cant believe there is such a thing as “cell rent.” 41 states have it & even if you leave early states like FL make you pay the TOTALITY of your original stay. One Black woman was billed $127,000 ($50 a day for 2,555 days) for the full 7 years of her sentence despite only staying 10 mos
Today I want to talk about my favorite dummymanders. In a dummymander, the geniuses behind the map have cut margins too close, and create vulnerabilities for themselves. tl;dr: pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. Here are four states that took it too far - and where you can make a difference.
Not only should brooks and others shut up. But Ossoff is the best example in the country of a Democrat playing dominance politics and using it to control the whole terms of his race.
It'd be one thing Ossoff were talking about the people running a campaign of mass ethnic cleansing &concentration camps using a terror campaign run by secret police. But he's talking about stuff like 'All we’re told is, ‘Germany bad, Hitler evil, don’t ask questions, Holocaust, Holocaust, Holocaust'
Uzza@uzzamodea.bsky.social · 2d agoDavid Brooks thinks it's more of a disgrace to call out a bigot than to be one
After years of championing "free speech," Texas lawmakers have enabled a dramatic rise of censorship in Texas universities, banning concepts, canceling courses and closing departments seen as "woke," and even using AI bots as censors. All in the name of freedom. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
Every episode begins with Tracy leaving an insane message for Jim
Deep Space Nine-Nine Strange New Different World Twin Peakey Blinders Six Feet Underdog ok, I'm probably done now
More obvious, but there's a connecting cast member: Better Call Ted Lasso
If Democrats retake the Senate, Warren will surely become chair of the Senate Banking Committee and, as such, in a position to investigate, humiliate and ultimately destroy Scott Bessent.
David Gura@davidgura.bsky.social · 2d agoA letter from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and a member of the Senate Finance Committee:
Credit where due: Scott Bessent has contributed strongly to the Golden Age of Asshole Cabinet Secretaries. www.foxbusiness.com/politics/bes...
Bessent mocks Sen Warren, wishes her 'Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day' in response to letter
Scott Bessent accused Elizabeth Warren of having little knowledge about financial markets in a snarky response to her 10-year treasury yield letter.
foxbusiness.com
Final revisions done on my third and, I expect, final piece of substantial academic writing on academic freedom. Not that new stuff won't keep happening, but one of my major arguments is that this only works if we treat the principles as basically stable and settled for the long term...