“The question is no longer whether Russia is probing NATO. It is whether NATO understands that it is being probed, and what signal it intends to send to prevent grey-zone actions from turning into full-fledged confrontation.” economist.com/by-invitatio... #NATO #NAFO #Poland #Ukraine

Europe cannot protect Russia from itself

Fear of Vladimir Putin going fully rogue has paralysed the West for long enough, writes Radek Sikorski

economist.com

Everyone should be reading up on Article I Section 5 of the constitution where it says each chamber of Congress judges the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members. Because Republicans will use it to block elected Dems from becoming members.

The start of the Kyle Whittingham era at Michigan marks the end of the Wolverines being reviled as cheaters. Discuss.

x.com/bdfagan/stat...

Brian Fagan (@bdfagan) on X

Remarkable statistic: Prior to Western Michigan, college football teams were 110,352 - 0 when leading after the end of regulation, dating back to 1869.

x.com

In a letter to Sec. Rubio, a bipartisan group of lawmakers ask State Dept. to immediately release $25M promised in March to track down and return an estimated 20K kidnapped Ukrainian children. 👇

"Trump and the Republican Party may be laying the groundwork to question the election process and undermine public confidence. ... [Still,] there are actions that can be taken between now and November to protect election integrity against other threats." democracyrenewal.substack.com/p/threats-to...

Threats to the 2026 Midterm Elections

By Eric Bjornlund

democracyrenewal.substack.com

What is a founding in our country? What does the American experience of a founding look like? In this article, Danielle Reiff dives into the United States' history and constructs of foundings, and why it's essential to find a path to our fourth founding. democracyrenewal.substack.com/p/the-path-t...

The Path to a Fourth Founding

Part one of two: why our social contract needs renewing — and why renewing it peacefully is our American inheritance

democracyrenewal.substack.com

Reading the first copy of the Declaration of Independence printed in Massachusetts, my eyes were drawn to a sentence that remains relevant today. (Thanks to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., for the exhibit.)

The view from East Boston at sunset. Beautiful evening looking across Boston Harbor toward downtown.

"Brent Jindra voted for President Trump three times, drawn by his aggressive immigration agenda. He never imagined the crackdown would ensnare his own wife." Shout out to @informedalarmist.bsky.social for asking: "How do you say schadenfreude in Russian?" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/16/u...

Years of Trump Support Came Undone in 15 Minutes in an Airport. (Gift Article)

The case represents a new front in President Trump’s mass deportation drive: arrests at airports of people who have active immigration cases and no criminal history.

nytimes.com

Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner: "I think what we are about to see in the United States is going to be the deployment either at the federal level or at the state level of National Guard soldiers to, quote-unquote, 'protect' the security of the vote in November." www.npr.org/2026/08/13/n...

Could the National Guard play a role in the Midterms?

The National Guard's presence has become routine in D.C., but there's nothing routine about questions over the role the troops could play in the upcoming midterms.

npr.org

DRG joins dozens of organizations condemning the deployment of National Guard troops to DC. Our democracy experts have seen regimes use military presence to intimidate voters, erode civil liberties & create fear. Governors must withdraw their troops. freedcproject.org/news/solidar...

An Open Letter Supporting a Free DC and Marking One Year of Occupation — Free DC

More than 200 organizations, congregations, and elected leaders sign an open letter opposing DC’s occupation, urging the federal government to dismantle the "DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force"…

buff.ly

What idiot would gild a bronze statue on the Memorial Bridge to make it look like C3PO on a horse?

America is strongest when our military deters wars, our diplomats prevent conflicts, and our development professionals stop crises before they begin. Restore America’s experts to service. Restore the missing pillar of American leadership. Restore USAID.

Sending support and respect to our Foreign Service and USAID colleagues fighting back against unlawful termination by this administration.Today’s “Missing Badge” demo at Capitol sponsored by @afsaorg.bsky.social and other organizations standing up for service. Diplomacy matters to all of us.

"The president may say he has the power to seize voting machines…to stop mail-in ballots, despite court orders…to censor 'false' election information…to vacuum up state voter lists…to take over electoral functions in the name of preventing foreign interference…" www.defiance.news/p/trump-thin...

Trump thinks he has ‘doomsday’ powers to steal votes. He's wrong. But take him seriously.

The president has long fantasized about using secret, “break glass” presidential authorities. The midterms might be his chance to abuse them.

defiance.news

#England just found out how #Cleveland felt in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.

Our political economy analysis found opponents of liberal democracy in the United States in the past decade have accumulated and deployed their power more effectively than the forces of democratic reform and accountability. Josh Kaufman looks at the key political actors: substack.com/home/post/p-...

A Political Economy Analysis of America’s Democracy Crisis

Additional Findings of the Democracy Assessment of the United States

substack.com

Thanks to our friends at the Alliance for American Rule of Law for citing our Democracy Assessment of the United States as one of their five favorite reflections on the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. Check it out: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#america250 #independenceday #julyfourth #recommendations | Alliance for American Rule of Law

As Americans gathered together over the July 4th weekend, many of us took time to reflect on where America finds itself in its 250th year. What’s the true state of our constitutional republic? Can we ...

linkedin.com

Musk and Rubio’s legacy.

How an Estimated Seven Hundred Thousand People Have Died from DOGE’s U.S.A.I.D. Cuts

Atul Gawande, the former assistant administrator for global health at U.S.A.I.D., on the devastating effects of cuts to international aid by DOGE and Elon Musk.

newyorker.com

Ballpark Mustard. Or Stadium Mustard. Can someone in Cleveland tell me what the difference is?

An Anarchist Who Tried Her Best@nataliereed84.bsky.social · 2mo ago

quote post with thy preferred hot dog toppings so that thou may be judged by thy peers

79 years ago today, Larry Doby integrated the American League. While I'm glad that the Cleveland Guardians are playing at home today, it's a lingering shame that Major League Baseball doesn't allow them to wear Doby's number for one game.

“It didn’t have to happen,” Geoff Pipoly lamented. “It was preventable. It is a choice that we as a society made. That reality is going to weigh on me for a long time.” By: Marilou Johanek #BlacksyNews ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/07/02/t...

'Thousands of people are now going to die violent deaths,' says attorney for Ohio Haitian community • Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio native Geoff Pipoly represented Haitian TPS holders before the Supreme Court. The court ruled to allow the Trump administration to strip them of legal status for mass deportation. “Thousands of p...

ohiocapitaljournal.com

JD Vance urging the Ukrainians to be defensive is peak pro-Putin lobbying by the Trump administration. Now that Ukraine is doing better than they ever imagined, they want Ukraine to back off and take a deal Putin would go for. Nothing has changed. The US is with Russia.

zurl.co/r40Oh Protecting the vote now requires ordinary citizens to act before Election Day.

Lionel Messi is the Alex Ovechkin of soccer. The Athletic: “Messi — tied as the 2026 World Cup leading goal scorer with six so far — ranked 618th out of 618 non-goalkeepers in distance per 90 minutes during the group stage, at just over 5 miles.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/401...

Ten years ago today, J. D. Vance called Trump “cultural heroin” in The Atlantic: “To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution … He never offers details for how these plans will work, because he can’t," Vance wrote of Trump. Read the piece: theatln.tc/foJ8lGw3

Limits on immigration were literally a cause of the Revolution. From the Declaration: "[George III] has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither..."

A reminder of the time when NPR tweeted the entire Declaration of Independence and MAGA folks were outraged at what they interpreted as anti-Trump propaganda. www.jacksonville.com/story/news/n...

Some thought NPR tweeted 'propaganda.' It was the Declaration of Independence.

For about 20 minutes Tuesday, NPR traveled back to 1776. To echo its 29-year on-air tradition,the public radio network’s main Twitter account tweeted out the Declaration of Independence, line by li…

jacksonville.com