Every first [identity] to get elected to [public office] was deemed unelectable. Many of the second and third to do it were too. Just sayin'.
Nicholas Grossman
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
International Relations prof at U. Illinois. Editor of Arc Digital. Author “Drones and Terrorism.” Politics, national security, and occasional nerdery.
i think a lot of well-meaning people fall into a rhetorical trap where they take the bait and argue about male vs. female performance in sports rather than arguing for the value and dignity of women’s athletics generally. don’t let yourself be dragged into a bad faith framing.
Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 2d agothe best HS teams in the country have multiple guys who will be in the NBA in a couple of years. they aren't normal high schools, they're basketball factories. but this literally doesn't matter. the value of women's sports isn't contingent on their performance vis a vis men.
Isn't it weird how the reaction to an Iran-Oman deal is much more "yay, peace, the economy will be fine from now on," and little-to-no "Iran effectively declared victory, utterly humiliating Donald Trump, so he'll probably end up bombing again, like last time"? Well, it's weird to me.
The Trump White House now must choose: 1) Bigger humiliation than last time, accepting Iran in control of Hormuz and charging tolls, the very thing the US attacked last month to prevent 2) Escalation of uncertain outcome with no strategy and despite depleted stockpiles
PEACE DEALS UPDATE: -2 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon by an IED (presumably Hezbollah), Israel bombs at least 3 towns in Lebanon -Deadly violence in Gaza (and the West Bank) as Israel reiterates it won't withdraw unless Hamas is verifiably disarmed first -Iran and Oman agree to Hormuz tolls
Iran and Oman have reportedly agreed that all ships transiting Hormuz have to go through an Iran-controlled corridor, and are finalizing tolls of 3, 5, or 7%. This would close off the path outside Iranian waters the US encouraged ships to use during the MOU, then started bombing again to keep open.
Proposed Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, sources say
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters, in one of th...
reuters.com
I keep being told that things like "my commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters" is what antisemites sound like, and "Jews import immigrants to dilute the white population" is not. But I don't think that's right. If anything, it's backwards.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4h agoEl-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"
"If you came across these headlines as a non-sports fan, it would probably be fair for you to assume that there's a trans woman playing in the WNBA, or at least one at a high level in college." Well said, @laurentheisen.bsky.social. Numerically a nonissue, but manufactured for politics and bigotry.
The Right Has Created Its Perfect Trans Athlete | Defector
A lot of people in and around the WNBA are talking about trans women. In the aftermath of Indiana Fever role player Sophie Cunningham’s negative comments about trans people playing sports in an ESPN p...
defector.com
“the resilience of both the Islamic Republic and its partners despite years of apparent setbacks points to an underlying flaw in the thinking that led to the conflict…this increasingly sophisticated and flexible structure has allowed Iran’s allies to adapt” www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/how-axi...
How the Axis of Resistance Recovered
The Iranian-led network Is more dangerous than ever.
foreignaffairs.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202... Interesting piece that cites scholars who refute the myth that in doing 9/11 UBL intended to draw the US into a series of quagmires rather than spark a Beirut-like bugging out of the Middle East.
What Happened to al-Qaeda?
Twenty-five years after 9/11, analysts can’t decide if the terrorist organization is all but defunct or more threatening than ever.
theatlantic.com
Michael Flynn got paid by the Russian government to do anti-American propaganda, got paid by the Turkish government to conspire to break US laws, and now got paid by the US government for helping cover up a hostile anti-American foreign intelligence operation, ensuring perpetrators got away with it.
Mark Jacob@markjacob.bsky.social · 6h ago🧵🧵🧵 A scandal that hardly anyone knows happened is Trump giving traitor Michael Flynn $1.25 million in your tax money. Flynn, Trump’s 1st national security adviser, pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI but was pardoned by Trump. He sued, alleging "weaponization," and DOJ paid him in March. 1/4🧵
Primary polling often misses because it’s hard to guess the turnout for primary elections. Campaign internal polls overrating chances typically come from believing their candidate is special and will motivate people to the polls, while their opponent is not and will lack enthusiasm. Rarely right.
It’s a direct attack on rule of law from the highest levels, aimed at permanently ending US Constitutional democracy and imposing a dictatorship. Always has been. Anyone who tries treating it as something else—as if they’re dealing with mistaken impressions rather than lies—gets egg on their face.
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 6h agoIt's funny that Jeanine Pirro brought a box of evidence to WH to persuade Trump. He wants her to consciously *throw out* exculpatory facts and *knowingly* prosecute innocent people. So facts can't persuade him by definition. Me and @barbmcquade.bsky.social on this: newrepublic.com/article/2139...
In addition to having no experience in immigration, their website shows Ilya Shapiro (!) and disgraced former law prof Joshua Wright (!) as Senior Counsel. I don't think this massive contract was awarded to give immigrant children effective, zealous advocacy. burkegroup.law/our-team/
Our Team - BURKE LAW GROUP, PLLC
Our Team
burkegroup.law
Politico@politico.com · 20h ago26-employee Texas law firm gets $150M to represent 24,000 children in immigration court
I can’t believe Iran saying they think they’ve got Oman on board with their plan to thwart US war aims is being treated as successful peace talks or an American accomplishment, even a little. That is crazy-making to me.
No. Primary margin does not matter, and isn’t predictive of the general election (Obama-Clinton close, Obama-McCain not; Clinton-Sanders close, Trump-Clinton close). Winning the nomination is what matters. Stop trying to force factional infighting on what’s shaping up to be a diverse popular front.
Politico@politico.com · 11h agoProgressives didn’t get the big election night they wanted
I’m telling you this as a political scientist. The person who is electable is the one who is elected. This can and does change over time. Any and all speculation about “electability” is either puffery or anxiety and is often both.
Julia Azari@juliaazari.bsky.social · 16h agoOne way to be safe is to never write an electability take
A stock market is where shares in companies are bought and sold based on economic data such as “did the president say war words or peace words last night?” and “can you imagine a future where computers do all your work for you much better than you do would but you keep all the money?”
Seconded. It’s wrong on principle, it’s unamerican—we rejected religious tests for office and dual loyalty smears with JFK, Jewish Americans, more—and every minority (especially but not exclusively religious) should recognize it as yet another assertion that only white Christians are real Americans.
ae@aelkus.bsky.social · 13h agoi really have no patience whatsoever for people who are scared of muslims having elected office
A paramilitary group plotted to overthrow the Constitution then conducted a violent attack on America. They were convicted in court of seditious conspiracy, and jailed. Then the leader they aimed to illegally install got power and let them out, their records wiped clean. The Jan. 6 attackers won.
Judge Pained as He Grants Dismissal of Jan. 6 Charges Against Oath Keepers
The judge, Amit P. Mehta, blasted the administration’s request for a dismissal in the case, saying it bestowed “unearned grace” on the Oath Keepers defendants “by wiping their records clean.”
nytimes.com
How it started / How it’s going The greatest geopolitical disaster & failure of any president in the history of the Republic
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 19h agoThis has to be a Pulitzer finalist. @gettyimages.com
Max Miller feels like we played an UNO reverse on all the cross-contamination the GOP was going to try with Platner
So we’re going to surrender Accepting worse conditions After launching a new offensive To force better conditions Than we accepted last surrender
The thing about Odyssey discourse is that we allowed the professors to break containment. The whole purpose of the university system was to find a humane way to segregate them from mainstream society.
Strange experience, living at a time of irrational exuberance, and seeing it as such.
Tongue in cheek. But in all seriousness, this really is the Trump/Hegseth/MAGA/Manosphere theory of war. Both in the literal sense that cartoonish displays of try-hard toughness are key to defeating enemies, and in the meta sense that their war effort prioritizes memes for their domestic audience.
Uncle Tifa@labboypro.bsky.social · yesterday"Mister international relations professor, you just don't understand modern warfare"
One sign of the rise of male supremacy and the decline in women’s status is the ubiquity of online porn lingo in casual speech.
Chris Hayes@chrislhayes.bsky.social · 2d agoIt was this one, and, yes, I do believe that was an All In first.
Founders: We made the legislature Article I on purpose. The Constitution gives Congress oversight powers and requires the president to faithfully execute laws. And Congress is the only one with power to override or remove officials from other branches. Cornyn: What I presuppose is… maybe it doesn’t
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
A big social factor too. Republican officials are terrified of being labeled a traitor, becoming a hate object of right-wing media, and shunned by friends and family. Adam Kinzinger's family members publicly denounced him for saying the Constitution is good and a violent attack on America is bad.
Brian Finucane@bcfinucane.bsky.social · yesterdayMy take on why at least some Rs on the way out the door don’t push back more on POTUS is that they want to remain Rs in good standing in order to take advantage of various post-Congress opportunities.