Thanks to Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Epstein Class bites the dust. But wait until after the midterms. There will be accountability not just for college presidents but for all who use power corruptly. www.wamc.org/news/2026-10...

Bard community circulates petition, calls on admin to prohibit Botstein from living on campus

A petition, dated Oct. 20, was delivered to Bard College's acting president, Jonathan Becker, and Brandon Weber, the president of Bard's Board of Trustees.

wamc.org

- @cdj.bsky.social is one of the more ethical academics in philosophy (for years we watched her be attacked by a sexist blogger who thought he had the power to define the field). Now she tackles a bigger problem: corporate AI trying to buy the entire field.

Carolyn Dicey Jennings@cdj.bsky.social · 2d ago

The bad omen, for me, was someone reaching out to offer hundreds of dollars an hour in consulting fees for several hours a week if I were just willing to lend my expertise to some AI companies. Seems fine and reasonable for a philosopher in the Central Valley #AIBubble www.npr.org/2026/10/21/n...

Are the polls so bad the GOP has fallen back on trying to get out the Jeffrey Epstein vote? Amy Acton survived childhood abuse. Her Republican opponent is using it to attack her. 19thnews.org/2026/10/amy-... via @19thnews.org

Amy Acton survived childhood abuse. Her Republican opponent is using it to attack her.

From mocking the Democrat's therapy to an ad featuring her estranged mother, Vivek Ramaswamy and his allies have made it his closing argument against her in the Ohio governor's race.

19thnews.org

When are you going to begin the independent investigation of sexual misconduct at Bard urged by many alumni and faculty as well as by the Episcopal Bishop of New York?

Matthew Heyd, Episcopal Bishop of New York and ex officio Trustee of BardCollege, this morning informed Prof. Karen Painter (U. Minnesota) that he told Bard’s interim president Jonathan Becker that he supports an independent investigation of sexual misconduct at Bard. He will tell the trustees also.

Just published: This deeply troubling essay about a disturbing and inappropriate relationship between a professor and a student at Bard College. open.substack.com/pub/tallulah...

The Hand That Feeds You

An essay about one of my favorite professors.

open.substack.com

Just published by Oxford University Press: academic.oup.com/book/62560?l...

Conduct Unbecoming: The Ethics Crisis at the Supreme Court and how Legitimacy Can be Restored

Abstract. This book is about the ethics crisis on the Supreme Court, how the justices claim to comply with judicial ethics rules but do not do so, and the

academic.oup.com

Restrictions on time, place and manner of speech make sense. There's no right to block access to Hillel, make noise in the library, disrupt class, or commandeer departmental websites. But does any credible First Amendment lawyer support restricting the content of student speech?

This federal lawsuit against Harvard is premised on the wrongheaded, and dangerous, idea that to fight antisemitism on campuses, universities must restrict speech. www.foxnews.com/politics/tru...

Trump administration sues Harvard over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, seeks billions

The Trump administration is suing Harvard, alleging it failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism and seeking billions in taxpayer funds back.

foxnews.com

Hard to overstate the extent to which Leon Botstein’s personal scorn for feminist anti-rape politics permeated Bard College’s culture while I was there. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...

A $50,000 Watch and Friendly Notes: One College Leader’s Ties to Epstein

nytimes.com

"No president in the modern era has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Donald Trump." www.axios.com/2026/03/02/t...

Trump campaign peace promises loom large over Iran war

The "anti-war" candidate has bombed seven countries and launched a new regime-change war in Iran.

axios.com

Trump’s War on Iran Is Illegal: Neither a future threat nor regime change can be legal justification for war without congressional authorization. My op-ed with John Danforth, Norman Eisen, Eugene Fidell, Richard Gephardt, and J. Michael Luttig is here: open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Trump’s War on Iran Is Illegal

Neither a future threat nor regime change can be legal justification for war without congressional authorization.

open.substack.com

This is what happens when military lawyers start splitting hairs between genocide and willful failure to mitigate civilian casualties in war. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/w...

Iran Says Dozens Are Killed in Strike on School

nytimes.com

Here, Claire Finkelstein and coauthors explained last summer why POTUS could attack Iran without consent of Congress. Their main argument: other presidents have done it. Does that excuse apply to everything Trump does that violates our laws and Constitution? www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Why Trump didn’t have to ask Congress before striking Iran

It has been presidential practice for decades to unilaterally undertake similar military action.

washingtonpost.com

This attack is illegal under U.S. law and under international law. The Constitution says Congress declares war, not the president. He needed consent from Congress. This is also a violation of the UN Charter, as Iran did not attack the United States first. www.cbsnews.com/live-updates...

Live Updates: Iran retaliates after U.S.-Israel strikes; Trump calls for regime change

The U.S. and Israel are attacking Iran, which is responding with attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as President Trump confirms "major combat operations."

cbsnews.com

Another chilling story. Alberto Castañeda Mondragón is said to have entered the country legally with no criminal history, a job and family. After being racially profiled by ICE he suffers injuries that give him brain damage, memory loss, an inability to work, and large medical bills. Disgusting.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9mo ago

DHS doesn’t even bother trying to lie well. The man whose skull was shattered told the hospital he’d been struck by ICE officers, an ICE officer told hospital staff the guy “got his sh*t rocked,” then when it became clear how badly he was injured, they claimed he deliberately ran into a wall.

Going to war with Iran is not a decision for POTUS alone to make. Under the Constitution and War Powers Act he must get an authorization for use of military force from Congress. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Approaches Middle East as Nuclear Deal With Iran Remains Elusive

U.S. F-22 fighters and aerial tankers are gathering in Israel, adding to the military buildup.

wsj.com

"No one just happened to be there. Epstein also didn’t pull people into his web and then corrupt them. The club existed. He fit right in." A troubling perspective on elite academia from Ana Marie Cox: newrepublic.com/article/2068... .

The Paranoid Style of Jeffrey Epstein Has Come for Us All

The pedophile plutocrat had some peculiar predilections—especially for academics and thinkers who showed a potential to further his grand experiments in inhumanity.

newrepublic.com

Botstein palled around with Epstein for years and helped launder his reputation. The Epsteins cannot exist without the Botsteins. It's time for accountability katemanne.substack.com/p/bards-pres...

Bard’s President Should Resign Today

Leon Botstein has been revealed to have deep ties to Epstein. It’s time for accountability.

katemanne.substack.com

Here is a (certainly incomplete) list of things that went down around Jeffrey Epstein attending Leon Botstein's rehearsal 🧵

Musicology Duck@musicologyduck.bsky.social · 8mo ago

JE used Botstein for pretty constant access to Carnegie Hall, usually with one or more girls in tow, and there's a few things there I still need to put all the pieces together ... but it's not going anywhere good www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

In October, he takes a known victim, a musician who he was grooming, to a concert and to see Leon backstage (extra redaction by me in the screenshot). And for ...reasons? JE doesn't want it officially on the schedule www.justice.gov/epstein/file... www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

Do we have a First Amendment or do we not? www.nbcnews.com/business/med...

Stephen Colbert says CBS didn't air interview out of fear of FCC

Colbert kicked off Monday's episode of "The Late Show" by saying that the network's lawyers told him he could not have Texas state Rep. James Talarico on the broadcast.

nbcnews.com

Many of us in Minnesota disagree with Ilhan Omar on politics, but we will stand up to anyone who seeks to justify or excuse violence against her, falsely accuses her of promoting violence when she has not done so, or spreads false rumors of insurrection and civil war in Minnesota.

As I told MINNPOST here, with all the threats toward lawmakers, heated rhetoric, and crazy people saying there could be civil war in Minnesota, our lawmakers must hire extra security. They have no choice. www.minnpost.com/national/was...

Minnesota lawmakers tap campaign funds to bolster their security - MinnPost

Although Congress has boosted the amount of money for members' security, some Minnesota lawmakers are spending more for their safety.

minnpost.com

Unless you think it's OK for a college president to ask a convicted sexual predator to visit a high school..... www.change.org/p/resign-leon

Sign the Petition

RESIGN, Leon

change.org

Wag the dog. Bomb Iran. Whatever.... It's amazing what people will say when President Trump abuses his power to do what they want him to do. www.fdd.org/analysis/202...

Why Trump didn’t have to ask Congress before striking Iran

President Donald Trump had the authority to order attacks on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities without seeking congressional approval first.

fdd.org

Here we go, again. Fake national security lawyers said Trump had the legal right to bomb Iran last summer. Now, with plummeting poll ratings, he wants to wag the dog again. This insanity has to end. www.bbc.com/news/article...

US build-up of warships and fighter jets tracked near Iran

BBC Verify has seen US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln near Iran ahead of talks between the two countries

bbc.com

The common theme that explains what we have experienced for the past 13 months is this: Abuse of presidential power. My new book with E. Thomas Sullivan is here: www.cambridge.org/core/books/u...

The U.S. Presidency

Cambridge Core - US Law - The U.S. Presidency

cambridge.org

Too many crazy people are running simulations of civil war over on X. But here, Tom Sullivan and I explain what really happened when Minnesotans peacefully stood up to Operation Metro Surge. www.startribune.com/tom-homan-an...

Opinion | Constitutional rights are under assault in Minnesota

While the Trump administration has announced a withdrawal of some ICE agents from Minnesota, questions remain about the constitutionality of Operation Metro Surge in the first place.

startribune.com