The original post by Nate so neatly embodies the fatal error of the last decade—the idea that because we worked very hard to avert a catastrophe, the catastrophe was never a danger in the first place

What concerns me most is that Trump is demonstrating that democracies, as currently constructed, are inherently unstable and unreliable. How can you build a lasting relationship of trust with a democracy when it is perpetually one election away from upending everything?

Trump v Anderson was every bit as wrong as Plessy or Korematsu.

Trump v Anderson was ever bit as wrong as Plessy or Korematsu.

For some reason, very few people these days will stand up and say it, but: the US federal bureaucracy is one of the great wonders of the world, staffed with incredibly diligent people who do their jobs well and care deeply. Trump's destruction of the federal apparaus was a historic crime.

To our peril.

Although US soldiers have a duty to refuse illegal orders….. actually doing so could trigger a crisis the likes of which we can barely imagine.

Not enough consideration is given here to the fact that an awful lot of people with guns have already cooperated in a whole lot of plainly illegal strikes and engagements already.

I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports. And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.” Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.

Trump must be taken literally and seriously. Remember how people downplayed the threat he posed before January 6?

This intentionally skips over the step that nearly caused a civil war on January 6.

I don’t follow why House Republicans would have to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks after canceling elections. He controls the US Treasury, why wouldn’t he keep paying them?

More of this.

There should be more discussion about the fact that Trump’s meeting today with Danish officials violated the Senate-ratified UN Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty, and as such was a high crime that is eligible for impeachment.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of people around the world who would be alive today - but aren't - because Trump was not disqualified from running a second time.

Great day to have functioning eyes and a working brain

Pretty sure I'm one of the folks Mark's subtweeting. While I don’t feel compelled to respond, this actually provides a beautiful lesson for how academics and other serious observers might think about engaging with the Court and law. (thread)

This aged well…

One thing we can agree on: The new Pentagon press corps is covering every angle of this story. I feel very informed by all the news it's breaking.

An interesting corollary to this thread is that Trump’s ability to solve the border crisis by simply ignoring US asylum law from Day 1 of his second term is going to profoundly shape the debate on all sorts of issues for decades to come - including issues where simply ignoring the law will be hard.

A remarkable moment in history.

Boycotting Constitution Hall because the DAR won’t let Marian Anderson sing has costs. It may end opera. Is that worth it? By Megan McArdle, 1939

Great thread on Pelosi’s legacy.

Great thread.

This is no doubt what Jeffries wants and plans. It was also what Pelosi thought about it after 2018, and that didn’t survive contact with the reality that Trump inevitably does crimes so outrageously anti-constitutional that not impeaching him becomes untenable. She caved, and so will Jeffries.

This is exactly right…. and gets at one of the fatal flaws of democracy, at least as currently constituted. Democracy relies on the fiction that the people aren’t actually this dumb, when in fact, the people want an elected monarch.

#GoBills #BillsMafia

Too many struggle with the concept that the same conduct can be both legal as a matter of criminal law and also a high crime and misdemeanor as a matter of impeachment.

The problem is Barr drew the line at doing a coup for him and that's now a disqualifier. Thins out the pool quite a bit, which is how you get an attorney general with zero prior federal experience.

"Kavanaugh Stop" went from a skeet on here to Bluesky meme to crosspollinating over on X to Brett Kavanaugh's burner account seeing it there to a whiny defensive footnote about it in a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. Juice.

This is a classic case of aggressively pursuing customers you don’t have via means that completely alienate the customers that you do have. I look forward to the Bari Weiss case study in business school in about 5 years.

Let us assume it is actually physically impossible to get 67 votes in the United States Senate to impeach Trump under any circumstance. It’s not but let us pretend. Then the Democrats should be promising to remove Trump under Section 3 of the 14th amendment if they won control of the House.

Josh Allen scoring touchdowns every drive like Bill Belichick is the coach

Joey Bosa has been one of the best bargains in football this season

100%

The idea the president has a popular mandate and accountability superior to Congress would have been baffling, infuriating, and heretical to the people who wrote and ratified the Constitution, and this is obvious to anybody even glancingly familiar with what any of them had to say about it.

The presidency, which isn't even directly elected (and need not be elected with any popular vote at all), and even when it's not trying to steal elections, is not the one true embodiment of the will of the people. The only people the Constitution vests a direct democratic mandate in are in Congress.

The right is no longer conservative in any sense of the word. They seek to conserve nothing. Their only remaining impulse is a desire to dominate and destroy. Every word of this from @tomgpalmer.bsky.social. 👇

To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.

All of you know Trump is the US president who surrendered in Afghanistan, right? Made a deal in 2020 cutting out the Afghan govt, let thousands of Taliban fighters out of jail in exchange for nothing. I know the "everything in 2020 was Biden's fault, not Trump's" rule, I just don't agree with it.

We need to do everything we can to encourage posts like this on bluesky. Terrible food opinions from big name sportswriters are genuinely the lifeblood of any social media app

Exhibit A in the case that wins are overrated.

Weird!

No, Trump did not admit to sexual assault on camera. He glorified sexual assault on camera, but did not admit to a particular act at a particular time and place.

Nope! As flight cancellations ticked up towards 20%, Trump would have insisted on vetoing any D concessions, and eventually Senate Rs would have nuked the filibuster.

Once Trump made it clear that he would insist on abolishing the filibuster before making any concessions, Democrats no longer had any leverage.

Nearly a decade into the Trump phenomenon, they are still far more inclined to see Trump as an electoral opportunity rather than as an existential threat. It’s stunning complacency, really.

The problem is, when people say “affordability,” they really mean “consumption inequality,” but they typically don’t realize it.