@dougmuder.bsky.social
📤 103
đź“Ą 44
đź“ť 211
This week: Hegseth, National Strategy, Supreme Court, geothermal power, and a racoon with a drinking problem.
weeklysift.com/2025/12/08/d...
loading . . .
Decent World Order
No Sift next week. The next new articles will appear on December 22. The degree to which America is clearly a country that is open for sale is also really remarkable. But countries that are buying …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/12/08/decent-world-order/
1 day ago
0
10
4
For years, Trump has dangled white-supremacist rhetoric to his base, then denied it when challenged. But now it’s part of the National Security Strategy.
weeklysift.com/2025/12/08/a...
loading . . .
A MAGA National Security Strategy
America used to frame its self-image around freedom and democracy. Now it’s about making money and preserving whiteness. Back in July, J. D. Vance tried his hand at answering the question …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/12/08/a-maga-national-security-strategy/
1 day ago
0
2
0
This week alone, we found out about likely crimes by Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem.
weeklysift.com/2025/12/01/c...
loading . . .
Crime in the Cabinet
Most administrations come and go without credible evidence of a crime by a cabinet official. There were two this week alone. In January of 2017, as Barack Obama was getting ready to hand the presid…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/12/01/crime-in-the-cabinet/
9 days ago
0
1
0
This week: Trump’s latest outrages, MTG’s resignation, Ukraine proposal, the regime’s bad week in court, Mamdani in the Oval, and a Thanksgiving playlist.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/24/d...
loading . . .
Don’t Believe It
At some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything that Defendants represent. – US District Judge Sara Ellis,commenting on ICE and Border Patrol testimony cont…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/24/dont-believe-it/
15 days ago
0
3
0
The disconnect between consumers and investors keeps getting worse.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/24/t...
loading . . .
The Vibecession and the AI bubble
Depressed consumers and record-setting stock markets don’t usually go together. Why are they both happening now? I recently came across these two facts: The stock market hit an all-time high …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/24/the-vibecession-and-the-ai-bubble/
16 days ago
0
2
1
This week: Paper Girl, aftermath, Epstein, and a few cracks in Trump’s support.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/17/o...
loading . . .
Obliviousness
Urbana is basically the country club and the ghetto, and neither group has any idea that the other group exists. – Beth Macy, Paper Girl,on returning to the Ohio town where she grew up This w…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/17/obliviousness/
22 days ago
0
2
2
"Paper Girl" is a compassionate look at the forgotten America.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/17/b...
loading . . .
Beth Macy Goes Home Again
The author of Dopesick goes back to her small Ohio home town and wonders: Could a troubled teen do today what she did decades ago? Maybe. But the hurdles to jump are higher now. In the Broadway mus…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/17/beth-macy-goes-home-again/
23 days ago
0
4
1
This week: elections, shutdown ending, federal thugs in Chicago, tariff arguments, Pelosi, Cheney, and a penguin with a lot of fish.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/10/l...
loading . . .
Law and Order
Our residents have been attacked by a lawless entity, and we can’t just stand by and pretend this is acceptable. – Mayor Daniel Biss of Evanston,commenting on Border Patrol attacks on E…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/10/law-and-order/
29 days ago
0
4
2
Let's take seriously Mike Johnson's claim that Republicans really do have ideas that will lead to a healthcare reform proposal. What would Johnson's system look like?
weeklysift.com/2025/11/10/w...
loading . . .
What would a Republican healthcare plan look like?
The government can cut healthcare spending if it tempts people into gambling with their lives. The longest government shutdown in American history came down to one issue: healthcare. Republicans ha…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/10/what-would-a-republican-healthcare-plan-look-like/
30 days ago
0
1
1
This week: SNAP, shutdown, tariffs, elections, and a parody of a Paul Simon classic.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/d...
loading . . .
Despotic Encroachment
It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutio…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/despotic-encroachment/
about 1 month ago
0
8
2
It's all a political game until children start missing meals.
weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/t...
loading . . .
The Shutdown Gets Serious
If you’re poor in America, food and healthcare just got way more expensive. Up until Saturday, most Americans had been able ignore the government shutdown. If you didn’t work for the fe…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/the-shutdown-gets-serious/
about 1 month ago
0
4
2
It's unconstitutional. Or is it?
weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/c...
loading . . .
Could a Third Term Happen?
It’s far-fetched but not impossible. For months Trump has alternately encouraged and then tamped down speculation that he might seek a third term. Wednesday, he acknowledged the constitutiona…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/11/03/could-a-third-term-happen/
about 1 month ago
0
2
1
This week: No Kings, shutdown, Gaza, voting rights, Montana Plan, and the greatest performance in baseball history.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/20/i...
loading . . .
In Free Countries
For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. – Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) No Sift next week. The next …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/20/in-free-countries/
about 2 months ago
0
4
2
The Trump-invincibility narrative hit a few bumps this week.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/20/t...
loading . . .
The Resistance Stiffens
Chicago on Saturday. The No Kings rallies were the most obvious signs of resistance to Trump’s authoritarian rule, but congressional Democrats, Pentagon reporters, major universities, and an …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/20/the-resistance-stiffens/
about 2 months ago
0
3
2
This week: Gaza peace, attack on Chicago and Portland, shutdown deadlock, Trump’s dementia, and some dancing frogs.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/w...
loading . . .
Who will protect us from our protectors?
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? – Juvenal, 2nd century AD This week’s featured posts are “Only Trump represents the People” and “Fantasies of a vast, violent left-wing …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/who-will-protect-us-from-our-protectors/
about 2 months ago
0
2
0
Fascists believe in a mystical union between their Leader and the People.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/o...
loading . . .
Only Trump represents the People
Pam Bondi’s disrespect of the Senate is only one example of a larger principle. If you watched Pam Bondi’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, you saw a number of t…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/only-trump-represents-the-people/
about 2 months ago
0
1
1
Trump fears his reflection in the mirror.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/f...
loading . . .
Fantasies of a vast, violent left-wing conspiracy
Trump’s security memorandum projects his friends’ behavior onto his enemies. Executive Order NPSM-7 got past my attention when it was first released on September 25. Seeking to exploit …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/13/fantasies-of-a-vast-violent-left-wing-conspiracy/
about 2 months ago
0
1
2
This week: Trump and the generals, Chicago, shutdown, Gaza, dementia, Argentina, and 20 great dances.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/c...
loading . . .
Companions and Instruments
A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive, will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence [against] foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at ho…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/companions-and-instruments/
2 months ago
0
3
3
The regime’s invasion of Chicago cuts deeper if you know something about the city.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/t...
loading . . .
Trump Comes for Chicago
Whatever this is about, it’s not public safety. I went to graduate school in Chicago during the 80s and lived there for six years. I’ve been back many times since and marveled at how mu…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/trump-comes-for-chicago/
2 months ago
0
3
1
We can only imagine what the generals and admirals were thinking as they heard Trump describe his fantasy world.
weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/t...
loading . . .
The Silence of the Generals
Lack of response leaves a lot of room for projection. Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted an unusual meeting: America’s top generals and admirals, 800 or so of them, were called to…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/10/06/the-silence-of-the-generals/
2 months ago
0
4
3
Due to a vacation, I haven't posted a summary for three weeks. Has anything happened?
weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/t...
loading . . .
The Show Must Go On
This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this. – Jimmy Kimmel This week’s featured posts are “What to M…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/the-show-must-go-on/
2 months ago
0
4
2
Due to a vacation, I haven't posted a summary for three weeks. Has anything happened?
weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/t...
loading . . .
The Show Must Go On
This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this. – Jimmy Kimmel This week’s featured posts are “What to M…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/the-show-must-go-on/
2 months ago
0
0
0
I’m catching up on the news of the last three weeks. Most of what I’ve seen about Kirk is way too shallow, so I thought I’d give my own impression.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/w...
2 months ago
0
2
2
Can we read anything more into Jimmy Kimmel’s victory over Trump?
weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/i...
loading . . .
Is Kimmel’s return a turning point?
For the first time, Trump used autocratic power in a way that the public couldn’t ignore, and a popular pushback forced a big corporation to stand up to him. Is that an anomaly or the start o…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/29/is-kimmels-return-a-turning-point/
2 months ago
0
2
1
This week: Trump loses in court, the Epstein story is back, invading Chicago, blowing boats out of the water, RFK, and some baby animals.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/s...
loading . . .
Speed without rigor
No Sift for the next two weeks. New articles will appear September 29. Judges in the trenches need, and deserve, well-reasoned, bright-line guidance. Too often today, sweeping [Supreme Court] rulin…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/speed-without-rigor/
3 months ago
0
4
2
Trump's lower-court defeats will only matter if the Supreme Court backs up the lower-court judges.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/w...
loading . . .
Will the courts hold the line?
The Trump administration has suffered a series of defeats in court recently. Will that matter? It’s been a bad week or two for Trump in court. Jay Kuo counts the ways: A major ruling from the…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/will-the-courts-hold-the-line/
3 months ago
0
2
1
It's not to soon to start planning for the looming crisis at the end of the fiscal year.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/t...
loading . . .
The Democrats’ Shutdown Strategy
The government runs out of money again on October 1. That gives the Democratic minorities in Congress some rare leverage. What should they do with it? The 2026 fiscal year starts in less than a mon…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/08/the-democrats-shutdown-strategy/
3 months ago
0
2
2
This week: Lysenkoism, Chicago resists occupation, Trump's post-Palestinian Gaza fantasy, illegal tariffs, Fed firing, and a far-out view.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/01/w...
loading . . .
Waking up to the difference
I think many Americans wrongly believe there would be one clear unambiguous moment where we go from “democracy” to “authoritarianism.” Instead, this is exactly how it happens — a blurring here, a n…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/01/waking-up-to-the-difference/
3 months ago
0
5
3
To understand what RFK Jr. is doing to American health care and research, you need to recall a powerful figure from the Stalin regime.
weeklysift.com/2025/09/01/l...
loading . . .
Lysenkoism Comes to America
As RFK Jr. purges the CDC and cancels billions in research grants, Americans need a refresher course on what happened to Soviet biological research during the Stalin years. In many ways, Trofim Lys…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/09/01/lysenkoism-comes-to-america/
3 months ago
0
10
7
This week: redistricting, the Bolton raid, forbidden words, nationalizing Intel, troops still in DC, and a denial we may all need to make someday.
weeklysift.com/2025/08/25/a...
loading . . .
Accusations
Tyrannies don’t always get their way by establishing a secret police force that arrests people at will — although we’re getting that too. Much of their power comes not from overt violence but from …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/08/25/accusations/
4 months ago
0
3
2
It's not just that Trump has no plan to mitigate or delay climate change. He's actively making it worse.
weeklysift.com/2025/08/25/p...
loading . . .
Policies to Make the Planet Hotter
You may think that Trump’s policies are just indifferent to climate change. You would be wrong. Not so long ago, conventional wisdom said that an administration should focus on one goal at a …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/08/25/policies-to-make-the-planet-hotter/
4 months ago
0
2
2
This week: new format, Putin summit, DC takeover, redistricting, and what a John Brennan show trial might look like.
weeklysift.com/2025/08/18/g...
loading . . .
Groundwork
If we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflict. – President Emmanuel Macron of France This week’s featured post is “The Timescale of Ne…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/08/18/groundwork/
4 months ago
0
2
3
My recent dissatisfaction with my own blogging led to a meditation on what news is or ought to be.
weeklysift.com/2025/08/18/t...
4 months ago
0
1
1
This week: Trump fixes the numbers by firing the number-crunchers, Gaza, Smithsonian, gerrymandering, trade deals, and Samuel L. Jackson's new ad.
weeklysift.com/2025/08/04/a...
loading . . .
Adapting to Decline
We can expect the governing class to adapt pragmatically to the electorate’s collective decline in rational capacity, for example, by retaining the rituals associated with mass democracy, while qui…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/08/04/adap
4 months ago
0
2
2
What happens to a democracy when it can't produce people with the ability to think deeply and clearly?
weeklysift.com/2025/08/04/s...
loading . . .
Shaping Ourselves
In a democracy, the people shape their government. But in the long run, the government also shapes its people. What kind of citizens does a democracy need to have, if it’s going to sustain it…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/08/04/shaping-ourselves/
4 months ago
0
3
2
This week: some court victories, trade deals, Gaza, Epstein, and a final tribute to Tom Lehrer.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/28/c...
loading . . .
Choices
It’s alright for you if you run with the pack.It’s alright if you agree with all they do.If fascism is slowly climbing back,It’s not here yet, so what’s it got to do with yo…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/28/choices/
4 months ago
0
2
1
Restoring American freedom will require not just a new president, but a new majority on the Supreme Court.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/28/u...
loading . . .
“Unitary Executive” is a euphemism for Tyrant
How a conservative legal theory set us on a path to fascism. If you clear your mind of preconceptions and read the Constitution end to end, I think you’ll see not just a list of rules and pro…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/28/unitary-executive-is-a-euphemism-for-tyrant/
4 months ago
0
7
3
This week: strife in MAGAland, Colbert, rescission, Bolsonaro, Andrea Gibson, and the Coldplay kiss-cam.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/21/f...
loading . . .
Fear Itself
There is a terrifying amount of hate in our country, yes. But there is far more fear. Hate is the end of a conversation. Fear isn’t always. I’ve been on the lookout for moments when an honest and r…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/21/fear-itself/
5 months ago
0
2
2
How can Democrats take advantage of the strife roiling MAGA without seeming as inauthentic and opportunistic as Trump himself?
weeklysift.com/2025/07/21/y...
loading . . .
Yes, he does think you’re stupid
Democrats should avoid the substance of the Epstein controversy and focus on a single point: If his supporters feel Trump is insulting and disrespecting them, they’re right. The best thing th…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/21/yes-he-does-think-youre-stupid/
5 months ago
0
3
1
This week: Epstein, birthright citizenship, tariffs, banning schools from teaching about Trump, and a solution to the censorship problem.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/14/l...
loading . . .
Leverage
Probably for the first time since he announced his candidacy in 2015, Trump has found himself on The Elites side of the divide against The People. Instead of leveraging the power of conspiratorial …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/14/leverage/
5 months ago
1
2
1
After all the very real reasons to turn against Trump, a crazy reason is the one that gets traction.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/14/i...
loading . . .
Is Epstein what will finally break through?
For years, Democrats have imagined that someday Trump’s dupes might return to reality and turn against him. But what if they could turn against him without returning to reality? If you were a…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/14/is-epstein-what-will-finally-break-through/
5 months ago
0
1
0
This week: The Big, Beautiful Bill in all its ugly glory, trade deadlines, flash floods, a melancholy 4th, and red pandas playing in the snow.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/07/c...
loading . . .
Colonization
It’s tempting to think that we are living in a new era of lawlessness, but that would fail to capture the change staring us in the face. This is not about the lack of law. It’s about the remaking o…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/07/colonization/
5 months ago
0
1
0
In additional to its well-publicized provisions, the Big Beautiful Bill funds the precursors of an authoritarian state.
weeklysift.com/2025/07/07/t...
loading . . .
Trump only has ICE for you
The most dangerous feature of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is one of its least publicized: ICE becomes a massive federal police force, overseeing a system of “detention” centers tha…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/07/07/trump-only-has-ice-for-you/
5 months ago
0
1
1
I had a scheduling conflict this morning, so there is no weekly summary this week. But there is a featured post.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/29/t...
loading . . .
The Rot Goes Deeper Than Trump
Just winning the next set of elections won’t fix the underlying problems. Zohran Mamdani’s surprise victory in New York City’s mayoral primary, and his probable ascension to the o…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/29/the-rot-goes-deeper-than-trump/
5 months ago
0
0
0
This week: War with Iran, Supreme Court decisions, the coming ICE storm, and a fond farewell to Dr. Demento.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/b...
loading . . .
Beginnings and Endings
You know where a war begins, but you never know where it ends. – Otto von Bismarck This week’s featured posts are “The Court fails transgender youth” and “Questions to ask a…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/beginnings-and-endings/
6 months ago
0
1
0
I can't tell you what's happening or what will happen next. But I can try to frame the right questions.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/q...
loading . . .
Questions to ask as a war begins
Saturday night, the United States joined Israel’s air war against Iran. The most significant piece of the US intervention was to do what Israel could not: drop giant bunker-buster bombs on th…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/questions-to-ask-as-a-war-begins/
6 months ago
0
2
0
Tennessee's law against gender-affirming care can stand.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/t...
loading . . .
The Court fails transgender youth
Equal protection of the laws isn’t what it used to be. After the 13th Amendment freed the slaves, the nation passed a 14th Amendment to make sure the freed slaves would have rights under the …
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/23/the-court-fails-transgender-youth/
6 months ago
0
1
0
This week: assassinations, LA's military occupation, Israel's attack on Iran, No Kings, Trump's sad parade, RFK Jr. stacking the deck against vaccines, and turtles helping turtles.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/16/d...
loading . . .
Dangerous Notions
In short, individuals’ right to protest the government is one of the fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment, and just because some stray bad actors go too far does not wipe out that ri…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/16/dangerous-notions/
6 months ago
0
1
0
This week: troops in LA, the Elon/Trump cat-fight, Kilmar is back, travel ban, Baptists vs. Obergefell, and a Gen-Alpha-speaking professor.
weeklysift.com/2025/06/09/s...
loading . . .
Shadows
Everything that’s happened over the past six months has been a response to an imaginary crisis. There is no immigrant invasion. No trade crisis. No scientific or governance crisis. Just people comp…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/09/shadows/
6 months ago
0
1
1
Federalized troops are now in LA to control anti-ICE protesters. Why did Trump provoke this confrontation, and what does it portend for the future?
weeklysift.com/2025/06/09/t...
loading . . .
Trump Invades Los Angeles
It started with ICE raids at Home Depots and other places undocumented immigrants might congregate to look for work. Xochitl, a Guatemalan mother of two, was inside a McDonald’s that shares the par…
https://weeklysift.com/2025/06/09/trump-invades-los-angeles/
6 months ago
0
1
0
Load more
feeds!
log in