i‘m using it for a column but i want to share here this line from lincoln on jefferson because it is applies to our situation as well. you can find it in his april 6, 1859 letter to henry l. pierce.

"Democratic politicians urgently need to adopt the GOP view of public opinion—that it’s movable, and it’s their job to move it." newrepublic.com/article/2058...

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

On this MLK Day, one particular passage from his address at the March on Washington seems especially relevant.

The delicious Shuang Cheng restaurant in Dinkytown, Minneapolis. Did you know that "Shuang Cheng" means Twin Cities in Chinese?

I keep thinking about the toxic, pervasive mythology of "rugged individualism" as a driving force in American culture, and how the collective efforts in the Twin Cities right now are proof that the only way through hard times is together, as a community.

The AI evangelists have gotten excited about the revolutionary potential of Claude Code. Even if they're right about the capabilities, they really haven't thought through what comes next. open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...

Which types of welfare fraud are politely litigated between white collar lawyers, and which types of welfare fraud are used to justify an immigration purge and shutting off resources to the poor?

Fact check: True! www.yahoo.com/news/article...

I just love this. The University of Minnesota Library has launched book club kits! Students can take out six copies of the same book to read with friends. College kids need this sort of stuff now more than ever. 📚📖💙 libguides.umn.edu/bookclubkits...

📣 I am recruiting PhD student(s) in Public Affairs (Fall '26) at the Humphrey School, University of Minnesota! Come join me to work on Development/ Labor/ Education/ Gender/ ECD/ Inequality - in a top-ranked, fully-funded PhD program! Details: www.hhh.umn.edu/doctor-philo... #EconSky #PoliSky

Another survey that shows a rebound in support for higher education. @cbwlezien.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

Delighted to see my article, "The Bureaucratic Origins of Political Theory," in print in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social. It is my favorite thing I've written, and I hope you'll read it. Like most people, I learned in school that political theory began in Athens in the 5th c. BCE. This is wrong. (1/)

The neighborhood is getting ready for tomorrow

My full statement on the targeted murder of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the shooting of Senator John Hoffman:

Immigration is good, actually.

Excellent short thread on the importance of science communication in the social sciences, as well as a reference to an also excellent example of that work regarding the civil service.

This is absolutely essential reading in case you’re wondering what the wholesale dismantling of civil service work has to do with you. data4democracy.substack.com/p/how-to-dis...

Work requirements hurt poor people AND are a waste of money. Arkansas spent $26 million on administrative costs for work requirements — and saw no increase in employment. Georgia’s program cost $40 million in one year — 80% of that went to administrative and consulting costs.

Everyone needs to understand that dismantling NSF will have devastating long term consequences in our competitiveness and innovation in science, technology and beyond. 1/

"Woke" -- changing norms through social pressure -- is not, contra the reactionary centrists, another form of tyranny. It's the *alternative* to tyranny. It's new norms winning through the marketplace of ideas. The alternative is what we see now: enforcing norms via the threat of state violence.

in addition to the writing and the thinking, this is your chance to go to the library (you can go virtually from your computer) and read some reliable sources about a topic that interests you. (this is the real "do your own research"). you will learn things about the world we live in

"If there are recurring attributes that do come up, pointing to a broadly distinct occupational culture, they are an earnest sense of service mission and a reflexive aversion to attention and credit." - This rings true for the public sector staff I interact with every day. Hug a civil servant.

It’s rarely comforting to appear on a government “list”
It was alarming in the ‘40s, for Japanese-Americans. Likewise in ‘50s, for suspected communists. Just as troubling today, as Trump admin assembles registries of Jewish intelligentsia & people with developmental disabilities. wapo.st/3YO5amY

The trope that universities are "dependent" on the federal government fundamentally misunderstands how vital this partnership has been for the US. The private sector can't replace it. If we kill it, we're all worse off. From @donmoyn.bsky.social and me: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/are-univer...

Federally funded research is not a subsidy. Universities LOSE money conducting research. Research is a partnership between the federal government, institutions, and for public institutions their state governments to advance the public interest. It is competitively allocated & rigorously overseen.

Right-wingers really really want you to forget this distinction. They want you to join them in separating the good people (who deserve rights) from the bad people (who don't). They are incapable of imagining moral universalism. They regret the Enlightenment. They are this country's worst people.

Set aside the headline, this is a good primer on the how the federal govt wanted higher Ed to take on a bigger research role, and funded the infrastructure to make that possible via merit-based peer reviewed processes. The research funding is not entitlements and cutting it comes w real costs

this is such good news. i think it is also an opportunity for democrats to state forthrightly that when they win power again everyone responsible for this crime will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and will face the american people to answer for their lawlessness

I had been doubtful that we were going to have a "this is the crisis moment" with Trump, as opposed to "everything about this is a destructive catastrophe." But the Abrego Garcia case is the crisis moment. 1/

I pray you’ll read my latest. We are being challenged as a nation and this is a test we must pass. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

Massive turnout at today's #HandsOff! rally against Musk and Trump in St. Paul, Minnesota 🔥🔥🔥

"I don't want a Disney vacation of our history! I don't a whitewashed history, I don't want a homogenized history. Tell me the wretched truth about America, because that speaks to our greatness" -- 20 hours into his speech, Cory Booker is spitting absolute 🔥

Thanks to Steve Jobs and Gorilla Glass, factories in America are now ramping up to make affordable windows, made from panes thinner than a credit card, that can: * save Americans $25 billion / year * withstand a 2x4 shot out of a cannon (gift link) www.wsj.com/business/cor...

Thinking a lot lately about Justice (Robert) Jackson's dissenting opinion in Mezei, especially its discussion of the importance of due process even (if not especially) for those the government claims are "dangerous": tile.loc.gov/storage-serv...

If you’re protesting this weekend, know your rights.

🧪The entire staff of the Department of Education’s NCES-a vital independent statistical agency - has just been RIFed. The continued erasure of data and evidence allows for the Trump administration to hide the impact of their corruption. #EduSky #Scisky @aeraedresearch.bsky.social @cossa.bsky.social

No one in DC can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not follow laws passed by Congress. No one internationally can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not respect agreements made by the United States. Being a counterparty just makes you a target for another shakedown.

Your regular reminder that the US air & water pollution laws passed in the 60s & 70s -- and the elaborate federal bureaucracy created to administer them -- constitute one of the most successful gov't interventions in history. WILDLY successful. The envy of the world.

Since the CDC is compromised right now, this is a good time to tap into other reliable information sources for public health. CIDRAP, at the University of Minnesota, has always been an excellent source of data on infectious outbreaks in the US and worldwide. #publichealth #infectiousdisease #H5N1

Fully agreed.

The attack on higher education damages one of America's signature strengths, a source of both economic power and global influence. Other countries around the world have been making massive investments in higher education in an attempt to catch up with the US. Trump has decided to make that easier.

salute your local bureaucrats in this difficult time

Unlike you, I get my news from a reliable source

I don't want my fridge to have a camera or Wi-Fi. I don't want my dishwasher to be smart. I don't want my washing machine to text me. In fact, I kinda miss knobs and dials and knowing big appliances would last 20 years and could still be repaired.

Welp. 2025 is going to be a year.

By nearly every metric, Bidenomics was a roaring success. It would be a mistake to ignore the lessons that can be gleaned from the administration’s economic policy.

“Race is not a biological category that naturally produces health disparities because of genetic differences. Race is a political category that has staggering biological consequences because of the impact of social inequality on people’s health.” — Dorothy E. Roberts, Fatal Intervention (pp 11)