normie midwesterners who have been pushed too far

This is contrary to a large body of environmental case law as well as best practices for performing economic analyses of regulatory costs and benefits. It is, however, consistent with this administration's Orwellian approach to governance. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...

Congressional distributional politics reasserting itself … www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/s...

After the US admin cancelled the $B Climate + Weather Disaster dataset, @climatecentral.org hired the scientists who ran it and set it back up. Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes. More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...

Some of the best political reporting these days is coming out of Rolling Stone magazine. This piece is among the most important I've read recently: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Wow, this piece hit home. "If you’ve led a life that is—by the standards of history and the world—stable and comfortable, your brain is going to have a hard time truly getting how depraved people can become unless you see it directly." newrepublic.com/article/2042...

1/ A few thoughts about @williambaude.bsky.social’s comment in yesterday’s NYT chat that, “It’s amazing how many of our problems today could be solved by a Congress that was willing and able to legislate in response to national problems.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...

Almost a year exactly after I had a horrific accident while figure skating - which shattered the bones in my left arm, requiring two surgeries plus 6+ months of physical therapy - I finally got back on the ice. Had a brace, took it slow, did not do anything fancy - but it was such joy to be back.

This is an admirable essay. I imagine it took a lot of courage and humility. Bravo.

We have somehow gotten a sunny snow day in Ann Arbor and I am so happy.

At its best, the law is not a tool of the powerful but a promise to the people. ❤️ www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/o...

Imagining that the climate battle is about *information* -- that those who have good information will act; that those who aren't acting must be lacking information -- has been utterly disastrous for decades now, but advocates & pols can't seem to break out of it.

just a reminder that *lots* of countries have universities, and (to my knowledge) none of them but the U.S. treat their universities as largely minor league sports franchises

When we have found all the mysteries and lost all of the meaning, we will be alone on an empty shore. Then, we will dance. You will be sorely missed, Tom Stoppard. Your work touched so many (this writer included). www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/t...

Your reminder that the Trump EPA & its head, Lee Zeldin, have prioritized AI data centers over clean water, clean air, a stable climate & safe food—despite their contribution to your rising electricity bills and massive drinking water consumption.

Things are hard. But today I am alive. I get to hold my children, walk in the sunshine, and read good books. Tomorrow I will get to see a friend and hopefully (finally) organize my sabbatical schedule. And that is more than a lot of people will get.

All Dems have to say is "I support whatever energy is cheapest" which is what voters care about and also...happens to be solar+storage pretty much everywhere Like let's not buy the false narrative that energy is a culture war issue when we can simply win on the economics, folks!!

Really thankful for this, from @winterjessica.bsky.social—a long-overdue corrective to an exhausting discourse. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Brilliant, beautifully written, and devastating to read: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1... A brave and powerful piece by Judge Wolf.

What is Ezra Klein going to do

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 This is the President openly announcing that he will violate court orders - two courts had concluded that the Trump regime withholding SNAP funding was illegal - and that the government had to pay out (at least reduced) SNAP benefits starting this week

With the caveat that Jonathan and I may not agree on whether Congress was worried/thinking about climate change when it enacted the 1970 Clean Air Act, this is an excellent analysis of the many problems with Attorney Barr’s WSJ op ed. Grateful to Jonathan for responding with a corrective.

Climate experts are being silenced, harassed, and discredited for doing their jobs. Hear from three people at the center of these attacks — about fear, resilience, and why they keep fighting for climate truth in an age of denial, disinformation, and erasure. 🎧 Listen now on Climate One:

As many of you may know, a fossil fuel funded NGO is currently suing the University of Michigan to obtain my personal communications with environmental groups. I recently went on the @climateone.org podcast to talk about my work and the toll the lawsuit has taken: www.climateone.org/audio/when-c...

for everyone asking: screenshots from this New Yorker essay! www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

anyone who boosts AI has to explain to me why this is worth it

This.

Wow. "Months after law firms made deals with President Trump to ward off punitive executive orders, the ethics committee of the District of Columbia Bar is warning that such arrangements may require firms to drop or obtain waivers from all clients who have interests at odds with the government."

This brilliant essay deserves a wide readership, including within legal academia: open.substack.com/pub/clayjak/...

Another bit of good news -- clean energy stocks are significantly outperforming the S&P500, and outperforming oil stocks by even more

If the federal Executive Branch is going to repeatedly violate the law by withholding appropriated funds that they owe to state and local governments, and the other federal branches don't stop them, at some point the state and local govts will feel compelled to withhold money they owe the feds.

America in 2025: In online chats, the aspiring young leaders of the party in charge wish longingly for Jim Crow and Nazism. In public, Brett Kavanaugh wonders whether the time has passed when it’s appropriate to take special measures to assure fair representation for racial minorities.

I am so proud of my Origins of the Major Questions doctrine paper and very grateful to have it acknowledged in this way by fellow scholars and practitioners of environmental law. Many thanks to @umichlaw.bsky.social for the write up and to my colleague Ekow Yankah for his incredibly kind comments 😊

Going to be a bit ironic if what saves us from the Federalist Society is federalism.

Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples? HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.

I know some will say this is just the reality of the world. Nothing matters anymore. Law is for suckers, etc. But this is nuts--it's DOGE getting an academic whitewash.

Exactly this. And if you care about academic freedom, you should really subscribe to this newsletter. open.substack.com/pub/academic...

Agree with Nick that what has happened to the Washington Post in recent months is extremely concerning. His thread on the bad editorial about the shutdown is worth reading in full.

G’mar Chatima Tovah. Wishing a meaningful fast to all during Yom Kippur. May this time of reflection be filled with peace, hope, and prayer.

Delighted to be @umichlaw.bsky.social today to present my paper with Amy Wildermuth, Harmonizing Delegation and Deference After Loper Bright, at the public law workshop. Many thanks to @jdmortenson.bsky.social & @profrrothschild.bsky.social for inviting me. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Me as a student: I wrote that prof 2 weeks ago and still haven’t heard back! Academia is so unprofessional. Me as a professor: <opens inbox to 462 unread new messages>

🔥

Very moving tribute

In the midst of very dark days for those of who work on climate issues, I was so glad to have the opportunity to write these comments with the Center for Progressive Reform. Onwards, my friends.

Within the government, the war on science is over, and ignorance has won. Here, in Trump's own words, are the government's views of vaccine safety, autism, climate science, and energy technologies. legal-planet.org/2025/09/23/i...

Nunziata was GOP chief nominations counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Played a key role in Roberts’s and Alito’s confirmations. And now he’s speaking out against Trump’s assault on the rule of law more firmly than most Democrats. Read this. Consider it a challenge to match his urgency.