It’s possible to be too alarmist! But. The existence of every fascist state represents the failure of would-be opposition to take the threat seriously enough.

Everyone here has an interest in pretending it’s not happening, because otherwise they’ll have to disrupt their lives. Of course, they have an even stronger interest in seeing the situation accurately, but they’re taking the path of least resistance until they can’t.

There's been growing attention on state supreme courts, as spaces that are more insulated from SCOTUS, & can develop different approaches to the law & people's rights. Do you know how your state supreme court works, why it matters, & why you should care? We at Bolts put together a 🔥 explainer!

What we might refer to as a "Kavanaugh Stop"

The United States may be going to hell in a hand basket, but the Toronto Symphony was fabulous tonight.

Okay, so it was more like two weeks.

The conventional wisdom, of course, is that (as Gavin Newsom puts it) "divorce is not an option." Really? Nothing lasts forever, including nations. I realize that the dissolution of the U.S. isn't likely to be entirely peaceful. But it is an option.

FWIW, I'm nearing 60 and I'll actually be surprised if the United States in its current form outlives me. Not necessarily pleasantly surprised.

Electing a deranged idiot as president may not have been wise.

Haven’t read it yet, but honestly I’m not sure why I’d want to fact check dog shit. Fact-Checking Trump’s U.N. Speech www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...

Electing a moron has consequences.

Note to lawyers: Dying constitutions are never fundamentally revised or replaced according to the rules of the dying constitution. (See, e.g., replacement of Articles of Confederation, and also ratification of current constitution's Fourteenth Amendment).

(2) Remain in the thrall of a constitutional order that was always horribly flawed, and which has failed us now. /end

There are two ways to react to current reality. (1) Recognize that our constitutional order is shattered. Figure out ways to re-establish decency, without worrying over-much about complying with the broken constitution's rules about how that can happen. Or ... 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

General pattern in regime change: the comedy gets better and then it gets banned.

I‘m sure that somewhere, likely a secure location in Paris, the Harpers Letter signers are assembling …

Washington Post is murdering democracy in broad daylight.

Controversial take: no one will care about the Charlie Kirk story in a week. It's just another shooting in America. They happen all the time. Thoughts and prayers, y'all.

With the Charlie Kirk thing can't we just do "thoughts and prayers" like we do with every other shooting?

Charlie Kirk spent his life making people like me unsafe. His followers sent me death threats for years and threatened my employer if they didn’t terminate me. His work was NEVER about free speech. It was about hate and emboldening violent people. The dishonesty of the past 24hrs is disgusting.

condemnations of political violence are well taken but it does feel as if some prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox: The first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence is life Also Spencer Cox: I want to remind people that we have the death penalty here in Utah

People think they need to say the socially acceptable thing—that all murder is bad. But I guess I really don’t care if a hate monger spreading his poison was killed. We’re better without him.

Political violence is bad. But then the American Revolution.

SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool

If I were a Democrat in Congress I'd be introducing legislation to suspend the Supreme Court's upcoming term (it's happened before, in 1802). The suspension would be to give us time to figure out what to do with this dangerous, anti-democratic institution.

"In short, they are independent of the people, of the legislature, and of every power under heaven. Men placed in this situation will, generally, soon feel themselves independent of heaven itself." /end

It was baked in from the start. The anti-federalist Brutus called it in 1788. "There is no power above them, to controul any of their decisions. There is no authority that can remove them, and they cannot be controuled by the laws of the legislature...." 1/

I am surprised and alarmed that there is not more condemnation of Trump's lawless attack on the Venezuelan speed boat. Are the Democrats so afraid of looking weak on crime that will now ignore extrajudicial killings and allow Trump to get away—literally—with murder? Are we that craven and cowardly?

"It is past time for both Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to step down and step aside. This fascist moment, this age of Trump, demands outspoken, unrelenting and fearless opposition... we all deserve better." I make the case, in my latest for The Guardian, for new leadership:

It's becoming increasingly clear that the survival of constitutional democracies around the world hinges on the *effective* regulation of legacy & social media. Speech must be free, but having a platform must come with responsibilities (these two things are often conflated)

My take on how we resist MAGA (NYT Comment):

Oh, the sweet summer children who populate the New York Times Editorial Board have written yet another editorial claiming the cure for our rotten Congress is legislation to be written by our rotten Congress. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/o...

I guess whatever King Donald decrees . . . www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/t...

Today, as part of our government’s commitment to rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting, PM Carney announced new measures to increase the pay for members of the Canadian Armed Services: * Regular / Reserve Force * Rangers * Cadets This is about protecting our people, our sovereignty & our future.

Terrifying but important read . . . www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/o...

The correct response of the Democratic states to the gerrymandering that is happening in Republican states is not to gerrymander their own states, but to secede. When in an abusive relationship, the best thing to do is leave and leave quickly.

Trump now testing whether he can start a nuclear war and still face no consequences.

Nuclear war is one way to distract from the Epstein files.

#Breaking: Mark Carney says Canada will recognize Palestine as a state

Doug Ford changed the laws so he could sell off our public parks and public areas. The end result will be that in the future there will be no free access public areas. You will have to pay to go to the beach. You will have to pay to go for a walk or hike. Launch a boat to go fishing? You will pay.

An important read, I think. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/o...

‘The inability of Western powers to condemn Israel’s conduct – much less bring it to an end – has made a mockery of the rules-based order that they claim to uphold.’ Adam Shatz on the world since 7 October: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

“The three liberal justices are writing about a majority unbound by law,” Aziz Huq argues—a dramatic change in the way that Supreme Court dissents work.

If we do not stop people like PP, ford, smith etc this will become a problem here in Canada too. We need everyone to vote!

I really like how the Supreme Court is just letting Trump dismantle the Department of Education but wouldn't let Biden forgive student debt. Funny how that works.

Bret Stephens has long since lost track of which side he's anti-anti'ed his way to but he'll never have any trouble remembering how to feel about a young Muslim who wants to tax the rich