La Fheile Padraig sona dhaoibh.

(Apologies for posting this late, but I'm watching the Oscars on a delay.)

When pondering “lethality,” this quote from Sherman in 1865 comes to mind: “War means success by any and every means; it is not fighting alone. Bulls do that, and bears, and all beasts, but men attain objects by intellect, and the introduction of physical power, moved upon strategic points."

When I did a pod with @markhertling.bsky.social he started - wisely - by defining these. People should be following him.

Noem did the one unforgivable thing: She embarrassed him and made him look bad. She's been on the bubble ever since Bovino got tossed. What happened in MN was a tragedy and obscene. But now - you're seeing consequences. That's good. Take the W.

That's Noem, Lewandowski, and Bovino out. Wannabe fascists, perhaps, but you are not living in a fascist country. Public pressure, embarassment, legislative opposition - all of them helped to turf these folks. That's what I mean by "the levers of democracy still work and you should use them."

Reserve and National Guard troops have proportionally born far more of the brunt of combat losses over the past few years, from the USAR casualties in Jordan in 2024, the IAARNG soldiers killed in Syria in December, and now this

100% of this. We've been on the (downhill) glide path toward unsustainable exquisite platforms carrying (not enough) exquisite munitions for a long time. The Ukraine War has been punching that notion in the gut, and we *may* be started to turn the corner. But we have 🤡 in charge right now, so 🤷‍♂️

Eliminating this should be on the next president first day to do list

Yes, but remember Lincoln, 1838: "Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense."

Thomas Paine began 1776 with _Common Sense_ and the call to reject monarchy, and ended with _The American Crisis_, warning that "these are the times that try men's souls." Like many in my field, I've spent the last dozen years preparing for 2026, sure that the fullest histories serve us best. 1/

I’m just going to tell the story. Back in 2000 I was volunteering for the Gore campaign when he came along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alfre Woodard and Dule Hill to a GOTV event here in MN. He ended up sitting down across from me stuffing his envelopes.

Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵

My latest in rhe @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/letter-fro...

My first piece in the Atlantic was this www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered. He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here : www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...

My mistake has been trying to explain what "fascism" is to people who don't care what it is. So I'm going to try something else. Let's do this as a practical thought exercise. If America *were* fascist *today* - what would you have to do differently in your daily life? /1

1. If America were fascist right now, I would not be posting here. Neither would you. Instead, I - and you - would be trying to build networks of people *offline* who can support and protect each other, in the dark, rather than yelling at the president and his stooges in our own names. /2

A True Tour de Force: Susan Page on the Impressive Impact of Nancy Pelosi open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

I have known Nancy Pelosi since she came to the House. She is simply the greatest Speaker ever. But she also is an extraordinary person. In my moment of greatest personal grief she was there for me and my family. She will leave a remarkable legacy.

Rhode Island has a chance to do the funniest thing ever here (RI almost tanked ratifying the Constitution bc it really liked not recognizing debts from other states levied in anything other than RI’s currency, a system that benefited them immensely and made NY have a rage stroke)

'The new right groans under the weight of its nostalgia for a nation that did not exist. It pines for a story that vindicates its reactionary rage.' - David French