From the collection at the Morgan Library in NYC...I wonder what one of the world's richest men took away from reading Rousseau if he actually read the books at all.

Donald Trump proposes a 1.776 billion slush fund for terrorists. In my book "On Freedom" I proposed $1776 as guaranteed monthly fixed income for Americans. Each kind of future is possible. We choose.

New from Kettering research fellow @devawo.bsky.social: How can local civic engagement make social change on a national scale? "Translocal" spaces in civil society are critical. kettering.org/activating-t...

57% of academic articles showing signs of AI is crazy.

The admin is making its unlawful intentions for the midterms clear. But laws guard against this type of interference—and because we know what’s coming, we can prepare. We teamed up w/ @brennancenter.org to help advocates stand up for free, fair elections: https://protdem.org/election-advocates-2026

This nails it: "A Project 2029 cannot be a collection of Democratic Party agenda items. It must articulate a broad new conception of the nation’s political order" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/o...

KF Senior Fellow @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social, editor-at-large of @thebulwark.com, joins us to discuss how eroding trust is helping authoritarianism gain ground in America and what that shift means for democracies around the world. New episode of #TheContext out now: https://bit.ly/GetTheContext

"Civil terrorism" becoming the new buzzword to criminalize peaceful protest. Start preparing now and stay vigilant.

I should've posted earlier, but here it is: just a few hours left to download your free copy! This short book explores the current decolonial disruptions in Central Asia -- how the region is being redefined by its inhabitants, both in discourse and in practice. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

This is shaping up to be an important test case of what level of obeisance is necessary to be a higher ed leader in a place like Florida now chronicle.com/article/vying-for-the-u-of-florida-presidency-stuart-bell-compares-colleges-diversity-efforts-to-segregation?sra=true

Great #data here👇

There is a huge opportunity here for a "shadow" America 250 celebration that massively upstages the MAGA version. Am I missing something? Because I am not seeing anything remotely comparable.

What ideas and institutions shaped the creation of the MAGA movement? Laura Field, author of Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, joins The Briefing with Michael Waldman. bit.ly/4e7MKWl

I can't tell if the image is satire or the real one they are proposing.

Useful and hopeful info here.

KF Senior Fellow @judgeluttig.bsky.social has joined 35 former federal judges who have filed a motion to reopen Trump's lawsuit against the IRS, arguing that the $1.776B “anti-weaponization” fund is illegal, bypasses Congress, and could be used to reward POTUS allies.

Please check out & share this incredible new digital humanities archive w/ interactive map, the Black Church Burning Project. blackchurchburningproject.org It exists to identify & document every Black church & congregation that was burned, bombed, or otherwise attacked during the Civil Rights era.

I'm starting to think electing a wealthy business man to run the government may not have been the best idea

The recent Yale report's ostensive purpose was self examination of elite universities' failure. But dig deeper into what it doesn't say, and it becomes clear that it was really trying to manage optics at a time of regime hostility. By moi at @theunpopulist.net open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

For an administration that is staking is legacy on reducing immigration, it is very telling when they are encouraging immigration for particular groups.

Makes me curious, who are the other three?

It says that the president can revoke funding to any school that “advances concepts related to” trans people. That’s INSANELY broad.

Well said. Beginning to look like the 2024 coalition was much more voters voting for something different to lower inflation and increase wages rather than mass deportations and authoritarianism. I'm still concerned there is an opening for a smart MAGA to rescue Trumpism from Trump.

My thoughts on patriotism for America's 250th. When American ideals are under attack, true patriotism is dissent and protest on behalf of those ideals. kettering.org/reclaiming-p...

My thoughts on patriotism for America's 250th. When American ideals are under attack, true patriotism is dissent and protest on behalf of those ideals. kettering.org/reclaiming-p...

If journalists were doing their job properly, it would simply not be possible for the public to be labouring under this degree of ignorance when it comes to immigration. inews.co.uk/opinion/immi...

"Sue the government he runs, then settle the lawsuit with himself." Yes! I was wondering when someone would notice the obvious conflict in an agency run by the president "negotiating" with another agency run by the president over how much they should pay him. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

This goes a long way towards explaining why/how many perceive Eastern Europe as more corrupt than other regions even when it isn’t— the local media talks about corruption all the time and calls it corruption too (sometimes even when the word is actually unwarranted)

I kinda knew I'd be getting bought off cheap settling for that $3k check which I haven't received yet

The whole point of rights is that you have them whether or not they are unpopular or whether society is ready for them

We have to reverse 40 years of people internalizing the Republican message that "government is bad" and a great way to do that is by showcasing the positive impact of local government.

Oh come on.

Frightening but exactly right. With techn giants forcing AI on us, it is up to users to opt out and find de-AI'ed browsers and search alternatives. Will be increasingly difficult as AI becomes embedded and we become reliant on it.

Excellent. Sad that it requires litigation to stop this but this is a good start. Next step is a new Congress with a popular mandate for sweeping anti-corruption reform.

BREAKING: Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, two law enforcement officers who clashed with Jan. 6 insurrectionists, have sued to block the Trump 'slush fund'. They're asking a federal judge to find the creation of the fund illegal and reverse any transfers that Treasury has made to DOJ to implement it.

In case you're wondering, Jared Taylor heads the American Renaissance foundation -- a "white advocacy" group pushing a "race science" revival. Taylor has long argued that races "naturally" do not mix and that whites deserve their own homeland. This is what these college republicans are platforming.

A theme running throughout this essay is that our political alliances change us. Fusionism with the right shaped classical liberalism in ways that are rather wretched for this moment. But I am hopeful about what a diverse liberalism united against fascism can become. Our best liberal selves.

Perhaps the problem is not with left and right liberalism per se, but rather the left/right framework. The emerging configuration is pro-democracy vs ethno-nationalist. MAGA already figured that out. Now, neo-con liberals are already left whether they realize it or not. Great piece though.

In the last couple weeks I decided to try a new web browser free from embedded AI and search tracking, and came up with Vivaldi. It's based on Chrome so all your Chrome extensions still work. Mission statement is quite impressive. vivaldi.com/for-a-better...

America’s 250th anniversary should not be used to narrow who belongs. Instead, a coalition of faith organizations have created Redirect 250, which calls for people across faith traditions to help point the country toward a democracy where every neighbor can live with freedom and dignity.

The Trump regime’s $1.776 billion dollar slush fund is not only corrupt, it is a major source of funds for far-right extremists, including those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The U.S. government no longer combats far-right extremists. It funds them.

Audit the White House. There it is. My free idea for a very easy-to-understand effort for the next few years. Take it!

Extremely relevant today - our new report on the state of the rule of law in America brightlinewatch.org/erosion-of-t... Most notably, 91% of legal experts say Trump's DOJ provides favors or benefits to the his allies, including 56% of legal conservatives. Findings thread below; please read/share.

on this remembrance day for the Sürgünlik genocide, resharing one of my favorite essays i ever wrote: on how what happened to Qırım-Crimea during the first half of the 20th century can tell you almost everything you need to know about russian colonialism maksymeristavi.substack.com/p/russian-co...

Look, I'm not denying that the supply of chips is an important reason to be concerned (though I'll be damned if I'll concede that AI is the primary reason for that). But it's not *the very first* reason to be worried about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Not even the second.

In particular, it might help broaden the pro-democracy movement, which has been predominantly White, highly educated, and middle aged (or older):

While redistricting efforts across much of our country will politically disenfranchise many Americans, it may be the shock we need to work together to save our democracy. danarfisher.com/2026/05/16/c...

I put together a state-by-state breakdown of the Southern rush to crush Black representation. Infuriating

My guess is that the percentage of Americans who are aware that we are blockading and immiserating a neighboring country is in the single digits. Its not an invasion, but involves the use of American military force with the intent of collapsing the government.

The potential damage here is an excellent illustration of the invisible economic benefits of a strong democracy which pro-democracy folks often have a hard time articulating.