If you want to understand how the attacks on Ivies illustrates a close coordination between trumpland, trumpists inside notionally liberal institutions, and purported free thinkers working as state press, listen to @jeetheer.bsky.social interview @davidklion.bsky.social overcast.fm/+AA5oOCynyqs

Enjoyed talking about the Bari Weiss takeover of CBS on The Majority Report with @samseder.bsky.social and @emmavigeland.bsky.social this afternoon!

Was glad to be able to have a frank discussion of Charlie Kirk with my @jewishcurrents.bsky.social colleagues, and to talk about this fantasy of "left-wing violence" that the right (along with some fringe parts of the left) has an interest in pretending is real

On the latest episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel, @davidklion.bsky.social, @benlorber8.bsky.social, and Maya Rosen discuss reactions to Charlie Kirk’s assassination across the political spectrum, as well as the outsized response in Israel. jewishcurrents.org/charlie-kirk...

"To applaud those making the long-foretold pivot for their moral courage is not only unnecessary but perverse; they are, at best, joining a coalition built by the people they insulted, scorned, and in some cases called for arresting when their words counted most." www.thenation.com/article/worl...

"The Democratic establishment in Washington abounds with people who faced no meaningful consequences for their disastrous judgment in the early 2000s, and who have gone on to exercise even more disastrous judgment in the 2020s" www.thenation.com/article/worl...

The President of Barnard College calls for more controversial speakers like the late Kirk (without citing any of his controversial views), a position at odds with what Barnard colleagues describe as a track record of censoring events and speakers on Palestine. (1/4) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...

"There may be room for [latecomers] in the tent, but to meaningfully participate will require teshuva, the Hebrew word for 'repentance'—honest self-examination and a dedicated, continuous, lifelong effort to atone for even passively supporting this genocide." – @davidklion.bsky.social

in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, "it was a better career move to be wrong at the time and apologize later, if ever. This crisis of accountability has haunted US foreign policy ever since." www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Atonement is important — and so extremely rare — not just because it suggests actual personal transformation, but because it rewrites the consensus about what was right and what was wrong. It’s not good enough for people to come along to what’s obvious now.

David Klion writes in @thenation.com that in light of today's UN report, liberals must atone for their two years of complicity in Israel's genocide www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Repentance "could begin with some displays of real courage—including the courage to take actual risks, like so many activists have already done, often losing jobs, friends, and even freedom in the process."

Another great read from David! I didn't realize the connections that Biden's foreign policy staffers had with Iraq war justification. Really demonstrates the difference between atonement and simply changing a position, and its consequences over time. I feel this way about Trump voters too.

"To applaud those making the long-foretold pivot for their moral courage is not only unnecessary but perverse; they are, at best, joining a coalition built by the people they insulted, scorned, and in some cases called for arresting when their words counted most."

"one day, everyone will have always been against this." well. here we are, now.

"But there are also real dangers to sidestepping a reckoning—an enduring lesson from America’s reckless, criminal invasion of Iraq, which was supported by many prominent liberals who remain influential today."

My column in the new issue of @thenation.com, in which I argue that liberals who are finally acknowledging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza must atone for nearly two years of complicity.

"...Weiss and the Free Press were there to help reactionaries at elite institutions advance their internal turf wars – & unlike a year ago, those reactionaries can now count on the full weight of Trump’s authoritarian administration to back them up." www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

ICYMI, I wrote about how the Free Press actually operates—how it connects reactionary snitches within liberal institutions to the Trump administration and facilitates crackdowns on progressive speech. Coming soon to CBS!

it's nice that both of Bari Weiss's biggest haters (it's a big camp, but I can think of two names that rise to the top) have come out swinging this week. Here's one of them www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

The Free Press has devoted the last 2 days to Charlie Kirk hagiography. Soon the same editorial sensibility could be shaping CBS News.

"But while Weiss is widely understood as a provocateur, what is less well understood is how she has used the Free Press to empower rightwing factions within established elite institutions," writes @davidklion.bsky.social. Really important reporting here. www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

The same people putting Bari Weiss in charge of CBS want to run CNN too www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

This in-depth article by @davidklion.bsky.social offers a clear and disturbing view on the state of the right-wing media ecosystem…and how it shapes the “information” that others (including major media outlets!) consume. The scale on which brains are being cooked is frightening.

"But while Weiss is widely understood as a provocateur, what is less well understood is how she has used the Free Press to empower rightwing factions within established elite institutions... www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int... Necessary reading if you have followed her rise.

Today has been a great opportunity to learn who does and who does not have an emotionally fulfilling group chat

"If Weiss does join CBS, it will only formalize the role she has already carved out as the Trump administration’s de facto ally in its effort to silence progressive and pro-Palestinian voices. Weiss will be an ideological commissar situated within the highest levels of the media business..."

Well worth a read. I think my former employer’s bribe to Trump and its appointment of a Trump apologist as “ombudsman” has killed it as a legitimate news organization. Bari Weiss in editorial charge would incinerate the CBS News corpse and scatter its ashes to the wind. #cbs

Secret Police for Journos. David Klion: "The pattern is clear: if you work at a liberal institution and you want the Trump-controlled federal government to step in and discipline it, Bari Weiss is there to help." She's all about silencing those who disagree with her.

"If Paramount’s acquisition of the Free Press goes through, Weiss will likely be in a position to recruit a network of snitches and rightwing thought police, both from within existing CBS staff and from her own publication, ensconced throughout one of the four largest US media conglomerates."

This is a dark marker of US decline. By @davidklion.bsky.social “Weiss will be an ideological commissar situated within the highest levels of the media business, wielding her considerable platform to help the White House enforce compliance…” www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

For those of us whose brains were boiled by following internet journalism drama will learn anything particularly new from this article, but @davidklion.bsky.social succinctly lays it out the stakes from the beginning to today that it makes it a must read:

this by @davidklion.bsky.social is excellent www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

bari is a very familiar figure for anyone with experience in authoritarian states; the most sophisticated and careerist variety of informer.

"The pattern is clear: if you work at a liberal institution and you want the Trump-controlled federal government to step in and discipline it, Bari Weiss is there to help."

For @us.theguardian.com, I wrote about the significance of Bari Weiss's reportedly imminent role steering CBS News. Her publication, The Free Press, has often been the Trump administration's de facto ally in its war against liberal institutions.

Seen a few Very Savvy takes that are like "there's no conspiracy, Epstein was a creep but everyone else hung out with him because he was rich/well-connected and for no other reason." Meanwhile everyone else is like "Jeffrey, happy birthday, remember all the sex crimes we did together? Ha ha ha"

Smart piece; have been waiting for more progressive YIMBYs to start speaking up about some of the uglier sub-tendencies within "Abundance." This does a particularly good job differentiating between pragmatic alliance-building and welcoming actual fascists into your movement.

A new wave of liberal Zionist criticism of the Israeli government rings hollow without accountability for the genocide, @simonerzim.bsky.social writes. In this piece, she explores what real teshuva would look like within the Jewish world.

"I struggle with depression but I've found something to live for: justifying starving sick children to death"

Imagine signing your name to this

A phalanx of police walked by the bar I was at. So I walked out, recorded them as they went down the street, and then one of them started to film me as I filmed him. So I asked about it.

Thrilled to be nominated! Thanks to my brilliant editor @davidmarcus.bsky.social, who commissioned me as well as another finalist, and who has made The Nation's @booksandthearts.bsky.social section such a vital space for book criticism.

a) Worth watching 👇🏻 b) On accountability: Happy to see more marginal politicians respond to new political incentives and improve on Gaza/Israel-Palestine. But, at minimum, the Biden administration officials most directly responsible for Gaza should be exiled forever. 1/2

As @mpaarlberg.bsky.social pointed out - if the democrats are serious about moving forward, business as usual in DC cant continue. We need to name names, and the people who enabled this genocide cant be allowed to rotate back into power

I went on Pod Save the World with Tommy Vietor to discuss liberals' sudden shift on Gaza and how to balance moral accountability with welcoming latecomers to the cause.

Man @davidklion.bsky.social worked on this for years and the previous owner of Ganz' copy of Arendt's "Antisemitism" just wrote it on the cover page.

imagine how bad things must be there if larry summers is saying this

It’s very annoying Larry Summers is considered a genius when it takes him years to figure out stuff that is instantly obvious to the median lefty shitposter