not really clear what columbia offers beyond the reputation of a credential it devalues day after day after day ..

come for the extended intro where i call jd vance a loser, stay for my analysis connecting vance's argument to the most reactionary antebellum views of citizenship

"With this made-up scandal, combined with the pre-election editorial, the Times looks like it’s on a crusade against Mamdani." That's Margaret Sullivan @sulliview.bsky.social Former public editor of the New York Times, and a shrewd judge of newsroom character. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.

the destruction of chattel slavery is one of the great accomplishments in our nation's history and the reason conservatives hate celebrating it is because doing so legitimizes the black counter-narrative of the united states

I still can't get past the idea that people in America are now supposed to accept that this is a valid form of law enforcement and just assume it's fine when random dudes in groups with face-coverings, no ID, no warrant, & no uniform grab people off the street and force them into unmarked vehicles

Down with dictators! No Kings march in Madison (complete with the sign my daughter embellished)

"It's a republic, not a democracy," say the conservatives as they get very excited for a big display of military force moving across the river into the capital.

HERE IS A THING that EVERY American can do: 1. Call your Senator. 2. Say the following: "I am requesting that you place a hold on the nomination of Bill Essayli as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of CA for directing federal agents to assault a U.S. Senator." 3. Call other Senator, repeat

it's like what the image says. they think they're kings — they think they rule us — and they want us to obey youtu.be/ULdUsHB-7VE

“Harsh crackdowns may generate sympathy for protesters, said Omar Wasow, a political scientist at UC Berkeley who studies protest movements. The “spectacle of violence and repression,” he said, can frame states as ‘bullies’ unjustly squashing expression.” Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/w...

I dunno, but maybe Democratic members of Congress shouldn't go the White House picnic tonight and pretend everything's fine and dandy, unless and until Sen. Padilla gets a phone call apologizing for what happened from Donald Trump?

If the feds’ objective is to “liberate” Los Angeles and California from its democratically elected leadership, then this not a peacekeeping mission but a program of invasion.

So ICE is now more powerful than a sitting US senator? I hope every democrat congressperson stands up for their colleague and demands accountability for what happened to Alex Padilla. They won’t but I wish they would.

Where are the libertarians? Where is civil society? Do you want to live in a country where people are deported without due process into foreign gulags? Where US senators are arrested? Where the government ignores court orders and deploys the military on the streets of our cities?

Every Democratic senator - and anyone committed to democratic government - should publicly denounce this action and call for Noem’s impeachment. Now.

Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.

The state of California needs to arrest the DHS "security" forces for assault and every Democrat in the U.S. Senate needs to sign onto a campaign to impeach Kristi Noem. Right fucking now.

The Trump regime is purporting to occupy a major American city with military troops while secret agents kidnap people off the street. A US senator was just arrested and the President has entertained questions about arresting the governor. Authoritarianism is on the march; an extremely dangerous time

McSweeney's: New York Times’ Style Guide Substitutions for "The President Violated the Constitution" www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/new...

Appeasement, as Churchill warned, is like feeding a crocodile and hoping to be the last one eaten. Levitsky, Way, and me today in New York Times www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...

the thing about the tates and trump and musk is that what they offer is the illusion of control and dominance and mastery. in truth, they are absolute slaves to their passions and their worst instincts, and they have paid for it in that they are literal degenerates

@adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com makes a point here that i have alluded to in my work, which is that in key respects trump is an anti-republican (think political theory not political party) figure, who rejects the basic values of the american revolution

Never thought we'd do this but... Use discount code ALGORE for 30% off titles from Theodor Adorno

wrote about the importance of ambition and political leadership

From adl.org: "ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all."

Eliminating due process in order to imprison and deport people based on ethnic background and political views: famously good for Jews

More insanity, brought on by a combination of incompetence, malevolent practices, and total disregard for for consequences:

I was in a Head Start daycare as a child, as my (single) mom couldn’t afford to pay for care for me so she could work the job she needed to care for us. It’s despicable that, in a country that already does so little for children & families, Trump is taking away one bright light.

Steve Kerr: "I believe in academic freedom. I think it's crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to. And they should not be shaken down and told what to teach, what to say, by our government. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

boston globe editorial board: harvard is making the right decision, and universities should band together to fight. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/16/o...

“We are united in denouncing, without equivocation, anyone who invokes our name — and cynical claims of antisemitism — to harass, expel, arrest, or deport members of our campus communities,” the letter reads. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/u...

Which is so weird given how sincere they are in the desire to stamp out anti-Semitism. So weird.

I feel like “President of the United States suggests he would deport American citizens to prisons in El Salvador” should be fairly big news

“What if we never pay them?” Mr. Trump casually asked“ I’m not the first to point it out, but amazing how much of his political “strategy” amounts to just reneging on commitments www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...

republicans are disappearing people under the guise of fighting antisemitism and can’t even pretend to give a fuck when a jewish governor’s house gets firebombed on passover

Its kind of becoming clear that American conservatives don't just hate liberalism (late 20th century market-friendly socially egalitarian values) they hate Liberalism (18th century philosophy embracing individual rights and democracy)

The lesson for universities is you may as well fight back. You'll lose the money either way. The only question is whether you keep your dignity.

Staggering potential for abuse here. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u...

"The concept of antisemitism in American political life now exists to demonize critics of Israel; it is what it does. And what it is doing is fueling authoritarianism." nymag.com/intelligence...

Tariffs xkcd.com/3073

The from the people who brought you “it is completely impossible to turn a man into a woman, and taking hormones doesn’t change that.”

Today, John Roberts confirmed that, when he and his colleagues have to choose between backing up lower court judges who are standing up for the rule of law and serving the interests of Donald Trump, they will serve Trump.

james surowiecki has discovered where the completely fabricated trump tariff rate has come from for each country "...for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us."

Trump's student deportations are a test for conservatives who claim to stand for free speech. They're mostly flunking it. www.vox.com/on-the-right...

Lol also eat shit Elon Musk

what a time to be teaching Thomas Hobbes, am I right theorists?!

The purpose of the deportations we have been seeing has not been to fight antisemitism, but rather to use antisemitism as a beachhead to eventually do away with foreign students altogether, using Jews as a pretext for a non-Jewish political agenda.

This is horrific.