Recent posts by Legal Academics on Bluesky

Went grocery shopping this morning in the Pittsburgh suburbs, in a Kamala t-shirt and saw someone in an FDT t-shirt. Thumbs-ups were exchanged. Getting pumped to protest, albeit in disgusting weather.

McSweeney’s continues to Do The Work.

It is worth knowing that the MN legislature was nearly perfectly split between Rs and Ds before these assassination attempts, which notably targeted exactly one member from each chamber

“Even when you can’t kick the bad guys where it hurts, you can still have a real gas trying.”

Between the FBI roughing up a US Senator and the targeted shootings of Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota it feels like the degradation of our political culture is accelerating

Abandon Harris = Abandon Palestinians who had been invited to speak in the U.S.

White Christian nationalist Franklin Graham made sure to get his birthday wishes to Trump in at the crack of dawn.

JD Vance appears to back idea to deport fashion expert who criticized his pants

Iran’s senior leaders… made one enormous miscalculation. They never expected Israel to strike before another round of talks that had been scheduled for this coming Sunday. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/w...

Guys, my 7 year old just got raked—did a full-on Sideshow Bob—and I succeeded in NOT laughing or smiling at all, not even a little bit Excellent fathering

Alternatively, “Thousands of Americans expected to take to the streets in defense of their neighbors and their democracy” www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

An extensive interview with Senator Lisa Murkowski. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/m...

one thing we definitely know: the no kings protests will far overshadow trumps vanity parade and his unpopularity will be obvious. he’ll be stewing, which is dangerous but satisfying.

Do you hear the people sing

Historian here it’s no Kings Day Join your local protest against the tyrants vanity parade. All central Mass folk parade begins in Worcester on Belmont street at 11.30, on to city hall where the protest will continue from 1-3. Congressman Jim McGovern will speak at 2.30pm bring your American flags!

Great opportunity to use SignalGate as a point of departure to ask questions about who authorized what military action against the Houthis.

Because Indiana, a state in which Republicans win every statewide election, just isn't Republican enough for Indiana Republicans.

If @kamalaharris.com were president today we'd be talking instead about how to expand Medicare coverage so you can take care of your mom at home.

I keep hearing 'we can have borders without losing our humanity' and the recent history of immigration policy across the Western democracies invites the retort '...can we though?'

Move fast and break things. And then scurry around trying to un-break them. Great way to run the government.

Want ideological diversity across academia? Increase academic pay to be the equivalent of private industry jobs (law firms, tech, health, defense, etc.) and boom - ideological diversity. This is so obvious.

“He has ordered more troops to Los Angeles and Washington than he currently has stationed in Syria and Iraq combined. He seems more willing at the moment to use the military against Americans than against Iranians.” The story of today’s parade: Trump is a warmonger, but only against his own people.

A Soaring History of Mother Emanuel, the Church That Endured a Massacre Kevin Sack chronicles the Charleston, S.C., congregation that was the target of a brutal 2015 hate crime, and the church’s central role in the larger saga of the South. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/b...

“Man yells at women for not doing feminism the way he wants them to.”

NYT says Iran miscalculated by thinking Trump was negotiating in good faith. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/w... No one will ever make that mistake again.

Republican Governor Mike Kehoe of Missouri sounds like he's insane. thehill.com/homenews/534...

Some optimism about a path forward www.salon.com/2025/06/14/d...

One advantage Substack has over Ghost from a pure signups perspective is the full-page takeover that shows up by default on the former, prompting every single visitor to subscribe. Ghost really ought to simply copy that tbh

A man who truly supports our troops doesn't call them losers or refuse to visit their graves. A man who truly values religion doesn't work to stop churches from providing aid in other countries or from helping refugees and immigrants in our own.

More than 400 scholars from dozens of countries, including at least 30 Nobel laureates, are reprising the 1925 Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals to warn that “the threat of fascism is back.” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

This is what rule by the confidently ignorant looks like; sabotage stuff you don't understand and then discover it was actually doing vital work well at trivial cost

The dogs and I took a long walk from Capitol Hill down to the national Mall to see the preparations for the US Army 250th birthday celebration tomorrow. I was easily able to see all of the hardware in person up close, without the crowds.

Pope Leo XIV doing his catechesis on the Jubilee of Hope from in front of the altar of St. Peter's Basilica in English this morning. This is still so cool to see. youtu.be/SyEI6FOJ45E?...

It also entirely undercuts the idea of an “invasion” or national emergency. You don’t solve an “invasion” by saying oh well I guess we like some of the “invaders”

Just published: Is the Business of the Court (Still) Business? in ANNALS. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@polphilpod.bsky.social, oh ho, alarmism getting the Walz bump

The best, if admittedly imperfect, answer to the Iranian nuclear program that anyone has come up with so far was the 2015 JCPOA. It led to the elimination of 97% of Iran’s fissile material, the removal of 2/3s of its centrifuges, and the imposition of tight international controls. bit.ly/45jFrXL

Now if only they weren't eliminating the funding for that research and banning it from being published in top journals

Interesting question

John Paul II & Benedict XVI wanted to remake the U.S. Catholic Church into a conservative political entity & appointed right-wing U.S. bishops who falsely said Democrats were declaring war on the Church. Those bishops are being replaced & it turns out it's Trump & Republicans who are doing this.

"The Diocese of Dallas remains steadfast in its mission to accompany all who are vulnerable, including the immigrant and refugee," Bishop Edward J. Burns wrote. "This is a matter of human dignity and faithful discipleship." www.wfaa.com/article/news...

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launch probe of Catholic nongovernmental organizations’ role aiding migrants www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264743/...

Federal prosecutors now charging immigrants who don’t submit fingerprints under dormant 1940s law The Alien Registration Act requires non-citizens to register with the federal government. That provision hadn’t been enforced in 75 years. www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

I can’t believe there was a universe where Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, and Ryan Styles starred in a comedy together, and it was popular. (And Kathy Kinney!) We were blessed for a solid nine seasons.

Anyone else having really negative sleep, not necessarily bad dreams in my case, but negative sleep at what Trump has done to our country & our world in just a few months? I am every night.

Pope appeals for 'responsibility and reason' in Iran-Israel escalation Pope Leo XIV decries the military escalation between Iran and Israel and renews his appeal for dialogue and the pursuit of a world free from the nuclear threat. www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Cherry clafoutis fresh from the oven; this one I made myself, whereas most of the food posts here are from Steve. On the great pit controversy, I baked it with pits still in. #WhatsCooking #BlueskySupperClub

I had not realized this: "'Prayer is invalid with the presence of dog hair,' his fatwa read." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/w...

Collective protest is not just a show of values, it is a show of strength. That's why it is frightening, and that is why it works.

The world is so very broken.

Using the magic military wand to solve all your foreign policy problems

Monsters are in charge of the federal government. We must defeat them. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/u...

Apropos of nothing

also doesn't help that we rigged the market to give all the money to the rich

the problem is, these kinds of "jokes" and caricatures are, historically, preludes to violence

It's the dementia talking

Phil McKinney, the CTO at HP, adds an additional wrinkle to the HP TouchPad saga we've never heard before: It died because he was stuck in a hospital room for eight weeks after surgery, so he wasn't there to advocate for it. open.substack.com/pub/philmcki...

Billionaires own Cuomo.

Two of the three ain't bad, I guess.

For those who were curious, Gavin Newsom got 59.2 % of the vote when he won the governor’s race in 2022. Trump got 49.8% last year.

Looks like Trump gave in to Newsom (and common sense) www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...

The "Israeli government sources" must have caught Donald Trump's dementia.

The book in 100 words:

Be safe, be well, be good to each other. Make sure you stay hydrated and dont forget to eat something. And remember to call your mother and let her know youre OK if she isn't out protesting with you today!

Wordle 1,456 3/6* ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

As many Americans struggle to make ends meet — incl. military families & veterans who have found themselves fired thanks to this year’s massive cuts to the govt — a new poll shows most adults are opposed to spending taxpayer $$$ for Trump's military birthday soiree. www.huffpost.com/entry/most-a...

"Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it." Hannah Arendt

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist." Hannah Arendt

I have to take a new headshot. The old one was taken more than 10 years ago and I have way more stress wrinkles now. The bigger problem is this. I wrote a book on slavery, Native American genocide, and Chinese Exclusion. There is absolutely nothing smiley about those topics.

At the "accordion" part of the questionnaire. Describe your book in 250 words, 100 words, one sentence.

I read that Kristi Noem wears baseball caps because she’s ashamed of having male pattern baldness.

we live in a world of repeated and unaccountable aggression, from the US invasion of Iraq to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Israel’s attack on Iran (to name a few). not all the same but also not just ‘close calls’ on use of force or self defense. it’s a crisis in international law.

A movie you’ve never seen that everyone else has.

this is an affluent suburb northwest of LA. it’s important for people to realize that the assault on our communities is widespread, disparate, urban and suburban and rural.

I paid my way through Bar school narrating romance novel books on tape. I was very busy and well-compensated in large part because I could one-take almost anything.

This is the good Torah

Who do you gotta know to use the 1st Cir.'s dock?

We could have had nice things

Is anyone compiling the publications being censored byDonald Trump? It seems it would be a great collection, probably hundreds of volumes. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/c...

This captures the nail in the coffin for many relationships with people i used to admire. To see people gleefully saying "those people" including citizens dont deserve due process made me see them, not as misguided, but wilfully fascist

Now businesses that depend on scientific research, an educated population, & a healthy workforce should be telling Trump to stop his attacks on research, higher education, and vaccines.

Does anyone know why the protest in Austin is in the evening? Just curious about the timing.

Look, the games are extremely entertaining, but my crotchety old man opinion is that any single NBA championship team randomly picked from the 1980-2000 era would absolutely destroy either of these teams.

Phils shut out Jays, 8-0. Ranger Suarez brilliant for 7 innings, w/ 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K. 3R Schwarbomb in 2nd. Marsh 2 RBI. Kemp 2 H, first MLB RBI. Last 2 games feel like a different team than one that lost 10 of 12. Bullpen, defense, OF offense remain huge issues. Deadline moves will be key!

Everything is political economy, fascist deportations edition

Unprecedentedly illegal & unconstitutional crimes, still happening hourly, right in front of us. Might be worth noting this in the hed, dek, or lede, but what do I know?

Family fun. We don't care if it rains!!

"And therefore, because of the fascism, I will be caucusing with & voting with the Democrats from now on until the unprecedented crimes & constitutional violations cease." No? Oh, ok, then. I didn't think so. bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Wonder how this would correlate with support for chattel slavery.

This is the bad place.

I may have got this wrong if it was a federal enclave. I will try to update when I figure it out. Apologies

Powerful words from @vanhollen.senate.gov. He has been a leader opposing terrible US Gaza policy across two administrations. And he went to El Salvador to protect the due process rights of Abrego Garcia and all U.S. residents. The rule of law is the through line.

There are only two correct reactions to violence: 1) Join it. 2) Run the fuck away from it. There is no scenario where the best reaction to violence is to passively sit next to it. You people have got to be kidding me.

Siakam is the MVP if Pacers win the series

Do you believe in miracles

Please don’t tell ICE.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

I literally thought George C. Scott was Martin Short here 😂

You used to be able to tell jokes on social media because there would be whole weeks where world ending shit wasn't breaking news every few hours.