Nicholas Grossman
International Relations prof at U. Illinois. Editor of Arc Digital. Author “Drones and Terrorism.” Politics, national security, and occasional nerdery.
- Not gullibility, not exactly. Nor personal agreement. A deep psychological need and professional incentive for normality, with both sides equal, where we share basic values but disagree about how. Because if it really is this bad, good people would be biased against it, not neutral and “balanced.”
- Do the people at CNN really believe Trump has had a change of heart, adopted a sincere new tone, and is adjusting policy accordingly? I doubt it, but who knows. I’m not accusing them of believing him or falling for it, I’m accusing them of not caring. They act like truth isn’t part of their job.
- Let’s think through how ICE/BP thugs doing voter intimidation could possibly swing the midterms. Have to pick close races, pick the right precincts, not inspire backlash, and do all that in enough places to overcome a likely national wave. They’ll try, it’s wrong, but I second the anti-doomerism.
- Voter intimidation isn’t new, and the counters to it are well established. Black voters in the south, for example, faced some at various times. Ideally, use early voting to make intimidation harder. Otherwise, show up to vote on Election Day, braving whatever they try. Not sexy, but it works.
- The Trump "negotiations" with Iran didn't get off the ground, presumably for the same reason as previous ones: the US demand is essentially that Iran capitulates, agreeing to forfeit its national interests, and in exchange the US leader who broke the last deal without cause might honor a new one.
- Moderate, run to the center, assume opinions are fixed and chase what polls well — that’s a badly misguided strategy for this moment. If interested in US elections, “popularism,” and opposing authoritarianism, read what the poli sci says, from @adambonica.bsky.social and @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social.
- Many Trump voters wanted state violence and shows of bigoted cruelty in service of making the US whiter. But other Trump voters bought a fantasy of stopping criminals. As @gregsargent.bsky.social shows, seeing this in reality—eg building concentration camps—they don’t like it. That’s a big wedge.
- Remarkable: Trump's planned migrant prison camps are hitting deep resistance in red areas. In Virginia's partly rural Hanover (+26 Trump) opposition is intense. GOP leaders in other states are opposed. Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2060...
- The Trump admin’s whole case regarding Haitians in Ohio is racism, xenophobia, and lies. There’s literally nothing else to it. Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community. It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
- Venn diagram of had friendly email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein and argued that wokeness is a dire threat to civilization that must be stopped before it finishes destroying freedom.
- I thought "ceasefire" meant that fire ceased, so again I must ask, how many airstrikes killing how many people constitutes no ceasefire, rather than a "strained" or "tested" or "uneasy" ceasefire, or a ceasefire that is "inching forward" amidst ongoing fire?
- Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting. n.pr/4q5CyAj
- ICE is upset that ICE isn't welcome in restaurants after ICE ordered food at a restaurant, ate it, then arrested restaurant employees, and ICE believes this is someone else's fault, do I have that right?
