From Paul Musgrave, who is in Qatar.
28.02.2026 12:30 β π 80 π 30 π¬ 2 π 2@philiprocco.bsky.social
politologue // yinzer // co-editor of Publius: The Journal of Federalism // author of "Counting Like a State" https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700638758/counting-like-a-state/ Most posts are first drafts, comments welcome.
That Americans βdo not knowβ whether war is being waged to stop an already dismantled nuclear program or to do regime change or [β¦] is beside the point. Americans now overwhelmingly oppose war in Iran. So too did they oppose it in 2025 when the βnuclear programβ rationale was the only game in town.
28.02.2026 13:05 β π 13 π 4 π¬ 1 π 0article 8bis of the rome statute of the international criminal court
continuation of article 8bis
posting, once again, the well-established definition of the crime of aggression in the rome statute for the ICC
28.02.2026 07:03 β π 1471 π 529 π¬ 10 π 16And this is why the search for a method, a rationale, a plan must go on. Because registrars of opinion will try (as they always do) to furnish an administration these essentials if necessary. But it is not the same thing as an analysis of why Trump (or anyone) decides to kill.
28.02.2026 13:17 β π 12 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0That Americans βdo not knowβ whether war is being waged to stop an already dismantled nuclear program or to do regime change or [β¦] is beside the point. Americans now overwhelmingly oppose war in Iran. So too did they oppose it in 2025 when the βnuclear programβ rationale was the only game in town.
28.02.2026 13:05 β π 13 π 4 π¬ 1 π 0Mr. Trumpβs failure to articulate either goals or a strategy for a potential military intervention has created shocking levels of uncertainty about this attack. Americans do not know whether the president has ordered an attack in their name mostly to set back Iranβs nuclear program β or to go so far as toppling the government of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
It seems absurd to lock in, as growing number of commentators seem to be doing (NYT clip below), on Trumpβs failure to articulate a casus belli in Iran. Asking βwhy?β, presuming a satisfactory explanation is out there, ignores the sense of unreality that perpetuates endless war in the first place.
28.02.2026 12:59 β π 21 π 9 π¬ 1 π 0Screenshot of website. Bets on Kalshi re: the Ayatollah being ousted jumped last night at 11:30.
Bets to oust the Ayatollah on Kalshi jumped last night at 11:30pm.
28.02.2026 11:43 β π 0 π 4 π¬ 2 π 1
When Trump addressed the American people on Tuesday night, he claimed that Iran is βworking to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.β
That assertion is not backed up by US intelligence, sources told CNN. www.cnn.com/2026/02/27/p...
Mere hours after going to war, Trump has expanded the big lie to fit Iran into his 2020/24 election conspiracies.
28.02.2026 11:51 β π 7 π 4 π¬ 0 π 1
Just a reminder: instead of an actual diplomat, we sent Trumpβs deeply compromised son-in-law as the lead negotiator to avert war with Iran.
popular.info/p/deeply-con...
βDevil in the detailsβ is his point. Action would have to be swift and thereβs a lot to assemble to make it happen.
27.02.2026 20:26 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0States can block the Paramount-Warner deal But thanks to some clever maneuvering, they are already running out of time. What started as a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery became an unconditional surrender Thursday. Netflix had a deal in place for a couple of months, but Paramount, under the direction of MAGA heir David Ellison, made a hostile takeover bid, and this week upped its offer from $30 to $31 a share for all of WBD, including its cable channels. The total purchase comes to $111 billion, and on Thursday the WBD board pronounced the offer superior to Netflixβs, giving the streamer four days to match it. Netflix, whose CEO was at the White House on Thursday (what was he told?), barely needed an hour, dropping its effort.
Itβs not unprecedented for states to challenge a merger without the federal governmentβWashington state blocked the Kroger-Albertsons merger in 2024 in a separate trial from the FTC, and states (unsuccessfully) challenged the Sprint merger with T-Mobile when the first Trump administration wouldnβt go after it. But they need to have documents or witness testimony, and they need to put it all together, with limited windows into Paramount and Warner Bros.β business, within about a month.
Good analysis by @ddayen.bsky.social here: states can block the Paramount-Warner deal. But theyβll want to act quickly.
27.02.2026 20:18 β π 19 π 8 π¬ 0 π 1So much of the discussion of the temporary Rural Health Transformation Fund ignores/downplays that any new rural initiatives will happen at the same time as far larger, permanent #Medicaid cuts that will seriously damage rural health. The headlines and reporting here provides that critical context.
27.02.2026 14:51 β π 32 π 19 π¬ 3 π 0(3) The surge in federal ICE capacity is, in part, a response to the leverage state/local governments evidently have. This suggests both the need to scan quite broadly for choke points and to find ways of constructing them where they do not already exist.
27.02.2026 14:55 β π 7 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0(2) What I love about @splawinski.bsky.social's analysis is that it shows that what matters here is not just decisions of gov't, but the public pressure that can increase reputational risks of engaging in, say, 287(g) agreements. "Access to choke points" can be shaped by local political pressure.
27.02.2026 14:52 β π 9 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0Mapping chokepoints in the federal system (and there are many more than we know) is really useful right now. 3 thoughts: (1) Choke points are harder to use when state/local governments are revenue-starved. Harder still when feds arbitrarily cut aid in discretionary programs (~$14b in 2025 alone).
27.02.2026 14:49 β π 48 π 18 π¬ 2 π 0
New from @splawinski.bsky.social at Can We Still Govern: To stymie ICE, look at the sources of its power.
That includes money but also co-operative 287(g) agreements with state and local govts.
Blocking and reversing those agreements weakens ICE capacity. π§΅
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/a-federali...
Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses "The legislature did not include a grace period." ERIN REED FEB 25, 2026 88 5 21 Share Kansas Sate Capitol // farzinvousoughian
1. Numerous transgender people in Kansas are reporting that the state has sent them a letter demanding the immediate surrender of drivers licenses.
Those driving could be arrested, charged, and see privileges revoked.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
www.erininthemorning.com/p/kansas-sen...
The reference point here is Mississippiβs numerous Medicaid and TANF scandals, none of which ever resulted in this kind of punishment of an entire state in this manner.
25.02.2026 23:04 β π 12 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0The name for this is collective punishment.
25.02.2026 23:01 β π 30 π 11 π¬ 4 π 1New research with @aaronsojourner.org of the @upjohninstitute.bsky.social posted on @northstarpolicy.org's blog. We find that Operation Metro Surge caused declines in employees working, hours worked, and businesses open, leading to an estimated $106 million wage loss for Twin Cities workers.
25.02.2026 14:55 β π 205 π 119 π¬ 5 π 9The accounting rules governing public (non-federal) finance - specifically when public employee pensions have to be "pre-funded" - are really up there in terms of relevance to policy and political debate, while being very little known. @jwmason.bsky.social explains: jwmason.org/slackwire/th...
25.02.2026 16:51 β π 9 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0do i understand correctly that a couple days ago the president in some kind of fugue state hallucinated the idea that he was sending a hospital ship to greenland to treat an outbreak of some invented plague, and the governor of some state was like yes sir i am proud to be on this voyage with you
25.02.2026 00:32 β π 1291 π 130 π¬ 34 π 4Horserace, economy, hope (lol)? Just strange.
25.02.2026 00:19 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Could have been 2017, or 2003.
25.02.2026 00:19 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Watching a PBS Newshour panel on SOTU lead-up and astonishingly no discussion of Trumpβs attacks on institutions, immigration mentioned in barely a clause. Breathtakingly weird.
25.02.2026 00:17 β π 9 π 0 π¬ 5 π 0Not great especially in states with vote by mail. π³οΈπ¬
24.02.2026 15:28 β π 92 π 36 π¬ 2 π 0
1/Trade deals not about national interest but those of insider Trump clique -- Japan edition. With 500 billion possibly on the line, first investment goes to unknown company with ties to Trump children for...nuclear energy. Welcome to neo-royalism.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Yes, pre 1776 norms
24.02.2026 01:08 β π 835 π 112 π¬ 26 π 0