Enemy of the State in Grad School Purgatory

Plaintiffs have submitted overwhelming evidence. Across 74 declarations and more than 700 pages of supporting documents, Plaintiffs show that the Administration and its executive agencies are engaged in a concerted campaign to purge “woke,” “left,” and “socialist” viewpoints from our country’s leading universities. Agency officials, as well as the President and Vice President, have repeatedly and publicly announced a playbook of initiating civil rights investigations of preeminent universities to justify cutting off federal funding, with the goal of bringing universities to their knees and forcing them to change their ideological tune. Universities are then presented with agreements to restore federal funding under which they must change what they teach, restrict student anonymity in protests, and endorse the Administration’s view of gender, among other things. Defendants submit nothing to refute this. It is undisputed that this precise playbook is now being executed at the University of California. Defendant Leo Terrell, who heads the Administration’s Task Force to Combat AntiSemitism, publicly stated in a news interview that the UC had been “hijacked by the left” and vowed to begin investigations. The Department of Justice and Department of Education have

I mean, the first paragraph lays it all out.

The President, VP, and Agency officials, including the head of the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, told us exactly what they intended to do & then did, which was use pretextual civil rights claims to impose ideological control on universities.

‘Unlawful coercion’: Trump can’t withhold funds or demand payment from UC, federal judge rules A federal judge ruled Donald Trump cannot demand that UCLA pay a $1.2 billion settlement that would have restricted academic freedoms.

A huge district court victory for the University of California.

District courts find facts. This one found "overwhelming evidence" that the Trump administration has pervasively violated the First Amendment in its efforts to coerce and intimidate the University of California.

News story here—

We now have 15,000 U.S. troops in the region, thousands of them based in Puerto Rico. The government has reopened Roosevelt Roads Naval Base, which they had closed, and U.S. planes at the old Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla. All of these soldiers are not there to hang out. They're there to take military action. We have to be clear. Even though the government hasn't announced it, it's clear that this is what's coming. Our government is embarking on a totally unprovoked military assault and regime change operations in Latin America.

I can’t remember a plausibly threatened invasion by the US that has received less attention and alarm by the press.

From this minister's op-ed: "People wanting to experience God are more likely to meet the Divine trying to shut down the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility than we ever were in church...God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."

US democracy needs more of the legal profession to stand up for rule of law, rather than writing apologetics for Supreme Court calvinball, or firms bending the knee to Trump's authoritarian exploitation.

Some recognize that the basis of their job is under assault. Hopefully this is a sign of more.

I mean it is quite literally his job to figure that out. Like, yeah Bernie us plebians don't have the answer to this question but convene the politburo and you'll figure things out.

January 18th, 2026. White smoke billows from a conference of independent book stores in Washington, D.C. A new speaker has been chosen. A visibly-bloody Elizabeth Warren emerges to claim her rightful throne.

every single week they're throwing this guy a special oval office love-in that appears to be the presidential equivalent of letting your dog scarf an entire big mac and fries before that last trip to the vet

Democrats Have to Get Out of a Normal Democracy Mindset By folding in the government shutdown in exchange for virtually nothing, eight Democratic senators aid Trump's authoritarian takeover rather than oppose it

I wrote about the "Appeasement Eight" Senate Democrats getting the party to fold to Trump in the government shutdown, and why it shows that pro-democracy Americans badly need a real opposition party, full of leaders who recognize the United States isn't a normal rule of law democracy anymore.

10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are Has anything really changed in the decade since the Paris Agreement was reached? Actually, quite a lot.

Some good-ish climate news.

At NPSA, listening to susan stokes talk about democratic erosion. What do we do about leaders who attack the very institutions which empower them?

Tea Party, circa 2010: “The Democrats are led by an African, Muslim socialist who wants to rebuild the welfare state!”

*Monkey paw curls*

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department will say if members of groups on Trump's secret "domestic terrorist organization" list will be subject to summary execution like those on Trump's secret “designated terrorist organization" list. theintercept.com/2025/11/04/t...

Trump Humiliation Worsens as Fresh Info Reveals Scale of GOP Losses The results showed that Democrats don’t have to choose between attacking Trump and highlighting the economy. In fact, they are often inseparable.

He’s almost always on point—solid doubles and triples weekly—but this is grand slam level shit from @gregsargent.bsky.social

Must. Read. Today.

Here:

newrepublic.com/article/2027...

ICE must be dismantled and its members, audits, and abettors, be investigated for human rights violations, and be prosecuted for crimes. Doing anything less would be a miscarriage of justice.

Universal swing in action: "What we saw last night was a directional shift toward Democrats in 99.8% of counties that held partisan elections." www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...

Yes, this is what political scientists refer to as a competitive authoritarian regime. There are still elections, but incumbent authoritarians put their thumbs on the scale to ensure they continue to win every time.

Put the pronouns back in the email

2026 Primary Woke Wave

This is going to get spun as a "thermostatic shift" chart, but it should be properly interpreted as a "information environment is broken" chart.

In 2024, voters didn't know what Trump would do, and so they shifted towards him based on vibes. Now they are finding out, and they hate it.

Farewell sweet Prince

Good things are possible and we don’t have to settle.

AOC: "This is about, do you understand the assignment of fighting fascism right now? And they assignment is to come together across difference no matter what."

Andrew Cuomo can still be mayor, if Mike Pence has the courage.

BREAKING: Cuomo has fled the NYC mainland following its fall to socialist Zohran Mamdani. Sources say he will establish a new govt on Staten Island with the goal of eventually reclaiming the entire city. Mamdani has promised to purge all remaining Cuomintang on the mainland.

we did it, Zo

Wow, no thank you. I can't begin to express how much I'm not going to watch that.

@nytpitchbot.bsky.social does this count as “Dick Cheney did __[insert common-sense thing]_, does that excuse the war crimes? It’s complicated.”

On the ballot today:

-NYC: Mayor
-Minneapolis: Mayor
-VA: Governor, Lt. Governor, AG, and state House
-NJ: Governor
-PA: State Supreme Court
-GA: Public Service Commission
-TX: TX-18 U.S. House
-CA: Prop 50

This is a reminder of how crucial it is to vote up AND down the ballot.