Natalie Belisle

If you are a law professor and you do not understand the framework for the scope and limits of executive authority that Jackson laid out in Youngstown Sheet & Tube, you maybe shouldn't be teaching con law.

The beginnings of an autogolpe in full effect.

Who decided that these inherently porous categories—research, teaching, and service—should be forever in hierarchical relationship to each other, no matter the context of their application?

If you honestly think autistic & otherwise neurodivergent people aren't going on dates, I'mma need you to do just a basic google search for the words "autistic" "neurodivergent" & "polyamory," because there's uh… There are some uh… Interesting lessons you can learn about autistic people & dating 😅😬

DOGE fires nearly all staff at U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters D.C. employees of the institute, founded and funded by Congress, received late-night termination notices, though most of its overseas staff were left in place.

They can't spell "April"?

"The termination emails were riddled with mistakes — with employees’ names, the month of April and even the institute’s title misspelled in places — a telling sign of the rushed and haphazard nature of the operation..."

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Thanks goodness the corruption of DEI is behind us, and we can create a new, golden age of merit:

When you look at the list of institutions they want to defund: libraries, museums, the Smithsonian, public schools, PBS, NPR, archives, you can clearly see that the real threat to an authoritarian regime is an informed and educated public

*looks directly at camera*

California too, D supermajority. The CSU system recently announced staff & faculty layoffs *and* simultaneous "investment in AI" on campuses, which shows callous disregard for both students and instructors

an announcement for a webinar conversation over zoom between professors and theorists Brian Massumi and Kathleen Stewart discussing Massumi's new book on contemporary fascism. The flyer shows pictures of Massumi and Steward and the cover of the book.

March 31 at @intellpublics.bsky.social Brian Massumi discusses his brilliant new book www.dukeupress.edu/the-personal... with Katie Stewart. Massumi asks why we still think of fascism through theories from the 30's that don't adequately account for the rise of Trump.
Register bit.ly/personalityo...

this. will. be 🔥

Gracias, Winnie!

Levan Book Chat—Natalie Lauren Belisle, Caribbean Inhospitality

Hey folks, I’ll be discussing my @rutgersupress.bsky.social book, Caribbean Inhospitality, with Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, @jossianna.bsky.social, and Nayan Shah, at the USC Levan Institute for the Humanities, Monday, March 24, 12 - 1 pm PST. Link to register calendar.usc.edu/event/levan-...

Celebrate #InternationalWomensDay. #CaribbeanWomen
Julia de Burgos, Maryse Condé, Edwidge Danticat, Jamaica Kincaid, Mariposa, Mayra Santos-Febres

Georgetown law dean rebuffs DEI warning from top federal prosecutor for DC Georgetown Law School’s dean has rebuffed an unusual warning from the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., that his office won’t hire the private school’s students if it doesn’t eliminate dive...

“Given the First Amendment’s protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution,” Treanor wrote.

Grateful to be able to share this gorgeous cover, particularly given that it features a painting by Fignolé's fellow-Spiralist Frankétienne, who passed away last week.

Statement from the Musk-appointed head of SSA celebrating the deletion of research grants studying the financial security of the older adults and the disabled. Just one way that the richest man in the world is dictating societal priorities.
www.ssa.gov/news/press/r...

Woodrow Wilson Should Stay Canceled The 28th President of the United States enabled segregation and vile treatment of Black federal workers. He doesn’t deserve an image rehabilitation.

Remembered that I wrote about how awful Woodrow Wilson's historic segregationist purge of Black workers from federal government jobs was last year.... www.thedailybeast.com/woodrow-wils...

Literally.

We’re busy working with old definitions of authoritarian forms that are continually evolving and shapeshifting. I’m uncertain why this being a coup is still a question.

I have to give it him. Given my knowledge of Latin American history, I couldn’t fathom how he’d gain control of the military, as is traditionally done, to mobilize a coup. Nope. He knew there’d be too many levels to clear. So he used computer/digital technology.

🥹

I wholeheartedly agree.

Agreed.

Not at all. Our nervous systems are wrecked.

This is good advice.

I've found that I'm much happier if I treat social media like I treat caffeine -- and for the same reasons

1. None of either when I first wake up

2. Stop consuming both after about 2pm so I can calm my nervous system enough to get ready for bed

For the most part, I try to avoid going on social media first thing in the morning. But with the constant, seemingly apocalyptic attacks on government and democracy it’s been hard to avoid.

I read a post elsewhere that advised, for the sake our our mental health, to treat current 24-hr news cycle like we did in the pre-social media—where we came home from work/school and only watched the news at 6 pm and 10 pm instead of scrolling all day. And I think I’m going to adopt that stance.

Congratulations!