Alex Hertel-Fernandez

DOJ is now recruiting for immigration judges by calling them “deportation judges.”

That’s seems really bad.

Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy

NEW: As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick drives billions of dollars in foreign payments to help build AI data centers in the US, his sons help run a company earning tens of millions in fees helping finance AI data centers. A NYT investigation. (Free link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...

Damn right.

Things are bad, but pushback can still work. Keep it up.

A senior academic using mentoring as leverage to obtain sex is a contemptible abuser of power.

Screenshot of working paper: The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct

📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣

"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu

A thread of two photos, each worth more than 1,000 words:

The Rev. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church in Evanston, Ill., is detained by Illinois State Police at a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility

Via Freelance photographer Jim Vondruska/Reuters

1/2

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Story says: Headline "The Final Day" Then: The Final Day Rachel went to meet with the DOJ lawyers the next day—Thursday, June 26th. That morning, an article came out in the NY Times describing how DOJ lawyers were pressuring me to resign. I still have no idea who leaked the story. At around 1pm on Thursday, I was called by Rachel and the two outside lawyers, Jack and Farnaz, who attended the meeting with Rachel. I was told that the DOJ lawyers were very upset with the leaked story in the Times and that the only offer on the table was that I needed to resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA. I also needed my resignation to be effective prior to the students returning. If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block hundreds of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate. I was then told that the DOJ had offered an amazing deal—unlike any the lawyers had ever seen, in their words. They were basically willing to grant UVA blanket immunity—all of the inquires and investigations would be suspended, no financial penalties would be imposed, and agencies would be told not to cut off our research funding. They said they had never seen or heard about such a great deal for any university. Rachel praised the lawyers for their astute and savvy bargaining, and I was told this was an amazing deal.

1) 'Why I Resigned' from UVa Prez 100% worth reading www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

2) Events were forced by NYT story w leaked info that he was under pressure to resign. UVa prez has 'no idea' where leaks came from (See below.)

3) FWIW same NYT team did leaked "Harvard will cave" stories

The problem was never "cancel culture." The problem is that our elites have no shame. And many are also pretty terrible people

The Rise of Populism and the Future of Economic Policy YouTube video by Columbia SIPA

LIVE now 🔴 The Rise of Populism and the Future of Economic Policy

With Sheri Berman, Mary Kay Henry, @awhf.bsky.social, Faiz Shakir, @josephestiglitz.bsky.social, @shaynalstrom.bsky.social, and more. @equitablegrowth.bsky.social

youtube.com/live/41tsfAq...

We started Indivisible in 2016 because a future Trump appointee was talking about the WWII Japanese internment camps as a model for immigrants at the same time that Schumer was talking about finding common ground with Trump.

How do we rebuild trust in government to achieve equitable economic growth? 
 
Panelists @josephestiglitz.bsky.social, @dongravesjr.bsky.social, Sheri Berman of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social, and @matt-tuerk.bsky.social discuss alongside NYT reporter and moderator @lydiadepillis.bsky.social.

Starting now with a great discussion of the connection of economic policy and democracy @equitablegrowth.bsky.social @columbiaigp.bsky.social

This is why this surrender isn't just about this narrow issue but is rather the whole constitutional ballgame:

Democrats are affirmatively signaling they do not want political power at the same time Trump is transitioning the political system into an autocratic one wherein they're denied it forever

I think the quick negative statements by normie centrist Dems outside of the Senate reflects their read that the vote is very unpopular with the base, at least in the short run.

Low-income households denied SNAP due to administrative barriers suffer downstream consequences. Process-related denials increase debt, delinquencies, and decrease credit scores, from Tatiana Homonoff, Min S. Lee, and Katherine Meckel www.nber.org/papers/w34434

Celebrating Recent Work by Timothy Frye Please join the Harriman Institute, the Institute for Social and Economic Research, The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities, and the Department of Political Science for a celebrati...

Looking forward to discussing our new book with John Huber, Jessica Pisano @awhf.bsky.social @pagefortna.bsky.social on Friday, Nov. 14th at 12:15. The event is both in person and on zoom. Hope you can make it. harriman.columbia.edu/event/celebr...

We’re hiring!

Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.

Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply

“.. in a group Signal chat, .. he wrote in part: ‘I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.’”

@reuters.com #Chicago
www.reuters.com/world/us/bor...

Poster from 1936 says: Join the March to Old Age Security, with a long line of happy people

Poster with picture of old man holding pipe: More Security for the American Family (1939)

The Social Security Administration used to have an incredible communications arm, including even a film unit. This was crucial in helping people understand the program, and how it would work. From 1936, 1939.
www.ssa.gov/history/puba...

Transcript: Senator Tina Smith Says Dems Need Big Ideas Like Mamdani’s Minnesota Senator Tina Smith says Democrats can’t just be anti-Trump and instead need to offer a compelling alternative agenda.

"I"m super-enthusiastic about Mamdani. What I love about him is that he is not just anti-Cuomo. He’s proposing something that has obviously really excited a bunch of people. And we need to do more of that," says @smith.senate.gov. newrepublic.com/article/2024...

I jump into the moderation debate. I agree with @adambonica.bsky.social and @gelliottmorris.com on the methodology, but I want to draw attention to a bigger issue. The collapse of candidate effects generally.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-modera...

Lots more to say, but CONGRATS to @rooseveltinstitute.org and the authors on a really comprehensive and sober stock taking! 7/7

The second lesson is about the lack of grappling with a radicalized conservative / MAGA movement. If there had been more preparation for the challenges policies were likely more face, the administration might have designed policies differently, with faster implementation less reliant on courts. 6/

One ex from labor: union members who reported deeper engagement with their local about the federal government were more aware of the Biden labor agenda and more likely to feel they benefited from the agenda, and to support Harris. But many members weren’t engaged by their locals. 5/

The Varied Voice of Labor: Unpacking the Political Engagement of Labor in the 2024 Election - Center for Labor and a Just Economy “The Varied Voice of Labor: Unpacking the Political Engagement of Labor in the 2024 Election,” focuses on unions’ role in…

But government can do more to engage with trusted messengers — church leaders, union leaders, etc. As I found, many union leaders didn’t communicate to their members about the biggest Biden labor policies! (clje.law.harvard.edu/the-varied-v...). There was real breakdown in meaningful engagement. 3/

There is a LOT in here, but two things really resonated with me. First, the need for better structures to engage folks who are receiving government policies to help them understand those policies and connect them to government. In a polarized era without local news media, this is really hard. 2/

Building a More Effective, Responsive Government: Lessons Learned from the Biden-Harris Administration - Roosevelt Institute In a new analysis, Hannah Garden-Monheit and Tresa Joseph draw on interviews with more than 45 senior Biden-Harris appointees to offer a bold road map for rebuilding federal government capacity and re...

Really important analysis from @rooseveltinstitute.org about the structures and decisions that held back a more ambitious Biden Administration agenda that might have resonated more with the public and what should change in a future administration. 1/

rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Why Is Trump Autocracy Rising? These Dems Have an Unnerving Answer. A new Biden administration autopsy, based on internal assessments from many government insiders, has crystal clear lessons for the future.

SCOOP --> Major new Bidenworld autopsy just dropped: 45 former Biden officials candidly assess their mistakes and failings in new Roosevelt Institute report. They lay out the beginnings of a Project 2029 agenda to reverse authoritarian tide.

Details in my new piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2023...

U.S. Democracy Rankings Remain Stable But With a Red Flag | Faculty of Arts and Sciences New study finds disapproval of targeted political violence is not universal.

A new report from Bright Line Watch, co-directed by #Dartmouth professors @brendannyhan.bsky.social and @johncarey.bsky.social, finds expert ratings place U.S. democracy closer to "illiberal or mixed democracy" than full democracy—more similar to Israel and Mexico than Britain or Canada.