@rlarochelle.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine. Researching and teaching about American political development and political history. Views are mine, not my employer's. https://www.ryanlarochelle.com
I like Ossoff, but I've been a bit surprised (and kind of bummed, tbd) that Warnock hasn't signaled an interest in a presidential bid. I think he'd be a terrific candidate, but perhaps he just isn't interested.
What happened to FAFO?
I kind of like Lincoln Baines Johnson.
And why does he always speak in the cadence of a complete dork trying to perform slam poetry?
This all sounds so awesome. What an incredible opportunity for your students!
I think we all dramatically underestimate how much rage-baiting is done by bot accounts on all platforms.
Government run by the smug bros who try to bullshit their way through a class discussion without doing the reading. The US is a profoundly unserious country, and the consequences are disastrous.
@unlawfulentries.bsky.social It’s happening!
These seem like pretty solid questions for high school students, especially in today's day and age.
Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education is stronger than ever.
Sure would be nice if the people swearing oaths to the Constitution knew what the document said...
I think 90% of my skeets have typos.
Time to update the ol' CV!
My general take is that the "perpetual preemption" argument he lays out at the end of the Politics Presidents Make is pretty accurate. In revising that in subsequent editions of Presidential Leadership and Political Time, he has tried to resuscitate the original theory, which no longer holds.
I assigned this during for the class!
My students and I have lots of thoughts on whether Skowronek's political time framework still applies in contemporary America, but I think his distinction between power and authority remains insightful for all domains of leadership, not merely the presidency.
I just wrapped up a section on Skowronek's political time framework, and this @jamellebouie.net piece nicely articulates the fundamental distinction between presidential power and presidential authority. All presidents have power, but not all have authority. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/o...
There was a guy that worked with me at the Yankees, he had NO ARMS. He got more work done than I did! Made more money. Had a wife, a family. Drove a better car than I did!
Example number of infinity of the sheer lack of seriousness of any of these folks.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/o...
One of the annoying pro-AI claims is that we in higher ed need to teach students to use AI tools or they will be left behind. Students in the 21st century need a lot of skills to succeed, it's not my responsibility to teach all of them. They can learn AI somewhere else, I'll teach them how to think.
Without discounting the serious threat Trump as an individual presents for American democracy, I think that Congressional Republicans' abdication of their constitutional obligations is the most serious problem in American politics.
It’s weird to think about how devices and technology have shrunk the world for the youngest adult generation. Part of this is a lack of reading, studying, and interacting beyond devices.
We have one gas and one electric. I’ll be driving the electric a lot more often!
I cross paths with a philosophy colleague several times a week. He stopped and told me about how the residents of Konigsberg would keep time by tracking Immanuel Kant’s rigid daily schedule, which he compared to our frequent meetings walking to and from class. I guess that makes me Immanuel Kant.
Treating real war like a Call of Duty Twitch stream isn't helping anyone.
ngl this is probably the most useful thing I've made thus far, a comprehensive feed equivalent of paper-picnic.com
This is terrific! Thank you!
Talking about "warfighters" and "violence" over and over just shows that you don't know anything beyond your pre-selected talking points.
One of the things that bothers me so much about contemporary politics is how degraded political discourse has become and how unserious so many leaders are. These decisions are incredibly consequential, yet so many of the folks running the show are just not serious people. Politics is not a game.
