Archon Fung

Pentagon to Curb Ties With Top Universities and Think Tanks

What's higher ed to do when it loves viewpoint diversity, but viewpoint diversity doesn't love it back?

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/u...

Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn’t See Coming Was Trump.

Many of us in the democracy community tried to persuade the Obama folks that small-d democracy should be more of a priority than they made it. My sense then was that they nodded politely, but didn't really get the point.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...

How a little-known Maine ballot initiative could defang super PACs before the 2028 election Politicians — from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — have decried the potential corrupting force of unlimited donations from plutocrats and corporations.

“The largest number of people to vote for anything in the history of Maine have said they don’t want super PACs. ... It demonstrates that this is a deeply purple issue; there was no difference in the results in red districts or blue districts."

https://bit.ly/4tHG86G

This Culpepper and Thelen article on how consumer identity supports platform power is a stone-cold classic. "Focusing on the critical role played by consumers in explaining the powers platform firms wield in the rich democracies lends insight as well into their distinctive vulnerabilities"

The Strangers' Case | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Jo...

Brilliant, from the Colbert show the other night: Ian McKellen recites a speech, “The Stranger’s Case,” thought to be by Shakespeare in which Sir Thomas More addresses an unruly London crowd that has rioted demanding that strangers from abroad be sent back. “What would you think, to be thus used?”

The Breakdown with Erica Chenoweth and Steve Levitsky – Ash Center

Join me and @stevelevitsky.bsky.social at our next session of The Breakdown, this Thursday 2/18 at 4pm ET. Register here: ash.harvard.edu/events/the-b...

The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering

The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory

Important report from @bcburden.bsky.social who runs the @electionscenter.bsky.social on this point. electionlab.mit.edu/articles/opt...

How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism Moderation used to help Democrats win, but its advantages now have been greatly exaggerated.

This @bostonreview.bsky.social piece by @adambonica.bsky.social and @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social is an absolute must-read, as are many of the responses to it.

Spread this one far and wide.

"I demand the sum of one bm̶illion dollars"

Yes, It’s Fascism Until recently, I thought it a term best avoided. But now, the resemblances are too many and too strong to deny.

We'll dig into Jonathan's Atlantic article "Yes, It's Fascism." If you get a chance, read it and ask some questions on the live stream.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

So, Is It Fascism? YouTube video by Harvard Ash Center

Join Jonathan Rauch, @stephenrich.bsky.social and me to talk about whether the Trump admin is "fascist," what that means, and whether the name matters on the @harvardash.bsky.social Terms of Engagement (Tuesday noon ET).
www.youtube.com/live/vGghrgX...

Huge Billy Bragg fan, too.

Like many men of a certain age, I’m a huge Springstein fan. Here’s a new track with some Dylanesque notes.

Normal thing for a major urban American newspaper to have to post.

so long as the violence is directed against Marxist left ANTIFA radicals, those who are uncivil to federal officials, and AWFUL (Affluent White Female Urban Liberals), who have it coming. If you just stay home, don't protest, and obey law enforcement, you're safe.

Interesting observation. The "few bad apples" response sez: you think we're in a systemically violent and repressive state, but we're not - it's just a few bad apples. The current argument seems to be that we want a systemically violent state..

The fundamental tenet of Robert Peel, who founded the first municipal police force in London, is that the police are the people and the people are the police. Once this connection is destroyed, you are simply an occupying force. This is why ICE should be withdrawn from Minneapolis, today.

Secretary of State Steve Simon’s statement on the outrageous request from the US Attorney General www.sos.mn.gov/about-the-of...

Many of us educators in the democracy space have argued for decades that there should be more civic education courses in K-12, college, etc. But the folks in Minneapolis and your comment make me think the real problem is that leaders of business, media, and politics need more civic education.

Thank you, President Roth. No official at my university (Harvard) can make a statement like yours as an official because our institutional voice policy forbids it. That’s too bad, because the successful defense of democracy just might require leaders of its institutions to speak up and defend it.

Bellingcat analysis of Alex Pretti killing by federal Officers. (T1) officer appears to have taken weapon off of Pretti’s waist, (T2) then walks away with the gun, (T3) and then 2 other officers shoot him, 10 times. If Bellingcat analysis holds up, Pretti was killed after he was disarmed.

Action Memo for Senior Bureau Official John Armstrong FROM: SUBJECT: CA/VO - Stuart Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary (SBU) Revocation of Fl Visa for Rumeysa OZTURK (SBU) Recommendation 1: That you approve the revocation of the Fl visa, effective immediately, for under section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Due to ongoing ICE operational security, this revocation will be silent; the Department will not notify the subject. (Approve/Disapprove by 03/21/25) Decision: [Approved] (SBU) Recommendation 2: That you authorize the transmission of the attached notification to the Department of Homeland Security noting the, immediate revocation of OZTURK's visa. (Approve/Disapprove by 03/21/25) Decision: [Approved] Background (SBU} On March 21, 2025, the Assistant Director of the National Security Division of DHS/ICE's Homeland Security Investigations referred to CA information regarding Rumeysa OZTURK, a Turkish national, for a possible determination by the Secretary that the alien is deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C). As a nonimmigrant visa holder, such a determination is not necessary for OHS/ICE to pursue removal of OZTURK from the United States, as INA section 237(a}(1)(B) provides that an alien is deportable if their nonimmigrant visa has been revoked under INA section 221(i).

(SBU) Under INA section 221(i), the Secretary of State may at any time, in his discretion, revoke a visa.. This authority is delegated to you pursuant to Delegation of Authority 367-4. Department policy reflected in 9 FAM 403.ll~S(B) provides that a visa may be revoked in cases of a suspected ineligibility, when an individual would not meet requirements .for admission, or "in other situations where warranted." (SBU) OZTURK was issued an F-1 visa on December 14, 2020, valid until December 9, 2025. According to information provided by OHS/ICE/HSI OZTURK is a post doctorate degree candidate in Child Studies and Human Development at Tufts University. On March 21, 2025, OHS/ICE/HSI referred information to CA indicating that OZTURK co-authored an op-ed in Tufts' student newspaper. In this article, the authors wrote, "Graduate Students for Pal'estine joins Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine (TSJP), the Tufts Faculty and Staff Coalition for Ceasefire, .and Fletcher Students for Palestine to reject the ,University's response" {to a student government resolution). According to OHS/ICE/HSI, Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine was placed\\ on interim suspension 11 after it used images of weapons to promote a protest rally and urged members of the Tufts community to 'join the student intifada." OHS/ICE/HSI referral concluded that "OZTURK's involvement in these activities and associations with these groups may undermine U.S. foreign. policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization." (SBU) While OZTURK has been involved with the actions protesting Turfts' relationship with Israel, QHS/ICE/HSI has not, however, provided any evidence showing that OZTURK has engaged in any antisemitic activity or made any public statements indicating support for a terrorist organization or antisemitism generally. While the report implies a connection between OZTURK and the now-banned Tufts Student for Justice in Pa…

OZTURK was involved in any of the activities which resulted in TJSP being suspended from Tufts. (SBU) Through a search on March 21, 2025, on available USG interagency databases, CA/VO identified no reporting specific to OZTURK, and interagency vetting partners did not provide any response to OZTURK's 2024 visa application indicating the existence of derogatory terrorism-related information. (SBU) OHS did not identify any alternative grounds of removability that would be applicable to OZTURK, including the ground of removability for aliens who have provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization or terrorist activity, and have not indicated whether it plans to consider termination of OZTURK's SEVIS registration. Although information provided by OHS/HSI/ICE does not establish any potential ineligibility for OZTURK, you may, in your discretion and in accordance with Department policy in 9 FAM 403.11-5(8), approve revocation of her F-1 visa effective immediately based on the totality of the circumstances presented indicating that revocation may be warranted.

Here is the newly-unsealed State Department memo confirming -- finally -- that the detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was based on an op-ed.

No antisemitic activity. No support of terrorism.

An op-ed in a student newspaper.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Picture of thousands of protesters against ICE in Minneapolis on January 23, 2026 from New York Times.

This is what democracy looks like…

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/u...

“If I had to choose between a single judgment in an international court on some horror that has happened or a very fine work of literature addressing that issue, I would probably choose the work of literature,” he said, “because it is more likely to bring peace and reconciliation.”

If you can't pair Apple Pencil with your iPad - Apple Support Find solutions to the most common pairing issues.

I vaguely remember that I had this issue a few months ago. Can’t quite remember how I fixed it. Recommend that you try the “forget this device” option with pencil as described here…

support.apple.com/en-us/108788

Hi Sue, what model of iPad Pro do you have? I have a couple of IPads and use the Apple Pencil pro all the time, and it’s working for me.

Did you try deleting the Apple Pencil pairing from the iPad (probably in Settings / Bluetooth) and re-pairing the pencil?

More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.

They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”

I’m a political scientist and political theorist. Great idea, and I’d be happy to zoom in to do a class on participatory democracy or democratic innovations. Also theory of justice or democratic theory.

Five takeaways from the Reuters interview of President Trump Reuters sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump for an interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Here are some takeaways from the 30-minute exchange:

[Trump] boasted that he had accomplished so much that “when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.”

www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...