Michael Robinson

the one that got away

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”

What the actual fuck are we doing here

Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...

Important dissention on the legality of strikes

Racial Resentment Among White Americans by Birth Year and Demographics This figure presents the same four-panel layout (education, gender, geography, religion) but for White Americans from birth years 1940 to 2000. Education panel: A pronounced divide shows non-college Whites with substantially higher resentment across all cohorts, increasing sharply for older birth years. College-educated Whites rise more modestly but remain distinctly lower, especially among younger cohorts. Gender panel: Male and female trendlines rise together, with women slightly higher in mid-century cohorts. Younger cohorts of both genders start lower and climb with age. Geography panel: Regional lines separate clearly: the South is highest in resentment, followed by the Midwest. The West and Northeast show lower levels, with the Northeast consistently at the bottom. All regions slope upward toward older cohorts. Religion panel: Protestants show the highest resentment, peaking among mid-century cohorts. Catholics sit in the middle. Non-affiliated Whites show the lowest resentment, especially among younger respondents, with a small rise among mid-century generations. The figure notes CES 2024 data with GAM-smoothed trendlines.

Those claiming Dems should retreat on racial justice aren't hard-headed realists, they're pushing against the electoral tide rather than leaning into it. The story of Gen Z isn't about racist backlash or red-pilled young men. It's the most racially progressive generation in American history. 🧵

I'd just like to point out that we spent an entire shipment of air defense interceptors' worth of money on new signs for a name change that isn't even legally the name of the DoD.

Ukraine is currently experiencing rolling blackouts from Russian strikes, btw.

Unreal. Many of us have had elderly relatives be misled by Fox, but none of them have the power to deploy the military inside our own country.

gotta keep reading

The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States Amazon.com: The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States eBook : Schake, Kori: Kindle Store

Happy Publication Day and congratulations to Dr. @kschake.bsky.social !

A brilliant scholar of civ-mil relations, her prose is joyful and well crafted, and her narrative, compelling.

This is a foundational, urgently needed text. I cannot recommend more strongly.

www.amazon.com/State-Soldie...

I curtsey my thanks for this high praise, @peterlucier.bsky.social!

Sharing this recent podcast by me on how civil-military relations (ideally) should work in liberal democracies.

See here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsma...

Not only has Ireland elected a woman president before, they were the first country to elect back-to-back female presidents (Mary Robinson 1990-1997 and Mary McAleese 1998-2011).

What Discord Follows: The Divisive Debate over Military Disobedience In The Soldier and the State, Samuel Huntington tells a story of a German officer in World War II who strongly believed his government was wrong, but also

In between are those who argue that profoundly immoral and illegal orders shouldn't be obeyed, but if one area that shouldn't be the basis of disobedience is political disagreement. See this excellent article by @lindsaypcohn.bsky.social @mzmargulies.bsky.social @eclipticevader7.bsky.social
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🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

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#CivMilSky #PolTheory

How Military Leaders Should Respond to Trump’s Norm-Busting There’s no shame in getting fired when it is not for cause.

While every administration has fired some military leaders, none has relieved so many, so early in their tenure, and in this dramatic fashion.

Judge issues new broader order barring any National Guard from relocating to Oregon Judge asked federal government lawyer: 'Do you believe this is an appropriate way to deal with a judge’s order that you disagree with?'

Folks we are watching the adjudication of some of the most important constitutional issues of federalism, executive discretion, and judicial review since the 19th c

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Can America's trust in its military survive the present moment? [Book excerpt] - Breaking Defense An excerpt from The State And The Soldier: A History Of Civil-military Relations In The United States written by Kori Schake of AEI.

Grateful to @breakingdefense.com for running an excerpt from my book. Thank you, @aaronmehta.bsky.social 🙂

Can America's trust in its military survive the present moment? [Book excerpt] - Breaking Defense An excerpt from The State And The Soldier: A History Of Civil-military Relations In The United States written by Kori Schake of AEI.

Happy to present a small excerpt from @kschake.bsky.social 's upcoming book, sure to be a masterpiece.

breakingdefense.com/2025/09/can-...

Looking forward to getting my own copy of @kschake.bsky.social’s book, and this excerpt certainly whet’s the appetite.

breakingdefense.com/2025/09/can-...

So, sending troops to Chicago or Baltimore would be much more complicated than either LA or DC.
🧵

I just received my first copy of the book!

I love the photo — it’s 1943, FDR in Morocco enroute to the Casablanca conference, being saluted by soldiers whose shadow you see, generals (including Patton and Devers) arrayed saluting both the president and soldiers, FDR’s hat and hand over his heart.

The irony here being if [right] were the Army’s actual position then [left] wouldn’t need to be said anonymously

Still not as bad as Microsoft Teams

RELEASE THE FEAVER CUT

Drake meme

In every war college student there are two wolves