cbkdominguez.bsky.social

No one has been more vindicated than normie resistance Dems, women’s marchers and never-Trump Republicans. They were right all along about the threat. The anti-anti-Trump Republicans and reactionary centrists, and the far left “it’s always been this bad” folks have been proved wrong over and over.

Presidents enjoy ample discretion in directing the armed forces, but 1) blowing up speedboats that do not pose imminent threats 2) killing people without providing any evidence that it was lawful to blow them up are not legitimate uses of that discretion.

Congress, where art thou?

Extremist murders by ideology, 2013 to 2022. www.pbump.net/o/reassessin...

Breaking News Consumer's Handbook 1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong. 2. Don't trust anonymous sources. 3. Don't trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information. 4. There's almost never a second shooter. 5. Pay attention to the language the media uses. - "We are getting reports"... could mean anything. - "We are seeking confirmation"... means they don't haveit. - "[News outlet] has learned"... means it has a scoop or is going out on a limb. 6. Look for news outlets close to the incident. 7. Compare multiple sources. 8. Big news brings out the fakers. And photoshoppers. 9. Beware reflexive retweeting. Some of this is on you.

With alt text:

The president is sending the military to control American cities and if you're a reporter who's framing that illegal power grab as "pushing the boundaries of constitutionality" or "acting boldly to fight crime" or whatever, please go find another line of work where you won't get us all killed.

Ok - so I'm going to do a real context+write up but for now, here's what some of these things look like.

To start my data reference is DCinbox which is ~208,000 official e-newsletters over the past 15 years.

need people to understand that accepting or conceding that he has the authority to do these things is tantamount to giving him the authority, and so your preemptive dooming is actively counterproductive

A short history of mail balloting 🧵

Summer of Our Discontent “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

My new essay is up!

open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

Anyone who has experience in an abusive household, or who has worked with people in them, or has read a lot about them, will be familiar with a particular dynamic:

Dad is full of loud passions & intense moods, sweeping through like a thunderstorm, unpredictable, volatile, often violent. He is ...

Hello journalists. If you report this you gotta say that under the Constitution he has no power to do it. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

#academicsky #medsky, please sign this. It is a plea to the UC system to "Do not sacrifice our strengths & our community, deeply nurtured & protected for over 100 years, to a deeply callous &unfair federal administration that will only ask for more". tinyurl.com/ucstandup

Stand up, fight back.

1/ Hi there. I'm your friendly neighborhood political scientist and it just so happens that I've published on this very question. Ezra - though I respect him and his organizing work tremendously, is 100% completely wrong on this.

The commissars are literally using government power to attack and suppress political speech. Whatever you think about "cancel culture," this is 100x worse. Deeply authoritarian.

The danger in Columbia's deal: "This emerging model raises profound concerns not just for universities’ budgets and independence but also for the rule of law."
balkin.blogspot.com/2025/07/regu...

Why do populist governments pass unpopular policies? Populists don't stay in power by being popular—they stay in power by keeping people mad.

In my latest at @misofact.bsky.social I draw on political science findings to explain why Trump’s populist government passed a deeply unpopular and regressive set of policies. open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

Dems think they’re rising above partisan politics by killing impeachment. Really they’re falling down on constitutional duty. Trump illegally bombs Iran without Congress, 128 Dems + leadership join the GOP. We can’t confuse complicity for pragmatism. You don’t fight authoritarianism by enabling it.

No serious attempt yet, before or after, to persuade the public (or provide legal justification) that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US.

Congress established there is no legal basis for an attack on Iran in 2020.

Remember when Congress (both houses!) said it was illegal for Trump to attack Iran and Trump vetoed the bill? www.congress.gov/bill/116th-c...

Like record keeping, reason-giving is basic to any hope for accountability. To not even bother with it shows how far we have gone. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

I am looking for congressional leaders to come out quickly and forcefully against this. We need unequivocal opposition. We need theatric demonstrations of defiance. We need to see leadership. Trump will steamroll us all if we display weakness. Where are our leaders?

There's no declaration of war, and no AUMF that covers this. Entering this war is wrong on the merits; we had a perfectly peaceful way to address Iran's nuclear program. It's also unlawful. A democratic republic should not be able to enter a war of choice on one man's say-so.

Imperial President at Home, Emperor Abroad American foreign policy in an age of unrestrained executive power.

“The president is functionally equivalent to a dictator in the realm of national security—one who can translate any impulse into policy on a whim.” @profsaunders.bsky.social for @foreignaffairs.com www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

THE WAR POWER IS IN ARTICLE I
THE WAR POWER IS IN ARTICLE I
THE WAR POWER IS IN ARTICLE I