Senior program officer for research initiatives, Kettering Foundation. Leads Kettering-Gallup Democracy for All Project annual survey. Studies democracy, virtue ethics, and Aristotle; Orioles fan.
Nice account of internal conflicts at Heritage focusing mostly on free trade cons who have been pushed out. This reaffirms that two big parties are not enough to represent the full array of ideologies, and "left" and "right" are too simplistic. 1/ tinyurl.com/4cduet97
What the Crackup of the Heritage Foundation Says About the Post-Trump RightThe bastion of American conservatism best known for Project 2025 has been consumed by an ideological — and generational — civil war.www.nytimes.comWell said! And also: merely going back to pre-2024 status quo is not enough!
Mark CopelovitchIt is crucial to keep saying this, because too many people are going to say, "Let's just move on" if the Democrats win in November & 2028. But we can't just do that & leave the entire competitive authoritarian system in place. We have to become a real democracy. That requires institutional reform:
So foreign adversaries can pretty much attack blue states with impunity?
Aaron RuparTrump: "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."
Maybe I am just being hysterical but reading this makes me think there is at least a chance that a technology adopted to help people buy plane tickets ends up provoking WW3. Fortunately we are assured "this type of risk can be overcome" www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...
Anthropic Says Its A.I. Systems Broke Into Computers at 3 Organizations (Gift Article)The disclosure followed OpenAI’s report last week that its own artificial intelligence had hacked into the network of an online library.www.nytimes.comI can kinda get confusing socialism with communism but fascism is just too much. It's all an obvious but probably successful attempt to degrade the audience's ability to make critical judgments.
Decoding Fox NewsIn an attempt to compare Mayor Mamdani to Nazis David Asman appeared to evoke the Night of the Long Knives when the Nazis executed their political rivals and enemies. The Nazis were fascists NOT socialists. The Nazis HATED socialists/communists.
So much for making America great again.
Samuel PerryCan't imagine how this reflects well on any President. During Obama's 2nd term, over 4/5 of adults said they were very/extremely proud to be an American. Only 4% said they were only a little/not at all proud. Two months ago, only about half of Americans said they were very/extremely proud. @prri.org
Perhaps 2024 was less a vote for MAGA than a reflection of deep disappointment and frustration with the Democrats that Trump happened to capitalize on. Not a mandate for mass deportation and gutting the government.
Ana Marie CoxThese numbers should make me happy or at least feel vindicated but all of these things (except the ballroom, I guess) were obvious two years ago and people voted for him anyway.
Notable that this defense of academic freedom against authoritarianism is coming from champions outside the university. It seems few outside the university understand what's at stake.
Kim Lane ScheppeleA powerful op-ed on why universities should not cave into political pressure. wapo.st/4ftHkFX
New survey data from our Democracy for All Project with Gallup finds 2/3 of Americans concerned about leaders attempting to pressure election officials to influence outcomes. 3/4 report multiple concerns. The full report is coming soon. news.gallup.com/poll/712955/...
Election Concerns Run High Ahead of 2026 MidtermsAmericans head into the 2026 midterms concerned about election integrity and broader threats to democratic governance and accountability.news.gallup.comSeveral levels of wrongness here. Debates like this make me start to get anti-intellectualism
Aaron BadyOkay now it's getting real
"The resistance"🤣 As if capitalism needs brave millionaires to fight for it.
Greg SargentWhat fresh hell is this? What is going on over there?
Pumping 100's of millions of gallons of radioactive fracking wastewater back into the ground seems like an obviously bad idea. Good job Ohio!
Joan E. CashinIn Ohio, Toxic Wastewater Is Bubbling Up Out of the Ground www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/c...
Also wild these "intellectual diversity" centers would come out and state their mission to center a single "Anglo-American" cultural-intellectual tradition via state mandate
Benjamin McKeanIt is WILD that the Ohio legislator responsible for legally mandating the creation of these conservative civic centers at Ohio's public universities is explicitly comparing them to the Hoover Institution - a private think tank that is itself separate from the private university that hosts it
Would not have guessed this but should have.
Tom PepinskyAmericans have more confidence in higher education than in big tech companies, and the gap is growing rather than shrinking. The higher ed-doomsday pundits need to get on board with the real vibe shift in public trust that is happening right now.
Christianity preaches "blessed are the meek". So why does Christian nationalism glorify competition and economic dominance? Kettering fellow Andrew Whitehead helps us understand the role of Christian nationalism in supporting American inequality.
Andrew WhiteheadThe last time the US produced income & wealth inequality at these levels was during the Gilded Age/Roaring 20s. Historians & social scientists identify two commonalities between a century ago & now: the overlapping influences of Christian nationalism & capitalism. kettering.org/economic-ine...
All because of an internet lie that JD Vance has admitted he knowingly spread and now cannot walk back.
Aaron Reichlin-MelnickThe death toll in Haiti is rising. The UN Security Council says conditions are worsening. A top Trump official says Haiti has become a "violent playground" for dictators. Yet the Trump admin is still trying to force 350,000 people back to Haiti, most of whom have never violated any immigration law.
Could also be a good time to point out that Christianity developed as an intentional critique and radical transvaluation of Roman heroic culture.
Stephen NuñezIt's certainly fascinating and of historic importance but also the idea that you'd look at the world of the Iliad and Odyssey: rape/pillage/plunder, wide-spread slavery, horrific misogyny, endless honor killings and say, "muh western civ!" is bizarre to me. These are bad people!