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Joe Ura

@joeura.bsky.social
6.6K followers 842 following 314 posts

political science. law and courts. public opinion. elections. higher education. revolutionaries. tar heels. tigers. aggies. different tigers. clemson, sc. a private citizen commenting on matters of public concern. not at all speaking for my employer.

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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Come work with me! The Department of Political Science at Clemson University is hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in Comparative Politics or IR + quantitative methods. Review of applications starts 10/19. See our ad for more details. www.higheredjobs.com/search/detai...
higheredjobs.com
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Time to dust off this classic. bookshop.org/p/books/how-...
bookshop.org
How to Cook a Wolf
"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." --W.H. Auden Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks dur...
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Time to dust off this classic. bookshop.org/p/books/how-...
bookshop.org
How to Cook a Wolf
"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." --W.H. Auden Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks dur...
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Stationary bandits.
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
$4.19/gal for regular in Seneca, SC. It was half that before the "war."
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The story is even worse than the headline.
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 09/09/2026
Really rare to spot something like this in the wild, but The Wall Street Journal ran a "Supreme Court Expansion Is Secretly Unconstitutional Actually" column that directly refutes its thesis in the paragraph that immediately follows. Beautiful stuff. www.wsj.com/opinion/is-c...
Last week only one House Democrat, North Carolina’s Don Davis, voted for a measure to propose a constitutional amendment fixing the court’s size at nine. But it’s unclear that such an amendment is necessary. Democrats cite several precedents from the 19th century in which Congress voted to increase the number of justices. But there are no clear precedents that support a partisan court-packing plan and a strong argument that it would be an unconstitutional assault on judicial independence and the separation of powers.

Article III establishes “one Supreme Court,” and Article I mentions “the Chief Justice,” but otherwise the Constitution leaves to Congress the authority to establish the structure of the federal judiciary, including the number of justices. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress created the Supreme Court with six justices.
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Thomas M. Keck @tmksyracuse.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Institutional neutrality mandates are inconsistent with academic freedom, exhibit one million
The Vanderbilt board goes far beyond mere criticism of faculty with views they dislike, to claiming that professors with views they deem "political" are violating their professional duties: "Faculty have a corresponding duty to act in accordance with and actively maintain scholarly standards. Faculty fail to live up to this duty if they individually or collectively (e.g., in academic units or scholarly associations) subordinate scholarly standards to a political and social agenda."The Vanderbilt board expands this threat against any faculty deemed to promote evil political ideas in class discussions: "Faculty—individually and through academic units-fail in their responsibility if course offerings, syllabi, or class discussions suppress or promote ideas and perspectives that are rooted in political or personal commitments as opposed to academic merit." There is nothing wrong with promoting perspectives that have political commitments; in fact, intellectual diversity requires this, because some viewpoints include political commitments.
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The US has carried out at least 227 extrajudicial killings.
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Directional voting dynamics are under-appreciated in primary elections, especially in periods of high partisan polarization. All else equal, primary voters seem drawn to stimulating candidates over who take on more central ideological positions. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scores surprise primary win in Florida US Senate race
Nixon bested Alexander Vindman to win Democratic nomination and now faces Republican Ashley Moody in November
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
We're looking forward to seeing y'all soon. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/u...
nytimes.com
Democrats Make South Carolina the First Contest in 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar (Gift Article)
The party’s membership finalized the new order for the first six states to winnow the candidate field, pushing back Iowa and New Hampshire.
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tante @tante.cc · 10/06/2026
A court in Munich declared that Google is liable for their "AI summaries" and all its hallucinations. This brings "AI" slop in line with all other products: "AI" is basically the only product where a provider can deliver unchecked garbage and put all liability on the consumer.
the-decoder.com
Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers
A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previous limited liability protections for search engine operators don't apply to AI overviews. In this case, Google's AI had falsely linked two publishers to fraud and made claims that didn't appear in any of the linked sources. The ruling could set a precedent for AI-generated content liability worldwide.
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Cover art, page proofs, and a (planned) December publication date. Presidential Elections in Polarized Times from @degruyterbrill.bsky.social
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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
As a resident of Connecticut who occasionally sees Ross Douthat at our daughters’ activities, I can tell you there has been no collapse here, civic or educational.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It sometimes feels like we're living in a ridiculously exaggerated folk tale with wildly implausible villains. For example, as the president takes billions for himself and his family and *coats his things in gold,* the soldiers fighting his war can't get toothpaste, hot water, or a clean toilet.
ms.now
Moldy showers and no soap: Military families are outraged by conditions on USS Lincoln
The aircraft carrier's long deployment in the Iran war is raising concerns that the sailors and Marines on board are facing poor conditions, low supplies and fatigue.
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
My oldest son is going off to college this fall. If his choices had boiled down to "We're All in on AI" University and otherwise identical "No AI Just Books" University, I would have lobbied hard for the latter and been willing to pay a tuition premium for it.
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Steve Saideman @smsaideman.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Even if involved in narcotrafficking, this would be illegal. Due process.
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Hard to put into words how big of an own-goal it is for the United States to normalize shipping tolls at all, much less tolls at 20%. It's the kind of thing that appeals to someone who has only ever known how to run short-term scams.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 09/07/2026
I just created www.lgbtqlegislation.com which builds on the work of the LegiAlerts team to provide an interactive data dashboard to look at 20+ years of anti-LGBTQ legislation and especially anti-trans legislation. It also includes an overview of pro-LGBTQ legislation. Check it out!
lgbtqlegislation.com
LGBTQ+ Legislation Tracking Project
Two decades of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, documented bill by bill — 10,000+ bills tracked across every state and Congress by the LegiAlerts team.
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Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
If there’s an issue Democrats could run on and win in a landslide, it’s anti-corruption. But first the Dem establishment needs to deal with its own corruption problem. It’s not enough to be right about Trump’s corruption—they also have to be credible.
Bar chart from Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,019 U.S. adults, Sept. 19–21, 2025, asking which party has a better plan on 11 issues. Republicans lead on crime (40% vs. 20%), immigration (40% vs. 22%), foreign conflicts (35% vs. 23%), U.S. economy (34% vs. 24%), gun control (32% vs. 28%), political extremism (30% vs. 26%), and corruption (27% vs. 21%). Democrats lead on respect for democracy (31% vs. 29%), healthcare (34% vs. 25%), women’s rights (38% vs. 25%), and environment (37% vs. 23%). Margin of error ±3 points; third-party and non-responses excluded.
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Toby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
"everything we’re talking about that’s in any way ambitious is going to require a Supreme Court to go along with it, which means we should just make one that will" newrepublic.com/article/2125...
newrepublic.com
Democrats Need a Reconstruction Agenda—Not an Affordability One
Liberal Currents publisher Adam Gurri calls for a sweeping “Reconstruction” agenda for Democrats if they win the presidency in 2028.
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Co-sign @stevevladeck.bsky.social. It may feel good to purge Trump holdovers under the next Democratic president. But the deeper damage that Slaughter inflicts on the infrastructure of our democracy will ultimately cause way more pain. www.stevevladeck.com/p/236-three-...
I saw lots of folks claim online yesterday that Slaughter is a good thing (or, at least, that it has a silver lining) because it will make it easier for the next Democratic president to simply clean house-and fire many, if not most, individuals who were appointed/hired/installed by President Trump. That may be true in the short term, but that comes at the enormous expense of (1) Congress, which will find itself increasingly hamstrung in trying to exert any control over how the executive branch exercises the powers Congress authorizes and delegates; and (2) the American people, who will find themselves subject to executive branch agencies doing the bidding of the incumbent administration rather than the goals Congress set for them by statute.
That may feel good when we like the current administration, but it's a recipe for instability and for the elimination of expertise in almost every
facet of governmental regulation. And in the interim, it also gives even more power to the courts (the Supreme Court, in particular), to sort out all of the subsidiary questions that Slaughter has already raised.
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Michael Feinberg @michael-feinberg.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
That Thomas was able to refer to scholarship made up out of whole cloth by Wurman, Barnett, and a few others points to a stark failure in the construction of the legal academy; there’s no real peer review of which to speak, and the tenure system limits consequences for bad faith arguments.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Perfect illustration of the problem of being asked to have full-spectrum viewpoint diversity that incorporates every & any claim as a valid part of serious academic debate. We can either do that, or we can be actual scholars/universities. Some things are just lies & detached from empirical reality.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 30/06/2026
really cannot be emphasized enough that the drafters of the birthright clause very much considered cases analogous to undocumented immigrants and *included them too*
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Mrs. Detective PikaBOO, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 20/06/2026
judge expert here! judges only do this when they’re in extreme distress
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eric gonzalez juenke @egojunk.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
A lottery is a great policy tool that makes people feel like the process is fair even if they don’t win. Should be used much more often, and publicly, to build trust in government.
The public lottery is open now and will close tomorrow, June 17, at 11 AM. Details
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Dr. Lisa Corrigan @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Mamdani feels so refreshing because he's **an emotionally regulated man** who is unthreatened by other people. Related: watching a gregarious public servant connect with other people and express joy and pleasure at helping is a gift.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
One year ago.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 12/06/2026
I know you’re probably tired of me and my Knicks posts. But this right here - community, joy, oneness, and celebration - is resistance. It’s the antidote to anger, suppression, hate, and fear.
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Michael Okun @michael-okun.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I’ve officially resigned as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. It used to be a reputable journal, but became a case study in how forced automation destroys academic integrity. 👇
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
The platform must be institutional reform. All the policies follow from that. And the more and sooner everyone realizes that, the better:
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Verasight @verasight.io · 10/06/2026
Congrats to Christopher Faricy (@faricy.bsky.social) and Christopher Ellis on a Policy Studies Journal article, published with Verasight survey data. Whether a program warms people to it depends on partisanship and who their party sees as deserving. doi.org/10.1111/psj.70110
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Joe Ura @joeura.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Faculty ownership of the curriculum is what makes a university a university, a group of scholars deciding together and without indie influence upon the terms under which they will vouch for someone having a particular level of expertise in a particular field. It's personal. That's why diplomas...
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Toby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
there is no progressive way to say 'blood & soil'—we have to just reject the idea that belonging is a birthright. full stop
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
“The Auburn University Board of Trustees on Friday gave itself complete control over course offerings, curriculum, degree requirements and academic credentials while eliminating shared governance at the Alabama land-grant university… The policy leaves many questions unanswered”
insidehighered.com
Auburn Board Takes Curricular Control, Dissolves Senate
The policies mirror the directives laid out in HB 580, which doesn’t take effect until October and doesn’t apply to the institution.
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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Pleased to post my draft article, “Discovering the Historical Anglo-American Constitution.” I study the history of birthright citizenship from the 1100s to the 1700s. The English common-law rule of natural-born subjects was always tied to territory and jurisdiction. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Staci D. Kramer @sdkstl.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
>>This article isn't about Wurman, Barnett, or Epstein. It is not for the Supreme Court. This is for the preservation of knowledge and better public education. With that mission in mind, I hope y'all share this and download it.<<
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Jamelle Bouie: Democrats need a theory of constitutional power: a sense of what the Constitution is and how it both authorizes and legitimizes the kind of government they hope to build. For Trump-aligned conservatives, the Constitution is an unlimited grant of executive authority, where sovereignty
nytimes.com
Opinion | America Broke Something When It Gave Trump a Second Chance
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 03/06/2026
crazy that under the precedent set by callais, a lily-white congressional delegation formed by "partisan" gerrymandering in a plurality black state passes constitutional muster, while any majority-minority district is constitutionally suspect
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 03/06/2026
here's what i wrote
More so than most of his predecessors, Trump strained against the limits of the presidency. He never understood that the office was bound by higher law — that his power wasn’t absolute. He never understood that he was an officer of the Constitution and a servant of the people; he never understood that he was a subject and not the sovereign.

It was because of this fundamental misunderstanding — itself tied to his bottomless solipsism — that Trump tried to twist and turn the presidency into an extension of his ego. To the extent he failed to accomplish this, it was only because he was stymied by those around him — officials who chose to honor their commitment to the Constitution over the interests of one man. Those same officials now warn that if he is given another term in office, he will rule as a tyrant.

America got lucky. It won’t get lucky again. Free of the guardrails that kept him in place the first time, affirmed by the Supreme Court and backed by allies and apparatchiks in the conservative movement, Trump will merge the office of the presidency with himself. He will shake it from its moorings in the Constitution and rebuild it as an instrument of his will, wielded for his friends and against his enemies. In doing so, he will erode the democratic assumptions that undergird our current constitutional order. And he will have the total loyalty of a Republican Party that itself is twisting and abusing the counter-majoritarian features of the American system to undermine and unravel democracy in the states it controls.
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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
It gets a little more wild each time they say it. So if every single Black person votes one way, and every single white person votes the opposite way, every election, that's not even RELEVANT to whether voting is "racially polarized"—as long as this durable disagreement is organized into 'parties.'
they must show that voters engage in racial bloc voting that cannot be explained by partisan affiliationsimply pointing to inter-party racial polarization proves nothingThe mere fact that voters of different races vote for different parties is not relevant to proving racially polarized voting patterns.
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Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Director of National Intelligence is well-established as a part-time job, best performed by someone with experience running Fannie and Freddie Mac and a private equity background. Especially during a war.
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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
this is such a good example of someone asserting that incivility lives in actions that hurt people, not in questioning those actions
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