iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Got a question for my lawyer friends out there. Didn't the Ring decision, supported by Antonin Scalia and RBG in 2002, require juries (not judges) to impose death sentences? Why then is this man being put to death in Alabama next week? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/u...

nytimes.com

Alabama Is Set to Execute a Murderer. The Jury Wanted Him to Live.

Jeffery Lee’s case has grappled with questions in Alabama about emerging execution methods and an abandoned sentencing practice that sent him and others to death row.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Join us in person or online for our fall events--see full calendar below!

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The Onion is a civic blessing in these times

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Free speech is not partisan. It's American.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

"If they can do it to Kelly, they can do it anyone."

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Happy Jackie Robinson Day -- for those of you who celebrate.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

The Dow has now lost all of its gains from the previous 6 months due to the Iran War among other factors.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

"Any military members seeking to take advantage of their subordinates by advancing their blood-soaked, Christian nationalist wet dreams upon the flames of this latest non-Congressionally sanctioned attack against Iran, should be swiftly, aggressively and visibly prosecuted.” Dang!

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

This wouldn't be the most confusing thing about this operation.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

This is going to be magnificent! Listen to @asu-csrc.bsky.social professor Anand Gopal in conversation with @pgourevitch.bsky.social about Anand's exceptional new book on the Syrian Revolution.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

So, who came up with the idea of administrative warrants for ICE? That's one messed-up way of evading 4A.

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Elvia Díaz @elviadiaz.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

More than 1,000 protested ICE's planned 1,500-bed warehouse detention facility in Surprise, Arizona. I write here why the mayor and council failed to level with them ❇️ Give it a read and please consider subscribing for more hot takes out of Arizona. open.substack.com/pub/elviadia...

open.substack.com

Surprise mayor missed a moment to speak honestly about ICE detention

Hundreds demanded answers about ICE’s planned 1,500-bed detention facility. The mayor offered tepid acknowledgment — and little else

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Listen to this short important message from the police. 👇

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Paul Rieckhoff @rieckhoff.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

This is a tremendous loss for our country and for our democracy. There is no finer news program than @pbsnews.org NewsHour. It’s like the healthy vegetables of news media. And it’s another nutritious item in our national diet that they have now bluntly eliminated.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Remember when we used to be the good guys?

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

👇👇👇👇 Every day. Anywhere. All the time. All religions.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

This is going to be a fantastic event! Please join this conversation with our two distinguished panelists to talk democracy and faith--as well as how we can shore up faith in democracy!

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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Among the reasons Americans risked it all to get rid of a tyrannical king: “He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...

americaamerica.news

What We Should Demand, What We Should Oppose

Reflecting on a president's obligations and what history tells us about rejecting tyranny and injustice

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

"It was a dark and almost certainly illegal escalation of the out-of-control agency’s war on the American people, a portrait of an authoritarian secret police that seems set to model itself on history’s worst fascist enforcers."

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

A sobering thought from Judge Sullivan: "I fear President Trump believes the American people are so divided that today they will not stand up, fight for, and defend our most precious constitutional values so long as they are lulled into thinking their own personal interests are not affected."

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Pretty compelling characterization.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

This is not what a moral people do. The downside of self-government is that this evil is done in our name.

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Charles Mathewes @ctmathewes.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Another excellent explainer by @brieannafrank.bsky.social on the Religion clause cases currently before the court. @micahschwartzman.bsky.social do you know BrieAnna? I will direct her your way if not--she'd very much appreciate it!

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

American exceptionalism requires being the good guys. Or at least trying.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

First Augustinian. First American. First "Leo" since Leo XIII. This is going to be so interesting--and, I wager, invigorating for our world. Especially in this so-called postliberal moment.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Recent selections for word of the year: 2016 Post truth 2017 Fake news 2018 Misinformation 2019 Cancel culture (also They) 2020 Pandemic 2021 Vax/vaccine 2022 Gaslighting 2023 AI 2024 Brain rot Notice a teend? My prediction for 2025: Bad faith.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Somewhat ironic that the least qualified, most unfit and incompetent Sec of Defense in American history is the one who abolished DEI.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Talk about cancel culture! At least if you go ROTC, you don't have to worry about government censorship like book bans.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

The decision by the academy’s leaders to not protest the original order — which I believe flies in the face of basic academic freedoms and common sense — has put them in the now even stickier position of trying to suppress criticism of that decision.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Joe is going deep here! I'd never guessed 15 years ago that an avid Tea Party guy some day would be quoting Arendt. See this @samantharhill.bsky.social ? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Love it!

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

I feel bad for farmers getting hurt and caught up in tariff chaos. But Trump giving them taxpayer-funded bailouts--since they are from red districts--reinforces the corruption of the tariff regime and deepens divisions between Americans. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

theguardian.com

‘Shock to the system’: farmers hit by Trump’s tariffs and cuts say they need another bailout

With extreme weather and Trump’s looming trade war, US farmers are reeling and resigned to needing more cash help

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Democracy = govt of the people, by the people, for the people. So when US govt is sued for abusing its power, that means WE are being sued. And WE (your tax $ and mine) will pay the damages and fines for this abuse of power.

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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

We are becoming a soulless country. As our selfishness and contempt for "the other" grows, Americans increasingly will turn against fellow citizens whom we also now see as other.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

A Trump Haiku An old-fashioned term Different things in a bag-- Groceries, sort of.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Man, every day, American redefined just how much lower the bottom can be from what we ever thought it could be. C'mon America, do better.

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Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Trump and the GOP are worried about losing a district he won by 20 points. That tells you everything you need to know about how popular he and his policies really are.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Could not have said this any better myself.

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John Carlson @johndcarlson.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Academics: "They" don't like you; don't value you, your profession, or your institution; and don't want you to freely do your job without looking over your shoulder to see if they are watching. Do not be afraid.

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