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Madison slapping his forehead right now and thinking "Benevolent dictator! Now why did I think of that?" But seriously, some of the "inefficiency" of democracy is there to prevent the majority from expropriating the wealth of the rich minority. He should be more grateful.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Headlines from 2011 and 2026...

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

At many (most?) journals, the policy is that authors can use AI to increase the efficiency of producing submissions but editors and reviewers cannot use AI to increase the efficiency of processing submissions. You can make a good principled argument for this, but it will break the publishing model.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The entire discourse is warped by the fact that both sides have an incentive to suggest that there’s a “end the war and bring gas prices down” button that Trump refuses to press (D) or will press any day now (R).

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Given that they’re going to get a boatload of investment, I’d have to go with “or.”

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I’m sorry. Is the message “invest in us OR we’ll destroy humanity” or “invest in us AND we’ll destroy humanity“?

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

BTW, Cardinal McElroy has a PhD in political science from Stanford (1989). Wrote his dissertation, eventually a book, on Morality and American Foreign Policy.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The usual timeline: 1. The thing 2. The buzz about the thing 3. The backlash to the buzz 4. The backlash to the backlash 5. I first hear about the thing

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Hmm, are you sure you’re real?

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

If I understand, the issue is fake people signed up by brokers for commissions and real people who don’t qualify under income limits. They are fully subsidized policies. So the only ones benefiting from the non-users are the insurance companies and brokers. But the screen will hit legitimate people.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Yes, but in this case it owns part of a foreign oil company.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This election will be a reminder that “people don’t vote based on foreign policy” is most accurate if you mean “people don’t choose candidates based on a comparison of their foreign policy positions.” But voters do respond to the outcomes of foreign policy choices if they are salient.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Every answer would be at least five paragraphs long, with a clear thesis statement, supporting evidence, and consideration of prominent counter arguments. Only it wouldn’t be a bit. 🤓

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Oh, $25 million and up, I'd guess.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I bet they couldn't object to your naming the building your office is in. Hi, I'm Sean D. Ehrlich. You'll find me in 1 Sean D. Ehrlich Hall.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Reupping this prediction... bsky.app/profile/ksch...

A post by me saying

Accounts from contemporary Chinese observers must be dismissed as unreliable, a history written by the victors. There is no way that the United States, in the words of one Chinese scholar, “just handed it to us.”

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Reposted by Ken Schultz

John Carpenter’s Halloran @profhalloran.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I think everyone should take some time this morning and read this article.

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Reposted by Ken Schultz

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Wife: Can you take out the trash and recycling? Me: No, I need to sit on the couch. For national security.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Had a chance to go snorkeling off Catalina Island last week. Very different from snorkeling in Hawaii.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

No, it would take actual effort to collect and code the data this chart purports to show. Easier to count vibes.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

China in 1962 unilaterally withdrew from Indian territory it occupied in the war. They weren’t forced but it’s not clear an occupation could be sustained.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Guessing that “you all should slow down development of your product that competes with mine” isn’t going to work.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is a very good statement. “In many fields and activities, years of training have traditionally served not only to produce a final answer or product, but also to develop understanding and the ability to formulate new questions and ideas.”

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I’m sure no country would be foolish enough to try this!

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Comparativists owning up 👇 bsky.app/profile/dari...

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Still double checking the math…

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

My theory is that if you take an impulsive leader loosely tethered to reality, replace the policymaking process with sycophants and strivers who tell him how brilliant and popular he is, and cede every institutional check on his power, a bunch of ill-advised and inexplicable stuff will happen.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I’m sorry—that must be frustrating. Would you like me to draft a letter to the journal editor expressing your views on this matter?

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

That Clausewitz fellow may have been on to something!

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

If the military objectives have been achieved but the political objectives have not, that tells you that we didn’t have an appropriate strategy.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The representative might reflect on whether Iran’s taunting social media posts make him more or less eager to make a deal with them.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Yes, Trump likes to irritate people in other countries so that it is politically harder for their leaders to make concessions. Brilliant strategy!

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Old enough to remember when a syllabus didn't need a table of contents... 😬

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Time to update this graph... Source: www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/...

Graph titled US Favorability in Major Allies showing percent of people having favorable views toward the US in Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea 2000-26. There is a very clear partisan cycle.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Guessing no one reads it anymore, and certainly not anyone is this administration, but Keohane and Nye had a whole chapter in Power and Interdependence about why the US doesn't always win in disputes against Canada despite its superior military and economic resources.

A table titled "Patterns of Outcomes in High-level conflict: Canada-United States" The table shows 16 cases whose outcomes favored the US, 16 that favored Canada, and 8 that were equal.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Seems like Canada is doing exactly what the National Security Strategy said we want it to do.

• Primacy of Nations - The world's fundamental political unit is and will remain the nation-state. It is natural and just that all nations put their interests first and guard their sovereignty. The world works best when nations prioritize their interests. The United States will put our own interests first and, in our relations with other nations, encourage them to prioritize their own interests as well. We stand for the sovereign rights of nations,

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Yeah, crazy/stupid can be a useful explanation ex post, but it’s not a useful ex ante theory because there are countless crazy/stupid things a leader could do at any given moment. The only prediction is unpredictability.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

So about that cheap mystery beef. Either it’s not going to happen, or it won’t happen until after Labor Day. Just brilliant politics by the brightest minds. www.ft.com/content/7aab...

The official said the president would formalise the agreement by signing an executive order within the next two weeks.

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Optimist: the cup is half full Pessimist: the cup is half empty Schrödinger’s cat: we can resolve this indeterminacy by knocking the cup off the table

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

How exactly would we finance that?

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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Damn, did I just commit murder by closing my Claude app?

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