iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

This is a form of retaliation against someone for speaking out. He knew he would be punished, buy that punishment does not include unnecessarily strict confinement (which is barred by military law). www.military.com/air-force-ma...

military.com

Air Force Maj. Jason Watson is in Solitary 24 Hours Daily After Publicly Calling For Trump’s Impeachment

Maj. Jason Watson has been jailed since August after publicly opining on the president and his administration, drawing a big legal battle.

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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

There will be a lot of equivocating about all the times search warrants have been executed on members of Congress for corruption investigations and the like, and it can't be stressed enough in how many ways HSI raiding Ilhan Omar is extremely not like that.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Death by a thousand cuts as universities revoke international offers "en masse" of prospective students from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan to avoid losing ability to recruit international students. More job losses and course closures predicted in consequence. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.com

UK universities withdraw offers from international students to avoid blanket ban

Pullback comes in response to doubling in number of study visas being refused by the Home Office in the first six months of 2026

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854

Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…

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S. Erdem Aytaç @seaytac.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

🚨🚨 New working paper! What happens to citizens’ democratic priorities when power changes hands? We (w/ Natasha Wunsch) explore this by drawing on a three-wave panel survey and a repeated conjoint experiment fielded around Hungary’s April 2026 elections (1/4, link at the end)...

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Stephen Judkins @stephenjudkins.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's pretty funny to say this right now, when the world's dictators and aspiring dictators are demonstrating their extreme non-benevolence and commensurate inefficiency. Was invading Ukraine efficient? Were the gulf princelings cheerleading the disastrous Iran war efficient?

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🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 05/10/2026

Yeah, this is a big time impeachment abuse of power.

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Elizabeth (Bit) Meehan, PhD @elizabethbitmeehan.com · 03/10/2026

And of the grants that were made in SBE, the VAST majority went to cognitive & behavioral science. Very, very few went to to social and economic sciences. #polisky

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Four-byline alert: “.. Meta claimed that $4.1 billion of stock options exercised by Mr. Zuckerberg counted as a research expense ..” @nytimes.com $META www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/t...

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Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The call for papers for our Spring 2027 workshop season is now open! We welcome applications by early-career scholars who study authoritarian political regimes regardless of their methodological approaches. For more information and to apply visit: apsg.work/cfp/

apsg.work

Call for Papers Spring 2027

The Authoritarian Political Systems Group is pleased to announce a Call for Papers. We are accepting submissions for our new season of online workshops taking place from 26 January 2027 to 4 May 20…

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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026

Yes. I think the consensus among US elite pundits and senior politicians that the way to protect liberal democracy is *not* to punish elite figures who violate its rules is wrong. A norm starting at least with the Watergate pardon. The opposite is true. You need to enforce the law and Constitution.

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026

Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵

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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

There's really no good argument against it, especially if Dems take the Senate. A distraction? Futile? As opposed to what, passing bills that you can't get past a veto anyway? Oversight? You get more attention and stronger legal tools with impeachment. Just do the right thing, it's good politics!

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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

this

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Michelle Goldberg @michellegoldberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/o...

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Hakkı Taş @hakkitas.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Come and work with us at @giga-hamburg.de in Hamburg! We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. It is a 3+3 year position, offering up to six years to develop an independent research profile at GIGA. www.giga-hamburg.de/en/career/po...

giga-hamburg.de

GIGA Hamburg

German Institute for Global and Area Studies

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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

All the polling from multiple pollsters, including GOP ones, points to a massive Democratic wave in the Midterms. If it doesn’t happen there will have been shenanigans that should get people out on the streets. Don’t be diverted by people who try to dismiss it as a conspiracy theory.

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David Szakonyi @szakonyi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

For less than $100, you can move the entire odds of most midterm election markets on Kalshi or Polymarket by $0.05 (or 5%). So if a candidate is at 40%, your small bet by itself could move them to 45% Any bettor can artificially help a campaign look more popular than it actually is

a plot showing how much money it costs to move prediction markets

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🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 10/09/2026

Its been 10 years of this and its upsetting. Journalists will claim they're being unbiased by just reporting a statement but that requires you to stop yourself from even the most minimal critical thinking. Trump's party controls all of government now * he lies constantly. Come. On.

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

What Sam said. Meanwhile, in Denmark, migrants' kids lag 20/30/40 points behind on average -and there are still people here who think *we* should copy *them* on immigration/integration.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 31/08/2026

in john roberts’ constitution, congress does not exist and the power of the purse belongs to the president, who is an elected dictator embodying the authentic Will of the People

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🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 31/08/2026

The White House belongs to us. All of us. It may not the biggest issue, but it represents the anti-constitutional behavior of these so-called conservatives that control all of the federal government.

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Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

NYT on the ultra rich dumping cash into the political process: “The leaderboard of the top 20 donors is dominated by the tech industry and ultrawealthy Republicans.”

nytimes.com

Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms

The leaderboard of the top 20 donors is dominated by the tech industry and ultrawealthy Republicans.

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Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The Democratic Party has let a consulting industry exploit elderly donors in its name, wreck its reputation and finances in the process, and walk away rich whether the party wins or loses. When a mirror is held up, the instinct is to break the glass rather than look. On why the press looks away:

data4democracy.substack.com

The Bulwark Killed an Investigation into Political Fundraising Spam After Its Publisher Took the Consultants’ Side

This is a story about the Democratic Party captured by its consultants, and about what happens when the pro-democracy press is asked to say so.

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

This is worrisome because “hardball” includes a bunch of the measures necessary to sustain democracy, eg Supreme Court reform and PR/DC statehood. (I dislike the word hardball and the definition, eg what norm exactly does PR statehood violate?)

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 14/08/2026

Two married professors and their son are being held in ICE detention, despite being legal permanent residents and having no criminal records. All, apparently, because their mom/MIL was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before they were even born. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.com

One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention

My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.

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JLRay @jlray.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Historically, Trump's numbers are closer to those of presidents who aren't invited to the next nominating convention than to presidents who get to hand pick the next nominee. Act accordingly.

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The Supreme Court invited exactly this when it held that the president's attempt to conduct "sham" "investigations" was a core executive power immune from all regulation, including criminal prosecution, in Trump v. United States.

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Rita Moore @ritamoore.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Important corollary: people are LESS likely to support authoritarian leaders if people around them don't. This is where "social proof" comes in. Be vocal and visible to social circles and neighbors about your resistance against authoritarians AND your support of pro-democracy candidates and causes

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

There is simply no ambiguity in what Elon Musk is arguing and endorsing here.

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Paul Alcocer @paul28730.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

This is the latest one that I can't believe doesn't have legs. They listed all the grants by whether the states they were in went for Harris or Trump and whether they had at least one republican Senator. All grants in Harris states w/o a republican Senator were canceled.

nytimes.com

Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)

Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.

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Sharan Grewal @sharangrewal.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

👀 see you in October: The Rise and Fall of Tunisian Democracy, Cambridge University Press Grateful for the endorsements from Professors Melani Cammett and Milan Svolik and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. Coming soon to a library near you! www.cambridge.org/core/books/r...

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Politics_Oxford @politicsoxford.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

DPIR is proud to launch the MSc in Politics of Global Challenges, a new one-year interdisciplinary master’s course. “A new generation of students who want to think critically, build real skills, and make a difference.” — David Rueda, Interim Head of Department f.mtr.cool/vuwxohznor

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🎃Darin S Pumpkins🎃 @darinself.com · 20/07/2026

Universities can actually do what the tech-venture capitalists can only promise to do

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Dan Nexon @dhnexon.net · 17/07/2026

Trump already tried to do a coup. We should prepare for the worst. I've heard that Democratic officials are already gaming this out, but if they aren't, they should be getting regular presentations from veterans of Color Revolutions and other mass pro-democracy protests.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I have a piece in the NYT today arguing that the law should permit victims of ICE abuse to sue not just individual officers, but supervisors and policymakers like Stephen Miller and Gregory Bovino. A Democratic president and Congress could do this in 2029. And they could make it retroactive.

nytimes.com

Opinion | ICE Is Out of Control. Here’s What to Do About It.

Congress must push back against our inhumane immigration tactics.

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Samira Shackle @samirashackle.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I found this story genuinely shocking to report. The legislation has expanded so much that now the grounds on which citizenship can be stripped are incredibly vague and there is hardly any recourse. Anyone who the government believes MIGHT have a claim on another nationality can be denationalised.

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 15/07/2026

NEW: Months after FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, she and a guest accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from the company worth more than $12,000.

propublica.org

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals

Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...

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Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I think it’s time for political scientists, strategists, and junkies of all stripes on this site to start really having a conversation — a grounded, realistic conversation — about what we think Trump will try this fall If you know the likeliest scenarios you can better prepare for them

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

hard but important to watch

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

“Culture of impunity” is right. The demand is to never hold public figures accountable for wrongdoing, not even verbally when they’re already beyond the reach of human accountability and won’t hear the criticisms and jokes. The legacy must be sanitized, or current elites might feel less impunity.

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Courtney Joslin @courtneygjoslin.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Yale should reject the deal, write Penn Profs Serena Mayeri & Amanda Shanor: "The administration’s tactics place univ. leaders under unenviable stress, but the existential nature of the threat is the reason not to consent ...." www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

usatoday.com

Trump, Yale deal would be authoritarianism by agreement | Opinion

Trump's government hopes a deal with Yale will push other universities to fold. The university should stand for the Constitution and the law instead.

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

NEWS --> Three men who were in the van with the victim of the ICE shooting in Texas are potential witnesses, but they're now under pressure to self-deport, a rep for the families tells me. They remain in detention even as ICE's story falters. Details in this piece: newrepublic.com/article/2129...

newrepublic.com

Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport

There were three others in the van with the man shot by ICE in Houston this week. A represenative for the families tells TNR that the government is pressuring these potential witnesses to self-deport.

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The dean of Yale Law School and some members of its faculty are trying to stop a settlement between the university and the Trump admin — warning that an agreement could jeopardize Yale's independence, according to two people familiar with the deliberations.

nytimes.com

Yale Law School Fights to Stop Trump Deal

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Diana B. Greenwald @dbgreenwald.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

“In light of ongoing reports of continued severe torture and the latest reports suggesting that his injuries could lead to imminent death, Israel must ensure that Dr. Abu Safiya has access to immediate and adequate medical care.” www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

ohchr.org

Israel must immediately release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya: UN experts

GENEVA – UN experts* today urged Israel to immediately release Palestinian Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all the health and care workers arbitrarily detained.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Don't want to speak ill of the dead, so getting this Mitch McConnell take out now. He saw Trump with complete clarity, as a danger to America, but protected him anyway. Perhaps more than anyone, he had the power to end Trumpism, but chose party over country. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/jan-6-and-...

And yet…McConnell refused to vote to convict. Seven of his colleagues did, and with McConnell’s leadership, more would have done so, potentially enough to get to the supermajority needed. With conviction, the Senate could have also taken the vote to block Trump from running again. Doing so would have ended Trump as a political power. McConnell was clearly considering this option. In an oral history interview at the time the House was impeaching Trump, McConnell said

But apparently you can impeach somebody after they leave office, and if that happens, there’s a second vote in the Senate, which only has to pass by a simple majority, that prevents that person from seeking office again. So he could not only be impeached, but also eliminated from the possibility of a comeback for this office. So it is significant.

In the end, McConnell protected Trump from punishment. It was not just the refusal to vote to convict. After a swift House impeachment, he pushed to delay the Senate trial. He opposed the Senate joining in a Congressional investigation of Jan 6. He endorsed Trump in 2024, although this matters little except to further diminish McConnell’s dignity, as it was clear by this point that the Republican Party was Trump’s and McConnell’s time of influence was at an end.

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Mai El-Sadany @maitelsadany.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The fact that we were this close to a Supreme Court ruling that would have allowed the President to amend the constitution by executive order, violating the separation of powers, is a harrowing reminder of the fragility of democracy just days before our 250th birthday.

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