iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Stephen Walt

Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I'm just gonna bookmark this for future reference when Dem pundits complain about how the party has trouble communicating its message to voters. The reason you keep running into trouble with your branding isn't campus radicals. The reason is that your opponents purchased all the media outlets.

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Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 22h

Diplomatic cable leaked to me shows Marco Rubio order embassies to bar people from the US for speech-related reasons. Hours later, Rubio gave a speech at the Acropolis celebrating "free debate and public discussion": www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-speech...

kenklippenstein.com

The Speech That Gets You Banned From America

Leaked Rubio cable details “far-left” speech that bars people from entering the U.S.

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Whenever I have a remotely plausible choice, I avoid buying from Amazon. Bezos's destruction of a great newspaper is one huge reason. His "giving quislings a bad name" subservience is the other.

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

"I can do whatever I want, if I want." Today is the 10th anniversary of the public revelation of Trump's 'Access Hollywood' comments.

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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Dear Mainers, I'm reposting this as the election nears. #SusanCollins #Maine

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

One Weird Trick: Don't Fight Another Iran War

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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Corrupting government data collection is also a commonly fatal Achilles heel for authoritarian regimes, because it means they're destroying the instruments they need to avoid flying the plane into the side of the mountain. On version of what @michaellewis65.bsky.social called "the fifth risk."

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𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

An underappreciated fact about far-right populists is that they are terrible at governing, especially in the longer run. Trump is a case in point every single day, but systematic studies shows that this is the case more generally. As this study shows, after 15 years they lower GDP per capita with

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It's the thought that counts

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Pissedoffpundit @pissedoffpundant.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

No shit🤔💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"A national election, that of Brazil, which will affect the 8.3 billion people who inhabit this world. The Amazon, according to scientific evidence, is close to reaching a point of no return. Returning to the deforestation levels of 2022 (Bolsonaro) would be the final blow" x.com/ActisAndres/...

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

From me, most before paywall, contrasting long Playboy interview w Donald Trump in 1990 w long Time magazine interview this week. TL;DR His crabbed world-view is the same. But his cognitive terrain is alarmingly shrunken This only makes him more dangerous. fallows.substack.com/p/midterm-co...

fallows.substack.com

Midterm Countdown, 33 Days to Go: Language from Our Leader.

It’s not just your imagination. Donald Trump’s active vocabulary, his train of thought, his ability to filter are all in rapid decline. We’re watching a leaky balloon as it deflates.

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Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

CNN investigation finds that while Jared Kushner acted as a key Middle East peace negotiator, his private equity firm held the the largest stake in an Israeli company backing businesses tied to Israel's military campaign in Gaza, including its largest arms manufacturer. www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/u...

cnn.com

Jared Kushner’s company has large stake in firm with Israeli military links | CNN

At the same time Jared Kushner has negotiated in the war in Gaza, his company has held the largest stake in a firm backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I don't know, sure looks like an ideological clown speaking here.

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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

says the Secretary who lost the HQ of the 5th Fleet in Manama to Iranian missiles

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Joe Cirincione @joecirin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The last U.S. soldier has finally left Iraq. They never should have been there in the first place. $3 Trillion and 550,000 deaths later, we can say with certainty that the war was a catastrophic blunder. joecirincione.substack.com/p/we-warned-...

joecirincione.substack.com

We Warned You. The Iraq War Was a Disaster

On September 30, the last US soldiers left Iraq. They never should have invaded.

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Secretary of (Losing) Wars Hegseth rejects meritocracy. He doesn't want a military or service academies filled w/ the best people (no matter what color, gender, orientation, etc.), he wants a military that looks and thinks just like him. It's a recipe for incompetence, a topic on which he's expert.

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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Jack Smith made it crystal clear that his investigation was sound and lawful, that the president had committed crimes and that the GOP attacks on him were the actual weaponization of our justice system. He showed courage and moral clarity and continues to be one of the heroes of this moment.

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Ben Eidelson @beidelson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

1/ The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights just released its report on campus antisemitism and Title VI. I testified at the hearing. The report is unanimous, bipartisan, & debunks the main legal theories behind recent attacks on universities for allegedly tolerating antisemitism. 🧵

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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Nobody seems to bat an eye that Rufo's podcast partner is a longtime anonymous troll who called gays "f*ggots," referred to Asians as "mongoloids," and explicitly sees his partnership with Rufo as a strategy of normalizing what most of us would see as bigotry www.vox.com/politics/368...

vox.com

An inside look at how the far right is mainstreaming itself

An radical troll got unmasked — and then spilled the beans.

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

You might think #Trump is amoral and “Machiavellian,” but if Machiavelli were alive today, he’d see him as Exhibit A for what NOT to do. Latest FP column here: foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/23/t...

foreignpolicy.com

What Machiavelli Would Say About Trump

The U.S. president offers a guide on how to be a very bad prince.

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Alon Pinkas @alonpinkas.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Must-read thread ⤵️

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Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 24/09/2026

After arguing that it is better to be feared than loved, Machiavelli points out that there is something even worse: You could end up hated or despised. Trump is well on his way to the latter, writes columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social. foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/23/w...

foreignpolicy.com

What Machiavelli Would Say About Trump

The U.S. president offers a guide on how to be a very bad prince.

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Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group @instglobalaffairs.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Two authors, two decades apart, on the same subject. Stephen Walt and Eli Clifton join Jonathan Guyer on the pod to discuss how pro-Israel advocacy in US politics has changed, and how the Gaza war has shaped the debate over it.

noneoftheabovepodcast.org

The Israel Lobby, Explained — None Of The Above

Eli Clifton & Stephen Walt on the role of foreign influence in US foreign policy

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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 23/09/2026

I hope you're sitting down, ma'am, because I have some shocking news about your royal family

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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Every book he claims is DEI is incredible, especially Marlon James’ new one. No indication Bret read any of these books www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | The National Book Awards Are No Longer National (Gift Article)

The National Book Awards longlists are a study in tedious political orthodoxy.

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James @tuocodem.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Watching Aaron Rodgers’ Steelers vs Robert Kraft’s Patriots.

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It really is striking how many authoritarian states have ended up in this exact same place, where the leader seizes control of scientific inquiry. Lysenkoism in the Soviet Union, Aryan Physics in the Third Reich, Great Leap Forward (also related to Lysenko) in China.

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This is your periodic reminder that by far the #1 source of “fake news” in the US is #trump and his press secretaries, with #Hegseth and #RFKJr in a relentless competition for 2nd place.

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Nothing screams “I am a successful president!” quite like #trump banning news organizations that are informing the public about what he is doing and how well it’s (not) working.

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 18/09/2026

It's so funny that Mamdani is doing *exactly* what the abundance types are calling for -- competent government in service of constituents' quality of life -- but they can't embrace him because their billionaire donors hate Muslims.

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Craig Aaron @notaaroncraig.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The idea that allowing the Saudi regime — which has murdered journalists, don’t forget — and other foreign investors to up to 100% of CBS and CNN is somehow in the “public interest” twists the term beyond recognition. But FCC’s Brendan Carr only serves Trump and Larry Ellison, not the public.

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Tomorrow is National Constitution Day, celebrating the 239th anniversary of its signing, and it takes place as grave constitutional challenges are everywhere. If you are interested (and you should be), check out my colleague Tom Pattersons HarvardX online course here: www.edx.org/learn/govern...

edx.org

HarvardX: American Government: Constitutional Foundations | edX

Learn how early American politics informed the U.S. Constitution and why its promise of liberty and equality has yet to be fully realized.

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Chris Sprigman @cjsprigman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Bari Weiss's entire life has been a saga of failing upward. Next, she'll be president of the network.

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Frederick Deknatel @freddydeknatel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

If Biden or Obama had started a war that led to attacks like these on American bases—and then covered it up for months—the political backlash would eclipse Benghazi. One service member: "We're not defending these bases. We're just watching them get destroyed." www.cbsnews.com/news/new-pho...

cbsnews.com

New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks

The images were sent to CBS News by active service members under condition of anonymity.

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John Lewis-Dickerson @jlewisdickerson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Ed Luce and Harvard professor Stephen Walt join David Rothkopf to examine the myriad ways that this administration is undermining the US both at home and abroad and why the midterms will be a flashpoint for our country’s future. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcH_...

youtube.com

How The World Sees the Sad Spectacle of Trumpapalooza

YouTube video by The DSR Network

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Stephen Root is at the top of my list of actors for whom their involvement means I will absolutely watch. Phenomenal.

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Also exceptional in its use of unnamed sources. There are legions of them, and I think only one Kushner critic has an actual name.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What a surprise to learn that a Russian oligarch close to Putin paid for Junior’s lavish wedding. Who could’ve expected it?

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

RFK Jr. has decided to change the way measles deaths are counted at the CDC. As @drdebhoury.bsky.social says in this article by @melodyschreiber.com: “The change doesn’t make any sense”. It only makes sense if you’re RFK Jr. and you desperately need to manipulate data to hide your malfeasance.

theguardian.com

Trump administration changes how it counts measles deaths amid Pennsylvania outbreak

CDC announces changes to how it reports measles deaths as Pennsylvania continues to confirm more cases

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

After reading some of the recent pubs and discourse around US higher ed.… I should just stop right here. But here are the three major fallacies of much of what’s out there, three contexts that are missing, and the one big thing that is driving me around the bend (actually already there, but). 1/

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Simon Parker @sparkerworld.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

We once assumed British democracy was very different from the USA because it wasn't owned and controlled by big corporations & financial institutions. But elite impunity is also a UK problem & the reluctance of Burnham's government to do anything about it proves the need for collective action.

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