@splitrailfence
Civil War historian. Kind to nonhumans. CORE and NOW for ERA activist. Former union rep. Retired from social studies, financial analysis, & small business. Traveled over 50k US miles for my research. Nature knows best & intends no ill will.
In 1931, Albert Einstein and W.E.B. DuBois wrote to each other in German; DuBois asked Einstein to write an article for THE CRISIS.
DuBois translated it and wrote as intro:
"He is a brilliant advocate of disarmament and world Peace and he hates race prejudice because as a Jew he knows what it is."
This answer is an extension of the Trump sycophancy. They’re programmed to pivot into defend-at-all-costs mode. That’s how you end up with something as morally bankrupt as “this is what they signed up for.”
Imagine responding with anything other than “I am heartbroken for this tragic loss of life.”
1/What is happening at the Pentagon? Wall Street recruiters promise positions that "gain access to fund-raising channels that include royal families and foreign sovereign contacts". This is not military contracting but rebuilding the state around neo-royalism.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/u...
2/the "Pentagon is seeking to build a 30-person investment team to deploy up to $200 billion in government investment over the next three years". But who will benefit from the spoils? Participants are promised "“unmatched access to top-level government officials and privileged information flow".
3/“There is obviously potential for truly egregious corruption,” he said. “But an effort of this size has the potential to distort these national security-critical industries in ways that I don’t think anyone has seriously contemplated.”
4/But this is not simply crony capitalism, it is an effort to disassemble the most disciplined and bureaucratic arm of the modern state (the US military) and turn it into an economic engine for insiders.
5/The same story is playing out in the telecommunications infrastructure. Forced sale of Tik Tok goes to the Ellisons and the Emirati but they have to tithe.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/b...
6/This is part of a larger transformation in the international order. @segoddard.bsky.social and I call neo-royalism; a system driven not by national interests but by those of personalist rulers and their court.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
7/In the case of the Pentagon, the effort is led by "Mr. Feinberg, a billionaire, co-founded the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and was a major funder of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaigns." He is now the deputy defense secretary.
GS: The S&P 500 P/E multiple has declined as prices have moved sideways alongside rising earnings
#Maine, we've got to do better than #Collins and #Platner.
Strength In Numbers is looking for a smart part-time survey research assistant (or a few)
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/strength-i...
Americans are dying so that Kushner can make money
Migratory species depend on networks of habitats. When these connections remain intact, they can move freely, ecosystems stay resilient, and natural processes that sustain life continue to flow.
Participants at #CMSCOP15 will seek to maintain, restore & strengthen these networks: www.cms.int/cop15
!["Right now, [Cambridge is] one of the few institutions where we still have the political oxygen to do this work. We are not yet getting pressure politically to shut this kind of thing down. We’re still not yet afraid as an institution to host something like this. I want to make it clear, we’re paying for professional security for our events. We are on the radar of some actors who falsely claim we do censorship work and many of our colleagues face real threats for doing their work.
We are definitely at risk. But as I said when I opened the last summit, the fact that we are being threatened means that our work matters. They would not threaten us if our work was not important. So, we convene to continue our work."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ry2ztnho4t7eywfivg4gcq4p/bafkreids75iainpxccr2bzicx5ojxjddn3tctijtdofh2m3ibuu62pl5he)
"Right now, [Cambridge is] one of the few institutions where we still have the political oxygen to do this work. We are not yet getting pressure politically to shut this kind of thing down. We’re still not yet afraid as an institution to host something like this. I want to make it clear, we’re paying for professional security for our events. We are on the radar of some actors who falsely claim we do censorship work and many of our colleagues face real threats for doing their work. We are definitely at risk. But as I said when I opened the last summit, the fact that we are being threatened means that our work matters. They would not threaten us if our work was not important. So, we convene to continue our work."
"[Cambridge is] one of the few institutions where we still have the political oxygen to do this work....
...we’re paying for professional security. ...We are definitely at risk.
...the fact that we are being threatened means that our work matters."
ccodactivity.substack.com/p/discussing...
Here is part of the judge's order, specifically about taking the videos down. Full documents in the article: www.404media.co/doge-deposit...
Here is part of the government's request to have the videos taken down. Said could cause reputational damage and harassment. Then later says Justin Fox, the DOGE member in the viral video where he wouldn't define DEI, has received threats
www.404media.co/doge-deposit...
this person analyzes American politics for a living
I was thinking this war probably doesn't conclude without at least one major refinery and/or tanker taking a direct hit—with the environmentally apocalyptic consequences likely to follow
Based on the story, I should say *more* refineries would get hit, elsewhere than Iran, which is experiencing the environmental apocalypse now
we are losing so much talent, progress, and hope for no good reason www.vox.com/future-perfe...
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central headquarters spokesperson: “We urge Muslims in the UAE to evacuate ports, docks, and locations used by US forces in Emirati cities to avoid harm.”
Map of the ME showing the two straits
Yemen’s Houthis have announced they’ll be joining the war in support of Iran shortly. Analysts expect them to shut down another strait, Bab El-Mandeb, which will close the Suez Canal. The global economy hangs by a thread.
1969: “what are we fighting for”…🤨
2026: “are we letting them do this again”
So why in the first place was the contract awarded to a firm that had never run such a facility, never had had such a large federal contract and didn’t even have a website? Who will be held accountable for the inhumane conditions? apnews.com/article/ice-...
Pentagon has refused to explain why it chose the original firm. apnews.com/article/trum...
From Substack account.
Trump, the GOP, and US conservatives are helping Russia against our allies and our fellow citizens abroad and here at home.
An honor to talk to Dahlia Lithwick about the policy + legal history of US citizenship & migration. It is horrifying that my book drops as SCOTUS decides the constitutionality of the birthright citizenship stripping EO. What U don't know about this history can shape your support for present law. 1/
A missile has hit the US Embassy in Baghdad.