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@llherman

I care about public policy and study the founding writings of the American republic. Arizona born and raised.

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29.01.2025
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Latest posts by @llherman

The WH so poorly planned any strategy for the most likely Iranian response to our war that now nobody talks about how the war was neither legal or justified in the first place. There was no imminent threat.

09.03.2026 01:40 πŸ‘ 111 πŸ” 31 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
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Striking signal for much above-normal temperatures across California, the Great Basin, northern Rockies and Desert Southwest from March 15-20. Temperatures will be more typical of summer than early spring (potentially 25 degrees above normal) in many areas and monthly records could be shattered.

08.03.2026 20:34 πŸ‘ 208 πŸ” 96 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 27
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the president has no idea what he has set in motion. none.

www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

09.03.2026 00:23 πŸ‘ 25568 πŸ” 7604 πŸ’¬ 2500 πŸ“Œ 680
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The Desire for Terror And the defense of democracy

A purpose of the war on Iran might well be to provoke a terrorist attack inside the United States. This would provide Donald Trump with a pretext to try to cancel or β€œfederalize” the coming Congressional elections.
snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire...

08.03.2026 14:30 πŸ‘ 3018 πŸ” 1383 πŸ’¬ 283 πŸ“Œ 289
The covers of three books. Left to right: Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the life of a legend, about the late Sopranos actor. The cover shows Gandolfini looking shy, peering offscreen with one unobstructed eye and another that peeks out between the fingers of his right hand.
CENTER: The cover of Cinema Her Way, a coffee table book by Marya E. Gates about female directors. On the cover is actress Michelle Rodriguez as the boxer heroine of Karyn Kusama's sports drama Girlfight, about a woman boxer. 
RIGHT David Hockney's painting collection The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, showing a painting of a verdant field. In the background of the field is green grass. in the upper foreground are the branches of a tree sprouting white, cottony buds.

The covers of three books. Left to right: Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the life of a legend, about the late Sopranos actor. The cover shows Gandolfini looking shy, peering offscreen with one unobstructed eye and another that peeks out between the fingers of his right hand. CENTER: The cover of Cinema Her Way, a coffee table book by Marya E. Gates about female directors. On the cover is actress Michelle Rodriguez as the boxer heroine of Karyn Kusama's sports drama Girlfight, about a woman boxer. RIGHT David Hockney's painting collection The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, showing a painting of a verdant field. In the background of the field is green grass. in the upper foreground are the branches of a tree sprouting white, cottony buds.

A screenshot of the pre-orders section at mzs.press. Three screenshots of books that have not yet been released. I Am The Night, Daniel Dockery's book about Batman the Brave and the Bold, has a silhouette of Batman stretching from the top to the bottom of the cover, with the title of the book and a nighttime Gotham skyline circumscribed by the borders of the Batman silhouette.

CENTER The cover of The Ring Cycle, Matt Zoller Seitz and Odie Henderson's book on the Rocky and Creed films. The cover is white except for a pair of black boxing gloves floating there

RIGHT The cover of Documentary Now!, the 600-page, 7-pound coffee table book celebrating the aforementioned IFC Channel series parodying classic documentaries.

A screenshot of the pre-orders section at mzs.press. Three screenshots of books that have not yet been released. I Am The Night, Daniel Dockery's book about Batman the Brave and the Bold, has a silhouette of Batman stretching from the top to the bottom of the cover, with the title of the book and a nighttime Gotham skyline circumscribed by the borders of the Batman silhouette. CENTER The cover of The Ring Cycle, Matt Zoller Seitz and Odie Henderson's book on the Rocky and Creed films. The cover is white except for a pair of black boxing gloves floating there RIGHT The cover of Documentary Now!, the 600-page, 7-pound coffee table book celebrating the aforementioned IFC Channel series parodying classic documentaries.

Screenshot of three books carried at mzs.press arts bookstore: 
LEFT: Cover of Lead Sister, a biography of Karen Carpenter, featuring a closeup of Carpenter playing and singing with The Carpenters.
CENTER: The cover of Anthony Hopkins' We Did OK, Kid, a memoir of his life and career. On the cover is Hopkins in closeup as he looks presently, narrowed blue eyes looking directly at the spectator. 
RIGHT: Cover of Louis Armstrong In His Own Words, a collection of the bandleader's correspondence. The cover image is a photograph of a probably fortysomething Armstrong seated at the wooden desk in his office where he often wrote letters.

Screenshot of three books carried at mzs.press arts bookstore: LEFT: Cover of Lead Sister, a biography of Karen Carpenter, featuring a closeup of Carpenter playing and singing with The Carpenters. CENTER: The cover of Anthony Hopkins' We Did OK, Kid, a memoir of his life and career. On the cover is Hopkins in closeup as he looks presently, narrowed blue eyes looking directly at the spectator. RIGHT: Cover of Louis Armstrong In His Own Words, a collection of the bandleader's correspondence. The cover image is a photograph of a probably fortysomething Armstrong seated at the wooden desk in his office where he often wrote letters.

Screenshot of the covers of 3 books carried at mzs.press Arts Bookstore. 
LEFT: The cover of Gotham City Cocktails, a book of mixed drink recipes inspired by Batman. Art deco-style flowing border lines flow around and around the interior of the dust jacket. At the center are drawings of two tall cocktail glasses and between them, a shot glass and a tumbler with a sword-pierced cherry in it. 
CENTER: The cover of Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook. Green cover, white writing and graphics. The central image is a teapot with stem lines coming out of it, and at the pot's base, a teacup and saucer and a separate plate of biscuits.
RIGHT: Bob's Burgers "The Re-Recipe Box," a set of recipe cards inspired by the joke hamburger names featured on the small board at the front of Bob's joint. Red sides with small graphics, cover image of the restaurant.

Screenshot of the covers of 3 books carried at mzs.press Arts Bookstore. LEFT: The cover of Gotham City Cocktails, a book of mixed drink recipes inspired by Batman. Art deco-style flowing border lines flow around and around the interior of the dust jacket. At the center are drawings of two tall cocktail glasses and between them, a shot glass and a tumbler with a sword-pierced cherry in it. CENTER: The cover of Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook. Green cover, white writing and graphics. The central image is a teapot with stem lines coming out of it, and at the pot's base, a teacup and saucer and a separate plate of biscuits. RIGHT: Bob's Burgers "The Re-Recipe Box," a set of recipe cards inspired by the joke hamburger names featured on the small board at the front of Bob's joint. Red sides with small graphics, cover image of the restaurant.

Greetings, new friends! You may know me as an author, a prolific Bluesky poster and 4th place finisher on So You Call That Dancing? But you might not know that my partner Judith (@mzpress) and I have an online arts bookstore that's growing every day. Full inventory here: mzs.press/EVERYTHING-W...

07.03.2026 04:16 πŸ‘ 951 πŸ” 568 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 44
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The Bygone Era of Supreme Court Support for Voting Rights Sixty years after upholding the Voting Rights Act, the Court has dismantled most of it.

Today marks the anniversary of the Selma march that helped deliver the Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court decision that upheld the law. Sixty years later, the Court has largely reversed this civil rights victory.
bit.ly/4lagoMy

07.03.2026 16:02 πŸ‘ 146 πŸ” 82 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
Atmospheric CO2 concentration graphed from 1957 to present, showing a continuous increase to current 429 parts per million. The annual natural cycle of slight ups and downs can also be seen. Measurements are taken hourly at the top of Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Atmospheric CO2 concentration graphed from 1957 to present, showing a continuous increase to current 429 parts per million. The annual natural cycle of slight ups and downs can also be seen. Measurements are taken hourly at the top of Mauna Loa, Hawaii

The latest update from the Mauna Loa CO2 observatory, shows current #carbondioxide concentrations continue to accelerate upward. The latest reading? 429.1 parts per million. Pre-industrial concentrations were under 280 ppm.
#climatechange
#climate

06.03.2026 05:15 πŸ‘ 76 πŸ” 41 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 6

Wow. Just wow. I can’t β€œlike” this or quote post it until there are more facts. For now, just wide-eyed watching.

22.02.2026 04:40 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
We've made it easy to find and understand the policy changes affecting how our civil service works. Learn more at civilservicearchive.org

We've made it easy to find and understand the policy changes affecting how our civil service works. Learn more at civilservicearchive.org

In the wake of a flood of DOGE directives, Executive Orders, and memos, the pace of changes to the federal workplace has been difficult to record & understand. That’s why we built a tool to track changes, help us advocate for, rebuild, & revitalize the civil service. https://civilservicearchive.org/

15.02.2026 17:00 πŸ‘ 329 πŸ” 142 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 2

And never let Elon forget it.

15.02.2026 17:01 πŸ‘ 579 πŸ” 233 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 4
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Yes it’s Valentine’s Day. But it’s also the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass who was born in 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. He escaped from slavery & rose to become the most eloquent and forceful voice for the abolition of slavery & for Black voting rights in the U.S.

14.02.2026 18:45 πŸ‘ 13997 πŸ” 3731 πŸ’¬ 232 πŸ“Œ 133
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WATCH: Trump, EPA's Zeldin announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressiv...

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate changeβ€”all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

12.02.2026 19:46 πŸ‘ 27773 πŸ” 11818 πŸ’¬ 2079 πŸ“Œ 1021

See BS has a whole new meaning now

12.02.2026 06:12 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Fontes: We don’t cancel our elections. It is the grit β€” the responsible predictability of our elections β€” that is the golden thread running through the entire fabric of our society.

12.02.2026 05:57 πŸ‘ 1932 πŸ” 407 πŸ’¬ 54 πŸ“Œ 20

This is incredible. Like the previous few years, near all of the electricity capacity added to the grid was clean energy. The Inflation Reduction Act helped this - it made solar & wind cheaper but it also for the first time had a standalone incentive for grid storage. Look at the growth in storage!

12.02.2026 04:38 πŸ‘ 1347 πŸ” 397 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 14
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Microsoft released a study showing the 40 jobs most at risk by AI:

11.02.2026 00:30 πŸ‘ 266 πŸ” 123 πŸ’¬ 146 πŸ“Œ 353
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Why Nothing Works (with Marc Dunkelman) Our government can often be defined by inefficiency and gridlock. We see big promises but inadequate action on many issues Americans care about, from health car

Author and scholar Marc Dunkelman discusses his new book Why Nothing Works, arguing that progressive efforts to constrain authority and make processes more democratic have left many parts of government unresponsive and unable to function. Listen to The Briefing with Michael Waldman. apple.co/3NXWg3J

08.02.2026 15:03 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
08.02.2026 14:54 πŸ‘ 109 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Rages at Bad Bunnyβ€”and Accidentally Exposes a Big MAGA Weakness MAGA’s hatred of the Super Bowl halftime performer reflects a hubris about what parts of the culture are β€œtheirs.” But those assumptions are proving more wrong every day.

Trump is badly losing the war over ICE, not just on the streets, but also in the culture. As Bad Bunny shows, this has become a culture war unto itself. Trump-MAGA's initial hubris has been utterly deflated.

I've got fresh data illustrating the point. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2062...

08.02.2026 13:00 πŸ‘ 3172 πŸ” 964 πŸ’¬ 81 πŸ“Œ 77
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Opinion | The Havoc That One Disgruntled Student Can Wreak on a University

"Professors are fighting an asymmetric battle against the tide of anti-intellectualism, illiberalism and bad-faith complaints, and will be for the foreseeable future." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...

29.01.2026 13:15 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Defense Department Severs Academic Ties with Harvard | News | The Harvard Crimson The United States Department of Defense announced Friday evening it would sever all academic ties with Harvard, saying the University’s partnerships with Chinese institutions and antisemitism on campu...

Damage done by this latest petulant outburst by Trump and Hegseth:

β€”1% to Harvard, from loss of students and ongoing links to career military.

β€”99% to career military officers, losing educational, social, and lifetime-connections benefits of stint at Harvard.

www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

07.02.2026 15:20 πŸ‘ 332 πŸ” 87 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 4
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Devastating decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last night endorsing the Trump Bureau of Immigration Appeals 2025 ruling that undocumented immigrants β€œapprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided in the U.S.”

07.02.2026 15:20 πŸ‘ 815 πŸ” 408 πŸ’¬ 54 πŸ“Œ 44

On the bad news side …

05.02.2026 19:58 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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"Climate hushing"β€”the quiet trend undermining global climate action | Talking Climate with Katharine Hayhoe Get more from Talking Climate with Katharine Hayhoe on Patreon

www.patreon.com/posts/climat...
@katharinehayhoe.com highlights good news - and bad - and the absolute need to keep track and use our voices to speak out. Did you know that trend data shows that global energy will likely be just 4% from fossil fuels by 2060? #climate #energytransition

05.02.2026 19:52 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Some unexpected #rain showers were a nice surprise today and made for a lovely double and #triple_rainbow.

The third bow was hard to see on the photos and video, but it was just barely there.

youtu.be/Q8XDo194Wns?...

#weather

05.02.2026 00:47 πŸ‘ 409 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2
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This isn’t about awards it’s about the idea that ordinary people, standing together, can push back against fear, defend their neighbors, and demand accountability from those in power. That’s how democratic values stay alive!

04.02.2026 04:14 πŸ‘ 2112 πŸ” 363 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 30
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Annotating the Judge’s Decision in the Case of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-Year-Old Detained by ICE Our critic annotates the barbed wordplay of a decision challenging the Trump administration’s theory of executive power.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Judge Biery evokes the Great Writ’s legacy of human rights and dignity in his masterful statement that frees little Liam and his father and returns them home to Minnesota. This is great writing that would make Olaudah Equiano proud.

03.02.2026 15:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Good morning! You woke up on a small, spinning rock, orbiting an ordinary star, one of hundreds of billions in a galaxy that’s been here for a long time. And somehow, in all that vastness, you’re here, making meaning out of a single day. Feels pretty miraculous to me. #sciart

27.01.2026 14:06 πŸ‘ 390 πŸ” 63 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 3

Amazon Web Services hosts massive surveillance systems for both ICE and DHS.

Citizens Bank provides nearly $1 trillion in credit & bonds to private prison companies.

AT&T has a $147 million contract to provide communications services to DHS.

Know who is profiting from ICE’s cruelty.

26.01.2026 17:57 πŸ‘ 17545 πŸ” 8928 πŸ’¬ 595 πŸ“Œ 530
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Gov. Walz: "What side do you want to be on? The side of an all-powerful federal government that can kill, injure, menace, and kidnap its citizens off the street, or the side of a nurse for a VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government?"

25.01.2026 20:01 πŸ‘ 1992 πŸ” 495 πŸ’¬ 51 πŸ“Œ 25