@pkrugman.bsky.social raises a vital point.
At $1 billion/day, six weeks of the air war on Iran would cost as much as a year of US military support for Ukraine. Which would do more for US national security?
The answer may be debated, but the question is essential for America.
An outstanding expert on international trade clarifies the key point: Tariffs as an instrument of arbitrary power have been dismantled.
A key lesson from Heather & Rapley's book for us today: Aggression against weaker neighbors can have long-term indirect costs, as it causes them to reorganize politically for greater strength against the aggressor, which may ultimately cost much more than the short-term gains of aggression.
In "Why Empires Fall," Peter Heather & John Rapley explain that the Roman Empire fell, not from internal decline, but because its external rivals had become richer and better organized, generally in response to challenges and opportunities from the Romans.
www.penguin.co.uk/books/313711...
Now is the time for the President of Harvard to begin an extensive tour of Harvard Clubs in states that voted for Trump.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
It is worth noting the parallels between Boston in 1774 and Minneapolis in 2026. The United States was born when Americans everywhere supported Boston against George III.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/b...
In the real world, power depends on trust. A US attack on a NATO ally would decimate American power.
The Kremlin knows this. Does Congress?
www.reuters.com/world/senior...
Might the ultimate result of Maduro's abduction just be to let the Trump Administration look strong while it ends sanctions and starts buying Venezuelan oil?
We may expect Nicolas Maduro to ultimately get comfortable asylum in Moscow.
Front pages of American newspapers after Jan. 6, 2021, with headlines like "Capitol Chaos," "Assault on Democracy," "Pro-Trump mob storms Capitol."
Five years ago.
An important warning from Mark Hertling in The Bulwark: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-regim...
Why is the US National Security Strategy for Primacy of Nations against "sovereignty-sapping incursions" of transnational organizations?
This indefensible position would have opposed creation of the US federal system that intrusively organized 13 sovereign states.
www.jstor.org/stable/48573...
At this holiday season, we should remember people in Ukraine and their fight for freedom. I am proud to support @razomforukraine.org and the Kyiv School of Economics, which is helping to build a brighter future in Ukraine.
foundation.kse.ua/en/
The Trump administration implicitly recognized the potential need for state-building in the 2025 National Security Strategy: "We want to ensure that the Western Hemisphere remains reasonably stable and well-governed enough to prevent and discourage mass migration to the United States."
🔔 👀 BEAMAN: “IT WAS A FAIR ELECTION.”
Tennessee Republican megadonor Lee Beaman, a Trump TVA board appointee, admits to @schiff.senate.gov he no longer believes the 2020 election was stolen, after previously calling for alternate electors.
Seems like a big deal! 🤷🏼
There is zero excuse for police, in a free society, to wear a mask.
Cowards
Prism has published "Decentralized Stabilization Assistance," on general lessons from failed state-building missions.
A strong democratic system must be rooted in local politics throughout the nation. State-building missions fail when local politics is ignored.
home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/re...
I only hope that Speaker Johnson can apologize for wrongly calling us a “hate America” rally. We may disagree about many things, but the patriotism of the thousands who gathered with me today should not be questioned.
Patriotic Americans are gathering peacefully on Oct 18 to affirm the democratic constitutional values on which this great country was founded. #nokings
This economist will be in the crowd with an American flag here in Chicago.
www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i...
A manifesto calling for red-state Democrats to lead in the political revival of our great country:
thehill.com/opinion/camp...
Even as the President sends troops to Chicago where I live, I affirm that local Democrats in red states are also on the front line for defense of democracy in America today. They need more support from @democrats.org.
thehill.com/opinion/camp...
#DemocracyInAmerica
What would Texans say if the President sent Illinois Guard troops to patrol their town? The Second Amendment affirms that people's right to keep local order by locally accountable forces is necessary to the security of a free state. This right is vital for all of us.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
Defending democracy is fundamentally different from winning elections when rules of democracy can be taken for granted.
In a must-read article, @jvl.bsky.social observes that "Democrats are negotiating about policy when they should be negotiating about power."
www.thebulwark.com/p/democrats-...
The President's threats to unseat congressional representatives by endorsing primary challengers is a profound change in America. In 1913-1960 Presidents rarely endorsed primary challengers against incumbents in their own party, and half these challengers lost.
See Riker&Bast doi.org/10.1007/978-...
A new paper revisits results of Thomas Worrall 1990: In the long run, incentive-constrained risk-averse agents tend to be enriched with competitive credit, but impoverished with monopolistic credit. But agents prefer the insurance that a credit monopolist can offer.
home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/re...
What should Democrats stand for?
Democrats should be the party that does not just march to its Leader’s command, but everywhere supports candidates who focus on their local voters' concerns and who work for practical solutions in a broad coalition.
thehill.com/opinion/camp...
The second amendment guarantees the right to a militia to guard against federal tyranny. But if a president can use that force against its own state, against the wishes of that state, then it is no militia at all and a clear violation of the second amendment.
America's Founders would have been shocked by any suggestion of a President sending troops to cities where local authorities have kept order.
If police had existed in 1791, the 2nd Amendment might have also affirmed people's right to well-regulated local policing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/u...
ICYMI
