Mike Wagner

Where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.

Important report from @bcburden.bsky.social who runs the @electionscenter.bsky.social on this point. electionlab.mit.edu/articles/opt...

graph showing massive turnover of election officials in western states

We rely on ethical and honest election officials to ensure we can rely on our elections. Those officials have been threatened and attacked, and are fleeing from the profession. Turnover since 2020 is above 50% in western states/
issueone.org/press/new-re...

Striking fact given the long-held belief that “grand juries would indict a ham sandwich.”

More people should listen to @tressiemcphd.bsky.social

When people say AI is inevitable, let them know the future isn’t settled.

This was a disturbing assault on @repilhan.bsky.social, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public.

Mr. Kazmierczak has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.

And what are they learning? Experts on the formation of internal security services in authoritarian regimes point to a sense of impunity as a warning sign. Regime officials abuse their power when they know they will be protected, and even praised, for doing so. Over the course of weeks and months, we have seen images of DHS officials abusing American citizens and immigrants alike, including killing them. What we do not hear is regime officials calling for credible investigations into such abuses, or even expressing any concerns. Renee Good’s killer was announced innocent, and both Good and her wife was instead the subject of an investigation, a perversion of justice so obvious that an FBI agent and half-dozen career Department of Justice prosecutors assigned to Minnesota resigned.

What we are watching is a paramilitary force learning that they can kill with impunity, that the regime will smear the victim and defend them. Unless politicians and the legal system exerts accountability, it will not stop. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...

Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell YouTube video by Federal Reserve

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

An unarmed mother who said, “I’m not mad at you,” and turned to drive away.

Lol how can you tell this administration is lying to you? Because oil hasn't been shipped in actual barrels in over a century
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Candidate Touts Multi-Million-Dollar Haul To Flip Key Swing State Red 'we are building a movement powered by the People of Wisconsin'

Daily Caller reports that Tom Tiffany has raised $2 million in his campaign for governor. The story also notes that Wisconsin College Republicans, which has endorsed Tiffany, has raised $1 million this cycle. dailycaller.com/2026/01/08/t...

News organizations should simply describe what they can plainly see with their own eyes than hedge and report about a “disputed interpretation” over what happened in Minneapolis. Even by traditional standards of objectivity, the ICE person shot and killed a woman while she was driving away.

NY Times headline Live Updates: Minneapolis Mayor Disputes Federal Account of Fatal ICE Shooting

If the headline is "disputed shooting" rather than straightforwardly telling the public what happened this rewards the DHS for lying about these events

Our public-facing piece from a few years ago about how local parties helped weaponize patriotism on Facebook to drive January 6th. theconversation.com/swing-state-...

Never forget. 🇺🇸

🚨 New paper drop!

How does a social movement once started out powerful somehow turn into a partisan battle?

In our new publication in @icsjournal.bsky.social, we answer this question by analyzing 83 million #MeToo tweets from 2017–2020. 1/

This is exactly right

Trump very openly saying the US will be governing Venezuela with the support of US oil companies

Good ‘ol Shoe.

This news conference has strong authoritarian country vibes.

How is the U.S. public going to react to the invasion of Venezuela & capture of Maduro? Regardless of legality (which legal scholars I’ve seen say is plainly illegal), we can apply the late UW professor Murray Edelman’s work here to think about public response in our fractured media environment. 1/

Was just making that point, although in a far more egghead fashion

So you’re saying history matters?

Excellent thread 🧵

For sure; a very plausible outcome is that people forget all about this in a few weeks. But if Venezuela descends into chaos and this emboldens China and Russia in ways that affect U.S. life, it could matter in a number of ways. But, the media environment makes it very hard to get people to care

Yikes on the typos!

Lots more to this than the communication aspect, of course, but that’s my area of expertise. Time for those we’ve elected to clearly, repeatedly, and carefully share their views with us and for news orgs to hold power accountable. 10/10