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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 4h

I love it. Granted I'm in the tank for Beatty, both as an actor and director, but it's movie movie, and fun and interesting and smart throughout.

I really need to rewatch Reds, though. Haven't seen it in full since it was new.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 7h

If it's good enough for Andy Partridge, it's good enough for me.
Oh, heli! Oh heli!

("She got to be obscene to be ob-heard")

Luke Steuber @lukesteuber.com · 9h

ALSO

nobody has said these things but it’s a pet peeve

It is a HELICO-PTER (spinning wing), not HELI-COPTER. People say “heli” and I always want to correct them and say “helico” but that’s why my therapist said I don’t have friends

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 8h

I really wouldn’t be shining lasers at helicopters if I were you. It’s illegal and could cause an aircraft to crash - and that could kill a LOT of people, in the air and on the ground.

And the ICE goons appear to be *salivating* at the chance to claim people that they arrest were doing this:

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 8h

Revenge for the Pilots!

Mr. Nick Beaudrot @nbeaudrot.bsky.social · 9h

America deserves a Mariners Brewers World Series

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 9h

Yup.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 9h

Even worse: The highly partisan outlets in his feed modify their coverage to avoid contradicting his well-known biases and false beliefs in order to keep him happy with their coverage. Because he'll switch if they challenge his preconceptions.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 9h

Normal presidents are well-advised to tune into media coverage as a check on internal administration groupthink and advocacy disguised as neutral info.

This president treats his highly partisan media feed as neutral, and organized his presidency to avoid any checks on that.

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 10h

Former Presidents consistently talk about the difficulty of getting good information as President, how everyone has an agenda, is telling them what they want to hear, etc.

Most Presidents make some effort to mitigate that well-known problem, but Trump's like "moar bubble, I want only bubble."

Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 11h

For my piece today at @zeteo.com i wanted to truly underscore how punishingly stupid american fascism is now. Like, my original proposed headline for this was:

Our Democracy Is Imperiled Because One Old Man Won’t Stop ‘Yelling’ At His TV. zeteo.com/p/trump-addi...

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Assaad Razzouk @assaadrazzouk.bsky.social · 13h

Good climate news this week
1 Global: Renewables generation surpasses coal for 1st time
2 Global: Renewables have cut fossil-fuel imports for more than 100 countries
3 Global: Solar and wind generation grew in 1st half by more than overall demand increased in the same period

1/5

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 11h

Anyway as always the best part of these are the links, so please click through! Lots of good stuff by public-facing political scientists these days. And if I'm missing your stuff, let me know! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/also-theyr...

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 11h

What I didn't include is my theory that Wiles is CoS mainly because he likes to hear Pat Summerall stories. Trump isn't much of a fan, but Summerall was exactly the right age for Trump to appreciate him as a player, broadcaster, and celebrity.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 12h

Wrote one about Trump botching things and the (non-) role of the WH CoS. Plus links! @normornstein.bsky.social @joshhuder.bsky.social @mattglassman312.bsky.social @dcinbox.bsky.social @rickhasen.bsky.social @himself.bsky.social @brownphdgirl.bsky.social @brendannyhan.bsky.social and lots more.

Also They're Incompetent

And all the links

goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Deborah Pearlstein @debpearlstein.bsky.social · 12h

Stop. Intervening. At. All. The SCt’s longtime, pre-Roberts practice was to grant emergency relief from a lower ct order only if necessary to preserve the status quo on the ground. The lower cts are open and operating. Opt. Back. Out.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 12h

I'm sure organizers are very aware, but if you're marching for No Kings (or anything else these days), expect to have quite a few FBI agents mixed in, subtle Buscemi-style most likely. Be careful out there, folks.

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 17h

This has real -- I intended to dm "Pam" -- energy.

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 15h

Bumpin' that www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSFF...

XTC - I Don't Want To Be Here

YouTube video by PeterCameOut

www.youtube.com

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

Disagree! Primaries are good, yes, but party actors of all stripes should be involved and it's fine when they play a decisive role.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

This was true back when I was teaching but I'm afraid nowadays a lot of the implicit assumptions behind a lot of my US politics classes (e.g. presidency is constrained, segregation was bad, separated institutions share powers, democracy is good, etc.) would read as partisan.

Spooky Back From the Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 14h

Even in political science! Typical questions on my exams include "What's the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee?" "Which of the following agencies is an Independent Regulatory Commission?" and "Calculate the standard deviation of this set of numbers."

Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 14h

Also, I'm unsure what the claim that students align their viewpoints with the professor in order to get a good grade means. How does this work in biology, computer science, and math? How often do profs share their "viewpoints" in matters unrelated to the course, so that undergrads would even know?

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

I think that's right.

And I've been as opposed to old Senate nominees as anyone, but the time to make (or consider making) exceptions is *exactly* this kind of seat and this kind of candidate.

Let 'em have a primary.

Lakshya Jain @lakshya.splitticket.org · 14h

Graham Platner is a very high-ceiling candidate in Maine with a lot of potential. He's also extremely untested and while he looks promising for Democrats, it's pretty important to have a primary here to see if there are any red flags that bubble up.

Just let it go and log off.

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 14h

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

It can be, I suppose. But I'm against armchair medical diagnoses, especially when other explanations will do. And to some extent strategy and blurting stuff out don't really go together.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

Option 1: Dementia
Option 2: Strategy
Option 3: He's a moron who has always said whatever self-serving thing popped into his head and never worried if it even remotely plausible or what the consequences might be.

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 14h

I’ve seen posts claiming this “truth” is evidence of dementia, but IMO that’s not the right frame. This is strategy. Since 2021, the right has been rewriting history, bending timelines, to connect their grievances (Covid) and conspiracy theories (Jan 6, censorship, etc) to the Biden administration.

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 18h

That’s a nice trick, since Biden wasn’t the president on Jan 6.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 13h

As I and @gregsargent.bsky.social and others noted during the campaign last year, Trump's biggest promise was to govern as an authoritarian. So, yeah, he's tried to fulfill that one.

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 17h

52% of Americans say Trump is “doing what he promised.” But not all those people *like* what he’s doing! That is key context for interpreting this number, but was notable missing from a viral CNN segment (that the White House later turned into a press release)
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/is-trump-d...

Is Trump “doing what he promised”? | Weekly roundup for October 12, 2025

And what does that even mean? Also this week: Shutdown polls; Left-wing populism; Low favorability ratings for all U.S. leaders; Judges' concerns about Trump; + more!

www.gelliottmorris.com

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 1d

Yup. But also in addition to the ideological blinders - a normal president (with a normal WH CoS) would have been upset the first time it happened and taken steps to prevent it repeating.

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Reposted by Jonathan Bernstein

Ann Keller @annck.bsky.social · 1d

It's not even the first time that, in their zeal to get rid of people, they've had to immediatey hire people back. They are so steeped in their own anti government propaganda that they only see the need for experts in super obvious cases like the nuclear stockpile or hemorrhagic fever.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 1d

Continuing things that help me be happy during a holiday that asks it of us even when it's not easy.

This one in honor of my rabbi, who is also finding happiness tricky this year:

Val Kilmer. Always, but especially in Top Secret! and Real Genius.

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 1d

Gosh this sounds sort of like what would happen if key administration figures starting with the President of the United States were totally clueless morons who had no idea what they were doing.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Some of the layoffs at CDC are being REVERSED.
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

More than 1,000 CDC staff receive layoff notices during government shutdown

Another round of mass layoffs has struck CDC. The agency had already been cut during a reorganization this year, and more employees are now being shed amid the government shutdown.

www.washingtonpost.com

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