Ben Muse
@benmuse.bsky.social
Worked as an economist with Alaska and Federal fishery management agencies. Retired and living in Juneau now.
Reposted by Ben Muse
The fact that only 3 (by my count) Republican members of Congress have spoken out about the Witkoff situation shows how thoroughly corrupted and compromised the entire party has become from top to bottom. None of this is about just Trump - it is the entire political party.
November 26, 2025 at 11:22 AM
The fact that only 3 (by my count) Republican members of Congress have spoken out about the Witkoff situation shows how thoroughly corrupted and compromised the entire party has become from top to bottom. None of this is about just Trump - it is the entire political party.
More of this Senator!
Glad to see this from Senator Murkowski.
This should not be a partisan issue.
This should not be a partisan issue.
November 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM
More of this Senator!
Reposted by Ben Muse
Trump objectively IS the most openly corrupt president in U.S. history. And suing people to stop them from saying it is part of that unprecedented corruption.
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Trump objectively IS the most openly corrupt president in U.S. history. And suing people to stop them from saying it is part of that unprecedented corruption.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Do y’all ever feel like the ludicrous nature of all this is driving you insane?
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
The Pentagon has launched a review of "serious allegations of misconduct" against Senator Mark Kelly after he told service members to refuse unlawful orders.
November 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Do y’all ever feel like the ludicrous nature of all this is driving you insane?
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
Some thoughts about how language can lead us astray.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
Excellent post - and this is how I begin every discussion with a potential Lost Causer, because once you separate their Southern culture (family ties, geographic roots, etc) from the argument, you can actually have a discussion without the “I have to defend the South” walls coming up.
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
November 23, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
“Blood and Soil” and “Christian Nationalist” MAGA are profoundly un-American. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Gordon Wood on America as a "Creedal Nation" Open to all Races and Ethnicities
Wood is the leading living historian of the American Founding. He pushes back here against those who claim America should be an ethno-nationalist polity.
reason.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:40 AM
“Blood and Soil” and “Christian Nationalist” MAGA are profoundly un-American. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Reposted by Ben Muse
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.
November 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Reposted by Ben Muse
In this new @usnews.com article, five law profs (including me) with vastly different views on most issues explain why colleges should reject Trump's "Compact" with higher ed, for both constitutional and policy reasons: www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
www.usnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:47 PM
In this new @usnews.com article, five law profs (including me) with vastly different views on most issues explain why colleges should reject Trump's "Compact" with higher ed, for both constitutional and policy reasons: www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Ben Muse
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
We need to beat the Republicans so badly next year that the survivors are left really scared, realizing that the general election voters are a greater threat to their careers than MAGA primary voters.
Especially if people just whine about how everything is fascism instead of acting like mature citizens of a democracy and getting off their asses and voting against it.
By the time Tom is willing to acknowledge the fascism that Trump is baking into the American political system, there will be no one left able to do anything about it.
November 20, 2025 at 9:43 PM
We need to beat the Republicans so badly next year that the survivors are left really scared, realizing that the general election voters are a greater threat to their careers than MAGA primary voters.
Reposted by Ben Muse
I don't think he's over, but authoritarians usually don't get more than 12-18 months to capture a regime, and they rely on a sense of power and inevitability. He's behind schedule and lost that aura.
Also, populist dictators usually make things better for their supporters. But not this one.
Also, populist dictators usually make things better for their supporters. But not this one.
November 20, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I don't think he's over, but authoritarians usually don't get more than 12-18 months to capture a regime, and they rely on a sense of power and inevitability. He's behind schedule and lost that aura.
Also, populist dictators usually make things better for their supporters. But not this one.
Also, populist dictators usually make things better for their supporters. But not this one.
Senator Murkowski, you may think that Trump will give you what you want on accelerated Alaska resource development, but you’re not taking account of the general incompetence of this administration.
It is also a Reign of Error - his DOJ is so incompetent that they are losing on multiple fronts - the Texas redistricting, the charges against Comey, the cancelling of federal grants, the placement of National Guard in US cities.....
In the WH, beside MBS, Trump confessed that he knew Epstein before he was charged with any crime, after saying he knew nothing about him, making it his worst day.
The trump presidency as we have known it is over.
Trump's reign of terror in Congress is over.
Listen to Lawrence O'Donnell :
The trump presidency as we have known it is over.
Trump's reign of terror in Congress is over.
Listen to Lawrence O'Donnell :
November 20, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Senator Murkowski, you may think that Trump will give you what you want on accelerated Alaska resource development, but you’re not taking account of the general incompetence of this administration.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Reposted by Ben Muse
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
Reposted by Ben Muse
What's amazing here is that MBS looks more uncomfortable about the direction the conversation took than Trump does.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
What's amazing here is that MBS looks more uncomfortable about the direction the conversation took than Trump does.
Reposted by Ben Muse
“He believes that nothing can or should exist beyond him”
This is the key that unlocks the door to understanding Trump. Hard for sane people to wrap their minds around. But if you truly understand this you will understand him and his decision making process, such as it is.
This is the key that unlocks the door to understanding Trump. Hard for sane people to wrap their minds around. But if you truly understand this you will understand him and his decision making process, such as it is.
I asked @maryltrump.bsky.social about how this all might end--what it would look like. Here's part of what she said: "He will burn it all down."
November 18, 2025 at 2:06 AM
“He believes that nothing can or should exist beyond him”
This is the key that unlocks the door to understanding Trump. Hard for sane people to wrap their minds around. But if you truly understand this you will understand him and his decision making process, such as it is.
This is the key that unlocks the door to understanding Trump. Hard for sane people to wrap their minds around. But if you truly understand this you will understand him and his decision making process, such as it is.
Reposted by Ben Muse
This whole NYT account about the weaponization of DOJ is beyond disturbing. Kinda feels like the US government fell in January.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
This whole NYT account about the weaponization of DOJ is beyond disturbing. Kinda feels like the US government fell in January.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Ben Muse
This, from the people who said sending artillery shells to Ukraine would leave us unable to defend Taiwan.
Roughly a fifth of all deployed US naval ships are in the Caribbean, according to Stars & Stripes and USNI News
November 16, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This, from the people who said sending artillery shells to Ukraine would leave us unable to defend Taiwan.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Why I am disgusted with Congress and the SCOTUS. Top 10 things Trump is doing that they could stop if they wanted to:
1. Extrajudicial military murders
2. Bribe taking corruption of gifts to Trump and family
3. Abuse of the pardon power
4. Race-based targeting of Latinos for immigration /1
1. Extrajudicial military murders
2. Bribe taking corruption of gifts to Trump and family
3. Abuse of the pardon power
4. Race-based targeting of Latinos for immigration /1
November 15, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Why I am disgusted with Congress and the SCOTUS. Top 10 things Trump is doing that they could stop if they wanted to:
1. Extrajudicial military murders
2. Bribe taking corruption of gifts to Trump and family
3. Abuse of the pardon power
4. Race-based targeting of Latinos for immigration /1
1. Extrajudicial military murders
2. Bribe taking corruption of gifts to Trump and family
3. Abuse of the pardon power
4. Race-based targeting of Latinos for immigration /1
Trump’s whims are our law now.
Trump: The east wing… looked like hell. I didn’t want to sacrifice a great ballroom for an ok ballroom by leaving it..
November 14, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Trump’s whims are our law now.
Reposted by Ben Muse
202-224-3121
November 13, 2025 at 5:01 AM
202-224-3121
Reposted by Ben Muse
The silence of congressional Republicans to all the Trump corruption - from his disgusting pardons, to the UAE crypto money, to the Qatari jet, and the ballroom, should be used against all of them in midterms along with their silence on tariffs which has made things unaffordable.
November 9, 2025 at 1:09 AM
The silence of congressional Republicans to all the Trump corruption - from his disgusting pardons, to the UAE crypto money, to the Qatari jet, and the ballroom, should be used against all of them in midterms along with their silence on tariffs which has made things unaffordable.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Incredibly destructive.
November 7, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Incredibly destructive.