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Josh Pasek

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H-index: 31
Political science 40%
Communication & Media Studies 23%
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
Hence why, in our 2020 book, we found that status threat was empirically indistinguishable from racial animus.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
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by Jacob T. Levy — Reposted by Josh Pasek

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Here's a basic rule of legal interpretation, as applicable to the US Constitution as to ordinary statutes: later additions have priority over earlier provisions in the event of conflict.

The Fifteenth Amendment, including Section 2, is later in time than the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1.
3 27 70

Reposted by Josh Pasek, Elizabeth Saunders, Rebecca Solnit , and 5 more

phillewis.bsky.social
“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said
Oct. 15, 2025 PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution. The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all. PPA
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
🎶“It’s beginning to look a lot like feudalism..”🎶
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h
Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
Amendment 14, Section 5:

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Amendment 15, Section 2:

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

This is plain text!
sifill.bsky.social
Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 10h
This entire argument by Louisiana and the conservatives questions are premised on an erasure of Congress’ enforcement power under the 14th & 15th Amendments.

Literally swinging for the fences to wipe out the premise for the legitimacy of Congress’ power to enact civil rights statutes.
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Joe R. Feagin, David Rothschild , and 6 more

jamellebouie.net
“the constitution forbids race conscious remedies” would be news to the people who wrote the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments
mcpli.bsky.social
Michael Li (李之樸) @mcpli.bsky.social · 10h
Griem goes there, arguing in response to Justice Jackson that there can be no race-conscious remedy absent a finding of intentional discrimination.
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Tom Clark, Robert S. Chang , and 1 more

sifill.bsky.social
This entire argument by Louisiana and the conservatives questions are premised on an erasure of Congress’ enforcement power under the 14th & 15th Amendments.

Literally swinging for the fences to wipe out the premise for the legitimacy of Congress’ power to enact civil rights statutes.
24 550 1.7K

Reposted by Josh Pasek, Joe R. Feagin, David Rothschild , and 4 more

mcpli.bsky.social
Griem goes there, arguing in response to Justice Jackson that there can be no race-conscious remedy absent a finding of intentional discrimination.
13 10 150

Reposted by Josh Pasek, American Library Association, Nicolas Véron , and 8 more

atrupar.com
Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Brendan Nyhan, Michael A. Clemens , and 12 more

walterolson.bsky.social
New from me at Cato: I go through the numerous and massive First Amendment and academic-freedom violations of Trump's proffered "compact" with universities and then talk about the mechanism by which it would be enforced, by way of what I describe as a "retroactive push-button guillotine."
Universities Must Defend Their Independence by Rejecting Trump's "Compact"
The Trump administration has proffered a “compact” to universities that would require them to surrender their independence and academic freedom. How many First Amendment violations can we identify in ...
www.cato.org
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
As an individual, this makes sense.

But the question that gets messy is when you can justify institutions no longer treating what the Supreme Court says as a legal order.

You can’t do that just because you expect them to violate the social contract, they need to have blatantly violated it.
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
I think there’s a strong case for this, but I also think it’s debatable in a way where say overriding birthright citizenship would not be subjected to debate.

I think the evidence en mass suggests bad faith, my point is the difficulty of actually drawing a clean line.
1

by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
We can identify SC bad faith if:

1) rulings that are being made are facially incompatible with Constitution

2) rulings are sufficiently self-contradictory with so little justification that any reasonable actor would conclude

No obvious case of 1, strong case for 2 but determination is subjective
1

by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
The real question is how one decides when the Supreme Court crosses the line.

But because the goal is Constitutional interpretation in the face of ambiguity, there is just about always a claim for legitimacy.

How then can we identify bad faith?

I see two approaches
1 2

Reposted by Josh Pasek

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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
So let me get today's news clear -- Antifa is almost 100 years old and a continuous tradition from Weimar Germany and we just arrested one of its founders's girlfriends? I guess that is hypothetically possible...
rtodkelly.bsky.social
Schrödinger's Sneetch Belly @rtodkelly.bsky.social · 7d
"the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Richard S.J. Tol, Steve Peers , and 2 more

rtodkelly.bsky.social
"the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Richard S.J. Tol, Mark Lubell , and 1 more

catiehausman.bsky.social
Job posting!

apply.interfolio.com/173947

Assistant or Associate Professor of Global Environmental Policy

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: School for Environment and Sustainability

Come be a Wolverine! In Tree Town! In the Mitten!
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
1 20 24

by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
Now, if we can only find a way to use it in an instrumental variable analysis.
1 1

by Josh Pasek — Reposted by Brendan Nyhan

joshpasek.com
How should university boards prepare?

- Strategize in advance (could happen here)
- Leverage internal expertise (strategize with political scientists, public policy scholars and law faculty)
- Respond collectively and support one another
-Stay true to the mission

This is the real fiduciary duty!
jackiegardina.bsky.social
Jackie Gardina @jackiegardina.bsky.social · 8d
@joshpasek.com, @umich.edu, provides boards of trustees a roadmap for responding to external pressue, like the so-called Educational Compact.

@aaup.org @utaustinaaup.bsky.social @aaup-penn.bsky.social

riverside.fm/shared/expor...
One thing boards can d... | Oct 7, 2025 001 - Riverside - HD Podcast & Video Software
riverside.fm
2 14 43

Reposted by Josh Pasek

jackiegardina.bsky.social
@joshpasek.com, @umich.edu, provides boards of trustees a roadmap for responding to external pressue, like the so-called Educational Compact.

@aaup.org @utaustinaaup.bsky.social @aaup-penn.bsky.social

riverside.fm/shared/expor...
One thing boards can d... | Oct 7, 2025 001 - Riverside - HD Podcast & Video Software
riverside.fm
1 3 5

by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation

www.archives.gov/founding-doc...
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d
DURBIN: You won't even say whether you talked to the WH about this?

BONDI: I'm not going to discuss any internal conversations with you

D: They're going to transfer TX Guard troops to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale?

B: I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump
3

Reposted by Josh Pasek, Ryan Enos, Robert B. Reich , and 1 more

atrupar.com
DURBIN: You won't even say whether you talked to the WH about this?

BONDI: I'm not going to discuss any internal conversations with you

D: They're going to transfer TX Guard troops to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale?

B: I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump
370 330 1.3K

by Brendan Nyhan — Reposted by Josh Pasek, Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer , and 17 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
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Reposted by Josh Pasek, Dominik Vogel

thomaszimmer.bsky.social
ICYMI yesterday:

I wrote about Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, the struggle to define the boundaries of what is acceptable in America – and why democratic citizens have an obligation to hold the line on what we consider beyond the pale.

Some thoughts from my new piece:

🧵
Where Is the Line?
On Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and the struggle to define the boundaries of what is acceptable in America
steady.page
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by Josh Pasek — Reposted by Greg Linden

joshpasek.com
At this point, the experts largely agree that the lack of fascism in a formal sense is because they lack the capacity, not the intent.

Being sober about both where we are and where we aren’t is important, however, because American institutions still have the capacity to reverse the backsliding.
guygrossman.bsky.social
Guy Grossman @guygrossman.bsky.social · 10d
I agree with Tom - we live in an electoral authoritarian regime. It has some fascist elements (e.g., disappearing migrants; masked agents detaining individuals without warrants), but the Trump regime is not (at least, yet) in a full fascist mode.
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by Josh Pasek

joshpasek.com
I want to hope that this is just a coincidence, but those hopes feel less and less likely given the timeline we appear to be on.

Worth a reminder that most people from both parties oppose political violence. It is critical for all of us to uphold that norm.
donnadeka.bsky.social
donnadeka.bsky.social @donnadeka.bsky.social · 10d
“Judge Diane Goodstein is known for her recent ruling that blocked the Trump regime from accessing all sensitive information about South Carolina voters.”

www.live5news.com/2025/10/05/3...
3 hospitalized following reported Edisto Beach fire, SLED investigating
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating a house fire that hospitalized three people Saturday afternoon.
www.live5news.com
1

by Guy Grossman — Reposted by Josh Pasek

guygrossman.bsky.social
I agree with Tom - we live in an electoral authoritarian regime. It has some fascist elements (e.g., disappearing migrants; masked agents detaining individuals without warrants), but the Trump regime is not (at least, yet) in a full fascist mode.
4 3 19

Reposted by Josh Pasek, Cas Mudde, Brendan Nyhan , and 6 more

joelhs.bsky.social
I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.

A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.
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Reposted by Josh Pasek

donnadeka.bsky.social
“Judge Diane Goodstein is known for her recent ruling that blocked the Trump regime from accessing all sensitive information about South Carolina voters.”

www.live5news.com/2025/10/05/3...
3 hospitalized following reported Edisto Beach fire, SLED investigating
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating a house fire that hospitalized three people Saturday afternoon.
www.live5news.com
9 300 620

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