Blake Miller
@bamiller.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania. I specialize in Chinese politics, authoritarian politics, and computational social science methods. (they/them) http://blakeapm.com
Reposted by Blake Miller
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 AM
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
Reposted by Blake Miller
As described in our piece, this figure shows the spikes in protest activity in Trump-leaning counties (above 0 on the y-axis) vs in Harris-leaning counties (below 0 on the y-axis) over time across his two administrations. Since April, the modal protest county voted for Trump.
October 16, 2025 at 8:17 PM
As described in our piece, this figure shows the spikes in protest activity in Trump-leaning counties (above 0 on the y-axis) vs in Harris-leaning counties (below 0 on the y-axis) over time across his two administrations. Since April, the modal protest county voted for Trump.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Every accusation is a confession. This is political indoctrination—the exact kind they accuse the left of.
1. The Superintendent of Public Schools in Oklahoma announces a partnership to establish a Turning Point USA chapter in every Oklahoma high school.
September 23, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Every accusation is a confession. This is political indoctrination—the exact kind they accuse the left of.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Ta-Nehasi Coates is doing a lot of things with this essay, but one of the most important is fearlessly using examples of anti-trans hate to describe Charlie Kirk's politics.
The contrast between his choices and those of other writers for major legacy outlets is revealing.
The contrast between his choices and those of other writers for major legacy outlets is revealing.
Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause
By ignoring the rhetoric and actions of the Turning Point USA founder, pundits and politicians are sanitizing his legacy.
www.vanityfair.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Ta-Nehasi Coates is doing a lot of things with this essay, but one of the most important is fearlessly using examples of anti-trans hate to describe Charlie Kirk's politics.
The contrast between his choices and those of other writers for major legacy outlets is revealing.
The contrast between his choices and those of other writers for major legacy outlets is revealing.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
Anas al-Sharif among five Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel in Gaza
Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.
aje.io
August 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
Reposted by Blake Miller
It's incredible that this is real.
putting a fucking Lada in the background means he's doing the soviet collapse without any of the fun bits
August 1, 2025 at 10:54 PM
It's incredible that this is real.
Reposted by Blake Miller
We can either have billionaires, or we can have democracy. The billionaires know this too, so they have decided to eliminate democracy.
August 1, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We can either have billionaires, or we can have democracy. The billionaires know this too, so they have decided to eliminate democracy.
Reposted by Blake Miller
On one of the most unbelievable satellite images I've ever seen, showing hundreds of Palestinians surrounding aid trucks north of Rafah.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/w...
A World of Misery, From 200 Miles Up
www.nytimes.com
July 30, 2025 at 1:12 AM
On one of the most unbelievable satellite images I've ever seen, showing hundreds of Palestinians surrounding aid trucks north of Rafah.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/w...
Another example of how Chinese information control can be clumsy and prone to popular backlash. The readership of boys love is largely queer-affirming straight women… and the state is revealing its distasteful homophobia and repressive tactics to a demographic unlikely to encounter them otherwise.
"Across China, authorities have been interrogating dozens of writers -- many of them young women -- who published gay erotic novels online, in what appears to be the largest police roundup of its kind to date."
China LGBTQ Crackdown: Dozens of 'Boys' Love' Writers Arrested Over Online Novels
LGBTQ Censorship: China detains dozens of authors—mostly women—for writing gay erotic fiction online, sparking global outcry over creative freedom.
www.deccanherald.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Another example of how Chinese information control can be clumsy and prone to popular backlash. The readership of boys love is largely queer-affirming straight women… and the state is revealing its distasteful homophobia and repressive tactics to a demographic unlikely to encounter them otherwise.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Quite a strong final statement: "Descriptive research is important and it is a pity that the general obsession with causal estimates disincentivizes researchers from attempting to publish careful and detailed description."
Local reactions to wolf attacks in Germany are not powerful enough to influence the election decisions of many voters www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The East in wolf’s clothing. Wolf attacks correlate with but do not cause far-right voting
The resurgence of wolves in Germany has sparked intense debate, particularly in rural areas where wolf attacks on livestock are frequent. Prior resear…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 9, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Quite a strong final statement: "Descriptive research is important and it is a pity that the general obsession with causal estimates disincentivizes researchers from attempting to publish careful and detailed description."
Reposted by Blake Miller
Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban
June 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban
Reposted by Blake Miller
I entered the human rights field 15 years ago, I thought I could contribute to make China a little bit more like America, but it has turned out that America is increasingly like China. It's so depressing.
June 24, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I entered the human rights field 15 years ago, I thought I could contribute to make China a little bit more like America, but it has turned out that America is increasingly like China. It's so depressing.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Congrats to Jesse Singhal and the NYT for achieving a more brutal and vigorous retreat on civil rights than Reagan dancing on the graves of American martyrs in Mississippi to launch his presidency.
You certainly will be memorable
You certainly will be memorable
9 years ago the NBA pulled the All-Star Game out of North Carolina because of their anti-trans Bathroom Law. The choice had massive public support and was applauded
Less than a decade later and half the country has those laws, including Congress itself, and barely anyone blinks
LESS THAN A DECADE
Less than a decade later and half the country has those laws, including Congress itself, and barely anyone blinks
LESS THAN A DECADE
The public was 100% ready for trans rights just a few years ago.
What we’re seeing now is a massive shift in public opinion after a coordinated and expensive propaganda blitz, one that Dems happily ignored.
Trans rights aren’t new. We had them for years and everything was cool.
What we’re seeing now is a massive shift in public opinion after a coordinated and expensive propaganda blitz, one that Dems happily ignored.
Trans rights aren’t new. We had them for years and everything was cool.
June 22, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Congrats to Jesse Singhal and the NYT for achieving a more brutal and vigorous retreat on civil rights than Reagan dancing on the graves of American martyrs in Mississippi to launch his presidency.
You certainly will be memorable
You certainly will be memorable
Reposted by Blake Miller
Holy crap. The US-UK trade deal is a blank sheet of paper and only Trump signed it. (Genuine screen grab).
June 17, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Holy crap. The US-UK trade deal is a blank sheet of paper and only Trump signed it. (Genuine screen grab).
Reposted by Blake Miller
Remarkable.
MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful."
Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd.
Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.
MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful."
Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd.
Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.
June 14, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Remarkable.
MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful."
Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd.
Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.
MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful."
Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd.
Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Any person in uniform wearing a mask and refusing to be properly and reliably identified should be assumed to be the same kind of murderer we’ve seen in Minnesota.
Shooters were dressed like law enforcement and this is exactly why I’m pissed about ice officers wearing masks, driving unmarked cars and not being identifiable when they terrorize communities
June 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Any person in uniform wearing a mask and refusing to be properly and reliably identified should be assumed to be the same kind of murderer we’ve seen in Minnesota.
Reposted by Blake Miller
“Trump is using military forces to stop a protest — I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
Doechii at the #BETAwards
Doechii at the #BETAwards
June 10, 2025 at 1:01 AM
“Trump is using military forces to stop a protest — I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
Doechii at the #BETAwards
Doechii at the #BETAwards
Amazing view from my room in the School of Journalism’s hotel on the Fudan University campus!
June 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Amazing view from my room in the School of Journalism’s hotel on the Fudan University campus!
Reposted by Blake Miller
Almost every day I read about some new development that just stuns me with its combination of cruelty and short-sightedness. This is one of them.
NIH stops development of HIV vaccine, terminates grants to consortia, including at Duke University.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘Devasting.’ NIH cancels future funding plans for HIV vaccine consortia
Researchers decry agency’s decision just as new leads reinvigorate search for long-sought vaccine
www.science.org
May 31, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Almost every day I read about some new development that just stuns me with its combination of cruelty and short-sightedness. This is one of them.
Reposted by Blake Miller
Nature ran a piece finding that 25 million people could die as a result of ending USAID. This puts Trump and Musk in the category of the most brutal leaders of the 20th century in terms of unnecessary lives lost.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
May 30, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Nature ran a piece finding that 25 million people could die as a result of ending USAID. This puts Trump and Musk in the category of the most brutal leaders of the 20th century in terms of unnecessary lives lost.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Blake Miller
In which I have the sinking feeling of boredom. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/o...
Opinion | Beware: We Are Entering a New Phase of the Trump Era
www.nytimes.com
May 28, 2025 at 12:19 PM
In which I have the sinking feeling of boredom. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/o...
Reposted by Blake Miller
In anti-authoritarian struggles, criticizing the regime for their blatant corruption is often one of the most important ways to mobilize the public and break through to regime supporters.
The Trump regime is the most corrupt in US history—it’s worth repeating ad nauseam
The Trump regime is the most corrupt in US history—it’s worth repeating ad nauseam
More Than a Dozen U.S. Officials Sold Stocks Before Trump’s Tariffs Sent the Market Plunging www.propublica.org/article/us-o...
More Than a Dozen U.S. Officials Sold Stocks Before Trump’s Tariffs Sent the Market Plunging
Records show well-timed trades by executive branch employees and congressional aides. Even if they had no insider information, ethics experts say such trading undermines faith in government and the ma...
www.propublica.org
May 28, 2025 at 1:26 AM
In anti-authoritarian struggles, criticizing the regime for their blatant corruption is often one of the most important ways to mobilize the public and break through to regime supporters.
The Trump regime is the most corrupt in US history—it’s worth repeating ad nauseam
The Trump regime is the most corrupt in US history—it’s worth repeating ad nauseam