Lily Mason
@lilymasonphd.bsky.social
Political scientist at Johns Hopkins, author of Uncivil Agreement and co-author of Radical American Partisanship
Reposted by Lily Mason
if we can't clearly say that a party whitewashing a coup is anti-democratic and un-American, then we've truly lost the plot
Pardon my coup
Accurate political journalism requires a bias toward democracy
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
if we can't clearly say that a party whitewashing a coup is anti-democratic and un-American, then we've truly lost the plot
Reposted by Lily Mason
Please share - @pewresearch.org wants to hire a data archivist who will be an advocate for data users, helping to ensure that our datasets are easy to discover and reuse by researchers, journalists, and the public.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CenterExtern...
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CenterExtern...
January 6, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Please share - @pewresearch.org wants to hire a data archivist who will be an advocate for data users, helping to ensure that our datasets are easy to discover and reuse by researchers, journalists, and the public.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CenterExtern...
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CenterExtern...
Reposted by Lily Mason
Someone asked me to comment on the anniversary of Jan 6. I will consider having comments on it….should it ever end. We are very much still reaching for the nadir of this reclamation. No time yet for historicizing it. Still trying to survive it.
January 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Someone asked me to comment on the anniversary of Jan 6. I will consider having comments on it….should it ever end. We are very much still reaching for the nadir of this reclamation. No time yet for historicizing it. Still trying to survive it.
Throughout 2024, I spoke with a number of Republicans who believed (and seriously worried) that Democrats would do the same thing if they lost in November. They didn’t, because the lunatics on the left are online weirdos, and the lunatics on the right are controlling all 3 branches of US government.
January 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Throughout 2024, I spoke with a number of Republicans who believed (and seriously worried) that Democrats would do the same thing if they lost in November. They didn’t, because the lunatics on the left are online weirdos, and the lunatics on the right are controlling all 3 branches of US government.
Reposted by Lily Mason
The failure of our elites to hold Trump accountable for January 6th is as disgraceful as what happened on that awful day.
Since 2010, 35 democratic leaders around the world have been criminally convicted. Only Trump went unpunished and unconstrained.
Now he threatens democracy at home and abroad.
Since 2010, 35 democratic leaders around the world have been criminally convicted. Only Trump went unpunished and unconstrained.
Now he threatens democracy at home and abroad.
January 6, 2026 at 7:34 AM
The failure of our elites to hold Trump accountable for January 6th is as disgraceful as what happened on that awful day.
Since 2010, 35 democratic leaders around the world have been criminally convicted. Only Trump went unpunished and unconstrained.
Now he threatens democracy at home and abroad.
Since 2010, 35 democratic leaders around the world have been criminally convicted. Only Trump went unpunished and unconstrained.
Now he threatens democracy at home and abroad.
Reposted by Lily Mason
And, just to state the wildly obvious, if a foreign country killed 80 Americans to capture somebody they suspected of a crime, we would consider it an act of war. Crying "America First" does not make what you did morally acceptable.
January 5, 2026 at 8:17 PM
And, just to state the wildly obvious, if a foreign country killed 80 Americans to capture somebody they suspected of a crime, we would consider it an act of war. Crying "America First" does not make what you did morally acceptable.
Reposted by Lily Mason
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations
Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service
www.huffpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
The unfortunate truth is that after the school years end, the media become our teachers. If they’re not educating the public about what a democracy is/requires of them, they’re abdicating an important job.
Dear news media,
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
January 3, 2026 at 6:51 PM
The unfortunate truth is that after the school years end, the media become our teachers. If they’re not educating the public about what a democracy is/requires of them, they’re abdicating an important job.
Reposted by Lily Mason
Cancer research costs too much but we have the money to run Venezuela
January 3, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Cancer research costs too much but we have the money to run Venezuela
Reposted by Lily Mason
Dear news media,
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
January 3, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Dear news media,
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
Why not spend a few minutes today explaining how the process of going to war is supposed to work in a constitutional democracy? Because it ain't this.
Reposted by Lily Mason
Reposted by Lily Mason
The people who profited most from the cancel culture/free speech panic were less interested in actual freedom of speech than establishing their own control over public discourse. You don't even have to take my word for it. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 23, 2025 at 6:17 PM
The people who profited most from the cancel culture/free speech panic were less interested in actual freedom of speech than establishing their own control over public discourse. You don't even have to take my word for it. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
This is why I regularly teach the difference between opinion and fact.
Worth noting that the student admits that she just threw the thing together in 30 minutes without reading the paper she was supposed to be responding to.
December 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This is why I regularly teach the difference between opinion and fact.
Reposted by Lily Mason
The entire american "free speech" panic was about elites being criticized, which is why anyone who ever took it seriously should be ignored forever
Freedom of speech, in the liberal ideal, was about limiting the power of the elites.
Now, in this twisted form, it is about forcing us to listen to elites and silencing the masses.
Now, in this twisted form, it is about forcing us to listen to elites and silencing the masses.
Total gaslighting. Anti-trans activist; chooses to speak in person, provoking students who want to protect trans rights; they exercise their freedom of speech to tell her she isn't wanted; she gets to speak anyway; the BBC dutifully platforms her again; and now she threatens to sue everyone.
December 22, 2025 at 8:22 AM
The entire american "free speech" panic was about elites being criticized, which is why anyone who ever took it seriously should be ignored forever
Reposted by Lily Mason
3. Leadership is about doing what is necessary, not just what is popular. Read literally anything our founders wrote about virtue, and the inherent risks to a society based on democratic processes to sustain the rule of law to the extent that unvirtuous people gain power.
December 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
3. Leadership is about doing what is necessary, not just what is popular. Read literally anything our founders wrote about virtue, and the inherent risks to a society based on democratic processes to sustain the rule of law to the extent that unvirtuous people gain power.
Reposted by Lily Mason
4. Yglesias instead seems to implicitly argue that politicians should only do what wins elections, virtue be damned. One wonders what he thinks of those foolish 1850s abolitionists. As Condleeza Rice once said, politics is the art of making the impossible inevitable. That ain't this.
December 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
4. Yglesias instead seems to implicitly argue that politicians should only do what wins elections, virtue be damned. One wonders what he thinks of those foolish 1850s abolitionists. As Condleeza Rice once said, politics is the art of making the impossible inevitable. That ain't this.
Reposted by Lily Mason
1. First, let's talk about the elephant in the room that he doesn't mention explicitly but haunts the whole piece: climate change is real, we've overshot the goal and the only way to turn the corner is to leave fossil fuel in the ground. To ignore that is to talk about rocketry and ignore gravity.
December 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
1. First, let's talk about the elephant in the room that he doesn't mention explicitly but haunts the whole piece: climate change is real, we've overshot the goal and the only way to turn the corner is to leave fossil fuel in the ground. To ignore that is to talk about rocketry and ignore gravity.
If you haven’t yet watched it , I very much love Spirited as a great Christmas Carol rendition. This song explains a large portion of the social psychological study of intergroup conflict and political communication.
youtu.be/_lOU_HN5bY4
youtu.be/_lOU_HN5bY4
Spirited — “Bringin' Back Christmas” Lyric Video | Apple TV
YouTube video by Apple TV
youtu.be
December 20, 2025 at 3:06 AM
If you haven’t yet watched it , I very much love Spirited as a great Christmas Carol rendition. This song explains a large portion of the social psychological study of intergroup conflict and political communication.
youtu.be/_lOU_HN5bY4
youtu.be/_lOU_HN5bY4
This woman left after this exchange
December 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
This woman left after this exchange
Reposted by Lily Mason
can’t understand why women hate these guys
December 19, 2025 at 6:23 PM
can’t understand why women hate these guys
Reposted by Lily Mason
Exactly this. When I was department head and we were hiring I’d say “this is the most important work we do this year. You can divorce if you marry the wrong person. Hire/tenure a difficult person and you are stuck with them for the rest of your life.”
December 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Exactly this. When I was department head and we were hiring I’d say “this is the most important work we do this year. You can divorce if you marry the wrong person. Hire/tenure a difficult person and you are stuck with them for the rest of your life.”
For the rare jobs that do exist, faculty get to vote on who to hire. Many have an unofficial “no assholes” rule, which makes the working environment so much more pleasant for everyone. If you’re a grievance-obsessed weirdo, and there are 10 equally-qualified normal people, the decision is easier.
I have so much empathy and solidarity for those struggling with the painful and structurally unjust academic labor market, but this racial grievance shit is simply not the way.
December 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
For the rare jobs that do exist, faculty get to vote on who to hire. Many have an unofficial “no assholes” rule, which makes the working environment so much more pleasant for everyone. If you’re a grievance-obsessed weirdo, and there are 10 equally-qualified normal people, the decision is easier.
This is the kind of news I’d like to see more of in 2026
"A new study has found that eating 50g or more of high-fat cheese a day correlates with a lower risk of developing dementia. That means all cheeses with more than 20 percent fat content, including brie, gouda, cheddar, parmesan, gruyere, and mozzarella." www.sciencealert.com/cheese-linke...
Cheese Linked to Lower Dementia Risk in 25-Year Study
One of the finest foods available to humanity may carry an unexpected benefit.
www.sciencealert.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
This is the kind of news I’d like to see more of in 2026
Reposted by Lily Mason
I have so much empathy and solidarity for those struggling with the painful and structurally unjust academic labor market, but this racial grievance shit is simply not the way.
December 16, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I have so much empathy and solidarity for those struggling with the painful and structurally unjust academic labor market, but this racial grievance shit is simply not the way.