Sara Mitchell
@sbmitche.bsky.social
Professor, international relations, Spartan & Cyclone alumni, studies conflict, institutions, and disasters; mother of awesome rehabilitation counselor
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
BREAKING: The Trump administraiton has committed a mass violation of ICE detainees' constitutional rights in MN, effectively blocking their acess to attorneys in the Whipple building, a judge ruled tonight.
The judge: Trump appointeee Nancy Brasel
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The judge: Trump appointeee Nancy Brasel
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 13, 2026 at 12:00 AM
BREAKING: The Trump administraiton has committed a mass violation of ICE detainees' constitutional rights in MN, effectively blocking their acess to attorneys in the Whipple building, a judge ruled tonight.
The judge: Trump appointeee Nancy Brasel
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The judge: Trump appointeee Nancy Brasel
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
This is not enough. We’re spending $350M on an unaccountable private school voucher program while constitutionally underfunding our public schools. Iowa kids deserve better. Accountability and transparency now. who13.com/news/politic...
Bill increasing school funding 1.75% passes Iowa Senate
DES MOINES, Iowa — A bill increasing school funding by 1.75% passed the Iowa Senate on Tuesday.
who13.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:57 PM
This is not enough. We’re spending $350M on an unaccountable private school voucher program while constitutionally underfunding our public schools. Iowa kids deserve better. Accountability and transparency now. who13.com/news/politic...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...
ISA-SAWP Colombo 2026: Call for Proposals
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...
Applications for the 2026 Journeys in World Politics workshop (10/1-10/3) in San Diego are being accepted (due 6/1). The workshop features Kathleen Cunningham & Leah Windsor as senior mentors. Christina Schneider is our local host! Visit the site below to apply.
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
February 12, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Applications for the 2026 Journeys in World Politics workshop (10/1-10/3) in San Diego are being accepted (due 6/1). The workshop features Kathleen Cunningham & Leah Windsor as senior mentors. Christina Schneider is our local host! Visit the site below to apply.
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
February 12, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Applications for the 2026 Journeys in World Politics workshop (10/1-10/3) in San Diego are being accepted (due 6/1). The workshop features Kathleen Cunningham & Leah Windsor as senior mentors. Christina Schneider is our local host! Visit the site below to apply.
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
The level of destruction is truly staggering 😡😡😡
The rest of the world is following IPCC findings and guidelines you ignorant f***s.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...
The rest of the world is following IPCC findings and guidelines you ignorant f***s.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...
Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:04 PM
The level of destruction is truly staggering 😡😡😡
The rest of the world is following IPCC findings and guidelines you ignorant f***s.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...
The rest of the world is following IPCC findings and guidelines you ignorant f***s.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
The reason I'm so emphatic that Vance's comments about "childless cat ladies" aren't harmless is that he pals around with people like Fuentes who see women as breeding stock and punching bags.
I know this is controversial, but I think it is bad that the person who will take over once It Happens is friends with this person.
Fuentes then fantasizes about “breeding gulags”: “So just like Hitler imprisoned Gypsies, Jews, communists, you know, all of his political rivals, we have to do the same thing with women… They go to the breeding gulags. The good ones will be liberated. The bad ones will toil in the mines forever.”
February 12, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The reason I'm so emphatic that Vance's comments about "childless cat ladies" aren't harmless is that he pals around with people like Fuentes who see women as breeding stock and punching bags.
No, it’s the constitution and the rule of law 🤷♀️
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons: "Sometimes the media is our biggest enemy."
February 12, 2026 at 6:54 PM
No, it’s the constitution and the rule of law 🤷♀️
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
It's crazy how so many people have forgotten the politics of immigration reform during the Obama administration. He did ramp up deportations. It was part of an overall policy aimed at major, immigrant-friendly reforms. It *almost* worked, too.
The casting of Obama as the Perfect Centrist also neglects that he:
*deprioritized removals of longtime residents
*gave legal protections to Dreamers and even tried to extend them to millions of parents of US citizens/LPRs (court blocked)
*presided over Senate passage of legalization for millions
*deprioritized removals of longtime residents
*gave legal protections to Dreamers and even tried to extend them to millions of parents of US citizens/LPRs (court blocked)
*presided over Senate passage of legalization for millions
really interesting to me how many professional political commentators have basically retconned the draconian immigration enforcement policies of Obama and Biden out of existence and have completely swallowed the right wing narrative of immigration enforcement
February 12, 2026 at 6:43 PM
It's crazy how so many people have forgotten the politics of immigration reform during the Obama administration. He did ramp up deportations. It was part of an overall policy aimed at major, immigrant-friendly reforms. It *almost* worked, too.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
It is amazing to me how Epstein was able to collect just the absolute worst people. (One or two of the people named in this article don't seem to be absolutely the worst, but the vast majority do.)
all the professors and deans are like 'my contacts with mr epstein were purely in the service of my profession and I had no idea' and then his emails are just like 'can u make lolita robot?'
"Epstein had pitched [art school dept chair] on a potential art exhibit titled 'Statutory' that would showcase underage models dressed to look older than they were."
He was really just upfront with it.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
He was really just upfront with it.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
February 12, 2026 at 6:44 PM
It is amazing to me how Epstein was able to collect just the absolute worst people. (One or two of the people named in this article don't seem to be absolutely the worst, but the vast majority do.)
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
BREAKING: Judge blocks Hegseth effort to punish Sen. Kelly.
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
MARK KELLY,
Plaintiff,
Civil Case No. 26-81 (RJL)
V.
PETE HEGSETH, et al.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
February 12, 2026 [Dkt. #2]
United States Senator Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, has been censured by
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for voicing certain opinions on military actions and
policy. In addition, he has been subjected to proceedings to possibly reduce his retirement
rank and pay and threatened with criminal prosecution if he continues to speak out on these
issues.
Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military
servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental
obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces. Unfortunately for Secretary
Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over
the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreiclbgaenrhgnor6zvmnfql4d3olwzqp7zikm3maum5ylc4m6epys4@jpeg)
February 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
BREAKING: Judge blocks Hegseth effort to punish Sen. Kelly.
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."
Background: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-k...
I was just posting this earlier this week. 10% passport gap between Democrats and Republicans.
I keep reading how Republicans requiring voters to show passports will disenfranchise voters. But have Republicans stopped to realize that Democrats are more likely to have passports than Republicans?
February 12, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I was just posting this earlier this week. 10% passport gap between Democrats and Republicans.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Overall, we have tallied 4x more protests through Jan 31, 2026 than we had through Jan 31, 2018
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Overall, we have tallied 4x more protests through Jan 31, 2026 than we had through Jan 31, 2018
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
The volume & geographic distribution of protest nationwide during year 1 of Trump's second term was extraordinary.
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
The volume & geographic distribution of protest nationwide during year 1 of Trump's second term was extraordinary.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
The Dow just dipped below 50k so could someone let Bondi know she should care about child traffickers and rapists now?
February 12, 2026 at 4:05 PM
The Dow just dipped below 50k so could someone let Bondi know she should care about child traffickers and rapists now?
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
February 12, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
this thread is more evidence of American autocracy: when the executive defies court orders, there is no rule of law.
If there is no rule of law, then it is not a democracy. We need more than elections--we need a government restrained by law if not by decencyl.
If there is no rule of law, then it is not a democracy. We need more than elections--we need a government restrained by law if not by decencyl.
A month ago, I knew almost zero about immigration law. I hadn’t dealt with it since clerking >10 years ago. I had no interest in immigration law.
I knew even before law school I didn’t want to go into criminal law. I didn’t want power or responsibility over someone’s freedom or their life.
2/
I knew even before law school I didn’t want to go into criminal law. I didn’t want power or responsibility over someone’s freedom or their life.
2/
February 12, 2026 at 2:36 PM
this thread is more evidence of American autocracy: when the executive defies court orders, there is no rule of law.
If there is no rule of law, then it is not a democracy. We need more than elections--we need a government restrained by law if not by decencyl.
If there is no rule of law, then it is not a democracy. We need more than elections--we need a government restrained by law if not by decencyl.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
And what awaits these clients in Texas? Unspeakably cruel and inhumane treatment.
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
And what awaits these clients in Texas? Unspeakably cruel and inhumane treatment.
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Legal status doesn’t matter: if you exceed ICE’s melanin threshold, you get snatched. It is ethnic cleansing. There is no other word for it.
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Legal status doesn’t matter: if you exceed ICE’s melanin threshold, you get snatched. It is ethnic cleansing. There is no other word for it.
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
📣CfA for a Postdoctoral Fellow Position in political science (3-4 years) as part of the ERC project “Waging of War” (WOW) - PI Scott Gates. The application deadline is March 16th, 2026.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (3-4 years) (295112) | University of Oslo
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (3-4 years) (295112), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no
February 12, 2026 at 8:42 AM
📣CfA for a Postdoctoral Fellow Position in political science (3-4 years) as part of the ERC project “Waging of War” (WOW) - PI Scott Gates. The application deadline is March 16th, 2026.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
We have a vacant position as Associate Professor in Political Science (International Relations). Deadline April 29. Please apply or distribute. www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (294884) | NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Job title: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (294884), Employer: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Deadline: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no
February 12, 2026 at 7:42 AM
We have a vacant position as Associate Professor in Political Science (International Relations). Deadline April 29. Please apply or distribute. www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Good morning team!
Today's profile in cowardice.
Today's profile in cowardice.
Gallup announces, after 88 years, it will no longer track public approval of presidents. Trump's second-term approval rating fell to 36% in December, among the lowest ever recorded by the company. The president repeatedly has threatened to sue media and polling firms that portray him negatively.
February 12, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Good morning team!
Today's profile in cowardice.
Today's profile in cowardice.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
15 Questions @PamBondi refused to answer @HouseJudiciary
thewatchdogreport.substack.com/p/15-questio...
thewatchdogreport.substack.com/p/15-questio...
15 Questions Pam Bondi Refused to Answer
You know it’s bad when my first thought while watching today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Attorney General Pam Bondi was “my 12-year-old has more emotional regulation capacity than th...
thewatchdogreport.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:51 AM
15 Questions @PamBondi refused to answer @HouseJudiciary
thewatchdogreport.substack.com/p/15-questio...
thewatchdogreport.substack.com/p/15-questio...