Jon Rauch
@jonrauch.bsky.social
Journalist, writer, unlicensed epistemologist. Brookings and The Atlantic. Please be sane, BlueSky.
This is sick, if accurate (The Counteroffensive is a reputable outlet). Russians are using drones to "safari hunt" civilians in Ukraine. www.counteroffensive.news/p/russias-di...
Russia’s disturbing human ‘safaris’
Violating the laws of war, Russians have created a sick game of hunting civilians with FPV drones near the frontline. We take you behind the scenes, to the people most affected.
www.counteroffensive.news
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This is sick, if accurate (The Counteroffensive is a reputable outlet). Russians are using drones to "safari hunt" civilians in Ukraine. www.counteroffensive.news/p/russias-di...
"The president and vice president should explain to backers and all citizens that the Republican Party has no place for bigots, purveyors of vile conspiracy theories, and sycophants of blood-stained anti-American dictators." Yes, they should. Any minute now. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
www.realclearpolitics.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM
"The president and vice president should explain to backers and all citizens that the Republican Party has no place for bigots, purveyors of vile conspiracy theories, and sycophants of blood-stained anti-American dictators." Yes, they should. Any minute now. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
Here are some of the people being summarily executed at sea by the Trump Admin. They're mostly ordinary folks running drugs (to Europe, not the US) as a side gig. Their deaths will have zero effect on drug availability. apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Here are some of the people being summarily executed at sea by the Trump Admin. They're mostly ordinary folks running drugs (to Europe, not the US) as a side gig. Their deaths will have zero effect on drug availability. apnews.com/article/trum...
Congress loses another good member. It's disgraceful that the problem of threats to MCs and judges isn't taken more seriously. leedrutman.substack.com/p/politics-k...
Politics Keeps Driving Out the People Who Want to Reform It
Jared Golden is the latest problem-solving politician to decide Congress isn’t worth the cost. And so the doom loop takes another turn.
leedrutman.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Congress loses another good member. It's disgraceful that the problem of threats to MCs and judges isn't taken more seriously. leedrutman.substack.com/p/politics-k...
Gov. Pritzker to Trump and DOJ: "Come and get me." www.theunpopulist.net/p/jb-pritzke...
JB Pritzker Might Become the Face of America’s Resistance by Taking on Trump’s Authoritarianism
By targeting Illinois, the president might have created his nemesis even as the national Democratic Party flails around for an effective message
www.theunpopulist.net
November 6, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Gov. Pritzker to Trump and DOJ: "Come and get me." www.theunpopulist.net/p/jb-pritzke...
What are Trump and MAGA doing to our government? A rollicking discussion with two top political scientists. Short answer: it's patrimonialism, stupid. www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
Is Trumpism what you think it is?
President Trump's supporters say he’s a heaven-sent savior, cracking down on bloated government and unauthorized immigrants. Critics call him authoritarian – targeting political opponents and using th...
www.wbur.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:18 PM
What are Trump and MAGA doing to our government? A rollicking discussion with two top political scientists. Short answer: it's patrimonialism, stupid. www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
An urgent plea. The hour is late. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
It’s getting ever harder to avoid connecting the authoritarian dots.
www.theatlantic.com
November 1, 2025 at 7:29 PM
An urgent plea. The hour is late. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
This is welcome news. Hopefully breaks US curse of one-off nuclear projects that fail to sustain expertise and supply chains. Cost comes down only thru repeatability, and S.K. and China are already building in bulk. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/b...
Trump Administration Backs Plan for New Nuclear Plants
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
This is welcome news. Hopefully breaks US curse of one-off nuclear projects that fail to sustain expertise and supply chains. Cost comes down only thru repeatability, and S.K. and China are already building in bulk. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/b...
Let's not lose sight of how abnormal it is for a federal judge to feel that she has to behave this way with a US official. Just amazing. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/u...
October 29, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Let's not lose sight of how abnormal it is for a federal judge to feel that she has to behave this way with a US official. Just amazing. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/u...
The case for viewpoint diversity in academia is stronger than ever...despite claims that it's a "MAGA plot." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
You Can’t Pursue Truth Without Viewpoint Diversity (opinion)
This is what we wish critics of the concept on both the left and right would understand.
www.insidehighered.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
The case for viewpoint diversity in academia is stronger than ever...despite claims that it's a "MAGA plot." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
"This week Trump announced new sanctions that were supposedly aimed at hurting the oil exports that are financing Russia’s war effort, yet they were actually much less potent than Trump claimed." open.substack.com/pub/billemmo...
Europe and America have both just given Putin the gift of time
English original of article published yesterday in Italian by La Stampa
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:53 PM
"This week Trump announced new sanctions that were supposedly aimed at hurting the oil exports that are financing Russia’s war effort, yet they were actually much less potent than Trump claimed." open.substack.com/pub/billemmo...
"Abuses of science, enlightenment, and academic authority discredit the abuser, not the thing abused." www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
www.realclearpolitics.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
"Abuses of science, enlightenment, and academic authority discredit the abuser, not the thing abused." www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
Here's a thoughtful and well reported article on what comes after radical gender ideology and medical interventions as first-line treatment for gender dysphoria. www.thenewatlantis.com/publications...
What Comes After Gender Affirmation?
A growing group of psychologists wants to restore the therapeutic relationship.
www.thenewatlantis.com
October 25, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Here's a thoughtful and well reported article on what comes after radical gender ideology and medical interventions as first-line treatment for gender dysphoria. www.thenewatlantis.com/publications...
It's not too late to fix this dangerous law...the closest thing in the US to martial law. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/o...
Opinion | Here’s What Trump Could Unleash by Invoking the Insurrection Act
www.nytimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:57 PM
It's not too late to fix this dangerous law...the closest thing in the US to martial law. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/o...
History will record this moment as a travesty of the law. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/tria...
Trial Dispatch: The Arraignment of Letitia James
A view from inside the Eastern District of Virginia courtroom where New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:48 PM
History will record this moment as a travesty of the law. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/tria...
A research scientist stands up for merit and integrity. May many others follow! hxstem.substack.com/p/why-i-no-l...
Why I no longer engage with Nature publishing group
My response to a recent invitation to review a manuscript for Nature Communications
hxstem.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
A research scientist stands up for merit and integrity. May many others follow! hxstem.substack.com/p/why-i-no-l...
These outlets agreed to do only Pentagon-approved interviews. The term "lap dog" comes to mind. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Pentagon announces a new right-wing press corps after mass walkout
A new crop of conservative media and influencers signed an agreement with the Pentagon, including the Gateway Pundit, the Post Millennial, Human Events and the National Pulse.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM
These outlets agreed to do only Pentagon-approved interviews. The term "lap dog" comes to mind. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
It's not a peace agreement, because Hamas has not agreed. Hamas will not disarm or depart. Israel will go back in. Fighting will resume. Ceasefire is certainly better than alternatives, but celebration of war's end is way premature. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
www.realclearpolitics.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:46 PM
It's not a peace agreement, because Hamas has not agreed. Hamas will not disarm or depart. Israel will go back in. Fighting will resume. Ceasefire is certainly better than alternatives, but celebration of war's end is way premature. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...
A third of Republicans favor threatening to deport US citizens who have been critical of Trump. Two-thirds support DOJ investigating his opponents. www.economist.com/united-state...
October 18, 2025 at 9:46 PM
A third of Republicans favor threatening to deport US citizens who have been critical of Trump. Two-thirds support DOJ investigating his opponents. www.economist.com/united-state...
“They [MAGA] don't like America. They don't like the people that live in this country. They don't like our customs. They don't like our laws. They don't like our traditions. They don't like our constitution. They don't pull for us. I truly believe this.” Minute 4:30 www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxkI...
James Carville on Politics Today, 2026, and 2028
YouTube video by Conversations with Bill Kristol
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:22 AM
“They [MAGA] don't like America. They don't like the people that live in this country. They don't like our customs. They don't like our laws. They don't like our traditions. They don't like our constitution. They don't pull for us. I truly believe this.” Minute 4:30 www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxkI...
In case you needed one more thing to be concerned about... www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
The Trump Administration Pushes the Hatch Act to its Limits
But whether those boundaries have been breached may not matter in the end.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
In case you needed one more thing to be concerned about... www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
"I’ve never seen an arraignment hearing quite like this one. ... Today the Eastern District of Virginia is already on to Letitia James for a crime she also didn’t commit." www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-ser...
The Situation: Three Thoughts on the Comey Arraignment
I’ve never seen an arraignment hearing quite like this one.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
"I’ve never seen an arraignment hearing quite like this one. ... Today the Eastern District of Virginia is already on to Letitia James for a crime she also didn’t commit." www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-ser...
Are we all free speech hypocrites? Is the right worse than the left...or vice versa? Scintillating conversation on The Good Fight podcast. yaschamounk.substack.com/p/the-good-f...
The Good Fight Club: Who’s a Hypocrite About Free Speech?
Yascha Mounk is joined by Renée DiResta, Jacob Mchangama, and Jonathan Rauch at the Global Free Speech Summit in Nashville!
yaschamounk.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Are we all free speech hypocrites? Is the right worse than the left...or vice versa? Scintillating conversation on The Good Fight podcast. yaschamounk.substack.com/p/the-good-f...
Reposted by Jon Rauch
Good read from @theunpopulist.net on Trump's anti-constitutional deployments to Portland and other cities.
www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-is-d...
www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-is-d...
Trump Is Destroying the U.S. Constitution and Amassing Unprecedented Powers by Sending Federal Troops to Invade American Cities
Lincoln faced a real insurrection and still did not go as far as this president
www.theunpopulist.net
October 6, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Good read from @theunpopulist.net on Trump's anti-constitutional deployments to Portland and other cities.
www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-is-d...
www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-is-d...