Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
@kurttg.bsky.social
Independent scholar & analyst-Washington DC. Previously Old Dominion, Oxford, & Stanford Universities. Democracy & foreign policy, int'l law, research methods, & political philosophy. Some work now on econ forecasting, philosophy & the equality of women.
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
“The message of these six Democrats is not subversive. It is prudent…
Calling for the arrest of political opponents and fantasizing about their execution is the definition of authoritarian abuse.”
sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/edit...
Calling for the arrest of political opponents and fantasizing about their execution is the definition of authoritarian abuse.”
sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/edit...
EDITORIAL: Trump's savage call for executing Dem vets in Congress warrants impeachment - Sentinel Colorado
'His behavior is not only reducing the presidency to a treacherous farce, he is rapidly dragging the Republican Party down with him'
sentinelcolorado.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
“The message of these six Democrats is not subversive. It is prudent…
Calling for the arrest of political opponents and fantasizing about their execution is the definition of authoritarian abuse.”
sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/edit...
Calling for the arrest of political opponents and fantasizing about their execution is the definition of authoritarian abuse.”
sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/edit...
What?! I thought Signal was a secure way to keep journalists looped in on military planning.
“The FBI gained access to conversations in a ‘courtwatch’ Signal group that helps coordinate volunteer activists who monitor public proceedings at three New York federal immigration courts. The US government has repeatedly been accused of violating immigrants’ due process rights at those courts.”
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:39 PM
What?! I thought Signal was a secure way to keep journalists looped in on military planning.
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
You mean this Marco Rubio?
November 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
You mean this Marco Rubio?
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
In this case we have two broken clocks and I’ll leave it to you to decide which way this metaphor goes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
In this case we have two broken clocks and I’ll leave it to you to decide which way this metaphor goes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
Trump Cuts Ties With Marjorie Taylor Greene, Calling Her ‘Wacky’
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
In this case we have two broken clocks and I’ll leave it to you to decide which way this metaphor goes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
In this case we have two broken clocks and I’ll leave it to you to decide which way this metaphor goes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
'the Fujian is a milestone that cannot be ignored. “If I were the U.S.,” he said, “I would treat this with great seriousness.”'
Alas, "great seriousness" is currently lacking at the top of the US chain of command.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Alas, "great seriousness" is currently lacking at the top of the US chain of command.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
China’s new aircraft supercarrier challenges U.S. dominance in Pacific
The Fujian and its strike group represent a strategic game changer that will bring Beijing closer to its goal of eroding U.S. maritime primacy in its backyard.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
'the Fujian is a milestone that cannot be ignored. “If I were the U.S.,” he said, “I would treat this with great seriousness.”'
Alas, "great seriousness" is currently lacking at the top of the US chain of command.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Alas, "great seriousness" is currently lacking at the top of the US chain of command.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Why are we voting about releasing the Epstein files? Isn’t this already enough to move straight to impeachment?
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Why are we voting about releasing the Epstein files? Isn’t this already enough to move straight to impeachment?
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Nothing creates happiness like getting to negotiate with insurance companies!
Trump: "I want the money to go into an account for people where they buy their own health insurance. It's so good. The insurance will be better. It'll cost less. Everybody is gonna be happy. They're gonna feel like entrepreneurs. They're actually able to go out & negotiate their own insurance"
November 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Nothing creates happiness like getting to negotiate with insurance companies!
Hegemonic Suicide Watch:
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Hegemonic Suicide Watch:
It took me years to convince my aging father not to send every outrage he saw on the internet on to all of his contacts without a little investigation and the application of some common sense. I understand Trump lacks the latter, but surely he has instant investigative resources at his fingertips!
With a “WOW!,” President Trump posts a claim about DOGE and “royalties linked to Obamacare” that originated on a satirical website. That site’s own About section reads: “Everything on this website is fiction… If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
November 9, 2025 at 9:32 PM
It took me years to convince my aging father not to send every outrage he saw on the internet on to all of his contacts without a little investigation and the application of some common sense. I understand Trump lacks the latter, but surely he has instant investigative resources at his fingertips!
Alas, I'm not seeing this at not even one year in...
"And now, with the end of Trump’s presidency coming into view,"
Cruelty, Bigotry and Rage. What’s Not to Like? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/o...
"And now, with the end of Trump’s presidency coming into view,"
Cruelty, Bigotry and Rage. What’s Not to Like? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/o...
Opinion | Cruelty, Bigotry and Rage. What’s Not to Like?
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Alas, I'm not seeing this at not even one year in...
"And now, with the end of Trump’s presidency coming into view,"
Cruelty, Bigotry and Rage. What’s Not to Like? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/o...
"And now, with the end of Trump’s presidency coming into view,"
Cruelty, Bigotry and Rage. What’s Not to Like? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/o...
What have we become?
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
What have we become?
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
What have we become?
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
What have we become?
What have we become?
November 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
What have we become?
What have we become?
Trump "has expressed such outrage at attacks on Christians in Nigeria that he has threatened military intervention there... but here’s the awkwardness: Trump’s aid cuts are killing far more Nigerian Christians than Islamic terrorists are." @nickkristof.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
Opinion | Trump Aid Cuts Kill More Christians Than Jihadists Do
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
What have we become?
What have we become?
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
What have we become?
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
"From where I’m sitting, that’s why Justice Jackson...ruled herself here—rather than allowing the full Court to overrule her. It drastically increases the odds of the full Supreme Court resolving this issue by the end of next week—one way or the other."
November 8, 2025 at 4:10 AM
"From where I’m sitting, that’s why Justice Jackson...ruled herself here—rather than allowing the full Court to overrule her. It drastically increases the odds of the full Supreme Court resolving this issue by the end of next week—one way or the other."
Kennedy Center ticket sales are down catastrophically. Does that make this a rare moment of Trumpian self-awareness?
“Come see for yourself ... I am doing the same thing to the United States of America, but only on a ‘slightly’ larger scale!”
“Come see for yourself ... I am doing the same thing to the United States of America, but only on a ‘slightly’ larger scale!”
The Kennedy Center Crackup
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Kennedy Center ticket sales are down catastrophically. Does that make this a rare moment of Trumpian self-awareness?
“Come see for yourself ... I am doing the same thing to the United States of America, but only on a ‘slightly’ larger scale!”
“Come see for yourself ... I am doing the same thing to the United States of America, but only on a ‘slightly’ larger scale!”
Hegemonic Suicide Watch:
Goddard spacecraft engineer: "I think it just kind of speaks to the atmosphere of the agency and the nation, where people are like, 'Well, laws don't matter for the people at the top anymore.'"
NASA is sinking its flagship science center during the government shutdown — and may be breaking the law in the process, critics say
"There is just a general acknowledgement that a lot of what is happening is illegal…"
www.space.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Hegemonic Suicide Watch:
Ready to give up on the Post, but this was a terrific series showing the critical importance of history and historians in our collective understanding of America at this critical moment:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
The secret history of how Jefferson’s words were doctored inside his memorial
Eight decades ago, a presidential commission guided by Jefferson’s great-great-grandson selectively edited the Founding Father’s words to present him as an abolitionist without mentioning he had ensla...
www.washingtonpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Ready to give up on the Post, but this was a terrific series showing the critical importance of history and historians in our collective understanding of America at this critical moment:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts
Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total...
www.bu.edu
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
More than 260,000 will be children.
Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
This is slightly better connected to reality than usual. And is much better than the usual blather about cheaters and rigged elections.
November 5, 2025 at 3:51 PM
This is slightly better connected to reality than usual. And is much better than the usual blather about cheaters and rigged elections.
Well, yes. But I remember a time not so long ago when the horrors of Trump2 were fairly predictable and the voters couldn't see it. It will take a while to get over that trauma.
real sense in which last night was fairly predictable. real question is why our pundits and the elites who listen to them couldn’t see it. (gift link)
Opinion | Trump Is an Albatross
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Well, yes. But I remember a time not so long ago when the horrors of Trump2 were fairly predictable and the voters couldn't see it. It will take a while to get over that trauma.
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
Trump has enormously accelerated the debt growth of the US largely by slashing the tax rate for the wealthiest 0.1% of Americans
November 4, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Trump has enormously accelerated the debt growth of the US largely by slashing the tax rate for the wealthiest 0.1% of Americans
Canada "interfering" in our domestic politics with TV ads reminding us that Reagan was against tariffs is an abomination, but American meddling in foreign court cases is A-Okay.
Trump on Netanyahu: "I don't think they treat him very well. He's under trial for some things. We'll be involved in that to help him out a little bit because I think it's very unfair."
November 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Canada "interfering" in our domestic politics with TV ads reminding us that Reagan was against tariffs is an abomination, but American meddling in foreign court cases is A-Okay.
Reposted by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
it's time for journos to start asking Johnson meta questions
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
November 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
it's time for journos to start asking Johnson meta questions
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"