StateLocal
@statelocalprof.bsky.social
Meryl Chertoff,
Adjunct Professor of State and Local Government Law; jazz fan; Dog-ma.
Adjunct Professor of State and Local Government Law; jazz fan; Dog-ma.
The simulacrum point is fascinating. I drove from the Tidal Basin to Union Station along Constitution Avenue earlier this week, a drive I have done hundreds of times. Other than the same security always present around the White House, I saw just five guys in military gear (maybe these same guys!)
August 28, 2025 at 9:47 PM
The simulacrum point is fascinating. I drove from the Tidal Basin to Union Station along Constitution Avenue earlier this week, a drive I have done hundreds of times. Other than the same security always present around the White House, I saw just five guys in military gear (maybe these same guys!)
More worrying was what I did not see: people on the Mall & in the street. There is a chill on DC’s urban core reminiscent of what we saw during the pandemic. Restaurant reservations are down and so is foot traffic. Hopefully things will pick up after Labor Day, but scenes like this sure won’t help.
August 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM
More worrying was what I did not see: people on the Mall & in the street. There is a chill on DC’s urban core reminiscent of what we saw during the pandemic. Restaurant reservations are down and so is foot traffic. Hopefully things will pick up after Labor Day, but scenes like this sure won’t help.
Reposted by StateLocal
i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
August 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.
Rhiannon Giddens & The Old Time Revue played to cheering fans at not-the-Kennedy Center Sunday night & it was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Lots of love in the house.
May 13, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Rhiannon Giddens & The Old Time Revue played to cheering fans at not-the-Kennedy Center Sunday night & it was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Lots of love in the house.
Reposted by StateLocal
We need new leadership across the Board. In the Democratic party. In our universities. In our state & cities. Time to hand the baton to not only the next generation but to people who will know what to stand for and how to stand up for it. Who won't abandon us, collectively, at this critical moment.
March 14, 2025 at 3:03 AM
We need new leadership across the Board. In the Democratic party. In our universities. In our state & cities. Time to hand the baton to not only the next generation but to people who will know what to stand for and how to stand up for it. Who won't abandon us, collectively, at this critical moment.
Disaster aid federalism is under attack after the California wildfires. Conditions the Trump administration have attached to aid violate rules established by the Rehnquist Court, reaffirmed by the Roberts Court.
Trump’s Threats to Withhold Disaster Relief Undermine Federalism Principles
The administration’s attempt to extract promises from states in exchange for federal funds also disregards established law preventing federal overreach into state matters.
statecourtreport.org
March 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Disaster aid federalism is under attack after the California wildfires. Conditions the Trump administration have attached to aid violate rules established by the Rehnquist Court, reaffirmed by the Roberts Court.