laurenrprather.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

one thing i keep thinking about is how there is simply no way to design a constitutional system that can resist authoritarian incursion if participants in that system do not actually care that much

submitted 17 hours ago • 1099 comments

A lot has been written on the causes of polarization, but Avidit Acharya, Theo Serlin and I wanted to ask a different question: How Polarization Ends Paper link and 🧵 tinyurl.com/jp2pk4rt 1/10

submitted 1 day ago • 4 comments

This is absolutely insane --- not to mention totally illegal.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Bingo. Mirrors going after USAID first.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Reposting with emphasis

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

I agree very much with this. Americans, in particular, tend to have an almost cartoonish view of what authoritarianism is like - and that can make it hard to appreciate the moment we are in and how far along we are democratic backsliding.

submitted 3 days ago • 6 comments

re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens

submitted 3 days ago • 472 comments

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

the thing is, this is effective even if you can’t get in and occupy the place nobody coming to buy a car wants to cross a line of cops and angry protesters, they’re gonna go somewhere else, this is not a desirable purchasing experience

submitted 4 days ago • 75 comments

Someone has finally come up a good opposition strategy

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

In light of the news about Columbia, I want to reiterate a point below by me and Levitsky: universities, collectively, are among the most economically powerful and geographically thick sectors in the US. If they stood up together in opposition to this tyranny, they would be incredibly powerful.

submitted 5 days ago • 87 comments

Standing room only crowd in Paris discussing what French scholars can do to support American researchers #StandUpForScience

submitted 5 days ago • 14 comments

SCOOP: Fired San Diego U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath says virtually 100% of her former DOJ staff is spending 20% less of their time devoted to the fentanyl fight, public corruption, ghost guns, national security and human trafficking cases. timesofsandiego.com/crime/2025/0...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

With his permission, I'm sharing Dean Treanor's response to Ed Martin's letter:

submitted 6 days ago • 881 comments

The thing that the Democratic leadership needs to figure out is that their base wants more radical tactics not more radical ideology.

submitted 6 days ago • 17 comments

Keep the thieves out at all costs.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

This says that the Inter-American Foundation was personally destroyed by Peter Marocco, done from their building lobby, after claiming to make himself sole Board member and President of the organization simultaneously, then personally cancelling all contracts and ordering it to be shut down.

submitted 6 days ago • 10 comments

This is what competitive authoritarianism looks like www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...

submitted 6 days ago • 153 comments

Read the whole thread.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Colorado last year required jails to set up voting stations so people behind bars could vote — a first for any state ever. And how'd it go? Fantastic. In 2022, 231 people in CO jails voted. But in 2024, 2,300+ in CO jails voted. That's a nearly tenfold jump. boltsmag.org/jail-voting-...

submitted 7 days ago • 16 comments

Read the whole thread.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

From my 2020 survey about foreign election meddling, there is strong support in the United States for securing elections including requiring campaigns to report foreign contact, restricting foreign funding and communicating with foreign governments, and funding cybersecurity defenses.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Je suis prêt.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Work with me! We're looking for an editorial assistant to help us with fact-checking, copy editing and other tasks. In this job you'll help us make sure that our research publications adhere to the highest standards of accuracy, neutrality and clarity. pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Trump loves a good hostage recovery moment.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

There are two views of US politics right now: 1. The fight is electoral. It implies, wait for thermostatic public opinion to kick in in 18 months 2. The fight is bureaucratic. It implies, stop the pillaging of the economy and the evisceration of the state right now I’m Team 2 all the way

submitted 8 days ago • 9 comments

FWIW, my co-author and I find that a government stopping to include a question on race or ethnicity in a national census is consistently associated with a subsequent uptick in ethnic discrimination by the state as well as an increase in state-sponsored violence targeting ethnic groups.

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

This person has no idea how many people have died, or will die, as a result of shattering our entire global infrastructure for providing lifesaving assistance. He did no analysis of those impacts before the reckless and illegal obliteration of USAID. These statements are made-up assertions.

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

I regret to inform you that it is very bad news when things are going worse than <checks notes> <Steve Levitsky> expected

submitted 9 days ago • 19 comments

1. Today, Senate Democrats showed spine, and killed a national transgender sports ban bill via filibuster. Not a SINGLE Democrat voted for cloture. S. Baum writes about what happened today, including some of the speeches. Subscribe to support our journalism.

submitted 9 days ago • 173 comments

Where is the outrage and action by our opposition leaders????

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

It’ll take time to quantify the deaths caused by the end of US aid but early internal sector figures go from 250,000 in the next few months, to 3 million+ this year

submitted 10 days ago • 16 comments

The average American voter thinks that the government is too big but that it should spend more money on everything it does. This explains a decent share of the political chaos of this country.

submitted 10 days ago • 124 comments

There it is: Speaker of the House says Elon has already started running your Social Security through his AI.

submitted 10 days ago • 635 comments

Since February 26, an additional 1,322 adults (from 14,482 to 15,804) and 141 infants (from 1,541 to 1,682) have died as a consequence of a single frozen USAID program.

submitted 11 days ago • 17 comments

Everyone who is tempted to downplay the authoritarian threat should remember how many made the same mistake last time.

submitted 10 days ago • 14 comments

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

submitted 28 days ago • 301 comments

The reason I think it is important for pieces like this to exist is because planning needs to start now to buttress the integrity of elections. I’d rather be sounding the alarm, understanding the risks to the system, and war gaming than bet that it won’t happen.

submitted 11 days ago • 3 comments

Zelenskyy stayed in Kyiv while Russia was bombing the city and sending in hit squads to kill him. J.D. Vance fled to an undisclosed location because some peaceful protesters yelled at him while he was on vacation. This is why I believe victory over these people is still possible.

submitted 11 days ago • 101 comments

I helped my daughter sell Girl Scout cookies on campus and I was so impressed by the kindness and generosity of the students. Everyone stopped even if they didn’t buy and told her good job and good luck.

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

I will never forget the photo of Zelenskyy’s face after he saw Russia’s war crimes in Bucha in 2022. He seemed to age years in an afternoon. Watching him constantly cross the world asking for aid that should have been thrown at him is one of the deepest shames of our age.

submitted 12 days ago • 241 comments

We are on Russia's side now. But it is important to remember, they are not on our side. Our administration will work to advance Russian interests while Russia's works to undermine ours with the ultimate goal of destroying us.

submitted 12 days ago • 23 comments

Never forget this day, February 28, 2025, when an American president abused and betrayed a democratic ally in the midst of a barbaric war with Russia. This grotesque stain will never wash away.

submitted 12 days ago • 1011 comments