Brian Cook
@2ndadminstate.bsky.social
Tinkering with the Constitution has failed. The American commercial republic must be reconstructed.
Professor Emeritus, Public Administration & Policy, Virginia Tech.
"Democracy is for friends and citizens, not masters and slaves"
Wilson Carey McWilliams
Professor Emeritus, Public Administration & Policy, Virginia Tech.
"Democracy is for friends and citizens, not masters and slaves"
Wilson Carey McWilliams
Pinned
Brian Cook
@2ndadminstate.bsky.social
· Feb 25
Here is the essence of the American republic’s dilemma. Those with considerable wealth and control over productive assets do not necessarily need a regime of self-government to sustain their lifestyle and wealth-generating pursuits. But the republic needed them if was to prosper over time.
If we are going to steel ourselves for what may be a harsh transition, or collapse, of civilization, we might consider taking the perspective of Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com and David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social in their terrific book The Bright Ages, "paths taken were not foreordained."
September 23, 2026 at 3:57 PM
If we are going to steel ourselves for what may be a harsh transition, or collapse, of civilization, we might consider taking the perspective of Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com and David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social in their terrific book The Bright Ages, "paths taken were not foreordained."
Reposted by Brian Cook
This is obviously absurd, and really whistling past the graveyard, but also there are huge EXXON MOBIL and STATE OF QATAR donor acknowledgements on the wall in there.
EXCLUSIVE @ms.now: Trump administration officials have discussed attaching the president’s name to Ford’s Theatre, the playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865
Officials are circulating a list of government sites that could carry the president’s name
www.ms.now/news/trump-f...
Officials are circulating a list of government sites that could carry the president’s name
www.ms.now/news/trump-f...
Trump aides explore attaching president’s name to Ford’s Theatre
The playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated has been mentioned among federal properties that could carry the president’s name, people familiar with the effort told MS NOW.
www.ms.now
September 23, 2026 at 1:38 PM
This is obviously absurd, and really whistling past the graveyard, but also there are huge EXXON MOBIL and STATE OF QATAR donor acknowledgements on the wall in there.
Reposted by Brian Cook
The media assignment is very straightforward and clear: Can you find, in the coming months, some of these 750,000 people and interview them?
According to Vance, they're probably all "fake" because anyone who buys a health plan and then doesn't file claims is obviously not someone who really exists.
According to Vance, they're probably all "fake" because anyone who buys a health plan and then doesn't file claims is obviously not someone who really exists.
It’s surreal to see federal officials take a victory lap today for cancelling hundreds of thousands of marketplace enrollments, while massive health coverage losses are underway.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/h...
Trump Officials Eject 750,000 From Obamacare Markets, Claiming Fraud
Vice President JD Vance said the measure would save the government $2.2 billion.
www.nytimes.com
September 22, 2026 at 9:22 PM
The media assignment is very straightforward and clear: Can you find, in the coming months, some of these 750,000 people and interview them?
According to Vance, they're probably all "fake" because anyone who buys a health plan and then doesn't file claims is obviously not someone who really exists.
According to Vance, they're probably all "fake" because anyone who buys a health plan and then doesn't file claims is obviously not someone who really exists.
Reposted by Brian Cook
What if the biggest cost of AI isn’t on your electric bill?
Coal, gas and diesel used to power data centers releases pollution linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and early death. As demand grows, strong safeguards matter more, not less.
Read the report at the link in bio.
Coal, gas and diesel used to power data centers releases pollution linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and early death. As demand grows, strong safeguards matter more, not less.
Read the report at the link in bio.
September 21, 2026 at 7:55 PM
What if the biggest cost of AI isn’t on your electric bill?
Coal, gas and diesel used to power data centers releases pollution linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and early death. As demand grows, strong safeguards matter more, not less.
Read the report at the link in bio.
Coal, gas and diesel used to power data centers releases pollution linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and early death. As demand grows, strong safeguards matter more, not less.
Read the report at the link in bio.
Reposted by Brian Cook
College is a battleground for these families. They want their kid to go, but they don’t want their kid to be changed by the experience or abandon their values. This is why they attack higher ed so much.
September 21, 2026 at 3:39 PM
College is a battleground for these families. They want their kid to go, but they don’t want their kid to be changed by the experience or abandon their values. This is why they attack higher ed so much.
Reposted by Brian Cook
Why is anyone still talking about this guy in any context besides calling for his removal and prosecution
"Trump on Iran: ‘My question is, if and
when do I blow the entire nation up?’"
when do I blow the entire nation up?’"
Trump on Iran: ‘My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up?’
President Trump on Sunday speculated on the future of the Iran war, asking “if and when do I blow the entire nation up?” Fox News’s Trey Yingst reported that Trump is in a “…
thehill.com
September 20, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Why is anyone still talking about this guy in any context besides calling for his removal and prosecution
Reposted by Brian Cook
That man really uses our tax dollars to sit around all day thinking of ways to torture & murder Americans & we inexplicably allow him to tell us this ad nauseam without consequence.
September 20, 2026 at 6:43 PM
That man really uses our tax dollars to sit around all day thinking of ways to torture & murder Americans & we inexplicably allow him to tell us this ad nauseam without consequence.
Reposted by Brian Cook
⚖️ A federal court just ruled EPA's termination of the $7 billion Solar for All program unlawful.
L4GG fought to make this happen, & today, billions in clean energy funding can finally reach the low-income families and Tribal communities it was meant to serve.
Read the statement: L4GG.org/SolarWin
L4GG fought to make this happen, & today, billions in clean energy funding can finally reach the low-income families and Tribal communities it was meant to serve.
Read the statement: L4GG.org/SolarWin
Lawyers for Good Government Responds to Federal Court Ruling Declaring EPA’s Termination of $7 Billion Solar for All Program Unlawful — Lawyers for Good Government
L4GG.org
September 18, 2026 at 9:01 PM
⚖️ A federal court just ruled EPA's termination of the $7 billion Solar for All program unlawful.
L4GG fought to make this happen, & today, billions in clean energy funding can finally reach the low-income families and Tribal communities it was meant to serve.
Read the statement: L4GG.org/SolarWin
L4GG fought to make this happen, & today, billions in clean energy funding can finally reach the low-income families and Tribal communities it was meant to serve.
Read the statement: L4GG.org/SolarWin
Reposted by Brian Cook
Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project was one of the supreme court’s worst decisions in its history, probably just on the tier below its most notorious infamies (Dred Scott, korematsu, trump v us, etc.); it was a gift-wrapped recipe for exactly the sort of repression we’re now seeing.
The Trump administration is pursuing a multipronged strategy to quash those it perceives as its ideological opponents. Part of it involves using expansive authorities meant to combat foreign terrorist groups against U.S. civil society. bit.ly/4Ak6MWP
Trump Administration Linking Its Domestic Enemies to Foreign Terrorists
Falsely claiming that U.S. citizens and groups have ties to international terrorism could let the government turn tools intended to combat the likes of ISIS against its perceived foes at home.
www.brennancenter.org
September 18, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project was one of the supreme court’s worst decisions in its history, probably just on the tier below its most notorious infamies (Dred Scott, korematsu, trump v us, etc.); it was a gift-wrapped recipe for exactly the sort of repression we’re now seeing.
What’s he going to be doing? Walking around stuffing Trump coins in everybody’s pockets?
Former White House AI czar David Sacks will be one of the guests at the high-powered state dinner that President Trump is holding for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according a person familiar with the plans.
Trump’s AI whisperer David Sacks to attend the state dinner with Xi Jinping
Sacks is expected to join other tech titans — including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Apple’s Tim Cook and OpenAI’s Sam Altman — at the high-powered dinner on Thursday.
nbcnews.to
September 18, 2026 at 7:31 PM
What’s he going to be doing? Walking around stuffing Trump coins in everybody’s pockets?
Reposted by Brian Cook
If your news organization is not banned that says something about you
September 18, 2026 at 7:24 PM
If your news organization is not banned that says something about you
"EPA’s Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards Will Dismantle Health Safeguards and Increase Deadly Air Pollution"
Lee Zeldin and his cronies will eventually maim or kill almost as many people as that Nazi and his DOGE wrecking crew.
www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20260914_pow...
Lee Zeldin and his cronies will eventually maim or kill almost as many people as that Nazi and his DOGE wrecking crew.
www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20260914_pow...
EPA’s Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards Will Dismantle Health Safeguards and Increase Deadly Air Pollution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 14, 2026 CONTACT: Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate (509) 429-1699 and [email protected] EPA’s Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standard...
www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
September 18, 2026 at 4:53 PM
"EPA’s Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards Will Dismantle Health Safeguards and Increase Deadly Air Pollution"
Lee Zeldin and his cronies will eventually maim or kill almost as many people as that Nazi and his DOGE wrecking crew.
www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20260914_pow...
Lee Zeldin and his cronies will eventually maim or kill almost as many people as that Nazi and his DOGE wrecking crew.
www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20260914_pow...
A lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary is contingent on good behavior. This is the opposite. Impeachment is the correct remedy, but that space is kind of crowded right now.
This is someone who has abandoned all pretense of commitment to democracy. He's comfortable saying these things because he's coddled by a legal, political, and media ecosystem that refuses to call him the criminal he is.
i'm not over Alito saying we shouldn't count ballots that are mailed on or before Election Day but arrive shortly afterwards bc they can “radically flip” the “apparent outcome”
cannot stress enough that, until all ballots are counted, there's no outcome to flip!
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/alito...
cannot stress enough that, until all ballots are counted, there's no outcome to flip!
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/alito...
September 18, 2026 at 4:41 PM
A lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary is contingent on good behavior. This is the opposite. Impeachment is the correct remedy, but that space is kind of crowded right now.
Oh no, I left out the word *save*. And I already have a cup of coffee! 🙃
If I just stop buying food at the grocery store, I can so much money every week!
September 18, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Oh no, I left out the word *save*. And I already have a cup of coffee! 🙃
If I just stop buying food at the grocery store, I can so much money every week!
September 18, 2026 at 11:17 AM
If I just stop buying food at the grocery store, I can so much money every week!
Reposted by Brian Cook
These people have too much money. They have all the personal stuff and experiences they want.
All that's left for them is trying to seize control of public power to force their tastes and delusions on us.
All that's left for them is trying to seize control of public power to force their tastes and delusions on us.
“More than a third of the $2.8bn raised for the current 2025-26 election cycle comes from the 20 biggest mega-donors”
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
September 17, 2026 at 8:43 PM
These people have too much money. They have all the personal stuff and experiences they want.
All that's left for them is trying to seize control of public power to force their tastes and delusions on us.
All that's left for them is trying to seize control of public power to force their tastes and delusions on us.
The NTEU has also recently won in arbitration several times against the EPA.
@nteunational.bsky.social
@nteunational.bsky.social
EPA broke its union contract with AFGE Local 704 when it disciplined employees critical of Trump, per an arbitrator's decision I got
It's the 1st instance of a legal authority tossing punishment that EPA dished out over the dissent letter
More here:
subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
It's the 1st instance of a legal authority tossing punishment that EPA dished out over the dissent letter
More here:
subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
September 17, 2026 at 9:33 PM
The NTEU has also recently won in arbitration several times against the EPA.
@nteunational.bsky.social
@nteunational.bsky.social
This property comes with a sandbag kit!
Guess what real estate agents tell you about sea-level rise when you want to buy a house near the sea.
A few weekends ago I went to Miami and attended 9 open houses in extremely high-risk flood areas to see what agents are telling prospective buyers about them.
Here is my journey
Here is my journey
September 17, 2026 at 9:29 PM
This property comes with a sandbag kit!
Reposted by Brian Cook
I certainly separate myself from the people who did this to us (and to themselves). They are they and we are we. But this is still true, especially when you account for all the institutional and individual enablers who didn’t vote for Trump, but nevertheless made it possible for him to win.
Why does everyone who was opposed to the outcome rush in to declare themselves individually. "We" means exactly what the fuck it says. Collectively, the United States chose this grifting submoron under its laws to lead us. Collectively, he is the president over all of us as a nation.
We the people.
We the people.
September 17, 2026 at 5:38 PM
I certainly separate myself from the people who did this to us (and to themselves). They are they and we are we. But this is still true, especially when you account for all the institutional and individual enablers who didn’t vote for Trump, but nevertheless made it possible for him to win.
In other words, they will continue lying, but with a new batch of lies.
Now that the House of Representatives is out of session until after the election, more Republican members will try to distance themselves from Trump.
Do not believe a word of this. They were loyal until the very end, this is last minute tactics when they cannot do anything else.
Do not believe a word of this. They were loyal until the very end, this is last minute tactics when they cannot do anything else.
"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far."
"The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today."
-Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla), a former broadcast journalist, direct to camera in campaign ad #FL27
"The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today."
-Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla), a former broadcast journalist, direct to camera in campaign ad #FL27
September 17, 2026 at 4:52 PM
In other words, they will continue lying, but with a new batch of lies.
Happy Constitution Day!
(Looking into the bin under the shredder . . .)
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fbi-nsp...
". . .the disclosures suggest that the government’s financial investigators are starting to play a role in cases brought to serve partisan political ends."
(Looking into the bin under the shredder . . .)
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fbi-nsp...
". . .the disclosures suggest that the government’s financial investigators are starting to play a role in cases brought to serve partisan political ends."
Exclusive: FBI Builds Out National NSPM-7 Center to Track Dissent, Docs Show
The FBI has tapped employees from across federal law enforcement to crack...
talkingpointsmemo.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Happy Constitution Day!
(Looking into the bin under the shredder . . .)
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fbi-nsp...
". . .the disclosures suggest that the government’s financial investigators are starting to play a role in cases brought to serve partisan political ends."
(Looking into the bin under the shredder . . .)
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fbi-nsp...
". . .the disclosures suggest that the government’s financial investigators are starting to play a role in cases brought to serve partisan political ends."
Royal court politics is how Americans do business now.
EVERCORE: “.. We lean towards believing that the Cabinet can continue to persuade Trump to refrain from a [diesel export] ban, though we do not rule out that Trump might go against his advisers if he feels sufficient political pressure to show he is acting.
September 17, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Royal court politics is how Americans do business now.
When you train your AI agents to hack, don’t be surprised when they do what they are instructed. Especially if your ‘containment’ is inadequate, probably because you are lazy or just don’t care.
(Reuters) - Rogue AI agents from OpenAI hijacked Hugging Face user accounts and probed the site itself for vulnerabilities as early as May, nearly two months before the July breach of the open-source repository drew global attention, according to researchers ..
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
September 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
When you train your AI agents to hack, don’t be surprised when they do what they are instructed. Especially if your ‘containment’ is inadequate, probably because you are lazy or just don’t care.
Reposted by Brian Cook
Ladies and gentlemen, the United States of America. 
September 15, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, the United States of America. 
Reposted by Brian Cook
A GAO investigation into how much Trump's various name changes and vanity monuments to himself cost the US taxpayer would be a worthy undertaking.
The National Weather Service is proceeding with renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America in all forecast products and maps. These sort of changes require extensive coding time for NOAA and NWS personnel to implement across so many different products that regularly reference them.
September 14, 2026 at 3:52 PM
A GAO investigation into how much Trump's various name changes and vanity monuments to himself cost the US taxpayer would be a worthy undertaking.