Ben Muse
@benmuse.bsky.social
Worked as an economist with Alaska and Federal fishery management agencies. Retired and living in Juneau now.
His whims are our law.
I used to have to teach the NSS: What's in it, what it means, how it was produced.
In this administration, documents mean nothing. Our national policy is whatever stray voltage is crossing Donald Trump's brain pan at any given moment. The NSS and other such documents are meaningless.
In this administration, documents mean nothing. Our national policy is whatever stray voltage is crossing Donald Trump's brain pan at any given moment. The NSS and other such documents are meaningless.
The Trump administration has quietly released its National Security Strategy — apparently late on Thursday. Usually there's a rollout and fanfare for these things: www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 5:28 AM
His whims are our law.
I think this is correct. Trump plans to dominate the countries around us the way Russia wants to dominate the countries around it. I suspect Trump thinks China should also be able to dominate the countries around it (that’s it for East Asia, Alaska Senator Sullivan).
My impression is that Putin has outlined a vision to Trump where the U.S. withdraws from Europe and Asia, and in return is given a free hand to focus on dominating the Americas. This is where the Greenland and Canada annexation talk comes from.
December 5, 2025 at 5:23 AM
I think this is correct. Trump plans to dominate the countries around us the way Russia wants to dominate the countries around it. I suspect Trump thinks China should also be able to dominate the countries around it (that’s it for East Asia, Alaska Senator Sullivan).
Reposted by Ben Muse
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
December 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
Reposted by Ben Muse
I am having difficulty keeping track of which crook did which crooked crooked thing.
December 5, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I am having difficulty keeping track of which crook did which crooked crooked thing.
Reposted by Ben Muse
I mean, this is an execution
December 5, 2025 at 1:03 AM
I mean, this is an execution
Reposted by Ben Muse
The original White House--like the Capitol--was deliberately NOT garish.They were supposed to reflect republican governance: not monarchies, not aristocracies.They were supposed to show a commitment to We the People.
The current decorations are the precise opposite.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
The current decorations are the precise opposite.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
We Asked Interior Designers To Explain Trump's 'Garish' White House Redesign — And They Had THOUGHTS
Experts weigh in on the president's gold-soaked makeover of the Oval Office and more.
www.huffpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The original White House--like the Capitol--was deliberately NOT garish.They were supposed to reflect republican governance: not monarchies, not aristocracies.They were supposed to show a commitment to We the People.
The current decorations are the precise opposite.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
The current decorations are the precise opposite.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Reposted by Ben Muse
Good reminder that Trump was guilty of an egregious crime simply in Georgia, let alone the rest of the country, and should have served a significant stint in prison. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
The Last Big Case Against Trump Has Been Dropped
The U.S. justice and political systems have shown that they can’t hold the president and his allies to account for trying to steal the 2020 election.
www.theatlantic.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Good reminder that Trump was guilty of an egregious crime simply in Georgia, let alone the rest of the country, and should have served a significant stint in prison. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Ben Muse
Anytime you encounter this in the wild, just reply "so?"
The only reason anyone would care if white people "went extinct" (and, Christ, get a grip) would be if they thought white people were inherently superior for some reason. Make them say that with their whole chest.
The only reason anyone would care if white people "went extinct" (and, Christ, get a grip) would be if they thought white people were inherently superior for some reason. Make them say that with their whole chest.
December 3, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Anytime you encounter this in the wild, just reply "so?"
The only reason anyone would care if white people "went extinct" (and, Christ, get a grip) would be if they thought white people were inherently superior for some reason. Make them say that with their whole chest.
The only reason anyone would care if white people "went extinct" (and, Christ, get a grip) would be if they thought white people were inherently superior for some reason. Make them say that with their whole chest.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Hundreds of millions. Wow, that's a lot. That's more than have died in every single war combined in the entire world since 1900.
December 2, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Hundreds of millions. Wow, that's a lot. That's more than have died in every single war combined in the entire world since 1900.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Stephen Miller and his friends in the government adore the 1924 Immigration and Nationality Act, which created the "Asiatic Barred Zone" and heavily restricted immigration from anywhere other than Western and Northern Europe.
100 years later, they're trying to replicate it.
100 years later, they're trying to replicate it.
December 2, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Stephen Miller and his friends in the government adore the 1924 Immigration and Nationality Act, which created the "Asiatic Barred Zone" and heavily restricted immigration from anywhere other than Western and Northern Europe.
100 years later, they're trying to replicate it.
100 years later, they're trying to replicate it.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Hegseth is very transparently blaming a Navy admiral for his own decision. Let this be a lesson for every other military officer: The Trump administration will issue unlawful orders, then blame you for following them.
December 2, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Hegseth is very transparently blaming a Navy admiral for his own decision. Let this be a lesson for every other military officer: The Trump administration will issue unlawful orders, then blame you for following them.
Reposted by Ben Muse
There is absolutely no bottom. They will kill and murder and steal and break the law and laugh at every rule and institution until they are stopped. They think they are all-powerful and all conventional rules of morality and legality do not apply to them.
December 1, 2025 at 5:22 AM
There is absolutely no bottom. They will kill and murder and steal and break the law and laugh at every rule and institution until they are stopped. They think they are all-powerful and all conventional rules of morality and legality do not apply to them.
If we get out of this mess, we need to impeach and punish lawbreaking leaders, and make important reforms. Both signal a national rejection of Trumpism.
I really don’t know if we’ll escape. But if we do, I like this idea of merging reforms into a single “Presidential Powers Amendment.”
I really don’t know if we’ll escape. But if we do, I like this idea of merging reforms into a single “Presidential Powers Amendment.”
I wrote my anti-Trump constitutional amendment. Honestly, a fun exercise
November 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
If we get out of this mess, we need to impeach and punish lawbreaking leaders, and make important reforms. Both signal a national rejection of Trumpism.
I really don’t know if we’ll escape. But if we do, I like this idea of merging reforms into a single “Presidential Powers Amendment.”
I really don’t know if we’ll escape. But if we do, I like this idea of merging reforms into a single “Presidential Powers Amendment.”
Reposted by Ben Muse
Don't know whether this is new or has been up for awhile. Either way, when the White House creates a hit list of journalists it doesn't like, the free press is in danger. www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/
Media Offenders
Explore the Media Bias Tracker that fact checks and holds Fake News accountable. False claims debunked, Hall of Shame for serial offenders, Leaderboard of networks ranked by Repeated Lies. Stay inform...
www.whitehouse.gov
November 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Don't know whether this is new or has been up for awhile. Either way, when the White House creates a hit list of journalists it doesn't like, the free press is in danger. www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/
Remember that Alaska Senator Sullivan is (or was) a proud member of the Senate DOGE Caucus.
November 29, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Remember that Alaska Senator Sullivan is (or was) a proud member of the Senate DOGE Caucus.
Alaska Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, Congressman Begich, you need to be out there too.
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
November 29, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Alaska Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, Congressman Begich, you need to be out there too.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Another holiday in the books.
November 28, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Another holiday in the books.
Reposted by Ben Muse
The fact that only 3 (by my count) Republican members of Congress have spoken out about the Witkoff situation shows how thoroughly corrupted and compromised the entire party has become from top to bottom. None of this is about just Trump - it is the entire political party.
November 26, 2025 at 11:22 AM
The fact that only 3 (by my count) Republican members of Congress have spoken out about the Witkoff situation shows how thoroughly corrupted and compromised the entire party has become from top to bottom. None of this is about just Trump - it is the entire political party.
More of this Senator!
Glad to see this from Senator Murkowski.
This should not be a partisan issue.
This should not be a partisan issue.
November 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM
More of this Senator!
Reposted by Ben Muse
Trump objectively IS the most openly corrupt president in U.S. history. And suing people to stop them from saying it is part of that unprecedented corruption.
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Trump objectively IS the most openly corrupt president in U.S. history. And suing people to stop them from saying it is part of that unprecedented corruption.
Reposted by Ben Muse
Do y’all ever feel like the ludicrous nature of all this is driving you insane?
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
The Pentagon has launched a review of "serious allegations of misconduct" against Senator Mark Kelly after he told service members to refuse unlawful orders.
November 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Do y’all ever feel like the ludicrous nature of all this is driving you insane?
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
We are supposed to take seriously an “investigation” by the Dep’t of “War” into a decorated veteran, astronaut (!), and respected Senator for exercising his free speech rights.
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
Some thoughts about how language can lead us astray.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
Excellent post - and this is how I begin every discussion with a potential Lost Causer, because once you separate their Southern culture (family ties, geographic roots, etc) from the argument, you can actually have a discussion without the “I have to defend the South” walls coming up.
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
November 23, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Good point here: the Confederacy lost the Civil War, not the south. Lots of southerners won: unionists from East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Millions of black slaves.
“Blood and Soil” and “Christian Nationalist” MAGA are profoundly un-American. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Gordon Wood on America as a "Creedal Nation" Open to all Races and Ethnicities
Wood is the leading living historian of the American Founding. He pushes back here against those who claim America should be an ethno-nationalist polity.
reason.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:40 AM
“Blood and Soil” and “Christian Nationalist” MAGA are profoundly un-American. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Reposted by Ben Muse
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.
November 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I’ve been in a room with Putin. He calls Ukrainians “Russians with accents.” His real fear isn’t NATO expansion, it’s democracy expansion. It shatters his entire argument for dictatorship at home. Because if Ukrainians embrace freedom, Russians may demand the same.