David Dagan
@daviddagan.bsky.social
Director of editorial and academic affairs at Niskanen Center. Read Hypertext: hypertext.niskanencenter.org. Read The Liberal Fortress: daviddagan.substack.com. Book: http://amzn.to/29rrt90.
Reposted by David Dagan
Can we create a digital economy that strengthens democracy instead of eroding it?
This week in Hypertext ⤵️
This week in Hypertext ⤵️
January 29, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Can we create a digital economy that strengthens democracy instead of eroding it?
This week in Hypertext ⤵️
This week in Hypertext ⤵️
Incredible courage from these witnesses, whose fear of retaliatory or preemptive violence is 100% justified.
The Pink Jacket lady who filmed the killing tells a court that she is terrified to go home because she’s heard the federal agents who murdered a man in front of her are looking for her! Oh my god.
January 25, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Incredible courage from these witnesses, whose fear of retaliatory or preemptive violence is 100% justified.
The logic of the escalating violence & rhetoric is to force max number of R's and nonattentive folks into the pro-paramilitary corner because they either like what they see or just believe the lies, and/or to set off a confrontation w/ local/state authorities that provides pretext for worse. 1/2
January 25, 2026 at 1:02 AM
The logic of the escalating violence & rhetoric is to force max number of R's and nonattentive folks into the pro-paramilitary corner because they either like what they see or just believe the lies, and/or to set off a confrontation w/ local/state authorities that provides pretext for worse. 1/2
Worse than Kent State, really than any episode I can think of probably dating back to Reconstruc & earlier b/c
1. continuing, not 1 off.
2. organized, not individual ofcrs losing it
3. literally at hand of federal government, which is
4. immediately lying & circling the wagons to prevent inves.
1. continuing, not 1 off.
2. organized, not individual ofcrs losing it
3. literally at hand of federal government, which is
4. immediately lying & circling the wagons to prevent inves.
January 25, 2026 at 12:59 AM
But if you listen to Goldsmith and Bauer today, it becomes clear just how much of an own goal this will be. He is in a loss-overreach spiral that will badly wound us but exposes the limits of his power, and thereby degrades it.
Janet Yellen: "“If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we’re no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law.” She added: “That’s the end of Fed independence.”
And much else.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
And much else.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM
But if you listen to Goldsmith and Bauer today, it becomes clear just how much of an own goal this will be. He is in a loss-overreach spiral that will badly wound us but exposes the limits of his power, and thereby degrades it.
The demagogic response to the ICE killing is the domestic side of Stephen Millerism. This administration cannot recognize the category of “victim” in regard to its policies or the agents carrying them out; any victim must be immediately converted into an enemy. 1/4
January 9, 2026 at 12:13 AM
The demagogic response to the ICE killing is the domestic side of Stephen Millerism. This administration cannot recognize the category of “victim” in regard to its policies or the agents carrying them out; any victim must be immediately converted into an enemy. 1/4
I am thankful for the heroes of Jan. 6 and all who worked so hard for accountability. Their America will outlast the mob and its leader.
January 6, 2026 at 9:29 PM
I am thankful for the heroes of Jan. 6 and all who worked so hard for accountability. Their America will outlast the mob and its leader.
Domestically, this may prove Trump's biggest blunder. How will MAGA isolationists take his plans to occupy Venezuela? A cowardly Congress refused to pass a law that would have prevented this intervention, but if Venezuela's new leader refuses to play ball, will they support a bloodbath? 1/3
January 3, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Domestically, this may prove Trump's biggest blunder. How will MAGA isolationists take his plans to occupy Venezuela? A cowardly Congress refused to pass a law that would have prevented this intervention, but if Venezuela's new leader refuses to play ball, will they support a bloodbath? 1/3
Reposted by David Dagan
Statement from Cato VP Clark Neily: Courts probably won't rule against the rendition. Yet Trump has chosen to bypass the constitutional provisions designed to cabin the president's powers in using force against other countries. And an indictment does not supply him with those powers.
January 3, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Statement from Cato VP Clark Neily: Courts probably won't rule against the rendition. Yet Trump has chosen to bypass the constitutional provisions designed to cabin the president's powers in using force against other countries. And an indictment does not supply him with those powers.
The guy who ran against the Iraq War is offering us Iraq on steroids. The congressional abdication. The thin pretext. The myopia about the potential for a bloodbath. All caricatures of 23 years ago. And the caricature of 2003 - the oil play - is now real.
January 3, 2026 at 5:54 PM
The guy who ran against the Iraq War is offering us Iraq on steroids. The congressional abdication. The thin pretext. The myopia about the potential for a bloodbath. All caricatures of 23 years ago. And the caricature of 2003 - the oil play - is now real.
Reposted by David Dagan
Earlier this month, Ross Douthat argued that “the liberal order can’t heal itself.”
The next day, @jvl.bsky.social told liberals to stop the masochism.
But the answer is neither despair nor restoration, but a liberal reconstruction.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...
The next day, @jvl.bsky.social told liberals to stop the masochism.
But the answer is neither despair nor restoration, but a liberal reconstruction.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...
Let’s bake the liberal sourdough
Yes, Jonathan V. Last, liberalism needs to revisit its recipe. No, Ross Douthat, we should not give up on the starter.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org
December 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Earlier this month, Ross Douthat argued that “the liberal order can’t heal itself.”
The next day, @jvl.bsky.social told liberals to stop the masochism.
But the answer is neither despair nor restoration, but a liberal reconstruction.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...
The next day, @jvl.bsky.social told liberals to stop the masochism.
But the answer is neither despair nor restoration, but a liberal reconstruction.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...
Examining how our elite went wrong is not masochism and New Right flirtation. The question is precisely how our leadership class wound up allowing these people anywhere close to power, and caving repeatedly to the predations of the Trump administration in recent months. 1/2
December 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Examining how our elite went wrong is not masochism and New Right flirtation. The question is precisely how our leadership class wound up allowing these people anywhere close to power, and caving repeatedly to the predations of the Trump administration in recent months. 1/2
Joining the Black Friday Amazon boycott this weekend led me to rediscover @kanopy.com! Double-win! @awscloud.bsky.social
November 30, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Joining the Black Friday Amazon boycott this weekend led me to rediscover @kanopy.com! Double-win! @awscloud.bsky.social
You don't have to be a genius to understand why DOGE was a disaster. But even serious people can get government reform badly wrong. To do it right, we need to study the pitfalls - and I'm jazzed about this Hypertext issue doing just that.
The Clinton administration spent 8 years "Reinventing Government.” So, 31 years later, why are we trying to fix government inefficiency?
That's what this issue of Hypertext tackles⬇️
That's what this issue of Hypertext tackles⬇️
November 20, 2025 at 5:24 PM
You don't have to be a genius to understand why DOGE was a disaster. But even serious people can get government reform badly wrong. To do it right, we need to study the pitfalls - and I'm jazzed about this Hypertext issue doing just that.
Read the whole thing!
I would be very proud of this paragraph, had I wrote it
October 18, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Read the whole thing!
ABC has joined the slackjaw club, dismayed at being called on its proclaimed principles, incapable of retort. It joins law firms, broadcasters, and Fortune 500 corporations that have all been exposed as suffering from an advanced stage of moral rot. Trump sensed that spinelessness and pushed. 1/2
September 19, 2025 at 2:46 AM
ABC has joined the slackjaw club, dismayed at being called on its proclaimed principles, incapable of retort. It joins law firms, broadcasters, and Fortune 500 corporations that have all been exposed as suffering from an advanced stage of moral rot. Trump sensed that spinelessness and pushed. 1/2
One of the most baffling points in the @ezraklein.bsky.social piece on Kirk: "We can live with losing an election because we believe in the promise of the next election." But Kirk didn't! And yet Ezra concludes: "We were on the same side on the continued possibility of American politics."
September 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
One of the most baffling points in the @ezraklein.bsky.social piece on Kirk: "We can live with losing an election because we believe in the promise of the next election." But Kirk didn't! And yet Ezra concludes: "We were on the same side on the continued possibility of American politics."
I mourn Kirk's killing. I admire his charisma, organizing genius, & commitment to debate. THAT was right about his way. I also believe he used his talents to promote lies that damaged our democracy and bigotry that divides us. THAT was wrong about his way. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
No, Charlie Kirk was not practicing politics the right way
His assassination deserves full condemnation; his full impact should not be sidestepped.
www.motherjones.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I mourn Kirk's killing. I admire his charisma, organizing genius, & commitment to debate. THAT was right about his way. I also believe he used his talents to promote lies that damaged our democracy and bigotry that divides us. THAT was wrong about his way. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
It can be a trap if you make it a trap. It's a gift if you make it a gift. The line is: We have a big crime problem and we'd love more cops to help solve it. But Trump is cutting money for cops and sending troops because he isn't coming after criminals - he's coming after democracy.
Chief of staff to Gov JB Pritzker -->
I am begging my fellow Dems to emerge from the reflexive “it’s a trap” position on these issues and realize that some things are very simple: the public doesn’t like the federal government turning the military against its own citizens.The public doesn’t like the armed occupation of a city.Period.
August 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
It can be a trap if you make it a trap. It's a gift if you make it a gift. The line is: We have a big crime problem and we'd love more cops to help solve it. But Trump is cutting money for cops and sending troops because he isn't coming after criminals - he's coming after democracy.
Big new paper from Steve Teles
@niskanencenter.bsky.social
today niskanencenter.org/abundance-va.... Steve outlines six types of “abundance” thinking he predicts will shape US politics. As in the Progressive Era, broad principles will attach to distinct cultural and political economic projects.
@niskanencenter.bsky.social
today niskanencenter.org/abundance-va.... Steve outlines six types of “abundance” thinking he predicts will shape US politics. As in the Progressive Era, broad principles will attach to distinct cultural and political economic projects.
Varieties of Abundance - Niskanen Center
We will know that abundance has succeeded when there is a proliferation of “abundances,” different governing projects attached to previously existing ideologies, interests, and parties.
niskanencenter.org
August 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Big new paper from Steve Teles
@niskanencenter.bsky.social
today niskanencenter.org/abundance-va.... Steve outlines six types of “abundance” thinking he predicts will shape US politics. As in the Progressive Era, broad principles will attach to distinct cultural and political economic projects.
@niskanencenter.bsky.social
today niskanencenter.org/abundance-va.... Steve outlines six types of “abundance” thinking he predicts will shape US politics. As in the Progressive Era, broad principles will attach to distinct cultural and political economic projects.
Reposted by David Dagan
This is getting very bad:
*FBI raids top Trump critic's home
*Trump loyalist gins up "mortgage fraud" pretexts for DOJ probes of Schiff, Letitia James, Lisa Cook
*Bannon says ICE will monitor 2026 voting
*DHS memo vows LA operations "for years to come"
New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1994...
*FBI raids top Trump critic's home
*Trump loyalist gins up "mortgage fraud" pretexts for DOJ probes of Schiff, Letitia James, Lisa Cook
*Bannon says ICE will monitor 2026 voting
*DHS memo vows LA operations "for years to come"
New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1994...
Trump’s FBI Raid of John Bolton’s Home Looks Like a “Five Alarm Fire”
Thus far little is known about Friday’s law enforcement action against a top Trump critic. But we’re seeing an escalation of authoritarian power on many fronts that has grown unmistakable.
newrepublic.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This is getting very bad:
*FBI raids top Trump critic's home
*Trump loyalist gins up "mortgage fraud" pretexts for DOJ probes of Schiff, Letitia James, Lisa Cook
*Bannon says ICE will monitor 2026 voting
*DHS memo vows LA operations "for years to come"
New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1994...
*FBI raids top Trump critic's home
*Trump loyalist gins up "mortgage fraud" pretexts for DOJ probes of Schiff, Letitia James, Lisa Cook
*Bannon says ICE will monitor 2026 voting
*DHS memo vows LA operations "for years to come"
New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1994...
I spent a lot of time trying to level-set on how we reached the point of starvation in Gaza. First of several posts: daviddagan.substack.com/p/why-are-ga...
August 8, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I spent a lot of time trying to level-set on how we reached the point of starvation in Gaza. First of several posts: daviddagan.substack.com/p/why-are-ga...
Reposted by David Dagan
Some racial profiling was happening from the start, but the operation was supercharged in mid-May when the White House ordered ICE to stop using warrants, targeted operations, and just "go out on the streets" and arrest people. These arrests shot from 500/week to 1,500/week
August 5, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Some racial profiling was happening from the start, but the operation was supercharged in mid-May when the White House ordered ICE to stop using warrants, targeted operations, and just "go out on the streets" and arrest people. These arrests shot from 500/week to 1,500/week
The BLS firing is one of Trump's most chilling moves yet. He is demanding that we be lied to about the most material facts of most Americans' lives - how they earn a living. And it will come at the expense of that living, because it destroys the foundations for investing in the United States.
August 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The BLS firing is one of Trump's most chilling moves yet. He is demanding that we be lied to about the most material facts of most Americans' lives - how they earn a living. And it will come at the expense of that living, because it destroys the foundations for investing in the United States.
Reposted by David Dagan
I want to enthusiastically endorse this piece from @cselmendorf.bsky.social & @profschleich.bsky.social. Thus far YIMBY has been almost entirely focused on More Housing, but ultimately, if you want people to accept density, you have to make it *nice*, and that means more than just housing.
YIMBYism started as a single-issue movement. It's time to think bigger.
New research shows that voters who like cities back denser housing. To make cities more likeable, YIMBYs need to act more like a party.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org
July 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I want to enthusiastically endorse this piece from @cselmendorf.bsky.social & @profschleich.bsky.social. Thus far YIMBY has been almost entirely focused on More Housing, but ultimately, if you want people to accept density, you have to make it *nice*, and that means more than just housing.