Naomi Schalit
@democracyeditor.bsky.social
Senior Politics & Democracy Editor, @us.theconversation.com; co-founder w/hubby John Christie of The Maine Monitor. Family of journos & writers. We proofread menus.
Reposted by Naomi Schalit
Donald Heflin, career diplomat and director of Fletcher's Murrow Center, analyzes the peace plan presented to Ukraine by the U.S. @us.theconversation.com @democracyeditor.bsky.social
theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
Peace plan presented by the US to Ukraine reflects inexperienced, unrealistic handling of a delicate situation
In a war that’s lasted almost four years, a former diplomat says it’s not realistic to say, ‘In the next week, come up with a very complicated peace deal, sign off on it and it’s going to stick.’
theconversation.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Donald Heflin, career diplomat and director of Fletcher's Murrow Center, analyzes the peace plan presented to Ukraine by the U.S. @us.theconversation.com @democracyeditor.bsky.social
theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
Reposted by Naomi Schalit
As Matthew Sitman points out — like @zohrankmamdani (and MLK, etc) ‘1984’ author George Orwell was a Democratic Socialist who fought for workers.
He also opposed communism because the two are not the same things and words have meanings.
theconversation.com/orwells-oppo...
He also opposed communism because the two are not the same things and words have meanings.
theconversation.com/orwells-oppo...
November 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM
As Matthew Sitman points out — like @zohrankmamdani (and MLK, etc) ‘1984’ author George Orwell was a Democratic Socialist who fought for workers.
He also opposed communism because the two are not the same things and words have meanings.
theconversation.com/orwells-oppo...
He also opposed communism because the two are not the same things and words have meanings.
theconversation.com/orwells-oppo...
"In a war that’s been going on now for almost four years, you don’t say, 'OK, within the next week, come up with a very complicated peace deal and sign off on it and it’s going to stick.' That’s just not the way it works," says former diplomat Don Heflin theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
Peace plan presented by the US to Ukraine reflects inexperienced, unrealistic handling of a delicate situation
In a war that’s lasted almost four years, a former diplomat says it’s not realistic to say, ‘In the next week, come up with a very complicated peace deal, sign off on it and it’s going to stick.’
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
"In a war that’s been going on now for almost four years, you don’t say, 'OK, within the next week, come up with a very complicated peace deal and sign off on it and it’s going to stick.' That’s just not the way it works," says former diplomat Don Heflin theconversation.com/peace-plan-p...
"Something’s missing from RFKJr.’s accounts of 'Operation Northwoods,'” writes @fatalpolitics.bsky.social in a sharp essay that challenges RFKJr.'s version of that menu of false flag operations. "Something about his father." theconversation.com/what-robert-...
What Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t tell you about ‘Operation Northwoods,’ the false flag operation he loves to denounce
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s accounts of the notorious false flag operations proposed during the Kennedy years omit the most important part of the story. Hint: It’s a family affair.
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:27 PM
"Something’s missing from RFKJr.’s accounts of 'Operation Northwoods,'” writes @fatalpolitics.bsky.social in a sharp essay that challenges RFKJr.'s version of that menu of false flag operations. "Something about his father." theconversation.com/what-robert-...
The Democratic lawmakers' video about refusing illegal orders: Many service members "do understand the distinction between legal and illegal orders, the duty to disobey certain orders, and when they should do so," say two @umassamherst.bsky.social scholars theconversation.com/just-follow-...
Just follow orders or obey the law? What US troops told us about refusing illegal commands
A majority of service members understand the distinction between legal and illegal orders.
theconversation.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The Democratic lawmakers' video about refusing illegal orders: Many service members "do understand the distinction between legal and illegal orders, the duty to disobey certain orders, and when they should do so," say two @umassamherst.bsky.social scholars theconversation.com/just-follow-...
I have a new understanding of Boston’s scary bad drivers after watching the new @kenlburns.bsky.social documentary: they’re all the aggressive, opinionated descendants of Sam Adams
November 17, 2025 at 3:52 AM
I have a new understanding of Boston’s scary bad drivers after watching the new @kenlburns.bsky.social documentary: they’re all the aggressive, opinionated descendants of Sam Adams
I give you the Minister of Mixed Metaphors: The tax proposal, said campaign strategist Dan Newman, “opens up a can of worms sliding down a slippery slope" www.wsj.com/business/cal...
The California Campaign to Introduce a First-of-Its-Kind Billionaire’s Tax
The union-backed ballot measure is aimed at raising healthcare funding, but it faces opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I give you the Minister of Mixed Metaphors: The tax proposal, said campaign strategist Dan Newman, “opens up a can of worms sliding down a slippery slope" www.wsj.com/business/cal...
Can Graham Platner attract more than Southern Maine progressives? Nick Jacobs says "Every few years, Democrats try to convince themselves they’ve found the one – a candidate who can finally speak fluent rural, who looks and sounds like the voters they’ve lost" theconversation.com/why-rural-ma...
Why rural Maine may back Democrat Graham Platner’s populism in the Senate campaign − but not his party
Whether Maine’s Graham Platner wins or loses, his campaign to knock off longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins already points to a deeper question: Can Democrats do more than rent rural authenticity?
theconversation.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Can Graham Platner attract more than Southern Maine progressives? Nick Jacobs says "Every few years, Democrats try to convince themselves they’ve found the one – a candidate who can finally speak fluent rural, who looks and sounds like the voters they’ve lost" theconversation.com/why-rural-ma...
Upset about the government shutdown at any of its various stages, including how it might end? Consider @roberttalisse.bsky.social's take: The fault, dear voter, lies in ourselves and not the politicians theconversation.com/blame-the-sh...
Blame the shutdown on citizens who prefer politicians to vanquish their opponents rather than to work for the common good
Politicians get blamed for government shutdowns. But does the fault lie also with citizens, who are more invested in punishing partisan rivals than in demanding competent government?
theconversation.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Upset about the government shutdown at any of its various stages, including how it might end? Consider @roberttalisse.bsky.social's take: The fault, dear voter, lies in ourselves and not the politicians theconversation.com/blame-the-sh...
The old days: "The framers viewed congressional oversight as a key component of legislative authority. They wanted presidents to take Congress seriously and structured the Constitution to ensure that the executive would be accountable to the legislature" 1/2 theconversation.com/a-brief-hist...
A brief history of congressional oversight, from Revolutionary War financing to Pam Bondi
Congress has played an important role in holding federal agencies accountable since the late 1700s, but oversight can also devolve into a political circus.
theconversation.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The old days: "The framers viewed congressional oversight as a key component of legislative authority. They wanted presidents to take Congress seriously and structured the Constitution to ensure that the executive would be accountable to the legislature" 1/2 theconversation.com/a-brief-hist...
If you're gonna write a story from the vast perspective of "half a decade" in Maine, please get the details right: It's the Common Ground FAIR, not "festival" and lose the "h" in "Sarah" Gideon - the big loser of that race was Sara Gideon www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Maine’s Case of Platner Fasciitis
The scandals engulfing the Democratic Senate hopeful expose a rift between the state's provincial and national identities
www.thenation.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
If you're gonna write a story from the vast perspective of "half a decade" in Maine, please get the details right: It's the Common Ground FAIR, not "festival" and lose the "h" in "Sarah" Gideon - the big loser of that race was Sara Gideon www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Clearly something going on here: Abigail Spanberger was born in NJ and was just elected governor of Virginia; Mikie Sherrill was born in Virginia and was. just elected governor of NJ. These are the random thoughts of a tired politics editor
November 5, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Clearly something going on here: Abigail Spanberger was born in NJ and was just elected governor of Virginia; Mikie Sherrill was born in Virginia and was. just elected governor of NJ. These are the random thoughts of a tired politics editor
Dick Cheney's less-well-known effect on today's politics: "...a decades-long effort to enhance presidential power, to reinvigorate an office that he believed Congress had wrongly diminished" post-Watergate, writes Graham G. Dodds theconversation.com/dick-cheneys...
Dick Cheney’s expansive vision of presidential power lives on in Trump’s agenda
Recent rulings indicate that the high court is leaning toward expanding the type of presidential power that is more emblematic of dictatorship than democracy.
theconversation.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Dick Cheney's less-well-known effect on today's politics: "...a decades-long effort to enhance presidential power, to reinvigorate an office that he believed Congress had wrongly diminished" post-Watergate, writes Graham G. Dodds theconversation.com/dick-cheneys...
So 'Throw out the bastards!' doesn't make Congress work better. The very outsiders voters elect and hope will “fix” Congress "contribute to the partisan divisions that keep it from functioning," write @rachelporter.bsky.social & Jeff Harden @notredame.bsky.social theconversation.com/amateur-hour...
Amateur hour in Congress: How political newcomers fuel gridlock and government shutdowns
The public’s frustration with ‘politics as usual’ has led more political newcomers to win office. But amateurs are more likely to view bipartisanship as a concession, not a tool for advancing policy.
theconversation.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:07 PM
So 'Throw out the bastards!' doesn't make Congress work better. The very outsiders voters elect and hope will “fix” Congress "contribute to the partisan divisions that keep it from functioning," write @rachelporter.bsky.social & Jeff Harden @notredame.bsky.social theconversation.com/amateur-hour...
David Soule & Kyle Redican say the scale of changes in mid-cycle redistricting is "staggering: 10.4 million Texas residents, @ 36% of state population, and 9.2 million California residents, @ 23% of state population, will be in unfamiliar congressional districts" theconversation.com/voters-lose-...
Voters lose when maps get redrawn before every election instead of once a decade − a trend started in Texas, moving to California and likely spreading across the country
With a new, mid-cycle redistricting war raging in state after state, the media and politicians focus on which party is winning or losing seats. But are citizens winning or losing in this conflict?
theconversation.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
David Soule & Kyle Redican say the scale of changes in mid-cycle redistricting is "staggering: 10.4 million Texas residents, @ 36% of state population, and 9.2 million California residents, @ 23% of state population, will be in unfamiliar congressional districts" theconversation.com/voters-lose-...
"Unwilling to assert itself as an equal branch of government," Congress has been "content to hand over many of its core constitutional powers to the executive branch...Yet Congress’ path to irrelevance...did not begin during the shutdown" writes @charlesrhunt.com theconversation.com/the-shutdown...
The shutdown – and the House’s inaction – helps pave Congress’ path to irrelevance
With major shutdown impacts beginning to set in, a scholar of Congress says the House has all but abdicated its position as ‘The People’s Chamber.’
theconversation.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:51 PM
"Unwilling to assert itself as an equal branch of government," Congress has been "content to hand over many of its core constitutional powers to the executive branch...Yet Congress’ path to irrelevance...did not begin during the shutdown" writes @charlesrhunt.com theconversation.com/the-shutdown...
I’m glad the Red Sox aren’t in this series because I’d be a widow by now
November 2, 2025 at 3:44 AM
I’m glad the Red Sox aren’t in this series because I’d be a widow by now
Have I mentioned I think the intentional walk is chicken sh*t? Play baseball, guys
November 1, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Have I mentioned I think the intentional walk is chicken sh*t? Play baseball, guys
Terrific story by my fave AK reporter, Nat Herz, who demonstrates that he is my son by not turning down an offer to be a reporter on a boat trip www.northernjournal.com/on-rivers-an...
On rivers and in courtrooms, Alaska battles for land inside national parks and preserves
For decades, Alaska land managers have been working to confirm the state's ownership of land beneath navigable rivers and lakes inside national parks and refuges.
www.northernjournal.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Terrific story by my fave AK reporter, Nat Herz, who demonstrates that he is my son by not turning down an offer to be a reporter on a boat trip www.northernjournal.com/on-rivers-an...
I don't normally bash headlines but the NYT does great injustice - it's not about Trump! - to this excellent @jamellebouie.net column, a much-needed civics & history lesson about how and why the US, "at this moment, does not have a functioning national legislature" www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Opinion | The Empty Promises of Trump’s Imperial Presidency
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I don't normally bash headlines but the NYT does great injustice - it's not about Trump! - to this excellent @jamellebouie.net column, a much-needed civics & history lesson about how and why the US, "at this moment, does not have a functioning national legislature" www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Blowing up boats, building up the Navy's presence, announcing covert ops - surveying Trump's Venezuela moves, political-military analyst Jeffrey Fields @dornsife.usc.edu finds it "hard to discern a coherent strategy or objective" theconversation.com/trumps-anti-...
Trump’s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy, justifiable targets and legal authorization
President Trump OK’d a naval buildup in the Caribbean, strikes on boats in international waters and covert operations in Venezuela. A military analyst can’t see a coherent strategy or objective.
theconversation.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Blowing up boats, building up the Navy's presence, announcing covert ops - surveying Trump's Venezuela moves, political-military analyst Jeffrey Fields @dornsife.usc.edu finds it "hard to discern a coherent strategy or objective" theconversation.com/trumps-anti-...
For the unauthorized, unsanitized, unpalatable and unpleasant truth about Henry Kissinger, Ken Hughes is your guy, whose essay allows you to see how Kissinger and Nixon "divided America to conquer it, sowing hatred while calling for unity behind themselves and their misbegotten policies."
If you’d rather not know the worst thing Henry Kissinger ever did to America, “American Experience: Kissinger” is the documentary for you. #AmericanExperience #Kissinger
My review was too long for publishers, so I'm giving it to you free.
www.scribd.com/document/939...
My review was too long for publishers, so I'm giving it to you free.
www.scribd.com/document/939...
October 28, 2025 at 2:59 PM
For the unauthorized, unsanitized, unpalatable and unpleasant truth about Henry Kissinger, Ken Hughes is your guy, whose essay allows you to see how Kissinger and Nixon "divided America to conquer it, sowing hatred while calling for unity behind themselves and their misbegotten policies."
Conflict-of-interest 101, from Berkeley J-School's Ed Wasserman: "Creators who conceal financial support while weighing in on matters of interest to their funders are...no less deceitful than the business journalist who covers a company they secretly invest in" theconversation.com/influencers-...
Influencers could learn a thing or two from traditional journalism about disclosing who’s funding their political coverage
Creators who conceal financial support while weighing in on matters of interest to their funders are falsely presenting themselves as independent voices.
theconversation.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Conflict-of-interest 101, from Berkeley J-School's Ed Wasserman: "Creators who conceal financial support while weighing in on matters of interest to their funders are...no less deceitful than the business journalist who covers a company they secretly invest in" theconversation.com/influencers-...
You're confused, right? Seems like federal courts issue daily & different opinions on whether Trump has the right to deploy National Guard troops to various cities. What's the law? @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social says there’s no simple answer, not even from SCOTUS theconversation.com/trumps-natio...
Trump’s National Guard deployments reignite 200-year-old legal debate over state vs. federal power
The conflicts over President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois and Oregon hinge on a question as old as the Constitution itself: Where does federal power end and state authority ...
theconversation.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:47 PM
You're confused, right? Seems like federal courts issue daily & different opinions on whether Trump has the right to deploy National Guard troops to various cities. What's the law? @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social says there’s no simple answer, not even from SCOTUS theconversation.com/trumps-natio...
Now what? theconversation.com/10-effective...
10 effective things citizens can do to make change in addition to attending a protest
Once a democracy starts to erode, it can be difficult to reverse the trend. What does it take for democracies to bounce back from periods of autocratic rule?
theconversation.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Now what? theconversation.com/10-effective...