Megan Wachspress
@meganwachspress.bsky.social
Legal teaching fellow, former climate attorney, parent, technically a doctor (of jurisprudence & social policy).
https://cooperativeoverlapping.substack.com/
https://cooperativeoverlapping.substack.com/
Amazing how often the answer to "seriously, that's legal?" is a law enacted in 1996. Congress + Clinton effectively eliminated habeas corpus for the death penalty and the IIRIA, which set up the immigration enforcement infrastructure Trump is using now. Worst legislative year ever of modern era.
Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast are putting in bids for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was, in the long run, a very bad idea with disastrous consequences.
www.wsj.com/business/med...
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was, in the long run, a very bad idea with disastrous consequences.
www.wsj.com/business/med...
Exclusive | Paramount, Comcast, Netflix Prepare Bids for Warner as Deadline Approaches
Warner Bros. Discovery is holding an auction process in the hopes of having it completed by the end of the year.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Amazing how often the answer to "seriously, that's legal?" is a law enacted in 1996. Congress + Clinton effectively eliminated habeas corpus for the death penalty and the IIRIA, which set up the immigration enforcement infrastructure Trump is using now. Worst legislative year ever of modern era.
This week I learned the NYTimes considers debates about advocacy priorities among Sierra Club chapters in 2021 worthy of more column inches than the close relationships between numerous powerful and wealthy academic and political leaders and a convicted child trafficker after the conviction.
November 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
This week I learned the NYTimes considers debates about advocacy priorities among Sierra Club chapters in 2021 worthy of more column inches than the close relationships between numerous powerful and wealthy academic and political leaders and a convicted child trafficker after the conviction.
Once I was at a friend's wedding where Larry Summers was in attendance & I came very close to confronting him about his comments about women and advanced math and was held back by my husband who felt it would have been rude to cause a scene at a third party's major life event. I have some regrets.
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Once I was at a friend's wedding where Larry Summers was in attendance & I came very close to confronting him about his comments about women and advanced math and was held back by my husband who felt it would have been rude to cause a scene at a third party's major life event. I have some regrets.
Relatedly, as someone who is very good at math but also A Girl, I can report that the "put up with many things" offer is only good for boys.
I think the belief by the powerful that "people will put up with many things if you are excellent at math" is incredibly revealing in terms of understanding How We Got Here
November 12, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Relatedly, as someone who is very good at math but also A Girl, I can report that the "put up with many things" offer is only good for boys.
OK since this thread has blown up I have a couple things to add, with more time to think. Curiously absent from this article is discussion of Sierra Club's role in ensuring passage of the biggest climate law in US history in 2022 or in EPA rulemaking that would have forced the closure of...
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:21 AM
OK since this thread has blown up I have a couple things to add, with more time to think. Curiously absent from this article is discussion of Sierra Club's role in ensuring passage of the biggest climate law in US history in 2022 or in EPA rulemaking that would have forced the closure of...
The only way I can make sense of the Dems caving now is that they literally only care about winning elections and the point was not to protect health insurance but drive turnout and now they've got that, they'll sell out their voters. Does anyone else have any explanation of the timing?
November 10, 2025 at 12:03 AM
The only way I can make sense of the Dems caving now is that they literally only care about winning elections and the point was not to protect health insurance but drive turnout and now they've got that, they'll sell out their voters. Does anyone else have any explanation of the timing?
Feels like a good day to say my first born is named after Rosalind Franklin.
November 7, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Feels like a good day to say my first born is named after Rosalind Franklin.
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Burying the lede here, which is ACB celebrating women's right to "choose" (her words) the size of their family and between family and career.
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
The Trump appointees’ remarks came at a Federalist Society event in Washington.
dlvr.it
November 7, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Burying the lede here, which is ACB celebrating women's right to "choose" (her words) the size of their family and between family and career.
Posting about the election and campus free speech debates, as one does: cooperativeoverlapping.substack.com/p/trans-subs...
November 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Posting about the election and campus free speech debates, as one does: cooperativeoverlapping.substack.com/p/trans-subs...
I regret to inform you that "child of radical academic with relatively thin political CV who does great on TV wins high executive office" is *also* the outline of a Pete Buttigieg 2028 campaign.
November 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I regret to inform you that "child of radical academic with relatively thin political CV who does great on TV wins high executive office" is *also* the outline of a Pete Buttigieg 2028 campaign.
This thermostatic stuff is a relief I guess but also? It's just incredibly depressing how much avoidable suffering and death will happen because voters are irrational. No one even *wanted* fascism they just weren't paying attention? Or wanted a show? Who the heck knows?
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 AM
This thermostatic stuff is a relief I guess but also? It's just incredibly depressing how much avoidable suffering and death will happen because voters are irrational. No one even *wanted* fascism they just weren't paying attention? Or wanted a show? Who the heck knows?
Huge climate news.
OH MY GOD, DDHQ CALLS IT AND DEMS FLIP BOTH STATEWIDE ELECTIONS IN GEORGIA
November 5, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Huge climate news.
Waiting for the polls to close in NYC is really testing my "never hope" mantra for protecting myself from electoral trauma.
November 5, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Waiting for the polls to close in NYC is really testing my "never hope" mantra for protecting myself from electoral trauma.
Reposted by Megan Wachspress
Recently learned from @oaklandreviewofbooks.org that Osha Neumann is Herbert Marcuse's stepson and I feel like this is the Berkeley-est nepo baby revelation ever.
October 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Recently learned from @oaklandreviewofbooks.org that Osha Neumann is Herbert Marcuse's stepson and I feel like this is the Berkeley-est nepo baby revelation ever.
Platner's tattoos has apparently re-triggered the "Dems out of touch with [narrow racialized & gendered sliver of] the working class" discourse so I'll repeat what I said after the election which is the whole convo betrays the fact these guys have terrible class analyses.
I finally figured out what irritates me so much about the election post-mortems (I include the Ian Ward Know Your Enemy podcast in this) that ascribe the loss to the Republicans becoming the party of "working ppl" and blame Dems for tacking toward Democracy-loving wine moms (Liz Cheney)...
October 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Platner's tattoos has apparently re-triggered the "Dems out of touch with [narrow racialized & gendered sliver of] the working class" discourse so I'll repeat what I said after the election which is the whole convo betrays the fact these guys have terrible class analyses.
Reposted by Megan Wachspress
What To Know About Data Centers https://theonion.com/what-to-know-about-data-centers/
October 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
What To Know About Data Centers https://theonion.com/what-to-know-about-data-centers/
I'm sorry but What The Actual Fuck. One of those moments that break through & bring actual terror: through shutting down the government and blatant illegality Trump has effectively converted the state capacity with guns to a private army.
New: The Pentagon confirms to CNN it will funnel $130M from an anonymous Trump “friend” toward military pay.
Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics
The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Dep...
www.cnn.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I'm sorry but What The Actual Fuck. One of those moments that break through & bring actual terror: through shutting down the government and blatant illegality Trump has effectively converted the state capacity with guns to a private army.
Yup, totally Trump's "friends in tech" and not an instantaneous response from the community that physically blocked agents from the Bay because they decided to stage from an island with only one bridge.
October 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Yup, totally Trump's "friends in tech" and not an instantaneous response from the community that physically blocked agents from the Bay because they decided to stage from an island with only one bridge.
I believe gerontocracy has atrophied the Democratic party and led to bad policy outcomes as much as the next person but the one thing I know about Janet Mills is she stood up to Trump to protect trans kids and before the tattoo all I knew about Platner is he had an ad about how Manly He Is, so...
October 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I believe gerontocracy has atrophied the Democratic party and led to bad policy outcomes as much as the next person but the one thing I know about Janet Mills is she stood up to Trump to protect trans kids and before the tattoo all I knew about Platner is he had an ad about how Manly He Is, so...
Apparently some of you didn't learn a lesson from Fetterman. (Which I was taken in on, too!)
Perhaps, uh, we should think hard about whether it's redistributive economics or cultural markers of masculinity that's driving our politics, huh?
Perhaps, uh, we should think hard about whether it's redistributive economics or cultural markers of masculinity that's driving our politics, huh?
October 21, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Apparently some of you didn't learn a lesson from Fetterman. (Which I was taken in on, too!)
Perhaps, uh, we should think hard about whether it's redistributive economics or cultural markers of masculinity that's driving our politics, huh?
Perhaps, uh, we should think hard about whether it's redistributive economics or cultural markers of masculinity that's driving our politics, huh?
Evidence increasing by the day that we're all background characters in a rather clumsily written TV series/novel
Scoop: Trump has started demolishing the White House's East Wing facade to build his ballroom. The president had claimed construction of the $250 million building wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure. /W @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/4hqBNiU
White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom
The president had claimed construction of the $250 million ballroom wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure.
wapo.st
October 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Evidence increasing by the day that we're all background characters in a rather clumsily written TV series/novel
In addition to being strategically brilliant, the inflatable costumes trend makes it way easier to convince my four year old to walk the length of a protest march so thanks for that, Portland guy!
October 19, 2025 at 12:33 AM
In addition to being strategically brilliant, the inflatable costumes trend makes it way easier to convince my four year old to walk the length of a protest march so thanks for that, Portland guy!
Reposted by Megan Wachspress
somewhere in portland, there's one person, or a small handful of people, who came up with the inflatable costume idea, and I feel like they deserve our immense respect for defining the obvious developing aesthetic of the contemporary battle against fascism
October 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
somewhere in portland, there's one person, or a small handful of people, who came up with the inflatable costume idea, and I feel like they deserve our immense respect for defining the obvious developing aesthetic of the contemporary battle against fascism