Dov Ber
@dovber.bsky.social
Schlemiel-in-Chief at Luftmensch & Co.
Reposted by Dov Ber
"This is wrong. And every American whose capacity for moral judgment has not been addled by partisan derangement should recognize it....Probable cause, rights of accused, the need for search warrants, due process of any kind—ICE is proceeding as if such restrictions on gov't power no longer exist."
ICE Is Imposing Autocracy in Minnesota
The state has become Trump's most radical experiment with militarized government.
www.persuasion.community
January 20, 2026 at 4:15 AM
"This is wrong. And every American whose capacity for moral judgment has not been addled by partisan derangement should recognize it....Probable cause, rights of accused, the need for search warrants, due process of any kind—ICE is proceeding as if such restrictions on gov't power no longer exist."
Reposted by Dov Ber
Cripes a’mighty people, Steven Miller is not staging a militarized ethnic cleansing and sending the border cops to murder people in the street to distract from the Epstein files. He’s doing it because he and Trump (and Vance and Homan and Noem etc) really really want to.
January 15, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Cripes a’mighty people, Steven Miller is not staging a militarized ethnic cleansing and sending the border cops to murder people in the street to distract from the Epstein files. He’s doing it because he and Trump (and Vance and Homan and Noem etc) really really want to.
Reposted by Dov Ber
The basic problem is that high-quality journalism is not a viable market product. If it is not protected from market forces, it will inevitably degenerate into the ragetainment that dominates these days.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
January 16, 2026 at 12:44 AM
The basic problem is that high-quality journalism is not a viable market product. If it is not protected from market forces, it will inevitably degenerate into the ragetainment that dominates these days.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
"It’s striking how much the arguments that Trump is not a fascist have suffered in just the first few days of [2026]...Fascism does not require a spectacular march on some capital to take root," Paxton says. "Seemingly anodyne decisions to tolerate lawless treatment of national ‘enemies’ is enough.”
January 13, 2026 at 4:21 AM
"It’s striking how much the arguments that Trump is not a fascist have suffered in just the first few days of [2026]...Fascism does not require a spectacular march on some capital to take root," Paxton says. "Seemingly anodyne decisions to tolerate lawless treatment of national ‘enemies’ is enough.”
Reposted by Dov Ber
"Peter Thiel is an intelligent man. Yet his hatred of the modern world—a world characterized by the welfare state and the emancipation of women—is so great that it overwhelms all sensible political judgment."
MAGA’s Lust for Fascism
Trump’s ideologues want a smaller, meaner, whiter America.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:00 AM
"Peter Thiel is an intelligent man. Yet his hatred of the modern world—a world characterized by the welfare state and the emancipation of women—is so great that it overwhelms all sensible political judgment."
Reposted by Dov Ber
not saying it can't get worse but this week really feels like a straightforward depiction of what worst-case 'post truth' information apocalypse ppl were warning of in the late 2010s
January 7, 2026 at 10:43 PM
not saying it can't get worse but this week really feels like a straightforward depiction of what worst-case 'post truth' information apocalypse ppl were warning of in the late 2010s
Trump "fulminates against Maduro" for "drug trafficking" but "openly backs the Honduran political party that has allowed massive drug smuggling into the U.S. Why?" Krugman's "Trump: Pro-crypto or Pro-crime?" illuminates the shadowy reason w amazing clarity.
An addendum to today's post paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-pro-...
December 1, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Trump "fulminates against Maduro" for "drug trafficking" but "openly backs the Honduran political party that has allowed massive drug smuggling into the U.S. Why?" Krugman's "Trump: Pro-crypto or Pro-crime?" illuminates the shadowy reason w amazing clarity.
Reposted by Dov Ber
People scratching their heads about Thiel and Greenland but that is because stuck in an old model of international politics. This is neoroyalism rather than westphalia.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 24, 2025 at 1:23 AM
People scratching their heads about Thiel and Greenland but that is because stuck in an old model of international politics. This is neoroyalism rather than westphalia.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Dov Ber
6/Neo-royalism asks what happens to international politics when small groups of hyper elites (royalist cliques) become the central actor in world politics rather than the state. In short, tribute/extraction and exceptionalism replace rules and sovereign equality. Its all about the squeeze.
November 18, 2025 at 2:12 PM
6/Neo-royalism asks what happens to international politics when small groups of hyper elites (royalist cliques) become the central actor in world politics rather than the state. In short, tribute/extraction and exceptionalism replace rules and sovereign equality. Its all about the squeeze.
Reposted by Dov Ber
5/Its easy (or difficult to swallow) this as corruption/crony capitalism. But in a new paper w/ @segoddard.bsky.social in IO, we argue these interactions suggest something much more fundamental -- a shift in the international order which we call neo-royalism.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:05 PM
5/Its easy (or difficult to swallow) this as corruption/crony capitalism. But in a new paper w/ @segoddard.bsky.social in IO, we argue these interactions suggest something much more fundamental -- a shift in the international order which we call neo-royalism.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
Reposted by Dov Ber
1/This week has seen a blitz of what looks like corruption sandals: Saudi development deals for US military tech, Pakistani payments to Trump insiders for tariff relief, Swiss gold bars for a trade deal. Far from a payoff, this is a reordering of internat'l system.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM
1/This week has seen a blitz of what looks like corruption sandals: Saudi development deals for US military tech, Pakistani payments to Trump insiders for tariff relief, Swiss gold bars for a trade deal. Far from a payoff, this is a reordering of internat'l system.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxthh...
Reposted by Dov Ber
My thoughts on why the ADL's political shift hurts Jews in the Jerusalem Post today.
www.jpost.com/opinion/arti...
www.jpost.com/opinion/arti...
ADL’s ‘Zohran Mamdani Monitor’ marks a troubling shift | The Jerusalem Post
Today’s ADL has abdicated this responsibility, and the Jewish community will suffer the consequences.
www.jpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 PM
My thoughts on why the ADL's political shift hurts Jews in the Jerusalem Post today.
www.jpost.com/opinion/arti...
www.jpost.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Dov Ber
What is really going on in this society that elected Donald Trump president a second time?
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
Unterstützung von Donald Trump: Die Irrtümer über Donald Trumps Rückhalt
Rechtsruck, multiethnische Koalition, Held einfacher Leute: Trump gilt als fest verankert. Doch diese Überzeugung beruht auf drei großen Missverständnissen.
www.zeit.de
November 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM
What is really going on in this society that elected Donald Trump president a second time?
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
Reposted by Dov Ber
i want to repeat this: mamdani and spanberger have run similar campaigns tailored to their respective electorates and it is maddening to watch political journalists attempt to create some broad contrast where none exist
the other thing about this is that there is no reason to pit these candidates against each other? each are good fits for their respective electorates and each shows the value of vigorous campaigns focused on the stated material problems of voters.
November 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
i want to repeat this: mamdani and spanberger have run similar campaigns tailored to their respective electorates and it is maddening to watch political journalists attempt to create some broad contrast where none exist
"[Ezra Klein seems to Henry] RECOGNIZABLY right...The fundamental message of Ezra’s piece is not that the Democratic party needs to become a moderate party. It is that it needs to become a party that is welcoming to moderates, as to others who don’t completely share its beliefs, if it is to succeed"
On how Ezra Klein's piece yesterday is emphatically different from popularism www.programmablemutter.com/p/liberalism...
Liberalism transforms plurality from weakness to strength
At least it does when it works right ...
www.programmablemutter.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:17 AM
"[Ezra Klein seems to Henry] RECOGNIZABLY right...The fundamental message of Ezra’s piece is not that the Democratic party needs to become a moderate party. It is that it needs to become a party that is welcoming to moderates, as to others who don’t completely share its beliefs, if it is to succeed"
Reposted by Dov Ber
November 4, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Dov Ber
so @matteowong.bsky.social & I wrote on data centers: arguably the most important buildings in the world & are, in a way, holding the economy hostage. Byzantine financial instruments, private equity, depreciating tech, hype, $trillion valuations. it’s all there. an ai crash prob starts here.
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens
The U.S. is becoming an Nvidia-state.
www.theatlantic.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:25 PM
so @matteowong.bsky.social & I wrote on data centers: arguably the most important buildings in the world & are, in a way, holding the economy hostage. Byzantine financial instruments, private equity, depreciating tech, hype, $trillion valuations. it’s all there. an ai crash prob starts here.
Interest rates? Ha! Unlimited loans to friends or self AND 'Trump could designate [opponents as] “domestic terrorist threat” &direct Fed to cut off any bank that does business with them..unable to pay employees, manage endowment, or receive funding..get a mortgage from a bank, or pay their bills.'
Most Fed experts “have never contemplated what could happen if an institution with so much unchecked power came under the control of one man,” Rogé Karma writes. “Perhaps it’s time to start imagining.”
Taking Over the Fed Could Give Trump Unimaginable Power
If Donald Trump takes over the central bank, he will have extraordinary power to reward his friends and destroy his enemies.
bit.ly
September 22, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Interest rates? Ha! Unlimited loans to friends or self AND 'Trump could designate [opponents as] “domestic terrorist threat” &direct Fed to cut off any bank that does business with them..unable to pay employees, manage endowment, or receive funding..get a mortgage from a bank, or pay their bills.'
Reposted by Dov Ber
Reporters, I beg you, please stop using headlines with the form “Trump does X” when X is something the president clearly lacks any legal authority to do.
NEW: Donald Trump to rename the Department of Defense the “Department of War”
“Restoring the name Dept of War will sharpen the focus of the Dept on our national interest and signal to adversaries America’s readiness to wage war to defend its interests.”
“Restoring the name Dept of War will sharpen the focus of the Dept on our national interest and signal to adversaries America’s readiness to wage war to defend its interests.”
September 4, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reporters, I beg you, please stop using headlines with the form “Trump does X” when X is something the president clearly lacks any legal authority to do.
Reposted by Dov Ber
Prominent far-right influencers have been attempting to rehabilitate Hitler's reputation. That's not an exaggeration; it's easily documented. I wrote about why they are doing this, what they hope to gain, and what it means for America.
The MAGA Influencers Rehabilitating Hitler
A growing constituency on the right wants America to unlearn the lessons of World War II.
www.theatlantic.com
September 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Prominent far-right influencers have been attempting to rehabilitate Hitler's reputation. That's not an exaggeration; it's easily documented. I wrote about why they are doing this, what they hope to gain, and what it means for America.
Reposted by Dov Ber
Early reports of a school shooting this morning at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis (I was baptized at the church there). As always: it's the guns. The US is the only country in the world that politically tolerates and legally ensures the routine mass slaughter of its own citizens.
It's the Guns.
America is the only rich democracy that features the routine mass slaughter of its citizens with guns. Why does this happen? The data show a really clear picture: It's the guns. Yes, it's that simple.
www.forkingpaths.co
August 27, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Early reports of a school shooting this morning at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis (I was baptized at the church there). As always: it's the guns. The US is the only country in the world that politically tolerates and legally ensures the routine mass slaughter of its own citizens.
Reposted by Dov Ber
"many ... wrongly believe there would be one clear unambiguous moment where we go from 'democracy' to 'authoritarianism.' Instead, this is exactly how it happens — a blurring here, a norm destroyed there, a presidential diktat unchallenged. Then you wake up one morning and our country is different."
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
August 25, 2025 at 4:36 PM
"many ... wrongly believe there would be one clear unambiguous moment where we go from 'democracy' to 'authoritarianism.' Instead, this is exactly how it happens — a blurring here, a norm destroyed there, a presidential diktat unchallenged. Then you wake up one morning and our country is different."
Reposted by Dov Ber
There’s no longer any pretense this has anything to do with crime (there are cities or parts of cities in SC and Ohio that have higher crime rates than DC — send the troops there!). This is about establishing a precedent for Trump seizing control of the nation’s capital when he wants to.
WASHINGTON (AP) — South Carolina, Ohio also sending National Guard troops to DC in further escalation of federal intervention in Dem city.
August 17, 2025 at 1:15 AM
There’s no longer any pretense this has anything to do with crime (there are cities or parts of cities in SC and Ohio that have higher crime rates than DC — send the troops there!). This is about establishing a precedent for Trump seizing control of the nation’s capital when he wants to.
Reposted by Dov Ber
"For all its sins, however, the Afrikaaner government was never accused of fomenting a genocide. Israel’s government now risks being lumped together with Rwanda’s Hutu regime, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, Mao’s China and, yes, Nazi Germany." @dandrezner.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Opinion | Americans Are Changing Their Views of Israel. That’s a Problem.
Eventually Israel could find it has a lot in common with apartheid-era South Africa.
www.politico.com
August 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
"For all its sins, however, the Afrikaaner government was never accused of fomenting a genocide. Israel’s government now risks being lumped together with Rwanda’s Hutu regime, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, Mao’s China and, yes, Nazi Germany." @dandrezner.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Dov Ber
So assuming this story is correct -- and the WSJ reporter is excellent -- Trump's chief negotiator on Ukraine is meeting with Putin about how to end the war while also scouting sites for a possible Trump hotel in Moscow.
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
August 12, 2025 at 7:02 PM
So assuming this story is correct -- and the WSJ reporter is excellent -- Trump's chief negotiator on Ukraine is meeting with Putin about how to end the war while also scouting sites for a possible Trump hotel in Moscow.
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
www.wsj.com/world/russia...