The Statecraft Blueprint
@statecraftblueprnt.bsky.social
Systems engineer → governance architect. 20 years building software systems, including state government work. Government isn't more complicated - just badly designed. Documenting what I'd build instead. We need good design, not strongmen. 🏛️
Government dysfunction is unacceptable. I'm documenting how to fix it.
20 years building software → government isn't more complicated, just badly designed.
Flagship: Governance Design Agency - like the Fed for governance
You don't need a strongman. You need good design.
20 years building software → government isn't more complicated, just badly designed.
Flagship: Governance Design Agency - like the Fed for governance
You don't need a strongman. You need good design.
January 8, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Government dysfunction is unacceptable. I'm documenting how to fix it.
20 years building software → government isn't more complicated, just badly designed.
Flagship: Governance Design Agency - like the Fed for governance
You don't need a strongman. You need good design.
20 years building software → government isn't more complicated, just badly designed.
Flagship: Governance Design Agency - like the Fed for governance
You don't need a strongman. You need good design.
Why do governance architecture solutions barely spread while outrage spreads instantly?
Outrage is System 1: fast, automatic, rewarding.
Structural thinking is System 2: slow, effortful, uncomfortable.
Democracy needs System 2. Biology defaults to System 1.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/building-w...
Outrage is System 1: fast, automatic, rewarding.
Structural thinking is System 2: slow, effortful, uncomfortable.
Democracy needs System 2. Biology defaults to System 1.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/building-w...
Building While Treading Water
P1.6: Democracy's Hardest Problem
statecraftblueprint.org
January 7, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Why do governance architecture solutions barely spread while outrage spreads instantly?
Outrage is System 1: fast, automatic, rewarding.
Structural thinking is System 2: slow, effortful, uncomfortable.
Democracy needs System 2. Biology defaults to System 1.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/building-w...
Outrage is System 1: fast, automatic, rewarding.
Structural thinking is System 2: slow, effortful, uncomfortable.
Democracy needs System 2. Biology defaults to System 1.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/building-w...
Did you know Never Trumper @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and other neoconservatives created the tools Trump is using?
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
The Architecture of Executive Power: How the War on Terror Built the Authoritarian Toolkit
P1.7.2 Between 2001-2008, neoconservatives designed permanent emergency powers. They never imagined who might use them next.
open.substack.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Did you know Never Trumper @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and other neoconservatives created the tools Trump is using?
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Everyone's fighting about WHO has power
Nobody's asking who BUILT the system that concentrates it
Turns out: the "Never Trump" neocons, 2001-2008
AUMF, emergency powers, immunity—all their design
And they won't acknowledge it
Forensic analysis here:
open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Nobody's asking who BUILT the system that concentrates it
Turns out: the "Never Trump" neocons, 2001-2008
AUMF, emergency powers, immunity—all their design
And they won't acknowledge it
Forensic analysis here:
open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
The Architecture of Executive Power: How the War on Terror Built the Authoritarian Toolkit
P1.7.2 Between 2001-2008, neoconservatives designed permanent emergency powers. They never imagined who might use them next.
open.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Everyone's fighting about WHO has power
Nobody's asking who BUILT the system that concentrates it
Turns out: the "Never Trump" neocons, 2001-2008
AUMF, emergency powers, immunity—all their design
And they won't acknowledge it
Forensic analysis here:
open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Nobody's asking who BUILT the system that concentrates it
Turns out: the "Never Trump" neocons, 2001-2008
AUMF, emergency powers, immunity—all their design
And they won't acknowledge it
Forensic analysis here:
open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
Congressional ethics isn’t failing because of individual behavior.
It’s failing because the system is architected to fail.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/players-ma...
It’s failing because the system is architected to fail.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/players-ma...
Players Making the Rules
P1.5: A structural blueprint to replace the congressional honor system
statecraftblueprint.org
December 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Congressional ethics isn’t failing because of individual behavior.
It’s failing because the system is architected to fail.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/players-ma...
It’s failing because the system is architected to fail.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/players-ma...
Why aren't all planes built like the Wright Flyer? Why aren't all trains steam locomotives? Why aren't we all driving Model T Fords? Why aren't you looking at this on your Commodore 64?
December 14, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Why aren't all planes built like the Wright Flyer? Why aren't all trains steam locomotives? Why aren't we all driving Model T Fords? Why aren't you looking at this on your Commodore 64?
We want a functional government.
250 years since we designed this system. Maybe it's time for an update.
This isn't about who's in office. It's about a system that hasn't kept up.
Add the symbol. Share the message. That's how it starts.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/we-want-a-...
250 years since we designed this system. Maybe it's time for an update.
This isn't about who's in office. It's about a system that hasn't kept up.
Add the symbol. Share the message. That's how it starts.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/we-want-a-...
We Want a Functional Government
It’s been 250 years. Time for an update.
statecraftblueprint.org
December 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
We want a functional government.
250 years since we designed this system. Maybe it's time for an update.
This isn't about who's in office. It's about a system that hasn't kept up.
Add the symbol. Share the message. That's how it starts.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/we-want-a-...
250 years since we designed this system. Maybe it's time for an update.
This isn't about who's in office. It's about a system that hasn't kept up.
Add the symbol. Share the message. That's how it starts.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/we-want-a-...
Presidential debates need referees.
Not moderators—referees. Real-time fact-checking, Olympic-style scoring, transparent judges.
I wrote a thought experiment on what this could look like and why lies currently get a three-day head start.
Read: statecraftblueprint.org/p/what-if-de...
Not moderators—referees. Real-time fact-checking, Olympic-style scoring, transparent judges.
I wrote a thought experiment on what this could look like and why lies currently get a three-day head start.
Read: statecraftblueprint.org/p/what-if-de...
What If Debates Had Referees?
P3.2: When lies get a three-day head start—and how Olympic-style scoring could change that
statecraftblueprint.org
December 10, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Presidential debates need referees.
Not moderators—referees. Real-time fact-checking, Olympic-style scoring, transparent judges.
I wrote a thought experiment on what this could look like and why lies currently get a three-day head start.
Read: statecraftblueprint.org/p/what-if-de...
Not moderators—referees. Real-time fact-checking, Olympic-style scoring, transparent judges.
I wrote a thought experiment on what this could look like and why lies currently get a three-day head start.
Read: statecraftblueprint.org/p/what-if-de...
Checking out of civic engagement isn't a personal failing.
It's a rational response to a system that demands too much.
What if democracy could work for normal humans living normal lives?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/democracy-...
It's a rational response to a system that demands too much.
What if democracy could work for normal humans living normal lives?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/democracy-...
Democracy Shouldn't Require Heroic Effort
P0.3: Why Good Systems Don't Require Exceptional Humans
statecraftblueprint.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Checking out of civic engagement isn't a personal failing.
It's a rational response to a system that demands too much.
What if democracy could work for normal humans living normal lives?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/democracy-...
It's a rational response to a system that demands too much.
What if democracy could work for normal humans living normal lives?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/democracy-...
Anger feels like power: energy, clarity, control.
Structural thinking feels like... spreadsheets and decade-long timelines.
This is why the Villain Trap catches everyone. And why cathedral work is so exhausting.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/cathedral-...
Structural thinking feels like... spreadsheets and decade-long timelines.
This is why the Villain Trap catches everyone. And why cathedral work is so exhausting.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/cathedral-...
Cathedral Work in a Marvel World
P0.5: Why Structural Reform Feels So Pointless
statecraftblueprint.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Anger feels like power: energy, clarity, control.
Structural thinking feels like... spreadsheets and decade-long timelines.
This is why the Villain Trap catches everyone. And why cathedral work is so exhausting.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/cathedral-...
Structural thinking feels like... spreadsheets and decade-long timelines.
This is why the Villain Trap catches everyone. And why cathedral work is so exhausting.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/cathedral-...
Write: an essay explaining why American governance is broken.
Realization: if you're already drowning in political despair, you don't need a tour of the wreckage.
Rewrite it: hope first
It's a design problem, not a people problem. Design problems can be fixed.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-bridge...
Realization: if you're already drowning in political despair, you don't need a tour of the wreckage.
Rewrite it: hope first
It's a design problem, not a people problem. Design problems can be fixed.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-bridge...
The Bridge Can Be Fixed (Redux)
What if it's not about the people? What if it's about the design?
statecraftblueprint.org
November 28, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Write: an essay explaining why American governance is broken.
Realization: if you're already drowning in political despair, you don't need a tour of the wreckage.
Rewrite it: hope first
It's a design problem, not a people problem. Design problems can be fixed.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-bridge...
Realization: if you're already drowning in political despair, you don't need a tour of the wreckage.
Rewrite it: hope first
It's a design problem, not a people problem. Design problems can be fixed.
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-bridge...
"The only way to fight back" assumes the fight itself is the solution. But what if the battlefield is the problem? The fight/resist framing keeps everyone locked in the same adversarial structure that produces the dysfunction. What would it look like to stop fighting and start rebuilding?
Just read Armitage's book by the same name, below.
It's quite the read and perhaps the only way we can can truly fight back.
It's quite the read and perhaps the only way we can can truly fight back.
Soft Secession becomes the only hope when the federal government exists to facilitate Republican power grabs. Fascists control all three branches of the federal government and have a blank check to do anything they want to retain power.
November 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"The only way to fight back" assumes the fight itself is the solution. But what if the battlefield is the problem? The fight/resist framing keeps everyone locked in the same adversarial structure that produces the dysfunction. What would it look like to stop fighting and start rebuilding?
1787: 4 million people, horseback communication, agricultural economy
2025: 340 million people, instant global communication, nuclear weapons, AI regulation, pandemic response, space commerce
We're running 21st-century loads on 18th-century infrastructure. You don't need a PhD to see the problem.
2025: 340 million people, instant global communication, nuclear weapons, AI regulation, pandemic response, space commerce
We're running 21st-century loads on 18th-century infrastructure. You don't need a PhD to see the problem.
November 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
1787: 4 million people, horseback communication, agricultural economy
2025: 340 million people, instant global communication, nuclear weapons, AI regulation, pandemic response, space commerce
We're running 21st-century loads on 18th-century infrastructure. You don't need a PhD to see the problem.
2025: 340 million people, instant global communication, nuclear weapons, AI regulation, pandemic response, space commerce
We're running 21st-century loads on 18th-century infrastructure. You don't need a PhD to see the problem.
The founders built a constitutional immune system for a world of town halls, tariffs, and muskets.
It worked shockingly well—for that problem set.
It worked shockingly well—for that problem set.
November 25, 2025 at 12:03 AM
The founders built a constitutional immune system for a world of town halls, tariffs, and muskets.
It worked shockingly well—for that problem set.
It worked shockingly well—for that problem set.
What if our impatience with government is the actual threat to democracy?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-patien...
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-patien...
The Patient Leader
P4.1 Why Stoicism is the Only Viable Political Philosophy
statecraftblueprint.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
What if our impatience with government is the actual threat to democracy?
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-patien...
statecraftblueprint.org/p/the-patien...
Agreed on the failures. But why does every administration - with different people, different analysis - make similar mistakes?
Is it that everyone's bad at governing? Or does the system's incentive structure consistently reward short-term politics over long-term policy quality?
Is it that everyone's bad at governing? Or does the system's incentive structure consistently reward short-term politics over long-term policy quality?
It’s really underrated IMO the extent to which the biggest political failures of incumbent regimes — Bush invading Iraq, Obama under-stimulating the economy, Trump clowning through Covid, Biden allowing border chaos — are downstream of technical policy analysis failures.
November 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Agreed on the failures. But why does every administration - with different people, different analysis - make similar mistakes?
Is it that everyone's bad at governing? Or does the system's incentive structure consistently reward short-term politics over long-term policy quality?
Is it that everyone's bad at governing? Or does the system's incentive structure consistently reward short-term politics over long-term policy quality?
163 years ago today, Lincoln invoked the Declaration's "self-evident truths" at Gettysburg.
The Founders' genius wasn't just their ideals—it was establishing common ground so obvious that productive debate could proceed from there.
We need that same foundation for governance reform.
The Founders' genius wasn't just their ideals—it was establishing common ground so obvious that productive debate could proceed from there.
We need that same foundation for governance reform.
November 19, 2025 at 12:36 PM
163 years ago today, Lincoln invoked the Declaration's "self-evident truths" at Gettysburg.
The Founders' genius wasn't just their ideals—it was establishing common ground so obvious that productive debate could proceed from there.
We need that same foundation for governance reform.
The Founders' genius wasn't just their ideals—it was establishing common ground so obvious that productive debate could proceed from there.
We need that same foundation for governance reform.
We blame “bad actors,” but the loss is baked into the architecture. The system punishes nuance and pays for spectacle. Here’s the pattern—and what to redesign.
thestatecraftblueprint.substack.com/p/why-your-s...
thestatecraftblueprint.substack.com/p/why-your-s...
Why Your Side Keeps Losing (No Matter Which Side You’re On)
P0.1 The Case for Engineering Better Systems
thestatecraftblueprint.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:11 PM
We blame “bad actors,” but the loss is baked into the architecture. The system punishes nuance and pays for spectacle. Here’s the pattern—and what to redesign.
thestatecraftblueprint.substack.com/p/why-your-s...
thestatecraftblueprint.substack.com/p/why-your-s...
I'm writing about structural failures in American governance—the system-level problems that produce gridlock and shutdowns.
What's the dysfunction you see that nobody's talking about? What are you tired of hearing that doesn't actually address the root problem?
Drop your thoughts below. 👇
What's the dysfunction you see that nobody's talking about? What are you tired of hearing that doesn't actually address the root problem?
Drop your thoughts below. 👇
November 15, 2025 at 1:42 AM
I'm writing about structural failures in American governance—the system-level problems that produce gridlock and shutdowns.
What's the dysfunction you see that nobody's talking about? What are you tired of hearing that doesn't actually address the root problem?
Drop your thoughts below. 👇
What's the dysfunction you see that nobody's talking about? What are you tired of hearing that doesn't actually address the root problem?
Drop your thoughts below. 👇
This conversation is why I started The Statecraft Blueprint. Howard's right that we need structural overhaul, not just pruning.
I'm a software engineer applying systems thinking to governance failures. Same diagnosis: the incentive architecture is fundamentally broken.
We need more of this.
I'm a software engineer applying systems thinking to governance failures. Same diagnosis: the incentive architecture is fundamentally broken.
We need more of this.
'Nothing Works Anymore.' So How Do We Fix It? | Edwin Eisendrath & Philip K. Howard
open.substack.com/pub/lincolns...
open.substack.com/pub/lincolns...
'Nothing Works Anymore.' So How Do We Fix It? | Edwin Eisendrath & Philip K. Howard
Everyone is frustrated with the government these days.
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:03 PM
This conversation is why I started The Statecraft Blueprint. Howard's right that we need structural overhaul, not just pruning.
I'm a software engineer applying systems thinking to governance failures. Same diagnosis: the incentive architecture is fundamentally broken.
We need more of this.
I'm a software engineer applying systems thinking to governance failures. Same diagnosis: the incentive architecture is fundamentally broken.
We need more of this.
Replace every person in Congress and you'd get the same results. Why? The STRUCTURE creates this behavior.
Public voting records = lobbyist reprisal tool
Under-resourced staff = info dependency
Revolving door = corrupted incentives
Not thieves - trapped people statecraftblueprint.org/p/legislativ...
Public voting records = lobbyist reprisal tool
Under-resourced staff = info dependency
Revolving door = corrupted incentives
Not thieves - trapped people statecraftblueprint.org/p/legislativ...
November 12, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Replace every person in Congress and you'd get the same results. Why? The STRUCTURE creates this behavior.
Public voting records = lobbyist reprisal tool
Under-resourced staff = info dependency
Revolving door = corrupted incentives
Not thieves - trapped people statecraftblueprint.org/p/legislativ...
Public voting records = lobbyist reprisal tool
Under-resourced staff = info dependency
Revolving door = corrupted incentives
Not thieves - trapped people statecraftblueprint.org/p/legislativ...
GRPs can't be amended - only accepted/rejected wholesale. This eliminates legislative deliberation. You lose the 'refine and improve' function of normal lawmaking. All-or-nothing governance. substack.com/@thestatecra...
Really interesting: capitolweekly.net/basics-of-a-...
Basics of a governor’s reorganization plan - Capitol Weekly
With Governor Gavin Newsom proposing two new state agencies (both a new Consumer Protection Agency and a Housing and Homelessness Agency) to be created as part of the 2025-26 budget, I thought it woul...
capitolweekly.net
November 12, 2025 at 7:52 PM
GRPs can't be amended - only accepted/rejected wholesale. This eliminates legislative deliberation. You lose the 'refine and improve' function of normal lawmaking. All-or-nothing governance. substack.com/@thestatecra...
Good instinct. You've spotted something most don't question: Why can we only hold representatives accountable every 2-6 years?
20 states have recall mechanisms. Parliamentary systems have confidence votes.
Between "wait" and "impeachment" we have nothing.
The system we have is a choice.
20 states have recall mechanisms. Parliamentary systems have confidence votes.
Between "wait" and "impeachment" we have nothing.
The system we have is a choice.
My political hot take is that US voters should be able to recall elected representatives via petition - at any time.
No more hiding behind election terms.
No more hiding behind election terms.
November 12, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Good instinct. You've spotted something most don't question: Why can we only hold representatives accountable every 2-6 years?
20 states have recall mechanisms. Parliamentary systems have confidence votes.
Between "wait" and "impeachment" we have nothing.
The system we have is a choice.
20 states have recall mechanisms. Parliamentary systems have confidence votes.
Between "wait" and "impeachment" we have nothing.
The system we have is a choice.