Independent writer and researcher, blogging on politics, history, and the law at The Dissonance on Substack. https://thedissonance.substack.com By the way, I don't know what to make of my profile pic either. Self portrait from 45 yrs ago.https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lonjzuqeus2dIf you feel like campaign finance reformers are swimming upstream against a strong ideological current and a constitutional order architected to foil reform, you are not wrong. The Dissonance begins to dig into the founding principles of our constitutional order. https://open.substack.com/pub/thedissonance/p/interpreting-the-constitution-a-question?r=2klzl4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false08 May 2025 08:54 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lonjzuqeus2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lolxgbw6rc2bLatest post. The Dissonance is about to delve into the origin story of our constitutional order--a history prone to biased interpretations. So first, a sort of disrobing: my own political bias. https://open.substack.com/pub/thedissonance/p/interpreting-the-constitution-a-question?r=2klzl4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web07 May 2025 17:48 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lolxgbw6rc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lnceyr7rq22lWe campaign-finance reformers should revisit the progressive critique of the Constitution from the early 1900s. If they were correct, it might help explain why it has been so hard to "get money out of politics." https://thedissonance.substack.com/p/have-we-campaign-finance-reformers?r=2klzl421 Apr 2025 04:59 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnceyr7rq22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3ln5gnnscqk2pGee, maybe Columbia U can take a page from trumps playbook and claim they made a mistake when they capitulated to him in a most craven fashion. Try to walk on two feet again, Columbia! Join the ranks of the bipeds! https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/business/trump-harvard-letter-mistake.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare19 Apr 2025 05:46 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3ln5gnnscqk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmxxc3ln6s2d“Rural counties rallied behind Trump in 2024, giving him a majority in all but 11 of the 444 farming-dependent counties last year, averaging 78% support...” Explain to me, *please*, why I should support bailing them out this time. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/15/farmers-trump-tariffs-bailout-extreme-weather?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other17 Apr 2025 01:28 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxxc3ln6s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmxjfz5mvs2mImagine a Democratic Party that would help build and coordinate an alliance of institutions under attack by trump: Law firms, universities, media/press, corporations, state governments. Why can’t we have *that* Democratic Party?16 Apr 2025 21:19 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxjfz5mvs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmhyvknmus2tFile under “painfully obvious”10 Apr 2025 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmhyvknmus2thttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmge4y6k2c2wCollectively, the US big law firms have enough legal horse power to stop the earth from spinning and cause it to fall into the sun. They damn well can stand up to trump. I hope to hell that Susman stays in the fight. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/trump-executive-order-fox-news-law-firm?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other10 Apr 2025 01:29 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmge4y6k2c2whttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmgd64yi7k2wthis ALEC-led effort to jack up penalties for peaceful climate-change protest brings to mind JFK: “those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable”. At some point, the worm is going to turn. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/anti-protest-bills-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other10 Apr 2025 01:12 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmgd64yi7k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmfygtmfts2fThis fellow, who has a notably small and fuzzy head, displays more native intelligence than Trump and all his cabinet combined.09 Apr 2025 22:00 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmfygtmfts2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmcqnqk4yk2eSome new law firms to announce: Paul Weiss & Quisling Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, Flom & Quisling Willkie Farr Gallagher & Quisling Milbank & Quisling Of course, their corporate clients who did not stand up for them, and their competitors who licked their chops, are also complicit.08 Apr 2025 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmcqnqk4yk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lmajelhgds25Dear flood victim, you are a victim of climate change. Your kids’ lives will be 100 times harder. You can thank powerful fossil fuel companies and their political stooges. We can help. But help us. It begins with your vote. Love, America https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/07/us-storms-south-midwest-death-toll?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other07 Apr 2025 17:47 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmajelhgds25https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llztkrh4uc2uDear soon-to-be flood victim, Here comes climate change. The real shit. Your wealth—all of it—may be wiped out. Thank powerful fossil fuel companies and their political stooges. We can help. But help us. It begins with your vote. Love, America https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/emergency-declaration-kentucky-flooding-weather?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other05 Apr 2025 02:01 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llztkrh4uc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llzrv5cpo22uTrump won America’s 444 most farming-dependent counties by 77% on average. Trump was clear about wanting a trade war. How are we supposed to feel about all of this complaining from farmers now? If there’s a farmer reading this, help me understand wtf. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/business/china-tariffs-american-farmers.html?smid=url-share05 Apr 2025 01:31 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llzrv5cpo22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llwn3bskt224Dear property owners living in the path of these so-called kitty-cats. Your property—your personal wealth—is being blown, washed, or burnt away because of climate change. We can address this. But it has to start with you and your vote. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/storms-tornadoes-south-midwest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other03 Apr 2025 19:27 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llwn3bskt224https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llw5gkzzds24climate change is making an increasing amount of property uninsurable. Uninsurable property can’t be used as collateral. Result: property disappears from credit markets. Small property owners see their personal wealth vaporized. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other03 Apr 2025 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llw5gkzzds24https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lltnqajnbs2nMy response in three words: Confiscatory Wealth Taxes https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/billionaires-record-spending-2024-election?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other02 Apr 2025 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lltnqajnbs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llsmdalrhc2pBarbara Jordon. She really towered above the rest of them. Love the part beginning at 11:40: “a president is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the Constitution”. Quoting Madison, but doubt he said it this well. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UG6xMglSMdk&pp=ygUfYmFyYmFyYSBqb3JkYW4gd2F0ZXJnYXRlIHNwZWVjaA%3D%3D02 Apr 2025 05:03 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llsmdalrhc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lljqbyv4dk2eThey say “terrorism,” we say, “not guilty” https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/27/tesla-bombing-suspect-las-vegas?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other29 Mar 2025 16:20 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lljqbyv4dk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lliogx7cjc2zSpeaking as an alum, if Columbia doesn’t get up off its knees, I don’t see how I’m going to be able to respect it ever again. Right now, what they’re teaching is something I don’t want taught: Cowardice, subservience, and how to live with no moral purpose. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/us/columbia-universitys-president-resigns.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare29 Mar 2025 06:14 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lliogx7cjc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llimg74eas2zLaw firms that cave to trump must take their place on the shameful list of collaborators. Paul Weiss Skadden Arps I wouldn’t hire you to contest a parking ticket. No self-respecting lawyer should want their name associated with yours. Ever.29 Mar 2025 05:38 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llimg74eas2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llilryfvls2zDear Denmark: I apologize for the slanderous comments made by the assclown Vance in Greenland. There are still sane people in the US who are grateful and proud to consider you an ally.29 Mar 2025 05:27 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llilryfvls2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llg7crecx223Sounds like a rational, intelligent, measured leader. Can I have one of those, please? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/us-allies-worldwide-decry-trump-car-tariffs-and-threaten-retaliation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other28 Mar 2025 06:38 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llg7crecx223https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lldg3w6oqs2aI just published the third post in a short series on the history of political influence buying in the United States. This is an incredibly hard problem to solve, so a correct diagnosis is critical. And understanding the history is a step toward that. https://open.substack.com/pub/thedissonance/p/mating-rituals-of-oligarchs-and-politicians-a4a?r=2klzl4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web27 Mar 2025 04:01 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lldg3w6oqs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3llc2bofrlc2sWe need a citizens’ war room with one task: any time there is a climate-change related disaster, blanket social media with one message: this is the fault of fossil fuel companies and their political lackeys. And they should pay for the damage caused. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/26/wildfires-north-south-carolina-helene?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other26 Mar 2025 14:57 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3llc2bofrlc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lkqon2fjb22eThe Senate Dems' vote for the CR will come to be seen as a critical moment in the developing constitutional crisis: the opposition party's endorsement of Congress's abdication of institutional prerogatives in the face of an overreaching executive. Astounding.19 Mar 2025 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkqon2fjb22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lkmdhyvxi225If the theme of trumps 1st term was the dismantling of the traditional Republican Party, the theme this time around may be the dismantling of the traditional Democratic Party. In both cases, the worst wounds will have been self-inflicted by leaders with no core. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/16/trump-high-dems-low-new-poll17 Mar 2025 23:43 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkmdhyvxi225https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lklzkb5ihk25bill kristol: “Chuck Schumer epitomizes out-of-touchness to trump’s authoritarian project” (bulwark podcast at 41:20) I disagree with kristol on a lot, but not on that. Schumer is not made for this moment. He’s holding us in place till the truck runs us over https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cCpP4XX6GLTGn9NP6Nk2q?si=75nGMaZWRX2LH9UjTjoP7A&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A0BDNfTFMPd7o5rhqmUAFz117 Mar 2025 20:46 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lklzkb5ihk25https://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lklwlapbgc2mThe obvious political case: fossil fuel companies, by buying political power, have staved off energy reform for the sake of their own profits, and that millions of small property owners will now bear the cost. Let me know if the Dem Party says “boo” about this. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/17/storm-tornado-southern-states?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other17 Mar 2025 19:52 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lklwlapbgc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedissonance.bsky.social/post/3lkk52u4qh22eMore reminders that democrats could reframe climate change politics as pitting small property owners against fossil fuel interests. Who is going to pay for the destruction being wrought? Currently, the small property owners are in line to be ground under. https://grist.org/extreme-weather/home-insurance-midwest-climate-disasters/17 Mar 2025 02:43 +0000at://did:plc:6c2nu2njkcnlao7lidmve4xl/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkk52u4qh22e