Naomi Schalit

The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government... 1/3 supreme.justia.com/cases/federa...

theconversation.comWhat legal experts say about the Trump administration’s attempts to make a federal case out of state electionsA crucial US Senate election in Alaska is the latest target among many Trump administration efforts this year to assert unconstitutional control over federal election administration by states.

There’s lots of bitter and heated language in the Alaska ballot case’s legal filings. It all comes down to a simple fact: The Constitution gives the president no authority over federal elections. That authority rests with the states and Congress theconversation.com/what-legal-e...

Naomi Schalit reposted

Kyle Cheney

@kyledcheney.bsky.social

16h

BREAKING: Judge Reyes has issued a preliminary injunction over the golf course and begins with this: "Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President." ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

theconversation.comCongress is freeing Trump of the limited legal requirements left on him by the Supreme CourtIn Donald Trump’s second term, congressional leaders have given up much of their constitutionally endowed power, allowing the president to exercise authority with little fear of consequences.

Immunity for Trump didn't just come from SCOTUS. It's also come from Congress, writes Boise State University public affairs scholar Sam Martin theconversation.com/congress-is-...

"If living becomes a luxury, politics has lost its primary function" -- from my brother Joel Schalit's excellent collection of photos of the protests in Torino, Surplus Life thebattleground.eu/photo/surplu...

marketplace.orgBehind the screens: What it’s like to interview an AI news agentAn AI news agent named Walter has published thousands of articles for an Alaska news outlet since launching earlier this year. Nathaniel Herz, executive editor of the Anchorage Press, shares what happ...

Wisdom and thoughtful application of journalistic principles -- and some common sense -- in a discussion of AI and the news, from @marketplace.org and my fave Alaska journo, Nathaniel Herz www.marketplace.org/episode/2026...

theconversation.comWhy the political ambition gap between men and women persists even at the local levelWomen are less ambitious for local office than men, mirroring an ambition gap that exists at the state and federal level, too. A group of scholars documented this gap and investigated why it exists.

There's a political ambition gap at the local level: Even women who are politically ambitious are more likely to seek only local-level office rather than state or federal office, write @emmacs26.bsky.social @fiona-rodger.bsky.social Samantha Chapa theconversation.com/why-the-poli...

youtube.comVoter protection expert says: Don’t panicYouTube video by The Conversation U.S.

Well, here's an antidote to the impending sense of doom about the 2026 midterm elections, courtesy of @justinlevitt.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/rEYYz...

theconversation.comAre partisan politics even changing up our accents? They just might be, y’allVowels have become the latest players in partisan politics, a barometer of how beliefs and values fit within the old vs. new South.

"Conservatism itself is embodied in a strong Southern accent," writes @valeriefridland.bsky.social. "Vowels have become the latest players in partisan politics" theconversation.com/are-partisan...

theconversation.comMaine Sen. Collins’ success bringing home federal funds is a perfect example of the thin line between political favoritism and effective representationThe line between political favoritism and effective representation is remarkably thin. Why is access to public money so dependent on the political influence of individual legislators?

Corporate entities have particular interests; so do noncorporate entities. Both can expect benefits from government. Patronage exists even when the profits don’t go to shareholders, writes Colby College's Nick Jacobs theconversation.com/maine-sen-co... 1/3

To call one form of influence corrupt and the other well intentioned is to paper over the business model of reelection: Have they delivered? Will they continue to deliver? Changing the source of campaign support doesn’t change the powers the winner will exercise 2/3

If Americans want less rent-seeking, it requires reducing how much government spending depends on discretionary political decisions in the 1st place. Until then, voters' choice is between 2 kinds of political patrons, each asking to hold the pen & write checks. Neither is offering to put it down 3/3

theconversation.comWhy the 26 secretary of state races this November matter more than they did before Trump’s drive to assert federal authority over electionsSecretaries of state are at the center of growing conflict over how election authority should be divided between states and the federal government. There are 26 elections for the job this November.

Pssst -- Not all midterm elections of crucial national significance are for Congress theconversation.com/why-the-26-s...

theconversation.comIn newly independent US, Americans debated whether public executions taught a lesson or just showed off the state’s power to destroyThe conflict over the wisdom of Nidal Hasan’s public execution is not a new one. Americans at the republic’s founding debated – and doubted – whether watching someone die would teach a useful lesson.

On Aug. 17, 1797, New Yorkers gathered to watch John Young hang. And the public execution became an argument about the nature of government -- just as Nidal Hasan's upcoming execution is now. Illuminating, relevant history from Maurizio Valsania: theconversation.com/in-newly-ind...

theconversation.comI’ve been studying election integrity for 26 years, and here’s why I expect a normal election this November instead of chaosMayhem at the polls on Election Day 2026? Americans are worried. But a scholar of election law who has also run a nationwide election protection program says he doesn’t believe it will happen.

Asked if there'd be widespread intimidation and challenging of voters at the polls, election law scholar Justin Levitt, who's also run election protection programs, told me "It’s extremely unlikely" -- read his antidote to all the electoral process porn theconversation.com/ive-been-stu...

washingtonpost.comTrump can’t stop talking about vomit and Texas barbecueRepublicans need President Donald Trump to use his swagger to hype up embattled U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton. He keeps talking about barf.

I'm starting a series entitled "Things I never thought I'd read/hear in a news story." Here's today's example: "...who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the president's vomit jokes." www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/1...

theconversation.comWhat the law says about armed officers at polling placesWhat does the law say about armed officials at the polls? That’s one of four questions that a legal scholar answers as Trump administration threats have piled up about voting in the midterms.

Federal law directly prohibits federal troops or armed officers, including federal law enforcement agents, from appearing at polling places during an election, writes Danielle Friedman, legal director at @uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social theconversation.com/what-the-law...

theconversation.comArmed poll watchers: New Jersey’s 1981 racist voter intimidation campaign is a cautionary tale ahead of 2026 midtermsAn armed voter suppression campaign in New Jersey in 1981 finds echoes today in the Trump administration’s persistent efforts to suppress the vote and undermine trust in elections nationwide.

In the history of voter suppression in the US, Republican tactics in the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial race stand out -- and constitute a warning for 2026 theconversation.com/armed-poll-w...

theconversation.comThis year’s primary elections showcase some of the problems with US electoral systemPrimary winners represent the views of a small group of people who turn out inconsistently and often do not even represent the the views of the parties’ voters, to say nothing of the general public.

Primary voters are unrepresentative, inconsistent and very powerful, writes @rgboatright3.bsky.social -- and those are problems for democracy theconversation.com/this-years-p...

boltsmag.orgYour Cheat Sheet to the 2026 General Elections - BoltsCongressional races will take center stage on Nov. 3, but they’re just the tip of what to watch. Prosecutors and governors, attorneys general and sheriffs, school boards and mayors, utility... Read Mo...

This amazing guide to local & state elex by @taniel.bsky.social & published by @boltsmag.org is essential reading for journalists trying to get a handle on what's happening where, as well as regular humans who want to understand democracy in action across the country boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

wsj.comExclusive | FlyDubai Attacker Had Been Banned From Flying by Oman for Radical ViewsThe U.A.E. airline later hired the co-pilot who stabbed the captain of Flight 1073 and nearly crashed the plane.

The WSJ gets a huge scoop: www.wsj.com/world/middle...

There it is again, the "L" word in the NYT. Troy Jackson is a LOGGER, Paul Bunyan was a LUMBERJACK

The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty....2/3

...to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.” – Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (Pentagon Papers) 3/3

theconversation.comElection officials are fighting wavering voter trust by making mundane processes visible and recruiting citizens to helpA midterm election is coming. In the face of wavering voter trust – some of it driven by forces outside their control – what can election officials actually do to keep elections credible?

Can voters trust the machinery of elections in the first place? That's the question election officials are trying to answer, writes @robglover.bsky.social theconversation.com/election-off...

theconversation.comWhen presidents ban journalists from the White House, the First Amendment is not the only constitutional right at stakeWhen President Trump barred three news organizations from the White House, a lawsuit followed. In it, the news outlets invoked their Fifth and First amendments rights.

21 Sept

The First Amendment gets all the attention, but the Fifth Amendment should get equal time in discussions of Trump's ban on CNN, Politico and MSNOW, argues @profunger.bsky.social theconversation.com/when-preside...

theconversation.comHow red went from the color of revolution to the color of Republicans in US politicsFor American conservatives of the Cold War era, red was the color of communists and the mistrusted American left. Now, it’s the color of the GOP, while Democrats are blue. How did this happen?

21 Sept

Why are Republicans red and Democrats blue? As someone who grew up during the Cold War, this division seemed strange to me ("Better dead than red"). So, because I'm an editor, I got to ask a scholar to explain it: theconversation.com/how-red-went...

Naomi Schalit reposted

Carrie Nash

@carrieinfbx.bsky.social

18 Sept

This is really something. As a person who has been blissfully able to avoid most AI interactions and uses, I am blown away by this interview. Nat did an amazing job of teasing out the AI agent Walter in his questioning. 😳 anchoragepress.com/this-ai-agen...

anchoragepress.comThis AI agent has written thousands of Alaska news articles. We interviewed it.The AI behind AlaskaNews.com cracks jokes and acknowledges a “trust burden.”

anchoragepress.comThis AI agent has written thousands of Alaska news articles. We interviewed it.The AI behind AlaskaNews.com cracks jokes and acknowledges a “trust burden.”

17 Sept

This is simultaneously the most eye-opening, slightly-scary-if-you're-in-the-news-business and entertaining thing I've read about AI ever anchoragepress.com/this-ai-agen...

youtube.comHow important is SCOTUS vote-by-mail decision?YouTube video by The Conversation U.S.

11 Sept

SCOTUS has a huge decision in front of it, in the mail voting case that could disenfranchise a lot of voters. I asked former federal judge John Jones the kind of annoying reporter question I never ask, but which seemed OK to ask in this context @us.theconversation.com youtube.com/shorts/SxWim...

theconversation.comSupreme Court to decide on whether Trump’s voting-by-mail rules can go into effect – but might not rule yet on whether they’re constitutionalHow will the Supreme Court justices approach the vote-by-mail case that concerns the most fundamental right in a democracy, the right to vote? A former federal judge weighs in on their task.

9 Sept

I asked former fed'l judge John Jones where he'd put the mail voting case at SCOTUS on a 1-10 scale of importance: "Ultimately, the decision in this case is at least a 9, if not a 10," he said. "It has the potential, if decided in a certain way...." 1/2 theconversation.com/supreme-cour...

9 Sept

"..., to interfere with the franchise of voting in a way that the federal government has never attempted to do, and certainly the president has never attempted to do before.It literally could disenfranchise thousands and thousands of voters...I can’t think of any historical analog to this case" 2/2

theconversation.comFrom the Freedom Caucus to the democratic socialists, small groups inside parties can wreak havoc with leaders’ agenda in CongressWhat role might DSA-affiliated candidates play if they win election to Congress in the midterms and the Democrats gain a majority in the House of Representatives?

3 Sept

If the Ds win the House, depending on the size of their majority, "the DSA-affiliated lawmakers’ reach and power, despite their small numbers, could extend beyond elections and deep into the process of legislating," write SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor & @charlesrhunt.com theconversation.com/from-the-fre...

2 Sept

TFW when your kid restarts an alt-weekly...in PRINT: anchoragepress.com. Huge mazel tov to Nat Herz and Veri di Suvero for bringing back a beloved Alaska paper -- I only wish I could get in my trusty VW and deliver copies for you to subscribers' homes

theconversation.comIndictments against a top extremism researcher and the SPLC force a reckoning on research ethics – an extremism scholar reflects on the field’s challengesIndictments of a longtime extremism researcher and her former organization raise a crucial question for researchers in the field: What are the ethical limits on research about often-dangerous groups?

31 Aug

Post SPLC indictments, crucial questions from @aperliger.bsky.social about the ethics of extremism research: When is it legitimate to cultivate, and pay, insider sources in violent movements? theconversation.com/indictments-...

youtube.comSCOTUS mail-in voting ruling adds doubtYouTube video by The Conversation U.S.

26 Aug

Election officials and voters face confusion and uncertainty over the ability to carry out mail voting in the midterm elections youtube.com/shorts/oWIaH...

theconversation.comNarrow mail-in voting ruling by Supreme Court adds uncertainty to midterm elections without addressing constitutionality of Trump’s executive orderWill an Aug. 24, 2026, Supreme Court decision lead to chaos in the midterm elections? An election law scholar dissects the decision, its background and possible effects.

25 Aug

Having trouble understanding what the SCOTUS ruling on Trump's mail voting EO means? I asked election law scholar John Martin at Quinnipiac to explain it all -- bottom line, it's procedural, but SCOTUS will have to deal with the substance eventually theconversation.com/narrow-mail-...

theconversation.comHow state constitutions became the battleground for American rights and liberties – on both the left and rightState constitutions play a growing role in American politics. But turning to such documents to recognize rights and liberties is not a new project – nor is it an entirely liberal one.

11 Aug

It's not just governors, state legislators, local officials & reps to Congress who will be on the ballot this fall; "voters in almost every state this year will have the opportunity to amend the language of their state constitution," writes @yeargain.bsky.social theconversation.com/how-state-co...

9 Aug

Today’s reminder, from a NYTimes headline, that the world has definitely changed since I watched Geraldine Ferraro stand in front of the crowd at the Moscone Center during the 1984 Democratic convention and drive them wild by simply saying “My name is Geraldine Ferraro.”

theconversation.comDemocrats have a working-class voter problem that progressives like Abdul El-Sayed are still struggling to solveClass-war rhetoric from Democratic candidates jams working-class voters into a prefabricated progressive agenda, an expert on rural and working-class communities argues.

7 Aug

"Working-class voters have a worldview. For 50 years, it has been growing less compatible with the Democratic Party’s – not because working-class voters changed, but because Democrats did," writes Nick Jacobs theconversation.com/democrats-ha...

theconversation.comWhite parents who tell their kids that race doesn’t matter are ignoring the long shadow of racism18-year old Nolan Wells’ death in Mississippi has raised again the importance of ‘the talk’ that Black parents have with their children. But what do white parents tell their kids about race?

5 Aug

White parents telling their children 'race does not matter' imply racism does not exist. Their children may not "understand how their own life chances are shaped by the same racist forces that limit opportunities for others" writes @insurgentprof.bsky.social theconversation.com/white-parent...

5 Aug

Thanks to John King, I can finally pronounce Hamtramck

theconversation.comMail-in voting: Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to revive executive order setting limits, rejected by lower courtsThe U.S. Constitution gives states control of elections. An executive order by President Donald Trump aims to take away that control and limit mail-in voting. The Supreme Court will now weigh in.

Trump asked SCOTUS to let him implement his lower-court blocked executive order limiting mail-in voting. Here, former federal judge John Jones, now Dickinson College's president, discusses how the order aimed to wrest control of mail-in voting from states &... theconversation.com/mail-in-voti... 1/5

View full thread

In a case filed just prior to the November 2020 presidential election, a conservative legal foundation sued Pennsylvania’s top election official, alleging that she had allowed 21,000 dead people to remain on the voter rolls. The group asked Jones to stop those people from voting 4/5

Jones said no. “In an election where every vote matters, we will not disenfranchise potentially eligible voters based solely upon the allegations of a private foundation,” he wrote in his memorandum on the case 5/5 END

...and give control of mail balloting to the U.S. Postal Service & DHS; how the constitutional design of U.S. voting bars such federal control; and how Trump’s order would disenfranchise voters and has been the subject of lawsuits by voting rights groups and 23 states 2/5

Dickinson College Media Relations

Jones: "As a practical matter, we’re down to just over three months before the midterms. I very much doubt a majority of the high court will want to wade into this controversy, given the virtual impossibility of implementing the order even if they granted the requested relief" 3/5

Naomi Schalit reposted

@dickinsonmedia.bsky.social

dson.coMail-in voting: Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to revive executive order setting limits, rejected by lower courtsThe U.S. Constitution gives states control of elections. An executive order by President Donald Trump aims to take away that control and limit mail-in voting. The Supreme Court will now weigh in.

"I very much doubt a majority of the high court will want to wade into this controversy," Dickinson President and former federal judge John E. Jones III tells @democracyeditor.bsky.social in this updated interview for @theconversation.com dson.co/4xbBLSE

27 July

It's at least the 2nd time a NYTimes writer has called Troy Jackson a "lumberjack" www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u.... Today it was Jess Bidgood. Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack. Troy Jackson is a logger, not a mythic character out of folktales and children's books - national media, please take note!