"Journalists who frame what's happening in Washington as Republicans vs. Democrats instead of fascism vs. democracy are missing the most important story of their lives."

The institutions we've trusted to defend democratic norms are failing us—not because they're being violently overthrown, but because they're voluntarily surrendering their independence in the name of civility, access, and institutional preservation. They're choosing the appearance of normality over the reality of resistance, prioritizing their short-term institutional comfort over their long-term democratic purpose.

Meidas+

Looking for one (almost) daily summary with broad coverage?

The "Today in Politics" bulletin from Ron Filipkowski is hard to beat

Mike Brock / Notes from the Circus

https://bsky.app/profile/brockm.bsky.social

Articles of note
https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/two-plus-two-equals-four
https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/a-coup-is-in-progress-in-america
https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/the-plot-against-america
https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/you-are-living-through-a-great-power

Tech Dirt

"When the very institutions that made American innovation possible are being systematically dismantled, it’s not a “political” story anymore. It’s a story about whether the environment that enabled all the other stories we cover will continue to exist."
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
https://bsky.app/profile/mmasnick.bsky.social

The Bulwark

https://www.thebulwark.com/

Wired

https://www.wired.com/category/politics/

How We’re Keeping Tabs on DOGE (covers 2024 to Feb 13, 2025)

Rolling Stone

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/

The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/

The Contrarian

https://contrarian.substack.com/

Public Notice

https://www.publicnotice.co/archive
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com

Paul Krugman

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/archive

Timothy Snyder

https://snyder.substack.com/archive

Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow

Notes on the Crises

https://www.crisesnotes.com/

Robert Reich

Robert Reich | Substack

Democracy Docket

Sign up for the email newsletters, support financially if you are able

https://www.democracydocket.com/

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/
https://bsky.app/profile/marcelias.bsky.social

Just Security

Collection: Just Security’s Coverage of Trump Administration Executive Actions

Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions

Timeline: Politicization and Weaponization of Justice...

Musk Watch

https://www.muskwatch.com/archive

bluesky

Bluesky recommendation: Read one person's posts at a time.
It helps to stay in one person's voice (and area of interest) rather than bouncing around.

https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social

ProPublica

Investigative Journalism and News in the Public Interest

Hall of shame

If Trump and Elon are not blocking your news sites, you are doing it wrong

Social Security Workers Aren’t Allowed to Read This Story

• Employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) were informed on Thursday morning that new rules forbid them from accessing “general news” websites, including those that have been at the forefront of the reporting on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.

• However, the sources were able to access other news websites including Politico and Axios.