VA gov Abigail Spanberger ended 76 yrs of subsidies to Confederate orgs, signing HB167, ending tax-exemption foe 6 Confederate-linked grps. The exemptions date not to Civil War but 1950 “massive resistance”. They were a policy choice to prop up supremacy.

Leadership matters.

#confederacy #racism

“Friendly Fire”
4/3/2026

New Pentagon policy allows personal firearms on US military bases.

One day before, Pentagon reports 471 soldiers lost to suicide in 2024, vast majority by firearm.

Is the greatest problem on base that there are too few people w/ ready access to guns?

#gunpolicy #pentagon

“Surrendering the Strait of Hormuz”
4/2/2026

Last night’s tired address was billed as a war update. It was a highlight reel of social media posts.

Iran has predictably closed the Strait of Hormuz. 30% of the world’s oil moves through it. Prices jumped 11% during the speech.

So much victory.

“Our founders knew that there was great danger in trying to center one particular faith or expression.” #TheStakes

@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social
@andrew-whitehead.bsky.social
@bradrourke.bsky.social

"Birthright Citizenship" -- Note to My Future Self

Today Donald Trump attended SCOTUS arguments in the case on whether ending birthright citizenship is constitutional.

#birthrightcitizenship #NotetoMyFutureSelf

Today Donald Trump signed an executive order directing DHS and USPS to limit mail in voting to a prescribed list of approved absentee ballots. Another move by the administration to limit the ability of people to vote.

#voting #votingrights #NoteToMyFutureSelf

“The Point.” Note to my future self. Responding to MAGA comments against No Kings. #nokings #nk3 #nokings3 #NoteToMyFutureSelf

In case you missed it, I had a great conversation with @bradrourke.bsky.social and @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social about Christian nationalism and how it is shaping policy both at home and abroad.

We also discuss where and how we can all respond in order to encourage a pluralistic, democratic society.

Tune in to discover a path of resistance rooted in a truly multifaith democracy, where people of all faiths and no faith have an equal place in America: bit.ly/4by42L3

It was an honor to have you join! Fantastic conversation.

What’s next for Venezuela?

New on #TheStakes, host @bradrourke.bsky.social speaks with Gerardo Berthin, president of @freedomhouse.bsky.social, and Steven Levitsky, KF senior fellow and leading scholar of competitive authoritarianism, about Venezuela after Maduro.

The New Year: Battle, Rest, Restore, Return The new year. My social media feeds fill with invitations to set intentions. Resolutions. Better habits. Quieter mind. I am offered a pause to take stock of the self. I have great compassion for th…

The new year brings intentions, boundaries, and the language of self-care.

“In moments like this, withdrawal is not neutral. Individual inaction builds and becomes permission.”

READ➡️ The New Year: Battle, Rest, Restore, Return

bradrourke.com/2026/01/01/t...

The Tools of Empire: How Private Tech Is Powering Autocracy As we watch and worry about the dismantling of our democracy, the tools of empire are being built. The foundations were laid quietly, in the early months of the Trump administration. As Elon Musk w…

The administration has already built the machine.

“What they built were the bones of a tool with unimaginable reach.”

READ: The Tools of Empire: How Private Tech Is Powering Autocracy

🔗 bradrourke.com/2025/11/09/a...

The Sandbag Republic: Law as Resistance For those who fear autocracy is coming—or already here—there is real hope in the legal response that rose to meet it. Indeed, the legal defense of democracy stood up faster than many expected, and …

The legal resistance to authoritarian power has been faster, broader, and more effective than many expected. 200+ cases have challenged executive overreach since Jan. Read my latest: The Sandbag Republic bradrourke.com/2025/11/01/t...

#Democracy #RuleOfLaw #SandInTheGears

Become Ungovernable On my way to downtown DC to march in the No Kings rally, I was unsure of what I would find. * * * * * We all knew what to expect as the year began. It had been laid out for us very clearly in the d…

This week: what it means to become ungovernable.

On my way No Kings in DC, I did not know what I would find. I found a crowd that could not be denied.

“To become ungovernable is not to descend into anarchy. It is refusal to bow to the regime.”

bradrourke.com/2025/10/18/b...

Still No Kings Find a No Kings 2 event near you and sign up: the live map is here. The matter was settled. The founders broke from monarchy and built a republic ruled by law. The crown was thrown aside. But the d…

Kingship in America and the resistance incl upcoming NO KINGS 2 rallies on Oct 18.

“He has turned his private appetites into a public movement, inviting his subjects to trade the work of self-government for the comfort of obedience.”

READ "Still No Kings" bradrourke.com/2025/10/11/s...

Razing Democracy Hadrian’s Library In Athens last week, I walked among ruins around which the modern city had grown. Stone columns beside electric vehicles. The air itself carries argument between old and new…

My post this week is about the moment when the machinery of the state turned inward on its people.

“In every era, citizens tell themselves it cannot happen here until it already has.”

READ: Razing Democracy:

bradrourke.com/2025/10/05/r...

20 Things You Can Do to Throw Sand in the Gears As the authoritarian regime continues its march to undermine constitutional democracy, it is clear that only through solidarity and action can we have a hope of retaining the American way of life. …

My blog post this week is about the small acts ordinary people can take to resist authoritarianism.

“Be troublesome, be sand, not oil, in the gears of the world.” — Günter Eich, Träume

Read: 20 Things You Can Do to Throw Sand in the Gears

bradrourke.com/2025/09/27/2...

👇

Rebranding Power, Rebranding America Through Culture and Spectacle This week, a massive banner featuring President Donald Trump’s portrait was draped across the Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C., alongside an American flag and Theodore Roosevelt. It…

"[A] massive banner featuring President Donald Trump’s portrait was draped across the Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C. . . Devotional kitsch has become a government banner. . . . Culture is not a sideshow. It is the stage." #Democracy #Authoritarianism

bradrourke.com/2025/08/31/r...

Note From a New Dissident I have worked my entire career in the democracy space, primarily working towards bridging divides and developing stronger, deeper democratic life. The work that has occupied my decades now feels in…

“We are living through and witnessing the creation of a police state. The tipping point is past.” bradrourke.com/2025/08/23/n...

I truly enjoyed this interview. Deva Woodly has important things to say about the need for a strong democratic imagination (watch to the end!). @devawo.bsky.social

The Stakes: In Ukraine: Building Civic Life Amid War YouTube video by Kettering Foundation

🇺🇦 What does democracy look like in a war zone? In a new episode of #TheStakes, host @bradrourke.bsky.social speaks with KF Senior Fellow and retired Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and KF board member and Tufts professor @peterlevine.bsky.social youtu.be/GOkB6EezxWc

Scenes from #NoKingsDay

Last time I spoke w/ @judgeluttig.bsky.social he said “I personally believe, Brad, that there'll be very little left of the America that we've known for almost 250 years by the time of the midterms in 2026.” On this #NoKingsDay I am hoping for hope.

The Stakes: Jaco Roets on White South African Refugees YouTube video by Kettering Foundation

In the latest episode of #TheStakes, Jaco Roets (@jacoroets.bsky.social) joins Brad Rourke (@bradrourke.bsky.social) to break it down. youtu.be/zlvOcdCCCKs

Is White identity under threat—or is that just the story being sold?

🎙 @bradrourke.bsky.social sits down with South African international development worker @jacoroets.bsky.social to explore why the U.S. admitted nearly 60 White South Africans as refugees.

“There is nothing at all to stop this president for the next three and a half years other than the American people.”

KF Senior Fellow @judgeluttig.bsky.social joins us on #TheStakes to sound the alarm: Trump’s first 100 days mark a revolt against American democracy.

The End of Rule of Law in America The 47th president seems to wish he were king—and he is willing to destroy what is precious about this country to get what he wants.

Important piece by Kettering Foundation senior fellow Judge J. Michael Luttig. Worth the time it takes. The most detailed and categorical statement of how this administration is subverting rule of law that I have yet seen. @judgeluttig.bsky.social @kettering.org

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Vitally important @judgeluttig.bsky.social As usual he understands EXACTLY what Trump is up to...and it ain't good!