Lizzy Shackelford

The US is not about to have a free and fair election. The state has put its thumb on the scale to favor the ruling party in multiple ways. It's a mostly free, somewhat unfair election. But still one where the ruling party can be overwhelmed by numbers. Hence the term "competitive authoritarianism."

A Serbian nationalist leader who courted MAGA just lost in a landslide

I just want to name that people overcame this. Even against a stacked deck, the good fight is worth it. Win or lose, it's worth it. And sometimes the good guys win.

Trump's diesel deal with Putin further cements the position of the US under Trump as squarely on the side of the bad guys. For all of this, Americans won’t even get the short-term benefit of lower prices for fuel. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/16/c...

"Chinese officials are working with local ruling parties to create leadership training schools that blend local nationalist & Pan-African traditions w/ Chinese Communist Party approaches to party discipline, political organization & governance." And more scary stuff.. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/o...

The idea behind the UN is that international peace and security are only possible through cooperation among states. AI demands that kind of cooperation, but the world today is not in a cooperative state. My latest in Chicago Tribune www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/02/c...

We must not normalize this regime's corruption or become numb to its impact because every time a political choice is made in their self-interest, it comes at the cost of the national interest, and that costs us. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/18/c...

In their efforts to explain the boat strikes to the public and respond to Trump’s illegal uses of force, many members of Congress are missing the basic truth, which is that the U.S. is committing mass murder, writes @seharrison7.bsky.social. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

Nepal's horrifying flood was yet another reminder that climate change is no longer a hypothetical threat to our future, but a deadly and ever-present threat that can strike us without warning at virtually any time, anywhere. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/04/c...

Aaaaand the time to de-google has arrived. It’ll be tricky, but who wants such a sycophantic company to have all their data anyway??

The Boat Strikes Are Murder www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

That nuclear weapons haven't yet destroyed the world was not luck or accident. It was thanks to hard diplomatic work and cooperation. This is the kind of urgency and collective action the world needs on AI now. My latest in @chicagotribune.com (gift link) www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/21/c...

If you had any doubt, yes, the system is broken…

If there is a communist threat clawing its way into the halls of American power, that threat is coming from inside the White House, which is interfering with the free market to strengthen its own centralized power. My latest in @chicagotribune.com (gift link) www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/07/c...

America's aggression is both ruthless and ineffective. All those who knowingly participate in it should one day be held accountable for these crimes, and all Americans should speak out against it. My latest in Chicago Tribune (gift link) www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/24/c...

Climate change is ruining summer and so much else. But the inconveniences of this heat are nothing compared to what lies ahead if we don't change course. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/10/c...

I know from experience how hard it is to leave a career you love and depend on, so I don't say this lightly. But if your job requires you to implement illegal or immoral policies on this administration's behalf, it's time to go. @chicagotribune.com (gift) www.chicagotribune.com/2026/06/26/o...

There is something terribly wrong about an economy that produces its first trillionaire, but cannot provide health care for its people. Or one in which the richest handful of families have the combined wealth of almost forty percent of the rest of the country.

Commentary: Ukraine is turning the tide with Ukrainian resolve and innovation. Should it manage to end this war with its independence intact and its territory defensible, that won’t only make for a sweeter victory, but the country that emerges will be stronger for it too.

In a year full of bad news stories, Ukraine is offering hope that the good guys just might win, thanks to grit, determination and imagination. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/06/12/c...

I had a front row seat to the US response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic. We are seriously unprepared for this one. Will this outbreak serve as a warning that triggers the USG to reinvest in global health, or will that warning come too late?@chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/29/c...

The Trump admin claims their proposed $1.5 TRILLION military budget is a necessary defensive measure. But it is offensive in both senses of the word: aggressive toward the world and insulting here at home. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/15/c...

"The biggest threat of AI is that the bulk of this powerful technology is uniquely within the control of a small cohort of ungovernable men." My latest from @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/01/c...

Orbán’s fatal flaw was believing his system was fixed enough that it would keep him in power even as his corruption brought ruin upon his country. But 'It’s the economy, stupid' as an election explainer still generally reigns supreme. @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/17/c...

Trump nicely connecting the lawless boat strikes with his illegal war against Iran. The killing spree at sea was an inflection point as it established that the US military would in fact carry out unlawful orders and conduct patently illegal targeting.

Wow. I guess there is hope. The world needed some good news.

Great summary of the fallout www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

This is a far simpler answer than people would like to believe. Trump issues the order via the National Military Command Center to the commander of Strategic Command, and then STRATCOM carries it out directly. There is no second vote, no veto, no check-and-balance.

In all seriousness, one thing that might be worth doing today: Tell your Reps and Senators to call Adm. Richard Correll, the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which controls the nation's nukes, and remind him of *his* unique responsibility to refuse an illegal order.

Who in the US #military built the plan that Trump says will take out every power plant and bridge in Iran tomorrow night? I know they fired all the JAGs specifically to enable this kind of thing, but YOU will still be responsible for #warcrimes. The Supreme Court didn’t give you immunity.

Rep. Balint: "My Republican colleagues have accepted for themselves that there's no bottom. They will continue to support this man regardless of how unhinged and how unfit he is for office. It's disgusting."

"Trump seems constitutionally incapable of doing or saying anything that contradicts or undermines Russia’s autocratic leader, regardless of the stakes or harms to U.S. interests. We have to start asking seriously: Why?" My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/03/c...

Via a friend.

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz was predictable - and preventable, argues IGA's @lizzyshack.bsky.social. For decades, the US government has rejected renewables like solar in favor of petroleum, enforcing dependency on foreign oil. Read her full argument in the @chicagotribune.com.

Just imagine the world we would live in today if we had forged ahead with Carter's solar plan nearly 50 years ago. For one, we probably wouldn't still be so poised for another war of choice in the Middle East. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/20/c...

On today’s episode of Cartoonishly Overt Sign We’re the Baddies: they’re taking the olive branch off the dime because it presents peace

The Anthropic dispute is happening against the backdrop of an administration whose actions in the world are increasingly aggressive, interventionist and independent, with existing checks and balances failing to restrain it. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/c...

“Damas is the 10th detainee to die in ICE custody so far in 2026.” This is unconscionable.

I guess it’s not Americans First….

“Proactively in a defensive way” does not meet the legal standard for military action in absence of congressional authorization. It is also nonsense gobbledygook.

This is a lie. And it should be considered a constitutional crisis that Rubio is claiming the right to ignore the law.

I emphasize this provision of the War Powers Resolution because it stands as an authoritative statement by the legislature of its views of presidential war powers—a position that is much more restrictive than the executive branch's own extremely permissive doctrine.

This week, the US hosted two sets of peace talks in Geneva. Neither achieved much, unsurprising since the men leading both have more experience in real estate deals than conflict resolution. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/20/c...

Read the entire thing please. As she says, if you don’t have a problem with this, that’s not a political opinion but a moral failing.

History shows us how citizens can effectively fight government repression. The good news is, that's exactly what the people of Chicago and Minneapolis are doing already. My latest in @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/06/c...

Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com

President Trump has made $4 billion by illegally trading access to the White House to get rich. He controls the Dept of Justice and the Congress so he won't be held accountable - until he doesn't control the Dept of Justice and Congress.

Yes thank you. This is how to cover these developments appropriately.