Category Archives: Uncategorized

Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2)

Repression is risky for everyone. It works for authorities when most opponents are deterred from taking visible action. But repression can also provoke greater resistance and undermine support for the repressive agents. Repression polarizes, and how well it works depends … Continue reading

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Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1)

Federal agents seem determined to kill anti-deportation protesters, at least enough of them to kill the resistance. It’s not working–at least not yet. Minnesotans are fighting back. Who guessed that Minneapolis, Minnesota would become the front line of the civil … Continue reading

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Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus)

Commemoration is very much a salient issue at the moment. Donald Trump, president, is rewriting the history of the Capitol Hill invasion and American history more broadly. It’s no surprise that the most conspicuous efforts (e.g., the simultaneously Disneyfied and … Continue reading

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New nuclear tests are a political test

Donald Trump announced that the United States would start testing its nuclear arsenal again–after foregoing nuclear weapons testing since 1992, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell apart. In doing so, he effectively announced a political challenge … Continue reading

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The 3.5% fallacy

Every media outlet is going to post estimated numbers on the No Kings rallies, and they’re sure to be impressive. Larger than the extremely large June 14 demonstrations will be seen as a sign of the movement growing. Opponents will … Continue reading

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Anchoring academic resistance

Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other universities to follow. In a powerful letter, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, the cell biologist, explained … Continue reading

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Solidarity and higher education

https://www.inquirer.com/education/upenn-union-rally-dei-funding-trump-administration-20250320.html Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floated on all the grievances to launch a series of attacks that … Continue reading

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Thugs, Threats, and Repression

Rutgers University historian Mark Bray has fled the country, relocating with his family to Spain this week. Bray hasn’t been arrested, indicted, or placed on one of Donald Trump’s enemies list; his health and welfare–and that of his family–have been … Continue reading

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Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points

When the Trump episode (epoch?) in American life ends, the brief suspension of a late night talk show host may well mark the turning point when Republicans and conservatives began to abandon this president’s authoritarian aspirations. And why not? It’s … Continue reading

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Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1)

I want to know what we’re doing to save higher education in America from the Trump Administration. Tell me what you know about. Here’s what I’ve seen: The victims of the Trump Administration’s scattershot but relentless campaign against America’s colleges … Continue reading

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