Category Archives: Uncategorized

Moral choices to resist generally come unannounced

The Trump Resistance I featured large numbers of people who went out of their way to confront legal and moral threats. Millions turned out for demonstrations, when they could have stayed at home. Thousands braved traffic or mass transit to … Continue reading

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When victims try to bargain

Columbia University’s surrender to the Trump Administration’s initial demands was unsurprising; its enthusiasm in raising the White flag was. Columbia’s administration announced a raft of new policies on free speech, student discipline, admissions, and academic administration, all in hopes of … Continue reading

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Columbia University negotiates with terrorists: The Trump Administration

Taking hostages is an act of terror. Kidnappers hold more and less innocents to gain attention, extort money, and bully others into doing something they don’t want to do. Taking hostages is morally reprehensible and widely recognized as a war … Continue reading

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Examples and education for higher ed and the rest of us

The Trump administration was very clear that Mahmoud Khalil was an example; ICE officers arrested, jailed, and planned deportation to teach everyone else a lesson. The government intends to deport Khalil, a legal permanent resident (green card), because he had … Continue reading

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Strategizing an Opposition in Trump II

I get more calls from journalists in turbulent political times, generally when there’s interest in figuring out viable political and protest strategies. In the last week or so, I’ve commented on a consumer boycott announced by a thus far marginal … Continue reading

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Search for a Strategy: Protest Plus

The iconic image of a social movement is the mass demonstration, and American history is littered with plenty of them, representing causes, good and bad. Washington, DC is a magnet for mass demonstrations, and the Resistance to Trump I was … Continue reading

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Greensboro Sit-in anniversary–and a few thoughts on tactics;

Today marks the anniversary of the start of the sit-in campaign in Greensboro, North Carolina. I’m always moved and encouraged by the audacity of those young men. The original post appears below, but there is more to say: The sitters-in … Continue reading

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Why the blanket J6 pardons are even worse than you thought

Don’t expect Donald Trump to follow through on all his campaign promises as quickly and thoroughly as he did for the insurgents who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2020. Roughly 1600 people faced prosecution for their attempt to shut … Continue reading

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Martin Luther King Day, 2025; the arc of the moral universe bends back.

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Trump Inauguration II: This time is different

Today’s People’s March, protesting Donald Trump’s second inauguration, numbered in the thousands, far shy of the millions mobilized by the Women’s March 8 years ago. There are always protests at presidential inaugurals, but the Women’s March of 2017, along with … Continue reading

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