Tag Archives: protest

Polarization and the National Guard

Posted on June 8, 2025 by David S. Meyer

President Trump federalized the National Guard, promising to promote public order and protect Immigration agents in Los Angeles. You see, protesters had turned up to bear witness and maybe stop the wholesale detention (and deportation) of masses of people who … Continue reading →

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What to make of the April 5 demonstrations

Posted on April 7, 2025 by David S. Meyer

Hands Off announced the massive collection of demonstrations long before the stock markets crashed and analysts upped their odds of a national (or global) recession—and increased inflation. Even so, there was room to add yet another grievance to the anti-Trump/pro-democracy … Continue reading →

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Columbia University negotiates with terrorists: The Trump Administration

Posted on March 17, 2025 by David S. Meyer

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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Strategizing an Opposition in Trump II

Posted on March 5, 2025 by David S. Meyer

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

Posted on February 9, 2025 by David S. Meyer

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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Greater and Lesser Evils

Posted on November 3, 2024 by David S. Meyer

The cliché about picking the lesser evil always recirculates around presidential elections, so frequently that it can almost pass for a nugget of wisdom. It’s not. Why would you want to vote for the greater of two evils? We expect … Continue reading →

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Convictions and convictions (4): how sacrifice (sometimes) works

Posted on June 17, 2023 by David S. Meyer

Daniel Ellsberg died of pancreatic cancer at 92, having lived a long and contentious life. As the obits everywhere tell, he started by touching every base on the career trajectory of an elite military analyst: an academic start in prep … Continue reading →

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Expelling the Tennessee 3: Bad for democracy, bad politics. And not so good for “decorum.”

Posted on April 7, 2023 by David S. Meyer

The Republican Party had nothing to gain by voting to expel two Democratic state reps (Justin Jones and Justin Pearson), and just barely deciding not to expel a third (Gloria Johnson). The expulsions were about the dumbest thing the Republicans … Continue reading →

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Protests against Trump’s indictment?

Posted on April 3, 2023 by David S. Meyer

New Yorkers laughed at Donald Trump when he came to vote in 2016. (Okay, some booed.) Trump had the next laugh, who gets the last one is still up in the air. The next episode is Trump’s return to New … Continue reading →

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Israeli protest continues, along with challenges to democracy

Posted on April 2, 2023 by David S. Meyer

The massive extended protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued, even as protesters claimed credit for a victory. Netanyahu postponed consideration a plan to severely limit the independence of the judiciary, frustrating hard right allies within his coalition and, for … Continue reading →

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