Author Archives: gdkrenz

Higher education, quo vadis?

Two discouraging but one very hopeful story about Trump’s and Trumpists’ higher ed attacks. Let’s do the bad news first. First, Michael Schill, the president of Northwestern (my alma mater), announced today that he is resigning, following tremendous pressure from … Continue reading →

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Where is the Democratic Party?

Ali Velshi a few days ago had an excellent monologue on the failure of the leadership of the Democratic Party to rise to our current occasion (~ 9 min). This is an existential moment, not politics-as-usual, and yet – as … Continue reading →

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“for social advancement of the common people”

On September 4, 1910, Labor organizer Samuel Gompers penned a piece in the New York Times on the significance of Labor Day. Here is a link to the NYT archival record, but there is actually cleaner reading version to be … Continue reading →

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Two historical moments in the search for a better democracy – and today

Today is the anniversary of two important moments in the history of US activism for a more democratic union: the 1963 March on Washington and the arrest in 1917 of ten suffragists who were picketing outside the White House. Here … Continue reading →

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Briefing on Chicago and National Guard from the Brennan Center

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU has done a lot of excellent long-view and just-in-time online programming around actions undertaken by the Trump administration and others. They pull together great panels, and Barb and I have learned a lot … Continue reading →

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Hope: Wes Moore Calls the Question

As you’ve likely seen, Maryland governor Wes Moore is in a fracas with Trump. Moore invited Trump to walk the streets of Baltimore with him, to see how real public safety work is done. Baltimore’s crime rate is at a … Continue reading →

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