Tag Archives: democracy

The John Lewis Example

Posted on January 12, 2026 by gdkrenz

Friends, the news gets more chilling every day. On the one hand, there are good signs that Trump’s coalition is fracturing; on the other hand, he is getting more and more brazen in his statements and in his actions, aided … Continue reading →

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ICE OUT rally in NYC

Posted on January 11, 2026 by gdkrenz

A great rally in NYC today, with the sun coming out literally as the march down 5th Avenue began! A fantastic turnout for a winter day and on short notice. As always, lots of people peaceful, courteous, helpful, and absolutely … Continue reading →

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Self-evident truths (Declaration musings II) (Gary Krenz)

Posted on January 1, 2026 by gdkrenz

Happy New Year! In this second musing on the Declaration of Independence (the first is here), I would like to reflect on the document’s core ideals and what they might mean for the renewal of our democracy today. I ended … Continue reading →

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A submission of facts to a candid world (Declaration musings I) (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 31, 2025 by gdkrenz

Happy New Year! Tomorrow we enter the year of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There will be much to review and discuss about America’s Revolution (I haven’t watched the Ken Burns documentary yet but look forward to it); … Continue reading →

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Coin sets and white male supremacy (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 14, 2025 by gdkrenz

If you would like evidence that the ultimate goal of the Trump Administration and MAGA leadership is a white-male-supremacist society, look no further than the Treasury Department’s release of designs for the US Mint coin set commemorating the nation’s 250th … Continue reading →

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State Media by Proxy (Gary Krenz)

Posted on November 26, 2025 by gdkrenz

Ben Schwartz has an excellent piece in The Nation, “Trump’s Quest for Total Media Control.”  It lays out in concise fashion how the various strands of Trump’s attacks on media — from trying to get Jimmy Kimmel and others fired to … Continue reading →

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Intellectual Freedom in an Authoritarian Age”

Posted on November 18, 2025 by gdkrenz

As I promised in an earlier post, here is the video of Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s outstanding Davis, Markert, and Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom at the University of Michigan. It is well worth watching!

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Collective Action for Academic Freedom (Gary Krenz)

Posted on November 16, 2025 by gdkrenz

I mentioned in a comment that last week, we released a new collection of essays on academic freedom: In the Spirit of H. Chandler Davis: Activism and the Struggle for Academic Freedom. (Shameless plug: available here.) This is a book I edited … Continue reading →

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Shutdown Resolution: Debacle, Destiny, Deliverance?

Posted on November 10, 2025 by gdkrenz

Like many of us, I suspect, I am still reeling from the Democrats’ whiplash reversal on the shutdown, thanks to 8 Dems going rogue and siding with Republicans to fund the continuing resolution. The Rogue 8 were able to gain … Continue reading →

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Never underestimate the American people”

Posted on November 6, 2025 by gdkrenz

This evening Barb and I attended the University of Michigan’s annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom. This is, as far as I know, the nation’s longest running lecture (35 years) dedicated to academic and intellectual freedom … Continue reading →

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