Tag Archives: history

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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Higher education in the age of Garfield (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 8, 2025 by gdkrenz

Here is a parochial footnote to my post on “Death By Lightning.”  As I said in that post, Garfield was intent on ending the spoils system and professionalizing the civil service. This was in line with a dramatic increase in … Continue reading →

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Our American Heritage (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 7, 2025 by gdkrenz

Barb and I just finished watching the mini-series about the assassination of President James Garfield, Death by Lightning. It’s on Netflix, and if you are able to watch it, I highly recommend it. There is much to say about it and … Continue reading →

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Phil Klay’s moral analysis of the boat strikes (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 6, 2025 by gdkrenz

There was an outstanding op-ed in the NYT yesterday by Phil Klay, “What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes.” It is a thoughtful moral analysis of a sort that we too-seldom see in the press. Klay speaks of … Continue reading →

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Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz)

Posted on December 5, 2025 by gdkrenz

The so-called “double-tap” – a terribly sanitizing word – attack on two stranded Venezuelans in the Caribbean continues to be front and center in the news, and now some members of Congress have had access to video of the attack. … Continue reading →

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A Belated Thanksgiving Post (Gary Krenz)

Posted on November 30, 2025 by gdkrenz

Thanksgiving is a few days past, but here’s a belated thanksgiving post — just before the end of the holiday weekend. To begin, here’s a nice post by Robert Reich from a few days ago: “Gratitude: Thanksgiving thoughts.” It has … Continue reading →

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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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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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