David S. Meyer

@davidsmeyer.bsky.social

770 followers 390 following 130 posts

sociology and political science prof./ author/ swimmer/ dad

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Political science 62%

Sociology 21%

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David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 4d

Creating a moral hazard for food fights?

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Jury finds D.C. ‘sandwich guy’ not guilty of assaulting officer

Sean C. Dunn admitted he flung the hoagie at a federal agent. His attorneys called it a “harmless gesture” of protest as Trump commandeered D.C. police.

www.washingtonpost.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 8d

Unintentionally, Donald Trump has fed citizen anxiety about America's expensive new nuclear buildup. New nuclear tests are a political test politicsoutdoors.com/2025/11/02/n... via @davidsmeyer1

New nuclear tests are a political test

Donald Trump announced that the United States would start testing its nuclear arsenal again–after foregoing nuclear weapons testing since 1992, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fe…

politicsoutdoors.com

Reposted by David Brady

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 21d

University of Arizona rejects the compact:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://president.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2025-10/Suresh-Garimella-to-Sec-Linda-McMahon.pdf

Reposted by David S. Meyer

Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 21d

Alright University of Arizona letter has arrived. I would say this reads as a soft rejection where they say they would love to chat more but: "We seek no special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research strictly on merit."

president.arizona.edu/sites/defaul...

president.arizona.edu

Reposted by Philip N. Cohen

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 23d

The numbers of people who came out are extraordinary, but it will take more than large numbers at a one-day event to change the moment.

The 3.5% fallacy politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/18/t...

The 3.5% fallacy

Every media outlet is going to post estimated numbers on the No Kings rallies, and they’re sure to be impressive. Larger than the extremely large June 14 demonstrations will be seen as a sign…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 24d

MIT, by emphasizing data and merit, rather than politics, set out a standard for the rest of academia.

Anchoring academic resistance politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/17/a...

Anchoring academic resistance

Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other uni…

politicsoutdoors.com

Reposted by David S. Meyer

WhoWhatWhy @whowhatwhyorg.bsky.social · 24d

Our podcast guest @davidsmeyer.bsky.social
isn’t interested in the romance of resistance; he examines its machinery. And what he’s found might surprise cynics: Protests work, but not the way we think they do, and almost never on the timeline we expect. #NoKingsOct18

whowhatwhy.org/podcast/why-...

Why The ‘No Kings’ March Won’t Change Anything — Until It Does - WhoWhatWhy

Millions may march this weekend. Some will go home thinking it didn’t matter. Here’s why they’re wrong — and right.

whowhatwhy.org

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 25d

Academic leaders fight first for their own schools--and higher ed becomes more vulnerable as a result.

Solidarity and higher education politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/16/s...

Solidarity and higher education

Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floa…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · 29d

Academic freedom and free speech mean space for ideas you don't like. Threats of violence, often credible, shut down free inquiry. The case of Mark Bray:https://politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/10/thugs-threats-and-repression/

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Oct 8

Massive congratulations!

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 25

The Trump/OMB/Vought threat is all about taking tens of thousands of government employees hostage. Use the language.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 24

The win on Kimmel is one of what will be many turning points that end up mattering.

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/24/j...

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points

When the Trump episode (epoch?) in American life ends, the brief suspension of a late night talk show host may well mark the turning point when Republicans and conservatives began to abandon this p…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 24

Cho toner did a really good job in prepping and conducting the interview. Sunstein comes off as someone confident that he can continue to get by primarily on charm.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 23

When is the president of antifa going to issue a statement?

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 22

I can imagine a future where ABC bringing Kimmel back while Trump calls for immediate prosecution of his "enemies" is a turning point in American politics and life--and things get better. Point: we don't have to give in to every dangerous initiative from the White House.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 11

President Trump can do a lot now to promote peace and comity by condemning political violence from any corner--just as he did when crazed men attacked Paul Pelosi and, more recently, Josh Shapiro, and Melissa and Mark Hortman.

Oh, wait, he didn't do that.

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Philip Nel, David S. Meyer

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · Sep 10

We are horrified to learn of the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Political violence has no place in democracy. The foundation of democracy rests on the principle that differences can be debated vigorously, but peacefully, without intimidation or acts of violence.

Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah Valley University

Turning Point USA executive director in critical condition after being struck while hosting UVU event

www.theguardian.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 5

Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1) Trying to figure the response to a mass attack on higher education in the United States. There's lots of opposition, but it seems scattered--and lacking an overarching message or strategy. Help me think it through. politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/05/s...

Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1)

I want to know what we’re doing to save higher education in America from the Trump Administration. Tell me what you know about. Here’s what I’ve seen: The victims of the Trump Adm…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Sep 1

Labor Day (repost and rewritten) politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/01/l...

Labor Day (repost and rewritten)

(2021) Here’s a repost and re-edit of some thoughts about Labor Day and its origins. As long as I’ve been aware, Labor has faced a moment of crisis–an extended moment. But things can al…

politicsoutdoors.com

Reposted by David S. Meyer, John Hogan

Erin Lockwood @erinkaylockwood.bsky.social · Aug 26

Curious about why everyone is talking about "central bank independence" in the context of Trump's attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook?

This paper is a bit old now, but remains one of the more useful things I have written: a critical review of the Political Science scholarship on central banking.

The Global Politics of Central Banking: A View From Political Science

This paper reviews the political science literature on central banking from the early 1990s through the present, paying particular attention to the explicit or implicit conception of politics in the works reviewed. I begin by reviewing rationalist approaches to central bank independence from both the policy supply and demand sides. In the second section, I review literature that challenges and critiques this rationalist/institutionalist paradigm and its assumptions. The third section reviews studies that locate politics within central banks themselves and that analyze decision-making processes therein. The final section builds on the strengths of the existing literature to outline a future trajectory for political science scholarship on the global politics of central banking, one that incorporates a more sophisticated conception of politics and that is attentive to the post-crisis world in which transnational forces, governing ideas and worldviews, unconventional monetary policy, and non-monetary policy central bank functions are of paramount importance.

ecommons.cornell.edu

Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan , and 31 more Jan W. Mueller, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan, Patrick A. Jansen, Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, Ian Campbell, Laia Balcells, Colombia, Juan Cole, David S. Meyer, Ramón López Facal, Joni Lovenduski, Michelle Everson, Shelly Lundberg, Robert Black, Julian Go, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner, Ben Tonra, Julia Lynch, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Scott A. Imberman, Robert B. Reich, Ann Bartow, Henry Jones, Greg Linden, Manisha Sinha, Aviel Roshwald, Jr, Kevin Grant, Stuart Shapiro, Deborah M. Kolb

Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · Aug 25

Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago:

"If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Aug 18

Russia is fine with any and all security guarantees that won't guarantee security for Ukraine.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Aug 13

I was pretty joyful when Pete Seeger was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1994.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Jun 30

Sen. Bill Cassidy knows he violated his Hippocratic oath by voting to confirm RFK, Jr. at Health and Human Services. He also knows RFK lied to him. But right now Cassidy has some leverage, and can withhold his vote on the awful budget bill until Trump fires RFK. Maybe he already told Trump his plan.

Reposted by Evelyne Schmid, David S. Meyer, Abdel Halloway

Deva Woodly @devawo.bsky.social · Jun 14

I just like to post these data from time to time to puncture the mythological aura of mid 20th c protests. They were less popular than pretty much any 21st c mass action & people criticizing them used the same lines. Protest is about people coming together, shaping narratives, & building power.

Polling data from Harris & Associates 1966.
Q: Do you approve of what Freedom Riders are Doing? 22% approve 61%disapprove18%no opinion.

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Jun 12

One million marched against nuclear weapons in NYC in 1982. It may be time to get back out there.

Froze and reversed the arms race: anniversary, repost. politicsoutdoors.com/2025/06/12/f...

Froze and reversed the arms race: anniversary, repost.

I’m reposting this reminder about the massive nuclear freeze march, part of an important campaign in the 1980s. Of course, nuclear weapons are rarely the most salient story today, when a war rages …

politicsoutdoors.com

Reposted by David S. Meyer

SciLine @sciline.org · Jun 10

Covering protests and want to add in evidence-based research on why people protest? Check out our resource on this topic for text and video to clip/use/quote in news stories. bit.ly/4kYDowE

@davidsmeyer.bsky.social @ucirvine.bsky.social ‪@jhu.edu

Why do people protest, and do protests work? - SciLine

bit.ly

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Jun 9

Trump has an interest in turning up the heat and escalating--it's scary.
How the LA protests might work for activists and politicians. A note on strategy. politicsoutdoors.com/2025/06/09/h...

How the LA protests might work for activists and politicians. A note on strategy.

The fallout from the immigration protests in Los Angeles that started this weekend will play out for a long while, far long than the protests–which are likely to continue and, maybe, change f…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Jun 9

The emerging battle in the streets of Los Angeles is Trump's effort to rekindle support and distract Americans from the fight w/ Musk, the unpopular budget bill, and everything else that's gone wrong.
Polarization and the National Guard politicsoutdoors.com/2025/06/08/p...

Polarization and the National Guard

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…

politicsoutdoors.com

David S. Meyer @davidsmeyer.bsky.social · Jun 3

The anti-Musk Tesla protests were a win for the growing resistance to Trump II. It's important for activists to claim the W.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/b...

Elon Musk Left the White House, but Tesla’s Protesters Aren’t Finished

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