Johann N. Neem | Lightnews

Johann Neem

@johannneem.bsky.social

1.6K followers 140 following 180 posts

Scholar of the American Revolution and the Early American Republic, education. Author of "What's the Point of College? Seeking Purpose in an Age of Reform" and "Democracy's Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America." Website: https://johannneem.com .. more

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Political science 54%

Education 17%

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Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Aug 11

In my contribution to @newrepublic.com's issue on Trump and history, I argue that Trump has wrapped himself in the mantle of the American Revolution while undermining its principles.

Trump Is the Enemy of the American Revolution

He has produced a crisis much like the one the colonists faced two and a half centuries ago. Now it’s our responsibility to uphold the Founders’ legacy.

newrepublic.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Joanna Bryson, Naomi Klein , and 46 more Anne Applebaum, Joanna Bryson, Naomi Klein, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Nandita Sharma, Kimberly A. Prather, A. E. Dessler, Peter Thorne, Gordon Pennycook, Brendan Nyhan, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Steve Peers, John McLaren, Rosemary A. Joyce, Amir Attaran, Efrén O. Pérez, Guy Grossman, Philip Nel, Anders Nilsson, Juan Cole, Daniel W. Drezner, Clyde W. Barrow, David R. Miller, Robert Wolfe, Johann N. Neem, Michael Zimmer, Andrew L. Whitehead, Gerald Friedman, Jacob T. Levy, Robert B. Reich, Els Torreele, Jen Schneider, Paul Fisher, Ann Bartow, Leah Stokes, Greg Linden, Greg O’Brien, Gerardo Martí, Richard M. Carpiano, Joanna L. Grossman, Tim Stephens, Daxton R. Stewart, Nicole Guenther Discenza, Aviel Roshwald, John Christman, Dan Immergluck, Timothy D. McBride, Jesse R. Lasky, Pieter Vantieghem

Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 3d

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 5d

A worthwhile read for anyone planning to attend the American Historical Association's annual conference.

David Avrom Bell @davidavrombell.bsky.social · 9d

A new column of mine in the Chronicle of Higher Education, on the in-fighting at the American Historical Association:
www.chronicle.com/article/acad...

Opinion | Academic Politics at Their Most Counterproductive

The American Historical Association is being torn apart over members’ views on Israel.

www.chronicle.com

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Diane Ravitch🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🗽🇨🇱🏳️‍🌈✡️🇨🇦 @dianeravitch.bsky.social · 7d

Texas opens for-profit school in for-profit prison holding ICE detainees:
Why not monetize everything???

dianeravitch.net/2025/12/19/t...

Texas: Why Not Monetize Everything?

In Greg Abbott’s Texas, everything has a price or makes a profit. Mothers Against Greg Abbott posted this video showing how it’s done. A for-profit online charter school is opening in a…

dianeravitch.net

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Johann N. Neem

Jack Rakove @jrakove.bsky.social · 8d

My qualms about Ken Burns' American Revolution series, which strangely fails to explain what made the Revolution revolutionary.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/18/w...

What’s Wrong with The American Revolution by Ken Burns

Ken Burns’s latest PBS series is long on muskets and bayonets, but the history of the American Revolution remains strangely understated.

washingtonmonthly.com

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

David Avrom Bell @davidavrombell.bsky.social · 9d

A new column of mine in the Chronicle of Higher Education, on the in-fighting at the American Historical Association:
www.chronicle.com/article/acad...

Opinion | Academic Politics at Their Most Counterproductive

The American Historical Association is being torn apart over members’ views on Israel.

www.chronicle.com

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 9d

New @cato.org story argues that it's DHS policy to threaten/arrest illegally protestors--> in other words, the fed gvt is a threat to the rule of law.

The Government Unconstitutionally Labels ICE Observers as Domestic Terrorists

A free country must have an absolute wall of protection for those who record government actions.

www.cato.org

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 14d

I don’t understand why faculty at all Texas public universities have not walked out and brought their institutions to a standstill to defend academic freedom. I am shocked by how complacent and compliant faculty appear to be. Am I missing the resistance? Our faculty protesting and resisting?

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 16d

UM, RIGHTS ARE NOT OPTIONAL IN A FREE SOCIETY: "They’re now seeing cases where ICE agents violate constitutional protections on a daily basis. She and other immigration attorneys advise clients about the rights they should have but warn about the areas where ICE agents have been violating them."

Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities l...

www.mprnews.org

Reposted by Johann N. Neem, Manisha Sinha

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 19d

If you've ever been to a naturalization ceremony, you know they're filled with people whose palpable love of this country is twenty times stronger than the pinched "patriotism" of any native-born MAGA chud.

Just unspeakable assholery.

Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 19d

Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

Becoming a U.S. citizen takes years and involves immigrants acquiring a green card, extensive interviews, background checks, classes and a citizenship test. The naturalization ceremony is the final step to the process, where the oath of allegiance and a citizenship certificate are granted.
Immigrants approved to be naturalized went to Faneuil Hall Thursday - known as the country's cradle of liberty - for that long-awaited moment to pledge allegiance to the United States. But instead, as they lined up, some were told by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials that they couldn't proceed due to their countries of origin.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Jonathan A. Eisen, Steve Peers , and 9 more Kim L. Scheppele, Jonathan A. Eisen, Steve Peers, Joseph Schafer, Alan Lester, Daniel W. Drezner, David R. Miller, Johann N. Neem, Brian Keegan, Daryl Adair, Nora V. Demleitner, Kevin Grant

Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 19d

Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 22d

Texas Tech has revived the office of censor. Faculty need pre-clearance to teach their courses. #academicfreedom @aaup.org

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 23d

Here's more about the new censors.

Texas Tech Puts Its Anti-Trans Rules In Writing

Race and sexuality course content is also caught up in the university system’s expansive new content review policies.

www.insidehighered.com

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · 23d

Texas Tech creates a censorship process. This image from a memo from the Chancellor is chilling- but its meaning is clear. #academicfreedom

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · Nov 25

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The University of Virginia and Cornell deals with Trump set a dangerous precedent | Serena Mayeri and Amanda Shanor

The bespoke agreements are full of peril for the universities, allowing the federal government to quietly exert control

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Jack Schneider @jackschneider.bsky.social · Nov 21

The latest History of Education Quarterly has an incredible forum addressing the dismantling of the US Department of Education.

I'll post non-paywalled versions of all nine contributions here. Huge thanks to the amazing scholars who participated.

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Nov 18

If you want to know why the largest, bloodiest battles of the American Revolution happened in India- & how ordinary people and ambitious leaders all over the world took up arms for their own purposes during the Revolution-- this is the book for you! A great read- congrats @rickbell.bsky.social

Richard Bell @rickbell.bsky.social · Nov 4

Friends, I could not be more excited to let you know that my book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, is out today from Penguin. I’m super proud of it and super grateful to all the scholars whose work informs it. I hope you’ll take a peek and spread the word!

amzn.to/4nHkziG

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World [Bell, Richard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

amzn.to

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Nov 14

So today’s news was that the Justice Dept forced the ouster of a university president in Virginia over politics, and that Texas A&M took away academic freedom from profs who teach things they disagree with. And yet the same people demand intellectual diversity and “civil discourse” on campus?

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Richard Bell @rickbell.bsky.social · Nov 4

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World [Bell, Richard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

amzn.to

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Nancy Kanwisher, Mark A. Lemley , and 7 more Anna O. Law, Nancy Kanwisher, Mark A. Lemley, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Johann N. Neem, Samantha Brennan, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Peter Jacobs

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · Nov 3

NEWS: Federal agents crashed with woman’s car, pointed guns at her, dragged her out by legs, tossed her in a minivan, held her and (eventually) let her go without charges. This as Chicagoans say the immigration blitz is out of control. (DHS blames her.)
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...

Chicago woman dragged out of her car after colliding with ICE demands accountability

The arrest of Dayanne Figueroa highlights growing concerns about the use of force against U.S. citizens and due process. She was released after a few hours without charges.

www.chicagotribune.com

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Nov 1

When local police are assigned to protect people from fed agents, when schools keep kids inside bc of fed agents, and when cities urge people to be careful on Halloween bc of federal agents, that is a sign that the fed government is now the enemy of the American people.

New policy will dispatch police supervisors to federal agent activity in Evanston

The City of Evanston is implementing a new policy to dispatch a police supervisor to reports of incidents involving federal agents in the community.

www.nbcchicago.com

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Oct 27

Please take a moment to complete the quiz below to determine whether you have a president or an emperor.

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Oct 22

New Quiz- please answer all questions: How to know if you have an emperor or a president. If you answer yes to a majority of the questions below, you have an emperor and are no longer living in a free country.

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Oct 25

In US, govt by consent of the governed has ended! Trump’s use of private money to fund his army echoes King Charles I’s effort to fund his govt by finding revenue independent of Parliament- one of the major issues leading to English civil wars- and why Americans fought for govt by consent in 1776.

Anonymous Donor Gives $130 Million to Pay Troops During Shutdown, Pentagon Says

Servicemembers were expected to miss their first full paychecks in mid-October.

www.wsj.com

Reposted by Gernot Wagner, Johann N. Neem, Gerald Friedman , and 6 more Gernot Wagner, Johann N. Neem, Gerald Friedman, Michael D. McDonald, James Goodwin, Henry Jones, Greg Linden, Charles T. Mathewes, S. Laurel Weldon

Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · Oct 24

…

Reposted by Anna O. Law

Johann Neem @johannneem.bsky.social · Oct 24

If you're in DC on Sunday, please stop by the teach-in on American history-- "In an authoritarian regime, one of the first things that is taken from the public is honest and credible information..."