Dan Little
@dlittle30.bsky.social
Dan Little is a retired professor of philosophy and public policy. Understanding Society has been published since 2007 treating issues in philosophy of social science and social justice.
NYTimes: U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/02/15/n...
NYTimes: U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
Utterly shameful at every level … The article makes clear these persons are in fact likely to be killed if returned to their home country, the administration has shamefully bypassed the court…
affirmingdemocracy.org
February 15, 2026 at 5:26 PM
NYTimes: U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/02/15/n...
Social dynamics of large-scale hate undsoc.org/2026/02/12/s...
Social dynamics of large-scale hate
Many countries are facing a resurgence of racism and ethnic hostility in the current political environment, catalyzed in complicated ways by the refugee crisis in Europe, the Brexit vote in the UK,…
undsoc.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Social dynamics of large-scale hate undsoc.org/2026/02/12/s...
Maintaining social resilience undsoc.org/2026/01/31/m...
Maintaining social resilience
What is needed for a community of diverse people and groups to maintain its resilience in the face of hateful language, incidents, and provocations? This question is particularly important for univ…
undsoc.org
January 31, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Maintaining social resilience undsoc.org/2026/01/31/m...
How democracies die undsoc.org/2026/01/25/h...
How democracies die
image: Senator Josh Hawley salutes January 6 insurrection Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have written with growing alarm about the threat to our democracy by right-wing extremism. How Democraci…
undsoc.org
January 25, 2026 at 10:27 PM
How democracies die undsoc.org/2026/01/25/h...
We are in a bad way! affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/25/w...
We are in a bad way!
The shooting of Alex Pretti, citizen, nurse, and caring man, a killing that was fundamentally unprovoked, fundamentally an execution, and apparently beyond all accountability or genuine investigati…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 25, 2026 at 5:33 PM
We are in a bad way! affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/25/w...
MAGA's "Dilbertian" Movie (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/21/m...
MAGA’s “Dilbertian” Movie (Gary Krenz)
I should be posting about our very real and very immediate world crisis. There is a lot to say, to be sure, but really one thing that should be done: “25th Amendment: Now!” I’d like instead …
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 22, 2026 at 10:52 PM
MAGA's "Dilbertian" Movie (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/21/m...
The dual state (1938) undsoc.org/2025/12/19/t...
The dual state (1938)
Ernst Fraenkel’s book The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship offers instructive and ominous reading today. Written during the rise of Hitler’s National-Socialist s…
undsoc.org
January 16, 2026 at 7:19 PM
The dual state (1938) undsoc.org/2025/12/19/t...
ICE OUT rally in Ann Arbor affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/10/i...
ICE OUT rally in Ann Arbor
Enthusiastic turnout for ICE OUT rally in Ann Arbor this morning …
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 10, 2026 at 9:49 PM
ICE OUT rally in Ann Arbor affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/10/i...
Good and Evil (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/08/g...
Good and Evil (Gary Krenz)
I am essentially at a loss for words about the killing of Reneé Nicole Good. This is a wrenching, grievous moment — of course especially for those close to Good, and for those who were eye wi…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Good and Evil (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/08/g...
We (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/05/we/
We (Gary Krenz)
We — yes, we — are in an emergency situation. We — yes, we — have illegally, according to our own laws, and in defiance of our UN agreements, invaded Venezue…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:21 PM
We (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/05/we/
The Viceroy of Venezuela (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/04/t...
The Viceroy of Venezuela (Dan Little)
The appointment of Marco Rubio as Viceroy of Venezuela is another deranged step taken by Donald Trump’s regime. It must not stand. It is an inherently imperialistic and royalist title (vice k…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 4, 2026 at 5:16 PM
The Viceroy of Venezuela (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/04/t...
Kidnapping a foreign head of state (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/03/k...
Kidnapping a foreign head of state (Dan Little)
The Trump administration must be held accountable for its latest act of international criminality. To kidnap the president of Venezuela and his wife is completely illegal and reckless. There is no …
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 3, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Kidnapping a foreign head of state (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/03/k...
Self-evident truths (Declaration musings II) (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/01/s...
Self-evident truths (Declaration musings II) (Gary Krenz)
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…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 2, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Self-evident truths (Declaration musings II) (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2026/01/01/s...
A submission of facts to a candid world (Declaration musings I) (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/31/a...
A submission of facts to a candid world (Declaration musings I) (Gary Krenz)
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 Ke…
affirmingdemocracy.org
January 1, 2026 at 1:05 AM
A submission of facts to a candid world (Declaration musings I) (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/31/a...
Against Christian nationalism (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/24/a...
Against Christian nationalism (Dan Little)
In his speech to Turning Point USA Vice President Vance affirmed belligerently that the United States was a Christian nation. MS NOW writer Erum Salam noted that The vice president also said that ‘…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 26, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Against Christian nationalism (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/24/a...
Our Caligula president (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/17/o...
Our Caligula president (Dan Little)
Donald Trump’s actions often defy historical analogies. Recurring themes that have no precedent in US history include his transparent goal of imposing his unilateral will on our country, crushing a…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Our Caligula president (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/17/o...
Higher education in the age of Garfield (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/08/h...
Higher education in the age of Garfield (Gary Krenz)
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. T…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Higher education in the age of Garfield (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/08/h...
Our American Heritage (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/07/o...
Our American Heritage (Gary Krenz)
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…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Our American Heritage (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/07/o...
Phil Klay's moral analysis of the boat strikes (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/06/p...
Phil Klay’s moral analysis of the boat strikes (Gary Krenz)
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 …
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 7, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Phil Klay's moral analysis of the boat strikes (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/06/p...
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/05/w...
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz)
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 Congr…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 6, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/05/w...
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/05/w...
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz)
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 Congr…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Welcome to Oceania, ca. 1984 (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/05/w...
Trump's unhinged racist attack on Somalis ... (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/04/t...
Trump’s unhinged racist attack on Somalis … (Dan Little)
The president of the United States has completely lost control of his inner racist rage … his words about "Somalis as garbage" are so fundamentally disgraceful that all citizens mus…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Trump's unhinged racist attack on Somalis ... (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/04/t...
Young Republicans chapter plans to host far-right German leader after ‘I love Hitler’ chat (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/03/y...
Young Republicans chapter plans to host far-right German leader after ‘I love Hitler’ chat (Dan Little)
Astounding, isn’t it, that young New York Republicans still don’t get it: supporting Nazi-style slogans and celebrating the leader of Germany’s extremist AfD fundamentally reveals their racist beli…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Young Republicans chapter plans to host far-right German leader after ‘I love Hitler’ chat (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/03/y...
Jen Rubin on the order to "kill everyone" (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/01/j...
Jen Rubin on the order to “kill everyone” (Dan Little)
Jen Rubin’s meticulous and detailed analysis of the criminal status of the Hegseth order is exceptionally good. She quotes the relevant parts of international law, pulls together expert opini…
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Jen Rubin on the order to "kill everyone" (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/12/01/j...
A Belated Thanksgiving Post (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/30/a...
A Belated Thanksgiving Post (Gary Krenz)
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 …
affirmingdemocracy.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:14 AM
A Belated Thanksgiving Post (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/30/a...