Dan Little
LightNews LightNews
banner
dlittle30.bsky.social
Dan Little
@dlittle30.bsky.social
53 followers 50 following 50 posts
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.
Posts Replies Media Videos
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
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
dlittle30.bsky.social
The Washington Post Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all (Dan Little) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/28/t...
The Washington Post Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all (Dan Little)
This is surely a war crime, on a par with atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine. No members of these boat crews are “combatants” in the technical sense, there is no state …
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 29, 2025 at 1:12 AM
dlittle30.bsky.social
State Media by Proxy (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/26/s...
State Media by Proxy (Gary Krenz)
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 med…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 26, 2025 at 8:12 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Making a far-right activist undsoc.org/2025/11/25/m...
Making a far-right activist
Far-right demonstrators supporting CasaPound (link) How can we understand some of the factors that lead to the development of far-right beliefs and worldview in young people? Why do a certain numbe…
undsoc.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:54 AM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: "Intellectual Freedom in an Authoritarian Age" affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/18/r...
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Intellectual Freedom in an Authoritarian Age”
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. I…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:28 AM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Terrorism and the White House (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/17/t...
Terrorism and the White House (Gary Krenz)
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “terrorism” as “2. gen. A policy intended to strike with terror those against whom it is adopted; the employment of methods of intimidation; …
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 18, 2025 at 1:03 AM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Collective Action for Academic Freedom affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/16/c...
Collective Action for Academic Freedom
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 p…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
NYTimes: Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/13/n...
NYTimes: Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
This is simply appalling. It is a blatant interference in the freedom of students to learn honest truths about their history and the freedom of professors to discuss matters of race and gender open…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:20 AM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Aziz Huq in the Atlantic -- America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/12/a...
Aziz Huq in the Atlantic — America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State
Donald Trump doesn’t need to destroy the court system to get his way, Aziz Huq writes. He just needs to create a shadow zone where the law no longer applies. Welcome to America’s “prerogative state…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:52 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Shutdown Resolution: Debacle, Destiny, Deliverance? (Gary Krenz) affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/10/s...
Shutdown Resolution: Debacle, Destiny, Deliverance?
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 resolutio…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
The Washington Post Trump administration orders states to pause paying full SNAP benefits affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/09/t...
The Washington Post Trump administration orders states to pause paying full SNAP benefits
The deliberate cruelty of this action is stunning … To deliberately interfere with states’ own efforts to cover the food crisis created by MAGA intransigence about SNAP is nothing short…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:48 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
The role of political education in social progress undsoc.org/2025/11/07/t...
The role of political education in social progress
Stephen Esquith has spent much of his career observing, teaching, and engaging in “conflict societies”, and trying to develop an understanding of how best to move from high-violence to …
undsoc.org
November 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: "Never underestimate the American people" affirmingdemocracy.org/2025/11/06/r...
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Never underestimate the American people”
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 long…
affirmingdemocracy.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:27 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Affirming Democracy undsoc.org/2025/11/06/a...
Affirming Democracy
If you are concerned about the fate of our democratic institutions, the rise of xenophobia and hate, and the rule of law, please consider visiting affirmingdemocracy.org — an ongoing group bl…
undsoc.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:53 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Please visit affirmingdemocracy.org -- an ongoing group blog aimed at affirming our democracy and opposing the racism, lawlessness, and authoritarianism we now face ...
Affirming Democracy, Gathering Resistance
Changing Public Opinion about Current Government Lawlessness
affirmingdemocracy.org
October 31, 2025 at 6:17 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
undsoc.org/2025/10/28/a...
A guide to being a sociologist
Karl Marx Imagined The social world is more complex and heterogeneous than most parts of the natural world, with diverse causal processes, different tempos of change, and multiple influences on a g…
undsoc.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
dlittle30.bsky.social
Confronting race through Rawls’s political philosophy

Rawls believes that a just society must be a pluralistic society, and that means that it must be neutral across (reasonable) comprehensive conceptions of the good. Citizens must be enabled to pursue their own comprehensive conceptions without…
Confronting race through Rawls’s political philosophy
Rawls believes that a just society must be a pluralistic society, and that means that it must be neutral across (reasonable) comprehensive conceptions of the good. Citizens must be enabled to pursue their own comprehensive conceptions without interference from the state. Does this imply that a comprehensive conception based on the idea of ethnic or racial superiority over another must be condoned?
undsoc.org
October 2, 2025 at 7:22 PM