Derek Gottlieb
@derekgottliebphd.com
Researching | Indexing | Writing | Skiing
I wrote "A Democratic Theory of Educational Accountability," I work at School Perceptions, and I live in Wisconsin.
I wrote "A Democratic Theory of Educational Accountability," I work at School Perceptions, and I live in Wisconsin.
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
I didn’t want to overreact, and took time to read this. Having done so, I’m adding Northwestern to the list of places I won’t visit or speak. The concessions re: international students and gender-affirming care are not merely symbolic.
Here’s the text of the Northwestern settlement with the DoJ, which includes a $75 million financial component / payoff (cc @profmarkovic.bsky.social):
November 29, 2025 at 5:10 AM
I didn’t want to overreact, and took time to read this. Having done so, I’m adding Northwestern to the list of places I won’t visit or speak. The concessions re: international students and gender-affirming care are not merely symbolic.
There is no greater threat to the possibility of learning, made sharper by the age of LLMs, than the idea that we already know everything.
This is an appreciation post for West Point prof Elizabeth Samet’s “Looking for the Good War,” which Hegseth would never read.
This is an appreciation post for West Point prof Elizabeth Samet’s “Looking for the Good War,” which Hegseth would never read.
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
November 29, 2025 at 11:01 AM
There is no greater threat to the possibility of learning, made sharper by the age of LLMs, than the idea that we already know everything.
This is an appreciation post for West Point prof Elizabeth Samet’s “Looking for the Good War,” which Hegseth would never read.
This is an appreciation post for West Point prof Elizabeth Samet’s “Looking for the Good War,” which Hegseth would never read.
I was going to see it anyway, but now I genuinely can’t wait
As a former Catholic who has spent the last 10 years beyond disgusted by the hypocrisy of MAGA "Christians," I was deeply moved by and found some catharsis in Wake Up Dead Man (the new Knives Out mystery).
November 29, 2025 at 10:48 AM
I was going to see it anyway, but now I genuinely can’t wait
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only western value they care about is property rights and all other uses of the phrase are just code for being white. It’s not like they sit around reading Classics. At best they’ve picked up some things about Western Civilisation from video games and “300.”
November 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only western value they care about is property rights and all other uses of the phrase are just code for being white. It’s not like they sit around reading Classics. At best they’ve picked up some things about Western Civilisation from video games and “300.”
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
DHS's stated justification for Abak's abduction is that he has a criminal case in Turkey, but the circumstances of that case form a substantial part of the basis for his asylum application, and he's followed the asylum process to the letter.
ICE Takes Kurdish Asylum Seeker The Day Before His Wife Became A US Citizen: 'I Cannot Do This Alone'
At the time of his detention, Enes Abak had a pending asylum petition and an upcoming immigration court hearing. His wife is now fighting for his release. "We were following every letter of the law," ...
blockclubchicago.org
November 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
DHS's stated justification for Abak's abduction is that he has a criminal case in Turkey, but the circumstances of that case form a substantial part of the basis for his asylum application, and he's followed the asylum process to the letter.
“It teaches me further, to ‘Remember them that are in bods, as bound with them.’ I endeavored to act up to that instruction…. I believe that to have interfered as I have done, as I have always freely admitted I have done, in behalf of his despised poor, I have done no wrong, but RIGHT."
November 29, 2025 at 1:28 AM
“It teaches me further, to ‘Remember them that are in bods, as bound with them.’ I endeavored to act up to that instruction…. I believe that to have interfered as I have done, as I have always freely admitted I have done, in behalf of his despised poor, I have done no wrong, but RIGHT."
I’m sure I’m on the naughty list, right @profanity.accountant ?
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
I’m sure I’m on the naughty list, right @profanity.accountant ?
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
Talk about a holiday weekend news dump. Northwestern would likely rather have their $75 million payment to the Trump administration fly under the radar.
www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
www.northwestern.edu
November 29, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Talk about a holiday weekend news dump. Northwestern would likely rather have their $75 million payment to the Trump administration fly under the radar.
www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
Fuck this protection racket bullshit!
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Fuck this protection racket bullshit!
Humanities centipede
Admin wants "success" numbers to go up, but don't want class sizes to go down. Students want a credential that gets them a job, but don't care much about learning. All of society reinforces these stances.
Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
November 29, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Humanities centipede
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
November 28, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Somehow I didn’t mention vouchers in this convo, which is also a really big deal!
"Leaving Children Behind: Education Policy from Bush to Trump": @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social and @trentrichardnelson.bsky.social with @derekgottliebphd.com, on our Half the Answer podcast www.liberalcurrents.com/half-the-ans...
Half the Answer #50: Leaving Children Behind: Education Policy from Bush to Trump
Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be ...
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Somehow I didn’t mention vouchers in this convo, which is also a really big deal!
In a lot of ways — and I’m thinking of Charles Murray, Ben Carson, and many many others, as well — I feel like we’re watching an inverted Anton Chigur aphorism.
If the rule that you followed has led you to this, then *that rule* must become necessary.
If the rule that you followed has led you to this, then *that rule* must become necessary.
unironically i think he wants to impose the conditions of his childhood onto the entire country
JD Vance's ideal America is a place with half the GDP where everyone with potential and options gets the fuck out, a shithole that people from countries with actual dynamism visit to watch chintzy 'traditional' dances before going home.
November 28, 2025 at 3:46 PM
In a lot of ways — and I’m thinking of Charles Murray, Ben Carson, and many many others, as well — I feel like we’re watching an inverted Anton Chigur aphorism.
If the rule that you followed has led you to this, then *that rule* must become necessary.
If the rule that you followed has led you to this, then *that rule* must become necessary.
Sam’s book (and lots of other Chicago books) is/are really damn good!
My book and all other @uchicagopress.bsky.social titles are 30% off through December 3rd with the code HOLIDAY25. Get yourself and your friends a copy or twelve!
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
The Internal Colony
An explication of how global decolonization provoked profound changes in American political theory and practice. In The Internal Colony, Sam Klug reveals the central but underappreciated importance...
press.uchicago.edu
November 28, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Sam’s book (and lots of other Chicago books) is/are really damn good!
Or as Sexton said, “You better understand white people’s fantasies because tomorrow they’ll be legislation."
That, for me, is what book bans, bathroom bills, National Guard deployments, and even Presidential immunity have in common — fantasies legislated into horrifying material existence.
That, for me, is what book bans, bathroom bills, National Guard deployments, and even Presidential immunity have in common — fantasies legislated into horrifying material existence.
This is so deeply at odds with the vision and history of America. Take pretty much any ethnic or racial group that are part of the American mosaic America today - they have all faced the same accusation. The moment these accusations are turned into policy are some of the most shameful in US history
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Or as Sexton said, “You better understand white people’s fantasies because tomorrow they’ll be legislation."
That, for me, is what book bans, bathroom bills, National Guard deployments, and even Presidential immunity have in common — fantasies legislated into horrifying material existence.
That, for me, is what book bans, bathroom bills, National Guard deployments, and even Presidential immunity have in common — fantasies legislated into horrifying material existence.
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
Just in time for Black Friday. 😉
Excellent question and it so happens that back in August our editors picked five books each to make a reading list: www.liberalcurrents.com/the-liberal-...
Now, at the time, we did that as a post for patrons only.
But you know what, let's make it public today. 🍾
Now, at the time, we did that as a post for patrons only.
But you know what, let's make it public today. 🍾
November 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Just in time for Black Friday. 😉
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
I can only think of one person for whom this is true and it’s Stephen Miller, who for some reason will not rest till the US reproduces the violent xenophobia that made his and my ancestors flee eastern Europe. The rest of his family seems normal, though
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I can only think of one person for whom this is true and it’s Stephen Miller, who for some reason will not rest till the US reproduces the violent xenophobia that made his and my ancestors flee eastern Europe. The rest of his family seems normal, though
When I was a kid, my family went to NC one summer. A restaurant served us a basket of crabs and fries; it came with a little hammer. My dad said it was to break the shells. I put a crab on my plate.
Before my dad could stop me, I wielded that hammer like Mjölnir and ruined everyone’s meal.
Before my dad could stop me, I wielded that hammer like Mjölnir and ruined everyone’s meal.
November 28, 2025 at 1:35 PM
When I was a kid, my family went to NC one summer. A restaurant served us a basket of crabs and fries; it came with a little hammer. My dad said it was to break the shells. I put a crab on my plate.
Before my dad could stop me, I wielded that hammer like Mjölnir and ruined everyone’s meal.
Before my dad could stop me, I wielded that hammer like Mjölnir and ruined everyone’s meal.
I shall explain ... to someone who, say, only speaks French by means of the corresponding French words. But if a person has not yet got the concepts, I shall teach him to use the words by means of examples and by exercises. And when I do this I do not communicate less to him than I know myself.
Still think about my Latin professor who 5 weeks into the semester realized that the class didn’t know English grammar well enough for him to be able to explain Latin, so the class suddenly became a simultaneous English grammar & Latin class
November 28, 2025 at 11:41 AM
I shall explain ... to someone who, say, only speaks French by means of the corresponding French words. But if a person has not yet got the concepts, I shall teach him to use the words by means of examples and by exercises. And when I do this I do not communicate less to him than I know myself.
Reposted by Derek Gottlieb
I have been periodically saying this for a while, but the movie is far more compatible with the worldview of the knuckle-draggers than most people think
Rewatching Sicario for the first time in 6 or 7 years.
I’m reminded of how easy it might be for some 22 y/o to watch this movie and join CBP thinking that if they play their cards right they’re going to be an operator fighting cartels rather than kidnapping construction workers off of the street.
I’m reminded of how easy it might be for some 22 y/o to watch this movie and join CBP thinking that if they play their cards right they’re going to be an operator fighting cartels rather than kidnapping construction workers off of the street.
November 28, 2025 at 4:49 AM
I have been periodically saying this for a while, but the movie is far more compatible with the worldview of the knuckle-draggers than most people think
The horrifying paradox of the unitary executive
Effectively there is no *one* person performing the duties of President of the United States right now. We are in an interregnum with an occupied throne.
The fundamental thing to understand about this administration is the president is a grumpy retiree. He has no interest in working anymore. Which leads to him being pissed that he is getting asked a question, pissed he has to show up and work, the scheming viziers running the show, etc..
November 28, 2025 at 10:59 AM
The horrifying paradox of the unitary executive
Yeah, exactly
Also, fuck him, the Somali community in Minnesota is great.
hi that's racist
November 28, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Yeah, exactly
Ain’t a foul, as they say
Getting tea bagged on national TV on Thanksgiving is nasty work
Pickens tried the hurdle 😅
November 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Ain’t a foul, as they say