Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Academic neutrality is a smokescreen for state-sanctioned indoctrination

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 2d

"Neutrality is being weaponized as part of a larger attack on critical thinking and social emotional learning. Ultimately, it is nothing more than a smokescreen for state-sanctioned indoctrination."

@chicago.suntimes.com

chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...

A Texas A&M University professor's firing is taking place amid a backdrop of schools and colleges grappling with the very concept of academic neutrality — a vague ideal calling on educational institut...

'Deeply wounded' by Cardinal Dolan’s adulation of Charlie Kirk

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Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 5d

"This is not a minor theological disagreement. It is a clash over the moral compass of the church in a time of political extremism and rising violence."

@chicago.suntimes.com

chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...

Kirk’s death was, without question, a tragic loss of a young father and husband. But compassion does not require canonization. To elevate Kirk to sainthood is to rewrite the moral ledger of his public...

Moral panics intensify social divisions and can lead to political violence

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 6d

"While researching this polarization, I have found recurring themes of segregation and both the dehumanization and disproportionate fear of people with opposing views among liberals and conservatives alike."

@theconversation.com

theconversation.com/moral-panics...

From the Salem witch trials to McCarthyism and Charlie Kirk’s killing, an exaggerated fear of a particular group has resulted in repression from liberals and conservatives.

theconversation.com

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Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 7d

"This approach recognizes that democratic citizenship requires intellectual courage: the willingness to encounter perspectives that challenge our assumptions and grapple with evidence that complicates simple stories."

@chicagotribune.com

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/o...

Stephanie R. Toliver: What can we do as the Trump administration sanitizes civic education?

Democratic citizenship requires intellectual courage: the willingness to encounter perspectives that challenge our assumptions.

Tylenol guidance shows Trump administration doesn't understand the scientific process

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 7d

"The trend from small to large, from observation to causation is often true in science, no matter if the topic is autism, allergies, Alzheimer’s or anything else."

@chicago.suntimes.com

chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...

As a biomedical scientist, I am concerned that any small, preliminary study that is meant to only begin to explore a new link will be taken as demonstration that that link exists.

Trump floats using Chicago, other Democrat-led cities as military training ground, troops coming 'very soon'

Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

WBEZ @wbez.org · 8d

President Donald Trump told about 800 of the country’s top military officials that he’s using “dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military and will be going into Chicago “very soon.”

Trump’s wide-ranging and unprecedented address to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia comes a day after Gov. JB Pritzker said he’ had received word that the Department of Homeland Security wants to send in 100 "military troops" to Illinois to help protect ICE facilities and personnel.

trib.al

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 8d

In a blistering decision, a Reagan-appointed judge says the Trump administration has trampled First Amendment rights by targeting students protesting Israel's actions in Gaza.

A Reagan-appointed judge just wrote a blistering anti-Trump decision

Federal judge William G. Young attacked the president's crackdown on civil liberties as un-American.

Perspective | An appreciation of a uniquely American language: Spanglish

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 8d

Column by Theresa Vargas: Spanglish is often described in the context of bilingualism. A dual ability. Two gifts. But that’s not what it was for my siblings and me. We spoke one language that was a patchwork of two.

There’s a difference.

The language I grew up hearing was flexible and fluid. It was playful and rhythmic. It made no sense and perfect sense.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 13d

"The sheer number of American elites willing to acquiesce to the destruction of democratic institutions is demoralizing. But it’s worth noting that many ordinary people seem to be made of sterner stuff."

@theatlantic.com

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Lower Than Cowards

The surrender of America’s elites

www.theatlantic.com

Hours after delivering his delusional and offensive speech to the United Nations yesterday, President Donald J.

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 13d

"Rather than engaging in the hard work of negotiation, Trump appears to want to use the government for his own ends."

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-...

@hcrichardson.bsky.social

September 24, 2025

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

How Originalism Killed the Constitution

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 14d

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

@theatlantic.com

"Did he ever wonder if that might be true of the Constitution, if he had been wrong, and if it were, all along, a living thing, though now stunted, thwarted, ailing?"

A radical legal philosophy has undermined the process of constitutional evolution.

www.theatlantic.com

What Ancient Rome and Greece can teach us about comedians and free speech

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 16d

"But scholars see a direct link between the fates of ancient comedians living through collapsing democracies and the crackdown on their descendants today."

www.npr.org/2025/09/21/n...

@npr.org

As president Donald Trump celebrates the cancelation of comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and says he hopes the same fate will befall others who have been similarly critical, a look at the co...

www.npr.org

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 17d

"For those of us who belong to marginalized groups, the aftermath of Kirk’s fatal shooting also serves as a reminder that many fellow Americans share his disturbing stances or are willing to normalize what came out of his mouth."

chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...

@chicago.suntimes.com

Whose bigotry is accepted in America?

The airbrushing of Charlie Kirk's legacy has got me thinking about double standards and pondering how differently many Americans would react if someone like Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West...

How our history became "divisive"

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 22d

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

@motherjones.com

"The charge demands no burden of proof and lacks the force and risk of a label such as 'racist.' All that’s required is a tittle of discomfort—a standard that benefits those with the most to lose if systemic racism were dismantled."

Inside the modern quest to enforce American unity.

Pardoned insurrectionists are using Charlie Kirk’s death to call for civil war

Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 27d

NEW @motherjones.com: Pardoned J6ers are using Kirk's killing to call for civil war

Stewart Rhodes will rebuild Oath Keepers; Proud Boys call for "retribution"; & ex-insurrectionists are coming "out of retirement."

Experts fear they could incite others to violence. W/ @kieraevebutler.bsky.social:

“Charlie Kirk's assassination pulled me out of retirement. More work must be done.”

“THIS IS WAR”: Some right-wing figures call for retribution following Kirk killing

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 27d

“More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state."
“The Left is the party of murder.”
“Civil war."

Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, several right-wing public figures used the moment to make incendiary claims.

“More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state.”

No, Charlie Kirk was not practicing politics the right way

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 27d

NEW: No, Charlie Kirk was not practicing politics the right way. That's what Ezra Klein said. We can condemn this heinous assassination but also recognize that with his 2020 election denialism and extremist rhetoric, Kirk built his movement with falsehoods and in a wrong and divisive manner.

His assassination deserves full condemnation; his full impact should not be sidestepped.

Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian – and why that matters for democracy

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 28d

Trump’s troop deployments, city threats & persecution of opponents fit classic signs of authoritarianism.

Journalists hesitate to use the word, but a communications scholar argues the U.S. is “well past that point.”

buff.ly/Ctx7ZUk

Media framing shapes people’s understanding of the world. A political communication scholar says that journalistic outlets’ failure to call Donald Trump an authoritarian is a problem for democracy.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Christopher Schroeder

Lisa Kurian Philip @lkpwrites.bsky.social · 29d

Stay calm & respectful, but know your rights. Carry your student ID card at all times. Avoid unnecessary risks.

These are some of the tips UIC officials sent students to prepare for Trump’s deployment of federal agents to the #Chicago area.

@wbez.org @opencampus.org

www.wbez.org/education/20...

What local colleges are telling students to do during increased federal immigration enforcement

Students are being told to avoid unnecessary risks and to contact university police if federal agents approach them.

www.wbez.org

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Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 28d

I want public education to succeed as much as anyone, but a smart union worth its dues makes itself part of this process.

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 28d

"It will be harder — not impossible, unfortunately — for CTU to attempt to demonize school board members who are trying to make difficult but responsible decisions."

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/10/e...

@chicagotribune.com

Editorial: Chicago Public Schools enrollment is at its lowest level in memory

The numbers don’t lie. CPS leaders must begin the process that will lead to school closures.

Barbara Ransby: Our mayor is standing on the right side of history. Chicago should stand with him.

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Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · 29d

"Trump has invented two crises, rhetorically turning ongoing problems into emergencies. In response, he purports to solve these crises overnight with armed soldiers trained for combat, not urban crime or homelessness."

@chicagotribune.com

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/09/o...

We don’t need a mean-spirited racist demagogue to solve our city’s problems. We need resources, support, unity and a little bit of optimism.

Marj Halperin: There’s another way for blue states to respond to Donald Trump. Go cold turkey on Washington.

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · Sep 8

"There are many paths to resist Trump’s move toward autocracy and protect our democracy. The smart money goes to those who . . . build functional institutions wherever possible, independent of increasingly hostile federal leadership."

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/08/o...

@chicagotribune.com

It’s time for those who have this tool of independence to start using it against President Donald Trump.

Jim Nowlan and Lane V. Sunderland: On gerrymandering, Congress must put its House in order

Christopher Schroeder @chrislschroed.bsky.social · Sep 8

"In fact, extreme gerrymandering corrupts our democracy by . . . denying most registered voters a role in elections, eliminating competition, polarizing elections and . . . turning a blind eye to most voter concerns."

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/08/o...

@chicagotribune.com

Extreme gerrymandering corrupts our democracy by denying most registered voters a role in elections and eliminating competition.