Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 3d

The pretext that parents traffic their own children is absurd. Removing kids from their homes makes them more vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/u...

37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.

www.cnn.com

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 6d

Law and order!

www.boston.com/news/local-n...

Trump administration suddenly cuts millions in Mass. public safety funding

A number of states unwilling to allocate resources for immigration enforcement lost funding meant for fighting terrorism and preparing for emergencies.

www.boston.com

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 6d

Req. unis to ban the “belittlement of conservative ideas” (quote-ish) sounds good for campus speech in its most favorable reading – but what is a conservative idea?

As someone who studies the conservative movement…I can’t even bound that. I know protecting ID is the point, but still…

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 17d

I appreciate hearing a top 20 greatest hits of Sunday School memory verses.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 18d

Was a very frustrating CPAC too as cons tried to distinguish themselves from the GOP to the public (with mixed success).

My fav part about first CPAC is Schlafly leading a defense policy panel because she wanted to.

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · 23d

New piece in The Conversation on Kirk and why his vision for education in America is so important for our understanding of the conservative movement.

theconversation.com/charlie-kirk...

Charlie Kirk talked with young people at universities for a reason – he wanted American education to return to traditional values

Charlie Kirk’s education beliefs have deep roots that predate the MAGA movement and trace back to the 1960s.

theconversation.com

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Sep 2

My writing soundtrack this week is a mix of Kendrick and Miss Rachel.

When in doubt, the 11 mo. old wins.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Sep 2

I just heard about his work a few weeks ago. Nearing the top of my to-read list.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 22

What we're supposed to be trained for as social scientists is to recognize patterns and systems beyond what's obvious and institutional.

I think it'd be crude and incorrect to label a conspiracy. Instead, think about how ordinary people build power over time.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 22

Part of my story (that I don't try to make much of) is that I was homeschooled on the right with many of my peers going to those big firms we think of as making up the r-wing pipeline.

Not everyone makes it through the pipeline, but some do.

If this is a system, we can study it systematically.

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 22

This is exactly right.

And, not only is this working now, but it has for decades.

My research pulls from correspondence between William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, and 20-something activists looking to make an impact. They did – and these acts of personal and strategic leadership are formative.

Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · Aug 20

In this morning's newsletter, I wrote about an under-appreciated problem for liberalism — its total failure to cultivate young talent www.vox.com/on-the-right...

How conservatives help their young thinkers — and why liberals don’t

Liberalism has a serious pipeline problem.

www.vox.com

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 22

Waiting for the corporate freedom crowd to spin this

NPR @npr.org · Aug 22

The president's highly unusual announcement underscores the Trump administration's desire to take control over U.S. businesses.

Intel will give the U.S. government a 10% stake, Trump says

The president's highly unusual announcement underscores the Trump administration's desire to take control over U.S. businesses.

n.pr

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 15

Smart, I would describe these as is as funky and a little flat. The spice is 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 tho. Looking forward to the results.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 15

I made these a few months ago and I’m tempted to try again with some sort of sub…maybe a meld with NYT’s pb and miso cookies?

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 12

As it turns out, facts are challenging for LLMs (and people, to be clear)

gizmodo.com/why-ai-shoul...

Why AI Shouldn't Replace Historians Anytime Soon

A recent study found that AI has put a target on historians' backs. We put several chatbots to the test.

gizmodo.com

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 10

I’m sympathetic to attempts to try new things but I’m skeptical of historical cases applied or examined without context. Saying investments now outpace the Marshall Plan…duh, but as % of GDP?

Historical evidence is good and necessary. Contextualization even more so.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/o...

Opinion | Trump’s Trade Representative: Why We Remade the Global Order

www.nytimes.com

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Aug 6

Not Vermont but we stop in Hanover for lunch on the way up. Middlebury and Waterbury have some quaint towns. Low population density means good spots are spread out. The main stretch of Burlington is tchotchkes but there’s good beer & food around. Would drive up 93 and back Middlebury and Woodstock.

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Jul 8

TIL that Pat Sajak is chairman of Hillsdale’s board? I’d like to solve that puzzle.

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · May 30

Pro.......life?

Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · May 30

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst responds to voters saying that cutting Medicaid will kill them: “Well, we all are going to die.”

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · May 24

Pro travel tip: To find great coffee, look up the local barista competitions in that city (doesn’t matter when they happened) and find out which shops participated. Boom.

If I’m paying $5 for drip coffee anyway, might as well enjoy it 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · May 12

www.jstor.org/stable/27557...

"A Cheap Trafficking in Human Misery": The Reverse Freedom Rides of 1962 on JSTOR

Clive Webb, "A Cheap Trafficking in Human Misery": The Reverse Freedom Rides of 1962, Journal of American Studies, Vol. 38, No. 2, Civil Rights and Reactions (Aug., 2004), pp. 249-271

www.jstor.org

Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · May 12

TIL that Citizens' Councils funded "Reverse Freedom Rides" in 1962 by paying Black families to emigrate out of the Deep South.

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · May 10

There’s a stack of boxes at the LOC (if they aren’t removed…) on how Buckley explored building a YAF in SA. Hoping to get to that someday if the manuscript division isn’t converted into a Tatte.

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Reposted by Daniel Ruggles

Universal Hub @universalhub.com · Mar 19

Wu: "If you come for one of us, you will get all of us. We are a city that knows our strength is each other: And we will defend the people we love with all that we’ve got. When the weight of the world presses down, Boston stands up."

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Daniel Ruggles @ruggles.bsky.social · Mar 13

The gutting of Dept of Ed’s civil rights office isn’t primarily about DEI or cost-cutting – it’s obliterating the capacity of government to hold schools and perpetrating responsible for gender-based violence. It’s about protecting a different person.

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