Christopher Martell

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there. Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

If you are like "How is all this happening?", I suggest reading this article on the "dual state" (and how the Supreme Court can make it way worse this year). www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

'F—k Them Kids': ICE Agents Ransack Chicago Community During Overnight Raid | iHeart A large-scale overnight immigration raid in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood has left residents reeling from the destruction of their community. | iHeart

“Neighbors described children being zip-tied, flashbang grenades being used, and doors being destroyed." Our nation's cities are under attack from wannabe fascists (are you paying attention?). Democracy continues to collapse. Never been a more important time to resist. www.iheart.com/content/2025...

White House Floats Compact for Preferential Treatment Advocates condemned the proposal, which asked nine universities to overhaul admissions, hiring and speech policies and to suppress criticism of conservatives in exchange for more federal money.

Every university better say no to this. For democracy. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

The U.S. Senate: The Most Unrepresentative Body ESSAY: You may know that the U.S. Senate is deeply divided and entrenched. Less obvious: the chamber is the least representative elected political body in…

An explanation of the Senate. www.nprillinois.org/politics/202...

Misrepresentation in the House of Representatives | Brookings Last November revealed the capstone of misrepresentation in American democracy when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes but lost in the Electoral College. But what about the U.S....

An explanation of the House. www.brookings.edu/articles/mis...

The Democrats’ shutdown strategy is terrible. Here’s a better one. Talk less about health care, more about authoritarianism.

This. Dems can't treat this government shutdown like normal times. Instead, they must use it to stop Trump's lawlessness. Remember, more Americans are represented in Congress by Democrats, but Republicans have the majority due to gerrymandering and less dense states). www.vox.com/politics/463...

Misrepresentation in the House of Representatives | Brookings Last November revealed the capstone of misrepresentation in American democracy when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes but lost in the Electoral College. But what about the U.S....

Explanation on why GOP controls Congress despite fewer individual votes. www.brookings.edu/articles/mis...

100% Mainstream media barely noticing anymore. 😖

Not okay. Let's hope the resistance grows stronger.

CEOs (most of whom live in the 'burbs) tried to buy our mayor's office and they are now sad...

Boston Mayor’s Blowout Victory Jilts CEOs Seeking New Direction Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is coasting to reelection after her main opponent quit the race, giving her a commanding mandate that’s putting city business leaders on edge.

I love this for them. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The U.S. is heading towards a federal government shutdown. What does that actually mean? The Congressional Budget Office's director says a short shutdown doesn't have a huge impact on the economy but over time there's "a negative impact."

Republicans control the entire U.S. government: both chambers of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. They are the only ones to blame for a government shutdown. Full stop. www.pbs.org/newshour/amp...

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour At gathering of military leaders, Trump hints at deployment in U.S. cities

A president telling the military today to continue preparing to deploy in our cities not only violates the U.S. law (Posse Comitatus Act), but is incredibly dangerous. This U.S. democracy continues to collapse. youtu.be/uWcuadF229g?...

Anti-teacher unions ad

MTA member here. I do not appreciate being bombarded with billionaire-funded anti-union "digitally created" (AI?) ads on social media trying to connect my teachers union to "political violence." Proud my union advocates for teachers and students. #UnionStrong www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/a...

American Education Has Never Been Neutral Ground As book bans and censorship spread, leaders must decide: protect comfort or defend truth? History shows progress comes from courage in education.

"Too many educational leaders have chosen silence. Some tell themselves they are protecting the institution by staying neutral. Others hope the controversy will burn itself out. But history teaches us that silence is never neutral." Important read from Ismael Jimenez. www.edpost.com/stories/amer...

Hegseth says Wounded Knee soldiers will keep their Medals of Honor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that he has decided that the 20 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their actions in 1890 at Wounded Knee will keep their awards.

Historian here. This is some real settler-colonist white supremacist ahistorical reading of history garbage (but they know that and are working overtime to bring us back to the 1890s). apnews.com/article/woun...

Oklahoma superintendent who put Trump Bibles in classrooms resigns Ryan Walters, who has led Oklahoma public schools since 2022, is quitting to run a conservative education non-profit

Oklahoma is (a little more) OK. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

YouTube video by Late Night with Seth Meyers Trump Says U.N. "Sabotaged" Him After Embarrassing Escalator & Teleprompter Snafus: A Closer Look

This person is suppose to be the "leader of the free world." Spot on from Seth Meyers.🤦‍♂️😂😓 youtu.be/yiJWs1W8EhI?...

Image of the UMass Boston campus. Work here!

Come work with me! Tenure track position in Ed. Leadership with a focus on university-assisted community schools and principal preparation. We are a MSI rooted in social justice and urban education. Located on the beautiful seaside of Columbia Point. employmentopportunities.umb.edu/boston/en-us...

California bans federal agents from using masks to hide their faces California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning federal agents from wearing face-concealing masks, likening the practice to a “dystopian sci-fi movie.”

Good. I seriously hope Massachusetts is to follow. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Keller: Plans to change Massachusetts flag suddenly a topic in governor's race Plans to change the state flag of Massachusetts are suddenly a topic in the governor's race.

GOP gov candidates (with help from John Keller) are starting a campaign against changing our deeply problematic Massachusetts state flag (something that was started by the last GOP governor). Let's be sure to remind state legislators/governor that this is important! www.cbsnews.com/amp/boston/n...

They are definitely using some code words there (especially when you understand the message of our current state flag). 😉

What are Nexstar and Sinclair, the ABC affiliate owners who issued statements against Jimmy Kimmel Two ABC affiliate owners spoke out against late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel ahead of ABC’s decision to suspend the presenter over comments he made about the killing of conservative activist Char...

Boycott Sinclair and Nexstar stations. There are luckily none in Boston, but the next time I'm in the Bay Area, KRON-4 is dead to me. www.boston25news.com/news/who-are...

For reference (example of PragerU). bsky.app/profile/chri...

U.S. Education Dept. unites conservative groups to create 'patriotic' civics content The group of more than 40 conservative organizations met for the first time on Wednesday. The initiative is aimed at celebrations of the nation's founding next summer.

And, ED is moving fast. They announced 40 conservative groups will teach students about history and civics. Get ready for your kids to come home explaining slavery/segregation wasn't so bad and the U.S. is a Christian nation (common themes in these groups' materials). www.npr.org/2025/09/17/n...

My Testimony on Science of Reading Legislation Dear Chairperson Lewis, Chairperson Gordon, and Committee Members: My name is Maruice T. Cunningham, and I am a retired professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. …

On Tuesday the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Education held a hearing on Science of Reading legislation. I submitted this testimony urged the committee to identify the true interests: privateering billionaires. www.masspoliticsprofs.org/2025/09/18/m... #mapoli #maedu #bospoli

I write in strong opposition to the “Proposed Priority and Definitions—Secretary’s Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Promoting Patriotic Education” (ED-2025-OS-0745). I urge the Secretary of Education to not adopt this new priority into the federal grant process. This priority is frankly un-American. It creates an ideological litmus test within the federal grant review process. Past Republican and Democratic executive administrations long understood that the federal grant process was meant to benefit the greater good of the American public, which includes all Americans, and not to support the narrow political views of one group. Of course, the political perspective of any administration has had influence. However, they respected the diversity in thinking among educational program leaders and researchers, and awarded grants based on quality and impact, rather than ideology. This priority does the opposite. It makes clear that the Secretary’s goal is to create a grant process that makes decisions based on political thinking, rather than factual accuracy and scholarly expertise. The American public will see through these (and any other) attempts to rewrite history and engage in educational indoctrination to further political goals. As the poet Langston Hughes wrote, “Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be.” As the historian Howard Zinn said, “Patriotism doesn't mean support of government. Patriotism means support of the principles it's supposed to stand for.” I believe most Americans, on the political right, center, and left, agree with these sentiments. As President Ronald Reagan said, “We the people tell the government what to do—it doesn't tell us.” Sadly, this priority would ensure, through the grants process, that the government will tell teachers, students, and educational researchers what to do and think. It is antithetical to our nation’s values and the legacy of President Reagan’s words. I could speak at lengths about how t…

Here is my letter, which I just submitted, if you would like to read it. christophercmartell.com/Letter091825...

They make it hard to comment, but here goes: Go to regulations.gov. Put in this number under "submit your comment." Search "ED-2025-OS-0745." Click on "comment." This link might also work: www.regulations.gov/search?filte...

Trump should stay out of what students learn in school Though President Trump’s new executive order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” contains many elements that resonate with me philosophically and educationally, I’m having trouble reconc...

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” -George Orwell, 1984. Heck, even Checker Finn agrees with me (and we never agree on anything!) fordhaminstitute.org/national/com...

"A clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history." The U.S. was great (and indoctrination that only the right can restore greatness). Be ready for this to fund all kinds of insane rightwing propaganda campaigns in U.S. schools.