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Meg Little Reilly

@meglittlereilly.bsky.social
1.1K followers 45 following 57 posts

Obama White House and Treasury Department * Center for Community News at UVM * Novelist * Civics. www.meglittlereilly.com

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Reposted by Meg Little Reilly
Jeremy C. Young @jeremycyoung.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
NEW: for APT Words, Scout Meredith Best interviews @meglittlereilly.bsky.social about the work of the Center for Community News, a vital project for rebuilding public trust in higher education. aptwords.substack.com/p/the-studen...
aptwords.substack.com
The Students Making Local News
Meg Little Reilly on the convergences that begin when we stop arguing on our computers and step into our communities
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
The mid-term elections will be an important test of how much defunding and privatization of public schools Americans will tolerate. Voucher expansions are putting such alarming pressure on state budgets that even solidly conservative states  might be forced to rethink the economic and political costs of the school choice strategy
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
The Project To Kill Higher Ed Is About More Than College
Episode 9
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #highered #extremist #maga #trump
One of the far-right's greatest achievements of the twenty-first century is convincing Americans that intellectualism and expertise are sinister projects of the political left.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/book-banne... #bookban #parentsrights #momsforliberty #maga #lgbt
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/book-banne... #bookban #parentsrights #momsforliberty #maga #lgbt
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/welcome-to... #trump #moralpanic #lgbtq #resistance
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
As Orbán declared in 2024, "“We have entered the programme-writing system of President Donald Trump’s team, and we have deep involvement there.” meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/the-hungar...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
“It’s tempting to assume that things like order and cohesion are social ideals, but order and cohesion can also be hallmarks of oppressive regimes. They are often the promise made by authoritarians seeking control." open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
How Scapegoating Works Under Authoritarianism
Episode 5
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
“Scapegoating is a persistent temptation for societies in turmoil. It’s a mechanism for maintaining social order and deflecting responsibility. It’s also a primary tactic of authoritarians.” open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
How Scapegoating Works Under Authoritarianism
Episode 5
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
In order to pave the way for an assault on human rights, authoritarians must first dehumanize the scapegoats through disinformation campaigns that argue it is not only okay to inflict pain on them, it is imperative for the public good. open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
The Hungarian Model and Christian Dominionism in America
Episode 4
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
"Trump cultivates a paranoia around the belief that Christianity is under assault. His “anti-Christian bias” task force reinforces dominionist view that Christianity should be at the heart of governance, and any attempt at church-state separation violates this prophesy." substack.com/home/post/p-...
open.substack.com
The Hungarian Model: Christian Dominionism in America
Episode 4
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
It's hard to overstate how dramatic and fast the erosion of press access has been. Previous admins--Ds and Rs--have done near daily briefings to a real press corps for decades. The WH press corps is meant to be a proxy for the people. Without access, there's only propaganda.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Economic pain is real, but it doesn’t necessarily fuel the rise of populist authoritarianism. For that to take hold, societies also need fear, distrust, nativism, and charismatic leaders willing to exploit our divisions. open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
How We Got Here (It's not the price of eggs)
Episode 3
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/how-we-got... #trump #moralpanic #lgbtq #scapegoat #authoritarianism #democracy
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #trump #saveact #authoritarianism #fascism
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #trump #extremism #authoritarianism
The problem is not that voters actively turn against democracy. they merely turn toward a more appealing option, making trade-offs in favor of self-interest. In practice, this can mean promises of economic security or social power--all for the small price of your neighbor's personal liberties.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
The moral panic at home can't be disentangled from the chaos and war abroad.
"Moral panic does not only--or even mainly--have a "moral" function. Its main role is political, particularly in contexts of economic, social, and political upheaval and anxiety." - Global Philanthropy Project
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
There are lofty reasons for universities to resist pressure from Trump -- because a robust system of higher ed is essential for democracy etc. -- but if those don't move you, it's also clear that capitulation will be super expensive and it won't buy you protection. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/n...
nytimes.com
One Year After Trump’s $400 Million Ultimatum, a Different Columbia
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
It's actually a few different frauds packed into one.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Um, correct?
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has received hundreds of calls from military installations reporting the use of Christian theology to justify force in the Iran war. These are generals reassuring troops that it's all part of god's plan... meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/episode-2-...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
This isn't going to get nearly as much as attention as it deserves.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/episode-2-... #SAVEact #Iran #trump
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Lest we've forgotten about the nonpolitical 24k gold plaque...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Really good tick tock of the ICE standoff last week in Burlington, VT that involved a barricaded US citizen, protesters rescuing a child, a car crash -- and flash bang grenades and pepper balls used by ICE on the crowd. @sevendaysvt.bsky.social www.sevendaysvt.com/news/immigra...
sevendaysvt.com
The Inside Story of the South Burlington ICE Raid | Seven Days
Here’s how it all went down when federal immigration agents tried — and failed — to arrest a man in South Burlington on March 11.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
100%. Any administration has a lot of power to bend institutional forces to their will here, but they still can't control media culture. And this admin is especially bad at using popular culture to realize their vision. They are just devastatingly, incurably uncool.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
"Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with sex because the most expedient way to consolidate power is to redefine who gets to be American and at the center of public life. They do this by exploiting anxieties around race, family, identity, and sex." open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
Welcome to Pop Illiberalism! Ep 1: Dumb and Deadly Scapegoat Politics
Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with sex because the most expedient way to consolidate power is to redefine who gets to be American and at the center of public life. They do this by explo...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
And he's just the first one of these guys to admit it. It's possible that we shouldn't hand over our techno-news/warfare/art/education future to these dudes.
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Reposted by Meg Little Reilly
Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
People on awards shows don't "make it political." The world is political. Our lives are political. Our choices are political. The only decision is whether to acknowledge it.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...
open.substack.com
Welcome to Pop Illiberalism! Ep 1: Dumb and Deadly Scapegoat Politics
Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with sex because the most expedient way to consolidate power is to redefine who gets to be American and at the center of public life. They do this by explo...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
This is the work that’s been consuming me for some time now, and a project that just happened to launch today. I hope you will join me at Pop Illiberalism: The War on Sex, Knowledge and Freedom.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It’s not an accident that extremists movements are gaining traction in the U.S. in tandem with the accelerating tumult of our news media landscape and the business of hollywood.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Culture can be a celebration of pluralism -- or an exploitation of anxieties around race, family, identity, and sex if autocrats get their way.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with culture because it’s dangerously expansive, inviting and curious. To control culture is to control our ideas about who gets to be American and at the center of public life.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
... and the backlash against how we live, who we love, and what we learn is facilitated through culture.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
There’s a connection between the consolidation of Hollywood production studies, acquiescent news outlets, disinformation about this illegal war, attacks on higher education, the rise of the manosphere, tradwives, book bans and gender panic. Liberal democracy is under threat...
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Of course, artists deserve their moment to celebrate film and their contributions to it. But “making things political” isn’t a departure from that celebration, it’s an affirmation of its value in public life.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Author Daniel Kehlmann made the case for why artists must be brave right now in his fantastic novel The Director and in a prescient op-ed over the weekend in the New York Times. As he points out, there are chilling echoes of these conditions in Nazi Germany.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It matters because nothing is more powerful for moving public opinion than culture. The choices that artists make – filmmakers, pop stars, novelists, fashion icons – create a story of what’s normal, acceptable and true for many Americans.
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Meg Little Reilly @meglittlereilly.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It matters that very few people of cultural influence chose to use their moment in the limelight at the Oscars to denounce America’s tilt toward the illiberalism, illegality and cruelty.
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