Dr. Tom Alter, a respected and tenured university professor, was fired by Texas State University (TSU) President Kelly Damphousse on Sept. 10, 2025, for remarks he delivered at a socialist conference in his capacity as a private citizen. After clips of his comments were taken out of context and circulated online by a self-described fascist streamer, they came to the attention of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who politically pressured TSU to fire Dr. Alter. He was fired without due process, in violation of both Texas State University policy and Texas state law. This attack is another in a wave of politically motivated attacks on professors and teachers as part of what is often called the New McCarthyism (referring to the Red Scare-era attacks on free speech in the 1950s). These attacks today are attempting to strangle free speech in schools and academia by rewriting history and restricting what can be taught to ideas that are palatable to the far right. Speaking about his termination at a...
This past Saturday was the No Kings protests, which took place all across the United States in 3,300 different communities. It is estimated that upwards of 8 million people participated! Similarly, here in the Northwoods, large numbers of folks turned out at numerous different communities. The largest was in Duluth, where several thousand participated in a 2pm rally, and a couple of feeder marches which were held before hand. Organizers estimate the running tally for the event may have been as high as 7,500. We also feel it is worth noting that the Duluth protest had a significant number of union members present, including from the United Steelworkers, MN Nurses Association and AFSCME. The second biggest was in Grand Rapids, MN, where over 1,700 folks turned out. Almost a 1,000 turned out for both the protest in Superior and in Ashland. Cloquet had an impressive 600 people. Hayward had a turnout of 445. Two Harbors had just ...