Elliot Friedman

You don't have to swallow frogs Klein and Coates show that if you don't know what your core beliefs are, you're going to get played.

This is a good essay. It takes everyone in good faith and its conclusions feel right to me.

I especially like the reminder that we are not pundits and seeing ourselves as people with grand answers is not necessarily, and not necessarily even helpful, in guiding us toward helpful resistance.

RFK Jr., American Psycho He needs to go. Now.

We all deserve better than RFK Jr.

Great piece from @gregggonsalves.bsky.social

www.thenation.com/article/soci...

A MAGA Warrior Is Rifling Through Your Mortgage Paperwork I’m by no means the first one to note this. But it’s...

Chilling example of the abuse of government power

A MAGA Warrior Is Rifling Through Your Mortgage Paperwork talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-mag...

Deeply concerning

Trump order gives political appointees vast powers over research grants Researchers are alarmed that the move might upend a long-standing tradition of peer-review for grants.

It's hard to overstate how bad this is for the entire US scientific enterprise. Replacing expertise with ideology.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The White House is taking new steps to undermine every international student at our universities.

It has approved a new rule restricting student visas to 4 years max. That's not long enough for PhD students, or about half of undergrads, to finish their degree.

Likely to enter force within days.

Hard to imagine why anyone will serve on study section if program has been completely politicized.

Editorial: Indiana University, Ball State and Purdue are gutted without logic or thought Taking an axe to degree programs at Indiana University makes no sense.

Editorial: Indiana University, Ball State and Purdue are gutted without logic or thought

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/07/e...

Agreed - I see/feel something new in it every time.

This was also the poem I chose to read at my dad's memorial. He knew Seamus Heaney and loved his poetry.

I assign this to my class when we're discussing identity

The mainstream media has enabled Trump’s war on universities | Jason Stanley For the past decade, the US press has fueled a moral panic over leftists on campus while failing to report on the right’s assault

Essential reading for anyone who cares about higher education and the media’s role in its dismantling.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Paraphrase of my favorite exchanges:

Hanks: "Aren't you worried?"

Rylance: "Would it help?"

Awful decision. I liked the way the team played under Ange, and the abysmal league record this season was completely down to the injuries and lack of depth on the bench. I honestly don't understand ownership thinking on this.

COYS!!

Democratic Wins Media on Substack BREAKING: Newly leaked footage shows Bruce Springsteen’s performance that sent Donald Trump spiraling. This is amazing.

substack.com/@demwinsmedi...

Tar Wars

I can usually see at least a tenuous connection to what I actually do, but this journal solicitation has me genuinely stumped.

“Air, Soil and Water Research is interested in your work”

Musk as the frumious bandersnatch, I presume.

The replica you gave me sits on my desk, and I look at it every day.

🚨I converted the list of terminated #NIH grants (as of 3/22) into a google sheet. I added activity codes and award jurisdictions (see tabs for grant count and $ by each). Note this HHS list likely does not include all planned/completed terminations as of this date.🚨 Please use, share and distribute!

I’m honored

Sorry, Bart. This is so bad.

It’s always about his brittle ego

Columbia Makes Concessions to Trump Amid Bid to Reclaim Federal Funds (Gift Article) The administration has moved to cut $400 million in federal funding to the university without changes to its policies and rules.

I weep for my Alma Mater. And I fully expect this will not protect them from future coercion.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...

(Image of a google doc; first line is title & in larger font) Speaking Out for Democracy and US Higher Education To add your name to this statement, go to https://bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEdSign We publicly affirm our commitment to the enterprise of higher education in a democratic and free society, and to the values and practices that facilitate the production, advancement, and sharing of knowledge. Given the continuous and escalating attacks on higher education along with many other pillars of American democracy by the Trump administration and its allies, we call on colleges and universities to protect these values. We affirm that: The democratic ideals of free thought, free speech, free association, freedom of assembly and the right to dissent are worth fighting for. Democracy both honors our dignity as individuals and enables collective action on behalf of the common good.

2. Education is a fundamental pillar of a democratic society. People come from all over the world to take part in the free exchange of ideas and the depth of knowledge and expertise found in US colleges and universities. The capacity and tools these institutions provide to think carefully and deeply about politics, society, and the built and natural worlds produce scholars and world citizens whose contributions benefit us all. The value of American education has long been a consensus position across parties and ideologies; both Democratic and Republican administrations have supported our system of higher education. 3. Diversity is essential. Democracy requires that we invest fully in the rich array of our differences. We affirm the fundamental dignity and value of each person of every race, ethnicity, national origin, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, legal status, religion, identity, ideology and viewpoint. Bringing together people with different experiences, talents, and perspectives is critical to a successful learning environment and ultimately benefits society as a whole. 4. Education, knowledge, and science are intrinsically worthwhile. They improve both individual lives and the collective well-being of a democratic society. Cutting funding risks inflicting lasting damage on scholarly inquiry, from work in the arts to social policy to life-saving medical research and care.

5. Academic freedom is necessary to the pursuit of knowledge. Research must be conducted free from political threat if it is to identify and develop ideas serving the human race. These ideas, turned into action, are critical elements of any functioning society, including the rule of law, medical care, and scientific advancement. 6. No amount of accommodation or compliance will protect us. The current attacks on higher education amount to an assault on the foundational principles of democracy. If we abandon our commitments to equality, pluralism, and free scholarly inquiry we turn our backs on the most essential ingredients to our democracy: reflecting on our past, pooling our present talents, and investing in our future. As scholars, educators, and people who care about our students and our democracy, we believe it is our duty to speak out against the attacks on diversity and pluralism, on scholarship and learning, on academic freedom, and on democracy itself. We are doing so through this statement, and will continue to do so on our campuses and beyond. We urge the leaders of America’s colleges and universities, and every American who believes in democracy and education, to stand up for the values we share. We call on college and university leadership to refuse to comply with the unethical, irresponsible and frequently illegal demands of the Trump administration; to join together to speak out in defense of the values of academic freedom, scholarship and research; to protect their students and faculty from government reprisals; and to fight attacks on our institutions in the public sphere and the legal arena.

A key step in fighting the Trump admin's attacks on higher education specifically and democracy more broadly is to say as clearly as we can that we share values that are meaningful and that we will not stand by while our institutions are destroyed.

You can do that here:
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd

The fight going on in the Democratic Party right now is not between hard left, left and moderate. It’s between those who want to fight and those who want to cave. And Team Fight stretches across all ideological aspects of the Party. Misread this at your own peril.

Stephens has clearly never set foot on the Columbia campus or sat in on a core curriculum class. I speak as a CC alum.

This. Anti-science bias that has been cultivated for years means that scientists will be dismissed rather then believed. And providing data apparently does little to persuade people, so how/what exactly are we to communicate anyway?

Bit confused… Not sure how tariffs are supposed to generate massive national wealth if we keep, ya know, not applying them.