James Sims

How Do You Spot a ‘Performative’ Male? Look for a Tote Bag.

According to the @nytimes.com, my reading Joan Didion makes me a “Performative Male”?!?

The Race to Rescue PBS and NPR Stations

“We believe it’s crucial to have a concerted, coordinated effort to make sure that the stations that most critically need these funds right now have a pathway to get them.” @knightfoundation.org #PBS #NPR

Goodbye, MSNBC. Hello, MS NOW.

Since MSN originally stood for Microsoft Network, this new meaning of the old acronym sounds like it was written by AI. Also, the loss of NBC’s brand equity is a big deal. “As part of a corporate spinoff from Comcast, MSNBC is changing its name to My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, for short.”

Trump’s Angry New “Dictator” Rant to Media Alarms Experts: “Wake Up!” As Trump’s ugly ramblings about his militarization of cities get worse, prominent legal observer Joyce Vance explains how and why this is all heading to a very dark place—and what we must do to stop i...

"Democracy isn’t just something we’re given. Democracy is something we have to fight for in every generation."

On the pod @joycewhitevance.bsky.social is great on Trump's DC crackdown.

"They’re counting on most Americans to sit back and let it all happen."

Listen:
newrepublic.com/article/1991...

A message from @mollyjongfast.bsky.social to anyone looking to build the base: go everywhere and have a shot at winning an election!

Did someone say summer luau in Colorado to end our vacation?

scoop: Guy Campanile is being replaced as EP of "CBS Evening News," to be replaced by Kim Harvey, a senior producer, per a source familiar with the matter. He's expected to return to "60 Minutes," where he was a longtime producer.

As Trump Tightens Hold on Kennedy Center, Top Theater Producer Resigns

“The top official overseeing theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is stepping down, throwing into question the stability of one of the venue’s most important sources of box office revenue as President Trump seeks to transform the institution.” #TheaterSKY

Historians Alarmed by White House Plan to Oversee Smithsonian Exhibits

All about the GLEICHSCHALTUNG “the review “aims to ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/a...

The American press and public really need to figure out how to simply dismiss Trump's pretextual claims for authoritarian attacks and then resist the attack itself, not debate the claim. We have spent months asking "but is the Ivy League really antisemitic?" and now "but is DC really crime-ridden?"

Some Campus Journalists Are Scared to Report While on a Student Visa International students have quit campus newspapers or asked to have their bylines removed in the current political environment.

It’s beyond chilling and goes against our nation’s principles. “[Foreign student journalists are] afraid that even reporting something the wrong way could get them shipped out of the country.” #journalism #highered

The Invasion of Memory: Hitler’s Attempt to Rewrite the History of World War I Architectural historian Despina Stratigakos discovers evidence of a political act by the Nazi regime to reposition Germans as victors of the Great War.

“…The monuments, in Hitler’s eyes, served to defame the army and perpetuate hatred against the nation. Their eradication was thus necessary to restore Germany’s reputation and protect it for posterity.”

The Elite-University Presidents Who Despise One Another Inside the civil war between the Ivy League and the South

Authoritarianism is not about academic personality conflicts. We can’t claim to value neutrality, freedom of inquiry & speech if we only pursue truths that don’t annoy the administration. Education should encourage practices of freedom—not tyranny. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Trump administration must restore hundreds of UCLA research grants, federal judge rules A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Trump administration to restore hundreds of frozen National Science Foundation research grants to UCLA.

BREAKING: A San Francisco-based judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore hundreds of science research grants to UCLA, more than a third of the $584 million in funds the government has cut: www.latimes.com/california/s...

Slightly diminish a band: Credence Backwater Revival

Lincoln Center The world's leading performing arts center. The best in music, dance, opera, theater, cinema, and more.

Excited to see Jeanine Tesori celebrated this fall as @lincolncenter.bsky.social’s visionary artist. Highlights include a production of her opera “Blue” and her musical “Violet,” performed in American Sign Language by Deaf Broadway.

Seems to be a favorite authoritarian pastime.

The Invasion of Memory: Hitler’s Attempt to Rewrite the History of World War I Architectural historian Despina Stratigakos discovers evidence of a political act by the Nazi regime to reposition Germans as victors of the Great War.

“…The monuments, in Hitler’s eyes, served to defame the army and perpetuate hatred against the nation. Their eradication was thus necessary to restore Germany’s reputation and protect it for posterity.”

Rewriting history was certainly part of the playbook of Nazi Germany…

Exclusive | White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision Top White House officials will scrutinize exhibitions, internal processes, collections and artist grants ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.

BREAKING WSJ:

The Trump White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America's 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with "Trump's interpretation of American history." www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history"

It is propaganda, pure and simple.

DOJ finds GWU ‘deliberately indifferent to antisemitic discrimination’ The Trump administration told George Washington it had until Aug. 22 to say whether it was open to a voluntary resolution — or face “enforcement” measures.

George Washington University now finds itself the target of the White House under the guise of antisemitism claims. Again, Trump and his extortionists are not looking to help us Jews. They are looking to destroy #HigherEd.

How Higher Ed Got Jawboned Podcast Episode · The Bully's Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment · 07/31/2025 · 46m

Harvard is reportedly nearing a “settlement” with Trump. Here’s a great podcast episode from @knightcolumbia.org with Wesleyan President Michael Roth, U Chicago First Amendment guru @genevievelakier.bsky.social, and journalist @cristianfarias.com. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

An Asian man with a mustache, his hands cuffed, appears to stand in a spotlight before a U.S. flag. In the shadows, a silhouette points accusingly.

"Untitled (America Doesn't Need Scapegoats)," 1983, by Miles Stanley Hamada.

In the collection of the Blanton:
blanton.emuseum.com/objects/2178...

Who’s questioning women’s right to vote? A post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth showed his support of a fringe evangelical Christianity that is gaining more traction in the Republican Party.

“What does it mean for somebody who’s running an organization which has had its struggles over the years integrating women and trying to understand existential questions about women’s role in combat?… Does this church reinforce his cultural chauvinism?“ —Wesleyan University prof. Joseph Slaughter

Federal cuts, benefit delays and errors are derailing veterans' education, advocates say For veterans seeking a college education, Trump administration cuts are causing funding delays and hampering students’ ability to get answers about their benefits, advocacy groups say.

“Trump administration efforts to scale down the size of the VA by about 30,000 positions and to dismantle the Department of Education…have caused funding delays and are hampering students’ ability to understand and get answers about their education benefits.” #highered #veterans @latimes.com

No.

A successful search requires time and personal attention to detail. Speaking of which, I’m currently on the lookout for the next member of my UComms team at Wesleyan University.

AI Is Forcing the Return of the In-Person Job Interview More companies are returning to the old-school, face-to-face meeting to combat cheating by candidates and more ominous digital threats

Lord help us if human interaction is considered “retro.” I have never led a search without personally looking at 100s of applications and having actual meetings with first, second, and third-round candidates.

I was about to reply with the same GIF.