Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard

tweet from WaPo of NYT & WaPo as Mulder & Scully sharing a comradely beer.

Who can forget this immortal gif? 😢

A month ago, Zohran’s supporters were baying for Kathy Hochul’s blood. Now it’s Kathy who? Of course, Jeffries and Schumer could have avoided months of bad press & base hostility by endorsing Zohran in August when no one was paying attention.

Is it significantly different from other Dems running in blue districts? This number basically tracks R voting strength. However, I think it's good to push back on leftie power fantasies. The Zohran-Hakeem dispute will probably end up like most political disputes: with a negotiated settlement.

Jeffries may be popular in his district, but election results don't prove that. People vote for candidates, and the Republican candidate may be more credible in one district than another. There may also be more Republicans in AOC's district, but that won't affect the outcome of a primary challenge.

I don’t think it’s so much that Twitter alumni miss Twitter as that they were socialized by Twitter to think of social media as 24-hour gladiatorial combat.

Trump Administration Abruptly Cut Off Highly Effective Support for Disabled People Experiencing Homelessness | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Trump Administration abruptly ended federal support for a highly effective intervention that helps disabled people experiencing or at risk of homelessness access benefits to help them stabilize...

The Trump Admin abruptly ended federal support for a highly effective program that prevents homelessness among disabled people, including veterans. This will mean more people living on the streets, unable to access housing, health care & other supports.

www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-a...

When federalized under Title 10, the National Guard serves at the discretion of the President. But that means they're covered by the Posse Comitatus Act. So the Trump Admin has also been exploring Title 32(f), which was never intended for this purpose. www.nationalguard.mil/Portals/31/R...

I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.

Silver clearly changed over time. Ezra is still the same guy, as far as I can tell. He’s always been a policy wonk. But trying to solve polarization as a policy problem is not going over well. And worrying about how to win elections will always read as unprincipled to many Bluesky purists.

Law & Order: Special Monarchs Unit.

Good to call out the use of weaponized gratitude as one of JD Vance's go-to attacks. It is racist, but also an all-purpose bullying tactic for anyone on the social periphery. Vance used the gratitude smear on Zelensky because heads of state defending against invasions need to be seen groveling.

Trump attacks 9 universities: Sign the alumni petition to defend your school now Are you an alum outraged by Trump's attacks on universities? Defend your school now by signing this alumni petition in support of these 9 universities as well as campus communities across America.

🚨 Are you an alum from one of the 9 universities Trump is attempting to extort right now?

✍️ Sign this petition to defend your university, free speech, and democracy. I signed.

This is a time for courage, not capitulation.
#JustSayNo #Compact 🧪🧠🧬

(context in thread)

The 5-year tuition freeze is a really big deal, not just a narcissism thing. Obviously it's a bad look for the ex-president of Harvard to complain about it. But the freeze is going to be at least as problematic to the 9 unis as the infringements on academic freedom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to withhold state funding from the University of Southern California if it complies with a list of conservative requests from the White House. Photo by Kirby Lee via AP Photo Hed: Newsom threatens to cut USC funding if it complies with Trump demands

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday threatened to cut billions in state funding from the University of Southern California if it complies with a Trump administration request to impose the president’s political priorities on campus. https://cal.news/42n1ESs

📸 Kirby Lee via AP

Five other targeted colleges are in states with Dem governors: Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. How will those governors react?

Governor Newsom: No state funding for sell-out universities | Governor of California

"IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY’LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY." www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/02/g...

California Governor @gavinnewsom.bsky.social gets out responds forcefully to the Trump Administration's higher ed ransom note, the Compact for Excellence in Higher Ed. Newsom threatens termination of state funding. Since USC is one of the 9 colleges targeted, this sends a message.

Right. To be clear, they already have all the earnings data they need. The point is to force the university to post it, which will draw the attention of right-wing culture war activists.

I suspect the legal argument will be that the first amendment doesn’t cover employers. But if the employer is extorted by the federal government? Let’s just say it should be an interesting court case.

Field of Study Search | College Scorecard Search the fields of study offered at each school by degree type. Fields of study are areas of academic concentration (e.g, majors or programs).

It’s typical of the Trump admin. Most colleges lack earnings data at the institutional or program level. You know who has it? The US Department of Education through the College Scorecard. collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/fos-l...

We're ready to coin a new term: Kavanaugh raid.

Trump's higher ed ransom note is here - everyone would have to acquiesce to their unprecedented demands or not be "given priority for grants," plus they can demand "reimbursement" for "violations" www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

A mechanism to enforce fealty. An attack on academic freedom and democracy

The Compact end-runs a sweeping conservative policy agenda around Congress. For example, signatories must freeze tuition for 5 years and refund tuition to anyone who drops out in their first term. Signatories w/a $2m+ endowment can't charge tuition for students pursuing hard science programs.

In addition, the blind admissions standard extends to "financial support," which I believe goes well beyond the Harvard SC opinion. Plus, the universities MUST use standardized tests and publicly report data on accepted & rejected students. And we're still on Item 1 of 10.

For example, the Compact says that race/ethnicity cannot be considered in admissions, which restates the Supreme Court verdict. But the Compact also includes six other factors (including political views) or "proxies", which could include family income. So means-testing admissions could be banned.

I had difficult finding the Compact for Academic Excellence. The articles in @nytimes.com and @wsj.com did not include links to the Compact. But the Washington Examiner has the link. At a first review, it's a pretty startling document. www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/u...

Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference

The Trump administration has offered nine universities a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." The administration suggests that not signing the Compact will mean that "the institution elects to forego federal benefits." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Is there a reason you screenshotted this and denied @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social the retweets?

I have never understood the literary potential of alt text until now.

👨‍🍳💋