Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap.

Of course it’s a trap.

“They would reward campuses that toe the party line and punish those that cherish their independence,” a statement from AAUP and AFT says. “In doing so, it would commit the very viewpoint discrimination it claims to redress.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Spending Soars, Rankings Fall at New College of Florida Student outcomes and rankings are slipping at the liberal arts college while spending is up. Critics believe the college is at risk of implosion, and some are calling for privatization.

If you would like to see what possible outcomes of these compacts are, check out the awesome results at New College of Florida.

www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

The neighborhood with Texas’ dirtiest air is still waiting for help Any improvement for Settegast’s air quality is likely years away.

Residents of a northeast Houston neighborhood known as Settegast have experienced some of Texas’ dirtiest air.

Readings of an air pollutant known as PM2.5 are higher than any other monitor in the state:

A dog on a leash looking at a large scary Halloween decoration with a tree with a scary face and extended arms for branches.

Petunia is most definitely not sure about the giant Halloween decoration thing...

AAUP President Todd Wolfson and AFT President Randi Weingarten on Trump’s Loyalty Pledge for Colleges and Universities.

Now is the time to unite in defense of democracy and higher education!

Read full statement below 👇

@aft.org
@proftwolf.bsky.social
@rweingarten.bsky.social

This nonprofit offers ‘a way out of homelessness.’ Austin leaders want to help fund it. The Other Ones Foundation offers shelter and job training for people looking to find a way out of homelessness.

The City of Austin may be turning to property taxes to fund new initiatives to help unhoused people find a place to live and get back on their feet.

Here's how one nonprofit is giving people housing, education and hope for the future:

Groups File Suit Over Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee

“Trump’s restrictions on H-1B visa applications will lead to less lifesaving research, reduced innovation, & diminished competitiveness. This short-sighted policy will hurt every American by slowing research breakthroughs, weakening our economy & putting our global leadership at risk.”
—Todd Wolfson

So Speaker Johnson gave the congress another week off. Paid of course, while they shut the govt down.

The GOP has made it clear they have no interest in compromise with Dems. So they will have to figure how to reopen their govt that they closed.

And they get another vacation

New Trump plan offers UT funding benefits with conditions on academics The Trump administration named the University of Texas as one of nine schools that can access funding benefits in exchange for demands outlined in a compact.

We left Austin (and UT) for personal reasons, not political ones. That said, this story makes me relieved that we got out when we did—and despondent for the future of an amazing institution that played a really important role in my life; and whose students, staff, faculty, and alumni deserve better:

Exclusive | White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage An initial round of nine schools is being asked to sign a wide-ranging accord.

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ... UT Austin is one of the 9 schools offered a deal: accede to White House demands and get funding priority

I agree with Dr. Bhattacharya about something. He said that he was "fully committed" to various health research goals >10 time during the hearing but defended his administration's actions as helping further these goals.

If he is crazy enough to truly believe that, then he should be fully committed.

It’ll be interesting how the Trump administration’s remarkable ability to magically bring Abrego García back to the United States will bear on its arguments in other cases about how it really has no ability to influence the detention of others at CECOT.

#BREAKING: #SCOTUS *also* grants the Trump administration's request to pause discovery in CREW's effort to challenge the structure (and identify the leadership) of DOGE, again over public dissents from the three Democratic appointees:

www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

#BREAKING: #SCOTUS grants Trump administration stay in DOGE/Social Security case (restoring DOGE’s access to SSA data) over public dissents from three Democratic appointees.

Damn... I wonder why scientists wouldn't want to come to the US to compete at the highest levels for highly-restricted funding that then gets pulled surreptitiously for some imagined reason or no reason at all, all while being vilified by the federal government for their work? A mystery! 🤔

Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans

Dat sharing across agencies is wrong. Period. Unifying under Palantir and Foundry is somewhat frightening : www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/t...

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations

Others would be cited for scientific misconduct

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/w...

At the risk of being pollyAnnish, keep doing the best science you can and work to defend and support our colleagues doing the same. This order is really a nasty affront

In Texas, insurers are watching your home from above. It could cost you coverage. Insurers in Texas are partnering with aerial imaging and AI companies to assess homes from the sky. Computer models parse these photos to flag moldy roofs, askew tree branches and missing shingles.

KUT News spoke with homeowners, industry experts and insurance watchdogs, and reviewed hundreds of pages of complaints and state filings. Documents obtained through public records requests confirm that insurers in Texas are using aerial photos to determine if they want to keep insuring homes.

My quote of the day

(Three parts from Elias Zerhouni on being a leader)

First you have to have a big heart. Because if you don't have a big heart you will never be able to lead....You have to have a passion. You have to believe in some things that are your core values.

1/3

A young male and young female scientist with a head scarf working in a lab.

Good for CBS for including this picture

📣CALL FOR PAPERS 📣

Workshop on the economics of ageing and pensions

tinyurl.com/2wez4wp7

Where? Berlin @wzb.bsky.social 🐻

When? November 20-21 November 🍂

For whom? Researchers at all stages in their career

Anything else? Accomodation & travel cost will be covered 🚅🏨

Please circulate!

153. Living by the Ipse Dixit A constitutional principle like the "unitary executive theory" isn't worth all that much if the Supreme Court can conjure new, unprincipled exceptions to it by simply asserting that they exist.

“If the unitary executive theory is subject to exceptions for contexts in which the practical consequences of eliminating an agency’s independence would be too extreme, then it’s not much of a theory.”

Today’s “One First” on #SCOTUS’s deeply flawed ruling last Thursday in Trump v. Wilcox:

Full flat of strawberries 🍓

This year's strawberry haul. #fruitofbluesky

True! Our designs for pipes that act as Tesla valves were indeed directly inspired by your basic biological research! Our work was also strengthened by your team sharing original data from CT scans. Data sharing is a common benefit of government-funded basic research; it is unusual in industry.

We should be pleased and proud to be able to make these kinds of exciting *investment* for the US and the rest of world.

Senator Durbin noted that some (I believe Republican Senators) had indicated the US had been doing more than its share of biomedical research and it was time for other countries take a turn.

I felt I had to interrupt to respond...

NIH Extension for early stage invesigators. This could be useful to some of you!
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

4/ [done!]

3/
... it is not credible that they are nonpartisan. In addition, to be "filled" on a nonpartisan basis is not the same as being maintained (for a given employee) on a non-partisan basis.