Ernie Barreto

Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation

Faculty who wrote to defend their president and object to a DOJ investigation of their university...are now being investigated by the DOJ.
The most banal defense of free speech and academic freedom will trigger the full wrath of the US government now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...

With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.

Travel Forecast for Thursday as generated by the Weather Star 4000+ emulator. At the bottom my humidity of 7% and dew point of 21°F. Everything is washed out like an analog NTSC television image, which I did by overlaying shaderglass with an NTSC shader.

Did you know someone reverse-engineered the Weather Channel computer system from the 80s/90s and now you can generate your own private weather channel for your location?

weatherstar.netbymatt.com

a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him ALT: a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him

ATTENTION: NSF GRANT RECIPIENTS

We received a heads up from a trusted source that you should proactively download/print/screen shot any documentation on research.gov pertaining to your NSF awards, both those that are current and any that have closed in the last 5-6 years.

1/n

As a former student and as someone that is directly challenged by the proposed cuts to NASA, it gives me great pride that we have people like you in the field fighting the good fight. Just wanted to reach out and thank you."

"I was listening to CSPAN on the radio (cuz I’m a nerd) and I was really moved by your appearance at the town hall at Bull Run and your concern for the physics and astronomy students at GMU….

To my great surprise, I received this message today:

Anne Phillips (@anne_tipathy) on Threads “…the most economically illiterate speech I have ever heard."

www.threads.net/@anne_tipath...

Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing

Here is my best guidance for action, rendered beautifully by the great John Lithgow. I first published these lessons more than eight years ago, in late 2016. They open the twenty chapters of "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century."
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...

Long Description: The image shows a small, young hippopotamus standing on sandy ground. The hippo's skin is dark, shiny, and slightly wrinkled, reflecting light. It appears to be wet or glossy, suggesting it may have been in water recently. The hippo is being gently held by a person whose hands are visible, with each hand positioned on either side of its body. The person's legs are partially visible, wearing a pair of black rain boots and standing on the sandy surface. In the background, there are scattered dry leaves and small pieces of wood on the ground. Alt-text: A young, shiny-skinned hippopotamus on sandy ground, gently held by a person's hands. The person wears black rain boots. Transcribed Text: Chubblenauts and other examples of Arctic Excellence Sep 10 UNHAND ME at ONCE, I am GRUNTILLICUS, I saw the WORLD BORN in the FIRES of the GODFORGE, I cast the DUST which became YOUR BREATH, I would like a SMALL APPLE

Re-upping because.

A Direct Hit, by @holdenthorp.bsky.social @science.org
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
"This is a moment to unite."

5 Calls Newsletter The 5 Calls Newsletter breaks down what your representatives are voting on and what you can do to influence them. From your friends at 5 Calls

I just subscribed to 5 Calls Newsletter!

buttondown.com/5calls

In case folks are interested in contacting their congresspeople about the NIH indirect cuts with some estimates of what they would mean for institutions in their state, here are some estimates based on published F&A rates and funding ... let me know if you want a particular state

Sure!

A Bluesky quick primer 🧵 for recent arrivals:
1. check default settings -- they set to min threshold likes before see in feed-- can change to show all.