Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. --First Amendment, USA

Evergreen joke in the U.S. Knock knock. Who's there? Unintended consequences. That's not funny. You're right. 🤣😂😅🫠🙁😰😭

Help me out with some advice. Had some money free up in our budget recently, so I got PBS passport. What are some great shows over there?

Sunday sillies. Pedantry edition. And then when you are done being snarky, go watch the video on YT. Such a joyful song, and who doesn't need a little joy right now?

Evergreen joke in the U.S. Knock knock. Who's there? Unintended consequences. That's not funny. You're right. 🤣😂😅🫠🙁😰😭

The increase in cost of an H1-B visa will also be quite harmful for academia for a couple of reasons. 1. Grad students from some countries choose the US for study because they want to stay as teachers/researchers Another reason to pick grad programs elsewhere for international students.

Story from an academia industry publication. It is an opinion piece. I am sharing it for information, not persuasion. "More professors have been fired for controversial views in the past week than any other week in all of American history" www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

One other thing about comedians. Successful ones who talk about current events tend to be very smart and well-educated. That kind of work requires a lot of base knowledge to be able to then twist to present in a funny way. I have a lot of respect for that.

One of the bits I wrote about in "We Are #AltGov" was their response to a government policy that employees could not use the words resist or resistance. This was in the 45th president term.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” --Sun Tzu - The Art of War

Unsolicited advice: If you find yourself dropping streaming services for whatever reason, you can fill some of that time by forming relationships with humans actually in the world around you. Doing so will help a lot of things.

I could NOT say something. I keep reminding myself.

Sometimes, it's a good thing to remember that there are literal people who get paid good money (sometimes your tax money) to write posts that keep you distracted and enraged. Because when your attention is tied up, it's easier for others to get away with things.

"Accost him with vile words" sounds vaguely Shakespearian... But anyway, I remember learning something about sticks and 🪨 and 🦴 back in Kindergarten.

If people listen to you, please don't lie to them.

This was literally the finding of my dissertation way back in the day. Except I had data. www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

If people listen to you, please don't lie to them.

I think it is hard to take in the extent to which people's news sources are bubbled at this point. If you go to a Drs Office or hotel breakfast and see a TV channel you don't usually watch shock you with its twist on events, remember for some people this is ALL of their news.

Expect more.

I think it is hard to take in the extent to which people's news sources are bubbled at this point. If you go to a Drs Office or hotel breakfast and see a TV channel you don't usually watch shock you with its twist on events, remember for some people this is ALL of their news.

Thought of the day: Freedom of speech doesn't mean you are free from responsibility for that speech.

Sunday Sillies: Running out of material edition.

Class is in session. What you already believe affects how you process new information. We saw this after the Oklahoma City bombing.

Our @Philipmai.com spoke to CTV National News about "How this Canadian man was falsely identified as the Charlie Kirk shooter." www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl... Due to time/format limitations, here's the rest of Philip's comments. 🧵

Class is in session. What you already believe affects how you process new information. We saw this after the Oklahoma City bombing.

I could say something. Or I could not. Today choosing not.

I understand why public figures may issue statements. I do not understand why those statements are aggregated into news stories. There are whole stories of "public figure say violence is bad." "Public figure says they are shocked and saddened" I mean, what else would a public figure say?

Re-upping this again. I assisted the amazing team at @onthemedia.bsky.social developing the breaking news consumers handbook, and its recommendations still hold true to this day.

As a U.S. social media user, this story is particularly interesting to me. [GIFT LINK] www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...

Just wait until they try to cure this issue with algorithmic selection for your feed. 🙃

Nice analysis and video on what MAHA influencers really say [GIFT LINK] www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/o...

This may be my most timely UnSpun Podcast episode yet! "Law and order" When safety becomes suppression Find it here or where you pod: bit.ly/UnSpunPod

This may be my most timely UnSpun Podcast episode yet! "Law and order" When safety becomes suppression Find it here or where you pod: bit.ly/UnSpunPod

People use words like "tradition" seemingly blind to the fact that different people can consider wildly different things to be tradition, all at the same time. Her family ate turkey on Christmas. His ate fish. Those are both traditions. It's not a right v wrong kind of thing.

Deep thoughts: If health influencers get followers/make $ by being counter to evidence-based medicine as Woo becomes policy Will they disconnect even further from logic/knowledge in order to maintain following? IOW: Is it really about health, or is it about clout? Will danger increase?

Sunday Sillies: What's truth got to do with it edition. (Substitute any social network)

People use words like "tradition" seemingly blind to the fact that different people can consider wildly different things to be tradition, all at the same time. Her family ate turkey on Christmas. His ate fish. Those are both traditions. It's not a right v wrong kind of thing.

Well, at least we have the circuses... 🍞🥖🥐

Hey, news friends: If someone lies and you feel you must print it for ...reasons, I guess???... you can show the lie right in the headline. "X falsely says..." We have decades of research showing most people read ONLY headlines. This stuff matters.

Hey, news friends: If someone lies and you feel you must print it for ...reasons, I guess???... you can show the lie right in the headline. "X falsely says..." We have decades of research showing most people read ONLY headlines. This stuff matters.

Sometimes, it's a good thing to remember that there are literal people who get paid good money (sometimes your tax money) to write posts that keep you distracted and enraged. Because when your attention is tied up, it's easier for others to get away with things.

Sunday sillies. Don't count me out quite yet edition.

Deep thoughts: Sometimes amateurs playing as if they know what they are doing can be pretty amusing. Sometimes, though, it's just dangerous. Depends on how much power they actually have.

Hey, news friends! If a kid is afraid of monsters under the bed, that does not guarantee monsters. If a newsmaker says people in a city are afraid, that does not guarantee that there's a problem. People feeling fear is not the same as there being a real issue. #DetectingDeception

Honestly, it's adults who need to learn this rn. My life's mission at the moment!

Hey, news friends! If a kid is afraid of monsters under the bed, that does not guarantee monsters. If a newsmaker says people in a city are afraid, that does not guarantee that there's a problem. People feeling fear is not the same as there being a real issue. #DetectingDeception

Not commenting on the post, but fellow proffies, your books count in this as well. I only know this because one of my books was represented, and the agent reached out. I know most scholarly books are not, but they are eligible to register in the case if you wish. Tell your colleagues.

Why would you not put a link to what's considered higher risk? Links should serve your audience, folks. www.msn.com/en-us/health...

💯