Don’t know the specifics of this case but genuinely surprised that Trump officials haven’t taken a close look at the insane tenure & promotion processes at these universities - probably a sign they aren’t talking to the right people

Incredibly interesting political dynamics here 1. Elites scoff at Disney adults but they’re a largely lib-coded bunch 2. Most Disney employees - including Iger - lean left 3. The parks division is the #2 revenue generator for Disney and $ at its largest park is driven by red states

😬

One theory is that Trump is a shrewd wannabe authoritarian taking calculated steps to consolidate power Another is that he’s always been thin-skinned and driven by personal grievances, but now has the powers of the presidency and he doesn’t care about the long-term damage to the country

Missed this when first published, but a simple & nice teaching example of the attitudinal model of Supreme Court judicial decision making highlights 2 swings - Roberts and Barrett

Waiting to hear more details but this seems pretty bad

Very concerned about the multiple crises facing American democracy that will soon land at SCOTUS’s doorstep, and having very little faith in its members to confront them

RIP, Robert Redford. What a devastating year this has been for actors of this stature and this generation. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/m...

‘It’s just crickets’: An uptick of apartment vacancies in Boston suggests a decline in student enrollment Amid the decline in international and graduate students, vacancy rates have ticked up near major universities www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/15/b...

This critique of the Kavanaugh concurrence from @jaywillis.net is on point -- the problem with BK's Lyons discussion is that the factors the govt wants to rely on in the LA ICE raids will on their own raise the probability of injury by A LOT that is the whole point of the gov't using them!

probably worth thinking about what it would mean to pursue accountability for what increasingly looks like murder www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/u...

The holding aside, what’s quite galling is that Kavanaugh’s “analysis” is basically all policy — and not legal — analysis And as far as policy analyses go, it’s not very good!

This is one good illustration why diversity on the court matters: Sotomayor can imagine a version of the world where this ruling would affect a younger version of herself, her family and people that look like her. Kavanaugh cannot.

It is entirely clear that until courts actually start levying contempt charges against Trump officials, all of these funding blocks will continue.

The Crimson, scooping every news outlet not run by undergraduates working in between classes, gets into how court orders mandating return of research funding have been flaunted, and makes a clear case for contempt proceedings against DOGE officials. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Regret to report that the New York Times is back at it again www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/u...

Frankly journalists need a better way to communicate when something is or is not legal Reporting things without the appropriate legal context (it’s not legal) creates confusion & shifts the Overton window in favor of illegal conduct We’re seeing this happen over and over again

Once again, the Crimson zooms in on the key points -- the ruling last night is not end of the matter, but does provide Harvard stronger leverage in negotiating So -> Claims this means Harvard won’t settle are premature But also -> Trump can kiss the $500M that was floated around goodbye

Best part of the Harvard ruling from today is when the judge repeatedly quotes Trump boasting over and over again that what he’s doing is exactly retaliation

Did something happen? I was out buying powerball tickets

“The “silver tsunami” — the gradual exit of baby boomers from the housing market via downsizing, relocation or death — could significantly narrow the national supply gap.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

trump just said part of the reason he's moving the space force HQ from colorado to alabama because colorado allows mail-in voting.

Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.

People were trying to fight me on this on social media but it’s just true that most tourists won’t want to risk getting tangled up in all of this And increased tourism from Trump supporters won’t make up the difference www.cnn.com/2025/08/21/b...

In which the New York Times repeats the claim -- without any pushback! —that international students are taking seats away from domestic students www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/u...

Somewhat unreleated, one trend I found fascinating during the 2024 election: Latinos obviously warmed up to Donald Trump but they REALLY did not like JD Vance (and plenty of them liked Tim Walz about as much if not more than Kamala Harris). www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Pretty solid front-page LA Times story today about how Jews at UCLA with wildly diverse views of Israel, Palestine, campus protest, etc., agree that (a) Trump's $1 billion extortion of UCLA is a disaster (b) "antisemitism" is a fig leaf (c) it does nothing to help Jews (d) UCLA should fight it

Straight into the briefs

it's also to shift the Overton window & give states cover to push election administration in the president's preferred direction

By “to discuss a path to ending the war in Ukraine” we mean “to discuss Trump’s marching orders from Putin”

Tourism in DC is going to be badly hit, unfortunately Hard to imagine many people from the rest of the Northeast visiting DC at this time - why risk it?

Democrats would do well to come up with a 2028 plan to address the factors in this piece Eveything in this piece is true - people are stuck, many Americans are not thriving Gift link: www.wsj.com/economy/amer...

It's been 2 years (+ 1 month) since I left academia. In case anyone is wondering, I have zero regrets. Indeed, I'm living my best life and am so happy I made the leap. If you're considering leaving too, here are some thoughts on how to explore your options/find a job you'll love...

If Harvard doesn’t roll over in the next few weeks it will be primarily because of the efforts of outspoken community members like this www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...

The thing about the Title VI funding terminations, on grounds of “antisemitism,” is that it’s not just illegal and pretextual, but it’s a sneering, racist insult against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - an intentional abuse of its powers to target minorities and equal education.

Sandwich guy from DOJ has displayed more spit and vinegar (and oil) than all members of Congress and the news media combined

Good stuff in this thread - There should be consequences for agreeing to an extra-legal settlement that signs away the academic freedoms of students and faculty

Another way to avoid blowback: announce a deal in late August, while outspoken faculty are at their vacation homes and before students arrive on campus (But after you’ve collected alumni donation $ at commencement) Hope to be proven wrong!

To be clear, Harvard hopes that by giving the money to “workforce” development programs, and not the treasury, it will avoid blowback from students & faculty (left/center-left)

Secrecy is a hallmark of Harvard’s leadership and it actually sucks a lot that the only updates faculty are getting either come from White House leaks or from the student paper However at this moment, student paper >> NYT

seems pretty obvious that the only people talking to the Times are White House lackeys trying to wishcast their fantasies into reality, and Messrs Blinder, Schmidt, and Bender are here for it www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/u...

👇🎯💯 Indeed, this has become so widespread because there has been absolutely no consequence at all for GOP politicians publicly lying about these things for years now (e.g., bsky.app/profile/mcop...) Even worse, the lies have been stenographized in media coverage so often they've become "true"

The obsession about race and admissions is so over the top and so divorced from any actual evidence that I have started to suspect outside agitators are stoking the flames People are losing their minds

Nice reporting by the Harvard Crimson, which cuts to the chase on the Trump Administration's objectives www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...