Charlie Kirk is dead, tragically murdered by an assassin’s bullet. Now Turning Point USA wants to cement its founder’s legacy by Christianizing America in his name. Read about that threat to democracy in my new @wjkbooks.com book out now: www.wjkbooks.com/bookproduct/...

“The United States’ current government abhors empathy and kindness, much less diversity and inclusion.” baptistnews.com/article/in-a...

"What went around for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary three decades ago has come back around for Baylor University this fall." baptistnews.com/article/in-a...

"When news broke that a shooter had killed a detainee and wounded two others, my phone began ringing nonstop. Our group wasn’t at the facility on the morning of the shooting, but we know the area well." baptistnews.com/article/in-d...

“The Cornell administration’s actions violate Professor Cheyfitz’s academic freedom and due process rights under Cornell’s policies and under the principles of the AAUP. But it is not too late for the Provost to rectify the situation.”

Hey, you guys? Is it a good sign or a bad sign if a federal judge has to remind you (multiple times) that you’re a lawyer and an officer of the court?

Immergut asks Kennedy to respond on behalf of Oregon. He highlights information about the pending transfer of Texas national guard members to Portland and Chicago. Received info minutes before this hearing. Hegseth memo raising additional concerns, like "playing rhetorical whack-a-mole."

It’s a 1️⃣-2️⃣punch: The State of Texas, the Regents, & the President dissolve the Faculty Council. Then Trump offers a compact that will affect academic freedom, curriculum, student recruitment, research priorities, the future of academic programs. Once faculty had a voice in such decisions. No longer.

UVA Faculty Senate with a clear statement of values: facultysenate.virginia.edu/resolution-o...

Great read. I'd add something not being discussed much: the compact insists on extraordinary supervision of universities by fed'l gov't rather than states, even as to public universities. And it does so through DOJ, not DOE, which is likely to enhance the body blow against federalism in higher ed.

The question journalists need to be asking is: WHY is the government trying this? It’s because they want to control universities in unlawful ways that courts will not allow; it’s not working; so they’re trying to get universities to sign up “voluntarily” for unlawful levels of government control.

“The compact’ is a maximalist document, demanding a near-complete surrender of core academic freedoms of the university. It purports to give vast new leverage to the DOJ…to take away federal “benefits” to which the university and its faculty and students are entitled under federal law.” ⬇️⬇️

@aacu.org has stepped up & called the Trump "compact" for higher ed what it is: "The compact is, in effect, an ultimatum...This is not constructive engagement." Big question is where is @aau.edu? If your university is part of AAU, write to your president & trustees now. www.aacu.org/newsroom/aac...

It was never about parents' rights. It was never about what is best for children. It was, and is, about discrimination, hate, fear, conformity, minority rule, and authoritarianism. #GiftLink #GiftArticle

Why fundamentalist men won’t stop the abuse of women baptistnews.com/article/why-...

Yep

How Charlie Kirk mastered the illusion of stump debates baptistnews.com/article/how-...

My parents. He is a retired Methodist minister. She taught everything from French to Brecht.

I predict that the people calling Dems fanatics & terrorists are going to make sure the big SV companies (all loyalists) don't share data with Dems for elections. That's the deciding factor in modern elections and only the GOP will have access. Private companies may not even let Dems buy ads.

Bullfrog of the day! Saturday, 4 Oct 2025

Is the Duke Chronicle good enough for you? dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

“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

✊🏼✊🏾✊🏻✊🏿 When we fight, WE WIN!

Full statement by Prof. Dixon is here: www.instagram.com/p/DPWh4DiEcfc/

BREAKING Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Hostages in Gaza - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

UNC Chapel Hill has reinstated Prof. Dwayne Dixon. Rather than conduct a threat assessment of a faculty member based on spurious accusations, UNC should conduct an assessment of its own administration's threat to First Amendment rights and academic freedom. @aaup.org www.wral.com/news/local/u...

USC is selling bodies that were likely donated to the university for medical training to the US Navy to literally train the IDF, seemingly without family consent. This is per reporting by USC’s own journalism school. t.co/lZ5jmQoZ1t

The reason a hillbilly scholarship kid like me got a great public education at William & Mary was because they invested in teachers, not bullshit computer magic. I guess that has changed.

“Read and hold the testimonies of these queer people with care and understanding. Queer people are in a fight for their lives against fascism. Your resistance and disruption may make the difference in how the fight goes." - Desmera Gatewood in @indyweek.bsky.social

Not to be missed. Crucial reading.

ICYMI: A Reagan-appointed judge ruled that Trump's abduction and attempted deportation of pro-Palestinian student activists is an unconstitutional attack on freedom of speech. We must continue to resist Trump's illegal attacks on our fundamental rights. www.commondreams.org/news/judge-s...

Here's a look at “The President and the Dragon,” which makes its debut on Amazon, Hoopla & Verizon Fios in one week! The film premieres on Oct. 1, which would have been President Carter’s 101st birthday. Proceeds help the Center’s mission to wage peace, fight disease, and build hope. bit.ly/46K4vHu

All across the country, as faculty rights and freedoms are under attack, @aaup.org is really stepping into the breach. If you teach in higher ed and aren't a member, please consider joining.

This piece gets at something that I've been struggling to articulate: We've seen this exact push-pull before. When Republicans were out of power in the 1990s they invented "political correctness" to pretend they were being censored. Then they went right back to censoring once they had power again.

Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later. harpers.org/archive/1941...

We demand Professor Dixon's immediate reinstatement, a public explanation of how this decision was reached, an affirmation of faculty and students' rights to freedom of speech and expression, and a public apology to Professor Dixon. 11/

Let's call this what it is: UNC administrators are capitulating to a call from a right-wing group, infamous for attacking faculty, to fire a professor based on an unsubstantiated rumor. 6/

Fox News picked up the story on 9/27/25, w/o verifying the existence of the flyers, & apparently this was enough for UNC's administration to remove a professor from the classroom in the middle of the semester & bar him from campus in a manner that is wholly inconsistent with University policies. 5/

Right-wing activists are attacking Dixon for prior membership in a group that has been inactive since 2019, and are baselessly connecting him to flyers allegedly posted by a different group on a different campus outside of North Carolina. 4/

These "reports" and "expressions of concern" amounted to one unverified social media post and one Fox News story. 3/

On Monday, September 29, 2025, UNC Chapel Hill placed Dwayne Dixon, Teaching Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, on administrative leave following "recent reports and expressions of concern regarding alleged advocacy of politically motivated violence." 2/

UNC CH Chapter & NC AAUP statement re Prof. Dwayne Dixon: @aaup.org AAUP NC and UNC-Chapel Hill AAUP condemn the egregious violation of Professor Dwayne Dixon's First Amendment rights to free speech and free association, his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, and his academic freedom. 1/

"Trump and Hegseth did serve national interests Tuesday. But the nation whose interests they served wasn’t ours. The Kremlin must have laughed when they heard Hegseth proclaim 'unity is our strength.' Trump & Hegseth wouldn’t know unity if it bit them in the ass." www.thebulwark.com/p/the-silenc...

The last five years have thrown hurdles in WRAL’s path, including a string of high-profile departures. But in spite of the headwinds, WRAL is still relatively well-positioned. It has a newsroom staff of 143 and a host of profitable companies.

Also how about “Ticks everywhere, power outages in early fall, no more skiing, and the coast goes underwater while your electricity bill triples.”

Each September, @indyweek.bsky.social works with the LGBTQ Center of Durham on special #Pride coverage. It feels extra important this year and I want to thank everyone who contributed for their putting their hearts on the page at a time when it's very scary to do so.

The new historical marker will recognize a 1981 Durham protest called Our Day Out that is considered North Carolina’s first Pride March. It will be the first N.C. historical marker to recognize the roots of the state’s Pride celebrations. indyweek.com/news/durham/...