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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 1d

“America is now in a dangerous period, in which the president can order investigations and indictments against his enemies. Mr. Trump is criminalizing Americans’ ability to challenge their leaders.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | Trump Disgraces American Justice

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Chronicle of Higher Education @chronicle.com · 2d

MIT President Kornbluth announced on Friday the university “cannot support” Trump’s compact, saying the university disagreed with a number of the principles laid out in the document, including policies that would limit freedom of expression and institutional independence.

MIT President Says ‘We Cannot Support’ Trump’s Compact

The institution’s president, Sally Kornbluth, wrote: The proposal “is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

chroni.cl

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

James Grimmelmann @jtlg.bsky.social · 2d

MIT understands its mission and values.

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 2d

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

@nytimes.com, tho

That’s not all that we rejected.

C’mon.

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 2d

MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2d

Every targeted institution (my own very much included) should cut and paste this letter onto their letterhead.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 2d

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 2d

The Genius Act.

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 2d

Probably also going to cause the next global financial crisis, but you know, tradeoffs in everything:

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Jul 24

I wrote @barrons.com about the Genius Act, Stablecoins, & what it means for financial stability (no good, potentially very bad) & the future of dollar dominance in global finance (somewhat paradoxically, likely reinforcing)

Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 2d

MIT's response to the Trump extortion scheme is here. It merits being read closely. Other universities should follow. "Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone." orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 3d

Or: bull?

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 3d

You’d think a decade into all of this, the NYT would have figured out how to stop lauding the arsonist for helping to extinguish the fire.

Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 3d

there was a ceasefire when trump came in. he let israel blow that up, let famine spread, let his goons murder starving people, before using the power he'd had since he took office. grotesque to call this peacemaking. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/us/politics/trump-mideast-visit-israel-gaza.html

(from the nyt obvi) With Mideast Deal, Trump Is on the Brink of a Major Diplomatic Accomplishment

For President Trump, success in brokering a cease-fire is the ultimate test of his self-described goal as a deal maker and a peacemaker.

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 4d

"A transcendent, boundary-breaking work."

Peter Kaufman reviews @whitneyphillips.bsky.social and Mark Brockway’s "The Shadow Gospel" for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...

Hand holding a copy of "The Shadow Gospel: How Anti-Liberal Demonology Posessed U.S. Religion, Media, and Politics" by Whitney Phillips and Mark Brockway.

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Johnson: "He has defunded our education system. He has defunded our transportation system. He's firing black women across this country. He's defunding our healthcare system. This president is absolutely out of control... Chicago is going to stand firm in protecting humanity."

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 4d

Nuts.

Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 4d

“Overlapping.”

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 4d

“.. the latest example of the Trump administration’s policy priorities overlapping with the business dealings of the president and his family.”

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/health/pharm...

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 8d

www.theatlantic.com/press-releas...

The Atlantic Announces Free Digital Subscriptions for All U.S. Public High Schools

None

www.theatlantic.com

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 10d

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 12d

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 12d

I like the emoji.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 12d

FT: Several people said they expected the transaction to go through fairly easily.

“.. What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?" 🤡

@financialtimes.com $EA
www.ft.com/content/61ce...

How Jared Kushner brokered the $55bn takeover of Electronic Arts

Trump’s son-in-law used deep ties in Saudi Arabia to help pull off the largest buyout

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Open Access Tracking Project @oatp.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 14d

Tim Berners-Lee, Why I gave the world wide web away for free | Technology | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/28/why-i-gave-the-world-wide-web-away-for-free

我为何免费赠送万维网

Why I gave the world wide web away for free (www.theguardian.com) 19:17 ↑ 112 HN Points

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Peter B. Kaufman

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 17d

Trump announces 5,000% increase in all numbers, @theonion.com

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 17d

Tarte Tatin alert.

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Peter B. Kaufman @pbkauf.bsky.social · 18d

"The fire's not raging through the houses!" his character shouts. "The fire's in the minds of men!" Dostoevsky & others help explain our mania in an LARB review I've written about a new book from the MIT Press. @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
@mitpress.bsky.social.
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...