Silvia Secchi

@profsecchi.bsky.social

7.9K followers 2.5K following 3.2K posts

Natural resource economist, geographer, meanderer, informed agitator, immigrant.
Trans rights are human rights.
💧Dall’acqua salata a quella dolce e zozza💧
My views are my own and do not represent my employer.
I don't consent to AI use of anything of mine. .. more

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Environmental science 35%

Economics 21%

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Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · Nov 7

Seems like a good time to remind ourselves that in 1931, when Mussolini forced academics to sign an oath of allegiance to the fascist regime, only twelve refused.

Academic freedom and fascism: A new book on the Italian professors who said NO in 1931

Inclusive searches & sources @UvA Romance languages (32) Earlier addressed in the Library333 series Inclusive searches & sources @FMG Library – with posts on the Academic Freedom Inde…

blognostrumuva.wordpress.com

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin, Silvia Secchi, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 7h

A lack of accountability for rampant corruption and criminality is part of what got us into this mess in the first place and anyone who thinks we can “just turn the page” and move on is ensuring things will get worse. It’s disqualifying.

Danielle Froom 🏳️‍🌈 @danifroom.bsky.social · 15h

Newsom's already calling for a joining of hands with the Nazis and let atrocities be bygones.

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Nick Barber 🌋 @volcannick.bsky.social · 12h

We make a big mistake when we neutrally frame resource extraction.

Paul makes this mistake referring to the US’ “strong interest” in Greenland.

The only negative impacts of mining noted are (1) increased CO2 emissions and (2) damage to “pristine” landscapes."

Reposted by Bonnie Honig, Silvia Secchi, Aurélien Mondon , and 1 more Bonnie Honig, Silvia Secchi, Aurélien Mondon, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Danielle Froom 🏳️‍🌈 @danifroom.bsky.social · 15h

Newsom's already calling for a joining of hands with the Nazis and let atrocities be bygones.

“At the inaugural, the next president announces that he’s turning the page—” He caught himself. “Or she is turning the page on all of this. Throngs of boos, maybe, in the audience; I don’t know. ’Cause there’s a sense of vengeance and two can play this game, fight fire with fire.” At the same time, he thought that the country was exhausted. “There is an Isaiah part of all of this: We need whoever the next president is to be a ‘repairer of the breach.’ That should be a big part of the messaging for the next president. I hope they can maybe read the serenity prayer.”

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 15h

The changes happening at NSF in terms of award processes & types of projects prioritized for funding clearly show this is where we’re heading: political appointees playing key roles, people self censoring or worse to get money, whole research areas excluded from funding… corruption has many facets.

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 16h

Keeping funding levels high while installing apparatchiks to steer it in political favored directions will fund at least as much corruption as it will science.

Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 18h

This is a HUGE win…and one that happened because we ~collectively~ said “NO!”

But AAAS coming in and saying on record to the NYT “Science is doing ok. Things are not bad at all…” is baffling.

If things are hard for you as a scientist, please share in the comments.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/s...

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 16h

Keeping funding levels high while installing apparatchiks to steer it in political favored directions will fund at least as much corruption as it will science.

Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 18h

Congress Is Reversing Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Trevon D. Logan, Silvia Secchi, Lesley Bartlett , and 3 more Trevon D. Logan, Silvia Secchi, Lesley Bartlett, Anne Norton, Dana R. Fisher, Peter Jacobs

ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 16h

if you want to know what it is like in minneapolis, I don’t even have to scroll on facebook to find a horror story. it’s basically my whole feed.

everyone i know in minneapolis is seeing ICE take people—at gas stations, taquerias, bus stops, schools. just snatching random people.

#ICE is LITERALLY in every corner of the Twin Cities right now. In case you don't know, here are the areas with the confirmed sightings as of 1/9/26 at 11:00pm:
- Apple Valley/Burnsville/Eagan
- Richfield/Bloomington
- Midway/Frogtown
- Como/Dale
- East side/Maplewood
- North Minneapolis
- Shoreview Arden Hills
- Blaine
- Columbia Heights
- Shakopee/Prior Lake
- Inver Grove Heights
- West St. Paul
- South Saint Paul
- Lakeville
- Brooklyn Park/Brooklyn Center
PLEASE stay safe! They are detaining and harassing US citizens so if you can help it, STAY HOME!

ICE is currently raiding an apartment complex near my home in Savage. Lots of children screaming. This is completely unnecessary. I'm certain these people being terrorized are hard working, law abiding individuals.

&S!#%
&S!#%
My brother's construction site was raided by ICE this
morning and 6 people were taken (they came after he left to a new site so he didn't get taken, but some of the crew did). MN companies need to do a better job at protecting their employees. They know ICE is present visibily in the Twin Cities so they need to not send their employees to work until ICE ain't roaming the streets!!
&$!#%
&S!#%

Ice is on 24th right by the resource center just started beating on someone for being under a blanket @highlight
And if you question me saying this I witnessed it with my own eyes!
They headed Southeast. White Jeep wagoneer grayish blue I think Toyota minivan

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 1d

The Oglala Sioux Tribe announced that ICE abducted and disappeared 4 tribe members from Minneapolis.

This is so fucked.

Our tribal nations have inherent sovereignty, and the Oglala are part of the Lakota Nation.

ICE abducted and disappeared 4 Ogala tribe members in Minneapolis.

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵 @sylviachi.bsky.social · 1d

For context, this harassment of Navajo tribal members has been going on for almost a year. azmirror.com/2025/01/24/r...

Reposted by Colin F. Camerer, Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 8 more Colin F. Camerer, Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel W. Drezner, David R. Miller, Silvia Secchi, McKenzie Wark, Anne Norton, Mary Jane Curry, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Matt DeLong @mattdelong.bsky.social · 1d

Not an exaggeration at all to say that the feeling in Minneapolis is that the entire metro area is being treated as occupied territory by federal agents. Impossible to overstate how overwhelmingly people here do not like it. This does not feel sustainable.

Reposted by Bruno Amable, Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne , and 12 more Bruno Amable, Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne, Marina Jirotka, Henning Melber, Trevon D. Logan, Silvia Secchi, Holger Nehring, Julie Cupples, Graham Dutfield, Hisham Zerriffi, Prakash Kashwan, Farah Mendlesohn, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 1d

Looks like ICE is now cracking down on … Native Americans.

This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:

“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”

ANDING ROCK
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
The Office of Chairman Sitting Bear
P.O. BOx D
Fort Yates, ND 58538
CHAIRMAN SITTING BEAR'S STATEMENT REGARDING SRST PUBLIC SAFETY
JANUARY 9, 2026
I have been receiving reports and evidence of First Nations people being racially targeted, assaulted, and detained by the federal agency Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). We want to remind our members to be safe and proactive by carrying with you at a minimum your tribal identification cards or a copy of your degree of Indian Blood. Our tribal identification affirms our citizenship and political status.
Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands. Any federal activity within our boundaries must recognize and respect our tribal sovereignty, treaty obligations, and established jurisdictional boundaries. Any ICE presence or activity within our lands is not authorized, not welcome, and will be addressed. Unauthorized personnel will be escorted off our lands.

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 1d

The US Department of Agriculture suspends all federal funding to Minnesota, effective immediately.

January 9, 2026
THE HONORABLE TIM WALZ
Governor of Minesota
130 State Capitol
75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bivd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
THE HONORABLE JACOB FREY
Mayor of the City of Minneapolis
City Hail
350S. Fifth St., Room 330
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Dear Governor Walz and Mayor Frey,
It is my responsibility as Secretary of Agriculture to ensure sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars by climinating fraud, waste and abuse in all programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The widespread and systemic fraud associated with federal benefit programs in the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis demonstrate an inability to handle federal resources without additional oversight and accountability measures in place.
During your tenures as Governor of Minnesota and Mayor of Minneapolis, numerous non-profits and businesses have defrauded the federal government in what a federal prosecutor in Minnesota called "a staggering, industrial-scale fraud".! Most notably, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit— Feeding Our Future defrauded U.S. taxpayers of nearly $250 million in federal funds given to them by the Minnesota Department of Education.? This fraud scheme involved USDA funding provided to the State of Minnesota to feed hungry children under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). As of late November, 78 defendants had been charged in what the Department of Justice characterized as the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country?
Other recent examples of'alleged fraud in Minnesota include exploitation of the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program", a scheme to defraud the Housing Stabilization
1-Whut te know about Minnesoca' "industrial-scale fraad" scandal, as more charges are fled and Trump weighs in, "CES Nows (Dic. 19, 3025) available at ht:/www.cbsnews.com/news/atas-do-know-alonesota-frawf-candal
were-changes-fled-
tump-water.
/Federal Jury Finds Feeding Our Future Masternind and Co-D…

Services Program", and alleged fraud in daycare centers*, Your Administrations have refused additional accountability and oversight, claiming that criticism of rampant fraud and abuse is
"racist."
While the full extent of fraud in Minnesota is not yet known, it is clear that, under your leadership-
or lack thereof fraudsters can take advantage of federal funds and the American
taxpayer with impunity. This necessitates federal action to protect taxpayer dollars until adequate safeguards can be established.
Despite a staggering, wide-reaching fraud scandal, your Administrations refuse to provide basic information or take common sense mcasures to stop fraud. In fact, rather than conlin your SNAP rolls are accurate to prevent continuing fraud, you asked the courts to block USDA's directive to recertify the State's SNAP recipients. Recent news reports also emerged that the Minnesota Department of Human Services repeatedly reported incorrect information about SNAP to the federal government.? The Trump administration refuses to allow such fraud to continuc.
Therefore, because of your failed Icadership and abysmal financial management oversight, 1 am notifying you that, effective immediately, I am suspending payments on all active awards and any future awards from USDA to the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis, currently totaling over $129.18 million. Within 30 days, you shall provide USDA with payment justifications for all federal dollar expenditures from January 20, 2025, to the present. Going forward, all transactions on awards to the State of Minnesota or the City of Minneapolis will require such payment justification. If those payment justifications are not received, awards will remain suspended.
While your Administrations have turned a blind eye to documented fraud, the Trump Administration has made clear that fraud, waste, and abuse are unacceptable. The American people deserve to know that their taxpayer dollars are helping those in need-not criminals. …

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 1d

A very thoughtful 🧵 about the newly released dietary guidelines and generally on the process through which they were developed.
We should be highly skeptical about any guidance from this administration and, as Matthew notes, experts should really ponder whether to participate in its processes.

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 1d

More is coming to light about how we got the inconsistent & contradictory new guidelines. Much of it came about because the evidence was cherry-picked. 1/

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 2d

We got the upside-down dietary guidelines from political maneuvering, not a science-based process. It has a scientific committee, touted as backing this report, but it likely installed to justify pre-held beliefs of RFK Jr & MAHA, who love animal products 1/ www.businessinsider.com/rfk-new-diet...

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Silvia Secchi

Governor Wes Moore @govwesmoore.bsky.social · 1d

In our upcoming budget, we’re investing over $124 million to support law enforcement – the highest level of funding in state history.

When I took office, we made a promise to deliver a comprehensive plan on public safety—one that responds to crime *and* actually addresses the root of crime.

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 1d

More is coming to light about how we got the inconsistent & contradictory new guidelines. Much of it came about because the evidence was cherry-picked. 1/

Matthew Hayek @matthewhayek.bsky.social · 2d

No sugar, more fat: RFK Jr's 5 big changes to the American food pyramid

Kennedy said his new guidelines undo previous advice. Full fat dairy is back, sugar is out, and highly processed foods come under fire.

www.businessinsider.com

Reposted by Silvia Secchi, James Goodwin

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 1d

Trump on Greenland: “The fact that they landed a boat there 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own the land.”

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 1d

Moomins are always a source of inspiration and joy.

For the 80th anniversary of Comet in Moominland, animation by Karlotta Freier

We are braver together.

☄️ Comet in Moominland #moomin

YouTube video by Moomin Official

youtu.be

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 1d

"I'm not mad at you" as your last words on earth are really not all that far from "forgive them father for they know not what they do."

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 1d

Of course they aren't posting snuff video because they think it's exculpatory.

They're posting snuff video because their base takes pleasure in viewing that sort of content.

Reposted by Mark Bray, Steven Heydemann, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 10 more Mark Bray, Steven Heydemann, Rosemary A. Joyce, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Anders Nilsson, Robin Celikates, Silvia Secchi, Adrian Daub, Christine Kooi, James Goodwin, Ann Bartow, Alessandro Rigolon, James F. McGrath

molly conger @socialistdogmom.bsky.social · 1d

they didn’t leak it to make the shooter look innocent, but to make the victim look guilty. not guilty of a crime. guilty of having a visibly queer wife. guilty of liberalism. guilty of opposing the regime. they don’t seek to exonerate themselves, only to demonstrate who deserves to die.

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 1d

In the video that the shooter took, which I believe was leaked to be exculpatory, he appears to yell “fucking bitch” after he shoots Renee Good.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Amir Attaran , and 5 more Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Amir Attaran, Silvia Secchi, Jacob T. Levy, Samantha Brennan, Simon Lester, Olivier Mannoni

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

unspeakably pathetic stuff from Trump here as he says he'd be honored to accept María Corina Machado's Nobel Prize if she wants to give it up to him

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 2d

And Ukraine too of course.

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 2d

trump's Mexico statements today plus his actions & words on Venezuela, Greenland, Palestine etc. are making me think about David Harvey's New Imperialism. Geographical expansion, spatial reorganization, accumulation by dispossession... Not the kind of history in the making one wants to see so close.

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 2d

Honestly revolting.

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 2d

I seriously hope the people of Minnesota are going to send her home when she runs for governor. What a total 💩 waste she is.

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 2d

Amy Klobuchar voted for one of Trump's nominees the day after a woman in her state was murdered by ICE.

Fascist Dem Tracker @fascistdemtracker.bsky.social · 2d

Alexander Van Hook is confirmed 53-40 to be a District Judge of Western Louisiana. According to @senatepress.bsky.social, the Dems yeas are Dick Durbin (IL), Maggie Hassan (NH), Tim Kaine (VA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Peter Welch (VT). Angus King (I-ME) was also a yea.

Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 2d

I wish all my academic colleagues the guts and class of Martin Peterson.

Jonathan Birch @birchlse.bsky.social · 2d

Some have pointed out that the whole letter would have fit in the alt text window, so here is a version with the whole letter in alt text.

The letter reads:

Dr. Sweet,

As you may have noticed, I believe it is important to document that philosophy professors at Texas A&M University are not permitted to teach Plato at their own discretion.

To comply with the new censorship requirements, I have replaced the affected module with lectures on free speech and academic freedom. The censored material is marked in red in the attached document. The required text for the new module is:

Texas A&M, Under New Curriculum Limits, Warns Professor Not to Teach Plato”, The New York Times, January 8, 2026.

Texas A&M Warns Professor Not to Teach Plato Because of Gender Rules - The New York Times.

Respectfully,
Martin Peterson

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, American Library Association, Silvia Secchi , and 1 more Rosemary A. Joyce, American Library Association, Silvia Secchi, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 2d

Amy Klobuchar voted for one of Trump's nominees the day after a woman in her state was murdered by ICE.

Fascist Dem Tracker @fascistdemtracker.bsky.social · 2d

Reposted by Will Jennings, Silvia Secchi, Ann Bartow , and 2 more Will Jennings, Silvia Secchi, Ann Bartow, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

🦃 Seth Masket 🦃 @smotus.bsky.social · 2d

This is the thing about the "Don't give them the pretext to send in more feds" arguments. The administration is using its own murder of an unarmed civilian as the pretext to send in more agents. They do not need a pretext and will invent them if they want.