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Ray E. Boomhower @rboomhower.bsky.social · 1d

"Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard.”
William Zinsser, born on this day in 1922

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 23h

I grew up going to Zabar's. So many of my childhood memories center around the best lox in NYC (which is saying something). With Saul Zabar's passing today, the Upper West Side has lost a legend who turned his parent's humble store into a culinary institution.

Saul Zabar, Smoked Fish Czar of Upper West Side, Dies at 97

www.nytimes.com

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Bat 🦇 Borus @matthewborus.bsky.social · 1d

Back pay for furloughs used to be a question. It certainly caused me stress when I was furloughed in 2013.

That changed in 2019 with the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which unambiguously guarantees back pay.

It passed the House 411-7. Mike Johnson voted for it. Donald Trump signed it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve received multiple death threats + doxing (including my home address) directly following harassment from Turning Point USA, Jack Posobiec, Andy NGO, + Fox News which called me an antifa ‘financier.’

I have been forced to move my classes online.

If journalists want to talk, DM me or reply here.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 23h

for those of you who are serious about understanding the eugenic lineage of the whole AGI movement, on the other hand, you can peruse some of the resources at www.dair-institute.org/projects/tes...

The TESCREAL Bundle

The array of utopian ideologies that power Silicon Valley's elite is ultimately bleakly eugenicist.

www.dair-institute.org

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 2d

Two of the most common climate misconceptions I see, even among knowledgeable folks, are that (1) most people aren't worried about climate change, and (2) if they were, they'd act.

Not true! Data show (1) most people are worried, but (2) they won’t act if they don’t know what to do-and most don’t.

A map of the world showing how levels of worry in most countries are greater than 70%. Source: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, International Public Opinion on Climate Change, 2023.

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 2d

Yale researchers didn't stop there. They also identified what people most need to know to catalyze action and support climate policy; and it's not about global temps, ice sheets, or ocean currents.

What people most need to know about climate change is that (1) others care, and (2) there is hope.

Understanding six “key truths” about climate change predicts policy support, discussion, and political advocacy

Social norms and collective efficacy are strong predictors

climatecommunication.yale.edu

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 1d

I hate it when people kill other people and that’s why I’m a firm believer in understanding and confronting the seeds of violence so that people stop planting them

We can only move forward into a better future if we are willing to have an honest confrontation with the past

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Esther Schindler @estherschindler.bsky.social · 1d

I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 1d

this is so hard to remember online, which is wild because the ratio is still in favor of non assholes - but 2 out of 100 would still be orders of magnitude more assholes online than in person, which is a difference difficult for our brains not to pick up on

Nome @nome.bsky.social · 1d

9) People are, all things considered, pretty good.

I see twenty thousand people a day, and maybe two of them are assholes. Even on a stressful day, even in an unfamiliar environment, even hungry and tired and on a timer.

That's a *much* better ratio than folks realize.

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Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about the “compact” for higher education

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 1d

I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Letter Regarding Compact

MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...

docs.google.com

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 1d

How the national guard call-ups are screwing students who joined in hopes of.l being able to afford college.

copilot tormentor @hellonerds.bsky.social · 1d

I hate it here. From the college where I’m still technically faculty:

I hate it here and I don’t know what to do.

Email snippet from my college:

…"Veterans Services has been contacted by a growing number of Illinois National Guard soldiers who have received activation orders to deploy to Chicago for up to 60 days. Many students were notified with little advance warning and may not have time to contact their instructors directly. Our office has been reaching out on their behalf to ensure faculty are informed.

You may receive questions regarding how to handle coursework or attendance for these students. Per Illinois law, students cannot be penalized for absences, missed exams, or incomplete assignments that result from military activation. Faculty are required to provide reasonable accommodations that allow students to complete missed work. Examples may include issuing an incomplete contract, extending deadlines, or allowing coursework to be completed online. The method of accommodation is at the instructor's discretion, based on the structure of the course. Students may also choose to withdraw from classes if necessary, in which case our office will process a DA. At this time, all activated students intend to remain enrolled, though this may change [end of screenshot]

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Doctor Logic @saraluckelman.bsky.social · 1d

A fascinating read.

Nome @nome.bsky.social · 1d

A life update: this wound up paying off. I'm still applying to several jobs that are hopefully careers, but I've got my survival needs covered by a job at the airport that I'm apparently pretty good at.

And instead of being in an office alone, which was driving me mad, I see 20k people a day.

Nome @nome.bsky.social · Aug 12

There is a line around this building to get to the line entrance to wait to get into this job fair.

At the airport. For airport jobs.

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Cedar Riener @criener.bsky.social · 1d

I'd like to see more of "this person, who previously lied about this, was shown to be lying about that too". If the shame of lying following people for longer than a day, it might discourage it in the first place

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Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 1d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 1d

This is true for students too. Yes there are many factors impacting student reading, but working 30+ hours a week to be able to afford college is definitely one of them.

Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 1d

I see pieces like this a lot, often w/ a spin of lamenting cultural degeneration, but reading is a LABOR issue, it’s declined because so many people are working overtime or two jobs & employers expect after hours work. France has Earth’s highest reading rate b/c long lunch breaks & labor protections

After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 1d

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Cedar Riener @criener.bsky.social · 1d

I really do appreciate Taiwo repeating the simple drumbeat of "lying is bad and we should be better at discouraging it" - sometimes it is just that.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 1d

eventually politicians need to start advocating for criminal and civil penalties for people involved in fabricating stories to get citizens incarcerated.

or, put another way: a society that would like to keep functioning has to discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 1d

when I was in college contending with Bari Weiss’s astroturfed witch hunt turning my classes and my department upside down so she could make a name for herself, it simply never occurred to me that it would WORK and I would have to spend the rest of my life hearing her name

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 1d

I'm genuinely starting to think that the people who say they want to see American's really fight back are really saying they want a specific kind of visible, stereotypical depiction of protest, and have zero zero tolerance for the kind of groundwork it takes to make change happen.

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Cedar Riener @criener.bsky.social · 1d

For my #psych profs, update to add to your availability heuristic slides

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 1d

What Americans Die from?

And what the media reports on...

Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...

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Sheryl Weikal and the colorful Parrotlegals @leftistlawyer.com · 2d

People really have no idea how violent, cruel, and intentionally torturous American jails and prisons are.

And most people in American jails have never been convicted of a crime.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 5d

Setting aside the philosophical questions about the relationship between higher ed and democracy, accepting this compact is to accept lies about the history of higher education. I wrote a whole book about it. adamhsays.substack.com/p/a-raw-new-...

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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 2d

Some good advice in here but one critical piece I always give is this:

Get a hobby. Preferably a mildly social one. One that has NOTHING TO DO WITH SCIENCE. NOTHING.

You need friends. Not colleagues. FRIENDS. Friends who will love you no matter your research prospects...

Nature @nature.com · 2d

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone considering a PhD?

We asked 3785 doctoral candidates across 107 countries for their hard-won wisdom
go.nature.com/4nDjJ7t

27 things we wish we’d known when we started our PhDs

Nature’s survey of PhD candidates reveals hard-won wisdom on choosing supervisors, managing mental health and surviving academic culture.

go.nature.com

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