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Reposted by Liz Neeley

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 22h

On top of everything else, this too should be non-negotiable; when the government does re-open, follow the law and pay furloughed federal workers what they are due.

🎁
wapo.st/47dbJEe

Furloughed workers not guaranteed back pay after shutdown, OMB claims

Federal workers may not be entitled to back pay after the government shutdown ends, the Trump administration’s budget office wrote in a new draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, ratcheting up te...

wapo.st

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Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 1d

The table of contents for Read This When Things Fall Apart is a crisis directory—“read this if…” [insert heartbreak, setback, disaster, or breaking point]. I wish I could gift a copy to every activist in Chicago. You can donate a copy to an activist in need here: www.akpress.org/read-this-wh...

The cover for the book, Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis. The cover art features a person wading into a body of water in the woods at night.

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🎃 public HELLth guy 🎃 @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 1d

this is already a huge problem, and it’s about to get much worse as the economy goes into recession

WORKERS AT FOOD BANKS and pantries said that the canceled deliveries add to the growing challenges they face. Many staff members said they had seen a decline in private contributions and volunteers. Grocery stores and food manufacturers, which started managing their inventories more efficiently during the pandemic, now have less leftover food to give.
Other Trump cuts have disrupted AmeriCorps, which helps staff mobile food pantries and other services, and are ending the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which provided food from local farmers.

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 4d

Each Friday, I summarize what is happening to American science & higher ed. 🧪
This was Week 37:
- 9 universities face loyalty oath (“compact”)
- government shutdown - impact on services & fear of further RIFs
- four NIH directors officially fired

& so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Week 37

Sept 27-Oct 2, 2025 - hold the door

buttondown.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 2d

Biomedical or everything?

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Reposted by Liz Neeley

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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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Concise summary of the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” with universities: “In other words, this is the most sweeping pile of unconstitutional conditions that any American constitutional lawyer has ever seen in the wild.”

Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 3d

I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.

Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 3d

Seems about right

Screenshot of a widget in my running app. It says my status is “fatigued”, and has a little illustrated person looking like they’re trying to catch their breath. Recovery is estimated at 35%, and it says I’ll be fully recovered in a mere 58 hours Huzzah.

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Mallory Harris, PhD @malar0ne.bsky.social · 4d

One month later and as far as I can tell, there's been no follow-up on this (thankfully).

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 4d

Suggest pairing lizbucar.substack.com/p/ezra-klein... with this

~“Mindfulness commodified for American consumption is about managing your stress, not addressing systemic oppression. Optimizing performance, not transforming unjust conditions. Finding inner peace, instead of collective liberation.”

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 4d

The idea of meditating can be intimidating to beginners. There are ways bring short and inconspicuous meditation sessions into the workday.

Mini-meditations are a way to foster peace of mind at work

The idea of meditating can be intimidating to beginners. Beginners may find the prospect of trying it at work embarrassing.

bit.ly

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 4d

Each Friday, I summarize what is happening to American science & higher ed. 🧪
This was Week 37:
- 9 universities face loyalty oath (“compact”)
- government shutdown - impact on services & fear of further RIFs
- four NIH directors officially fired

& so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Week 37

Sept 27-Oct 2, 2025 - hold the door

buttondown.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 4d

I didn’t include this in last night’s newsletter b/c I remembered that Dartmouth was the only Ivy that did not sign the last open letter.

This seems good but doesn’t actually say no.

I hope Beilock’s next statement is also this short & says “We will not sign. We will not negotiate to sign. No.”

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jenn m. jackson @jennmjacksonphd.bsky.social · 4d

The landscape of this country would be entirely different if the Reconstruction Era electoral wins secured by newly freed Black folks had never been stifled by lynchings and pogroms.

The violence now, after decades of wins for queer, trans, Black, Brown, disabled, and migrant folks, same energy.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 5d

The Trump administration compact with higher education turns a manifesto of conservative grievances into policy, sprinkled with cost-cutting measures, and violates the very principles it claims to protect. I wrote about it here. It's free: adamhsays.substack.com/p/a-raw-new-...

A Raw New Deal

The administration’s proposed compact would seek to remake higher education in its own image

adamhsays.substack.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 4d

Just writing about this for tonight's newsletter. Here's the published version - facultysenate.virginia.edu/resolution-o...

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 5d

These people are heroes. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

‘We called ourselves the lifeboat crew’: how fired USAID workers launched a rescue project ‘to save as many babies as we can’

After the Trump administration closed the organisation down, a group of former staff secured new funding for almost 80 programmes, benefiting an estimated 40 million people

www.theguardian.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 5d

The press release is really something www.latimes.com/california/s...

Newsom threatens to cut state funding to universities that sign Trump’s political compact

The White House is asking nine major universities, including USC, to commit to President Trump’s political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.

www.latimes.com

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Noam Ross @noamross.net · 6d

Yesterday I was thinking about universities that did or didn't sign on to court cases and how that affected where I'd recommend to younger people go to college. "Will the school defend your rights?" is now an essential question on a college tour.

If a school signs on to this, you know the answer.

Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 6d

Some problems have simple solutions. This new “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is one. The answer is simply saying no.

Simple does not mean easy. But Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Vanderbilt, Univ of AZ, UPenn, USC, UT Austin & UVA must understand what they’ll lose if they sign on.

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Ethan Marcotte @ethanmarcotte.com · 6d

The workers of Kickstarter United, one of the tech industry’s first unions, are on STRIKE.

They‘re not calling for a boycott yet; if you want to support them, they’ve got specific asks outlined below.

Kickstarter United @kickstarterunited.org · 6d

‼️🚨KICKSTARTER WORKERS ARE ON STRIKE🚨‼️

As of 8am this morning, the workers of Kickstarter United/OPEIU Local 153 are on strike.

WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR A BOYCOTT! Creators and allies, please continue using and supporting the platform.

Kickstarter United is on strike!
We are not asking for a boycott! Creators & Allies: Please continue to support & use the platform
swipe for ways to show your solidarity

Why We're Striking
A codified 4-day work week.
We simply want to protect the way we've been working for over 3.5 years. The 4dww has proven benefits, such as increased productivity and improved employee satisfaction. It's part of what makes Kickstarter a special, innovative place to work.
Fair pay for our lowest-paid workers.
We're fighting for livable minimum salaries for roles that are undervalued by the market but crucial to keeping Kickstarter running. We believe none of our workers should struggle to make ends meet.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 6d

EXCLUSIVE: In her first interview all year, Susan Monarez, CDC director for only 29 days, tells me why Trump/RFK fired her and where this is all headed.

The CDC director is an “inherently political position, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be politically compromised”, she tells @nature.com.

Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired

“I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Liz Neeley

Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 6d

Some problems have simple solutions. This new “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is one. The answer is simply saying no.

Simple does not mean easy. But Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Vanderbilt, Univ of AZ, UPenn, USC, UT Austin & UVA must understand what they’ll lose if they sign on.

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Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · 6d

FAA has issued MASSIVE temporary flight restriction which prohibits drones (i.e., photography) over Chicago.

They did similar around federal buildings in Los Angeles since June protests, but really no comparison...

Chicago's TFR covers 900x more area than ones in LA! 🧵👇
tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=d...

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 6d

Some problems have simple solutions. This new “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is one. The answer is simply saying no.

Simple does not mean easy. But Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Vanderbilt, Univ of AZ, UPenn, USC, UT Austin & UVA must understand what they’ll lose if they sign on.

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 6d

Sorry for that broken link! Should be: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Week 36

Sept 20-26 - curing compost

buttondown.com

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 6d

That is weird, thank you for telling me!