Nic McGinnis
@nicmcginnis.bsky.social
The pony-tailed college professor: first as a cliché, then as a threat to civilization.
Likewise vaccine panics are fueled in no small part by opposition to public health as a concept, because there is no such thing as "society."
December 31, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Likewise vaccine panics are fueled in no small part by opposition to public health as a concept, because there is no such thing as "society."
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
This was a major factor, yes—like a big pile of cultural kindling
Daycare centers were also the primary target of the Satanic panic, because fundamentally American religious conservatism is opposed to women having jobs outside the home.
Trump guys are about to Comet Pizza every third daycare center because they think they are all fronts for Somali money laundering. They're only doing this near cities with progressive mayors. This is straight up Government by LibsOfTikTok.
December 31, 2025 at 12:17 AM
This was a major factor, yes—like a big pile of cultural kindling
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
www.propublica.org
December 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
Yeah, got the email. Not a lot of information about which positions are at risk. Doesn't feel good.
Fanshawe College president tells staff to consider 'exit incentive' as enrolment remains low | CBC News
An end-of-year holiday message sent to Fanshawe College employees did not bring much cheer as the school's president says all full-time employees are being offered a way out of their jobs.
www.cbc.ca
December 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Yeah, got the email. Not a lot of information about which positions are at risk. Doesn't feel good.
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
A vital read.
Stephen Miller is employing state terror in service of the open goal of shifting the ethnic mix of the country. In numerous ways he's doing this at the expense of public safety.
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
He is descended from Russian Jews—you know, the kind of people who were once denounced as alien and unassimilable. Today, his project is to unleash government persecution of those he deems alien and u...
newrepublic.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:40 PM
A vital read.
Fascinating if true. Can't help but think of how many whales we slaughtered over the centuries, though.
Mind-blowingly cool use of AI
“Altogether, these findings are leading us to an extraordinary conclusion: Whales may possess a communication system more intricate than our own, one that possibly predates human language by tens of millions of years.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
“Altogether, these findings are leading us to an extraordinary conclusion: Whales may possess a communication system more intricate than our own, one that possibly predates human language by tens of millions of years.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | I’m a Marine Biologist. This Is How I Talk to Whales.
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Fascinating if true. Can't help but think of how many whales we slaughtered over the centuries, though.
Libertarians are unserious people
“If you believe that all people act in the best interest of sanitary conditions, I’d ask you to follow some of my inspectors around for a day or two,” Jasper said
A proposal to deregulate New Hampshire’s meat market could defy federal food safety laws and carry risks for farmers and consumers, which lawmakers acknowledged.
November 20, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Libertarians are unserious people
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
Will Canada's cap on international students bring down colleges and universities?
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/9a87e78...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/9a87e78...
Canada’s international student cap helped lower rents. But will it bring colleges and universities down as well?
Decline in foreign enrolment is affecting the bottom line of postsecondary institutions across the country
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Will Canada's cap on international students bring down colleges and universities?
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/9a87e78...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/9a87e78...
But a BBC director had to resign for editing two excerpts from the same speech
NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence was misleading.
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:12 AM
But a BBC director had to resign for editing two excerpts from the same speech
Dire.
Colleges could struggle further with latest lowered cap on international students
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Colleges could struggle further with latest lowered cap on international students | CBC News
Ontario’s community colleges already face significant financial troubles that could worsen now that the federal government plans to again dramatically cut the number of international students admitted...
www.cbc.ca
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Dire.
Well, that's worrying.
Kneecap to the PSE sector - TOTAL temporary resident target (TFWs plus international students) to be roughly halved, from 670K to 370K.
That's minimum a $2 Billion hit to the sector. Probably more. Will work this out later
That's minimum a $2 Billion hit to the sector. Probably more. Will work this out later
November 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Well, that's worrying.
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
I keep seeing journalism described as an "ecosystem" and I guess that tracks because it's undergoing an extinction crisis caused by billionaires, too.
November 3, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I keep seeing journalism described as an "ecosystem" and I guess that tracks because it's undergoing an extinction crisis caused by billionaires, too.
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
I love that a politician can say something like “I believe mice naturally spawn out of grain” and the news will now just treat that as a legitimate line of thought
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently embraces the outdated "miasma theory" of disease instead of the widely accept "germ theory" of disease, which may help explain some of the actions he's been taking.
Ancient miasma theory may help explain Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine moves
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently embraces the outdated "miasma theory" of disease instead of the widely accept "germ theory" of disease, which may help explain some of the actions he's been taking.
n.pr
June 14, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I love that a politician can say something like “I believe mice naturally spawn out of grain” and the news will now just treat that as a legitimate line of thought
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
THREAD: We recently heard that the Trump administration was leaning on the government of Gambia to help Elon Musk. For weeks, our team made phone calls, wrote letters and knocked on folks’ doors to try to confirm it. But we were stuck.
So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/
So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/
May 16, 2025 at 1:03 AM
THREAD: We recently heard that the Trump administration was leaning on the government of Gambia to help Elon Musk. For weeks, our team made phone calls, wrote letters and knocked on folks’ doors to try to confirm it. But we were stuck.
So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/
So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
Trump administration dismisses all authors of major climate report, throwing US assessment into limbo
Source: CNN
search.app/WCNPF
Shared via the Google App
Source: CNN
search.app/WCNPF
Shared via the Google App
Trump administration dismisses all authors of major climate report, throwing US assessment into limbo | CNN
The Trump administration has dismissed all the scientists and other authors working on the next authoritative look at how climate change is affecting the United States, according to an email sent to a...
search.app
April 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Trump administration dismisses all authors of major climate report, throwing US assessment into limbo
Source: CNN
search.app/WCNPF
Shared via the Google App
Source: CNN
search.app/WCNPF
Shared via the Google App
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
“The US is treading the path followed by democracies that descended into authoritarianism and dictatorship, four former U.S. ambassadors to countries that underwent autocratic takeovers have warned.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US ex-ambassadors warn of slide into authoritarianism amid ‘climate of fear’
Four ex-heads of US embassies in nations that swung from democracies to dictatorships say landscape eerily familiar
www.theguardian.com
April 30, 2025 at 10:21 PM
“The US is treading the path followed by democracies that descended into authoritarianism and dictatorship, four former U.S. ambassadors to countries that underwent autocratic takeovers have warned.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I'd call this childlike, but I've met smarter children.
GOP Rep: "Climate Change Is A Sham Because God Controls The Climate Because He Controls The Sun" - Joe.My.God.
“I’ve been very outspoken about this. It’s a sham – this whole climate change is a sham. First of all, God controls the climate because he controls the sun and the sun controls the weather, primarily....
www.joemygod.com
April 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
I'd call this childlike, but I've met smarter children.
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
Florida officials are demanding that universities send lists of all research that faculty/staff have published or publicly shared in the last 6 years, even if it wasn't publicly funded.
It's not clear what they'll do with the lists, but my bet is on nothing good.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
It's not clear what they'll do with the lists, but my bet is on nothing good.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
Florida’s DOGE agency asks university faculty to hand over research
A letter sent last week asks colleges to compile a list of all research and grants.
www.tampabay.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Florida officials are demanding that universities send lists of all research that faculty/staff have published or publicly shared in the last 6 years, even if it wasn't publicly funded.
It's not clear what they'll do with the lists, but my bet is on nothing good.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
It's not clear what they'll do with the lists, but my bet is on nothing good.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
Global warming of more than 3°C this century may wipe 40% off the world’s economy, new analysis reveals
Source: The Conversation
search.app/aKRf6
Shared via the Google App
Source: The Conversation
search.app/aKRf6
Shared via the Google App
Global warming of more than 3°C this century may wipe 40% off the world’s economy, new analysis reveals
To date, projections of how climate change will affect global GDP have been massively underestimated.
search.app
April 1, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Global warming of more than 3°C this century may wipe 40% off the world’s economy, new analysis reveals
Source: The Conversation
search.app/aKRf6
Shared via the Google App
Source: The Conversation
search.app/aKRf6
Shared via the Google App
Apart from the non-proliferation treaty and the risk of escalation, probably the timeline wouldn't work: it would take years we don't have.
Should Canada explore developing a nuclear weapons program?
Amid a changing global security landscape and ongoing sovereignty taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump, one military expert says Canada may need to reconsider its position on nuclear weapons.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca
March 30, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Apart from the non-proliferation treaty and the risk of escalation, probably the timeline wouldn't work: it would take years we don't have.
Competitive authoritarianism
Here is law prof and election law expert @rickhasen.bsky.social's first take on the elections EO: electionlawblog.org?p=149153
President Trump Issues Dangerous Executive Order That Would Shift to Presidency More Power Over the Conduct of Federal Elections and Potentially Disenfranchise Millions of Voters #ELB
I am still making my way through this new Trump executive order on election administration (helpfully posted by Chris Geidner). There is a lot in here, but let me make four initial points as I still d...
electionlawblog.org
March 25, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Competitive authoritarianism
What the actual fuck
Incredible. Gift version of article: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
What the actual fuck
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
JD Vance, "Denmark is not being a good ally"
"If we need to take Greenland that is what President Trump will do because he doesn't care about what Europeans scream at us"
"If we need to take Greenland that is what President Trump will do because he doesn't care about what Europeans scream at us"
March 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
JD Vance, "Denmark is not being a good ally"
"If we need to take Greenland that is what President Trump will do because he doesn't care about what Europeans scream at us"
"If we need to take Greenland that is what President Trump will do because he doesn't care about what Europeans scream at us"
Reposted by Nic McGinnis
"I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five people that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department."- Joseph McCarthy
Stephen Miller: The Department of Education here in Washington, D.C., is overwhelmingly staffed by radical left marxist bureaucrats. Who are in every way hostile to western civilization, hostile to American interests, and hostile to our founding documents and culture.
March 21, 2025 at 2:26 AM
"I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five people that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department."- Joseph McCarthy