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Reposted by Ryan Thoreson

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 20h

"We took the freedom of speech away," says the president

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20h

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 3d

The new Supreme Court term starts today, meaning that -- in a novel twist -- the justices will hear oral arguments in some cases before they issue rulings that actually explain what they are doing.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 2d

When we moved from NYC I made an offhand comment about adjusting to life in the suburbs, mostly because we have a single family home and a yard and we drive. Our friends pointed out that we still live in Cincinnati proper and are ten minutes from downtown. Not everywhere is NYC!

lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 2d

this discourse has never felt more disconnected from reality where you can live "in" a lot of american cities with neighborhoods that are built around car dependent single family homes but still have ready access to the cultural amenities of urban life

Berny Belvedere @bernybelvedere.bsky.social · 2d

fellas is it gay to live in a city

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 4d

I like to believe Amy Klobuchar went directly back to her office and rage-punched through the drywall.

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Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 5d

Resolution of the University of Virginia Faculty Senate (thus not institutional policy and entirely non-binding, but still inspirational):

Resolution Opposing the
"Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education"
WHEREAS the United States Secretary of Education has requested that the University of Virginia enter into a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education", and WHEREAS the Compact contains provisions antithetical to the mission and traditions of the University, and
WHEREAS the Compact contains provisions which endanger the independence and integrity of the University, and
WHEREAS the compact likely violates state and federal law, and infringes upon the constitutional rights of members of the University community, and WHEREAS the University of Virginia exemplifies American academic values of the highest standard, including universal right to free speech and the cultivation of academic freedom; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate of the University of Virginia firmly opposes this Compact as written and calls upon Interim President Mahoney and the Board of Visitors to also reject this Compact outright as well as any similar proposal compromising the mission, values, and independence of the University.
Feature Date:
Friday, October 3, 2025

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Jonathon Booth @jboothhistory.bsky.social · 5d

I will never say a bad word about performance theory again

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 5d

“The source told CBS News that [Kash Patel and Dan Bongino] asked for "large, beefy" agents to conduct an arrest of Comey "in full kit," including Kevlar vests and exterior wear emblazoned with the FBI logo.” The leadership of the FBI is now in the hands of infantile psychopaths.

The FBI is weighing an arrest and perp walk for Comey — and suspended an agent for refusing to help, sources say

The FBI is considering carrying out a "showy" arrest and perp walk of the agency's now-indicted ex-Director James Comey, sources tell CBS News.

www.cbsnews.com

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 5d

Me, reading a book to our toddler: “And he said… abracadabra!”
Her: “I like Lady Gaga! Wanna listen to that now!”
My husband: “…we’re either great parents or terrible parents.”

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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 6d

More from an expert on jawboning and unconstitutional conditions: bsky.app/profile/gene...

Genevieve Lakier @genevievelakier.bsky.social · 7d

The admin’s efforts to get universities to agree to a list of demands in exchange for preferential access to federal funding isn’t just “troubling” as Ted Mitchell, prez of the @aceducation.bsky.social says in this article; it looks blatantly unconstitutional.🧵
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

www.wsj.com

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Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) @msf.ca · 6d

MSF strongly condemns the killing of Omar Hayek by Israeli forces this morning in #Gaza. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.

Omar is our fourteenth colleague to be killed in Gaza since the war started. We call yet again for an end to the genocide.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 6d

Unfortunately so do other people, including in those states.

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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 7d

The "compact" is a threat, with the administration explicitly stating that it plans to disfavor universities that don't sign in areas from foreign student visas, student loans, federal contracts as well as grants, and even tax [501(c)(3)] status.

It's a maximalist plan of 1st Amendment violation.

www.washingtonexaminer.com

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 7d

I don't think a lot of pundits have appreciated that the politics of a shutdown look different when the administration has *already* been arbitrarily slashing the federal workforce, cutting programs, and withholding funds for almost a year. I'm not sure this will follow past scripts!

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 7d

cc: Pete Hegseth

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 7d

RIP Jane Goodall, an extraordinary woman, and sorry also to my husband who has put a ton of work into our daughter’s feminist Halloween costume.

texts from my husband reacting to the news of Jane Goodall’s death

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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 8d

www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

"Both graduation and retention rates have fallen since the takeover in 2023.... even as New College spends more than 10 times per student what the other 11 members of the State University System... a head count under 900 and a $118.5 million budget"

Spending Soars, Rankings Fall at New College of Florida

Student outcomes and rankings are slipping at the liberal arts college while spending is up. Critics believe the college is at risk of implosion, and some are calling for privatization.

www.insidehighered.com

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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 9d

Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.

Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 9d

I feel like UPenn’s athletics department would be surprised to hear that.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Vance: "You don't use your policy disagreements as leverage."

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 9d

Scott Bessent, raising the bar for the most embarrassing thing a gay man has accidentally shown someone on his phone.

Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 9d

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was pictured reading a text from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins:

“Argentina sold a large amount of soybeans to China when we would normally be selling to them... This gives China more leverage over us”

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 10d

Indiana has turbocharged a crackdown on anyone who has criticized Charlie Kirk after his death. Top officials have been channeling public anger into a kind of internet hotline, where submissions are displayed publicly on a government website.

She Was Fired for a Comment on Her Private Facebook Account

A look at how one state has turbocharged the crackdown on anyone who has criticized Charlie Kirk after his death.

nyti.ms

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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 10d

What makes our academic institutions vulnerable to this sort of attack is

(a) our openness to discussion and debate [e.g. this professor let the student stay in the class for some time],

(b) our strong internal protections against discrimination [which can be pretty easy to weaponize, as here], +

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 10d

Am I reading this correctly?

A grad student ... in Computer Science ... enrolled in an undergraduate seminar ... in the American Indian and Indigenous Studies program ... where he ignored the readings and hijacked discussions to talk about Israel and defend its actions in Gaza?

What the hell?

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 10d

Cornell is cancelling a distinguished professor's classes on Gaza and suspending him because of the complaints of a student who previously served in Israel's military surveillance agency and was literally recording the comments of other students in class and deliberately derailing discussion.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 10d

They should retaliate with a 100% tariff just on Home Alone 2.

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 10d

🇺🇸TRUMP: IMPOSING A 100% TARIFF ON FOREIGN MADE MOVIES.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 10d

In the sense that they are waiting for him to be prosecuted, yes!

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Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 10d

Targeted attack on a dockside restaurant in North Carolina. Three dead. Suspect a former Marine sniper in Iraq and Haiti who tried to sue the US govt for “genocide against straight men by the LGBQT community.”

Flags at half mast? Endless op-eds? Victims’ faces on coins?

www.cnn.com/2025/09/28/u...

Man in custody after 3 killed, at least 8 injured in shooting at a waterfront bar in North Carolina, officials say | CNN

A 40-year-old man is facing murder charges after allegedly pulling up on a boat to a waterfront bar in North Carolina Saturday night and opening fire, killing three and injuring at least eight others.

www.cnn.com

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 10d

Catsimatidis AND Cuomo? A banner year for all of us who enjoy being threatened with a good time.

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Ryan Thoreson @ryanthoreson.bsky.social · 10d

We’ve very rapidly moved from “just asking questions” to “do not discuss this topic or you will be punished by the state,” and that should alarm even the most ardent critics of trans rights.
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/26/t...

Texas Tech’s limits on gender identity discussion deepen fears of politics breaching academic freedom

Professors are afraid to publicly speak out, system leaders left key questions unanswered and advocates worry for LGBTQ+ students’ mental health.

www.texastribune.org

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