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Posts by Colby

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Opinion | Beware conservatives promoting “intellectual freedom” Victor Ray: This conservative lie about schools like mine is furthering authoritarianism

Making tenure count, for MSNOW I wrote about my employer, The University of Iowa, creating a center for intellectual freedom. It's a reactionary project built on decades of conservative propaganda about higher ed.

10 hours ago 1773 640 45 69

“…survivor’s guilt for escaping a state where so many trans people remain trapped and struggling…
Leaving Florida feels less like a choice now and more like a banishment sentence handed down by a few people who decided she shouldn’t have health care or use bathrooms at the airport.”

1 day ago 56 20 0 0
Working and Homeless: The Invisible Population Growing Every Year | Amanpour and Company
Working and Homeless: The Invisible Population Growing Every Year | Amanpour and Company YouTube video by Amanpour and Company

I joined Amanpour & Company to talk about why "working homeless"—a term that should be a scandal—has become an ordinary fact of American life.

40% of officially-counted homeless people have jobs. And that's before we get to the millions who are rendered invisible, who are never counted at all.

1 week ago 492 229 11 19
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The NSF 2027 budget has noted that they will close out the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science Program (SBE). This is not a good thing. nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/FY-202...

1 week ago 549 398 22 94

During WWII, the US couldn't find enough women to fill factory jobs. So, Congress used Lanham Act funds to build childcare centers in key defense production locations, offering full-time, high-quality care (and even summer and afterschool care) for <$10/day in today's dollars. 2/

1 week ago 239 68 2 2
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incredible comment on one of my youtube videos

1 week ago 5973 238 146 0
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NASA's Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover listens to 'Whitey on the Moon' every Monday. This is why. "It ain't about racism. It's about the human condition."

A few people have replied to my Artemis posts with links to Gil Scott-Heron's "Whitey on the Moon." Here's a story from Space.com about Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, currently en route to fly around the Moon, and his connection to that piece. www.space.com/space-explor...

1 week ago 2544 868 37 58
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My students had not heard of AI psychosis. So we talked about it.

1 week ago 538 39 10 2
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Adjunct pay/working conditions AY25-26 This form is part of a project to crowd-source pay and working conditions for people who teach and research in colleges and universities during AY2025-2026. This form is for people paid by the course ...

Well, let's give it a shot again and see what we get.

2 months ago 93 81 1 7
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NEW on Wonkhe: Universities serve purposes beyond market demands. Jim Dickinson asks if the pendulum between planning and markets is about to swing back - and what that should mean to protect student interests bit.ly/3XDc1z6

1 year ago 30 13 1 9

Our library info literacy school presentation used to teach students to question the reliability of Wikipedia, and now it’s one of the better (starting) internet sources, especially compared with chat gpt. Additional sources and databases are still needed too.

2 weeks ago 133 33 3 0

chat is this bad?

3 weeks ago 4014 800 130 0

In honor of Mr. Rogers’ birthday, here’s your regularly scheduled reminder that the quote of his you keep sharing, that in times of crisis we should look for the helpers, was for his audience of children.

We’re adults now. We’re supposed to *be* the helpers.

3 weeks ago 3241 1137 18 28

Here is the spreadsheet DOGE had ChatGPT produce, to determine which grants were too DEI www.historians.org/wp-content/u...

1 month ago 631 222 8 35

Oh boy you guys that was rough

1 month ago 920 12 29 2
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The laid-off lawyers and PhDs training AI to steal their careers Experienced white-collar workers are now part of a miserable gig economy.

AI companies are paying screenwriters, lawyers, and other white-collar professionals to produce the training data needed to automate their jobs. I spoke with more than 30 workers about conditions inside this fast-growing and extremely secretive new gig economy.

1 month ago 249 122 11 48
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Raise the Floor on Teacher Salaries It could boost recruitment, retention, and academic performance

Thanks to @chadaldeman.bsky.social for highlighting our work evaluating the impact of Arkansas's min teacher salary increase: Raise the Floor on Teacher Salaries open.substack.com/pub/aldemano...

1 month ago 3 3 1 0

We are so old, look at them

1 month ago 43 1 5 0
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UNC-CH Will ‘Scrap’ New Recording Policy, Chancellor Says The move comes less than three weeks after the controversial rules were enacted.

Congrats to @ncaaup.bsky.social & all who fought against this surveillance policy that would've allowed admin to hijack microphones in the classroom for secret recordings.

This move would've chilled classroom discussion & suppressed students' willingness to ask questions & take intellectual risks.

1 month ago 540 208 7 13
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Major Victory for Public Education as Trump Administration Abandons Appeal on “Dear Colleague Letter” BALTIMORE – Today marks a final defeat in the Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to require school districts throughout the nation to censor lessons, abandon student support programs, and certify th...

Just fyi- Trump claims he ended DEI...but literally last month we won our lawsuit, preventing him from cutting civil rights laws including the commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in schools. www.aft.org/press-releas... . www.aft.org/press-releas...

1 month ago 795 222 2 3
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Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it.

Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

1 month ago 2829 1620 175 419
Report: Staff at Dilley raiding cells to confiscate kids' letters and drawings detailing conditions inside

Report: Staff at Dilley raiding cells to confiscate kids' letters and drawings detailing conditions inside

ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings.

www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...

1 month ago 4568 2559 138 308
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
Plaintiffs,
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Civil Case No.: SAG-25-628
Defendants.
*
*
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education ("DOE") published a
"Dear Colleague Letter" ("the Letter") explaining the new administration's positions with respect
to diversity, equity, and inclusion ("DEI") principles and federal antidiscrimination law. A few
weeks later, DOE issued an announcement that it would require states and school districts to
affirmatively certify their compliance with DOE's interpretations of Title VI and Students for Fair
Admissions v. Harvard ("SFFA"), 600 U.S. 181 (2023), within ten days ("the Certification Requirement"). Those documents, and whether they created new legal obligations or merely
restated existing law, have been the focus of this litigation.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND Plaintiffs, * * * * * * * * Civil Case No.: SAG-25-628 Defendants. * * MEMORANDUM OPINION On February 14, 2025, the United States Department of Education ("DOE") published a "Dear Colleague Letter" ("the Letter") explaining the new administration's positions with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion ("DEI") principles and federal antidiscrimination law. A few weeks later, DOE issued an announcement that it would require states and school districts to affirmatively certify their compliance with DOE's interpretations of Title VI and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ("SFFA"), 600 U.S. 181 (2023), within ten days ("the Certification Requirement"). Those documents, and whether they created new legal obligations or merely restated existing law, have been the focus of this litigation.

This case illustrates why following procedures is so important. The stringent procedures
outlined by the APA are not hollow gestures designed to manufacture the appearance of fair and
reasoned decisionmaking; they exist to ensure that agencies stay within the bounds of their
delegated authority and exercise that authority within the constraints of the law more broadly. See Nat'l Fed'n. of Indep. Bus. v. Dep't of Labor, 595 U.S. 109, 117 (2022) (*Administrative agencies are creatures of statute."). Still here, this Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue in
this case are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair. But, at this stage too, it must closely
scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. Here, it did not. And by leapfrogging important procedural requirements, the government has unwittingly run headfirst into serious constitutional problems.
Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights. Both challenged actions accordingly must be vacated. The administration is
entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints. But it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined. And it may not do so at the expense of constitutional rights.

This case illustrates why following procedures is so important. The stringent procedures outlined by the APA are not hollow gestures designed to manufacture the appearance of fair and reasoned decisionmaking; they exist to ensure that agencies stay within the bounds of their delegated authority and exercise that authority within the constraints of the law more broadly. See Nat'l Fed'n. of Indep. Bus. v. Dep't of Labor, 595 U.S. 109, 117 (2022) (*Administrative agencies are creatures of statute."). Still here, this Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue in this case are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair. But, at this stage too, it must closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. Here, it did not. And by leapfrogging important procedural requirements, the government has unwittingly run headfirst into serious constitutional problems. Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights. Both challenged actions accordingly must be vacated. The administration is entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints. But it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined. And it may not do so at the expense of constitutional rights.

ORDER OF JUDGMENT
For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum opinion, it is this 14th day of
August, 2025, ordered that:
1. Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, ECF 66, is granted as to Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six and denied as to Count Four;
2. The government's motion, ECF 72, construed as a motion for summary judgment, is granted as to Count Four, and denied as to all other counts;
3. Judgment is entered for Plaintiffs on Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six;
4. Judgment is entered for the government on Count Four;
5. The Dear Colleague Letter of February 14, 2025 is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706;
and
6. "The Reminder of Legal Obligations Undertaken In Exchange for Receiving Federal Financial Assistance and Request for Certification under Title VI and SFFA v.
Harvard" is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706.
/s/
Stephanie A. Gallagher
United States District Judge

ORDER OF JUDGMENT For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum opinion, it is this 14th day of August, 2025, ordered that: 1. Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, ECF 66, is granted as to Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six and denied as to Count Four; 2. The government's motion, ECF 72, construed as a motion for summary judgment, is granted as to Count Four, and denied as to all other counts; 3. Judgment is entered for Plaintiffs on Counts One, Two, Three, Five, and Six; 4. Judgment is entered for the government on Count Four; 5. The Dear Colleague Letter of February 14, 2025 is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706; and 6. "The Reminder of Legal Obligations Undertaken In Exchange for Receiving Federal Financial Assistance and Request for Certification under Title VI and SFFA v. Harvard" is VACATED under 5 U.S.C. § 706. /s/ Stephanie A. Gallagher United States District Judge

THEREFORE, the Parties do HEREBY STIPULATE AND AGREE as follows:
1. The challenged Agency Actions have been vacated and set aside by the final judgment entered in American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of
Education, et al., No. 1:25-cv-00628 ("AFT"), and the vacatur and terms of the
judgment in AFT apply to Plaintiffs;
2. The challenged Agency Actions will not be relied on in any way by Defendants
including by way of seeking to enforce its substance through ED or DOJ civil rights enforcement procedures;
3. The certification demand issued on April 3, 2025 will not be reinstated in substance
even if under a different name;
4. The challenged Agency Actions creates no obligation, responsibility, or condition on
Plaintiffs in any manner;

THEREFORE, the Parties do HEREBY STIPULATE AND AGREE as follows: 1. The challenged Agency Actions have been vacated and set aside by the final judgment entered in American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of Education, et al., No. 1:25-cv-00628 ("AFT"), and the vacatur and terms of the judgment in AFT apply to Plaintiffs; 2. The challenged Agency Actions will not be relied on in any way by Defendants including by way of seeking to enforce its substance through ED or DOJ civil rights enforcement procedures; 3. The certification demand issued on April 3, 2025 will not be reinstated in substance even if under a different name; 4. The challenged Agency Actions creates no obligation, responsibility, or condition on Plaintiffs in any manner;

NEW: In cases brought by the NEA and AFT, there are now final court orders: Last year's anti-DEI "Dear Colleague" letter is vacated and unenforceable.

DOJ/DOE gave up the fight, dismissing the appeal and case in the Fourth Circuit and subsequently dismissing the the second case with a stipulation.

1 month ago 427 159 3 12

wealth concentration is already 200% as bad at is was in 2020. think about that

1 month ago 1832 727 29 20

straight out of those Civil War histories where some ill informed white Union soldier got a view of slavery up close and became hyper abolitionist in an instant

1 month ago 4461 783 31 10
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Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

1 month ago 6834 2228 97 185
Daniel Craig: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN
DR. TEETH AND THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM

Daniel Craig: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN DR. TEETH AND THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM

2 months ago 264 37 1 0
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It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.

Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”

2 months ago 22272 6748 622 1075
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Homeless Oregon youth got $1,000 a month for two years. Most found housing after • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon is the second of its kind in the nation to implement the direct cash transfer program after New York City.

"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."

A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.

Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.

2 months ago 3082 1287 37 98