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Britt Lundgren

@brittlundgren.bsky.social

quasar gazer | science & education policy wonk | prof. of physics & astronomy at a public liberal arts college | Illinoisan

1854 Posts2968 Follower1325 Folgt
Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren.bsky.social · 12h ago

Having been represented previously by Mark Meadows and Madison Cawthorn... actual criminals and insurrectionists... Edwards seemed like the best our deeply gerrymandered district could get. But this is an opening that could actually flip the seat. C'mon WNC! Let's elect @jamie.agerforcongress.com

Steve Benen@stevebenen.com · 13h ago

After the Ethics Committee released its brutal report on Chuck Edwards on Monday, his campaign said the findings “exonerated” him, which was ridiculous. This morning, at 3:32 am, he dropped his re-election bid, but said he’s not resigning. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren.bsky.social · yesterday

I've just started reading this fun and beautiful new book by my talented friend and former college roommate, Deirdre Loughridge. The first chapter is on Cosmic Instruments and has a 17th century artistic rendering of "fine-tuning" that I'm excited to share in my cosmology class this semester! 🔭🎶

Cover of the book: "The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments" by Deirdre Loughridge and Thomas Patteson. The background image "Musica solar" (Solar Music, 1955) by the Spanish-Mexican artist Remedios Varo. As described by Loughridge and Patteson: "In a mossy forest clearing, a barefoot musician draws a bow across the rays of sunlight peeking through a densely clouded sky. A seedling sprouts from the spot where the beam hits the ground, and arcs of energy extend from the bow to shatter the cages of red birds in the trees overhead."The macrocosmic monochord - early 17th century physician Robert Fludd, which he described as the "natural harmony of the universal machine". Loughridge and Patteson describe his diagram from 1617: "The monochord maps out a cosmic space in which the sun appears midway between Earth and the heavenly 'heights of the Empyrean'... the sonorous proportions mapped by the monochord are at the same time cosmological measures; music mirrors the movements of the heavenly orbs in a different ontological register."
Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren.bsky.social · 2d ago

It should come as no surprise that Hegseth has used up the U.S. missile stock in an aimless war with no plan. "Hegseth had effectively run [Vets for Freedom] into the ground, spending in a way that nearly forced the organization into bankruptcy." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Pete Hegseth forced out of non-profit leadership roles for misconduct – report

Whistleblower report accuses Trump Pentagon pick of financial mismanagement, intoxication and sexist behavior

theguardian.com

CNBC@cnbc.com · 2d ago

U.S. has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war: Reuters

Tressie McMillan Cottom@tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 6d ago

There are a lot of important things going on. Maybe this isn’t a top twenty concern. But, this is actually workplace harassment, the kind that can get people killed.

@carmenlynn.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Koch Nazis are back “A shadowy network of conservative activist groups, backed by Koch-linked dark money, is deploying hidden cameras and mass public-records requests to hunt down and destroy the careers of college professors and administrators — and it's working.”

Andrew McRae@mcraeandrew.bsky.social · 2w ago

Letter from the executive director of the Modern Language Association to the Uni of Exeter VC: ‘We are aware of no university on the financial footing of Exeter that has seen the need to make dramatic cuts to the humanities such as you propose.’ #DefendExeterUni

Bild
The Downballot@the-downballot.com · 4d ago

Today, Chris Taylor is sworn in to replace Rebecca Bradley on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving liberals a 5-2 majority. As recently as 2020, conservatives had a 5-2 edge on the court, but four straight double-digit victories for liberals shifted the balance—and the court could go 6-1 next year.

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren.bsky.social · 5d ago

"UNC-Asheville is pursuing institutional renewal by implementing.. a fresh liberal arts agenda that combines interdisciplinary inquiry, durable skills, career readiness and future-facing learning." carolinapublicpress.org/76227/incuba...

'Incubating' growing universities across the globe at Duke

From UNC-Asheville to startup universities across the US and internationally, Duke alliance brings together innovators in higher education.

carolinapublicpress.org

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last wk.

'it’s clear we also need new collaborative structures, theories of jurisdiction and laws; new philosophies of the human, the unique status of human culture, and interplanetary environmental responsibility; and a sharp eye on the history of human hubris.' 1/4

Arts and humanities have a role in understanding space exploration | Letters

Letter: Prof Abbie Garrington reflects on an interview with the physicist Laura Grego about the battle for our skies

theguardian.com

Michael Clemens@mclem.org · 2w ago

It is sickening and illegal and poisonously anti-American to steal OUR tax dollars, mandated by our Congress for the public good, and pervert them into a plaything of authoritarian patronage. Flaying our public institutions is the opposite of Conservative and it harms all Americans.

Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)

Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.

nytimes.com

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · 2w ago

15. I keep coming back to this line. It is willful misrepresentation of our federal funding agencies' mission beyond discovery: developing that R&D workforce (and a pipeline of ideas) that flow into the private sector so beloved to our author. We employ trainEES because trainING is what we do.

Frequent turnover fragments efforts and slows progress. As science funders have noted, no technology company would entrust its core R&D to a workforce composed primarily of temporary trainees, yet this is the standard model in academic research.62 A more balanced approach would expand stable, well-compensated career paths for staff scientists, engineers, and technicians, roles critical to sustained institutional capability.
Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · 2w ago

8. One of the biggest misunderstandings or misrepresentations running through the report involves the role of US funding agencies. Indeed, they serve in part to promote tech discoveries and medical breakthroughs, but their role and charge is also to develop and perpetuate a vibrant STEM ecosystem.