Working with the MLA AI and Research Working Group was the highlight if this past year for me. I can’t overstate the care, thoughtfulness & commitment each member brought to the process. mlaai.hcommons.org/ai-and-the-h...

@njtransit-me.bsky.social The 8 am from Maplewood never appeared. What’s going on?

Grad programs could do more to prepare students as effective communicators. Visual narratives & data stories are increasingly necessary skills. Here's a short piece I created while brushing up my skills so I can do more to prepare students. Visualizing the Great 8 #ALLCAPS #DH canva.link/TheGreat8

Unsupported client – Canva

Unsupported client – Canva

canva.link

Ya know how sometimes ya do a thing over & over again & you think it's weird, but you just do it anyway, and then suddenly it's explained in a way that makes sense and it's like: Eurika! I was today years old when I learned that what goes inside the () is different in pandas vs regular python. sigh

Seems like this may come in handy. Learn how to cite depositions posted on YouTube in MLA Style. #themoreyouknow #dogebros style.mla.org/cite-a-depos...

Need to cite a deposition? | MLA Style Center

Watching any depositions lately and wondering how to cite them? We’ve got you covered! Here’s an example citation: “Nathan Cavanaugh Deposition (Part 1) in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit about the NEH.” YouTube...

style.mla.org

Cavanaugh on first days leading DOGE’s small agencies team which targeted #NEH. Started in the “middle of February 2025.” He first met NEH staff on March 12. 1477 grant terminations sent out by DOGE on April 2. It typically takes 6-8 months to review an NEH grant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY-Q...

Nathan Cavanaugh Deposition (Part 1) in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit about the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtube.com

Here's a grant that is "justified" as DEI because it will use materials from an HBCU archive to create teaching materials for the university and local Durham community #NEH #DOGE

Here #NEH McDonald admits that he doesn't know how DOGE defined DEI or what they used to make their assessments. I can't imagine being so inept! He just let a group of 28 yo tech bros tell him what to think and do because the result is one he liked. Zero self respect. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...

Michael McDonald Deposition in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit About the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

The entire budget of the NEH couldn’t buy more than three jets. The budget was tiny. And it was great ROI for the American people.

Curious to know what makes an #NEH grant "crazy" as opposed to "bad" in the eyes of #DOGE youtu.be/6AprpPJ1Cmc?...

Nathan Cavanaugh Deposition in ACLS-AHA-MLA Lawsuit About the NEH, Part 2 of 6

YouTube video by American Historical Association

youtu.be

And now we learn that the acting NEH chair in fact recommended "that wherever the 'DEI Rationale' on the spreadsheet makes clear that there is no DEI component to the project, there is no justification for canceling the project's funding and you should allow it to continue. youtu.be/pX5_27IKRIg?...

Nathan Cavanaugh Deposition in ACLS-AHA-MLA Lawsuit About the NEH, Part 3 of 6

YouTube video by American Historical Association

youtu.be

Anne Leader@anneleaderphd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Oh boy. A real doozy. If you haven't been following the @nehgov.bsky.social fiasco, this gift article will catch up up. If you have been following, prepare to have your rage stoked all over again. As one of the recipients of a cancelled grant, I have some thoughts /1 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...

Michael McDonald, acting chair of NEH at the time & still its General Counsel, admitted in a deposition he knew of fewer than 6 grants being revoked in 20+ years, all for non-performance. He co-founded the right-wing Center for Individual Rights, which files lawsuits > the Voting Rights Act. 2/2

Funding of these projects was awarded after a rigorous vetting process involving layers of scholarship. An NEH award is difficult to get, and @nehgov.bsky.social funding was less than 0.01% of federal budget. The "DOGE" boys, with no expertise and AI, destroyed the integrity of a 50-year-old agency.

When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities

nytimes.com

🤬 this 🤬 “A documentary about Jewish women’s slave labor during the Holocaust? [CharGPT said to axe the NEH grant cuz] The focus on gender risked “contributing to D.E.I. by amplifying marginalized voices.” ☠️☠️☠️ 🗃️

Stephen West@stephenwest.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It was wrong and harmful - and quite possibly unlawful - to cut already approved NEH grants because Donald Trump hates "DEI." But the way DOGE went about doing it was even dumber than you probably imagined. They fed abstracts into ChatGPT and demanded an answer in fewer than 120 characters.

The article also points to the corruption of the selection process for new NEH grants.

Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Huge NYT article on the back story of those two weeks in March/April 2025 when DOGE illegally terminated hundreds of NEH grants. Gift link!! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...

My employer Canterbury Shaker Village lost a small NEH grant. I wrote it. I used words such as "equality" and "citizenship." The same words were used in CHATGPT to cancel grants. The same words are in the nation's founding documents.

Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Last year, this guy (left) from DOGE used ChatGPT to find NEH grants that were too “DEI” for Trump, and canceled them, including mine, as shown by the letter I received last April (right). Huge new NYT article on the back story link below

It was wrong and harmful - and quite possibly unlawful - to cut already approved NEH grants because Donald Trump hates "DEI." But the way DOGE went about doing it was even dumber than you probably imagined. They fed abstracts into ChatGPT and demanded an answer in fewer than 120 characters.

When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities

nytimes.com

WOW! So apparently #NEH McDonald thinks it would be unfair to deny college applicants based on a keyword search of racial identities, but totally fine to deny grant applications on the basis of keyword searches on sex and race. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...

Michael McDonald Deposition in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit About the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

Oh wait! It gets better: #NEH McDonald says that affirmative action “gives preference based on adherence to race…” or another group. He later says race is “immutable” but the practice is divisive and unfair. He says it creates a “caste” system, then can’t define it. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...

Michael McDonald Deposition in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit About the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

Here is #NEH chairman Michael McDonald unable to articulate what he means by “viewpoint discrimination” b/c what he means is “when *my* view is deemed inappropriate or wrong.” Eg. fine to discriminate against immigrants’ speech, just not his. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...

Michael McDonald Deposition in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit About the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

Watching deposition video now Here is current NEH Chairman Michael McDonald describing his early career at a legal organization that worked to strike down affirmative action under the guise of constitutional conservatism: a term he either refuses or is unable to define. #NEH youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...

Michael McDonald Deposition in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit About the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

Resharing for those who missed yesterday’s post. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this might be one of the only lawsuits where the DOGE bros have been deposed.

Lisa Marie Rhody@lmrhody.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It's stunning how ignorant the DOGE bros were who were sent into agencies. Justin Fox cannot even articulate in his own words what his "present understanding of DEI" is: he can't even formulate a coherent sentence about it. I wouldn't hire him for basic tech support. #NEH youtu.be/jomaMvItnew?...

Read the motion for summary judgement and view discovery documents and videos at www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...

Modern Language Association@modernlanguage.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The MLA, @acls1919.bsky.social, and @historians.org have filed a motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit to restore the NEH. Discovery documents reveal that DOGE rather than the acting chair led grant terminations and targeted grants using ChatGPT. More at mla.org/NEH-Lawsuit

It's stunning how ignorant the DOGE bros were who were sent into agencies. Justin Fox cannot even articulate in his own words what his "present understanding of DEI" is: he can't even formulate a coherent sentence about it. I wouldn't hire him for basic tech support. #NEH youtu.be/jomaMvItnew?...

Justin Fox Deposition (Part 3) in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit about the NEH

YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc

youtu.be

More evidence that what we have been witnessing is the hostile takeover of the government to advance the agenda of the few. There is nothing legal or just behind what happened in DOGE takeovers. Only the unscrupulous exercise of power to mislead and control the public for personal gain.

Jason Rhody@jasonrhody.bsky.social · 6mo ago

As someone who watched the careful stewardship of grants over many years, the lack of care and the dismissal of the hard work of scholars and NEH program staff described here is devastating and shameful. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...

Spending time lately on my data viz skills with Python & since I'm an #ALLCAPS fan, I created a heatmap of #Ovechkin 's first 900 goals divided by period +OT and 2-min intervals.

I’m taking two classes this semester: special librarianship and information design & visualization. It’s so humbling & invigorating to realize how much more there is to learn.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you have been do the work, getting an invitation to participate in an event with people you admire and respect lifts your spirits and keeps you afloat.

I spent the day growing the list of people I follow here: poets, small presses, and creative nonfiction authors. Looking for a community of folk who believe in the power of language, reflection, and connection to find hope and resilience.

We're hiring interns in the Computational Social Science group at Microsoft Research NYC! If you're interested in designing AI‑based systems and understanding their impact at both individual and societal scales, apply here by Jan 9, 2026: apply.careers.microsoft.com/careers/job/...

Research Intern - Computational Social Science | Microsoft Careers

Research Interns put inquiry and theory into practice. Alongside fellow doctoral candidates and some of the world's best researchers, Research Interns learn, collaborate, and network for life. Researc...

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