Cynthia Froning
astra2.bsky.social
Cynthia Froning
@astra2.bsky.social
TFW you are refereeing a paper you know you should have said no to...
January 15, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
/2 This will be grotesque. Edward R. Murrow didn’t have a radio show in 1946 where Eisenhower debated Göring about whether the Nazis had some good points. Today’s media would absolutely do that. Today’s media will platform people defending and rewriting Good’s murder for years.
January 12, 2026 at 3:50 PM
I'm glad this is happening to a rostered faculty member instead of an adjunct or TA.
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
The White House having it's "we've always been at war with Eurasia" moment.
January 6, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Also, cedar fever days like today make me think I should retire on medical grounds.
January 5, 2026 at 3:13 PM
I'm teaching this semester and just had my first teaching bad dream. A student called my Canvas modules "mediocore" lol.
January 5, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
The same editorial board described Seattle’s mayor raising taxes to pay for childcare as a totalitarian power grab
The Washington Post editorial board comes out in favor of the Venezuela attack/operation to capture Maduro
January 3, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Yeah, man, the only difference between your career and Mark Rufallo’s career is the political stuff.
December 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Happy New Year!

2025 Top 10 reading list:
10. The Secret of Ventriloquism -- Jon Padgett
9. Remembering Peasants: a Personal History of a Vanished World -- Patrick Joyce
8. When we Were Real -- Daryl Gregory
7. The Good House -- Tananarive Due
6. Queen Demon -- Martha Wells
January 1, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Boycotting Constitution Hall because the DAR won’t let Marian Anderson sing has costs. It may end opera. Is that worth it? By Megan McArdle, 1939
December 30, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I don't argue much on social media but I did get put on blast when I said that Bernie Sanders doesn't accomplish much in Congress.
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 30, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Still mind-blowing that a top admin official was revealed to have taken $50,000 in cash in a paper bag from people looking for government favors, the reaction of the administration was "Whatever losers, this is how it works now" and bigshot news media said "If you say so, we'll forget about it"
Border czar Tom Homan didn't receive a normal background check for his role while his bribery probe was still ongoing:

Justice officials felt sure Homan would not be able to obtain a security clearance based on the evidence gathered. It remains unclear how Homan was eventually granted clearance.
Border czar Tom Homan didn’t receive normal background check during bribery probe
President-elect Trump initially balked at submitting names of likely nominees to the FBI for background checks, a basic step intended to flag possible financial conflicts or ethical problems.
www.ms.now
December 30, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This is sad news. Good luck to the repair team at Lick in the upcoming months.
Powerful Christmas Day winds gusting up to 114 mph severely damaged UC Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, forcing the nearly 140-year-old facility to close while officials headquartered at UC Santa Cruz assess structural damage and begin repairs expected to take months.
Christmas Day winds up to 114 mph damage UC Lick Observatory
Powerful Christmas Day winds gusting up to 114 mph severely damaged UC Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, forcing the nearly 140-year-old facility to close while officials headquartered at UC Santa Cruz assess structural damage and begin repairs expected to take months.
buff.ly
December 26, 2025 at 10:21 PM
He lied that Haitian immigrants were trapping and eating cats...
You’re joking, right? Vance sides with the bigotry. He’s been pushing blatant white nationalism in public for years, and it’s accelerated recently. His whole pitch is he’s more directly bigoted than Trump.

This might be even worse than the infamous article saying Elon Musk’s politics are a mystery.
Vance Refuses to Take Sides in G.O.P. Fight Over Bigotry
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
What do you think is the greatest ever TV news clip? For me this can never be beaten...
September 15, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
they've always been biased against anyone who's not a white man and now white men are feeling more of the economics of scarcity as well.
December 16, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I wonder if these guys don’t realize people will lie to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. The hiring committee chair lied to me the first time I was shortlisted; I learned from that and never forgot.
December 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
This reminds me of the time I was on a panel and we got a one-sentence external review that basically said "[Proposal PI] does good work; anything he proposes is worth funding." Reviewer is, not surprisingly, a notorious asshole.
Well, this is an utter disaster for science.

This gutting of peer review is very likely driven by Project 2025/OMB/Vought, very likely is about funding junk science, and very likely is coming for #NIH and biomedical research next.
🧪
December 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Can't say I ever expected to see a "That Font was No Angel" headline. But here we are.
December 11, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
Brett Kavanaugh's "minor inconvience" now includes beating people up and cutting off their wedding rings for [checks notes] "observing ICE from a distance."
December 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
What if they constantly want culture war because policy war is complicated and hard and culture war is stupid and easy
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Froning
George Retes is a U.S. citizen and Iraq war veteran. He was detained by ICE and held in solitary confinement for three days without explanation.

George shared his story before Congress to make sure no American has to endure the same abuse he did.
December 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Very sorry to hear that Raul Malo died. I've had many happy hours listening to The Mavericks and his solo albums. RIP.
December 9, 2025 at 4:35 PM