Joe Pater
@joe-pater.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Pater
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
Judge bars Trump from immediately cutting funding to the University of California | CNN Politics
The Trump administration cannot immediately cut federal funding to the University of California or issue fines against the school system over claims it allows antisemitism or other forms of discrimina...
www.cnn.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
Makes a great case that the filibuster is “actively destroying our system of government” by shifting power to the executive and judicial branches.
new video up at my youtube page on the history of the filibuster and why it’s Bad. watch/share/subscribe/etc!
youtu.be/a30e7lw6KL4
youtu.be/a30e7lw6KL4
What's the deal with the filibuster?
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Makes a great case that the filibuster is “actively destroying our system of government” by shifting power to the executive and judicial branches.
Reposted by Joe Pater
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by Joe Pater
Like others last night, I initially jumped to the conclusion that SCOTUS was once again merely siding with the Trump administration and allowing them to stop food AID.
But this interevenyion is more complicated.
Justice Jackson took the lead, in order to prevent worse outcomes.
But this interevenyion is more complicated.
Justice Jackson took the lead, in order to prevent worse outcomes.
November 8, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Like others last night, I initially jumped to the conclusion that SCOTUS was once again merely siding with the Trump administration and allowing them to stop food AID.
But this interevenyion is more complicated.
Justice Jackson took the lead, in order to prevent worse outcomes.
But this interevenyion is more complicated.
Justice Jackson took the lead, in order to prevent worse outcomes.
Can I just say how impressive Paul Kiparsky is? Had the great pleasure of hearing him give a great talk at AMP, and just came across this cool new paper on Stratal OT and vowel harmony that I'm looking forward to digging into with my grad phonology class.
web.stanford.edu/~kiparsky/Pa...
web.stanford.edu/~kiparsky/Pa...
web.stanford.edu
November 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Can I just say how impressive Paul Kiparsky is? Had the great pleasure of hearing him give a great talk at AMP, and just came across this cool new paper on Stratal OT and vowel harmony that I'm looking forward to digging into with my grad phonology class.
web.stanford.edu/~kiparsky/Pa...
web.stanford.edu/~kiparsky/Pa...
Reposted by Joe Pater
For the fellas playing along at home, unofficial election results will be updated live here:
Northampton UNOFFICIAL November 4, 2025 Election Results
docs.google.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
For the fellas playing along at home, unofficial election results will be updated live here:
Reposted by Joe Pater
The Python Software Foundation won a $1.5m grant from the US government National Science Foundation.
Turned it down because required to affirm that we "will not... operate any programs that advance or promote DEI"
simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...
Turned it down because required to affirm that we "will not... operate any programs that advance or promote DEI"
simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...
The PSF has withdrawn a $1.5 million proposal to US government grant program
The Python Software Foundation was recently "recommended for funding" (NSF terminology) for a $1.5m grant from the US government National Science Foundation to help improve the security of the Python ...
simonwillison.net
October 29, 2025 at 7:21 PM
The Python Software Foundation won a $1.5m grant from the US government National Science Foundation.
Turned it down because required to affirm that we "will not... operate any programs that advance or promote DEI"
simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...
Turned it down because required to affirm that we "will not... operate any programs that advance or promote DEI"
simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...
I’m not sure whether coffee before class resulted in it being more confusing or more exciting. Probably a combination of both.
October 28, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I’m not sure whether coffee before class resulted in it being more confusing or more exciting. Probably a combination of both.
This deep dive into Bowie's Blackstar is so, so good. Over 45 minutes, just for one song. I'm only 20 minutes in, but have learned a lot already, and have been throughly entertained.
@bowiesongs.bsky.social @davidbowienews.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zGY...
@bowiesongs.bsky.social @davidbowienews.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zGY...
Black holes, black music, black arts, black hearts & button eyes
YouTube video by Leah Kardos
www.youtube.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:49 PM
This deep dive into Bowie's Blackstar is so, so good. Over 45 minutes, just for one song. I'm only 20 minutes in, but have learned a lot already, and have been throughly entertained.
@bowiesongs.bsky.social @davidbowienews.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zGY...
@bowiesongs.bsky.social @davidbowienews.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zGY...
Great to hear Marty Meehan on the radio this morning saying UMass would not sign the compact (probably easier to say when you haven't been asked to, but still). H/t to @gregggonsalves.bsky.social for this link.
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
A Compact for Control (opinion)
No self-respecting institution of higher education should accept the Trump administration’s unconstitutional terms, Robert Post and Tom Ginsburg write.
www.insidehighered.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Great to hear Marty Meehan on the radio this morning saying UMass would not sign the compact (probably easier to say when you haven't been asked to, but still). H/t to @gregggonsalves.bsky.social for this link.
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Reposted by Joe Pater
News coverage of the Trump administration's proposed "compact" with universities has been, so far, shockingly bad.
I hate to pick on NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny, who's usually a solid reporter, but almost every important thing I heard her say this morning about the proposed "compact" was false.
I hate to pick on NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny, who's usually a solid reporter, but almost every important thing I heard her say this morning about the proposed "compact" was false.
October 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
News coverage of the Trump administration's proposed "compact" with universities has been, so far, shockingly bad.
I hate to pick on NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny, who's usually a solid reporter, but almost every important thing I heard her say this morning about the proposed "compact" was false.
I hate to pick on NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny, who's usually a solid reporter, but almost every important thing I heard her say this morning about the proposed "compact" was false.
We just presented our work on automated IPA transcription at AMP 2025 in Berkeley. We fine-tuned Wav2Vec on the Buckeye corpus. Slides and links, including to a web-based interface with text grid support, can be found here:
websites.umass.edu/pater/handou...
Phone alignment output coming soon!
websites.umass.edu/pater/handou...
Phone alignment output coming soon!
Handouts/slides – Joe Pater
websites.umass.edu
October 4, 2025 at 12:27 PM
We just presented our work on automated IPA transcription at AMP 2025 in Berkeley. We fine-tuned Wav2Vec on the Buckeye corpus. Slides and links, including to a web-based interface with text grid support, can be found here:
websites.umass.edu/pater/handou...
Phone alignment output coming soon!
websites.umass.edu/pater/handou...
Phone alignment output coming soon!
Reposted by Joe Pater
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.
September 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
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.
So much gratitude to the @aaup.org for their work on this (and for sharing the ruling - so great to read). The NY Times reporting doesn't even cite the AAUP by name - this Guradian article is much better. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
September 30, 2025 at 10:42 PM
So much gratitude to the @aaup.org for their work on this (and for sharing the ruling - so great to read). The NY Times reporting doesn't even cite the AAUP by name - this Guradian article is much better. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Joe Pater
Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show next year.
Latin superstar Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show
Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show next year. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that the Grammy winner will perform at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.
bit.ly
September 29, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show next year.
It’s wild to me how much people are into sports! Been spending time in airport bars on my long way back home (about to do a red eye from Vegas to Baltimore…)
September 29, 2025 at 4:38 AM
It’s wild to me how much people are into sports! Been spending time in airport bars on my long way back home (about to do a red eye from Vegas to Baltimore…)
I am in Berkeley for the Annual Meeting on Phonology and I have discovered that "Fieldwork IPA" is delicious.
September 25, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I am in Berkeley for the Annual Meeting on Phonology and I have discovered that "Fieldwork IPA" is delicious.
Reposted by Joe Pater
This is as huge a scandal & blunder as this chaotic Administration has seen.
The person who should be called to answer for it is Secy Kristi Noem. When a woman who loves the camera as much as Noem is nowhere to be seen for 10 days it’s b/c she’s hiding out. Media should be all over this.
The person who should be called to answer for it is Secy Kristi Noem. When a woman who loves the camera as much as Noem is nowhere to be seen for 10 days it’s b/c she’s hiding out. Media should be all over this.
A senior US state department official on Sunday (September 14) expressed regrets over the recent mass detention of South Korean workers in America and vowed to prevent similar occurrences.
en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
U.S. Deputy State Secretary Landau expresses regrets over detention of S. Koreans | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. state department official on Sunday expressed re...
en.yna.co.kr
September 14, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This is as huge a scandal & blunder as this chaotic Administration has seen.
The person who should be called to answer for it is Secy Kristi Noem. When a woman who loves the camera as much as Noem is nowhere to be seen for 10 days it’s b/c she’s hiding out. Media should be all over this.
The person who should be called to answer for it is Secy Kristi Noem. When a woman who loves the camera as much as Noem is nowhere to be seen for 10 days it’s b/c she’s hiding out. Media should be all over this.
Moving past umlaut - a band with nasalization diacritics in their name! And they rock, of course.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B...
Snõõper - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snõõper
September 8, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Moving past umlaut - a band with nasalization diacritics in their name! And they rock, of course.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B...
Posted this before I learned that Massachusetts is next up…
Love this - so inspiring
Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/
September 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Posted this before I learned that Massachusetts is next up…
Love this - so inspiring
Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/
September 7, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Love this - so inspiring
Reposted by Joe Pater
RFK Jr. rolled out that old chestnut again about how healthy Americans were in the 60’s, so here’s a fact check.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
September 4, 2025 at 6:46 PM
RFK Jr. rolled out that old chestnut again about how healthy Americans were in the 60’s, so here’s a fact check.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
In 1965:
-42% of American adults smoked; it’s 11% now.
-The infant morality rate was 24.7/1000; it’s 5.6/1000 now.
-Overall life expectancy was 70 years; it's about 77 years now.
The schedule for the AMP 2025 special session on "Deep Phonology" is now up. We'll be kicking it off with "AI-assisted analysis of phonological variation in English" (we've fine-tuned a wav2vec model on the Buckeye corpus and are evaluating it and other models on the TIMIT corpus).
AMP2025 - Special session
On Saturday, September 27, 2025, following the main AMP session held on September 25-26, 2025, there will be a special session on "Deep Phonology: Doing phonology with deep learning" held on the UC Be...
sites.google.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The schedule for the AMP 2025 special session on "Deep Phonology" is now up. We'll be kicking it off with "AI-assisted analysis of phonological variation in English" (we've fine-tuned a wav2vec model on the Buckeye corpus and are evaluating it and other models on the TIMIT corpus).
Here's a public-facing description of the linguistics work I do, that I think is really well done as these things go.
www.umass.edu/gateway/rese...
www.umass.edu/gateway/rese...
Joe Pater | UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst Professor of Linguistics Joe Pater’s research on the sound systems of language synthesizes methods and theories from linguistics, psychology, and computer science.
www.umass.edu
September 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Here's a public-facing description of the linguistics work I do, that I think is really well done as these things go.
www.umass.edu/gateway/rese...
www.umass.edu/gateway/rese...
Love the airflow in v2!
v2
September 3, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Love the airflow in v2!