Sara Mitchell
@sbmitche.bsky.social
Professor, international relations, Spartan & Cyclone alumni, studies conflict, institutions, and disasters; mother of awesome rehabilitation counselor
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Parents expect, when they pay tuition & send their kids to universities, that they will be able to take lab science courses or study foreign languages. They have no idea that this stuff isn’t going to exist at many places anymore without foreign students or federal funding.
Again, for the literal <nothing> sum of $86 million in a budget of trillions, we've funded area studies & foreign language study around the country & trained generations of students who have gone one to work in government, academia, the private sector, the military, etc. Just nihilistic madness.
And now, since our Dean wrote this (www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...), we've all received letters informing us year 4 of our NRC/FLAS grants has been cancelled.
International & foreign language education is "not a priority of the administration."
The party of national security something something
International & foreign language education is "not a priority of the administration."
The party of national security something something
November 17, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Parents expect, when they pay tuition & send their kids to universities, that they will be able to take lab science courses or study foreign languages. They have no idea that this stuff isn’t going to exist at many places anymore without foreign students or federal funding.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Trump's campaign to kill an industry where America runs a massive trade surplus is succeeding
New foreign student enrollment in the US fell 17% this fall www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Trump's campaign to kill an industry where America runs a massive trade surplus is succeeding
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
World’s richest person wanted to ‘purge’ propaganda from Wikipedia, so he created a compendium of racist disinformation
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
“They described being asked to drop cases for political reasons, to find evidence for flimsy investigations and to take positions in court they thought had no legitimate basis.”
Absolutely no way to read this and not conclude that the Department of Justice has been deeply corrupted. And this is from a time when career lawyers were in place, pushing back against illegality. With firings and resignations, the politicization will just get worse.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
“They described being asked to drop cases for political reasons, to find evidence for flimsy investigations and to take positions in court they thought had no legitimate basis.”
Is this the Onion 😂
‘Humbly, I’m sorry’: Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’s turning a new leaf after years of divisive comments
Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll stop using toxic rhetoric
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday she will stop using “toxic” rhetoric, marking what would be a dramatic shift in a political brand hallmarked by derogatory comments.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 16, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Is this the Onion 😂
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
It is interesting to me how the media seems far less interested in Trump's Murder Memo than you'd expect. Only a few reporters seem to be even trying to get a hold of it, and very few commentators are talking about it. Contrast that with Bush's torture memo, which was a national obsession. Weird.
Trump's illegal murders in the Caribbean just got worse. An internal DOJ memo on the bombings says the victims are waging war on the US, but per NYT, it extensively cites the WH's *own claims* to this effect as evidence!
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Trump Boat Bombings Take Dark, Unnerving Turn with Leaked Memo Stunner
A new Trump administration memo argues that those carrying out the boat attacks can’t be prosecuted. Why? Because the administration says so!
newrepublic.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:21 PM
It is interesting to me how the media seems far less interested in Trump's Murder Memo than you'd expect. Only a few reporters seem to be even trying to get a hold of it, and very few commentators are talking about it. Contrast that with Bush's torture memo, which was a national obsession. Weird.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
your weekly political data roundup is here: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-hits...
Trump hits a record low with political independents — in every state
Your weekly political data roundup for November 16, 2025
www.gelliottmorris.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM
your weekly political data roundup is here: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-hits...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Now that the Sept and Oct data are (belatedly) in, it looks like 2025 will be the second warmest year in the record (~80% probability). The last three years are in a class of their own.
November 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Now that the Sept and Oct data are (belatedly) in, it looks like 2025 will be the second warmest year in the record (~80% probability). The last three years are in a class of their own.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Of course they did.
November 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Of course they did.
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Trump's illegal murders in the Caribbean just got worse. An internal DOJ memo on the bombings says the victims are waging war on the US, but per NYT, it extensively cites the WH's *own claims* to this effect as evidence!
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Trump Boat Bombings Take Dark, Unnerving Turn with Leaked Memo Stunner
A new Trump administration memo argues that those carrying out the boat attacks can’t be prosecuted. Why? Because the administration says so!
newrepublic.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Trump's illegal murders in the Caribbean just got worse. An internal DOJ memo on the bombings says the victims are waging war on the US, but per NYT, it extensively cites the WH's *own claims* to this effect as evidence!
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Awesome
At Heavy Metal Karaoke, patrons scream at the darkness at the edge of the world
Heavy Metal Karaoke at St. John's N.L.
On a recent Friday night, amid the howling winds of an incoming hurricane, two people dressed as skeletons grinned as Chris Lahey screamed into a microphone.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 15, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Awesome
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
This is so goddamn embarrassing. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Sheldon Whitehouse heading to Brazil as sole US federal official at COP30
The Rhode Island Democrat will participate in events on offshore wind, shipping and greenhouse gas emissions before delivering a keynote speech at a roundtable with elected officials from other nation...
www.politico.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
This is so goddamn embarrassing. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
YELLEN: “.. businesses feel paralyzed by the uncertainty about policies that represent the strong but really personal whims of a single individual.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
November 14, 2025 at 12:54 PM
YELLEN: “.. businesses feel paralyzed by the uncertainty about policies that represent the strong but really personal whims of a single individual.”
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Iran seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. official says, as tensions remain high in region
Iran seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz: U.S. official
Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker as it traveled through the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Friday, a U.S. official said, turning the ship into Iranian territorial waters in the first-such interdiction in months in the strategic waterway.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Iran seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. official says, as tensions remain high in region
It’s about time. Does R2P have any meaning 🤷♀️
UN human rights body holds special session on Sudan after hundreds killed in Darfur’s el-Fasher
Sudan news: Darfur deaths prompt special UN human rights session
The UN’s top human rights body was holding a one-day special session Friday to highlight hundreds of killings at a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur region and other atrocities committed last month by paramilitary forces fighting the army.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
It’s about time. Does R2P have any meaning 🤷♀️
Glad most Americans know that extra judicial killings are illegal and immoral
Only 29% of Americans support using the U.S. military to kill suspected drug traffickers without a judge or court being involved, a rebuke of President Donald Trump's strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
www.reuters.com/world/us/jus...
www.reuters.com/world/us/jus...
www.reuters.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Glad most Americans know that extra judicial killings are illegal and immoral
I agree. Thank you cards are precious.
Most teachers are honored to simply receive a heartfelt, handmade thank-you note, and it’s common for teachers to keep appreciative letters from students — sometimes for decades. That said, they aren’t immune to the power of a great gift, either. nyti.ms/486VMjj
November 14, 2025 at 5:09 AM
I agree. Thank you cards are precious.
WTF
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:29 AM
WTF
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
I once had the privilege of teaching a women & politics courses at Texas A&M. I inherited the class from a colleague, but I made it fully my own (no one double-checked my syllabi). And the course addressed gender, sexuality, and intersectionality—b/c, obvi. I have never enjoyed teaching more! 1/
Texas A&M University adopts a policy requiring professors to get approval from the school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
Texas A&M University professors now need approval for some race and gender topics
Texas A&M University has adopted a new policy requiring professors to first get approval to discuss some race and gender topics.
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I once had the privilege of teaching a women & politics courses at Texas A&M. I inherited the class from a colleague, but I made it fully my own (no one double-checked my syllabi). And the course addressed gender, sexuality, and intersectionality—b/c, obvi. I have never enjoyed teaching more! 1/
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
If you have tenure at Texas A&M and aren't maliciously emailing the president a dozen times every day to ask if you can say this or you can say that, then what's the point in having tenure?
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:18 PM
If you have tenure at Texas A&M and aren't maliciously emailing the president a dozen times every day to ask if you can say this or you can say that, then what's the point in having tenure?
🙄
November 13, 2025 at 10:58 PM
🙄
😳
"Before November ends, Russia will probably suffer its millionth casualty since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, based on current trends of about 1,000-1,200 soldiers killed or injured every day."
Vladimir Putin’s sickening statistic: 1m Russian casualties in Ukraine
His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief
www.economist.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:45 PM
😳
Reposted by Sara Mitchell
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
November 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.