Christine Howard
@xine11.bsky.social
Bureaucrat by day, artist and researcher by night. Views are, of course, my own.
I know many people are exhorting you to read many things right now—but please, if you’ve ever cared even the tiniest bit about the English language, read this.
February 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I know many people are exhorting you to read many things right now—but please, if you’ve ever cared even the tiniest bit about the English language, read this.
Reposted by Christine Howard
A straight line can be drawn from the ignorant redefinition of "nonplussed" and "bemused" through the entire Real Housewives franchise and on to where we are now, and it is a straight line of shame and ignominy.
There's a difference between "language evolves" and "let's enshrine what people who don't think think," and I'm here to honor that difference.
Donald Trump wants you to believe that he’s totally nonplussed by Time magazine’s February cover, which features Elon Musk—not the president—behind the Resolute Desk.
February 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
A straight line can be drawn from the ignorant redefinition of "nonplussed" and "bemused" through the entire Real Housewives franchise and on to where we are now, and it is a straight line of shame and ignominy.
Reposted by Christine Howard
Once again, as with all of the other things, the executive branch cannot unilaterally do this. It’s illegal.
And again, they’ll get away with it, because Article I of the constitution has completely failed & Congress is full of oath-violating cowards
And again, they’ll get away with it, because Article I of the constitution has completely failed & Congress is full of oath-violating cowards
February 8, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Once again, as with all of the other things, the executive branch cannot unilaterally do this. It’s illegal.
And again, they’ll get away with it, because Article I of the constitution has completely failed & Congress is full of oath-violating cowards
And again, they’ll get away with it, because Article I of the constitution has completely failed & Congress is full of oath-violating cowards
Reposted by Christine Howard
Here’s what we did today
February 7, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Here’s what we did today
I have to wonder how reporting on all this would differ if our newsrooms hadn’t been gutted over the past couple of decades.
February 8, 2025 at 3:45 AM
I have to wonder how reporting on all this would differ if our newsrooms hadn’t been gutted over the past couple of decades.
Reposted by Christine Howard
From Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities: “NIH slashing the reimbursement of research costs will slow and limit medical breakthroughs that cure cancer and address chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.”
www.aplu.org/news-and-med...
www.aplu.org/news-and-med...
APLU Statement on Cuts to Reimbursement of NIH Facilities & Administrative Costs - APLU
Washington, DC – APLU President Mark Becker released the following statement on the National Institutes of Health’s announcement it will cut reimbursement of research facilities and administrative cos...
www.aplu.org
February 8, 2025 at 2:11 AM
From Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities: “NIH slashing the reimbursement of research costs will slow and limit medical breakthroughs that cure cancer and address chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.”
www.aplu.org/news-and-med...
www.aplu.org/news-and-med...
If you’re not familiar with the importance of grant indirect costs to research universities, this is an excellent short introduction. The even shorter version: indirects are essential to keep the lights on and the doors open. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
Deep Cuts to Medical Research Funds Could Hobble University Budgets
Grants from the National Institutes of Health come with additional money for overhead. Proposed funding cuts would leave colleges with large budget gaps.
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2025 at 3:29 AM
If you’re not familiar with the importance of grant indirect costs to research universities, this is an excellent short introduction. The even shorter version: indirects are essential to keep the lights on and the doors open. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
Reposted by Christine Howard
The NIH capping the indirect cost rate (IDC) for grants at 15% can best be described as a direct assault on Universities. It’s such a bureaucratic, innocuous sounding thing that actually means that research universities will be kneecapped. Thousands of employees across the US will lose their jobs.
February 8, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The NIH capping the indirect cost rate (IDC) for grants at 15% can best be described as a direct assault on Universities. It’s such a bureaucratic, innocuous sounding thing that actually means that research universities will be kneecapped. Thousands of employees across the US will lose their jobs.
Reposted by Christine Howard
These are your words of the week
genre
ethnic cleansing
doge
potash
tariff
coup
Ahabian
www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...
genre
ethnic cleansing
doge
potash
tariff
coup
Ahabian
www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...
The Words of the Week - Feb. 7
Dictionary lookups from the trade wars, the Grammy Awards, and the high seas
www.merriam-webster.com
February 7, 2025 at 6:21 PM
These are your words of the week
genre
ethnic cleansing
doge
potash
tariff
coup
Ahabian
www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...
genre
ethnic cleansing
doge
potash
tariff
coup
Ahabian
www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...
Reposted by Christine Howard
A federal court just blocked Elon Musk from interfering with the federal government’s payments system.
There is power in fighting back. We won’t let up until this block is permanent.
There is power in fighting back. We won’t let up until this block is permanent.
February 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
A federal court just blocked Elon Musk from interfering with the federal government’s payments system.
There is power in fighting back. We won’t let up until this block is permanent.
There is power in fighting back. We won’t let up until this block is permanent.
Reposted by Christine Howard
Birthright citizenship remains the law of the land. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Birthright citizenship remains the law of the land. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The kitten has been super extra adorable the last few days, as if she’s actively trying to distract us from the implosion of everything.
(She’s waiting for her next game of fetch here—she loves to chase her UFO toy down the stairs.)
(She’s waiting for her next game of fetch here—she loves to chase her UFO toy down the stairs.)
February 6, 2025 at 6:47 AM
The kitten has been super extra adorable the last few days, as if she’s actively trying to distract us from the implosion of everything.
(She’s waiting for her next game of fetch here—she loves to chase her UFO toy down the stairs.)
(She’s waiting for her next game of fetch here—she loves to chase her UFO toy down the stairs.)
Reposted by Christine Howard
If you're considering Trump's federal employee buyout, know that you deserve better than to have a billionaire with no real understanding of what you do, come in, belittle your work, & try to push you out the door—whether you're a food safety inspector or an air traffic controller.
February 6, 2025 at 3:12 AM
If you're considering Trump's federal employee buyout, know that you deserve better than to have a billionaire with no real understanding of what you do, come in, belittle your work, & try to push you out the door—whether you're a food safety inspector or an air traffic controller.
Reposted by Christine Howard
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
WASHINGTON—Putting the nation on alert against what it has described as a “highly credible terrorist threat,” the FBI announced today that it has uncovered a plot by members of al-Qaeda to sit back an...
theonion.com
February 5, 2025 at 6:31 PM
FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
Reposted by Christine Howard
Maintain your sanity, friends. Maintain your joy and peace while you continue to put your back into the work that needs doing.
February 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Maintain your sanity, friends. Maintain your joy and peace while you continue to put your back into the work that needs doing.
Highly recommended reading—this, more than anything else I’ve read, sets out the distressing, almost-impossible-to-take-in truth of where we are now.
Yeah so the Constitution isn’t really in effect right now
Opinion | There Is No Going Back
The president’s opponents, whoever they are, cannot expect a return to the Constitution as it was.
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Highly recommended reading—this, more than anything else I’ve read, sets out the distressing, almost-impossible-to-take-in truth of where we are now.
Yes. And it’s not just the devastating effects on research projects and faculty—losing the facilities and administrative cost reimbursement that’s built into federal grant proposals would have a huge impact on research universities’ operations funding.
Very important point: A freeze on federal funds for research will gut our universities - a major target of fascists everywhere, always.
To my non-academic followers, a short bit on what this means:
STEM faculty especially often need to get a certain amount in grants to be awarded tenure.
If they don't get tenure, they lose their job.
This usually ends the career of that faculty.
This is the point.
STEM faculty especially often need to get a certain amount in grants to be awarded tenure.
If they don't get tenure, they lose their job.
This usually ends the career of that faculty.
This is the point.
February 5, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Yes. And it’s not just the devastating effects on research projects and faculty—losing the facilities and administrative cost reimbursement that’s built into federal grant proposals would have a huge impact on research universities’ operations funding.
Reposted by Christine Howard
“So many of these things are so wildly illegal that I think they’re playing a quantity game and assuming the system can’t react to all this illegality at once.”
U.S. government officials privately warn Musk’s blitz appears illegal www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
U.S. government officials privately warn Musk’s blitz appears illegal
The billionaire’s DOGE team has launched an all-out assault on federal agencies, triggering numerous legal objections.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 5, 2025 at 2:11 AM
“So many of these things are so wildly illegal that I think they’re playing a quantity game and assuming the system can’t react to all this illegality at once.”
Two versions, ten minutes, and one lively marital discussion about commas later, I have posted a ten-word skeet reply employing quotation marks.
February 5, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Two versions, ten minutes, and one lively marital discussion about commas later, I have posted a ten-word skeet reply employing quotation marks.
I love @mlobelart.bsky.social’s suggestion to augment Black History Month with #BlackArtHistoryMonth. First on my list: Fred Wilson’s 1992 “Mining the Museum” intervention. His 1993 work at the Seattle Art Museum ripped away my naive view of the museum as neutral space. bmoreart.com/2017/05/how-...
How Mining the Museum Changed the Art World - BmoreArt
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a longtime educator describe the trajectory of her career. She summarized … Continued
bmoreart.com
February 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I love @mlobelart.bsky.social’s suggestion to augment Black History Month with #BlackArtHistoryMonth. First on my list: Fred Wilson’s 1992 “Mining the Museum” intervention. His 1993 work at the Seattle Art Museum ripped away my naive view of the museum as neutral space. bmoreart.com/2017/05/how-...
Reposted by Christine Howard
I’m terrible, unqualified, and have a scandal-ridden background. Maybe I should run for office
February 4, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I’m terrible, unqualified, and have a scandal-ridden background. Maybe I should run for office
Reposted by Christine Howard
I can’t remember who said it, but “if you can’t find the time to meditate once a day, you should do it twice a day.”
If you can’t afford a break from all the news in normal times, doubly important to do it now.
If you can’t afford a break from all the news in normal times, doubly important to do it now.
February 4, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I can’t remember who said it, but “if you can’t find the time to meditate once a day, you should do it twice a day.”
If you can’t afford a break from all the news in normal times, doubly important to do it now.
If you can’t afford a break from all the news in normal times, doubly important to do it now.
Reposted by Christine Howard
Today is Rosa Parks’ birthday. Her bravery, resilience, and determination to stand against oppression have been guiding lights for activists through generations.
Let us continue to fight for justice in her memory.
Let us continue to fight for justice in her memory.
February 4, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Today is Rosa Parks’ birthday. Her bravery, resilience, and determination to stand against oppression have been guiding lights for activists through generations.
Let us continue to fight for justice in her memory.
Let us continue to fight for justice in her memory.
Reposted by Christine Howard
For Black History Month - which I'm imagining could be augmented by #BlackArtHistoryMonth - Archibald Motley's loving 1922 portrait of his grandmother at the National Gallery of Art in DC, with such tender & detailed attention to her hands resting delicately in her lap www.nga.gov/collection/a...
February 4, 2025 at 2:09 PM
For Black History Month - which I'm imagining could be augmented by #BlackArtHistoryMonth - Archibald Motley's loving 1922 portrait of his grandmother at the National Gallery of Art in DC, with such tender & detailed attention to her hands resting delicately in her lap www.nga.gov/collection/a...
Reposted by Christine Howard
Schoolhouse Rock is going to have to remake its cartoon on how a bill becomes a law.
February 3, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Schoolhouse Rock is going to have to remake its cartoon on how a bill becomes a law.