Nobody Ever Listened

Nobody ever listened to me until they didn't know who I was.

-- Banksy, prolific graffiti artist from Bristol, UK, whose artwork has appeared across the globe, Wall and Piece (2007)

Constructive Engagement

As leaders of America's colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.  We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight.  However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses.  We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding. ...

The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society.  On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.

-- American Association of Colleges and Universities, "A Call for Constructive Engagement" (22 April 2025), signed by representatives of more than 200 member institutions

RIP Pope Francis

May the Lord grant the deserved reward to those who have wished me well and will continue to pray for me.  The suffering that marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples.

-- Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025), head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013, Funereal Testament (29 June 2022); published by Daily Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office (21 April 2025)

Happy Easter

I'm currently hanging out in a cabin close to Lake Carlyle in southern Illinois. We don't have the whole clan together this year, but I've got a couple of kids and a few grandkids here for the occasion.

I hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend.

A Million Amateurs

Never underestimate the power of a million amateurs with keys to the factory.

-- Chris Anderson (1961 -), editor-in-chief of Wired, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More (2006) Ch. 5, p. 58

The Guise Of Fighting Antisemitism

The rule of law, freedom of inquiry, access to vibrant places of higher education, and strong democratic norms and institutions have allowed American Jewry to thrive for hundreds of years.

Dangerous antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories that over the past decade have already fueled a cycle of hate crimes and violence -- including the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history in Pittsburgh -- have been mainstreamed by too many political leaders, civil society influencers, social media platforms, and others.

In recent weeks, escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism to justify stripping students of due process rights when they face arrest and/or deportation, as well as to threaten billions in academic research and education funding.  Students have been arrested at home and on the street with no transparency as to why they are being held or deported, and in certain cases with the implication that they are being punished for their constitutionally-protected speech.  Universities have an obligation to protect Jewish students, and the federal government has an important role to play in that effort; however, sweeping draconian funding cuts will weaken the free academic inquiry that strengthens democracy and society, rather than productively counter antisemitism on campus.

These actions do not make Jews -- or any community -- safer.  Rather, they only make us less safe.

-- Joint statement from a coalition of 10 US Jewish organizations, released by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, 15 April 2025

No Young Man

No young man believes he shall ever die.

-- William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830), English writer remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, Table Talk: Essays On Men And Manners (1821-1822) "On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth"