My latest post is now out. I show how Trump's attacks on science and universities are neither random nor new - they fit very precisely into the authoritarian playbook. This means we can guess what might come next and prepare - and we must! christinapagel.substack.com/p/censor-pur... - ThreadSky

chrischirp.bsky.social • 2 days ago

My latest post is now out.

I show how Trump's attacks on science and universities are neither random nor new - they fit very precisely into the authoritarian playbook.

This means we can guess what might come next and prepare - and we must!

https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/censor-purge-defund-how-trump-following

Comments

weekend-editor.bsky.social•2 days ago

His attacks on government agencies are also not motivated by cost savings (big headcounts, big budgets), but almost purely by ideology.

The statistical analysis is very clear:

https://www.someweekendreading.blog/trump-polit-targets/

juliadilliard.bsky.social•2 days ago

darvitwendy.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

whitneyepi.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

efemmera.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

anamsanchezarce.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

spideymac.bsky.social•2 days ago

Coming Soon #DefianceDay2025 (D-Day-2025) Be there

godmocks.bsky.social•2 days ago

Koch Enterprises funded outrage entrepreneurs precedes Trump.
https://bsky.app/profile/godmocks.bsky.social/post/3lk2yu4nayk2o

frambley1.bsky.social•2 days ago

cc: @mehdirhasan.bsky.social

colindlawson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Excellent post and chart, but if we are to 'Stand up for Science', we must be rigorous about our own side's practices. We cannot condemn our enemies for being driven by ideology if they can point to our support for ideologically driven practices in gender medicine and DEI.

henkvb.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump bankrupted universities before!

williamhumphrey.bsky.social•2 days ago

No way Trump, Musk and Vance have sat down and planned such detailed actions in a constructive manner. So who is doing the planning ahead for them ?

jgreen63.bsky.social•2 days ago

Good question and you probably know the answer.

williamhumphrey.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes, I know, but how do they manage it, it must be a pretty serious information and command structure.

jgreen63.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes. They are well practised.

williamhumphrey.bsky.social•2 days ago

The three at the top dont have the brains to pull the scam off as well as they are managing thus far. Its been too well planned and scrupulously delivered. There must be an entire building somewhere dedicated to the upheaval. But where......?

clanghoff.bsky.social•2 days ago

Breaking shit is much easier than building.

hopelovelaughma.bsky.social•2 days ago

No, it’s the people who work for them who are doing this. Trump, Vance & Musk are just the public faces.

monarch70.bsky.social•2 days ago

They are not the only ones involved. Look at project 2025.

ginnybraun.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you so much for this valuable work!!

texwiller.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump does not care anyone but himself.
And every move is done to close a better deal for him.
Whoever did business with him, did not reply to his call later again

silvered-mane.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

18thcenturyboy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for this excellent contextualisation, as lucid as it is worrying.

undercoverhippy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Great information. Thank you! 📌

dauntus.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

sdinpraxis.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

careforceone.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks! Can you use more specific references from history to explain successful resistance that prevented the destruction of universities? The authoritarian regimes mentioned were all successful in their takedown. What about the regime attempts that failed - what specifically led to their failure?

chrischirp.bsky.social•2 days ago

this post already took me all weekend and much of today - i simply don't have time to do loads of additional research outside of my day job! but there will be other experts who absolutely could help pull this together!

careforceone.bsky.social•2 days ago

It was more of an ask of the collective community - if we stand any chance at all, our playbook needs to be as actionable and documented as the authoritarian playbook. Project 2025 is a 900-page how-to guide.

leftymathprof.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's easy to be discouraged by how much more funding the right-wing think taks have. But ... they need that money, because they have a really tough intellectual job. Their job is to convince people that [altruism is bad and selfishness is good]. Crazy talk. Very expensive ... (continued) 1/2

leftymathprof.bsky.social•2 days ago

... to convince people of something so deeply counterintuitive. It is much cheaper to convince people that to do good is good; bad, bad. - Naomi Klein

I didn't need 900 pages. My plan is just 2/3 of a page.

https://leftymathprof.wordpress.com/endcap/#top

cookingtheresa.bsky.social•2 days ago

Timothy Snyder is a good place to go. Number 1. Do not obey in advance. Etc. Look for his recent YouTube talks

careforceone.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes excellent place to start. I gave that book to everyone I know during Trump’s first presidency.

cookingtheresa.bsky.social•2 days ago

He mentioned governments that returned or fought it off in a recent talk. Sorry I cannot recall the details

careforceone.bsky.social•2 days ago

Good idea!! Also found this “Pro-democracy Organizing against
Autocracy in the United States: A
Strategic Assessment &
Recommendations
Faculty Research Working Paper Series”: https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=5173

cookingtheresa.bsky.social•2 days ago

See also Brian Klaas

camofarc.bsky.social•2 days ago

cissi.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you so much for writing this!

crankysocrates.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for continuing to do this good work.

tiggerrd.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

zjayres.bsky.social•2 days ago

Really appreciate these bodies of work Christina

joiningupthedots.bsky.social•2 days ago

Backed up by this fool - a jack of all trades and master of none.

alexahawaii.bsky.social•2 days ago

Clearly. Great outlay. ✌️✌️✌️

richardcoker.bsky.social•2 days ago

Great work. So important.

thefirstamerican.bsky.social•2 days ago

All those visits Orban made to Mar-
a-Lago were not friendly visits. He was delivering the blue prints & conducting master classes for the destruction of our democracy.

dontvotesplit.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Also being supported by the International Democracy Union, a misnamed pro-dictator network chaired by Canada's former PM turned fascist freak Stephen Harper

The GQP and Canada's Conservative Party are members. So is Orban and other world dictators.

greyjaybird.bsky.social•1 day ago

I highly recommend listening to how things went in the Philippines

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-weekly-show-with-jon-stewart/id1583132133

timobetcke.me•2 days ago

I have just come back from a week in Texas. American colleagues are afraid. Often heard the statement that they don‘t know what they can do. Impression was of paralysis from fear rather than organised resistance.

timobetcke.me•2 days ago

And strange atmosphere. On the surface everything appears as friendly and welcoming as ever. But underneath there is simply fear.

mariceann.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is why people are feeling paralyzed.

theangelofhistory.bsky.social•2 days ago

My sense is that the fact that Trump won a decisive majority is very much affecting reactions to him from dissidents

bs.mivox.net•2 days ago

His margin of victory was very small. The electoral college system makes it look otherwise.

theangelofhistory.bsky.social•2 days ago

Agree but it’s widely portrayed that “the majority voted for this” and “he has a mandate”

bs.mivox.net•2 days ago

It is, which is why I think it’s important to push back against that inaccurate narrative any time I see it being repeated. 😉

theangelofhistory.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes I should have been clear that was a majority in the college.

But I think that perception of “he has a mandate, we now need to wait for him to fail and the pendulum to swing” has utter paralysed the Democrats

jakecooper58.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump has always used fear to manipulate and control his base, now he is using it to silence America.

douwekorff.bsky.social•2 days ago

Excellent expose! “The bad news: the Trump admin’s attacks on science fit clearly and neatly into the authoritarian playbook. Worse: the administration is aggressive, serious and purposeful. Good: the scientific and academic community has woken up to the threat and is starting to fight back.”

isigrimm.bsky.social•2 days ago

#academicsky
#resist

darksapiens.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

gutmann.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

socialwkr99.bsky.social•2 days ago

@daniadams.bsky.social

partickle.bsky.social•2 days ago

👀

collabchem.bsky.social•2 days ago

The big picture is valuable, the warning signs were there from the last time - so how to fight back and nip it in the bud, what is the weak spot? There are no adults in the room anymore. One institute / university alone will not speak out but if they all united could they sway public opinion?

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