Silvia Secchi

Seems like a good time to remind ourselves that in 1931, when Mussolini forced academics to sign an oath of allegiance to the fascist regime, only twelve refused.

Future “projections” of massive levels of carbon removal are nothing more than a fantasy. And a reckless one at that.

Not one of those cases where economics argues it is a STEM discipline I guess - none of the signatories are from their multiple econ departments/units etc.

I missed this - thanks @banditelli.org for pointing it out. Note that this lady's operation (she farms with her sons per the Iowa Dept of agriculture) has received over half a million $ in subsidies per @ewgofficial.bsky.social - Your tax money likely paid for the tractor 🚜 & truck 🛻 they sold...

I remember when I came to Iowa 30 years ago (!) how proud people were of their non-partisan designed districts: the process showed how things are done the “Iowa way”. Alas no more - we”re number 10 here thanks to the GOP legislature tossing the non-partisan process to the pigs 🐖🐖🐖. #winning

Paging @profsecchi.bsky.social

I stumbled on the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (Gulf of Mexico) Hypoxia Advisory Panel 2007 report and I’m feeling super old since I know a lot of those ppl but also so many of them SO CLEARLY weren’t up to the task of helping solve a big ag-caused problem, in fact many were/are accomplices it’s 😕😒😑

Happy 80th anniversary of "Wittgenstein attacks Popper with a red-hot fire poker at a meeting of the Cambridge Moral Sciences Club" Day to all who celebrate #philosophy

This. "Men in women's sports" == "trannies" "Males in female sports" == "trannies" "Men in girl's sports" == "trannies, plus I'm going to insinuate the trannies are pedophiles" bsky.app/profile/thad...

The soaring costs of public universities is a political decision. When these schools predominantly served white students, they tended to be free (UC, CCNY, etc.) But as the number of students of color has increased, funding for the public universities has decreased. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/b...

It’s equally amazing to me to see every day how much the “success” of today’s billionaires depends on the government not exercising its basic functions - stuff like antitrust, enforcing labor and environmental laws - and how little we talk about it in the MSM and alas in academia too.

Note the signs of the US brand of agricultural exceptionalism: everyone w/ power to do stg is concerned about the poor farmer and not the farmworkers. Gvt regulations are nonexistent/not enforced, animals are treated like 💩 and the public bears the burden of the situation in health/financial terms.

Was there ever a doubt?

Things that make me happy:

Wow it turns out I dislike lots of out-of-stater opinions about biking in Iowa (and at least one in-stater lol) about as much as I dislike their characterization of farmers. Maybe the through-line is that one should have some real knowledge of something (like say a place) before one opines about it.

Regardless of the specifics of this case, it’s clear that vetting candidates in 2026 Amurika is a quaint obsolete and vastly underutilized skill.

I don't think American Coots count for #SpookySeason but this edit works for it so I'm going with it. 🪶

RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) is one of the most celebrated bike rides in the world.

Another farmer-centric NYT Iowa story. The overemphasis on the role of ag in the state economy is a constant. But also no mention of the immigration crackdown’s impacts on IA Latinx communities (where many work in CAFOs & slaughterhouses). The 2-3% of Iowans who are farmers sure get a lot of press.

Wow that’s really the kind of public investment I want my county to be known for!

This is version 2.0 of saying that the smell of 🐖💩 is “the smell of money” and it’s just as false. Iowa has never been a big wheat 🌾 producing state btw, not even during early white settlement days. It’s always been corn 🌽 and hogs 🐖 . So much corn the government makes us force feed it to our cars.

To me, the best part of my (past) Twitter and (present) Blusky feed has always been the opportunity to learn about/from great people and their work. Mark your calendars for Alix and Emily's book!

We really should rename the corn 🌽 belt “the poison belt” (Partly funded by billions of taxpayer dollars, for decades)

The public not having the right to a return on the massive investment we make in farm subsidies is a constant of US ag policy. Though the New Deal farm bill subsidies were touted as promoting conservation, they really didn't. Now we have many fewer, MUCH larger operations. Change is necessary.

This whole saga would be so hilarious if it were not so seriously infringing on the intellectual freedom of the university and its faculty (naming the outfit "Center for Intellectual Freedom" is a classic DARVO tactic). On the public dime too.

That is actually an incentive not to vote for Marshall lol More air and water pollution and more subsidies to big ag, quite the enticement.

It truly looks like the GOP and its allies are scared of losing the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture race! $200k from the Republican State Leadership Committee, wow, that's a lot of fear right there... I'm sure they are going around parading their grassroot support tho CC @theswinerepublic.bsky.social

I once read an article or study that showed when Ag science classes are pushed in districts students don’t learn as much. Does anyone know this paper or have a copy? I can’t find it anywhere. 🍎🧬🎢🧪

Plz do not believe anyone who positions the “Frederick Douglass way” against the “John Brown way” thanks

Another Democratic official daydreaming that farmers in his state may vote for him, and debasing himself in the process.

A really gloomy day in Iowa City to reflect my mood (or maybe it’s the other way around? That pesky causality, argh!). I think I just saw a turkey vulture fly by, time to go south buddy…

Just a little shop of horrors in the bog — where the plants are hungry and the vibes are fabulously spooky. Did you know that Charles Darwin was fascinated by carnivorous plants in bogs and published a detailed illustrated book about them? If you have encountered them, tell me about it!!

This is delightful news and it makes me happy

This is a crucial warning about the current permitting bill. More broadly, I see it as an indictment of a corporatist approach to public policy that imagines permitting as a set of check-boxes on the way to a preordained decision, not an opportunity to identify and achieve the best social outcome.