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alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Alfons López Tena
@alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
920 followers 2 following 290 posts
Jurist, writer, and politician
Posts Replies Media Videos
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
State laws bring censorship to US universities, professors fear they could get in trouble for what they teach — Nearly half of college students attend institutions in states with at least one law or restriction censoring topics to discuss in the classroom
english.elpais.com/usa/2026-09-...
‘Professors fear they could get in trouble for what they teach’: State laws bring censorship to US universities
Nearly half of college students attend institutions in states with at least one law or restriction governing what topics can be discussed in the classroom
english.elpais.com
September 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
The populist right, including Trump, has exploited the issue of free speech and “cancel culture” for its own authoritarian power grab. Pleny of unprincipled anti-woke “free speech warriors” are cheering on US government to impose ideological conformity
open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...
They Went Hard Against Woke. And Then… Went Even Harder Against Trump
Don’t blame the free speech crowd for Trump’s assaults on free expression.
open.substack.com
August 24, 2026 at 12:32 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Harvard closed its writing center and layed off the center’s longtime director for financial motives, a decision that could trigger other universities to follow suit, concluding than original writing –by extension, original thought– isn't worth the cost
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Why the Closing of Harvard’s Writing Center Matters
Students, faculty members, and alumni are asking how seriously the school is taking human learning in the age of AI.
www.theatlantic.com
August 20, 2026 at 4:22 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Imposing ignorance — After the mass layoffs and budget cuts of the early days of the 🍊🤡 second term, US government is barreling ahead in its war on climate science
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
'Imposing ignorance': US climate science under siege
A benchmark US report on the fast-changing state of the Arctic has been canceled. The nation's top research body has removed a chapter on global warming from a reference manual for judges.
www.france24.com
August 13, 2026 at 10:05 AM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Researchers studying yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory turned to OnlyFans for funding. The OnlyMarms project has raised about $4,000 from subscriptions so far
x.com/Reuters/stat...
Reuters (@Reuters) on X
Researchers studying yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory turned to OnlyFans for funding. The OnlyMarms project has raised about $4,000 from subscriptions so far
x.com
August 9, 2026 at 10:03 AM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
In the US under Trump, there are 197 words that disqualify you from research funding
english.elpais.com/science-tech...
Luisa N. Borrell, epidemiologist: ‘In the United States, there are 197 words that disqualify you from research funding. I work with all of them’
The researcher studies racial health inequities, one of the fields the Trump administration has cut resources for
english.elpais.com
August 9, 2026 at 9:04 AM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
With their assault on science, Trumpists aren’t just harming US, they’re harming themselves—Their subjugation of all science to political imperatives has no equivalent in a democracy; it is reminiscent of Stalin’s Soviet Union: an act of wanton self-injury
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
With their assault on science, Trumpists aren’t just harming America – they’re harming themselves | Jan-Werner Müller
The administration is subjugating science to political imperatives, a major blow to US soft power and technological progress
www.theguardian.com
August 7, 2026 at 3:49 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Academia is either meritocratic or it isn’t. It either takes its rules seriously or it doesn’t. It is a moment to realize that higher education institutions have strayed too far from their core mission and that there really is no substitute for meritocracy
www.persuasion.community/p/jason-arda...
Surely Liberals Can Agree That Plagiarism Is Bad
Institutions need to uphold standards. No exceptions.
www.persuasion.community
August 6, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by Alfons López Tena
darinself.com
What a surprise that companies that built a product by stealing other's work didn't build the guardrails to stop their product from stealing other's work.
August 5, 2026 at 10:32 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
US Military Academy at West Point yields to a permanent legal ban on its censorship policy, ordered by the 🍊🤡, that barred faculty members from publishing papers, speaking at conferences or appearing on a podcast without first seeking approval from higher-ups
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
West Point won’t fight ban on school policy limiting professors’ speech
Officials at West Point have retreated from their defense of a controversial policy restricting faculty speech.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 5, 2026 at 11:20 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Ana Fernández-Sesma, biologist at Mount Sinai: ‘There are taboo words: climate change, diversity, gender. It’s reminiscent of Spain's censorship under Franco. But just like then, it can be circumvented. US government is hostile, particularly to science'
english.elpais.com/health/2026-...
Ana Fernández-Sesma, biologist at Mount Sinai: ‘We have regressed 30 years in a single year of the Trump administration’
The head of Microbiology at the New York hospital reflects on the next pandemic and the dismantling of the scientific system in the US
english.elpais.com
August 5, 2026 at 10:34 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Foreign students in the US discouraged by new visa limits —
New immigration restrictions and the uncertainty they create are leading some applicants to consider other destinations for their studies
english.elpais.com/education/20...
‘There is no flexibility’: international students in the US discouraged by new visa limits
New immigration restrictions and the uncertainty they create are leading some applicants to consider other destinations for their studies
english.elpais.com
July 29, 2026 at 9:55 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after Trump took office
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
The EPA halted a study on gas stoves and asthma. But even partial results were striking.
Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after President Donald Trump took of...
www.washingtonpost.com
July 29, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Alfons López Tena
sarwark.org
When Donald Trump announces his goals, he is signaling what would be most effective against him.
July 24, 2026 at 1:25 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Trump's hardcore populist base has declined by 33%, @ismapolicy.bsky.social's survey finds. They are uneasy by his extralegal use of executive authority even as some express greater hostility toward Muslims, trans people and university/entertainment elites
open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...
Trump's Hardcore Populist Base Has Declined By a Third, ISMA's Survey Finds
They are uneasy by his extralegal use of executive authority even as some express greater hostility toward Muslims, trans people and university/entertainment elites
open.substack.com
July 24, 2026 at 4:01 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
It is now official US policy to destroy the ICC. Nations that do not fall into line will be punished — Trump knows he could be a target after he leaves office. The threat of arrest could lie just around the corner, like Putin's and Netanyahu's
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Trump says he will dismantle the ICC ‘brick by brick’. It could be his most chilling move of all | Steve Bloomfield
The US is aligning itself with dictators and autocrats to prevent those accused of genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes from ever facing justice, says Steve Bloomfield, former international edito...
www.theguardian.com
July 24, 2026 at 11:38 AM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Trump’s Tariff Runaround Defies the Courts and Common Sense — Effective tariff rates are going to change on Friday for the 45th time in the last 18 months, an average of once every 12 days
www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Tariff Runaround Defies the Courts and Common Sense
The administration will keep trying to run around rulings against import fees.
www.nytimes.com
July 24, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Alfons López Tena
leadahorse.bsky.social
I think ending science is a Christian nationalist tactic. If science and history can disprove the whole premise of your fairy tale you must eliminate science and history.
July 11, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Alfons López Tena
evolbrain.bsky.social
Science friends! This fall I'm teaching a class on "Scientists as Writers" and looking for model papers.

What is a scientific paper you love for the quality of its writing? Maybe something you have used as a model in your own work? What do you love about it?
July 15, 2026 at 4:22 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
US government plan to defund science — All federal grants to be assessed by officials, not by civil servants and peer-review panels. They could deny them because they don't fit Trump's agenda. Grants could also be terminated at any time for the same reason
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
An O.M.B. Plan to Defund Science—and Anything Trump Doesn’t Like
Under a new proposal, Administration officials could deny government grants to any group or project on the ground that it didn’t fit the President’s agenda.
www.newyorker.com
July 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Is the US trying to make scientists’ work so difficult that they simply give up? New Trump administration rules would undermine longstanding research practices. It’s death by a thousand cuts
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Is the US trying to make scientists’ work so difficult that they simply give up? | Daniel Malinsky
New Trump administration rules would undermine longstanding research practices. It’s death by a thousand cuts
www.theguardian.com
July 11, 2026 at 4:45 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Some of the leading research universities in the U.S. are admitting fewer students to their doctoral programs amid widespread concerns about federal funding cuts and uncertainty. Admissions to top PhD programs down 15%
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Admissions to top PhD programs down 15% amid federal funding cuts, uncertainty
U.S. universities have warned Trump policies will narrow the talent pipeline. Already global applications are down, though domestic applications are up slightly.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 7, 2026 at 9:59 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Both determinism and scare of science are nothing more than residual, secularized religious views that demean human ingenuity under something mighty than their free will, be it god or genes; hurdles to scientific theory, to be spotted and torn down to free thinking
theglobepost.com/2019/11/12/g...
Genes and Human Agency: Avert Misuse, Not Scientific Research
Scared people conclude that those who may unleash forces beyond human control must be forbidden to investigate the genetics of human agency.
theglobepost.com
July 1, 2026 at 10:50 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Scientists become less likely to produce disruptive work as they age. Younger researchers are more likely to overturn established ideas or open new lines of inquiry. Older ones' novel work increasingly builds on existing theories rather than challenge them
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
Why science is becoming less innovative
A huge study suggests ageing scientists are part of the problem
www.economist.com
July 1, 2026 at 4:22 PM
alfonslopeztena.bsky.social
Trump’s worst attack on science yet: To impose restrictions on the kinds of research that can be funded and give political appointees the final authority to deny federal funding for research deemed inconsistent with presidential priorities
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/o...
Opinion | This Could Be Trump’s Worst Attack on Science Yet
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2026 at 6:59 PM