Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 15hMore is more.static.klipy.comTiffany's Frustrated HeadacheALT: Tiffany's Frustrated Headache 110
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 15hMarco Fuentes, Cornell Class of 1985, has published a scathing open letter to University President Michael Kotikoff regarding his handling of the Cornell 7 in the Cornell Sun. More donors should follow Fuentes's example. www.cornellsun.com/article/2026...cornellsun.comLETTER TO THE EDITOR | An Open Letter to President Michael Kotlikoff Regarding the Chi Phi LawsuitMarco Fuentes ’85 sends an open letter to President Kotlikoff regarding the Chi Phi case, demanding his resignation and a series of steps to repair the University's reputation. 020
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026If you're going to cast online aspersions on someone's intellectual ability, you might want to proofread your screed for grammatical errors and typos before posting. #protip 130
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Another reason not to subscribe to the @washingtonpost.com. 0110
Reposted by Steven NelsonMonica Byrne @monicabyrne13.bsky.social · 28/09/2026"'Access journalism'" is not about the journalist having access to the regime, but the regime having longtime access to the journalist. It is a common prerequisite in mafia states." -- @sarahkendzior.bsky.socialsarahkendzior.substack.comGutting the Fourth EstateThe US media were willing cogs in Trump’s machine. Now he’s tearing it down. 04620
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Last weekend at the Armory Fair... www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts...newyorker.comCurrently on View in an Art-Fair BoothIf the art market ceases to exist, you’ll at least have a painting of Bart Simpson. 040
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 09/09/2026This is Lonnie Bunch's retirement, not his resignation. As upset as some people are with his news, having worked in the Federal Government, sometimes we can be more effective from the outside than from within. I can't wait to see what he does once he's untethered. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/a...nytimes.comSmithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution (Gift Article)In the face of escalating White House attacks about how museums present American history, Lonnie G. Bunch III has announced his decision to depart. 0110
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Thank you! It's great being here with @yaelrice.bsky.social and the others. I wish you could visit. 110
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Gloria Steinem was one of my sheroes, a model of feminist practice and a inspiration for so many of us. Because of her, I subscribed to Ms. Magazine for years. Both deeply influenced my own thinking and writing. Rest in Power. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/u...nytimes.comGloria Steinem, Personification of the Feminist Movement, Dies at 92 (Gift Article)She challenged sexist assumptions, helping women develop a sense of self-worth and gain a measure of equality at work, at home and in society at large. 050
Reposted by Steven NelsonRobert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 31/08/2026This is how our government has been corrupted: 1) Donors give huge sums to elect politicians to office 2) Elected officials rewrite rules in the donors' favor 3) Donors make huge profit 4) Repeat We must get big money out of politics. It is the root of our dysfunction. 38194863079
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026If I were still in academia, I would move to a Canadian institution in a heartbeat. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/w...nytimes.comCanada Hires U.S. Scholars From Harvard and Other Top Universities (Gift Article)A crackdown on American academia by the Trump administration has handed Canadian universities a rare opportunity to lure some top researchers north. 060
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026A great development at UCLA newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucl...newsroom.ucla.eduUCLA launches nation's first digital humanities departmentFuture-ready students, forward-looking research: The new department brings a humanistic approach to AI and other emerging technologies. 120
Reposted by Steven NelsonPhil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Judge strikes down Texas ban on drag shows, tells people offended by them ‘just don’t go’nbcnews.comJudge strikes down Texas ban on drag shows, tells people offended by them ‘just don’t go’The federal judge, who cited Dolly Parton in his ruling, found that the state law violated the First Amendment. 818283236022
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026I had a student who was in a serious biking accident some years ago. Her helmet saved her life. 030
Reposted by Steven NelsonLibrary of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 25/08/2026The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️ 194335127163
Reposted by Steven NelsonRobert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Corporate Democrats are on the defensive because their campaign cash isn’t working the way it used to. Now, finally, the Democratic Party has an opportunity to once again become the party of working Americans, as it used to be, rather than the party of the wealthy elite. 531159267
Reposted by Steven NelsonGod @thegodshow.com · 19/08/2026Call me crazy, but perhaps being related to a Senator who died doesn’t qualify you to be a Senator. 812209253124
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Harper is also the author of The Atlantic hit piece on the Mellon Foundation and Elizabeth Alexander. When I saw his this self-indulgent, turgid personal narrative, I knew what to expect. I appreciate Baker's clarity and focus on the institution and its problems (which other institutions share). 010
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Andrew Baker's essay is a critical counterpart to Tyler Austin Harper's recent anti-DEI screed published by The Atlantic. 240
Reposted by Steven NelsonRae Radford @raeradford.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Absolutely! #BookSky 17173921382
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Important research and soft censorship by the State of Arkansas. 072
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 18/08/2026There was a bike lane on this street. She should have been riding in it. 000
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 18/08/2026If you’re going to do this you have to know your left from your right. I saw a bicyclist coming down a sidewalk a couple of weeks ago tell a group of pedestrians she was passing on their right bit she did it on their left. As they heard her and stepped to their left, she hit one of them. 100
Reposted by Steven NelsonSonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026“ 'It is clear that the National Gallery interpreted "Color Lines’"as a problem to be solved rather than as an important academic conference,' Nelson wrote in his essay, which was published in October, a quarterly academic journal on art history." 0189
Reposted by Steven NelsonIan James @ianjames.bsky.social · 13/08/2026“Going forward, it will be easier for the National Gallery to marginalize or suppress ideas, artwork, and exhibitions that challenge the status quo. Museum staff will learn self-censorship.” 021
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 13/08/2026My grandparents had two Siamese cats that lived to be in their 20s. They were amazing. 0110
Reposted by Steven NelsonTyler Green @tylergreenbooks.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I'm a scholar and a media executive producer/host, not former staff. This comports with my professional experiences of the Trump-era National Gallery of Art. 0114
Reposted by Steven NelsonShirley Wajda @stwajda.bsky.social · 11/08/2026"Nelson concludes that such preemptive self-restriction, rather than protecting institutions, normalizes self-censorship and transforms #museums into complicit agents of authoritarian control, undermining their stated commitments to diversity, academic freedom, and the free exchange of ideas." 021
Reposted by Steven NelsonSarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Indeed, soft censorship as it’s called here is how censorship often works. Institutions and individuals preemptively edit themselves and each case closes the Overton window and further delimits expression 23510
Reposted by Steven NelsonChris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Very glad to see this out there. Steven is an incredible leader and scholar (and, to be clear, dear friend). 19434
Reposted by Steven NelsonPat McDermott @twinsetpat.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I just finished reading Nicholas Enrich’s book about the dismantling of USAID, Into the Wood Chipper, in which he writes about recognizing where one has moral limits, about complicity. This another story about recognizing complicity. 👇🏾👇🏻👇🏽👇🏼👇🏿 151
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Here’s a link to the October essay: direct.mit.edu/octo/article...direct.mit.eduSoft CensorshipAbstract. This essay examines the phenomenon of “soft censorship” in American museums during the second Trump administration, drawing on the author's firsthand experience as dean of the Center for Adv... 05316
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I wrote an essay on the moving of the 2025 Wyeth Symposium from the National Gallery and the implications of such an action. Titled “Soft Censorship,” the piece recently appeared in the journal "October." Today the NYT published this article based on the essay. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/a...nytimes.comNational Gallery Accused of ‘Soft Censorship’ to Avoid Provoking Trump (Gift Article)A former executive with the Washington museum says it moved a symposium about race in art to avoid political blowback. 214056
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 07/08/2026static.klipy.comRuPaul Makes a Heart GestureAlt: RuPaul Makes a Heart Gesture. 010
Reposted by Steven NelsonMrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 06/08/2026An important reminder to a nation full of pious busybodies: 462694839
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Love the Bomb. 000
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Perhaps moderate/establishent Democrats should start reading the room. Voters are not swayed but their empty policy positions and are waking up to the fact that they had a part in clearing the way for authoritarianism’s ascendancy. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...nytimes.comModerate Democrats Prepare for ‘War’ Against an Ascendant Left (Gift Article)One moderate group says the progressive wins are “deeply troubling” and is planning a $15 million effort against democratic socialism. 070
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Kim Sajet, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum and former director of the National Portrait Gallery, interviewed in the NYT on the Trump Administration attack on the Smithsonian, particularly on Anthea Hartig, director of the Smithsonian Museum of American History. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/a...nytimes.comFor Museum Boss Who Became a Trump Target, It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again (Gift Article)Kim Sajet left as director of the National Portrait Gallery when she found herself in the White House cross hairs. Now she’s watching another Smithsonian chief go through it. 084
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 29/07/2026While driving though West Virginia last summer we saw dozens and dozens of signs on the road protesting the construction of AI data centers. Even folks in this reddest of red state don't want them in their backyards. 210
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Hoping that Yale doesn’t capitulate to the Trump administration. americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?ac...americanprospect.bluelena.ioYale loses the Capitulation BowlThe university’s... 021
Steven Nelson @snelsonus.bsky.social · 28/07/2026static.klipy.comWonder Twins: Powers Activate!ALT: Wonder Twins: Powers Activate! 041