It's really telling when an invaluable intellectual powerhouse specialized in a non politicized field gets its funds taken away because of politics
Edit:
This is a comment about the administration, not Tao.
replies(3):
Edit:
This is a comment about the administration, not Tao.
Or your broadcasting license.
Or your public assistance.
Or your citizenship.
If the government gifts you $1000 a month because they like you so much, that's a privilege. Privileges can be taken away.
If the government gives you $1000 a month because it's the law, then they can't take it away without breaking the law (or changing it first).
Public funding for specific universities is not the law, so the government can stop giving it to someone (yes, yes, there are contracts and laws involved and what not, but the general point stands).
The government cannot imprison you for saying you like pineapple on pizza, but they can stop funding your pizza experiments.
Usually it's brought up by people on the left and I think they're right: freedom of speech is not freedom of consequences. Freedom of speech protects you from the government as in the executive branch can't just imprison you, but it doesn't protect you from any and all consequences. It's just that they usually don't find themselves the targets suffering those consequences.
And opinions often depend on whether you're affected.