Yeah, the Secretary of Defense declaring "no stupid rules of engagement" after blowing up a school is a confession. There's no exception for "he's trying to sound like a manly warfighter."

This is a great thread about actual Pennsylvania electoral politics.

This, from Ada Palmer as part of The Chronicle's survey of 11 scholars on the future of higher ed, is what I needed to end the week.

Aww yeah!

My thoughts open.substack.com/pub/musgrave...

Very good thread.

Let us not forget The Big Aristotle.

#BREAKING: Quakertown Police Chief Rob McElree is on leave one week after five teens were arrested during an anti-ICE protest where students and police clashed. on.nbc10.com/28F4w1E

There are a lot of people who resent the entire concept of subject matter expertise and believe that they, a person who read a breezy overview, know just as much and because they're a Great Thinker, should be trusted over actual experts.

Five corporations control 90% of the US media market. Airlines merged from 12 major carriers in 1980 to 4 today. Four giants control 80% of meat processing. The evidence of corporate consolidation is everywhere. It means more power for them and less freedom for you.

If someone called me a "top-notch hater" I'd probably put that in my bio.

Still waiting for all those open searches for Marxist business-school professors.

This is a great analysis of how federalism shapes immigration enforcement capacity, and therefore of how state and local governments can throw sand in the gears of the deportation machine simply by withdrawing cooperation.

"Friends" is a beloved American sitcom that aired from 1994 to 2004, following six young adults—Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe—living in New York City. The show explores their friendships, romances, careers, and personal growth over ten seasons.

Wow. Columbia does have a spine; they're calling it out clearly and saying they have receipts. This is a different ballgame.

Today marks 14 years since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking home. He had dreams to attend college in Florida and become a pilot, but he was murdered at age 17.

Congratulations to the Oyster House, one of my absolute favoritest places to eat in Philly! www.inquirer.com/food/oyster-...

"Today, the Brazilian Supreme Court announced that they had convicted the masterminds behind the assassination of socialist Rio de Janeiro City Councilwoman Marielle Franco guilty on all counts." massive news in Brazil today, writeup by @mikeelk.bsky.social paydayreport.com/rio-police-c...

We are rawdogging Poe's Law this week. www.professorfeynman.com

25 units are coming to a former Bella Vista Rite Aid, and we have renderings. 9 townhouses and 16 condos, 34 parking spaces are heading to this unofficial Angelo's dining spot. This is after years of past proposals and community meetings. jackphillyre.substack.com/p/25-total-u...

This is a great summary of what's worth remembering from that turgid speech.

If you're a supervisor and are using AI to write performance reviews--perhaps the most important part of the job--it's time to find a new job. It's crucial to get every word right and keep data confidential, and predictive algorithms in the cloud cannot do that.

Eye-popping margins in the Pennsylvania special elections today: —Democrats won HD94 by 63 points. (Harris won it by 30 in 2024.) —Democrats won HD42 by 35 points. (Harris won it by 17 in 2024.) [The 2024 numbers are via the essential @the-downballot.com].

Valuable thread.

All that handshakin's gonna give him a bruise, ain't it?

So Kagan drew the short straw.

The fact that Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are co-owners of a British footie team (Swansea City) together with Luka Modric is wild to me. Just wild.

Castro spoke for 4 and a half hours at the UN. Maybe he'll try and top that one.

This is really a lost opportunity, another casualty of Trump's misguided approach to governing. The Chinatown Stitch is such a great idea for Philly. www.inquirer.com/transportati...

The Wharton Piers apartment tower project on the Delaware River takes a big step forward. Just sayin', I think they should have the Wharton Tiers Ensemble play at the opening. www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...

I'm sure the school district has fuller information about the nature of current threats and risks, but I'm not convinced that asking for police in the schools is a wise choice when it was the police chief who incited the violence on Friday. www.inquirer.com/education/qu...

AI apps that will "watch" your lectures, do "your" text responses, make "your" contributions in online discussions, and write "your" papers. What are we even doing here, folks?

Watched the original Tron today with the kid, who loves all things computer and video games. The spouse, not so much.

These folks have a 7000sf house, and at least $250k in jewelry, but also are claiming they're not "uber rich." With just a little search, I can find Agoura fires in 1970, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1985, 2018 - and of course it's right next to Malibu Canyon.

This seems like a calculated choice to cause pain to people with resources and power, who will then contact politicians to complain about the shutdown. But it's so obviously a ploy that I think it will backfire. This administration has fully burned all goodwill. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Put her in a choke hold and the other kids jumped in to beat his ass. The kids are alright.

More footage- Student led peaceful protest in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The police chief showed up in plain clothing and assaulted two students.

As Zagar himself said (and tiled), "Art is the center of the real world." May his mosaics continue to grace the city. www.inquirer.com/arts/isaiah-...

Note that it has taken the US Supreme Court and *not* Congress to assert the proper role of Congress in this matter.

Build it

Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it. Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

Teaching Anna Julia Cooper tomorrow. "The first settlers seem to have been almost as much mixed as we are... it does not seem at all easy to decide just what individuals we mean when we yell 'America for the Americans.'” "I must confess to being an optimist on the subject of my country.”

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.

A deep cultural link between California/Silicon Valley tech idealists and eugenics? That's interesting to me, and worth following up on. Also takes me back to Mike Davis' critique in City of Quartz. www.dair-institute.org/projects/tes...

Oysters AND the Pennsy, both together in one place? This is catnip for me.

**Important update** Some new details on what property owners can build by right on land zoned for residential under Pritzker's plan: ≤2,500 sq ft: 1 unit 2,500–5,000 sq ft: up to 4 units 5,000–7,500 sq ft: up to 6 units 7,500+ sq ft: up to 8 units

I still remember seeing Jesse Jackson speak during the 1988 presidential campaign. It was electrifying, and he still ranks as the best orator I've ever heard in person. May he rest in power, heart full with the changes he made, and made possible, in America.

A giant loss: Robert Duvall is gone. An extraordinary artist who was fluent in every dialect of film acting, from ice-cold underplayer (The Godfather) to expert naturalist (Tender Mercies, The Apostle) to balls-to-the-wall maniac (Apocalypse Now). One of our all-timers. Plunge into that filmography.