What bullshit. There is no other way of saying this.

'Cuse: We have an alum who was president. 'Nova: Hold my beer.

Still not sure what a conclave is? Syracuse University asked me to explain. www.youtube.com/shorts/VpahG...

One of the most fascinating essays I've read in awhile. SO glad I happened upon it!

So, should I play this at the start of my White Nationalism/Right Populism in Modern America Honors seminar on Thursday? #IYKYK www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILCQ...

Three postcards ready to mail to POTUS today.

. @schumer.senate.gov needs to go. He's capitulating in a way unworthy of a Dem. party leader in a time of crisis. Enough! There are too many strong leadership possibilities (Murphy? Duckworth?); times are too dire!! I say this as a New Yorker and former @apsa.bsky.social Congressional Fellow!

Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa and 38 other former political prisoners of Poland's communist regime have condemned Donald Trump's treatment of Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, which they said reminded them of communist interrogation techniques

We are nearing a precipice.

This is how fascism works.

I believe that Sister Theresa Kane, RSM, is looking down with love, approval, and support upon Bishop Marianne Edgar Budde!

In my @syracuseu.bsky.social honors class (White Nationalism/Right Populism) today, we discussed both the inaugural and the first half of @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social's "Strongmen." Students remarked repeatedly on the parallels. SUCH a good discussion!

Equal Rights Amendment is law! substack.com/@meidastouch...

So much for crowd size--but it does confirm that hell is freezing over! wjla.com/news/local/p...

Biden: "I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. That's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape"

Biden: "Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power ... the truth is smothered by lies."

Biden: "In democracy, there's another danger to the concentration of power & wealth. It erodes the sense of unity & common purpose & causes distrust and division. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning ... we have to stay engaged in the process"

"There is an Oligarchy taking shape in America--a Tech/Industrial Complex." Biden's Farewell Address (echoes of Ike).

Interesting! And right-wing Catholics must be plotzing. thehill.com/homenews/adm...

His memory is a blessing. What a remarkable man--probably the best former president in US history, who leaves a legacy of living faith, fighting racism and sexism, and working to the end for a better world.

Delighted that my doctoral student, Ian Glazman-Schillinger, is one of these Guggenheim Emerging Scholars for 2024-25! www.hfg.org/hfg-welcomes...

Lovely end of semester dinner with half of my amazing intergenerational Election class. The rest will celebrate next week.

So my election Honors seminar was mostly quite opposed to the presidential pardon of Hunter Biden. Many thought it demonstrated Dem hypocrisy, and opened the door for GOP sniping. Most also believed that this wouldn't matter in the long run. Still, ongoing/simmering resentment toward Biden....

Something for my Election seminar to discuss on Tuesday. Not sure how I feel about this. I certainly understand on a personal level, but Biden said he would not do this.... What do others think? www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo...

Last week, the students in my Election seminar had to come up with 3 words/phrases to describe Trumpers, and 3 to describe Democrats. The three most common for Trumpers were populist, authoritarian, and angry. The three most common for Dems were progressive, inclusive--and elitist. Interesting!

Before there was Bernie Sanders, there was Fred Harris. May his memory be a blessing! www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/u...

So he IS above the law, and--thanks to the SCOTUS July 2024 decision in Trump v. US--now POTUS has free rein to do pretty much whatever he wants. Autocracy begins, 20 January 2025. www.cnn.com/2024/11/25/p...

I live on unceded land: of the Onondaga, Firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee. This Thursday, I will be giving thanks for my Indigenous neighbors--and homage to their traditions, gifts, and honor.

Much as I like to make new friends, I will not follow back with anyone who doesn't have either a real name as their handle or a descriptive blurb about themselves. Just FYI....

I just deactivated my account in Muskland. I won't miss it and, since I wasn't too active there, I suspect most won't miss me. Glad to be here, with old friends and new!

Another Fox News host for the cabinet: this one to replace Pete Buttigieg. deadline.com/2024/11/trum...

Good grief! abcnews.go.com/Politics/tru...

One of the best parts of teaching is getting together with students who now are friends. These 3 women from the @syracuseuniversity.bsky.social Honors program are terrific, and I so enjoyed spending the afternoon with them!

'This process includes the replacement of all first-rate talents, regardless of their political loyalties, with crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is the best guarantee of their loyalty.' (The Origins of Totalitarianism, renewed version, A Harvest Book New York, 1976, 339)

People (including me) have talked about Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here." Less is known of his then-wife (and SU alumna!), Dorothy Thompson, the 1st US journalist to interview Hitler, and the first to be expelled from Nazi Germany. Read this from 1941: harpers.org/archive/1941...

In this case, it actually IS The Onion! www.cnn.com/2024/11/14/b...

And, as a historian, I can vouch for the fact that Gaetz beat out some TOUGH competition! www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-pre...

I've spent too much of today alternately gasping and screaming about the series of cabinet-level and other high appointments announced today. Each seems worse than the last! Gabbard, Gaetz, Hegseth, Noem, Ratcliffe, Huckabee, Stefanik. WHAAAA????

I guess I should post. Like many here, I've decided to migrate here as a way of removing myself from MuskWorld. I really hope this can become a "thing."