"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

This is what politicization of the Justice Department results in.

A handful of billionaires now have unprecedented control over banking, the food we eat, our healthcare, and the information we receive. Many are now currying favor with Trump to avoid accountability and maintain their power. This is what oligarchy looks like.

#SeamusHeaney’s North at 50: Poetic landmark ‘came most intensely out of the first shock of the Troubles’ Poet’s writing had to change in response to violence in #NorthernIreland, a pressure not of his own making #Poetry #Literature #History #Ireland www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

I have defended the BBC again and again. No more.

Inevitability of hallucination ?

"Americans are not just disappointed with how he has handled bread-and-butter issues such as inflation and the economy. They also don’t like his approach to issues that were central to his appeal, like immigration and crime." #Trump #MAGA

Key role of individual and institutional self-censorship? "Executives at major media outlets are reportedly instructing their newsrooms to temper their coverage of President Trump and his administration amid growing fears of political retribution." www.axios.com/2025/05/27/t...

Europe’s richest man opposes wealth tax. Estimated to have wealth of $169bn (£125bn), resents paying extra €1bn (£817m). Would it make any material difference to his lifestyle? How does anyone get this rich without squeezing labour, customers? Wealth opens doors to unaccountable political power.

First published in 1789. Reliques of Irish Poetry: consisting of Heroic Poems, Odes, Elegies and Songs. "Originals in the Irish Character" By Charlotte Brooke (1740-1793)

"student evaluations are influenced by racist, sexist and homophobic prejudices, and are biased against discipline and subject area." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #HigherEd #edchat #university

I've had 100+ messages about my work in the last year, though a few were spam and some were bizarrely irrelevant and downright weird. And I'll miss the humour: "Your paper on Jane Austen's civic virtue has been cited in a paper on Thermonuclear Astrophysics by Josh Beanpole."

Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility." This is my gift, my curse.

"cartoonist Barry Blitt attempted to capture, in one image, Donald Trump’s unprecedented series of attacks on the media, destruction of federal programs, and abuses of executive power that have ushered in a new era of political vengeance." #MAGA #censorship

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming" — Pablo Neruda

Also works for IKEA.

My (edible) autumn garden: chard, sage, red and green amaranth, rocket, lemon balm, and Cavolo nero.

Knowledge and Inspiration by Walter Pritchard on a wall above University Gardens in Glasgow. #glasgow #sculpture #publicart #glasgowuniversity

On 21 September 1937: J.R.R. #Tolkien's The Hobbit was published. The book tells of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and his journey with thirteen dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon, Smaug. It's sold over 100 million copies and is one of the best-selling books of all time. #BookSky

Ditto from Oxford yesterday

Hope on Sunday. Reclaim the Flag. #Manchester #England www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

IKEA: also good for an epic game of Hide and Seek. globalnews.ca/news/5859462...

My local charity shop in Bearwood: "Sorry, we can't take any books or Spiderman outfits at the moment but thanks for your offer." #thrift #superhero #reading

The "revolution" will not be televised? #Trump #MAGA #Censorship #media

I'd like to understand the police strategy and also the rules of the game. #Glasgow #Ikea

"We like questions that show you have actually listened to the presentation and those that address a specific point. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification – this gets the speaker to engage and explain, and can be particularly useful for researchers at the start of a project." #edchat #HigherEd

Income inequality in the US never talked about either. Seems the highly paid talking heads in both nations take orders from the billionaires ~ only occasionally offering news that speaks truth to power.

Academia: they claim 295 million members and 55 million papers.

MOST interesting: the bronze of the Lion of Venice was sampled by Padua Uni last year- and lead isotopes show it's Chinese, Yangtze River basin, probably a Tang dynasty 'zhènmùshòu' horned tomb guardian of more upright stature, c.600-900. Possibly imported by Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, then modified.

Always check the signage ...

I'd estimate that there's been a drop of 3-4% in recent days (4)

Also, tad tangentially, the Polari verb "troll" (= walk) rhymes with "doll" even in RP...

(No chance of me getting an American tourist VISA.)

It was nice knowing you all www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Obdurate Northern pronunciation (West Yorkshire): saying Troll as though it rhymes with Doll. #Confession #Accent

"Universities begin to phase out module feedback exercises in favour of less formal check-ins and peer reviews." www.timeshighereducation.com/news/tide-tu... #HigherEd #edchat #university #assessment #evaluation #neoliberal #students

"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never, never forget!" "You will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it." --- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass (1872)

USA: Union warns Professors about posting in the ‘Current Climate’ www.404media.co/union-warns-... #HigherEd #EdChat #University #censorship #Trump #MAGA

"Attendance at prestigious universities is also common, with elites over five times more likely to have gone to a Russell Group university and 21 times more likely to have gone to Oxford or Cambridge." #edchat #HigherEd

The Government should: "Follow through on their commitment to enact the “Socio-economic duty clause” of the Equality Act 2010 which would require public bodies to take socio-economic background into account, as well as other characteristics."

Oxford University: 8.1% were eligible for Free School Meals (up from 5.3% in 2021).

Yes - very sorry. We suspect AI scrapers, but they were forcing our entire infrastructure offline so I have had to disable profile pages for a temporary period. We're working as hard as possible to restore full service.

Found my account at hcommons.org/members/dria... ... only to discover "We are currently experiencing a DDOS attack and profiles are currently offline"

Oxford has fallen. Repeat: Oxford has fallen… 🤖 #HigherEducation #academia

Horrendous and absurd new Terms of Service is causing people to terminate their use of #Academia What are people using instead? I'd be sad to lose contact with my c. 6K followers. leeds.academia.edu/DrIanMcCormick #Highered #Edchat #University #research Highlighted by @nposegay.bsky.social

"Talent is not concentrated in certain geographies, socio-economic groups, or schools. Yet at the moment some professions are still dominated by people who come from a very narrow background." --- Charlotte Pickles, Director of Re:State #edchat #HigherEd #inequality

People who have the most education—college graduates and postgrads—are least likely to support Mr Trump. Voters of pension age, normally a solidly Republican bloc, are also surprisingly lukewarm on the president." #MAGA tears !?

King Trump state visit to the UK: New photo released.

Madge the Owl and a melancholy Pussy. #Melancholia #poetry

Imagine if the BBC and other media gave this report on the perpetuation of gross inequality and British elite as much coverage as the immigration "crisis" (daily headlines for weeks, months, years).