Just had my final Italian lesson before I leave tomorrow. We practiced things I can say: Vorrei mangiare un piato tipico della citta! Io studio l'italiano ma no parlo molto, mi dispiace. Capisco piu che parlo. Come si dici ___ in italiano? Scusi, cerco piu vicino supermercato. Etc. 💕

You'd better believe that I will be mentioning this when I give my talk on current developments in American immigration law in Italy next week. There is no bottom to the cruelty.

Putting it out in the universe - my car (2019 Mini Cooper) needs a new computer/screen. The dealer is telling me the part is backordered. I have contacted some people in Germany to see if I can get the part when I am there the first two weeks in December. Please cross your fingers. I love this car.

RIP to my old laptop, which gave me a good 10 years. I wrote a whole master's thesis on it (in German), and will always be thankful for its service. It can't handle Windows 11, so it's being retired. I also feel so grateful, privileged, and blessed to be able to just buy a new one.

To my representative and senators: RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES, ALL OF THEM. @repauchincloss.bsky.social @warren.senate.gov @markey.senate.gov

I just went to the gym to run on the treadmill, lift some weights, and check in with Fox News. The words that are being used on that station to talk about what happened in Charlotte this weekend are just so ugly. Too many Americans enjoy cruelty and meanness way, way too much. I'm at a loss. 😞

Prepping my upcoming US immigration law presentation and I'm encouraged. Searching for pro-deportation photos only brings up the same 10 pictures of dumb white MAGA losers. Anti-ICE protest pictures, however, are legion and diverse. Good angels are prevailing. We just need to get them to vote.

There are not sufficient words to express how much I loathe all of this.

I am giving a talk about Trump's immigration policy at an Italian law school next week, and the research I have done to prepare has been so awful. This arrest is just one in a series of horrors to which this gentleman will be subjected, given the current state of ICE detention facilities. 😡

Trump's handlers probably encourage this ridiculousness. Miller et al. are evil but they're not stupid. They must know how crazy his posts make normal people who are literate and thoughtful. Indeed, they are likely counting on it as a means of keeping our guards down. This is such a bad timeline.

Get your colonoscopies, folks. I am 53 and had my third on Thursday, all three have been clean. My mom died of colon cancer and you do not want to do that. Yes, the prep is 0/10 do not recommend, including the low-fiber week, the liquid-only day, and the drinking of the stuff. (1/2)

I am giving a talk at an Italian law school in a few weeks about recent developments in US law. This forced me to spend several hours researching and figuring out how I was going to talk about the T admin's immigration policy. I do not know how journalists deal with this nonsense day after day.

T has never had to work just to survive, or wonder where his next meal was coming from, or worry about not having healthcare, and it shows in his cruelty and heartlessness. When we make it out of this, we have to be sure that a man like this can never become president again.

I just turned down an offer to teach a legal research class. Although I really want to do it, the time difference would mean at least one VERY late night per week. The me of last year would have taken it on for fear of not being asked again, and suffered. Making progress every day... #workaholism

They're essentially admitting their criminal behavior. He is calling for the implementation of their "maximalist strategy to seize the institutions." Holy hell. The American far right is gone and there is no getting them back. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. VOTE THEM OUT.

@nytimes.com is just daring me to cancel my subscription at this point. What possible value does a conversation summed up by this headline contribute to our national discourse on this topic? STOP BLAMING WOMEN FOR PROBLEMS THAT ARE CREATED AND PERPETUATED BY MEN. JUST STOP IT.

And once again I contend that Mike Johnson is the most useless politician in the entire history of the United States. CHANGE MY MIND. Oh, and three cheers for the good people of Phoenix who elected Yassamin Ansari to be their representative. We need more just like her.

If anyone deserves to have a very unpleasant day, it's Russell Vought. Let's keep this thing going, friends.

My German and Polish students in the legal research class I'm teaching in Würzburg over Zoom right now were very engaged in our conversation about US elections yesterday. Talking about Mamdani's chances brought clear smiles and nods. The world is still watching us. Let's keep this thing going.

Mike Johnson is the most useless politician in the history of the United States, which is really saying something.

And to think that he could be our vice president right now... We must keep doing the work to convince Americans that our country is full of decent people and that it is worth saving.

No matter how hard people try to convince us having empathy is wrong, it is right. No matter how hard people try to convince us that diversity is a weakness, it is a strength. No matter how hard people try to convince us that love is limited, it is unlimited.

I am teaching my class of German law students how to find online sources for legal research if they don't trust AI. For the past 15 years, I have always told students to search the .gov domain. However, I have never had to include this kind of warning, until now. How far we have fallen.

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That the United States lacks the ability to take this step because we aren't ruled by a monarch is, in my opinion, one of the only things that make it bad that we are not ruled by a monarch. Charles has declared Andrew banished for his p*dophile-related activities and he is...banished. If only...

Maybe the House D's should just report to work as if it were a normal work day, make videos of themselves and their colleagues in the building and ready to work, and then put those videos on every possible media outlet that the MAGA folks watch - actually show the R's not being willing to work.

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All of the teenagers can absolutely show up at my house as trick-or-treaters tonight and I will give them candy, whether they are costumed or not. As a kid who was judged all the time by adults, that is one legacy I'm looking forward to not perpetuating.

Good morning. If you are seeking #quiet and #beauty today, here is a lovely figure skating program to watch. Denise Biellmann is much more than her trademark spin. I saw a clip of it on Instagram earlier and it took my breath away, so I decided to share it here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYQ...

I am struggling to learn, as a perfectionist, people-pleaser, and workaholic, that I always underestimate how long an editing job will actually take me. Editing a 15-page law article takes me no less than 3 hours, and if you need it quickly I need to charge extra for rush service. #boundaries

The world is a dumpster fire but at least we have Minnie to make us smile.

Music news... Ooof, my husband just spent a s-ton of $$$$ to get us tickets to see #Rush in Boston next year. I have been to many Rush shows over the years and thought I'd seen my last one in 2016, given the fact that Neil is no longer with us. I AM BEYOND GRATEFUL AND VERY STOKED.

Looking at you, Walmart. QUIT BEING SO GREEDY AND PAY YOUR WORKERS A REAL AND HONEST LIVING WAGE.

Tomorrow I begin teaching a new Zoom course in Würzburg: Legal Research and #AI. Not sure how other professors are approaching this. I am just saying that we have to learn how to use AI ethically and critically. I figure they're going to use it anyway, and I'm too tired to fight it.

I sent $500 to the Greater Boston Food Bank earlier today, and am very pleased that the proceeds from all the recent editing work I have been doing can be used to help people. Come on, folks, let's do what we can to help out our neighbors.

Boston folks, the Greater Boston Food Bank makes it really easy to donate through their website. It took me 30 seconds. If you have the means, please help them out. www.gbfb.org

Hard agree. I will not even read this article and can say with absolutely certainty THIS IS NOT LEGAL. When a professor at (checks notes) Yale Law School is publishing an article with this title, the law schools should no longer be trusted to be doing their jobs.

I love this post. As an eldest/only daughter, I get it. However, more importantly - when we women see other women killing it out there in this difficult world, it is very important to communicate (a) we see them, and (b) how awesome we think they are. America needs this good energy right now.

I am teaching an Intro to US Law class in Würzburg the first two weeks of December. I anticipate fielding similar questions from the law students from Germany and throughout Europe. I know even less what I should say to them now. Why do I do it? Because we must show them some Americans still care.

Being a hater can be fun sometimes but it’s like eating junk food— in the end, it’s mostly empty calories. If you don’t take the time to practice finding joy, you’re going to lose it and everything will become less fun. It gets amplified by the company you keep. I say this from personal experience.

Meanwhile the federal government is spending millions of dollars on a vanity project for a man who is supposed to be president for all of us. He'll get his gold ballroom, we'll take the loss, just like always with him. The cruelty and heartlessness of Trump and his administration knows no bounds.

💯 Life is too short to be working without joy all the time. I am doing the best I can today to work a little less and to find a little more joy in being alive. 💕

Making shit look easy at the expense of your physical and mental health isn’t a good thing. Incessant “doing” is not a healthy state of being. Also stop those around you from thinking that you’re super human. Rest. Regulate. Recover.

I am giving a webinar on legal indexing today. This morning was intentionally leisurely. I spent more than 2 minutes each on hair and makeup. One of my current goals is to not fill all day every day with activities so that I'm purely operating on adrenaline. Humans need downtime, and we are enough.

I have not been keeping up on the N*zi tattoo story because I am outraged about a lot of other stuff and don't want to pile on more. But can't we all agree that someone who has that kind of body "art" should not occupy a position of power in the United States government?

Wow. According to this article it will no longer be possible get a PhD in #German at #Harvard anymore. (Not that I was planning on doing this, but I always liked the idea of maybe applying and seeing what would happen.) Absolut unglaublich. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Demolition of buildings is a whole thing. The house across the street from us was demolished a few months ago, and the house next door will be as well, probably in the next 2 weeks. This has left me feeling so emotionally unsettled. The pics of the White House are just piling on the sadness.

How many classes today were canceled because a whole suite of EdTech services are built atop AWS? You know what platform never crashes?

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