Teaching a class on the Abolitionist movement just before Pesach is one of the great joys of my job.

I do find it amazing that many of the same people who unquestioningly and unequivocally support the State of Israel are eager to destroy Canada.

That feeling when the department coffee machine is kaputt.

There was a time when I would have been disappointed that Ovechkin beat the Great One's record. But now, I am just glad he pushed that disloyal, MAGA-loving casino shill down a rung. May Gretzky forever be an asterisk. #ovechkin #gretzky #hockey #elbowsup

I remember when the mass protests of 2017 - the Women's March, the March for Science, the demonstrations at immigration detention facilities, etc. - restrained the first Trump administration and saved America! #jaded

It is worth remembering that almost anything "made in the USA" is inferior to virtually any imported product. Thus, paying the tariff hit might actually be worth it in the end. #tradewar #buyforeign #tariffs

I was a strong NDP supporter when it was a social democratic party. When it took a right turn into dishwater third-wayism under Tom Mulcair, the party ceased to have any real value to me. Given the choice between voting for the Liberals or the ineffective wannabe Liberals, I choose the former.

I have been an NDP voter for most of my life and, before moving to the US for grad school, a long time member. But I have never seen such a pointless, weak-tea party like the one led by Jagmeet Singh, not even Audrey McLaughlin's 1993 team. I'll be voting Liberal. #canada #politics #ndp.

One of the places where I am going to feel the tariffs hit is when I buy groceries today. I was going to buy some Canadian or Welsh cheddar. But now I might have to settle for American cheddar. And American cheddar is utter crap. #tariffs #cheese

... In other news, I had a real Mr. Dixon moment as I walked across campus to get lunch. So many students greeting me brightly. Kinda makes up for a lot. #teaching #room222

A student complained that I showed "disgraceful disrespect" to Andrew Jackson because I accused him of genocide. #teaching #education #ushistory

'Our lives have been overwhelmed with these “what ifs,” and I find myself recalling the generation of German Jewish and left-wing writers and intellectuals who tried to read the tea leaves of 1933-1939 in order to know when it would be the “right time” to flee.' #expats #canada #MAGA #expatlife

Paving stones. Plainsboro, NJ. Fujifilm Instax Wide. #analogphotography #instantphotography #instaxwide #fujiinstax #fujifilm @fujifilm_instax_northamerica

A student complained that I am "bringing politics into the classroom." This is in a course on US History since 1945, so it's hard not to. Is this my first taste of what teaching under the MAGA regime will be? How long will I have a job? #education #teaching #MAGA

"Life 'behind the lines' in America is not as dire as attempting to cross German trenches into No Man’s Land and then, one hopes, to safety. But there is a persistent reminder that I am an alien, and the threat that the regime can destroy my life, should it choose, hangs over me."

Cone, Plainsboro, NJ. #fujifilm #instax #fujiinstax #instantphotography #filmphotography #analog

My office clock has stopped. Is this an omen? Clearly the Atomic Scientists are to blame.

I just double checked to make sure Elections Canada has my details. If you are a Canadian expat, this is where you can register to vote from abroad. The coming election might be one of the most important in recent memory. #canada #expat #canadians #election

I wrote this five years ago, at the start of the COVID pandemic. Yet, so much of it rings true in our current end times. For some reason, so many people believe that the Apocalypse is, or will be, fun.

Garden implement, Plainsboro, NJ. #fujiinstax #fujifilm #instax #instaxwide #instantphotography #filmphotography

Power, Plainsboro, NJ. Polaroid. #polaroid #blackandwhite #monochrome #filmphotography #instantphotography

Backboard. Instax. #instax #fujifilm #instantphotography #tennis

Tennis. Polaroid. #polaroid #instantphotography #light #shadows #tennis

It is significant, I think, that CBC News has referred to the United States as Canada's "former ally" at least three times.

It is only possible to say that the US is a great country if you have never been anywhere else. And given that less than half of Americans have passports suggests that most Americans have never been out of the country. So American greatness is little other than the greatness of ignorance.

Watching television, the ads in the break were, in order, online gambling, trucks, junk food, and a TV series glorifying the CIA. That, in a nutshell, is America.

There are practical reasons why I don't just pack up and head back to Canada. But I don't have any meaningful attachments to the US. It really is a pretty awful place. There are good people here, but the median American is a thuggish, vulgar, barbarian.

Gnarly tree. #polaroid

Typewriter commentary. #typewriter #commentary #uspolitics #politics #totalitarianism #MAGA #hashtagpolitics

One of the things that I did not expect to see from "the left" was an enthusiasm for murderous violence.

I mean... Do you really think President Trump even cares that you think he's a fascist?

I'm working my way through Star Trek: Enterprise, and it is pretty good - much better than I remember. I think my negative opinion was probably shaped by that godawful theme song. One of the great things about streaming is that I can skip that.

One of the things that I find the most annoying about the Bluesky echo chamber is how eager many users are to block you over disagreements. It's like they just don't want you to harsh their buzz. I hate Facebook with passion, but it was never like this.

It is, I am told, "elitism" to believe that greater knowledge and education confer greater authority in those areas of greater knowledge and education. I am, therefore, an elitist. I own it.

A sobering reminder that the left's "grassroots activism" and #hashtagpolitics did nothing to prevent the #MAGA revolution - with almost 50 percent of the vote. It beggars the imagination that it will turn MAGA back now that they won.

I know that I am a curmudgeon and a contrarian, but I come by these characteristics honestly. But I do find all of the #hashtagpolitics and performative #resistance activism pretty silly. Forgive me if I find the Star Wars #theresistance cosplay less than useless. It really isn't personal.

Typewriter commentary. #typewriter #uspolitics #politics #commentary

Contrary to what some people have reported in Bluesky, Canada has not cut its order of F-35 fighters. However, Ottawa is certainly thinking about it, and that is a good thing. Acquiring the Saab Gripens would liberate our military from the US and bring us closer to Europe and a post-US NATO.

Re. Those 200% tariffs on European wine. We all know that American wine is mostly vile plonk, right? That's why Americans buy European wines in the first place.

Typewriter commentary. #typewriter #commentary #uspolitics #politics #highereducation

Cat in a box. Polaroid. #cat #catsofbluesky #pokaroid

Now we know what a government of rapists looks like: "Don't resist. If you resist I'll just make it worse." This is YOUR government, America.

I would like little more than to see the United States go down in flames. And, as the dumpster fire that it is, that does seem to be happening. But please direct me to an enemy of the United States to whom I can offer aid and comfort.

Our Theodora died tonight in my arms. She was 17-3/4 years old, and I loved her more than there are words. She was regal and dignified, but also the sweetest, gentlest cat I have ever known. There is a vast, cat-shaper hole in my life.

Snoop is dead to me. Drop him like he's hot.

My thinking about Zuckerberg's appearance is not that he appears effeminate, but that he appears childlike. This seems to be the point of so much of the "new masculinity," that it is the "masculinity" of spoiled, prepubescent boys who throw tantrums when they are told to pick up their toys.

Looking at Mark Zuckerberg, I see a pampered boy with childlike curls in a bespoke, flowing mumu and jewelry more concerned with comfort and luxury than "masculine energy." What am I missing here?

Anyone who has ever served on a hiring committee knows how complex hiring is. Black-and-white qualifications are always part of the calculus, but that is only the beginning. There are all kinds of intangibles and vagaries, like "attitude," "friendliness," even tone of voice & presentation. 1/more

One of the reasons why sports heroes like Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr have such appalling political ideas is that they are deeply ignorant and uneducated. Neither graduated from high school. They have the knowledge and education of middle schoolers - just the type of people to whom MAGA appeals.

Follow this guy. Endre is one of the greatest living Canadian poets. Also a man of conviction and commitment.