How could the polls have been so spectacularly off? Down to 1.4%. More going on than the Bradley effect. And who did the inaccurate polls help and hurt in closing days? And wtf McMorrow supporters? More than 60k just threw your ballots away? Many dull moments in Pure M; not on election days.

“Facts” being the crud AI scrapes off muddy shoes found on the internet. Imagine a laboratory scientist who assumes zero responsibility for the lab environment; imagine a social scientist manipulating data but assuming zero responsibility for its collection. At best, bonkers; at worst, malpractice.

Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2d ago

"History involves sorting and organizing hundreds of thousands of facts" I remain astounded by how loud and wrong people are about what history actually is.

Worth noting that the person quoted is an economist and lawyer, so doesn’t know shit about doing historical research www.law.virginia.edu/faculty/prof...

Megan T. Stevenson

Megan Stevenson is an economist and criminal justice scholar. She conducts empirical research in areas such as bail, algorithmic risk assessment, misdemeanors, sentencing and juvenile justice.

law.virginia.edu

Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2d ago

"History involves sorting and organizing hundreds of thousands of facts" I remain astounded by how loud and wrong people are about what history actually is.

Glorious send off for Glen Hansard, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin: Breandáin Ó Beaglaoich, brothers Richard with eulogy & Garry “I Can See God,” widow Maire with poem, Lisa O’Neill “Old Note,” Damien Dempsey “Sing All Our Cares Away,” Bono played Patti Smith lullaby on phone,”Forever Young” outro.

Volume 147 in our Medieval Mediterranean series: Vernacular Documents of Medieval Sardinia, ed. & trans. Alex Metcalfe, Hervin Fernández-Acevedo, Maurizio Virdis (Leiden: Brill, 2026), 887 pp. We take on many great projects that other presses might not. #medievalsky #mediterraneanhistory

BREAKING: Trump calls the USA “a loser”

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d ago

Trump: "Any country with windmills is a loser"

🤣🤣🤣🤣

"Why should I major in History?"

Bits@bitshammer.bsky.social · last wk.

From the Desk of David Benac: What the Rainforest Action Network's First Two Decades Teach Us Today

From the Desk of David Benac: What the Rainforest Action Network’s First Two Decades Teach Us Today

David Benac is Chair of the Department of History and associate professor at Western Michigan University. He is the author of Conflict in the Ozarks: Hill Folk, Industrialists, and Government in the Courtois Hills. His new book Rainforest Radicals: A History of Rainforest Action Network and Transnational Organizing (Nebraska, 2026) was published in June. Why write a history of Rainforest Action Network?

unpblog.com

Wolfson: “We have 60,000 members, and we’re a democratic member organization, and so we reflect the thoughts and will of our overall membership.” How democratic is a zoom meeting attended by c. 40 people? There are over 500 AAUP members at my uni alone. National did NOT “poll” Michigan membership.

AAUP@aaup.org · 6d ago

The AAUP is proud to endorse Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary. Dr. El-Sayed is a fierce champion for debt-free & tuition-free higher education & will be an invaluable ally for academic freedom & higher education as a public good in Washington.

christ if that’s not a metaphor for our times

We live in a dehumanized world, one of technology, internet trolls, isolation. Glen Hansard was a throwback to a world we have lost, a world of community, neighborhood pubs, street life, following dreams, openness to others; and he perpetually shone a light on a future world we might yet construct.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 6d ago

One of the things you get from watching tributes to Glen Hansard is that he was a musician’s musician. His peers really respected him. But also he was so kind to random people. And that seems sort of perfect. To be respected both by the people who deeply understand what you do and those who don’t.

#RepublicansCutHealthcare 61 YEARS AGO DEMOCRATS SIGNED INTO LAW MEDICAID AND MEDICARE AND Now Trump & Republicans are cutting it away piece by piece Please save and show to any Republicans or Independents you know Vote Blue Only Democrats are fighting for us

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Social Security Act OTD in 1965, creating Medicare & Medicaid. Signing ceremony held at Truman Presidential Library in recognition of Truman's efforts to enact universal health insurance for all Americans during his own presidency. Image: LBJ Presidential Library.

Bologna opens a new library containing more than 32,000 books from Umberto Eco's private study - arranged exactly as he left them - a decade after his death.

Umberto Eco library opens in Bologna, 10 years after his death

The University of Bologna has opened a new public library housing the personal book collection of writer Umberto Eco, a decade after his death.

wantedinmilan.com

I became a Glen Hansard fan late, after meeting him and seeing him headline the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in January 2011. Many generous words have been written about him today; I hope many great words are written in the days and months ahead. But Colin Souter’s words are the best I’ve read today:

Collin Souter@collinsouter.bsky.social · last wk.

I have lots of memories of seeing Glen Hansard and following his career from his days with The Frames in 1998 until now. I spent the day with those memories and his music. I wrote about it here. www.collinsouter.com/fbfglenhansard

Moreno is a car dealer and a serial liar. www.wkyc.com/article/news... ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/09/11/o...

Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno doesn't hold an MBA, but bio and application claimed he does • Ohio Capital Journal

The claim that car dealer and GOP U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno held an MBA from the University of Michigan has appeared in both a car dealership application and in a short bio of Moreno when he...

ohiocapitaljournal.com

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Moreno to Fauci: "Who the fuck did you think you were?"

Glen Hansard gone at 56. Motorcycle crash in Dublin. Shocking stuff. Street busker-turned-Oscar winner. As a songwriter, he had a way of capturing the bittersweet moments of life, and our interviews inevitably circled back to how his approach to songwriting evolved. Link in comments.

RIP Glen Hansard (1970-2026). I had students always wanting me to listen to The Frames or The Swell Season. I was late to the party, and first saw and met Glen in January of 2011. Amazing artist; genuine, engaging person. Statement from his favorite charity: www.dubsimon.ie/statement-fr...

Statement from Dublin Simon Community on the Passing of Glen Hansard  | Dublin Simon Community

Everyone at Dublin Simon Community was devasted to learn today of the passing of our longtime friend and supporter Glen Hansard.

dubsimon.ie

“Brennan Center for Justice found that the Trump administration successfully froze about $3 billion in previously approved grants for scientific research, is imposing a scheme to slash an additional $4 billion, and issued a budget proposal calling for a whopping $44 billion additional reduction.”

Will Bunch@willbunch.bsky.social · last wk.

They're screaming the quiet part out loud. A Trump regime scheme to shift a whopping $200 billion into AI projects and away from traditional university research isn't just because it wants smarter computers American fascism also requires dumber people My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...

Fire Mattingly. So bunt, run, situational hitting, manufacture runs just talk? Play some D; stop bonehead base path blunders; don’t leave starters in too long. Is Gene Mauch available? Joe Maddon? How about Yadier Molina, Omar López, Rodney Linares, Benji Gill? Trade all locker room buzz kills.

Les Bowen, still@lesbowen.bsky.social · last wk.

Mitch McConnell wants proof that the Phillies are still alive.

“Republicans love to tout the unitary executive theory …. But they have implemented that theory under the reign of a man who is bored by policy, violently opposed to listening to anyone who isn’t fluffing him, and lives in a self-contained narcissistic fugue of grievance and ego-wounds.”

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

“The policy-making structure is effectively posting to Truth Social & seeing if the gathered Nazis reply w/ likes or jeers. If the first, leave the post up. If the second, reverse course & chastise your aides. If neither, whine about how everyone is unfair to you & it’s all really Biden’s fault.”

How can this crass, gross, ignorant imbecile be President? And of course the puffy fellow with orange spackle, battered hand, and a bird’s nest which just landed on his scalp has a history with Miss Venezuela youtu.be/Y6BRnKnX4Hw?...

Ex-Miss Universe: Trump called me 'Miss Piggy'

YouTube video by CNN

youtu.be

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "I owned the Miss Universe pageant. And Miss Venezuela always did very well in that pageant. So I know something about the country."

#Mexico sends 200 fire fighters to #Canada to help with wildfires #ViveLeMexico #ViveLeCanada 🤗 Gracias Mexico!!🇲🇽 Credit to SoCanadian

At least other UCs and Cal States have continued to prosper, with record system enrollments, 300k and 500k respectively. Here in Michigan, UM and MSU have lowered standards, taken on 15k+ undergrads each, threatening the very survival of regional universities in a demographically-challenged state.

Ryan Leonard@ryandleonard.bsky.social · 2w ago

There is already way, way too many students at the likes of UCLA or UC Berkeley. Kids are literally stacked like submariners, 4 to a tiny room. We need more, smaller schools, not more students at existing ones.

Top bonehead Phillies’ moves tonight (so far) 4) Marchand not being able to bunt. 3) Stott running blunder below. 2) Mattingly sending Nola out to start 6th. 1) Mattingly let him pitch to Muncey after giving up lead off double. How many lead off doubles can the Phillies waste in any one series? 5-3.

Michael Elizondo@elidelajandro.bsky.social · 2w ago

More quality Phillies baserunning. The chants of Beat LA are being sparked by a fan three seats down. So that's something. 3 all, T6.

Witness one: “they have him on the ground … he’s struggling to get up, and that’s when they shot him, they shot him three times. I never saw a weapon, he never brandished a weapon.” Witness Two: “from where I was standing ten feet away that looked an awful lot like an execution to me.”

Laurie! Live!@laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 2w ago

Here is an account of the police shooting in Madison today that does not directly contain any video but does contain eyewitness accounts, if that's something anyone is looking for www.wpr.org/news/man-sho...

This takes cojones and not just a spackled face after years of no comprehensive proposals. Guess infrastructure got in way. At best his Great Healthcare Plan is rando EOs begging drug companies to lower prices, redirecting subsidies, throwing folks off Medicaid rolls, freezing funds to MN and CA.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Trump: "We will pass the great healthcare plan. It's called our great healthcare plan. That's the name of it."

“people who were supposed to stop this type of federal overreach—university boards & administrations—have failed to protect academic independence … most trustees & administrators ‘have at best been caught flat-footed & some appear even to have welcomed governmental intrusion.’” Shocked, I tell you.

AAUP@aaup.org · 2w ago

OUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵