And posts containing the following words should be brought to the top of the queue: “Africa*, Rauner, productivity, new novel, opioids, heroin epidemic, Bauman, robotization, Transition, crisis.”

* I’m very interested in Africa right now. 

I need something like this for my Feedly to block posts and articles that contain words like “white, fascism, intersectional, graduate students*, sex worker, patriarchy, NaNoWriMo, young adult, cats, Hamilton,  trigger, privilege, alt-right, Clinton.”

* I’m beyond tired of endless lists of inane advice for grad students that can be summarized as “be psychologically healthy because that’s good for you.” Yeah, you think? Thanks a million for this valuable insight. 

Also, please compare the kind of coverage and intense international attention towards the crazy fellow on the United flight with the non-existent coverage of what is being done to gays in Russia. The United freak is being discussed all over the world like it’s important news. And nobody cares that people are being huddled into concentration camps for being gay.

And it’s not just this situation. During the last election, there was a tsunami of coverage for every insignificant little story that had no meaning yet could be made out to sound scandalous (e.g. the pussy-grabbing story). But the really huge story of the Russian meddling in the election only started getting covered after it was too late for it to matter.

And don’t even get me started on all the. . . people who Facebooked, retweeted and freaked over the ridiculous story of some idiot who couldn’t visit a spa in Vermont – the horror! – after those same folks paid zero attention to the millions deported by Obama. 

I talked to two Illinoisans yesterday who had no idea that the state hasn’t had a budget for 22 months. Because it’s impossible to get coverage. But I’m sure they knew all about the United story and the Vermont spa scandal. 

Imagine, though, what would happen if Rauner got as much coverage as the United freak. I think he’d cave after a week and give us a budget. But inconsequential stories get so big precisely because they are inconsequential and will disturb no hierarchies.

The current wave of the persecution of gay men in Russia has culminated in the creation of a concentration camp for gays.  

People, this needs to be talked about. The only hope here is that this horror will become widely known and international pressure will be applied to make this stop. This is inhuman; this is beyond evil.

The greatest weakness of authoritarian leaders is that they always end up believing their own propaganda. Even when they come to power on a wave of popular support, they stop listening to anything but their own narratives and confuse them with the truth. Hitler, Stalin, Franco, Putin – they all find themselves trapped in their own lies. 

I saw the notorious United video clip, and in all honesty, I wouldn’t want to be on the same flight with the crazy “doctor.” Overbooked flights are super annoying but his reaction is beyond unhinged. I’m not on his side. 

I stared and stared at this sentence, trying to figure out what it means:

Are you one-half of a dual-career academic couple?

It sounds like it might mean “are your spouse and you academics?” Or not. 

God, I’m happy I’m not this fellow’s student. Imagine a whole lecture delivered in this jargon. 

In a Dutch study of 55 transgender people who were given puberty blockers during adolescence, however, none changed their minds and none regretted treatment.

And women who were subjected to FGM tend to insist it was a great thing for them and go on to mutilate their daughters in the same way, so what? People make do with what they’ve got, and it’s easier to celebrate mutilation than to place parents under critical scrutiny.

I don’t know who’s a bigger freak, a 94-year-old who is “setting the industry ablaze with his creativity” or a 12-year-old who “received venture capital funds to start his own company.” 

The kid, at least, has the time to find a doctor to help him. The old man doesn’t. 

P.S. The capacity to live in accordance with one’s age is one of the most reliable markers of psychological health. The utter incapacity to resist the demands of neoliberal economy is a sign of non-existent individuality. 

I hate it when people blame their failures on anybody but themselves. I just watched an interview with Hillary, and it’s all misogyny, Coney, and the Russians. Not a word about her own grievous mistakes during the campaign. Nothing about her failure to integrate Bernie’s message. Nothing about the incomprehensible decision to place the wife of the country’s most notorious pedophile at the heart of her campaign. Nothing about the inanity and helplessness of the messaging. 

I was forced Hillary without reservations during the campaign but I would like to see a more adult approach post-election. If she wanted to do something for the party, to show that she could have been a real leader, she’d engage in the analysis of her own mistakes to show Democrats that this is what’s needed.