Articles are now being retracted and journalists forced to resign for expressing opinions that upset Twitter mobs.

The opinion expressed is on such a trivial, ridiculous subject and the objections to it are so childish and pouty that it’s stunning that a journalist would get censored over it. It’s even more stunning that nobody seems to care much. This can touch absolutely any of us at any time. If we accept that it’s ok to let social media mobs silence people at whim, there will be nobody to defend us when this happens to us. We need to push back against aggrieved mobbing.

This is a very serious issue. All of us need to pay attention and take a stand against it.

I thought my NeMLA session on transnationalism wouldn’t get any applicants but I already have more than I need. And the CFP has just been posted. (I’m a former unpopular kid, I always fear nobody will want to hang out with me). So if anybody wants to apply, they need to do it soon. I’m talking to you, mon ami perdu.

How is it possible that Klara remembers something that happened back in November or in February and that we never discussed since? I thought they don’t retain memories for this long at this age.

The clean eating marathon continues! Here’s today’s meal:

Zucchini noodles with grape tomatoes and pesto sauce. The salad is a bit more adventurous. It’s shaved fresh asparagus with lemon and olive oil and shaved pecorino. It’s supposed to have toasted pine nuts, too, but I thought that with the pesto it would be too much pine nuts. Instead, I just put in some crushed garlic. The beverage is one of those drinking vinegars that I never tried before. The idea here is to try new things.

Relatives you are not close to invite you to a wedding. You are not going because it’s far away and during the semester. The invitation includes a statement that they prefer money gifts (“honeymoon fund.”)

How much should one give?

People are truly funny. My newsfeed is brimming with angry condemnations of Trump for his (entirely correct and very welcome) comments about the ways in which Germany is being a Russian lackey over Nordstream 2.

Nordstream 2 is Putin’s only lifeline. It’s his ticket to remaining in power forever (especially with all the doubles.) The corruption and the gall that Germany has demonstrated on the issue – read up on it if you haven’t. It’s egregious. Pointing this out cannot be a bad thing. Germany has been a total dick about Nordstream.

And the argument that Trump is too pro-Russian to make these comments is ridiculous. He hasn’t done anything to rise to the level of the pro-Russianness of Germany. Actually, he hasn’t done anything pro-Russian so far. I’m watching closely for obvious reasons, and all I see so far is that he is doggedly trying to tank Russia’s economy. I do not believe that Hillary would have done any of it.

People are so obsessed with Trump that in their desire to prove something to themselves about him they lose all capacity to reason.

And by the way, the Sunday issue of NYTIMES published a long, extremely Putinoid screed that repeated the hoariest of Russian propaganda points. That’s the same newspaper that has done more than any other media outlet to support Putin and that now condemns Trump about once a day for being pro-Russian.

For a touch of hilarity, see this post. Or just look at embedded tweets.

Men get policed about their parenting, too. This is not about gender. It’s about having a non-scary personality.

Vic is trying intermittent fasting. It sounds very interesting. Maybe I’ll try it. The best of luck to Vic!

What’s holding Mexico’s economy back?

This was all known back in the 1950s, for crissakes. There’s a poignant discussion of the effects of this treatment in Solzhenitsyn’s Cancer Ward, for instance.

San Francisco State has made a huge discovery: it’s easier to pass courses with no substance than those with substance. Shocking.

Better scientists smile more. Which is also kind of unsurprising.

It’s ridiculous to berate people for not being ready or willing to parent their parents. It’s a culmination of a long-standing dynamic between them that one can’t know from superficial observations.

Fact vs opinion quiz. It’s a little primitive but fun.

I have the exact same experience as Mike.

An immigrant in Canada is defending freedom.

One genius parent came to pick up his kid from school in his work vehicle. Which happens to be a hearse. Seeing a hearse depart from the school almost put the other parents in a state where they needed a hearse. This is an expensive school. There are no 20-year-old parents! Everybody is an ancient old fart in a tenuous physical state! You don’t play such jokes on elderly parents!

Another genius parent entered the room where her kid was with a loud “Who wants to go get ice-cream?” Of course, all the kids yelled “Me!!!” Of course, she only took her own kid. And the rest of the parents immediately turned into evildoers who are not taking their kids out for ice-cream. Why the announcement couldn’t have waited until the parking lot is a mystery.

Well, we all know who I’ll be rooting for in this World Cup. Hint: it sure isn’t the country of the pathetic Putin toadie with an ancient pedophile wife.

The weather forecast promises it will be extremely hot for the foreseeable future. When it’s this hot, I become a mental invalid after 1 pm. All I can do is play Candy Crush and watch Dr Phil reruns. I’m in level 413 and winning every contest by a huge margin. This is so aggravating.