Jason Mittell

Folks who didn’t grow up in American evangelicalism & think that “we’re at war to kick off Armaggedon” story sounds far-fetched—it isn’t. There are many folks—lots now in positions of power—who desperately want war in the Middle East because it’s required by their interpretation of Biblical prophecy

One owned an insurance firm for trucking in Rhode Island (presumably laundering money for the mafia). The other was in his family coal company, until he realized he was miserable and quit to work for the state welfare agency, letting my grandmother be the primary earner.

Guess who I loved more?

VERMONT

Peter Welch's phone numbers:

DC: 202-224-4242

If you can't get through or leave a message on the DC number ⬇️

Burlington: 802-863-2525

Strong contender for the Best Sentence of 2026:

"It's like the domino theory, but in reverse."

this should be the end of the Gavin Newsom 2028 discussion. the party has spoken, full stop

When we talk about Baby Boomers not getting off the stage: In 1997, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2007, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2017, the US president was born in 1946.

And next year in 2027? The US president will have been born in 1946.

Opinion | The Nation Faces a Crisis. Colleges Have a Unique Role to Play.

Important OpEd from Michael Roth. The demobilization of students has left a gaping hole in our democratic defenses. Michael is organizing to correct that. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/o...

ENVY!!!

Skin

I have never seen a politician more directly copy this speech in my life

Criterion collecting your lunch money?

My formative knowledge of him was as a teenager in the 80s reading Spy Magazine, so he's always been that short-fingered vulgarian to me

The Trump Show | Fault Lines YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

I've shown this short 2017 documentary to my students every year, as it outlines how Trump adopted reality TV norms to his first campaign & early months in office. This year it was striking how little students knew about him pre-presidency - they found this analysis incredibly eye-opening!

I've found that to be true, but both Althusser and Foucault are still useful - probably because they are so wide-ranging and opaque that they can be adapted to fit today. Whereas both political economy & cultural studies-style "polysemy" theories seem almost self-evident & not useful.

Yes, but the key ideological message here is "it is more important to trigger the libs than have access to healthcare" - I do think lots of folks embrace that in order to feel a sense of belonging & community.

I think Althusser's theories are still a useful foundation to explain why people embrace ideas & policies that directly run counter to their material interests - they imagine those interests differently than they actually are, and many ISAs are really good at reinforcing those beliefs

Depends who the "people" are. There's a tier of people who know it's bullshit but want to gain money/power, but the bulk of folks interpellated by ISAs see themselves as aspirationally belonging to the dominant class, imagining that they will be winners if they follow suit.

This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more.

This turns 23 next month theonion.com/this-war-wil...

there are a lot of people working in the government right now who want to intentionally trigger an apocalypse to create the conditions for the return of jesus christ and I know how crazy that sounds but its absolutely true

As a professional military strategist, I just wanted to make sure everyone has a full understanding of the American strategy in Iran, thank you for your attention to this matter

youre making a mockery of the fifa peace prize

Important & engaging piece! I'm convinced that amidst all the corruption and danger to democracy emanating from DC, Palantir's corporate data surveillance might pose an even bigger risk, particularly due to Thiel's puppetmastery over Vance and Musk. Odds that DOGE didn't give Thiel their data?!

"Please disregard the testimony you just heard from Barbara Streisand."

the party that wants to require ID to vote abruptly invalidating a thousand people’s IDs overnight seems like a pretty giant flashing red light

3. Display the essay on the screen in class and remind everyone of your name, creating appropriate levels of public shame

I really appreciated this piece, which both allows the creator of this cheat-bot to self-indict with idiotic quotes, and brings in @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social to highlight how this is also a symptom of our pervasive transaction-driven model of education. No answers, but great diagnoses!

"The way he muttered 'Excuse me' after defecating suggests a new apologetic and humble tone for the President."

No cheating; your last saved picture of a celebrity is your therapist.

(So crazy that it might just work...)

screenshot of a tv user guide, showing two channels under Tue 8PM: MSNOW - State of the union TCM East- Gaslight

Masterful Troll, TCM.