DoctorSyntax
@doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Alter ego of Peter Ginna. Editor, writer, & occasional blogger on books & publishing. Former editor & publisher at several houses. Author of WHAT EDITORS DO: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing. Website: peterginna.com
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Absolutely no way to read this and not conclude that the Department of Justice has been deeply corrupted. And this is from a time when career lawyers were in place, pushing back against illegality. With firings and resignations, the politicization will just get worse.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Absolutely no way to read this and not conclude that the Department of Justice has been deeply corrupted. And this is from a time when career lawyers were in place, pushing back against illegality. With firings and resignations, the politicization will just get worse.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Preach, brother. Er, Father
November 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Preach, brother. Er, Father
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
We're now at the RE-PARDONS stage of this presidency www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
The new pardon ends a legal clash over the limits of Trump’s sweeping Day One clemency for those who stormed the Capitol.
www.politico.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
We're now at the RE-PARDONS stage of this presidency www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
5 best movie genres:
—Boy meets girl (funny)
—Boy meets girl (tragic)
—Detective meets femme fatale (B/W)
—Boy, or girl, meets alien (IMAX)
—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and for some reason Zeppo, meet Margaret Dumont
—Boy meets girl (funny)
—Boy meets girl (tragic)
—Detective meets femme fatale (B/W)
—Boy, or girl, meets alien (IMAX)
—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and for some reason Zeppo, meet Margaret Dumont
5 best movie genres
- every scene a visual masterpiece, nothing happens
- artist/eccentric helps protagonist discover true self
- kind upstander in a world of selfish bystanders
- funny, relatable people who aren't supermodels fall in love
- scifi that isn't simply an action movie set in the future
- every scene a visual masterpiece, nothing happens
- artist/eccentric helps protagonist discover true self
- kind upstander in a world of selfish bystanders
- funny, relatable people who aren't supermodels fall in love
- scifi that isn't simply an action movie set in the future
5 best movie genres
- let's do a heist
- let's do an insanely complicated heist
- I'm going to tell you all about this one weirdo I met
- good looking, clever people muddle around until they fall in love
- somebody is killing people but a group of extremely arcane clues can help stop this situation
- let's do a heist
- let's do an insanely complicated heist
- I'm going to tell you all about this one weirdo I met
- good looking, clever people muddle around until they fall in love
- somebody is killing people but a group of extremely arcane clues can help stop this situation
November 17, 2025 at 2:07 AM
5 best movie genres:
—Boy meets girl (funny)
—Boy meets girl (tragic)
—Detective meets femme fatale (B/W)
—Boy, or girl, meets alien (IMAX)
—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and for some reason Zeppo, meet Margaret Dumont
—Boy meets girl (funny)
—Boy meets girl (tragic)
—Detective meets femme fatale (B/W)
—Boy, or girl, meets alien (IMAX)
—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and for some reason Zeppo, meet Margaret Dumont
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 16, 2025 at 11:43 PM
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
I'm always here for one artist appreciating anither, and this is a nice example
youtube.com/watch?v=GAKd...
youtube.com/watch?v=GAKd...
Billy Joel Jimmy Webb Wichita Lineman
YouTube video by Tony Walker
youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I'm always here for one artist appreciating anither, and this is a nice example
youtube.com/watch?v=GAKd...
youtube.com/watch?v=GAKd...
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
honestly not a bad idea
New York and LA should offer an equivalent to Israeli birthright trips to every theatre kid in the lower 48
November 16, 2025 at 3:16 PM
honestly not a bad idea
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
As a historian of the 18th c and an American, I've always known 2026 would be a critical moment. This doc is worth watching, and thinking through. Begins and ends w Indigenous contexts, conveys the horrors of a civil war wrought w racism + the ideals of liberty and equality we keep reaching for. 1/
_The American Revolution_ offers a look at how complex and violent — and also inspiring— the American founding was. Getting huge coverage, it may give folks time to digest that complexity as 2026 commences. Premieres tonight + PBS has preview clips of all episodes. www.pbs.org/show/the-ame...
The American Revolution
Thirteen colonies unite in rebellion, win their independence, and found the United States.
www.pbs.org
November 16, 2025 at 3:44 PM
As a historian of the 18th c and an American, I've always known 2026 would be a critical moment. This doc is worth watching, and thinking through. Begins and ends w Indigenous contexts, conveys the horrors of a civil war wrought w racism + the ideals of liberty and equality we keep reaching for. 1/
Magnifying glass, got it
Just found my dream home with a little shop attached. Now I only need to find the small sum of £800,000. If anyone was wondering what to get me for Christmas… just saying.
November 16, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Magnifying glass, got it
Ghostbusters
Question 8:
If you were in a situation where the only thing that could save a life was to successfully start a sing-a-long with a random group of strangers, what song are you belting?
If you were in a situation where the only thing that could save a life was to successfully start a sing-a-long with a random group of strangers, what song are you belting?
November 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Ghostbusters
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping.
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
November 16, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping.
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob."
—FDR, 1936
—FDR, 1936
November 16, 2025 at 12:30 AM
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob."
—FDR, 1936
—FDR, 1936
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Leo Vanegas, the American citizen that Miller's goons arrested w/o a warrant at a home site twice, is the kind of home builder without which you can't build new homes.
Stephen Miller is the problem.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Stephen Miller is the problem.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 16, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Leo Vanegas, the American citizen that Miller's goons arrested w/o a warrant at a home site twice, is the kind of home builder without which you can't build new homes.
Stephen Miller is the problem.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Stephen Miller is the problem.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Nice story about a bookstore making a difference:
www.csmonitor.com/Books/2025/0...
www.csmonitor.com/Books/2025/0...
‘A sense of belonging.’ How this Boston bookstore changes lives.
More Than Words is a bookstore, but one that does more than sell $3.8 million worth of merchandise a year. It serves young people who are dealing with homelessness or legal challenges and gives them a...
www.csmonitor.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Nice story about a bookstore making a difference:
www.csmonitor.com/Books/2025/0...
www.csmonitor.com/Books/2025/0...
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Horrifying, enraging, but not surprising at this point
"The nation’s largest public funder of the humanities appears to be transforming into a vehicle narrowly tailored to the president’s agenda." Jenny Schuessler at the NYT with a deep dive into what's been happening at #NEH. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/a... [gift link]
Fired Scholars and Big Grants to Favored Projects: Inside Trump’s N.E.H.
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Horrifying, enraging, but not surprising at this point
Couldn’t they just put out a new album
REM will eventually link Montreal Trudeau Airport (airport branch circle) with downtown Montreal in 2027.
November 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Couldn’t they just put out a new album
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Toad just continues to nail it
Toad sat on the edge of his bed. “Blah,” said Toad. “I feel down in the dumps.”
“Why?” asked Frog.
“I am thinking about tomorrow,” said Toad.
“Why?” asked Frog.
“I am thinking about tomorrow,” said Toad.
November 15, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Toad just continues to nail it
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
I'm a retired Navy Chief who has done these counter-drug deployments. I've been calling @repkweisimfume.bsky.social asking him to have a retired Navy captain come testify about how this is supposed to work in front of Congress. He refuses to take action. Please call him.
202-225-4741
202-225-4741
November 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I'm a retired Navy Chief who has done these counter-drug deployments. I've been calling @repkweisimfume.bsky.social asking him to have a retired Navy captain come testify about how this is supposed to work in front of Congress. He refuses to take action. Please call him.
202-225-4741
202-225-4741
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Oreoboros
oh wow that’s crazy
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
November 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Oreoboros
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Thank you for the kind words, Mike! I'm actually writing about Lolita and the Epstein emails right now. Long post to drop shortly.
Since everyone’s talking about Lolita I’ll mention that @andreapitzer.bsky.social, who started warning about mass internments and concentration camps before Trump even took office, also wrote a great book about Nabokov. www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...
The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov
A startling and revelatory examination of Nabokov's lif…
www.goodreads.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Thank you for the kind words, Mike! I'm actually writing about Lolita and the Epstein emails right now. Long post to drop shortly.
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
NEW: DOJ has been in settlement talks with Michael Flynn -- Trump's first national security adviser seeking $50M for his prosecution by ex-special counsel Robert Mueller -- and Stefan Passantino, a Trump I White House lawyer who accused the House Jan. 6 committee of privacy violations
bit.ly/4hWdolc
bit.ly/4hWdolc
November 14, 2025 at 2:22 PM
NEW: DOJ has been in settlement talks with Michael Flynn -- Trump's first national security adviser seeking $50M for his prosecution by ex-special counsel Robert Mueller -- and Stefan Passantino, a Trump I White House lawyer who accused the House Jan. 6 committee of privacy violations
bit.ly/4hWdolc
bit.ly/4hWdolc
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Over the past months (and at least 11 versions!), I was lucky to work with 11 amazing colleagues on a call to action to reform academic publishing.
Not another declaration, but an appeal to our powerful friends, research funders & institutions, to Stop the Drain of Scientific Publishing. 1/n
Not another declaration, but an appeal to our powerful friends, research funders & institutions, to Stop the Drain of Scientific Publishing. 1/n
November 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Over the past months (and at least 11 versions!), I was lucky to work with 11 amazing colleagues on a call to action to reform academic publishing.
Not another declaration, but an appeal to our powerful friends, research funders & institutions, to Stop the Drain of Scientific Publishing. 1/n
Not another declaration, but an appeal to our powerful friends, research funders & institutions, to Stop the Drain of Scientific Publishing. 1/n
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
Internal documents and former company executives revealed how Cigna doctors rejected patients’ claims without opening their files.
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them
Internal documents and former company executives reveal how Cigna doctors reject patients’ claims without opening their files. “We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Internal documents and former company executives revealed how Cigna doctors rejected patients’ claims without opening their files.
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
James Salter, a friend of my dad’s, used to delight in discovering unusual names; I’m sure he put them in his notebooks. Once my father got a letter with his name (Robert Emmett Ginna) misspelled as “Robert Zmitt-Eine.” Salter was ecstatic and thereafter often addressed postcards to him the same way
Novelists rarely confront the variety of surnames. A tranche of documents released this week describes the investigations of Detectives Pagan and Badger, among others.
November 14, 2025 at 3:20 PM
James Salter, a friend of my dad’s, used to delight in discovering unusual names; I’m sure he put them in his notebooks. Once my father got a letter with his name (Robert Emmett Ginna) misspelled as “Robert Zmitt-Eine.” Salter was ecstatic and thereafter often addressed postcards to him the same way