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doctorsyntax.bsky.social
DoctorSyntax
@doctorsyntax.bsky.social
1.4K followers 730 following 860 posts
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
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Reposted by DoctorSyntax
meidastouch.com
Donald Trump is now reposting videos on Truth Social suggesting that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had Melissa Hortman assassinated.

This is objectively evil, and calling it out should not be political.
January 3, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
notalawyer.bsky.social
first as tragedy then as farce. then as farce again. then farce one more time. a little more farce after that. then some farce. and then another farce and more farce after
July 11, 2024 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
cristianfarias.com
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
Twitter thread in Spanish by José Mario de la Garza, a human rights lawyer in Mexico, translated using Google Translate: 1. Overthrowing a dictator sounds morally right. No one mourns a tyrant. But international law wasn't built to protect the good, but to restrain the powerful. That's why it prohibits force almost without exception: not because it ignores injustice, but because it knows that if each country decides whom to "liberate" by force, the world reverts to the law of the strongest. 2. The problem is not Maduro. The problem is the precedent. When military force is used to change governments without clear rules, sovereignty ceases to be a limit and becomes an obstacle. Today it is “overthrowing a dictator”; tomorrow it will be “correcting an election,” “protecting interests,” “restoring order.” The law does not absolve dictatorships, but neither does it legitimize unilateral crusades. Cont’d: 3. The uncomfortable question is not whether a tyrant deserves to fall, but who decides when and how. Because history teaches something brutal: removing a dictator is easy; building justice afterward is not. And when legality is broken in the name of good, what almost always follows is not freedom, but chaos, violence, and new victims. The law exists to remind us of this, even when it makes us uncomfortable. Maduro isn't the problem: he's the face of the problem. Removing him from power would be merely opening the door. Behind him is the machine: Rodríguez, Cabello, the military command, the operators of repression and plunder. If you only change the person at the top and leave the system intact, what follows isn't democracy: it's a reshuffling. And there's something even more difficult: Chavismo didn't just capture institutions, it captured daily life. Economy, media, bureaucracy, employment, fear, favors, blackmail. A country can't be "de-Chavistaized" by decree or by an electoral miracle. The real transition begins when that network is broken without setting the country ablaze. The challenge is enormous, and it's also a moral one: to unite without vengeance, but without impunity. Targeted justice for those most responsible, truth for the victims, guarantees that the rest will dismantle the system, and a plan for people to live again—not just survive. Because freedom doesn't come with a new president: it comes when the state ceases to be a threat.
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
I want some of those Sugar Waffers
marcie808.bsky.social Marcie808 @marcie808.bsky.social · 26d
I hope that the Roosevelt Field Airport Diner looks just like the diner in The Rocketeer.
Just imagine Amelia Earhart having a 10¢ cheeseburger and nickel Coke while they’re gassing up her plane
(It’s a mall now)

Roosevelt Field Airport Diner
Long Island, NY 1920s
#VintageMenus
January 2, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
mbkplus.bsky.social
NYer cartoon: "These smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers like us. Who thinks I should fly the plane?"
January 2, 2026 at 2:27 PM
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wesleymorgan.bsky.social
I insist that you watch this video released by the government of the republic of Somaliland about a visit by the AFRICOM commander *with sound on* because the music is delightful
January 2, 2026 at 2:14 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Can I be sworn in on a DVD of DUCK SOUP? Or even better, a 35mm print of it
a black and white photo of a group of men in suits
Alt: Groucho Marx in the film Duck Soup
media.tenor.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
profbrucedorsey.bsky.social
This is brilliant! Check out the website: www.trumpkennedycenter.org

"A national cultural center dedicated to legacy, loyalty, and the careful presentation of history... What is remembered matters. What is omitted matters more."

... gift article from The NY Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/u...
Trump Has Renamed the Kennedy Center, but a Satirist Owns the URL
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
tj-stiles.bsky.social
Trump has done many terrible things this term. None has been worse than his pardon of his private army that stormed the Capitol to overturn the election of 2020.

This superb podcast sheds new light on one of the darkest days in our history.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Not a peaceful protest: Part 1 of 2
Podcast Episode · Trump's Terms · 12/29/2025 · 44m
podcasts.apple.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Important read on “Somali fraudsters” in MN
daveweigel.bsky.social Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 9d
I feel like "attention hacking" is most of politics now. The Minnesota aid fraud story is becoming a perfect example.

Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
December 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Heard this story 30 years ago and have never forgotten it.
pizzacook.bsky.social Pizza and Pasta the Homemade Way @pizzacook.bsky.social · 12d
Pia Zadora once appeared in a theatrical production of The Diary of Anne Frank as the title character and her performance was so disliked that, when the Nazis came on stage, an audience member shouted, "She's in the attic!"
December 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
ryanlcooper.com
got into their Sweden nonsense here
COVID Contrarians Are Wrong About Sweden - The American Prospect
Trying to ‘let it rip’ in early 2020 was a disaster.
prospect.org
December 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
parkermolloy.com
Recently stumbled upon this Instagram account that's just a guy who lives in a downtown Chicago high rise throwing paper airplanes out his window. Dudes rock, tbh www.instagram.com/reel/DR3CmxB...
December 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Bookstores ain't dead yet:
www.bisnow.com/national/new...
After Decades Of Decline, Bookstores Are Writing A Comeback Story
More than 400 independent bookstores opened this year, a 24% increase from 2024.
www.bisnow.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:38 AM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
This is your feelgood video of the day
paulscheer.com Paul Scheer @paulscheer.com · 14d
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
December 23, 2025 at 11:32 PM
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colincarlson.bsky.social
what rough grinch slouches towards Whoville
December 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
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kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Absolutely right.

AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.

Let me illustrate …
spdbump.bsky.social David M Weigel @spdbump.bsky.social · 16d
Not a historian but like to research. The AI might summarize what I'm looking for, but it doesn't find what I'm *not* looking for. The book on the shelf next to the one I wanted. The insight in chapter 6 based on the quote I needed from chapter 4.
December 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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adamserwer.bsky.social
I think bigotry has become a kind of loyalty ritual among young republicans, it’s how you show you’re one of them www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Racial Slurs and Nazi Symbols: Inside the Complaint That Shut Down The Harvard Salient | News | The Harvard Crimson
Screenshots and message logs obtained by The Crimson appear to show Salient leaders casually using racial slurs, defending extremist rhetoric, and dismissing internal concerns — conversations that lat...
www.thecrimson.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:44 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
A writer friend made MG’s words into a lovely poem, but I went her one better (or worse) and made this into a limerick:

 “Vitality’s what you have got
And blocking it’s what you must not.
It just ain’t your business
How shitty your work is!”
As Agnes has never forgot.

#writing #art #words2liveby
samthielman.com CHOAM Nomsky @samthielman.com · 18d
As told by the late dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille.
The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly: "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. As for you, Agnes, you have so far used about one-third of your talent."
December 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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nikolajbill.bsky.social
We are ruled by a Satanic death cult.
Tweet by Homeland Secu. & @DHS... • g g... This Christmas, our hearts grow as our illegal population shrinks. Christmas After (Mass Deportarions
December 20, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
samthielman.com
As told by the late dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille.
The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly: "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. As for you, Agnes, you have so far used about one-third of your talent."
December 20, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Reposted by DoctorSyntax
paulduane.bsky.social
don't put it in the papers that me mad
mobydickatsea.bsky.social Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 17d
They think me mad
December 20, 2025 at 7:47 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
What the

🗃️
lmacthompson1.bsky.social Lauren MacIvor Thompson @lmacthompson1.bsky.social · 17d
Hey OAH members. There's a post on Facebook that requires us to object. I did. Screenshot of post below and screenshots of email I sent to OAH leadership following.
December 20, 2025 at 7:18 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
100%
bcdreyer.social Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 17d
#copyediting

One of those "I didn't learn it till very late, and now that I know it I follow the rules, even though I really don't care, and lots of people do it the 'wrong' way" things:

set foot in ✅

step foot in ❌
December 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
doctorsyntax.bsky.social
From the “we need some more things to spend ridiculous amounts of money on” school of interior decorating
December 20, 2025 at 4:54 PM