ProfGadfly
profgadfly.bsky.social
ProfGadfly
@profgadfly.bsky.social
Historian, podcaster (isn't everyone?), ex-professor, Canadian and American, consumer of ridiculous amounts of tv and film, grumpy person. https://liesagreedupon.com/
Let's pick this story apart, shall we? First of all, the photo:

He's a terrible colleague. He fulfills his service obligations so poorly, junior colleagues are stuck redoing most of it.

The admins hate him. He never fills out travel paperwork properly, doesn't respond to emails. Jams the copier.
how long before former grad students start coming forward or conference attendees and co-authors
Womp, as they say, womp
February 12, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Bondi’s grand strategy for the hearing was

“I know you are, but what am I!?!?”

And “oh yeah!?! You’re not the boss of me!”
one thing that comes across in these clips is that bondi is totally out of her depth. just an absolute lightweight. barely sentient.
holy shit -- Bondi's new tactic is refusing to answer Democratic questions, then using time during the next Republican questioner to smear the previous Democratic member and accuse them of being complicit in violence crimes
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
When I heard today that Bud Cort had died, it struck me how much Harold and Maude is a historical record. The film captures a moment in American culture that's so alien to today, I wouldn't even know where to begin to explain it. And it's Cort and Gordon who have kept that moment alive in our minds.
Bud Cort, ‘Harold and Maude’ Star, Dies at 77
Bud Cort, who starred in 'Harold and Maude" and "Brewster McCloud," died Wednesday. He was 77.
variety.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:24 PM
So the jobs report is basically:

Hiring was higher than expected!*
Unemployment down!**

*Hiring numbers for every previous month of this administration have had to be revised down because they were wrong when they were announced.

**Because of that, unemployment data can't be trusted either.
February 11, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Just heartbreaking.
Mayor of Tumbler Ridge Darryl Krakowka: "I will know every victim. I've been here 19 years ... I don't call them residents, I call them family." www.youtube.com/live/-SIOpuE...
🔴 LIVE: 10 dead, including suspect, in mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
YouTube video by CBC News
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
The billionaire owner of a bridge connecting Michigan with Canada met Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, on Monday hours before President Trump lambasted a competing span.
Before Trump Blasted U.S.-Canada Bridge, Owner of Competing Span Lobbied Administration
A Detroit billionaire met with Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, hours before President Trump said he would block the opening of a new bridge connecting Detroit to Canada, officials said.
nyti.ms
February 11, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
Edith Clarke, the first professional female electrical engineer in the US, was born #OTD in 1883.

+ Invented the Clarke calculator to solve electric power transmission problems faster
+ First woman to earn an MS in electrical engineering (EE) at MIT, 1919
+ First woman EE professor, US #WomenInSTEM
February 10, 2026 at 2:18 PM
I mean, yeah.

Exactly.

"Once you've made financial commitments and signed contracts for the next batch, it's always more complicated to go back."
Canada discreetly puts money down on 14 additional F-35s | CBC News
Ottawa has started to make payments for key components for 14 additional U.S.-built F-35s, even as the Carney government has been reviewing future fighter-jet purchases in the context of trade tension...
www.cbc.ca
February 10, 2026 at 8:31 PM
#IsmuasMonthOfMusic
#MusicChallenge

Day 10: A perfect song for dancing

Paul Simon - Late in the Evening
Paul Simon - Late in the Evening (Official Video)
YouTube video by PaulSimonVEVO
www.youtube.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Hereskevych wearing a special helmet at the Olympics.

It’s painted with the faces of Ukrainian top athletes killed by Russia in the war, including:
February 9, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
This is gender.
Living in this country, it’s just a reality that the left and liberals are expected to do more and uphold more. I don’t know how you can come away with any other conclusion than that when you flip the script on the above premise.
February 9, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
Remember when we thought Sarah Palin was the dumbest person in politics

Good times.
February 8, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
It's not even midnight and we're already at "Deport Elmo."
February 9, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Horrifying.
Trump Opens Marine National Monument in Atlantic to Commercial Fishing www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/c...
What a Fkng pri*k, he’s destroying everything that’s established to help our environment from assholes like him.
Trump Opens Marine National Monument in Atlantic to Commercial Fishing
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:58 AM
"The department’s work force declined by 8 percent between November 2024 and November 2025"

U.S. attorneys’ offices lost 14 percent of their head count, dropping from 11,863 to 10,154. That was a staggering one-year reduction."

Why isn't it triple that!?!
Demanding Support for Trump, Justice Dept. Struggles to Recruit Prosecutors
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Still seems a bit high. But this is what everyone should tweet at him every time he makes one of his "I'm going to train hamsters to build an underwater civilization out of nano-algae and we'll all move in next month" predictions.
Just going to leave this here…
February 9, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
Please support this petition calling for a parliamentary investigation into foreign (American) interference in our country. It is sponsored by my former colleague Don Davies

www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
Petition e-7133 - Petitions
www.ourcommons.ca
February 7, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
The Wright Museums Instagram page is HILARIOUS. Think The Office but it's the staff at a Museum for Black History. Better believe this is on my list of places to visit.
Gentle Spades
"I'm a veteran"
February 6, 2026 at 8:23 AM
#ismuasmonthofmusic
#MusicChallenge
#MusicSky

Day 6 - A song with no clear chorus

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
YouTube video by chartrand
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
One thing the Epstein stuff has made clear yet again is that awful men believe that all men are awful.
February 5, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Amazing what can happen in countries that don't have the Citizens United decision.
Excellent news.
February 5, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Epstein had merch. And Mandelson apparently went for the ¼ zip. He might have the cap, the mug, and the key ring too.

Not AI. Verified. The Telegraph, 2009.
losing my mind at this photo, it's literally the 'my t-shirt' meme
February 5, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by ProfGadfly
“But what do you want Democrats to do….”

I don’t know stuff like this?
NEW: Letitia James, the New York attorney general, announced that her office will deploy "legal observers" to document ICE activity in NY.

Her office says the effort is the first of its kind by an AG.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/n...
New York Attorney General to Deploy Observers to Document ICE Raids
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:21 AM