Sam Crane
@uselesstree.bsky.social
I teach contemporary PRC politics and ancient Chinese philosophy at Williams College. Currently Director of Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford.
Glaringly clear that Gelernter, in defending this, is a moral failure.
This is disgusting, and the explanation does *not* help. Anyone who says discussing a student’s looks is ever appropriate in a reference or letter of recommendation needs a remedial course in basic professional ethics. (And probably a Title IX investigation).
yaledailynews.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Glaringly clear that Gelernter, in defending this, is a moral failure.
Yes. Keep those Everton interlopers out of the cottage!
@mikeygow.bsky.social
@mikeygow.bsky.social
Everton’s approach for Harry Wilson turned down
https://www.eucup.com/1492205/
Everton have had an offer for Harry Wilson turned down by Fulham who are hesitant to let him leave this winter. “It is understood the Toffees made an approach for the 28-year-old last week, but it was turned down by …
https://www.eucup.com/1492205/
Everton have had an offer for Harry Wilson turned down by Fulham who are hesitant to let him leave this winter. “It is understood the Toffees made an approach for the 28-year-old last week, but it was turned down by …
Everton’s approach for Harry Wilson turned down - European Football - EUCUP.COM
Everton have had an offer for Harry Wilson turned down by Fulham who are hesitant to let him leave this winter.
www.eucup.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Yes. Keep those Everton interlopers out of the cottage!
@mikeygow.bsky.social
@mikeygow.bsky.social
Bad bad bad.
Yale prof David Gelernter defends his letter urging Epstein to hire "v small goodlooking blonde" student by saying that he was "keep[ing] the potential boss's habits in mind."
This creep shouldn't be allowed anywhere near students.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
This creep shouldn't be allowed anywhere near students.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
February 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Bad bad bad.
Not terribly surprising since Kuhn is a consummate bootlicker.
Good day #EpsteinFiles watchers. #RobertKuhn a "longtime counsellor to China’s leaders" as he calls himself is mentioned 696 times. The Files include several meetings he had with #Epstein. Since #RobertKuhn is close to #XiJinping was he a go between them. Journalists should check!
February 5, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Not terribly surprising since Kuhn is a consummate bootlicker.
Reposted by Sam Crane
Sometimes you have to say it out loud to appreciate how dire t all is:
The president just openly declared his plans to steal the midterm elections — in an interview with the former number two person at the FBI.
The president just openly declared his plans to steal the midterm elections — in an interview with the former number two person at the FBI.
Trump: "These people were brought to our country to vote, & they vote illegally. The Republicans should say, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that I won that show I didn't win. You're gonna see something in Georgia"
February 2, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Sometimes you have to say it out loud to appreciate how dire t all is:
The president just openly declared his plans to steal the midterm elections — in an interview with the former number two person at the FBI.
The president just openly declared his plans to steal the midterm elections — in an interview with the former number two person at the FBI.
Chonk
February 2, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Chonk
something something something Both Sides something something
Is this viewpoint diversity
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
February 2, 2026 at 11:46 AM
something something something Both Sides something something
"the relevant party"
Seems like they can't quite figure out who to scream at.
Seems like they can't quite figure out who to scream at.
The Dalai Lama won the Grammy Award for "Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording"
Didn't take long for Beijing to respond: “We firmly oppose the relevant party using the award as a tool for anti-China political manipulation"
Didn't take long for Beijing to respond: “We firmly oppose the relevant party using the award as a tool for anti-China political manipulation"
February 2, 2026 at 11:37 AM
"the relevant party"
Seems like they can't quite figure out who to scream at.
Seems like they can't quite figure out who to scream at.
This is who runs this account
February 1, 2026 at 7:21 PM
This is who runs this account
Wow. So many sucking up for the money and looking the other way when human trafficking and forced prostitution is right there in front of them.
I’m trying not to be impulsive in my commentary so I’m just posting this story without offering any of the comments that I could readily make about it
But 2014 is after 2007
But 2014 is after 2007
Harvard Professor Lisa Randall Maintained Years of Contact with Epstein, Flew on Jet | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard professor Lisa J. Randall ’84 maintained years of contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein — exchanging emails and phone calls and flying on his private jet in 2014 — according t...
www.thecrimson.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Wow. So many sucking up for the money and looking the other way when human trafficking and forced prostitution is right there in front of them.
New York City ca. 2027
With repressions intensifying, Georgians are still coming out in large numbers.
Day 430 of daily, uninterrupted protests.
Day 430 of daily, uninterrupted protests.
February 1, 2026 at 3:30 PM
New York City ca. 2027
Wait.
It's a complex text regardless of Californian mis-readings.
Passages 30 and 31 counsel restraint in the use of force, in a manner that illuminates the excesses of Trumpist violence.
Passage 74 is plausibly anti death penalty.
1/
It's a complex text regardless of Californian mis-readings.
Passages 30 and 31 counsel restraint in the use of force, in a manner that illuminates the excesses of Trumpist violence.
Passage 74 is plausibly anti death penalty.
1/
extremely funny that Western readers keep thinking the Dao De Jing, a brutally cynical text whenever it covers politics, is anti-authoritarian because Californians like it.
February 1, 2026 at 10:27 AM
Wait.
It's a complex text regardless of Californian mis-readings.
Passages 30 and 31 counsel restraint in the use of force, in a manner that illuminates the excesses of Trumpist violence.
Passage 74 is plausibly anti death penalty.
1/
It's a complex text regardless of Californian mis-readings.
Passages 30 and 31 counsel restraint in the use of force, in a manner that illuminates the excesses of Trumpist violence.
Passage 74 is plausibly anti death penalty.
1/
Given his public posturing, Christakis should explain himself for all to hear.
(Probably won’t happen)
(Probably won’t happen)
I guess the best-available defense to this sort of thing—lots of friendly emails and visits with someone recently convicted of procuring a child for the purposes of prostitution, I mean—is something like “He seemed to have lots of money and connections and I would have liked a little piece of that”
January 31, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Given his public posturing, Christakis should explain himself for all to hear.
(Probably won’t happen)
(Probably won’t happen)
No such list is complete without power couple Larry Summers and Elisa New.
Epstein's Academics Hall of Shame here:
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/
January 31, 2026 at 9:49 PM
No such list is complete without power couple Larry Summers and Elisa New.
tell me five classes you took in college:
Urban Life in China
Nature, Man and the Tao
Marxist Political Economy
Politics of Art
Beginning Yoga (it was the 70s!)
Urban Life in China
Nature, Man and the Tao
Marxist Political Economy
Politics of Art
Beginning Yoga (it was the 70s!)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Sage, the Way, and Zen
Shakespeare
Religion and Modern Secularism
Creative Fiction Writing
International Political Economy
Pleasantly surprised how many of these classes proved useful later in life.
Sage, the Way, and Zen
Shakespeare
Religion and Modern Secularism
Creative Fiction Writing
International Political Economy
Pleasantly surprised how many of these classes proved useful later in life.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
January 31, 2026 at 10:44 AM
tell me five classes you took in college:
Urban Life in China
Nature, Man and the Tao
Marxist Political Economy
Politics of Art
Beginning Yoga (it was the 70s!)
Urban Life in China
Nature, Man and the Tao
Marxist Political Economy
Politics of Art
Beginning Yoga (it was the 70s!)
Wouldn't it be smarter for Starmer to frame the China trip as more in line with standard international relations - periodic visits and negotiations between leaders of powerful states - rather than hyping it as "historic"?
This is simply what states do.
1/
This is simply what states do.
1/
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer concludes an official visit to China on Saturday - a four-day tour of Beijing and Shanghai that he described as "historic". In full: buff.ly/g5gNE09
Elephants and football diplomacy on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'historic' China trip | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer concludes an official visit to China on Saturday — a four-day tour of Beijing and Shanghai that he described as “historic”. While in the country, Starmer discussed...
buff.ly
January 31, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Wouldn't it be smarter for Starmer to frame the China trip as more in line with standard international relations - periodic visits and negotiations between leaders of powerful states - rather than hyping it as "historic"?
This is simply what states do.
1/
This is simply what states do.
1/
But tell us what you really think.
REVIEW | Melania Trump is a scowling void of pure nothingness in her ghastly film
Melania Trump is a scowling void of pure nothingness in her ghastly film – review
www.independent.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:16 PM
But tell us what you really think.
And you thought China’s social credit score system was repressive.
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:41 PM
And you thought China’s social credit score system was repressive.
We yearn for Thermidor
I think it’s time for something of enduring legacy from Trump. Maybe a new calendar with the number of months determined by the number of people prepared to offer him $10 billion each to have a month named after them? Muskuary, Bevosuary etc.
January 30, 2026 at 10:59 AM
We yearn for Thermidor
You would think that he would understand that how the regime treats him personally, extending small courtesies, is not a measure of the broader repression of the political system as a whole.
"He complains that German society is cold and bureaucratic, that he cannot open an account in Switzerland, that banks in Germany have closed his accounts more than once—while a Beijing bank reactivated an account that had been dormant for years within minutes".
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Paradox of Ai Weiwei’s Return to China
Zhong Nansong (锺南松)
substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:10 AM
You would think that he would understand that how the regime treats him personally, extending small courtesies, is not a measure of the broader repression of the political system as a whole.
I think these are not low probability events but quite likely. Nothing in the political or personal profiles of Johnson and Vance suggests that they would act with traditional constitutional restraint.
And again yes, the House dissolves & there is a new one. And again, when the GOP House majority refuses to allow that on invented grounds of fraud & JD Vance refuses to seat newly elected D Senators, what is the plan? Yes, these may be low probability events...and again, what is the plan?
Who will stop Mike Johnson & J.D. Vance from refusing to accept the credentials/certified election results from Reps & Senators in blue states in Jan 2027? This is a sincere question. Nothing we've seen so far suggests Article I is operating to constrain Trump at all
www.senate.gov/artandhistor...
www.senate.gov/artandhistor...
January 29, 2026 at 7:58 AM
I think these are not low probability events but quite likely. Nothing in the political or personal profiles of Johnson and Vance suggests that they would act with traditional constitutional restraint.
Yes. Perfectly consistent with a trajectory of authoritarian take over.
Pay attention to this. The purpose of these investigations is not just to manufacture evidence to support Trump’s 2020 “voter fraud” accusations, but also to set the stage for another round of efforts to suppress votes and delegitimize election results in 2026 (which the GOP is likely to lose).
1/ NEW: @propublica.org has obtained a search warrant that the FBI is executing for records related to the contested 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., which has not yet been widely shared. It’s an extraordinary document.
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
January 29, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Yes. Perfectly consistent with a trajectory of authoritarian take over.
Our daily reminder:
Trump is mentally ill and must be removed from office as soon as possible.
Trump is mentally ill and must be removed from office as soon as possible.
Slovak PM Robert Fico was left shocked by Donald Trump’s state of mind after a recent meeting with him, he told his European counterparts at a summit last week, according to five diplomats briefed on the conversation.
European leader spoke of shock at Trump’s state of mind after Mar-a-Lago meeting
The Slovak PM, a Trump ally, told leaders at last week’s EU summit he was concerned about the way the U.S. president spoke to him, European diplomats said.
www.politico.eu
January 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Our daily reminder:
Trump is mentally ill and must be removed from office as soon as possible.
Trump is mentally ill and must be removed from office as soon as possible.
No.
Conservatives exaggerated the problem; stoked racist fears; and embraced authoritarianism.
Conservatives exaggerated the problem; stoked racist fears; and embraced authoritarianism.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“The Trump administration was entirely correct to prioritize deportations after the collapse of immigration enforcement under his predecessors,” our columnist Ross Douthat writes, but “misplaced priorities and excessive brutality have created a debacle.”
“The Trump administration was entirely correct to prioritize deportations after the collapse of immigration enforcement under his predecessors,” our columnist Ross Douthat writes, but “misplaced priorities and excessive brutality have created a debacle.”
Opinion | Immigration Enforcement Is Unavoidably Upsetting. But This Is Something Else.
Is this really the only way to enforce the law?
nyti.ms
January 28, 2026 at 12:04 PM
No.
Conservatives exaggerated the problem; stoked racist fears; and embraced authoritarianism.
Conservatives exaggerated the problem; stoked racist fears; and embraced authoritarianism.