Victor Luftig
@vl1959.bsky.social
English professor, Democrat, Mets fan. Views expressed are my own and not those of my employer or David Stearns.
Reposted by Victor Luftig
Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, a leader in organizing college presidents, has proposed Democracy Summer 2026, evoking the heroic Freedom Summer of 1964 that aimed to advance voting rights in Mississippi, now employed to safeguard the midterm elections. From Bob Kuttner:
The 2026 Elections: Resisting the Rigging - The American Prospect
As Trump becomes more desperate, citizen resistance only grows.
prospect.org
February 17, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, a leader in organizing college presidents, has proposed Democracy Summer 2026, evoking the heroic Freedom Summer of 1964 that aimed to advance voting rights in Mississippi, now employed to safeguard the midterm elections. From Bob Kuttner:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZfL...
Splendid clips of UVA English alums talking about the impact of the major on their lives and careers
Splendid clips of UVA English alums talking about the impact of the major on their lives and careers
What Can You Do with an English Major?
YouTube video by UVA English
www.youtube.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:12 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZfL...
Splendid clips of UVA English alums talking about the impact of the major on their lives and careers
Splendid clips of UVA English alums talking about the impact of the major on their lives and careers
www.instagram.com/reel/DU1-DrF...
Amazing Presidents' Day dance tribute to Renée Good and Alex Pretti by The First Amendment Troop.
Amazing Presidents' Day dance tribute to Renée Good and Alex Pretti by The First Amendment Troop.
February 17, 2026 at 1:41 PM
www.instagram.com/reel/DU1-DrF...
Amazing Presidents' Day dance tribute to Renée Good and Alex Pretti by The First Amendment Troop.
Amazing Presidents' Day dance tribute to Renée Good and Alex Pretti by The First Amendment Troop.
I got to hear Reverend Jackson speak in support of a nascent graduate student in the early 1990s. He was electrifying, and indeed anticipation of his arrival was itself galvanizing. My sense is that he showed up, again and again, to inspire and instruct. He cannot be honored sufficiently.
The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, 10/8/1941–2/17/2026. The first vote I cast in a presidential election was for Rev. Jackson in the 1988 primary. A force for good committed to the promotion of multiracial democracy, he helped define my understanding of racial justice in politics. I grieve his passing.
February 17, 2026 at 1:33 PM
I got to hear Reverend Jackson speak in support of a nascent graduate student in the early 1990s. He was electrifying, and indeed anticipation of his arrival was itself galvanizing. My sense is that he showed up, again and again, to inspire and instruct. He cannot be honored sufficiently.
I don't understand the Olympic scoring in any events except hockey and, I don't know, maybe speed skating, but I definitely get these special election results. virginiamercury.com/2026/02/10/b...
Bennett-Parker wins Va. Senate District 39 special election • Virginia Mercury
Democrat Elizabeth Bennett-Parker won a special election Tuesday to represent Virginia’s 39th Senate District, holding the seat for her party and preserving Democrats’ narrow majority in the chamber a...
virginiamercury.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:26 AM
I don't understand the Olympic scoring in any events except hockey and, I don't know, maybe speed skating, but I definitely get these special election results. virginiamercury.com/2026/02/10/b...
Pre-game score as # of mentions in Epstein files:
Seahawks owner Jody Allen 0 (though she inherited the team from her brother, who's mentioned lots)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft 20 (most or all pertaining to his solicitation indictment--Bannon comes to his defense in an email)
Seahawks owner Jody Allen 0 (though she inherited the team from her brother, who's mentioned lots)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft 20 (most or all pertaining to his solicitation indictment--Bannon comes to his defense in an email)
February 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Pre-game score as # of mentions in Epstein files:
Seahawks owner Jody Allen 0 (though she inherited the team from her brother, who's mentioned lots)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft 20 (most or all pertaining to his solicitation indictment--Bannon comes to his defense in an email)
Seahawks owner Jody Allen 0 (though she inherited the team from her brother, who's mentioned lots)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft 20 (most or all pertaining to his solicitation indictment--Bannon comes to his defense in an email)
I'm good with attention to the halftime show, especially this year, but these great bits of pre-game Super Bowl art should not be forgotten.
blog.ogdennash.org/2009/12/ogde...
blog.ogdennash.org/2009/12/ogde...
Ogden Nash on Baltimore vs. Green Bay
Tonight's NFL Ravens-Packer match-up reminds Rick Johnson of when the Baltimore Colts forced a play-off game with archrival Green Bay 44 ye...
blog.ogdennash.org
February 8, 2026 at 8:09 PM
I'm good with attention to the halftime show, especially this year, but these great bits of pre-game Super Bowl art should not be forgotten.
blog.ogdennash.org/2009/12/ogde...
blog.ogdennash.org/2009/12/ogde...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
"Adults underestimate the power of simply telling a young person to read a book and vouching for it ourselves."
"Adults underestimate the power of simply telling a young person to read a book and vouching for it ourselves."
Stop Meeting Students Where They Are
What I learned when I finally started assigning the hard reading again.
www.theatlantic.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:17 PM
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
"Adults underestimate the power of simply telling a young person to read a book and vouching for it ourselves."
"Adults underestimate the power of simply telling a young person to read a book and vouching for it ourselves."
James Joyce was born on this date in 1882.
poets.org/poem/ecce-puer
poets.org/poem/ecce-puer
Ecce Puer
Of the dark past
poets.org
February 2, 2026 at 4:06 PM
James Joyce was born on this date in 1882.
poets.org/poem/ecce-puer
poets.org/poem/ecce-puer
Anyone can sign this; I think everyone should.
The CSU/OpenAI contract is set to expire June 30, 2026.
Sign this petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/cancel-chatgpt-edu-invest-in-humans/ for the CSU NOT to renew the contract and to use the savings to protect jobs at CSU campuses facing layoffs.
Sign this petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/cancel-chatgpt-edu-invest-in-humans/ for the CSU NOT to renew the contract and to use the savings to protect jobs at CSU campuses facing layoffs.
February 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Anyone can sign this; I think everyone should.
Charlottesville's corporate connections to ICE: a very well-made report.
For @cvilleweekly.bsky.social this week, I looked into GovSmart, the sole company in Charlottesville currently fulfilling contracts with ICE. To their credit, the company talked with me on the record.
Looking deeper into a Charlottesville business fulfilling ICE contracts - C-VILLE Weekly
A recent map of federal contractors working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement included one company from Charlottesville, drawing local attention on social media amid ICE’s brutal actions i...
c-ville.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Charlottesville's corporate connections to ICE: a very well-made report.
UVA English folks: the post is from next week's visiting speaker, and the article cites one of our PhD graduates, Kim Shirkhani.
“The English classroom is increasingly a kind of special place where it’s still possible to converse without the screen.” —Nancy Yousef
yaledailynews.com/articles/eng...
yaledailynews.com/articles/eng...
January 29, 2026 at 6:54 PM
UVA English folks: the post is from next week's visiting speaker, and the article cites one of our PhD graduates, Kim Shirkhani.
Reposted by Victor Luftig
BILLY BRAGG - CITY OF HEROES
YouTube video by Billy Bragg
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:42 PM
"...what would you think
To be thus used? This is the strangers’ case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity."
To be thus used? This is the strangers’ case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity."
January 23, 2026 at 12:46 AM
"...what would you think
To be thus used? This is the strangers’ case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity."
To be thus used? This is the strangers’ case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity."
Battle of the Bans: Narratives of Reading and Engaging with Banned Books, eds, Matthew Panozzo and Paul William Eaton, @myersedpress.bsky.social, seems like an important collection
--due out at the end of the month.
myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/...
--due out at the end of the month.
myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/...
Myers Education Press
myersedpress.presswarehouse.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Battle of the Bans: Narratives of Reading and Engaging with Banned Books, eds, Matthew Panozzo and Paul William Eaton, @myersedpress.bsky.social, seems like an important collection
--due out at the end of the month.
myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/...
--due out at the end of the month.
myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/...
Reposted by Victor Luftig
YOU SHOULD STUDY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
January 22, 2026 at 3:36 AM
YOU SHOULD STUDY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
I'm late getting to this excellent essay, but I recommend it heartily, particularly for its concluding call to action, to which I hope those with the relevant expertise will respond.
Confess I’m upping this at @techpolicypress.bsky.social one last time just for the lede:
“Back last November, 87-year-old American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt the richest man in the world’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.”
techpolicy.press/grok-is-an-e...
“Back last November, 87-year-old American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt the richest man in the world’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.”
techpolicy.press/grok-is-an-e...
Grok is an Epistemic Weapon
Elon Musk's Grok claims to be truth-seeking while shaping discourse and amplifying ideology, argues Matthew Kirschenbaum.
techpolicy.press
January 20, 2026 at 2:41 AM
I'm late getting to this excellent essay, but I recommend it heartily, particularly for its concluding call to action, to which I hope those with the relevant expertise will respond.
They also apparently have in common excellent transition teams and splendid coordination with other governmental entities.
a hot take: there is real overlap between spanberger’s first set of executive orders and mamdani’s www.wtvr.com/news/local-n...
Money, Education, Immigration: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger just signed 10 executive orders
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed 10 executive orders on her first day, targeting cost of living, healthcare, housing and education issues.
www.wtvr.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:50 PM
They also apparently have in common excellent transition teams and splendid coordination with other governmental entities.
Reposted by Victor Luftig
Block instantly.
✅ @icegov.bsky.social has been verified by @bsky.app.
January 17, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Block instantly.
Reposted by Victor Luftig
Oh hell yes, Gov. Spanberger! www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/u... [gift link]
Some U.Va. Board Members Asked to Resign as a Democratic Governor Takes Power
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Oh hell yes, Gov. Spanberger! www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/u... [gift link]
The Clintons' letter is bonkers.
January 14, 2026 at 3:37 AM
The Clintons' letter is bonkers.
Reposted by Victor Luftig
just discovered that all of finnegans wake is up & annotatable as “song lyrics” at genius & now i have to forget that so i can do anything other than read internet randos trying to get to grips with it genius.com/James-joyce-...
James Joyce – Finnegans Wake (Chap. 1.1)
Finnegans Wake is the final novel by Joyce, first published in 1939 after a 17-year composition period in Paris, during which time it was serialized as Work In Progress. A heavily
genius.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:15 PM
just discovered that all of finnegans wake is up & annotatable as “song lyrics” at genius & now i have to forget that so i can do anything other than read internet randos trying to get to grips with it genius.com/James-joyce-...
This Great Blue Heron has for weeks been competing, unafraid, with the local fishing folk.
January 13, 2026 at 9:04 PM
This Great Blue Heron has for weeks been competing, unafraid, with the local fishing folk.
"Prestigious universities...can continue to select students already trained to succeed in their existing environments, or they can do the harder work of asking whether their environments themselves need to change to nurture all talents."
The test of a great university is not whether it attracts those already trained to succeed, but whether it can recognise and cultivate potential wherever it exists. At a time of deepening opportunity divides, that distinction has never mattered more.”
"Doubtless, there is a case for making social class a legally protected characteristic, forcing institutions to confront discrimination more directly." #highered #academicsky
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 10, 2026 at 12:58 PM
"Prestigious universities...can continue to select students already trained to succeed in their existing environments, or they can do the harder work of asking whether their environments themselves need to change to nurture all talents."