Timothy J Lombardo
@timothyjlombardo.bsky.social
Historian. Professional and personal interests in cities, politics, labor, punk rock, beer, higher ed, and all things Philadelphia. Author, Blue-Collar Conservatism (https://tinyurl.com/587bfhcy). Other projects in the works, probably
Pinned
PROOFS! Next year Penn Press is rereleasing a few Philly-centric titles, including my first book. I’m especially grateful that the new preface allowed me to rethink the book in light of recent politics, both locally and nationally, and to finally write about the Rizzo statue’s removal. More soon! 🗃️
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
December 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
The thing about "complying" with anti-DEI laws is that they are chock full of racist euphemism and designed to fix "problems" that do not actually exist.
You can't comply without validating the racist worldview on which these laws are based.
You can't comply without validating the racist worldview on which these laws are based.
December 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The thing about "complying" with anti-DEI laws is that they are chock full of racist euphemism and designed to fix "problems" that do not actually exist.
You can't comply without validating the racist worldview on which these laws are based.
You can't comply without validating the racist worldview on which these laws are based.
This is so damn depressing www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:57 AM
This is so damn depressing www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
It's genuinely sad that I can no longer muster any shock or surprise at the president saying something so nakedly racist
Trump, continued: "What the Somalian people have done to Minnesota is not even believable. It’s not even believable. And a lot of it starts with the governor. A lot of it starts with Barack HUSSEIN Obama, because that’s when people started coming in... They want to kiss our country good night."
December 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
It's genuinely sad that I can no longer muster any shock or surprise at the president saying something so nakedly racist
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
To be fair, the President never lets anyone be in any doubt that he absolutely does not even pretend to give a shit about any other human being.
November 28, 2025 at 2:23 AM
To be fair, the President never lets anyone be in any doubt that he absolutely does not even pretend to give a shit about any other human being.
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
November 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
The disjunction between what typically happens at institutions of higher ed in the U.S. and so many of the dominant narratives—which depict them as “woke” sites of propaganda transmission, suffering from a lack of variety in methods and approaches, and cauldrons of hatred—is enormous.
November 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The disjunction between what typically happens at institutions of higher ed in the U.S. and so many of the dominant narratives—which depict them as “woke” sites of propaganda transmission, suffering from a lack of variety in methods and approaches, and cauldrons of hatred—is enormous.
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
"fascistically charged language"
-The New York Times (probably)
-The New York Times (probably)
November 20, 2025 at 6:28 PM
"fascistically charged language"
-The New York Times (probably)
-The New York Times (probably)
Dennis Hastert Just Going To Assume He Welcome Back In GOP — theonion.com/dennis-haste...
Dennis Hastert Just Going To Assume He Welcome Back In GOP
theonion.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Dennis Hastert Just Going To Assume He Welcome Back In GOP — theonion.com/dennis-haste...
"...the fear of an 'enemy within,' once unleashed on the world, always returns home. And when it does, the boundary between self-defense and persecution disappears. That is the warning of history, and the reason we must keep telling it whole." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
Opinion | The Lesson We Teach Schoolchildren About the Holocaust Is Wrong
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"...the fear of an 'enemy within,' once unleashed on the world, always returns home. And when it does, the boundary between self-defense and persecution disappears. That is the warning of history, and the reason we must keep telling it whole." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
Nuance isn't a lost art. It's just selectively applied
Megyn Kelly: "I know somebody very close to this case…Jeffrey Epstein, in this person's view, was not a pedophile…He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15 year old girls…He wasn't into like 8 year olds…There's a difference between a 15 year old and a 5 year old."
November 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Nuance isn't a lost art. It's just selectively applied
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
a contribution of my book that I’m proud of: I unravel the myth of good intentions that animates carceral politics and a lot of contemporary liberalism. racist intent matters. harmful outcomes in policymaking matter. www.pennpress.org/978151282349...
This Is My Jail – Penn Press
While state and federal prisons like Attica and Alcatraz occupy a central place in the national consciousness, most incarceration in the United States occurs...
www.pennpress.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
a contribution of my book that I’m proud of: I unravel the myth of good intentions that animates carceral politics and a lot of contemporary liberalism. racist intent matters. harmful outcomes in policymaking matter. www.pennpress.org/978151282349...
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
Let my gravestone read "PUNCTUATION GOES INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS."
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Let my gravestone read "PUNCTUATION GOES INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS."
Evergreen theonion.com/chuck-schume...
Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage
theonion.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Evergreen theonion.com/chuck-schume...
Not only this, but I think people vastly overestimate how many cowards there are in higher ed leadership
As Ta-Nehisi Coates said last month:
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
November 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Not only this, but I think people vastly overestimate how many cowards there are in higher ed leadership
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
An excerpt of my @pennpress.bsky.social book -- on school bonds in Levittown -- was just published in FINANCIAL HISTORY MAGAZINE. 🤑
Freely available here: fhmagazine.org/tRDd/p18/p18.
Freely available here: fhmagazine.org/tRDd/p18/p18.
November 6, 2025 at 1:53 PM
An excerpt of my @pennpress.bsky.social book -- on school bonds in Levittown -- was just published in FINANCIAL HISTORY MAGAZINE. 🤑
Freely available here: fhmagazine.org/tRDd/p18/p18.
Freely available here: fhmagazine.org/tRDd/p18/p18.
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please
OpenAI pirated large numbers of books and used them to train models.
OpenAI then deleted the dataset with the pirated books, and employees sent each other messages about doing so.
A lawsuit could now force the company to pay $150,000 per book, adding up to billions in damages.
OpenAI then deleted the dataset with the pirated books, and employees sent each other messages about doing so.
A lawsuit could now force the company to pay $150,000 per book, adding up to billions in damages.
November 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
The faculty who say we should use AI to grade/give feedback because it's a way for us to "reclaim our time."
Line in the sand.
It isn't our time. It's theirs. If you have such little respect for your students and their time, quit.
Disrespectfully, the rest of us.
Line in the sand.
It isn't our time. It's theirs. If you have such little respect for your students and their time, quit.
Disrespectfully, the rest of us.
November 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
The faculty who say we should use AI to grade/give feedback because it's a way for us to "reclaim our time."
Line in the sand.
It isn't our time. It's theirs. If you have such little respect for your students and their time, quit.
Disrespectfully, the rest of us.
Line in the sand.
It isn't our time. It's theirs. If you have such little respect for your students and their time, quit.
Disrespectfully, the rest of us.
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
More of this please.
“FUCK AI” is turning into a movement.
After his Frankenstein Q&A at the Chinese Theater, Guillermo del Toro asked the audience to scream “FUCK AI.”
After his Frankenstein Q&A at the Chinese Theater, Guillermo del Toro asked the audience to scream “FUCK AI.”
November 2, 2025 at 2:09 AM
More of this please.
You will hear the phrase “benches clear in game 7” for the rest of your baseball watching life
This is the best thing that’s ever happened!!
November 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
You will hear the phrase “benches clear in game 7” for the rest of your baseball watching life
This is the best thing that’s ever happened!!
November 2, 2025 at 1:26 AM
This is the best thing that’s ever happened!!
Reposted by Timothy J Lombardo
The Jays have some insane defense. Like, this is ridiculous
November 2, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The Jays have some insane defense. Like, this is ridiculous