Ted McCormick
@tedmccormick.bsky.social
Historian of scientific, economic and colonial projects in early modern Britain, Ireland, and the Atlantic; books http://bit.ly/3HYwNiA & http://bit.ly/3rKdAvt; http://memoriousblog.com; views mine; he/him. Montrealer in Philly, except when I’m in Montreal
Pinned
“Can the candidate see the big picture of life?” is not something people who can see the big picture of life would ever ask
It’s letter-of-recommendation season again, when universities ask me to rate a 21 year old student’s ability to “see the big picture of life” while I eat leftover pasta in a Tupperware…
a man with a mustache says but why in yellow letters
ALT: a man with a mustache says but why in yellow letters
media.tenor.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:03 PM
“Can the candidate see the big picture of life?” is not something people who can see the big picture of life would ever ask
Nothing in his life became him like his side’s reaction to the leaving it
one thing about this is that in the wake of all of this kirk is basically forgotten. he was barely cold in the ground before his allies — before his *wife* — started scheming over what they could take for themselves. a real life parable.
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 19, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Nothing in his life became him like his side’s reaction to the leaving it
Unlike the various cases made in its columns, the case for not giving money to the NYT only ever grows stronger
Bret Stephens and the NYT played major roles in manufacturing consent for the Iraq War.
Now they appear to be running the same playbook on Venezuela.
Now they appear to be running the same playbook on Venezuela.
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Unlike the various cases made in its columns, the case for not giving money to the NYT only ever grows stronger
Reposted by Ted McCormick
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, you are a liar. You must be stopped by decent people
November 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, you are a liar. You must be stopped by decent people
Reposted by Ted McCormick
This year, the John Ben Snow Prize is awarded to Melissa Reynolds for her book Reading Practice: The Pursuit of Natural Knowledge from Manuscript to Print. Congrats @melkatrey.bsky.social !! 👏 @uchicagopress.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
This year, the John Ben Snow Prize is awarded to Melissa Reynolds for her book Reading Practice: The Pursuit of Natural Knowledge from Manuscript to Print. Congrats @melkatrey.bsky.social !! 👏 @uchicagopress.bsky.social
YUL-PHL in a cool 7.5 hours
November 16, 2025 at 8:00 PM
YUL-PHL in a cool 7.5 hours
none of this creeping fascism should be allowed to become normal and yet the moral shock of normal people towards it is also clearly part of what fuels its fans’ enthusiasm
November 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
none of this creeping fascism should be allowed to become normal and yet the moral shock of normal people towards it is also clearly part of what fuels its fans’ enthusiasm
Reposted by Ted McCormick
A modest proposal for university leadership: over the past 50 years local and federal governments gave up funding them enough to do their jobs. So leadership had to become a wing of fundraising: boards and presidents were there to please donors. But we haven't drawn the logical conclusion: 1/4
i remain shocked at just how badly elite higher ed admins have stewarded universities. these presidents and chancellors and provosts, supposedly accomplished people, have collectively overseen a staggering nationwide collapse in every respect.
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
November 16, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A modest proposal for university leadership: over the past 50 years local and federal governments gave up funding them enough to do their jobs. So leadership had to become a wing of fundraising: boards and presidents were there to please donors. But we haven't drawn the logical conclusion: 1/4
It Could Happen to You: picking up the the most absurdly perfect-sounding niche history to find it’s actually by a literature scholar
November 16, 2025 at 2:24 PM
It Could Happen to You: picking up the the most absurdly perfect-sounding niche history to find it’s actually by a literature scholar
my one-hour flight has been delayed five hours and a marriage (not mine) appears to be coming apart over it
November 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
my one-hour flight has been delayed five hours and a marriage (not mine) appears to be coming apart over it
Proust had his madeleines;
November 16, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Proust had his madeleines;
Counterpoint: Their reasons for voting don’t need to become mine. If they feel betrayed, let them vote on that; they shouldn’t need my coddling
November 16, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Counterpoint: Their reasons for voting don’t need to become mine. If they feel betrayed, let them vote on that; they shouldn’t need my coddling
Fundraising and brand management do not equip people for fights
i remain shocked at just how badly elite higher ed admins have stewarded universities. these presidents and chancellors and provosts, supposedly accomplished people, have collectively overseen a staggering nationwide collapse in every respect.
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
November 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Fundraising and brand management do not equip people for fights
All the Bonds should rise up and put their authors on trial, like the characters in At Swim-Two-Birds. Then they and we will be free
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
All the Bonds should rise up and put their authors on trial, like the characters in At Swim-Two-Birds. Then they and we will be free
aliens will look first at the barren earth and then at the archives of our civilization and conclude that we consumed all the pretty animals making ads for cars and phones
November 16, 2025 at 11:16 AM
aliens will look first at the barren earth and then at the archives of our civilization and conclude that we consumed all the pretty animals making ads for cars and phones
Reposted by Ted McCormick
To suggest that having lived a life so grim that even an English tribunal will grant you asylum, and to have somehow managed to get here at great risk to life, is a "golden ticket" is absolutely fucking contemptible. Shame on this so-called Labour Party.
November 15, 2025 at 11:47 PM
To suggest that having lived a life so grim that even an English tribunal will grant you asylum, and to have somehow managed to get here at great risk to life, is a "golden ticket" is absolutely fucking contemptible. Shame on this so-called Labour Party.
I have not seen such a generalized embrace of simple and explicit xenophobia in my lifetime
Illegal migration is ‘tearing our country apart’ and system is broken, says Shabana Mahmood – UK politics live
Illegal migration is ‘tearing our country apart’ and system is broken, says Shabana Mahmood – UK politics live
Home secretary says it is ‘moral mission’ for her to tackle asylum system
Ukrainians are in the UK on a “bespoke scheme”, Mahmood says, and it is on a temporary basis.
If Ukraine becomes a safe country again and the conflict ends, “the principle of the new reforms are that if your country becomes safe then you will return,” she says. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:14 AM
I have not seen such a generalized embrace of simple and explicit xenophobia in my lifetime
It’s a hard enough thing to lose home; think what the spite of new neighbours must add
November 16, 2025 at 10:07 AM
It’s a hard enough thing to lose home; think what the spite of new neighbours must add
Li Qingzhao (1084-1151), trans. Wendy Chen
November 16, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Li Qingzhao (1084-1151), trans. Wendy Chen
Reposted by Ted McCormick
Conferences, or whatever your professional domain’s equivalent communal gathering happens to be, are a fundamentally load-bearing aspect of building anything worthwhile at scale. Just excellent to feel like one amidst a host of likeminded people largely pulling in the same direction.
November 16, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Conferences, or whatever your professional domain’s equivalent communal gathering happens to be, are a fundamentally load-bearing aspect of building anything worthwhile at scale. Just excellent to feel like one amidst a host of likeminded people largely pulling in the same direction.
big “Chinese military exercises off Taiwan” vibes. any word from the press on whether that’s bad?
The country's largest aircraft carrier is expected to join thousands of service members in the northern Caribbean Sunday. But it's unclear if President Trump will use military force. n.pr/47XHvV3
U.S. official says the 'table is being set' for possible military action against Venezuela
The country's largest aircraft carrier is expected to join thousands of service members in the northern Caribbean Sunday. But it's unclear if President Trump will use military force.
n.pr
November 15, 2025 at 8:49 PM
big “Chinese military exercises off Taiwan” vibes. any word from the press on whether that’s bad?
Reposted by Ted McCormick
"one day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this"
‘We Should’ve Done More’: Kamala Harris Slams Biden Admin Over Netanyahu Support and Praises Pro-Palestine Protesters
‘We Should’ve Done More’: Kamala Harris Slams Biden Admin Over Netanyahu Support and Praises Pro-Palestine Protesters
Kamala Harris criticized Joe Biden's Administration, saying they should have been more willing to publicly criticize Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over Gaza
The post ‘We Should’ve Done More’: Kamala Harris Slams Biden Admin Over Netanyahu Support and Praises Pro-Palestine Protesters first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
November 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
"one day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this"
Government has become too political
A final decision on how to repair Britain’s crumbling parliament is likely to be postponed beyond the next general election, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Final decision on fate of crumbling UK parliament delayed to 2030s
It’s a fire-hazard that’s prone to tumbling masonry — but fear of a public backlash is again delaying repairs to the world famous building.
www.politico.eu
November 15, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Government has become too political
Reposted by Ted McCormick
This looks so good ! Congratulations @whitmerkelly.bsky.social , @tedmccormick.bsky.social , Vera Keller & everyone involved!
#HistKnow
#HistKnow
In the early 18th century, German-speaking planners placed work as a precondition for helping young people reach happiness. What role could institutions play to facilitate this pursuit? Read more from Professor Kelly Whitmer's full Special Issue article: journalhistoryknowledge.org/article/view...
November 14, 2025 at 12:38 PM
This looks so good ! Congratulations @whitmerkelly.bsky.social , @tedmccormick.bsky.social , Vera Keller & everyone involved!
#HistKnow
#HistKnow
Canada in one news day
November 14, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Canada in one news day