Jan McVicker

Jan McVicker

@jmcvicker.bsky.social

Professor, SUNY (English, INDS) focusing on lit/theory/culture/media. Virginia Woolf studies/modernism. Opinions my own.

705 followers107 following6K posts

Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

A Damning Account Alleges Jared Kushner Conducted Diplomacy for Profit The new book by the reporter Matthew Cole connects $2 billion in slush funds from gulf state leaders to Trump’s son-in-law in an effort to influence U.S. policy. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/26/b...

nytimes.comBook Review: ‘Princes and Thieves,’ by Matthew ColeThe new book by the reporter Matthew Cole connects $2 billion in slush funds from gulf state leaders to Trump’s son-in-law in an effort to influence U.S. policy.

Jan McVicker reposted

PBS News
@pbsnews.org

This year's spike in House Ethics Committee investigations related to sexual misconduct prompted congressional leaders to set up a working group led by Rep. Kat Cammack and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. What they have found is disturbing, Cammack said. https://to.pbs.org/4e3ZiOe

pbs.orgAfter a flurry of ethics cases, sexual harassment rules for Congress are under reviewLawmakers reviewing the issue of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill say they're disturbed by what they've found.

Jan McVicker reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

🚨BREAKING: Federal prosecutors ordered Washington state in letters Monday to set aside ballots from over 400 people they alleged, without evidence, were noncitizens illegally registered to vote. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.comDOJ demands Washington set aside ballots from alleged noncitizens on state rollThe new demands mirror those Trump administration sent California before it sued the state to block tens of thousands of potential ballots.

Jan McVicker reposted

Steve Vladeck
@stevevladeck.bsky.social

“The Department of Justice is putting its formidable thumb on next week’s elections in a way that seems clearly intended to call into question the legitimacy of any result that is especially unfavorable to Republicans—before those results have even come in.” Me on DOJ’s California and Alaska suits:

stevevladeck.com259. DOJ’s Preemptive Election InterferenceThe Trump administration's California and Alaska suits are losers. But it’ll be hard to remedy the distrust in election results they seem intended to sow.

Jan McVicker reposted

Gregg Gonsalves
@gregggonsalves.bsky.social

The plain fact of it is thus: the Trump administration wants to re-segregate higher education. It is a racist project straight-up-no-chaser. Accommodating any of this puts you on the wrong side of history, makes you a collaborator in this project. ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

ballsandstrikes.orgTrump DOJ: Yale’s Medical School Has Way Too Many Black StudentsThe administration’s view is that the mere presence of students of color at Yale Medical School proves discrimination against white people.

Jan McVicker reposted

Roy Edroso
@edroso.bsky.social

Fascism is an international movement. And so is the resistance.

Adam Schwarz@adamjschwarz.bsky.social

Hungarian PM Péter Magyar: "I have just spoken by phone with the leaders of the Students List, who won the elections in Serbia, to congratulate them... I assured them of Hungary’s support. I was delighted to hear how much strength our victory in April had given them during this difficult struggle."

Jan McVicker reposted

Scott Horton
@robertscotthorton.bsky.social

What Jason Crow says. Indeed, isn't it obvious? How can a self-respecting country cede control over vital military systems in the middle of a war to a foreign drug addict? And how could this not be a defining issue in the midterm election? Yet US corporate media want to simply look the other way.

Jan McVicker reposted

Corey Rayburn Yung
@coreyryung.bsky.social

The generality principle of the Rule of Law is its most essential concept. A class of people outside criminal law is incompatible with a law-based society.

Jeff Stein@jeffstein.bsky.social

Scoop: White House lawyers are weighing preemptive mass pardons for junior staff, sources says Under discussion: Pardoning everyone involved in deportation, war, or trade policy www.washingtonsun.com/whitehouse/w...

washingtonsun.comWhite House Is Weighing Mass Pardons for Junior StaffConservative groups influential with the Trump administration have pressed for the preemptive acts of clemency.

Jan McVicker reposted

Cas Mudde
@casmudde.bsky.social

This is amazing! Most endowments go to buildings, sports, or students. Very few go to faculty… almost as if they are not really important. 🙄

centredaily.comOhio Wesleyan gets $40 million gift for faculty salaries, arts and humanities collegeToo many college students are expected to have it all figured out by the time they arrive on campus. That's just one of the issues that Ohio Wesleyan University President Matt vandenBerg takes with hi...
Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

Jane Doe Can Remain Anonymous in Cornell Case, Judge Says The decision comes as both Jane Doe and the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her have faced online harassment and attempts to reveal identifying information. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/n...

nytimes.comJane Doe Can Remain Anonymous in Cornell Case, Judge SaysThe decision comes as both Jane Doe and the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her have faced online harassment and attempts to reveal identifying information.
Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

Marc Santora: Ukraine’s Feeling of Moral Whiplash at the Hands of Trump The United States once declared that Ukraine’s fight was the front line in a global battle for freedom. Now the Trump administration is sending money to Moscow. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/w...

nytimes.comUkraine’s Feeling of Moral Whiplash at the Hands of TrumpThe United States once declared that Ukraine’s fight was the front line in a global battle for freedom. Now the Trump administration is sending money to Moscow.
Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

everything is for sale, including Ukraine In U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

nytimes.comIn U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project EmergesInterviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

5 Takeaways From Our Investigation of Trump’s Waivers for Polluters Chemical plants and other industrial facilities had been required to curb their toxic emissions. A New York Times investigation shows how they got out of it. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/c...

nytimes.com5 Takeaways From Our Investigation of Trump’s Waivers for PollutersChemical plants and other industrial facilities had been required to curb their toxic emissions. A New York Times investigation shows how they got out of it.

Jan McVicker reposted

The Intellectualist
@theintellectualist.bsky.social

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

Israeli Settlers Turn a Palestinian Rite Into a Gantlet of Violence and Fear This year’s olive harvest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is the most violent in years, as settlers attacked farmers and besieged homes, drawing condemnation from US officials and others. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/w...

nytimes.comIsraeli Settlers Turn a Palestinian Rite Into a Gantlet of Violence and FearThis year’s olive harvest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is the most violent in years, as settlers have attacked farmers and besieged homes, drawing condemnation from U.S. officials and others.

Jan McVicker reposted

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
@froomkin.bsky.social

It's the lead story on the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. www.dispatch.com/videos/news/... Basically: "Trump doesn't get it, acts like a dick"

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News@froomkin.bsky.social

Total respect for NBC's Monica Alba, who asked Trump exactly the question he needs to answer. By refusing to answer, and attacking her, he has effectively told the world that no, sexual abuse allegations do no mean a thing to him. Imagine if she wasn't there. We'd be the poorer for it.

Jan McVicker reposted

Julie Laumann
@julielaumann.bsky.social

“A 79-year-old CO pastor who lost 35 pounds and the strength to walk after 13 months in immigration detention has been released by order of a federal magistrate judge. The government ignored requests for a wheelchair. Instead, 3 other detainees carried Rev. Edward Nalwamba to a waiting vehicle.”

washingtonpost.comColorado pastor released from immigration detention after 13 monthsA federal judge said the U.S. government had no clear plan to deport the Rev. Edward Nalwamba
Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

such total, absolute bullshit....they have no shame DOJ seeks to block Alaska Senate result if Republican incumbent narrowly loses In a lawsuit, the Justice Department cited confusion over two similarly named candidates, including Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

washingtonpost.comDOJ seeks to block Alaska Senate result if Republican incumbent narrowly losesIn a lawsuit, the Justice Department cited confusion over two similarly named candidates, including Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Jan McVicker reposted

Scott Horton
@robertscotthorton.bsky.social

Finland ordered the suspension of Google's data center plans after discovering a series of fraudulent representations in its permit submissions. Now Finns are fuming over Google's illegal felling of 250,000 trees to clear land for the project. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentreCompany ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms’ latest push

Jan McVicker reposted

Bobby Kogan
@bbkogan.bsky.social

We are seeing a hunger disaster unrolling before our eyes. Since Republicans passed the Big Beautiful Bill, 2 million kids have lost food assistance. These are by far the deepest SNAP cuts in history, and each month, we find out it’s even worse than we thought. The worst is yet to come.

Katie Bergh@katiebergh.bsky.social

In the wake of unprecedented cuts in last year's Republican reconciliation law, SNAP participation & spending have been falling — and the decline is much deeper than the Congressional Budget Office initially projected. www.cbpp.org/blog/congres...

Jan McVicker
@jmcvicker.bsky.social

The Little Girl With the Radioactive Backyard A young family thought they had escaped the toxic legacy of Love Canal with a dream house near a creek in the suburbs. Then the men in the hazmat suits showed up. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/n...

nytimes.comA Young Family in Niagara, N.Y., and a Backyard Full of Radioactive WasteA young family thought they had escaped the toxic legacy of Love Canal with a dream house near a creek in the suburbs. Then the men in the hazmat suits showed up.

Jan McVicker reposted

Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist
@princess-vimentin.bsky.social

NSF funding is delayed. Last year, all applications for 2026 were suspended. Grant applications for high-power equipment for cutting edge research are sitting in purgatory. Instead of transparency, there is lack of clarity. 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

scientificamerican.comScientists left in the dark by National Science Foundation grant application delaysThe Major Research Instrumentation program offers grants of up to $4 million to scientists buying or developing research equipment

Jan McVicker reposted

19thnews
@19thnews.org

“Far too many of us have been betrayed by institutions that say that they were here to protect us." Women are far more likely than men to say officials have failed on sexual assault, new polling finds.

bit.lySurprising no woman: Men are more likely to say they trust how officials handle sexual assaultNew polling finds a gender gap in trust of elected officials and college Greek culture — two weeks before the midterms and amid the "Cornell seven" case.

Jan McVicker reposted

The Guardian
@theguardian.com

‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre

theguardian.com‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentreCompany ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms’ latest push Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth. Before Google’s arrival a few months ago, an estimated quarter of a million trees occupied the 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland. Now they are all gone. After the tech company illegally stripped the entire area to build a datacentre – taking even the top soil with it – all that remains is a vast expanse of mud indented with the trail marks of machinery, puddles and mounds of earth, roots and branches. Residents say that brown water flowing off the site is going into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River. Continue reading...