Dave Mazella
@davemazella.bsky.social
eighteenth-century scholar in Heatstroke, TX. let's see how this goes.
Book: Making of Modern Cynicism, now in paperback from UVA press: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Book: Making of Modern Cynicism, now in paperback from UVA press: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Pinned
Dave Mazella
@davemazella.bsky.social
· Oct 25
The Making of Modern Cynicism
<div><p>Once describing a life of exile, self-denial, physical rigor, and mastery of one’s desires, cynicism now describes a life of political quietis
www.upress.virginia.edu
My book on ancient and modern cynicism, The Making of Modern Cynicism (2007, UVA press), is now available again in paperback!
Because cynicism never goes out of fashion.
www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Because cynicism never goes out of fashion.
www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Logging on
January 29, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Logging on
No better sign of super sovereign citizenship than the ability to mask and deal out death wherever you go
Law enforcement officers have always been unmasked in this country until ICE started wearing them last year.
*That* is the departure from norms. *That* is the step too far.
*That* is the departure from norms. *That* is the step too far.
Tillis says he opposes ICE being barred from wearing masks: "I've seen people dox me. I've seen people take pictures and identify law enforcement officers and then put their families at risk. So, I think that's a step too far."
January 29, 2026 at 2:35 AM
No better sign of super sovereign citizenship than the ability to mask and deal out death wherever you go
Reposted by Dave Mazella
one million things to do and one of them is codify whatever bivens was supposed to be, give it real teeth, and get rid of qualified immunity
January 29, 2026 at 12:46 AM
one million things to do and one of them is codify whatever bivens was supposed to be, give it real teeth, and get rid of qualified immunity
Ah so they’ve got their “he was no angel” video; changes nothing even if it’s real
January 29, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Ah so they’ve got their “he was no angel” video; changes nothing even if it’s real
It must be great to be the guy that everyone assumes will fold in the most damaging, humiliating way possible
Wow, the White House is so shaken by the turn in the public mood that they thought Chuck Schumer might actually rise up and "seize this moment" to get meaningful concessions.
That's how panicked they are. They thought Chuck Schumer would do something.
That's how panicked they are. They thought Chuck Schumer would do something.
“An administration official gave away the game to Punchbowl News, admitting that these “de-escalatory measures” are about placating Senate Democrats so they don’t seize this moment to demand restrictions on ICE as part of any government funding package.”
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
January 29, 2026 at 12:01 AM
It must be great to be the guy that everyone assumes will fold in the most damaging, humiliating way possible
Reposted by Dave Mazella
The folk singer wrote the tune “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” about the same 1948 plane crash ICE is memorializing today.
Woody Guthrie Sang Against Dehumanizing the Immigrants Killed in a Plane Crash. ICE Is Doing It All Over Again.
Woody Guthrie wrote the tune “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” about the same 1948 plane crash ICE is memorializing today.
interc.pt
January 28, 2026 at 11:39 PM
The folk singer wrote the tune “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” about the same 1948 plane crash ICE is memorializing today.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Omg! Local San Antonio news is at a protest in Dilley, Texas at the Family Prison where Liam Ramos is being held.
Y'all I'm crying so hard. These young people are so brave. I'm guessing most are from San Antonio.
Absolutely clear video proof that the cops were the only violent actors here.
Y'all I'm crying so hard. These young people are so brave. I'm guessing most are from San Antonio.
Absolutely clear video proof that the cops were the only violent actors here.
Protesters detained, hit by tear gas near Dilley family detention facility
YouTube video by KSAT 12
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Omg! Local San Antonio news is at a protest in Dilley, Texas at the Family Prison where Liam Ramos is being held.
Y'all I'm crying so hard. These young people are so brave. I'm guessing most are from San Antonio.
Absolutely clear video proof that the cops were the only violent actors here.
Y'all I'm crying so hard. These young people are so brave. I'm guessing most are from San Antonio.
Absolutely clear video proof that the cops were the only violent actors here.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
And needless to say, this also has a whole lot to do with the very important Georgia Senate seat up in 2026.
If you think they aren't working overtime to contest the election results you're not paying attention.
If you think they aren't working overtime to contest the election results you're not paying attention.
The FBI (dressed in full Fallujah gear as usual) raided the Fulton Country election office apparently in order to seize the 2020 ballots.
The sorest loser in world history just cannot let it go.
This sickness is at the heart of everything horrifying that's happening in our society.
The sorest loser in world history just cannot let it go.
This sickness is at the heart of everything horrifying that's happening in our society.
January 28, 2026 at 8:42 PM
And needless to say, this also has a whole lot to do with the very important Georgia Senate seat up in 2026.
If you think they aren't working overtime to contest the election results you're not paying attention.
If you think they aren't working overtime to contest the election results you're not paying attention.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Tx now: heavily armed ICE are taunting peaceful protesters marching to Dilley immigration detention center where children and women are housed. News will follow.
January 28, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
“are you scared of a fucking whistle dawg” has been knocking around my head all day
one of the agents said “okay we know” when we were whistling so i leaned in and whistled louder and he threatened to pepper spray me. i then said “are you scared of a fucking whistle dawg” and he very meekly said “no i’m not scared of a whistle”
January 28, 2026 at 10:38 PM
“are you scared of a fucking whistle dawg” has been knocking around my head all day
yeah this is good, though maybe a little thin on "what is to be done?"
January 28, 2026 at 10:34 PM
yeah this is good, though maybe a little thin on "what is to be done?"
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Reposted by Dave Mazella
The problem imo is that polarization has just become the nominal bucket into which we've placed some of the most destructive developments of our time, and so is also the handle people reach for to manipulate them. The issue is of course that it's the wrong conceptual tool & is very misleading.
January 28, 2026 at 8:03 PM
The problem imo is that polarization has just become the nominal bucket into which we've placed some of the most destructive developments of our time, and so is also the handle people reach for to manipulate them. The issue is of course that it's the wrong conceptual tool & is very misleading.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
🚨 If populist rhetoric isn't persuasive, why do populists keep winning? 🚨
Our new paper (and first published registered report) shows populism's real electoral power may be mobilization, not persuasion—though policy positions still matter far more for voting.
alexanderkustov.org/files/Kustov...
Our new paper (and first published registered report) shows populism's real electoral power may be mobilization, not persuasion—though policy positions still matter far more for voting.
alexanderkustov.org/files/Kustov...
January 28, 2026 at 2:31 PM
🚨 If populist rhetoric isn't persuasive, why do populists keep winning? 🚨
Our new paper (and first published registered report) shows populism's real electoral power may be mobilization, not persuasion—though policy positions still matter far more for voting.
alexanderkustov.org/files/Kustov...
Our new paper (and first published registered report) shows populism's real electoral power may be mobilization, not persuasion—though policy positions still matter far more for voting.
alexanderkustov.org/files/Kustov...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
#AmReading #Women #18thCentury #Colonialism nearly 100 #prostitutes made drunk before lured on board ship to the new #colony of #SierraLeone
January 28, 2026 at 7:44 PM
#AmReading #Women #18thCentury #Colonialism nearly 100 #prostitutes made drunk before lured on board ship to the new #colony of #SierraLeone
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Happy birthday #PrideandPrejudice - its first edition was published on January 28, 1813.
As a student once exclaimed to me, "Jane Austen was the first shoujo author!"
As a student once exclaimed to me, "Jane Austen was the first shoujo author!"
January 28, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Happy birthday #PrideandPrejudice - its first edition was published on January 28, 1813.
As a student once exclaimed to me, "Jane Austen was the first shoujo author!"
As a student once exclaimed to me, "Jane Austen was the first shoujo author!"
This is it. This is what every elected Dem should say & then act on.
January 28, 2026 at 7:58 PM
This is it. This is what every elected Dem should say & then act on.
👇👇👇👇
You won't get 'affordability' without confronting capitalist class power. www.thenation.com/article/poli...
January 28, 2026 at 7:45 PM
👇👇👇👇
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Some academic publishing contract advice: make sure your contract specifies 1. a qualified human copyeditor will copyedit on the MS; 2. a qualified human proofreader will proofread the MS; 3. that production must have a proper system for version control (!).
January 28, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Some academic publishing contract advice: make sure your contract specifies 1. a qualified human copyeditor will copyedit on the MS; 2. a qualified human proofreader will proofread the MS; 3. that production must have a proper system for version control (!).
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Another turn on the Genre Turn (and a review of Jeremy Rosen’s excellent Genre Bending). www.chronicle.com/article/is-l...
Opinion | Is ‘Literary Fiction’ Just Another Genre Now?
There is no real middlebrow any more.
www.chronicle.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Another turn on the Genre Turn (and a review of Jeremy Rosen’s excellent Genre Bending). www.chronicle.com/article/is-l...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Me on LLMs, Grok especially, as epistemic weapons:
January 14, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Me on LLMs, Grok especially, as epistemic weapons:
Reposted by Dave Mazella
My operating assumption is that he tried to do a hasty coup in 2020 that failed, and so everything he does in his second term should be understood as laying the groundwork for a second coup to succeed.
January 28, 2026 at 4:59 PM
My operating assumption is that he tried to do a hasty coup in 2020 that failed, and so everything he does in his second term should be understood as laying the groundwork for a second coup to succeed.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
There are many research hosting services out there. Lots of them want to host your work in order to mine it for profit. Knowledge Commons wants to build a coalition of researchers, teachers, students, and more, in order to resist the authoritarian effort to undermine public access to knowledge.
Knowledge Commons – Open access, open source, open to all
hcommons.org
January 28, 2026 at 2:46 PM
There are many research hosting services out there. Lots of them want to host your work in order to mine it for profit. Knowledge Commons wants to build a coalition of researchers, teachers, students, and more, in order to resist the authoritarian effort to undermine public access to knowledge.
Reposted by Dave Mazella
If this isn't prime "timeline cleanse" content I don't know what is!
Hendrick Bogaert, A Man Dancing with a Dog, oil on panel, 26.5 cm × 22.3 cm, c. 1655-c. 1665 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
January 28, 2026 at 5:31 PM
If this isn't prime "timeline cleanse" content I don't know what is!