Michael Wheeler
@michaelcwheeler.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, Director, Curator for work. Other stuff like progressive politics and sports for fun.
Many smart people, including Cory Doctorow, have been pointing out that these tech monopolies exist in part because the US made leaving them alone a condition of a beneficial trade partnership. If that's not how they're operating anymore, nothing stopping us from taking them apart.
February 5, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Many smart people, including Cory Doctorow, have been pointing out that these tech monopolies exist in part because the US made leaving them alone a condition of a beneficial trade partnership. If that's not how they're operating anymore, nothing stopping us from taking them apart.
I'm on one of the older VIA trains, so looking good for being on time.
February 4, 2026 at 1:09 PM
I'm on one of the older VIA trains, so looking good for being on time.
If Jamil Jivani wants to represent Canada's interests on the world stage, all he has to do is be part of a party that forms government. The voters, in their wisdom, elected different citizens than him, having decided his party was too MAGA to oppose Trump effectively. www.cbc.ca/news/politic....
Conservative MP Jivani heads to Washington after Liberals snub offer to collaborate | CBC News
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, a longtime friend of U.S Vice-President JD Vance, is travelling to Washington to advocate for better Canada-U.S. relations after multiple unsuccessful emails to members o...
www.cbc.ca
February 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM
If Jamil Jivani wants to represent Canada's interests on the world stage, all he has to do is be part of a party that forms government. The voters, in their wisdom, elected different citizens than him, having decided his party was too MAGA to oppose Trump effectively. www.cbc.ca/news/politic....
Folks. I left on a train from Union this eve. It was quite chaotic due to a derailed GO Train. Sure fine, these things happen.
But why doe VIA have no signage or even sound amplification devices in the departures area? Just random people yelling numbers at passengers as if naughty schoolchildren!
But why doe VIA have no signage or even sound amplification devices in the departures area? Just random people yelling numbers at passengers as if naughty schoolchildren!
February 2, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Folks. I left on a train from Union this eve. It was quite chaotic due to a derailed GO Train. Sure fine, these things happen.
But why doe VIA have no signage or even sound amplification devices in the departures area? Just random people yelling numbers at passengers as if naughty schoolchildren!
But why doe VIA have no signage or even sound amplification devices in the departures area? Just random people yelling numbers at passengers as if naughty schoolchildren!
I hope my American friends understand they will not live in a democracy unless there is country-wide civil unrest at some point in the next 3 years. The DNI and President directing this investigation is way beyond "unusual", it's dismantling the will of the people. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
Trump Had Unusual Call With F.B.I. Agents After Election Center Search
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:40 PM
I hope my American friends understand they will not live in a democracy unless there is country-wide civil unrest at some point in the next 3 years. The DNI and President directing this investigation is way beyond "unusual", it's dismantling the will of the people. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
Went for a run along Lake Ontario this morning and I regret to inform you that the US physically transformed overnight into Mordor.
February 2, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Went for a run along Lake Ontario this morning and I regret to inform you that the US physically transformed overnight into Mordor.
CBC Metro Morning doing a whole segment on the potential for a Conservative message to resonate in Toronto with a rep from Jenni Byrne and Assoc... Look, it's a reasonable topic to explore, but send out a reporter or something. Don't give a mic to a partisan and call it journalism.
February 2, 2026 at 1:22 PM
CBC Metro Morning doing a whole segment on the potential for a Conservative message to resonate in Toronto with a rep from Jenni Byrne and Assoc... Look, it's a reasonable topic to explore, but send out a reporter or something. Don't give a mic to a partisan and call it journalism.
There's something to extrapolate from the Kennedy Centre basically being unable to operate since adding Trump's name. You can buy cops, and you can buy tech bros, but artists but you can't buy! Reason 84 why Carney should be tripling arts funding as a matter of national security.
February 2, 2026 at 11:50 AM
There's something to extrapolate from the Kennedy Centre basically being unable to operate since adding Trump's name. You can buy cops, and you can buy tech bros, but artists but you can't buy! Reason 84 why Carney should be tripling arts funding as a matter of national security.
I just saw that Norm in an All Star and I'm happy for him. Should have probably been one last year, let's be honest, likely won't be one next year - this was his chance.
February 2, 2026 at 1:46 AM
I just saw that Norm in an All Star and I'm happy for him. Should have probably been one last year, let's be honest, likely won't be one next year - this was his chance.
I'm not sure if Margaret Atwood is available to work for Elon @ $40/hr.
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
January 30, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I'm not sure if Margaret Atwood is available to work for Elon @ $40/hr.
Lutnick is a MAGA enemy of Canada and Epstein is MAGA kryptonite. Ergo, as a matter of national security, CSIS, the RCMP, Dept of Foreign Affairs, and the Canadian military have justification in their mandate to make this story as big and long as possible. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Planned Trip to Epstein’s Island
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Lutnick is a MAGA enemy of Canada and Epstein is MAGA kryptonite. Ergo, as a matter of national security, CSIS, the RCMP, Dept of Foreign Affairs, and the Canadian military have justification in their mandate to make this story as big and long as possible. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
LOL this is the perfect platform for this thought, but Avi Lewis could become Prime Minister of Canada and globally his wife would still be more famous. Anyhow i hope he wins.
January 29, 2026 at 10:09 PM
LOL this is the perfect platform for this thought, but Avi Lewis could become Prime Minister of Canada and globally his wife would still be more famous. Anyhow i hope he wins.
Reposted by Michael Wheeler
Here's the thing, Greg — free speech is still protected by the First Amendment under the Constitution.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
Bovino: "When politicians, community leaders, & some journalists engage in that heated rhetoric we keep talking about, when they make the choice to vilify law enforcement calling law enforcement 'Gestapo' or using the term 'kidnapping,' that is a choice & there are actions & consequences."
January 26, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Here's the thing, Greg — free speech is still protected by the First Amendment under the Constitution.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
If you want folks to stop saying you're the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people, maybe stop acting like the secret police who are kidnapping and killing people.
Yes pls
Abolish ICE is not enough.
Stern words for Greg Bovino or Kristi Noem is not enough.
We need prosecutions and trials.
Anything short of this position fails to address the gravity of this moment.
Stern words for Greg Bovino or Kristi Noem is not enough.
We need prosecutions and trials.
Anything short of this position fails to address the gravity of this moment.
January 26, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Yes pls
Reposted by Michael Wheeler
Whether it’s liberals peacefully protesting a murder and a child abduction in Minneapolis or conservatives threatening a bloody insurrection in Washington DC, both sides have shattered the norms of civilized behavior
January 23, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Whether it’s liberals peacefully protesting a murder and a child abduction in Minneapolis or conservatives threatening a bloody insurrection in Washington DC, both sides have shattered the norms of civilized behavior
It seems to me the next question facing Canada, and other countries who choose to 'take the sign out of the window', is 'What sign goes up instead?' An empty window devoid of values or purpose will not bind a middle power resistance that will be severely tested. (Democracies of the World Unite?)
January 22, 2026 at 5:26 PM
It seems to me the next question facing Canada, and other countries who choose to 'take the sign out of the window', is 'What sign goes up instead?' An empty window devoid of values or purpose will not bind a middle power resistance that will be severely tested. (Democracies of the World Unite?)
@factorytheatre.bsky.social AD job posted to LinkedIn - but comments are turned off. LOL i woulda done the same. Whoever they get needs to reset the discourse.
January 21, 2026 at 3:31 PM
@factorytheatre.bsky.social AD job posted to LinkedIn - but comments are turned off. LOL i woulda done the same. Whoever they get needs to reset the discourse.
I can only assume Carney chose to structure his historic speech around the words of Vaclav Havel because of the economic benefits his plays generated for the Czech Republic economy.
January 21, 2026 at 12:48 PM
I can only assume Carney chose to structure his historic speech around the words of Vaclav Havel because of the economic benefits his plays generated for the Czech Republic economy.
The thing that jumped out for me the most from the NYT piece on Carney's speech was:
"It highlighted the Canadian prime minister’s motives for flexing his rhetorical muscle on the Davos stage: Canada’s economic and, perhaps literal, survival."
'Will Canada survive? An open question.'
"It highlighted the Canadian prime minister’s motives for flexing his rhetorical muscle on the Davos stage: Canada’s economic and, perhaps literal, survival."
'Will Canada survive? An open question.'
January 21, 2026 at 12:16 PM
The thing that jumped out for me the most from the NYT piece on Carney's speech was:
"It highlighted the Canadian prime minister’s motives for flexing his rhetorical muscle on the Davos stage: Canada’s economic and, perhaps literal, survival."
'Will Canada survive? An open question.'
"It highlighted the Canadian prime minister’s motives for flexing his rhetorical muscle on the Davos stage: Canada’s economic and, perhaps literal, survival."
'Will Canada survive? An open question.'
Carney speech was big. Later we can unpack how the neoliberalism the PM espouses created the conditions for the rules-based order Davos epitomizes to crumble, but today the world is looking for basic answers about how to think about surviving. Good it comes from us. We're going to need the world.
January 21, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Carney speech was big. Later we can unpack how the neoliberalism the PM espouses created the conditions for the rules-based order Davos epitomizes to crumble, but today the world is looking for basic answers about how to think about surviving. Good it comes from us. We're going to need the world.
Reposted by Michael Wheeler
👀
Using public voter files, Peter Lutz takes a first-of-its-kind look at partisan registration among pro athletes by league.
January 21, 2026 at 1:45 AM
👀
We sat through decades of Sorkinesque BS w/ music swelling as a steadicam pans the Statue of Liberty or Congress embodying the strength and endurance of American Democracy. Yet all it took was 1 incredibly stupid, and greedy man to bring it all down. It was made of string and paper clips all along.
January 19, 2026 at 4:10 PM
We sat through decades of Sorkinesque BS w/ music swelling as a steadicam pans the Statue of Liberty or Congress embodying the strength and endurance of American Democracy. Yet all it took was 1 incredibly stupid, and greedy man to bring it all down. It was made of string and paper clips all along.
Seeing some Raptors posts about the team gaining more fans because it's an international fan base, but it's hard to root for a US team at this point. Raps let you have a non Darth Vader team... I think lhere's a big opportunity for the Canadian arts scene that follows this energy.
January 18, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Seeing some Raptors posts about the team gaining more fans because it's an international fan base, but it's hard to root for a US team at this point. Raps let you have a non Darth Vader team... I think lhere's a big opportunity for the Canadian arts scene that follows this energy.
Moving back to TO and remembering about Brad Brad the only candidate to ever receive 1% (!!!!) of the vote and still get regular media coverage as a relevant player.
Brad Bradford is using his former bike riding credibility to curry favour w the anti bike folks and become mayor. 'Don't worry I used to ride a bike and I now hate bike lanes too' (for political gain). This guy is the worst.
January 18, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Moving back to TO and remembering about Brad Brad the only candidate to ever receive 1% (!!!!) of the vote and still get regular media coverage as a relevant player.
I know everything the US regime has done seems unhinged, but the 'let me take over any country we want or we'll tax you' approach to world affairs may be the proverbial straw. There is no upside for the Europeans to cave on this. It will just embolden further similar actions.
Sweden’s Prime Minister, in a new statement on Greenland:
“We will not let ourselves be blackmailed… Sweden is now having intensive discussions with other EU countries, Norway, and the United Kingdom for a coordinated response.”
“We will not let ourselves be blackmailed… Sweden is now having intensive discussions with other EU countries, Norway, and the United Kingdom for a coordinated response.”
January 17, 2026 at 9:49 PM
I know everything the US regime has done seems unhinged, but the 'let me take over any country we want or we'll tax you' approach to world affairs may be the proverbial straw. There is no upside for the Europeans to cave on this. It will just embolden further similar actions.