Michael Stambolis
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mstambolis.bsky.social
Michael Stambolis
@mstambolis.bsky.social
Sociologist. Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Toulouse - Jean Jaurès. Author of: By the Power Vested in Me (Columbia University Press, 2025). I study how experts participate in controversial political debates.
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By the Power Vested in Me is here!

Through the story of the fight over same-sex marriage in the United States and France, this book sheds new light on the contested power of experts to influence high-stakes democratic debates.

Get your copy wherever books are sold or here: tinyurl.com/37t88xme
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By the Power Vested in Me | Columbia University Press
In both the United States and France, each side of the legal battle over same-sex marriage and parenthood relied heavily on experts. Despite the similarity o... | CUP
tinyurl.com
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
no foreign foe has ever dreamed of being able to sack and pillaging this country the way Trump admin and its congressional and scotus enablers do every day.
cnn.com CNN @cnn.com · 14h
A leading American research lab is slated to lose its critical supercomputing facility, according to a letter released by the National Science Foundation.https://cnn.it/3MoF7zU
February 14, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Il y a en France une droite chrétienne, elle n'est pas moins réactionnaire et dangereuse que la droite chrétienne américaine, qui constitue le principal soutien électoral et intellectuel du trumpisme. La droite chrétienne française a peu ou prou le même agenda politique que sa consoeur américaine.
Rappel : Retailleau c’est ça, et ça devrait être placardé partout dès qu’on parle de lui. (Source: Society.)
February 13, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Mao says hello.
February 12, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Wild things happening in the Texas Republican primaries.
February 12, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
This is a travesty. African and African Diaspora Studies at UT Austin has been one of the best programs in the country. And for historical context, this is explicitly about reversing the gains of student movements in the 60s and 70s.

www.statesman.com/news/educati...
UT to consolidate gender and ethnic studies programs into one new department
Affected departments include those that focus on African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American Studies, Women and Gender Studies and American Studies.
www.statesman.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Avec @alubnf.bsky.social nous avons lutté longuement pour que des moyens soient réaffectés au rez de jardin (espace recherche).

L’ouverture d’un musée (somme toute à l’opportunité très discutable) a plombé l’accueil pour la consultation directe.

Maintenant, plus de lumière. Triste allégorie.
Le rez-de jardin de la BNF (@labnf.bsky.social) s'éteint, littéralement, en silence. Les places en rouge sur ce schéma ne sont plus éclairées et l'on nous apprend que les ampoules, devenues obsolètes, ne peuvent être remplacées. "Democracy Dies in Darkness", comme on le sait au Washington Post.
February 12, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Direct parallel to denialism around fascism. Too many tell themselves “we’re winning”—as if acknowledging scale of fascism’s assault means submitting to it, or as if democracy is a pep rally. It’s a struggle, we’re not winning, but we can, so let’s fight harder—against the anti-human in govt & tech.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Ce soir ce sera un vin communautariste wokiste! Black owned. Women owned.
February 11, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Baltimore keeeping it real. End white Christian nationalism.
February 11, 2026 at 6:04 PM
I'm sorry, what? Meco the Wizard of Oz?
February 10, 2026 at 4:22 PM
One of the only things I miss about the US is going out to breakfast.
February 10, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
1. It most definitely does not "break their hearts" to say

2. How many different ways can billionaire pro-natalist freaks make clear that they plan to subjugate women and girls by any means necessary?
February 4, 2026 at 7:07 PM
On this Super Bowl evening, I'm reminded of how Janet Jackson's career was destroyed by the same men who accuse the left of cancel culture.
February 9, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Au Portugal, le candidat socialiste Antonio José Seguro l'emporte largement à la présidentielle face au candidat d'extrême droite.

Belle nouvelle.

Et belle preuve que lorsque la droite agit avec responsabilité (en soutenant la gauche contre l'extrême droite), le résultat républicain est clair.
#Portugal presidential elections exit poll previews highest score ever in democracy for socialist candidate against far-right.
February 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
The number of trans youth suicides in the UK quadrupled in 2021 following significant restrictions in access to care. The NHS tried to cover this up with a fake report that tried to hide the truth.

goodlawproject.org/new-data-sho...
New data shows surge in trans kids’ suicides following healthcare rollbacks | Good Law Project
A freedom of information request by Good Law Project has found that deaths by suicide of trans young people under 18 surged following the withdrawal of gender-affirming healthcare
goodlawproject.org
February 7, 2026 at 2:01 PM
And we're back, now that I have successfully crossed the border into the US. I deactivated my account because I wasn't sure how my freedom of expression would be questioned by the guard.
February 8, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
Plagiat XL (et un peu quantique) du matin.

Des morceaux entiers du livre de Werner Heisenberg « Physique et Philosophie » publié en français en 1961...

...se retrouvent également – dans le même état, sans aucun guillemet – dans le livre d'Etienne Klein « Conversation avec le Sphinx » sorti en 1991
February 7, 2026 at 8:09 AM
Le pouvoir symbolique de la "science" est une ressource qui peut tres vite perdre de la valeur selon ses utilisations.
Le peu d'effets qu'a eu la mobilisation de la "science" pour justifier la politique sur la dermatose nodulaire bovine par le ministère de l'agriculture et la FNSEA montre bien que quand on s'assoit sur ladite science, il ne faut pas s'attendre à ce que la mobiliser ultérieurement soit très efficace
February 7, 2026 at 8:05 AM
En Occitanie on sait que la salade foie gras gésiers magret, la chocolatine, et le cassoulet, c'est équilibré!
February 7, 2026 at 7:17 AM
The Family Research Council is a very good example of the key support of white Christian nationalists for the Trumpist regime. The org is very excited about cracking down on "voter fraud". Poke @jostavodebauge.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Nous sommes dans les années 2020 et ça ressemble beaucoup aux années 1920. La propagande nataliste de la période entre guerre était quelque chose...
February 6, 2026 at 9:48 AM
A écouter avec ce podcast sur le reactionary centrism aux US
pca.st/episode/f4d9...
February 6, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Non mais je suis incapable de lire ça!😵‍💫
February 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
1° Thread.
Le meeting politique co-organisé par le magazine confusionniste Le Point, spécialisé dans la désinformation et dans le harcèlement en ligne des scientifiques et par Mme Pécresse a reçu le soutien de l'université Paris Saclay, en violation du principe de neutralité institutionnelle.
February 5, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Reposted by Michael Stambolis
this is exactly right. "popularism" in practice amounts to an abdication of political leadership!
This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism.

www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
February 4, 2026 at 2:25 AM