Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dave Mazella

@davemazella.bsky.social

3.1K followers 4K following 6.3K posts

ok, got it, fine. eighteenth-century scholar baking away in Heatstroke, TX. none of the opinions expressed here, good or bad, should be ascribed to my employer, whoever that may be. let's see how this goes.

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · Mar 3

I'm going to use bluesky as a sketchpad, to get thoughts down on the current state of the game in higher ed. I'm going to list some things that put us here, and try provisionally to offer ways out (not solutions).

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 9h

IU thread:

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 10h

It doesn't surprise me that Indiana University is going after the student newspaper. The IDS has played a key role in holding the university administration accountable.

Including by reporting on the administration's investigation and intimidation of faculty 1/

specials.idsnews.com/steve-sander...

The pursuit of light and truth

Law Professor Steve Sanders’s battle with IU over reporting on presidential search process

specials.idsnews.com

Reposted by Dave Mazella

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 10h

Free headline:

Trump agenda thwarted by inflation

www.axios.com/local/portla...

Unicorns and T. rexes troll Trump at Portland's ICE protests

Whether or not the president is getting the message is unclear, though.

www.axios.com

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 12h

Good. Even if this doesn’t work, it’s time to go on offense.

www.newsweek.com/jb-pritzker-...

JB Pritzker looking at prosecuting ICE agents in Chicago

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has suggested that state prosecutors might examine the conduct of ICE agents.

www.newsweek.com

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 12h

hey look it's BMRC in Houston in 3 days www.houstonpress.com/music/black-...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Celebrate Two Decades of Howling - Houston Press

Black Rebel Motorcycle Cub will perform at White Oak Music Hall on October 17.

www.houstonpress.com

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 13h

fwiw I think they'll need to purge law enforcement asap if this regime falls; I also think any elected or appointed official who served this regime should be disqualified permanently

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 13h

whole country should be preparing right now for an Enron-style de-bubblification; take it from someone who lived through it in Houston

Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 14h

Everyone agrees that we're currently in a dotcom era-like AI bubble. People disagree what sort of bubble it is.

There are 3 stories one can tell about the dotcom crash: a startup story, a telecom story, and an accounting fraud story.

My take: it's giving Enron
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...

It's Giving Enron

On the AI bubble, and the various echoes of the dotcom crash

open.substack.com

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 13h

👇👇👇👇

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 14h

Gotta think this helps justify a future Dem administration’s decision to essentially terminate ICE and redesign from the bottom up.

The enforcement arm of ICE (ERO) has generally had ~3,500 ppl.

A President could easily fire the entirety of ERO and temp nationalize some Nat Guard to fill in.

Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 18h

NEW: I took a long look at the Proud Boys and found some of their most extreme chapters are sharing ICE recruiting materials on encrypted apps and even suggesting members have joined up. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/in-the-...

Reposted by Dave Mazella

Chron.com @chron.com · 14h

"This is the heartbeat of our LGBTQIA+ community in Houston."

‘Overreach at its worst’: Houston leaders rally for rainbow crosswalks

"This is the heartbeat of our LGBTQIA+ community in Houston."

bit.ly

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 14h

Maybe wishful thinking, but I think Platner will embarrass Dem leadership the way Mamdani did

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 18h

If Mike Johnson is refusing to call the House back into session during the shutdown, then we’ll do the work right here the Bronx.

The New York Essential plan is being eliminated entirely next year due to the GOP healthcare cuts. People’s lives are at stake.

And that’s why we’re fighting back.

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Flint Dibble @flintdibble.bsky.social · 15h

By the morals of their times,

Slavers were hated by those they enslaved
Rapists by those who they raped
Murderers by the survivors

The morals of the past are the same as today. Assholes are assholes

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 15h

our secret police are showing some frustration right now

The People's Fabric @peoplesfabric.com · 15h

It appears ICE/CBP chased a vehicle, conducted a dangerous maneuver to intentionally cause a crash, then later tear-gassed bystanders.

Feds tear-gas crowd after car chase leads to crash on Chicago's East Side

The crash happened late Tuesday morning near 105th Street and Avenue N, resulting in dozens of residents showing up to protest the federal immigration agents.

chicago.suntimes.com

Reposted by Dave Mazella

originalcynicus.bsky.social @originalcynicus.bsky.social · 15h

"If I owned Texas and Hell, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell " /Union general Phil Sheridan

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Laura @lleigha.bsky.social · 15h

"Countries that neglect science become dependent on those that don’t. U.S. post-WWII dominance came from basic science investments...Long-term military and economic advantage (nuclear weapons, GPS, AI) trace back to scientific research ecosystems."

Elf M. Sternberg @elfsternberg.bsky.social · 15h

No startups, no science: How the Republican Administration switched off America's most important engine of economic success.

steveblank.com/2025/10/13/n...

Steve Blank No Science, No Startups: The Innovation Engine We’re Switching Off

Tons of words have been written about the Trump Administrations war on Science in Universities. But few people have asked what, exactly, is science? How does it work? Who are the scientists? What d…

steveblank.com

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 16h

Remember when we learned that plenty of state & federal LEOs & politicians were in rw groups? This is really who they are & what they want to do.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 16h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 17h

Student debt was neither soaring nor crushing 10 months ago. In fact, delinquencies 📉 rapidly for 4 years (thanks Biden?) to all-time lows & were ~flat for a decade before that. Inflation-adjusted debt is lower now than in 2015. We have a huge levels & deltas problems in 🇺🇸 political discourse:

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 17h

I'll let you figure out who this is about, (HINT: "stancil") but it's becoming a consensus position for the Dem base

whoops, excuse me. oh man, my bad. @whoopsexcuseme.bsky.social · 20h

His whole deal has been "it's all about media/info environment and constructing a narrative for low info to marinate in enough to believe you"

Reposted by Dave Mazella

Paul Waldman @paulwaldman.bsky.social · 18h

"At Peg's Diner, which sits in the shadow of the decommissioned Deep Hole Mine, the patrons agree on three things. First, Peg makes a mean cherry pie. Second, Donald Trump is the best president America ever had. And third, anyone who'd protest Trump is a commie Antifa terrorist."

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 22h

This from the great @sulliview.bsky.social on the media's anemic (or non-) coverage of the massive No Kings movement is such a great point

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

FLAVOR FLAV ⏰ @flavorflav.bsky.social · 18h

R.I.P. ICON D’Angelo 🙏🏾🕊️

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 22h

A preprint/author's original version of my review of @elikaortega.bsky.social's Binding Media.

Posted under OUP's self-archiving policy academic.oup.com/pages/self_a...

works.hcommons.org/records/kekj...

Review of Binding Media by Élika Ortega

A review of Ortega's Binding Media. My conclusion is that Ortega's terminology—"binding media"—is a useful phrase that should enter the critical lexicon. It gives us the means through which to conside...

works.hcommons.org

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 18h

by the guy he helped make president

Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 18h

Comey seems to have more urgency in his lawyering now that he's being prosecuted

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 19h

NEW: Counsel for James Comey confirms that his defense team plans to file a motion challenging the lawfulness of Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. Attorney.

Motion will be heard and decided by an out-of-district judge.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division
United States of America
v.
James Comey
Defendant.
Case No. 1:25CR272-MSN
NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE MOTION ON UNLAWFUL APPOINTMENT
Please take notice that on October 20, 2025, James Comey, by counsel, will
file his motion to dismiss challenging the lawfulness of the appointment of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. See, e.g., United States
v. Garcia, Crim No. 2:25-CR-00230-DGC-BNW, ECF No. 39 D. Nev. Sept. 30,
2025); United States v. Giraud, et al., Crim No. 1:24-768-MWB, ECF Nos. 144, 145
(D.N.J. Aug. 21, 2025).
The Court advised at arraignment that such motion will require designation
of and assignment to an out-of-district judge to hear and resolve that motion. See 28
U.S.C. § 292(b); Minute Order, ECF No. 19 (Oct. 8, 2025). Thus, in the interest of efficiency and to avoid any unnecessary delay in such process, Mr. Comey files the
instant Notice to formally alert the Court.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES COMEY
By Counsel
Is/
Patrick J. Fitzgerald
Michigan Bar No. P86579 (pro hac vice)
Jessica N. Carmichael

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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 18h

yay we did it

[email protected] @blueangie.bsky.social · 20h

Texas among most dangerous U.S. states, study finds www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-n...

Texas among most dangerous U.S. states, study finds

Only Mississippi and Louisiana fared worse in the new analysis, which looks not just at crime stats but factors such as workplace and road safety.

www.sacurrent.com

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 18h

During this period of open peer review of the Living w/Machines book, 2 new chapters are available:

1. MapReader - a deep cut on the epistemological shift it offers for computational map studies

2. Environmental Scan - a method for digital source criticism at scale

#skystorians #dh #maps #histstm

Ruth Ahnert @ruthahnert.bsky.social · 19h

Hey! We have two new draft chapters of the Living with Machines book up online for your delectation! One on Mapreader and one on the Environmental Scan. read.uolpress.co.uk/projects/liv...

Living with Machines | University of London Press

*Living With Machines* is a data-driven history of the coming of the machine age in Britain in the long nineteenth century. Featuring an innovative open access edition enhanced with interactive maps, ...

read.uolpress.co.uk

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Reposted by Dave Mazella

Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 20h

This is the whole ballgame: “A candidate in today’s day and age needs to be able to explain ideas in a 30-second vertical social media video, a three-minute television hit and a three-hour long-form podcast.”

Can’t do all 3? Can’t hang in 2025. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/m...

Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani

www.nytimes.com

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