Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by James Enge

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 5h

When college kids publicly say "Israel's war on Gaza is bad" that is full-blown anti-Semitism that requires the federal government to crack down on all colleges.

When Young Republicans in their 20s and 30s privately praise Hitler and "joke" about the Holocaust, well, that's just freedom baby.

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RNS @rns.org · 5h

OPINION: Charlie Kirk's words show that he was certainly a missionary for conservative values, but that’s not the same thing as a proponent of Jesus’ gospel.
religionnews.com/2025/10/14/k...

Kirk's rise as a Christian hero exposes the faith's perilous path

(RNS) — Attempts to sanitize Kirk demonstrate a perilous consensus among many Christians to make the faith the bedrock of authoritarianism.

religionnews.com

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 7h

Had a really good time with Peter talking about the AI bubble, and said the following, which i stand by:

"I don't do this because I'm like "I'm going to be nasty." No, I do it because I'm pissed off at the way they fucked up the computer."

Peter Kafka @pkafka.bsky.social · 8h

Enjoyed talking to @edzitron.com, who has been spending a lot of time banging the drum about the AI bubble (and about the problems with tech in general.

Also discussed here: How Ed runs a PR company while he also savages some of the biggest companies in tech.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

The PR Guy Who Says the AI Boom Is a Bust

Podcast Episode · Channels with Peter Kafka · 10/15/2025 · 55m

podcasts.apple.com

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WIRED @wired.com · 6h

Huge AI infrastructure deals assume that algorithms will keep improving with scale. They may not.

The AI Industry's Scaling Obsession Is Headed for a Cliff

Huge AI infrastructure deals assume that algorithms will keep improving with scale. They may not.

wrd.cm

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RNS @rns.org · 6h

Every Friday for the past 19 years, a group of Catholics has prayed the rosary outside an ICE detention facility in Illinois, having largely cordial interactions with the agents. But ICE’s demeanor began to change earlier this year, then shifted dramatically roughly two months ago.

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Dr Robert Bohan @robertbohan.bsky.social · 7h

🧵 This is a 2,000y old Celtic gold boat from Ireland. It’s my talisman as an artist. The proportions & curves inform my work, as does the design & art ideas of my ancestors, who arrived here 2,500y ago.

You can see my one-off ink on paper drawings if you scroll down this thread. Colour matters! [1]

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 7h

This is good: Rep Eric Swalwell tells me House Dems are now discussing making an end to mask-wearing a precondition for ICE funding.

"When we are in the majority, the masks are coming off," he says.

This is the next frontier in anti-Trump resistance.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2018...

Trump ICE Raids Take Horrific Turn in Chicago, Handing Dems an Opening

There’s one simple pledge Democrats can make to voters about ICE that’s easy to understand and will have broad support.

newrepublic.com

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 7h

Ad-thick, but really meaningful examination of a seemingly meaningless language meme.

Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 8h

Parents! Finally an answer for the utterly nonsensical kid favorite... SIX-SEVEN!

youtu.be/laZpTO7IFtA?...

Is 67 just brain rot?

YouTube video by languagejones

youtu.be

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 8h

This morning, a little after 11 AM, comedy struck in the Fortress of Engitude—sudden, violent comedy. Funny enough to keep me from teaching this morning, anyway.

Screencap from MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS episode 1x1 "Whither Canada?". Terry Jones is seen as a newsman outside a house saying, "This morning, shortly after eleven o'clock, comedy struck this little house in Dibley Road—sudden, violent comedy."

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Nothings Monstered @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social · 10h

However much rich people feel like spending, they always have plenty more.

Poor people feel fortunate when they have anything left after they spend what they need.

This is why rich people prefer taxes on what people spend (like tariffs) to taxes on what people own or get paid.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 12h

We were actually getting somewhere, too. 😞

@sbmitche.bsky.social
www.library.hbs.edu/working-know...

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21h

People experiencing miscarriages in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves.

We created this guide for anyone who finds themselves in the same position 👇

(Published Dec. 2024)

If You’re Pregnant, Here’s What You Should Know About the Medical Procedures That Could Save Your Life

Women experiencing pregnancy loss in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves. We created this guide for anyone who finds themselv...

www.propublica.org

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 20h

_memento amoris_ (or _memento amorem_) would be fine if one person is being addressed; if it's more than one person, then it'd be _mementote amoris_.

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paris martineau @paris.nyc · 1d

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

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Hyo Yoon Kang 강효윤 @hyoyoonkang.bsky.social · 1d

academics being asked to attend inane seminars to train students in ai "literacy" whilst chat gpt is introducing sexting

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 22h

But not if you have something more important to do, like organize your sock drawer or clip your toenails.

(3/2)

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 22h

but not enough to make the movie work. We’re clearly meant to find lesbians & the disabled as Scary & Evil. The Latin in the magic spell is about as doggy as you’d expect in movie where cats are demonized.
Lighting & sound were strangely subprofessional. Weird enough to watch once, maybe.

(2/2)

Poster for THE SENTINEL, which gives away the plot of the movie, such as it is.

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 22h

Shocktober 14: THE SENTINEL (1977). The greatest horror in this film is the misuse of a numerous cast of great actors from several generations whose efforts are wholly wasted here. There were some genuinely creepy moments, as in the infernal birthday party of Mortimer the cat

(1/x)

Evil but charming Mortimer, cat from Hell, wearing a party hate and staring daggers at the director who is responsible for his discomfort and ours.

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 1d

It is! Thanks. I'm interested as a scholar of language (and need more data to satisfy that interest) and as a guy writing something set in the mid-1980s (for whom "before 1989" is probably good enough).

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 1d

"Give a moron authority and after a while he forgets he's a moron."
—Donald Westlake/"Richard Stark"

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 2d

Shocktober 13: INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956). It’s not quite the masterpiece that the 1978 remake is but I like to rewatch the original for McCarthy’s performance, and Winters’. Plus if you’re going to make a movie about mindless conformism, the ideal setting is America in the 1950s. Or now.

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David 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 @dskiwalker5750.bsky.social · 3d

"Mainstream news outlets appear uncomfortable wrestling with the degree to which pro-Trump media figures practice propaganda undertaken in bad faith toward expressly instrumental ends. We need them to get past that."

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 3d

Absolutely crucial point here by Greg Sargent. When we don’t call propaganda what it is, we co-produce it, and hasten disaster.
newrepublic.substack.com/p/maga-implo...

MAGA Implodes over Kristi Noem’s “Stare Down” with Man in Chicken Suit

A good New York Times piece on Portland nevertheless demonstrates how the conventions of objective reporting fail to accurately capture the bad faith driving pro-Trump propaganda.

newrepublic.substack.com

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Art Of Coop @artofcoop.bsky.social · 3d

imagine if you could somehow sneak someone into the White House dressed up as the Devil to scare the shit out of our boy

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Trump: "I don't think there's anything that's gonna get me in heaven. I think I'm not maybe heaven bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to make heaven."

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SF Encyclopedia @sfencyclopedia.bsky.social · 3d

Artist Dean Ellis sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/ellis_... died on this day, so here's some of his 1973/1974 cover art.

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James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 2d

Shocktober 12: HEART EYES (2025). Looked like it was going to be a light-hearted slasher parody of romcoms; instead it turned out to be a light-hearted romcom parody of slasher films.

It might've been a better movie if the central couple didn't fall in love with each other, but it is what it is.

James Enge @jamesenge.bsky.social · 2d

Nutty!