Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Chase Madar

William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 7h

Look at this idea he had. These are not serious people. He has exactly one skill and that’s selling the idea of GENIUS MAVERICK PALMER LUCKEY. He is stupid. He is still going to steal lots of your public money. He may break things that you didn’t even know were working. He is not Dr. Doom.

Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · May 11

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey says the US should “expand our naval base on Guantanamo Bay into Liberty City [ie, a ‘freedom city’], an American Singapore of the Caribbean.” Anduril is backed by Tech Bros Peter Thiel & Marc Andreessen who support aspiring “network states” via Pronomos Capital. 1/

9 24 220

Reposted by Chase Madar

Marshall Steinbaum @econmarshall.bsky.social · 17h

I have a new piece in @lpeblog.bsky.social

“Anti-monopolism as an Ideology of the Left”

responding to @gabrielwinant.bsky.social’s “provocation.”

lpeproject.org/blog/anti-mo...

2 13 51

Reposted by Chase Madar

Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 3h

🧵:

Last June, more than 5 million Americans joined #NoKings rallies across the country, protesting President Trump's authoritarianism. And this Saturday, with your help, it's going to be even bigger and better.

19 270 1.1K

Reposted by Chase Madar

Seven Years in Quebec @dfeldman.org · 3h

This study estimates the effect is responsible for about 1.5 years of US life expectancy - so an immigration ban would cause a drop roughly the same size as the Covid pandemic

Of course no one would necessarily actually be dying, they’d just be living in different countries

1 2 4

Reposted by Chase Madar

Seven Years in Quebec @dfeldman.org · 3h

Fun fact:

Immigrants live substantially longer than native-born Americans - 7 years longer for men, and 6 for women

In a way this is obvious, sick people aren’t going to migrate between countries, but there are also cultural factors

ANYWAY if immigration declines, US life expectancy will as well!

1 3 23

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 4h

Peace’s GB84 is my own answer and I need to finally read Dos Passos and Uwe Johnson

1

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 4h

What works of fiction incorporate a lot of nonfiction in dynamic, interesting ways? (Asking because I wish the latest Wu Ming had risked more to bring in even more news, social and political history, into its latest, about the end of the Years of Lead.)

4

Reposted by Chase Madar

David Burbach 🌹 @dburbach.bsky.social · 5h

Johnson actually said this, about naked people on a cold rainy day: “the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet was the naked bicyclers in Portland who were protesting ICE.
I mean, it’s getting really ugly.”

Uh, threatening... how? Hidden weapons 😬?

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 5h

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson calls Sunday's naked bike ride in protest of the Portland ICE facility and and Trump troop deployment "the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet"

www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

16 59

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 6h

By the standards of the United States Senate, Booker really isn’t that bad; top quintile, for sure. But there is something just so objectionable about him and his wide-eyed showboating bullshit and his fossilized Gen X-Dem savvy! This is why he’ll never even come close to the presidency

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 7h

Whereas Harris told MSNBC that she believes whether or not Israel has committed genocide is a fair and honest question to ask, Cory Booker explicitly said to the "I've Had it" podcast that he thinks addressing the question of whether Netanyahu has committed crimes would undermine resolving conflict.

3

Reposted by Chase Madar

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 6h

MAGA is breaking all records in the number of protective orders issued against its members of Congress over acts of violence against women

22 53

Reposted by Chase Madar

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 13h

"a test"? you mean...a violation?

AP: Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza over slow return of dead hostages, a test for the Gaza ceasefire

140 1.6K 6.2K

Reposted by Chase Madar

Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 8h

They're all gonna get fellowships at the University of Austin, aren't they?

John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 9h

Vile and racist comments when they think no outsiders can listen in. Because Chatham house rules, right? A lot of bold, outside-– box thinking going on here on “forbidden” topics.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

6 19 110

Reposted by Chase Madar

Dan DePetris @dandepetris.bsky.social · 9h

I have a hard time thinking anybody in their right mind expects Trump to follow the National Security Strategy, even his own. So how relevant are these documents in the grand scheme of things?

Nahal Toosi @nahaltoosi.bsky.social · 9h

NEW: I'm told that Trump is close to releasing his National Security Strategy, and the drafts right now have a heavy focus on the Western Hemisphere. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Trump’s NatSec Strategy is almost ready

Signs point to quite a lot of focus on the Western hemisphere in the Trump administration's first National Security Strategy.

www.politico.com

1 2 2

Reposted by Chase Madar

Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 9h

Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says
In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.

65 450 960

Reposted by Chase Madar

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 16h

Now on @ssrn.bsky.social, forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review. “Alas,” I think Akhil Amar’s new book, “Born Equal,” is not a success and I explain why at great length. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Amar is an engaging writer and a splendid storyteller. Alas—to borrow one of Amar's favorite interjections— even at 736 pages, Born Equal omits too much of importance, even as it advertises itself as the definitive account of its subject matter. The result of Amar's attempt to fit an entire century's worth of American constitutionalism into a coherent narrative is never boring. But ultimately, it reveals more about the mapmaker than the territory. Despite Amar's professed commitments to democracy and equality, Born Equal slights the democratic work of multitudes of people who have transformed our constitutional order without sharing Amar's constitutional faith. And it obscures inequalities that will persist as long as the cult to which
Amar demands fealty.

9 20 99

Reposted by Chase Madar

The Onion @theonion.com · 9h

Israel Warns Gaza Still Harboring Hundreds Of Doctors https://theonion.com/israel-warns-gaza-still-harboring-hundreds-of-doctors-1850964439/

24 510 2.6K

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 9h

This looks like a genuinely useful and fun debate, grazie @unherd.com

Lindsey Boylan @lindseyboylan.bsky.social · 15h

UnHerd is hosting the BIG Mamdani debate on Thurs., Oct. 30. 6pm Lower Manhattan

Yours truly and Ross Barkan for Mamdani vs. Caroline Downey and Miranda Devine against Mamdani.

Join us! Tickets/details club.unherd.com/event/this-h...

LIVE FROM NEW YORK: This house fears Mayor Mamdani - UnHerd Club

If the polls are to be believed, Zohran Mamdani—a self-described democratic socialist—is poised to become the next mayor of New York City. His history as a police abolitionist, calls for wealth redist...

club.unherd.com

1 4

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 9h

Yes, age v important. Sanders, King and other octogenarians are at much higher risk of being incapacitated due to ill health or death than younger senators. I would’ve happily supported younger candidates with the same political values tho in the unusual case of Sanders that’s hard to come by.

1 9

Reposted by Chase Madar

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 12h

“Once rare, 7-year car loans are fast becoming the norm. They’re often the only way buyers can afford new rides, with average sale prices surging 28% in 5 years to approach $50k.”

Designed-in car dependency, surging car prices, longer loan periods with more interest.

Sound like “freedom” to you?

Cars are so expensive that buyers need 7-year loans

Once rare, seven-year car loans are fast becoming the norm. They’re often the only way buyers can afford new rides, with average auto prices nearing $50,000.

www.seattletimes.com

33 72 290

Reposted by Chase Madar

Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 10h

This was always the logical endpoint of George H.W. Bush's "1,000 points of light" approach to basic government services:

When you take away government's role as the provider of public goods & make funding for basic services dependent on the whims of private benefactors, you've just got warlordism.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10h

Trump: "I had a very wealthy person who called -- a donor, a great gentleman -- and he said, 'if there's any money necessary, shortfall, for the paying of the troops, then I will pay it.' Meaning he will pay it. How about that?"

5 10 73

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 11h

Just because I dislike _you_ doesn’t mean I “hate America,” I mean come the hell on

1 4

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 11h

Happy Halloween!

1

Reposted by Chase Madar

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 12h

I seem to recall that it was the biggest 1st Amendment attack in American history when the Biden admin alerted social media companies to some content and said "hey does this violate your policies?" Will Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and (lol) CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss call this out?

Tweet from Pam Bondi:

Today following outreach from
@thejusticedept
, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target
@ICEgov
agents in Chicago.

The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

39 860 3.1K

Chase Madar @madar.bsky.social · 12h

It's polarizing (I love it! Or at least don't mind it earworming into my brain)

1