Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ted McCormick

@tedmccormick.bsky.social

15K followers 2.2K following 4.8K posts

Historian of scientific, economic and colonial projects in early modern Britain, Ireland, and the Atlantic; books http://bit.ly/3HYwNiA & http://bit.ly/3rKdAvt; http://memoriousblog.com; views mine; he/him. Montrealer in Philly, except when I’m in Montreal

bit.ly

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 5d

No university that signs the compact will be a university, in the accepted sense, anymore. They will be mere Trump Institutes, teaching only what subjects Trump doesn't bar them from teaching -- and only until he does. Signing is an abdication of responsibility and an act of great moral cowardice.

Benjamin Nathans | Autonomy or obedience

Guest Columnist Benjamin Nathans urges Penn’s leadership to resist the White House’s demands in its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”

www.thedp.com

2 32 94

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 6h

I follow the Chicago School

- of economics?

No. Papacy

1 3 25

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 7h

I guess we know who’s NOT winning the Nobel Prize for economics

1 1 23

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 7h

shock that the pope might give advice inconsistent with orthodox economics seems like a real failure of basic cultural literacy

3 1 37

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 7h

just listening to WHYY on a Penn State employee survey and the consultant delivered his line right on cue

1 25

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 7h

University leaders: [terminate programs, close campuses, cave in to political pressure from demagogues]

Faculty, students, staff: you’re killing the university

Management consultants: looks like you got a real comms challenge here

5 45 200

Reposted by Ted McCormick

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 17h

My latest is the story of how my community has rallied to protect and defend our neighbors in recent days, as ICE has targeted the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. "This is not a story about a moment of victory, but a moment of being reminded of our power."

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

34 1.3K 3.5K

Reposted by Ted McCormick

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 18h

the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.

Mark Misoshnik 🏴 @misoshnik.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?

A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”

520 4.9K 19K

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

Years ago, this man moved from Quillette to “*better* things.” The better things:

Michael Edison Hayden @michaelehayden.bsky.social · 20h

“They are highly organized … [they] have purchased their own animal costumes”

Andy ngo mad about muppets again — this time in Chicago

4 5 23

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

“these leftist profs don’t get Plato/Caesar/Aurelius/Aquinas/Hobbes/Mill/Batman the way I do”

- every wannabe Machiavelli/Savonarola ever

1 12

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

Also: how many radical centrist careers have been built on loving “liberal arts” but hating the rest of the class?

1 12

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

Tbc, the idea that studying any given subject can make you good is clearly bullshit. There’s more of a case, on the surface, that it could make you interesting, but empirical support even for that is weak

1 22

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

Sure, but if he’d stuck around for the PhD, nobody would be listening to him now. Checkmate

brasidas @brasidas.bsky.social · 1d

Anyone who claims that Silicon Valley would be better with more humanities education has to grapple with the fact that Peter Thiel was a philosophy major.

5 6 71

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 20h

I don’t think badges of honour can be awarded for advertising your pal’s columns, written for your mutual employer, but maybe I’m just old fashioned

Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 20h

If you think being yelled at is eo ipso a badge of honor, you’re doing thinking wrong.

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 21h

Cannot emphasize enough how thoroughly unimportant to either democracy or the intellectual integrity of public discourse it is that high schoolers read The Atlantic

1 10

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 23h

advertising is advertising, it's not a field of honour

free advertising for the thought police is pretty grim work, though

1 3 22

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 23h

Who is brave enough to praise the new boss?, asks The Atlantic.

I am, The Atlantic answers

One Atlantic writer, Sally Jenkins, asking to be ratioed by imaginary thought police because she likes another Atlantic writer, Caitlin Flanagan's, praise for a third, failed writer, Bari Weiss, who is famous for trying to get people with opinions she doesn't approve of fired, but now runs a news network, and is thus in need of The Atlantic's generous support

6 24 160

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1d

All I’ve heard is that perhaps they were thought likeliest to entertain the idea of signing onto the compact (at least, in the mind of its framers)

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1d

It’s natural to look at NYT headlines and think, “These people don’t *want* to live like this. A little boost from me and maybe they’ll choose to do something better.” You’re wrong. They do. They won’t.

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1d

For the umpteenth time: Don’t give the NYT your money. It just encourages them. We are already paying enough.

Kevin Reuning @reuning.bsky.social · 2d

Trump straight up murdering people in the Caribbean and the NYT writes this

The Trump Split Screen: A Peacemaker Abroad, a Retribution Campaign at Home

1 1 26

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1d

Brownshirts now available in a variety of colors and patterns

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

The omniforce is accountable only to Trump: they ignore state and local guidance, or court decisions. Forget about knowing the identity of the official. Now you may not know which agency he works for, or even if he is an agent of the state.

two men wearing American flag facemasks and tactical gear.
Look at the picture above. One of these is a member of a private militia that supports the President and was involved in an violent effort to overturn the election, the other is an agent of the state. Can you tell the difference?

2 1 16

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1d

They Were Academics Who Dared to Have Non-MAGA Views. Charlie Kirk Started a Watchlist to Make People Like Them Pay

Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 1d

I was trying to put my finger on what bothered me about this portrayal and I think it’s that it just takes the guy’s words at face value, like he was a nice guy and reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death just pushed him over the edge www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/u...