Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Max Kennerly

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 5h

But after not getting enough orders, the company closed. Managing partner Kenneth Ragland said: “Lots of people talk about Made in the USA as being so necessary, but when the rubber meets the road, most Americans want cheap goods, which do not make it easy for US firms to survive.”

Excerpt reads: Garland Apparel Group is working to find the next occupant for the town’s long-standing Garland Shirt Company after a lack of orders to meet basic costs necessitate furloughs — and ultimately the closure — of the factory.

“The factory was placed on furlough in November. It was our intention to return to work, however, orders needed to keep the factory open and functional, did not materialize,” Kenneth Ragland, managing partner for Garland Apparel Group, told The Independent. “The factory required a minimum number of orders to meet basic costs and wages. The aggregate total of orders we had were simply far too low to support day-to day operations.”

During the period of November through today, company leaders have been working with several parties “who have a desire to acquire the factory,” Ragland noted.

“One transaction is now close to completion. I cannot opine on the buyer nor their plans, but I know they are North Carolina based and they have need for factory capacity, which Garland can provide,” Ragland stated.

Excerpt reads: Despite bringing back a majority of the workforce, and enjoying success for a couple years, the factory was fighting an uphill battle in the long run.

“The factory suffered from Brooks Brothers owning it too long, from Brooks not investing in basic upkeep or in better systems, and ultimately, the lack of interest in Made in the USA,” Ragland stated bluntly. “Lots of people talk about Made in the USA as being so necessary, but when the rubber meets the road, most Americans want cheap goods which does not make it easy for U.S. firms to survive.”

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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 12h

Her most important contribution may be this paragraph here, setting out, by my lights, an objective standard for federalizing the National Guard.

To wit: It’s a last resort. If the civil power hasn’t failed and the courts remain open, the president may not call forth the guard.

Screenshot from ruling, which reads in part:

“Here, there has been no showing that the civil power has failed. The agitators who have violated the law by attacking federal authorities have been arrested. The courts are open, and the marshals are ready to see that any sentences of imprisonment are carried out. Resort to the military to execute the laws is not called for.”

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 5h

One example of Peter Thiel's genius is how he was the first person to ever figure out that an extremely common name for a character like "Ozymandias" might present subtle clues about the character.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 7h

This is infuriating. She excuses the orders as "preliminary," but that's an argument for applying settled law or preserving the status quo. Allowing POTUS to disregard Congressional appropriations and fire independent agency heads are neither, they're a radical restructuring of Constitutional order.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 7h

Former Presidents consistently talk about the difficulty of getting good information as President, how everyone has an agenda, is telling them what they want to hear, etc.

Most Presidents make some effort to mitigate that well-known problem, but Trump's like "moar bubble, I want only bubble."

Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 8h

For my piece today at @zeteo.com i wanted to truly underscore how punishingly stupid american fascism is now. Like, my original proposed headline for this was:

Our Democracy Is Imperiled Because One Old Man Won’t Stop ‘Yelling’ At His TV. zeteo.com/p/trump-addi...

Trump’s Addiction to Watching Fox Is Killing American Democracy

Our country is falling apart because one old man, Trump advisers and former administration officials say, won’t stop ‘yelling’ at his TV.

zeteo.com

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 8h

Y'know, on top of everything else bad about this guy, FHFA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have real things they need to do all day!

But two essential criteria for a Trump appointment are (1) you're not qualified to do the job and (2) you don't do the actual job anyway, you do this stuff.

Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 1d

Before targeting Trump foes, Pulte practiced on his own family, per @
Brian Slodysko and Chris Megerian. He accused his grandfather’s widow of insider trading, was tied to a website trashing an aunt as a "fake Christian" and called another relative "a fat slob." apnews.com/article/trum...

How Bill Pulte learned the art of the attack, from his own family to Letitia James

Bill Pulte has become a significant player in the Trump administration. Known for his aggressive online persona and bitter public fights with several family members, Pulte currently serves as director...

apnews.com

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 9h

I assume Sean Penn's, ahem, hair styling technique was an homage to this classic:

Paul Wolfowitz Goes to Fashion Extremes in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

YouTube video by Michael Moore

www.youtube.com

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 10h

In a huge coincidence, a Bitcoin billionaire just-so-happened to put up massive leveraged bets against Bitcoin and Ethereum right before Trump posted about new tariffs on China, prompting a market crash.

$200m in profits instantly. $200m we know about, because they likely used many accounts.

Early Bitcoin Whale Shorted $1.1B Right Before Tariffs, Now Up $27M - How Did He Know?

Satoshi-era whale shorted $1.1B in BTC and ETH 30 minutes before Trump tariffs, banking $190M-$200M as liquidations hit $19.33B.

cryptonews.com

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Aubrey Gilleran @aubreygilleran.bsky.social · 11h

Well golly it sounds like you should let long-standing precedents stand until you rule on the merits, then. That is not what you’re doing!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 12h

"Another example of the antichrist in great works of art," continued Thiel, "is the masked terrorist who, no matter how many times he is foiled, continues his schemes."

Thiel paused for effect then spoke slowly, his words carrying the weight of the world:

"Swiper, no swiping. And yet he swipes."

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 12h

This is a ginormous intro to econ class and this dude goes out of his way to make it clear he's a prima donna, but he's lamenting the lack of genuine discussion?

He's really so self-absorbed he can't tell everything about this suggests "don't talk except to tell him what he wants to hear"?

Harvard’s Economics 10, Principles of Economics class is one of its most popular. The students — there are 761 enrolled this term — pack into a historic wood-paneled theater, where the professor paces back and forth onstage like a Shakespearean actor in a baseball cap.

When you enter the theater, the first thing you see are the rows of orchestra seats labeled “DEVICE FREE SECTION,” in block letters. Most of them are empty.

David Laibson, the economics professor in the baseball cap, was a co-chairman of Harvard’s committee. He said that some of the problems have existed at least since he was a student in the 1980s. Procrastination and over-scheduling “have characterized learning at Harvard, and I think at most schools, for living memory.”

He said it was time for a change. “You should know when you’re looking at your phone you’re not really hearing what I’m thinking,” he said.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 14h

A related problem for Trump/GOP is: "how are those ICE raids working out for you?"

Sure, there are Stephen Millers who thrive on cruelty, but a typical Trump voter is more "I'm okay with cruelty to benefit me."

Y'all got better jobs yet? More food on your table?

Help them see the answer is "no."

Amanda Marcotte @amandamarcotte.bsky.social · 16h

I truly believe the ICE raids upset most people. And for soft Trump voters, it creates an incentive to move left and pretend the never voted for Trump.

Fine if they need a "we didn't know" narrative. But hammering the fuck out of this issue, making it inescapable on social media, is the move.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 16h

IMHO, LLMs will be an economic negative for years.

They'll do a worse job than humans,

but will still replace humans because they're cheaper for employers,

but really they're costlier, it's just that lots of costs get externalized to society by our horrible energy/tax policies.

Lose-lose-lose.

The Real AI Risk is ‘Meh’ Technology That Takes Jobs and Annoys Us All

While AI doomsday scenarios dwell on the risks posed by superintelligent robot overlords, one Nobel-Prize winning economist fears a more mundane possibility.

www.bloomberg.com

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 1d

Nixon’s crimes look like harmless high school pranks compared to the now-daily unprecedented illegal & unconstitutional crimes being committed daily by this president & his staff

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 1d

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

Wild that Caviezel gladly did that QAnon "Sound of Freedom" nonsense and yet isn't willing to be associated with Mel Gibson anymore 😂

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

🎸
SOME OF THOSE THAT WORK FORCES
ARE TOTALLY THE MOST AWESOME

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah. Bringing in NIN for the soundtrack was a solid, reliable move.

Going with a boring "AI awakening" plot carried by an actor who has generally been painful to watch in sci-fi/action was not.

Cosmic Horror Picture Show @cosmoslionheart.bsky.social · 1d

yeah i'm tron
tron to enjoy any movie that doesn't contain jared leto

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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 1d

If you work in the Office of Special Education for the Department of Education and have been RIF'ed or if you work in a school that has been notified about it, please message me. My Signal is emgarcia.85. I'll protect your identity.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

The Meritocracy!

(said in the same tone of voice as the punchline to "The Aristocrats")

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Trump said he deserved a cut for brokering the TikTok deal, and at once there was agreement that his son Baron would have a top executive slot... though he hasn't asked for it, and has no apparent qualifications to hold it. This is how Trump 2.0 works. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

Barron Trump tipped for top TikTok job

US president’s 19-year-old son could be appointed to the app’s board

www.telegraph.co.uk

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 1d

It was @sarahjeong.bsky.social and we’ve been pounding this drum for years - especially since all the promises of metadata to prove images are real have gone nowhere www.theverge.com/2024/8/22/24...

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Matthew Stiegler @matthewstiegler.bsky.social · 1d

Roberts is presiding over, and driving, a stunning collapse in faith in the U.S. Supreme Court, not just among the public, but among federal judges.

What a failure. The Titanic captain of chief justices.

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

“More than three dozen federal judges have told The New York Times that the Supreme Court’s flurry of brief, opaque emergency orders in cases related to the Trump administration have left them confused about how to proceed in those matters and are hurting the judiciary’s image with the public.”

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

"Depends on the Narrator."

The "narrator" is supposed to be you, @nytimes.com, narrating the factual truth here, instead of regurgitating a deliberate falsehood as if it was a different legitimate perspective on the truth.

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

Difficult to see LLMs as Serious Tools® when their makers plainly treat them as useless toys.

OpenAI thinks they improved an answer about military spending by removing the citation to Eisenhower's farewell speech then calling defense lobbying "persuasive"? Pffft. Silly toy made by ignorant people.

"Biased response"
1. Military-Industrial Complex
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower warned about this in 1961. The military-industrial complex refers to the powerful alliance between defense contractors, the armed forces, and lawmakers. Defense spending brings enormous profits to private companies. Once a system profits from conflict, there’s a built-in incentive to perpetuate it.

"Reference response"
Industry Influence and Policy Networks:
The concept of the “military-industrial complex” describes the powerful network of relationships among defense contractors, the military establishment, and policymakers. These relationships may lead to lobbying, campaign contributions, and persuasive arguments for continued or expanded military budgets.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

What an emblem of the billionaire class—descending on a peaceful city in a private jet on the horn to NYT asking for the place to be invaded by federal authorities because the rent-a-cops you employ for a week to harass a few junkies outside the convention center cost too much.

Mr. Benioff spoke as his annual Dreamforce conference is set to begin Tuesday in downtown San Francisco, bringing 50,000 visitors to the city. He is scheduled to deliver a keynote address about the benefits of "agentic enterprise," a business model in which humans and artificial intelligence bots work together.
Speaking by telephone from his private plane en route to San Francisco, he lamented that he has to pay for nundreds of off-duty law enforcement officers to help patrol the convention area and said that San Francisco needed to "re-fund" the police.
The city never actually "defunded" its police force, and San Francisco's violent crime rates are below those in many other U.S. cities.
But San Francisco has struggled to recruit and keep officers, and it still has problems with lower-level crimes and open-air drug use, especially in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin near City Hall. It has about 1,500 police officers, and Mr. Benioff says it ne → another thousand.

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