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passivelurker.bsky.social
@passivelurker.bsky.social
750 followers 690 following 890 posts
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passivelurker.bsky.social
In 1608, James I tried to evade Parliament’s control of taxes by asserting the right to levy tariffs on luxury goods. The judiciary backed the king, marking a major step towards absolutism in England
These ‘Impositions’ were controversial not just because they were a new tax, but because of *how* they were imposed. By getting a favorable judgment in Bate’s Case, Salisbury had created a strong precedent for extra-Parliamentary taxes on international trade. In the course of the lawsuit, one judge, Chief Baron Fleming, had deployed the classic absolutist argument that the king could act in the common good, and ‘the wisdom and providence of the king is not to be disputed by the subject’. It was all very concerning, not least because it showed - in a manner that did not bode well - that the judiciary were much more pliable to the royal will than the Parliament might be.
December 16, 2025 at 6:04 PM
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johnholbein1.bsky.social
Um, ok...

This paper forthcoming at the JOP provides evidence that rent control in Germany actually made tenants MASSIVELY *less* NIMBY.

This result was in the opposite direction of the authors' pre-registered expectations.

And the effect sizes are, truly, massive.
December 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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parkermolloy.com
I mean, the Penn student newspaper isn't wrong, but www.instagram.com/p/DSH1X4EDwP...
dailypenn YEAR IN REVIEW Four Penn alumni in the national spotlight in 2025 dailypenn From the Oval Office to courtrooms, several Penn alumni made national headlines this year - repeatedly tying the University to high-profile controversies. Swipe for a look at four alumni who stepped into the national spotlight in 2025, and continue reading at the link in our bio.
December 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
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richterscale.bsky.social
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
sardonicus.eu Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 6d
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
a shot of a god botherer in a car, next to him on the passenger seat is a skull in an ornate box
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
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rusty.todayintabs.com
haha so.. I did some works! i guess u can look upon them? no worries if not!
December 9, 2025 at 10:22 PM
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explaintrade.com
"Why are we spending tens of thousands of drachmas on fortress walls when the siege of Troy proved wars of the future will be fought with swarms of cheap wooden horses?"

- The Mycenae Times Editorial Board (1181 BCE)
December 9, 2025 at 12:05 AM
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larryglickman.bsky.social
On Aug 24, 1869, Ohio Rep. John Bingham, principal framer of the 14th amendment, gave a remarkable speech on “Equal Rights-Impartial Suffrage,” in which he said of those who sought to reject the principal of birthright citizenship, “no greater political atrocity than this can possibly be committed.”
What is necessarily implied in this declaration of the Democratic Party? 1. That citizenship is not a birth-right, and from this it results that the majority may rightfully, in the several States of this Union, deprive the minority of all the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States. I submit that no greater political atrocity can possibly be committed by human agency. Let the people accept this proposition and they will become the architects of their own ruin. Nothing can be clearer than this, that under the representative system of government the rights of the minority are as sacred and inviolable as the rights of the majority. If the majority may rightfully disfranchise the minority of citizens on account of race, color or former condition of servitude, they may, with equal propriety, disfranchise citizens for want of stature or property, or on account of nativity, thereby, presenting to teh world the miserable spectacle of a government wherein a mere majority subjects to the absolute despotism of their will a minority of their fellow citizens, almost equal in number to themselves, and per chance, greatly superior in all the attainments and virtues which adorn, or elevate, or ennoble human nature.
December 7, 2025 at 1:52 PM
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schooley.bsky.social
Nothing is changing for you if you don’t want it to, Carol.
December 7, 2025 at 6:11 AM
passivelurker.bsky.social
Straight fire from 1854: “How long is it, Mr. Know-Nothing, since your father came to this country? …. [A]s he followed after the Indians, he was himself a foreigner. And pray, friend, what right have you, a foreigner’s descendant, to persecute those who, like him, chose to settle amongst us?”
Many people rejected the Know Nothings, whose ethos was described by the New York Daily Herald in 1854 as “hostility to adopted citizens - hostility to Catholics - hostility to emigration - hostility to all men holding office who are either Catholic or adopted citizens.” The author disputed such bias, claiming those views were “an advertisement of ignorance, which, in this age, should repel, instead of attracting support.” Later on in the piece, he wondered, “How long is it, Mr. Know-Nothing, since your father came to this country? …. He may have been the oldest inhabitant or he may have been the newest, but as he followed after the Indians, he was himself a foreigner. And pray, friend, what right have you, a foreigner’s descendant, to persecute those who, like him, chose to settle amongst us? You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
December 6, 2025 at 6:31 PM
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colincarlson.bsky.social
"are you enjoying duo mobile" does a hamburger enjoy being made of quarks. does a fish enjoy linear time. does the mountain enjoy the first taste of a cup of hot chocolate when you get back to the ski lodge. your question means nothing to me. i couldn't enjoy duo mobile even if i tried
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
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refein.bsky.social
"Is Ali Khamenei A Wife Guy" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
December 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM
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jeedyjay.bsky.social
November 30, 2025 at 1:28 AM
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unenthusiast.com
"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech but it's Ellen Ripley
November 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
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streetsblogca.bsky.social
An amazing amount of work went into this bsky.app/profile/ucla... study/report/infomaps, etc on the damaging legacy of racist highway construction in communities and cities up and down the state.

cal.streetsblog.org/2025/11/25/u...
UCLA Report Shows How Freeway Construction Last Century Was Used to Destroy and Divide Communities of Color. - Streetsblog California
“Understanding the history of racism in freeway development can inform restorative justice in these areas.”
cal.streetsblog.org
November 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM
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70sbachchan.bsky.social
if you came of age in the 20th century then this really sits you down about how much the Worlds changed in 21st century. no going back…. @katemac.bsky.social

Germany was 4 times China's GDP in 1990
China is now 4 times Germany's GDP in 2025
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
November 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
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andrewmartin.bsky.social
When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, the UK economy was bigger than China and India combined.
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
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beijingpalmer.bsky.social
the actual suicide of the West will be combining a rapidly aging population with hostility to migrants. however we must give credit to East Asia, especially Japan, for pioneering this model.
November 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
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ouranocracy.bsky.social
IS THERE ANYONE IN ROME WHO HAS NOT SLEPT WITH MY REPORTER?!
November 18, 2025 at 3:58 AM
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zachrabiroff.com
I read in Joachim Fest's book that the Führerbunker was built so sloppily that the entire place was redolent with gas fumes 24 hours a day and the air conditioning never worked. Just something to think about.
merovingians.bsky.social the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist) @merovingians.bsky.social · Nov 15
okay new funniest way for Trump to go: his shitty rebuilt bunker collapses during the storming of the White House in Amerimaidan
November 15, 2025 at 4:34 AM
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figgityfigs.bsky.social
Like if NYC real estate hadn’t been so rotten he wouldn’t have been a media personality; if media hadn’t been so rotten he wouldn’t have been a superstar; if the GOP hadn’t been so rotten he wouldn’t have been able to take it over; if SCOTUS hadn’t been so rotten, etc.
November 13, 2025 at 12:45 PM
passivelurker.bsky.social
So many incredible performances. SWORD OF DOOM, HARAKIRI, SAMURAI REBELLION, HIGH AND LOW, KAGEMUSHA, and yes, RAN. Feels like the end of an era

variety.com/2025/film/ob...
Tatsuya Nakadai, Japanese Film Legend That Starred in ‘Ran,’ ‘Harakiri’ and ‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy, Dies at 92
Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan's most celebrated actors who was a frequent collaborator of Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi, died. He was 92.
variety.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:52 AM
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mtsw.bsky.social
RIP Tatsuya Nakadai - one of the all time greats of world cinema variety.com/2025/film/ob...
Tatsuya Nakadai, Japanese Film Legend That Starred in ‘Ran,’ ‘Harakiri’ and ‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy, Dies at 92
Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan's most celebrated actors who was a frequent collaborator of Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi, died. He was 92.
variety.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 AM
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ultramod2.bsky.social
"Demoralizing cognitohazard" is just another term for the internet.
November 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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jessemlocker.bsky.social
Early Florentine self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi on view at Christie's in New York, and up for auction in in February. I just saw it in August and it's very close to her Inclination in the Casa Buonarroti (c. 1615) and other early self-portraits in Florence (thanks, @pjeromack.bsky.social!)
A close in self-portrait of the artist looking out at the viewer, wearing a crown, holding a palm, and a part of a wheel of St. Catherine visible A detail of close in self-portrait of the artist looking out at the viewer, wearing a crown, holding a palm, and a part of a wheel of St. Catherine visible
November 8, 2025 at 12:28 AM
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sodrock.bsky.social
I actually have read the sign
November 7, 2025 at 5:16 PM