Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Ryan Hassett

@ryanhassett.bsky.social

With TrumpRx, you can now pay $200/month for medicine instead of $140/year.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR MAKING LIFE MORE AFFORDABLE!!!

February 6, 2026 at 2:51 AM

Reposted

Awful Announcing

@awfulannouncing.bsky.social

Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen pushed the paid-protestor conspiracy during Friday's episode of his radio show (bit.ly/4k0Ky4f)

"In conditions like this, do paid protesters get hazard pay? Those are the things that I've been thinking about this morning."

January 24, 2026 at 9:39 PM

Reposted

j garcia

@jasoncomix.bsky.social

Please read and share with anyone who might be planning on counterprotesting in Cedar-Riverside this weekend

A flyer from the West Bank business association.

Text reads:

WEST *BANK
MPLS
Community Notice - Cedar-Riverside | Saturday, January 17
Community leaders in Cedar-Riverside, including elected officials, rapid response teams, faith leaders, community organizations, and residents, are sharing the following information to ensure safety and clarity this weekend.
We have been made aware that a small group of racist and anti-Muslim agitators may attempt to come into the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on Saturday, January 17. Their intention appears to be to provoke disruption and create fear. Our community will not be drawn into that.
To support safety and stability, trained community patrollers wearing yellow vests, faith leaders wearing orange vests, and local law enforcement, including the Sheriff's Office and the Minneapolis Police Department, will be present to monitor and respond to any potential concerns.
Guidance for Cedar-Riverside Community Members
• Do not be afraid
• Go about your day as usual.
• If you see protest activity or offensive behavior, do not engage, argue, confront, or respond
• Avoid conversations with strangers, individuals recording video, or members of the media.
• If you have concerns or feel unsafe, approach a community patroller or call
911.
Guidance for Those Outside the Community
No protest activity is needed, welcomed, or appropriate inside Cedar-Riverside.
• If you wish to support the community, please coordinate with your local neighborhood rapid response network rather than coming into the area.
Cedar-Riverside is strong, resilient, and united. We look out for one another, and we continue keeping our community safe together.

January 15, 2026 at 5:17 PM

Reposted

Matt Novak

@paleofuture.bsky.social

Here's the Ronald Reagan ad from Canada that Trump calls "fake."

October 24, 2025 at 2:48 AM

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JM =^)

@jm539581.bsky.social

September 17, 2025 at 11:38 PM

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Mehdi Hasan

@mehdirhasan.bsky.social

From me, a list of Trump supporters who killed, or tried to kill, Democrats and opponents of Trump in recent years (since the right are now claiming all the political violence is from the left!)

Receipts:
zeteo.com/p/charlie-ki...

September 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM

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The Tennessee Holler

@thetnholler.bsky.social

Trump confronted by protestors in a DC restaurant…

September 10, 2025 at 12:43 AM

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Razzball

@razzball.bsky.social

American politics, circa September 2025

Trump is making fun of Adam Schiff's neck

September 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM

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Aaron Rupar

@atrupar.com

Trump wraps up his press event: "I want to thank Tim Cook. He's a great, great man, a visionary, a businessman, just about every quality he can have other than athleticism. I'm looking at him -- I'm not 100% sure."

August 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM

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ProFootballTalk

@profootballtalk.bsky.social

Nerds.

July 10, 2025 at 12:21 AM

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Celeste Ng

@pronounced-ing.bsky.social

If any of these are your reps, please take 5 min today and call. Scripts and numbers at 5calls.org. Kill this absolute travesty of a bill.

50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · Jul 2

These are the weak points. You know what to do. First thing tomorrow, use 5calls.org and raise hell.

Call these U.S. Representatives and tell them to vote NO on the “Big Beautiful Bill”:

AZ-06, Juan Ciscomani
CA-22, David Valadao
CA-40, Young Kim
CA-41, Ken Calvert
CO-08, Gabe Evans
FL-07, Cory Mills
FL-13, Anna Paulina Luna
FL-27, Maria Elvira Salazar
IA-01, Mariannette Miller-Meeks
IA-02, Ashley Hinson
IA-03, Zach Nunn
MI-07, Tom Barrett
MO-02, Ann Wagner
NJ-07, Tom Kean Jr.
NY-17, Mike Lawler
OH-07, Max Miller
OH-10, Mike Turner
OH-15, Mike Carey
PA-01, Brian Fitzpatrick
PA-07, Ryan Mackenzie
PA-08, Rob Bresnahan
PA-10, Scott Perry
TN-05, Andy Ogles
TX-15, Monica De La Cruz
VA-01, Rob Wittman
VA-02, Jen Kiggans
WI-01, Bryan Steil
WI-03, Derrick Van Orden

July 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM

Reposted

taylr

@taylordahlin.com

gonna caution everyone about national accounts covering the news in MN - stick to locals. already seeing lots of misinformation coming from people who do not live here

June 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM

sambrogee.bsky.social

@sambrogee.bsky.social

@cjzero.bsky.social tell me you got the crying inter fan

May 31, 2025 at 8:36 PM

sambrogee.bsky.social

@sambrogee.bsky.social

@kmaythegreat.bsky.social

CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · Apr 25

child was experiencing some turbulence

April 25, 2025 at 1:36 AM

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Haris

@afcmhr.bsky.social

RELOAD IT

April 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM

Reposted

The Daily Show

@thedailyshow.com

Fox News attacking Obama for golfing during a market crash but make the footage Trump

April 4, 2025 at 7:32 PM

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Amy Hoy

@amyhoy.bsky.social

guess where they got their weird trade deficit math from?

i went to the pit for y'all and brought back the screenshots with alt text

chatgpt log:

What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%.
Reasoned about trade tariffs and deficits for 10 seconds v
A straightforward (if naïve) method is to set the tariff rate for each trading partner equal to the percentage share of the trade deficit relative to that country's total imports-always no less than 10%. In formula form:
Tariff Rate (%) = max(10, (Trade Deficit ÷ Total Imports) *
100)
For example, if the US runs a $20 billion deficit on $100 billion worth of imports from a country, the calculated rate is (20/100)×100 = 20%. If the deficit were only 5%, you'd still impose a 10% floor.
This method ignores the intricate dynamics of international trade-such as elasticities, retaliatory measures, and supply chain nuances-but it provides a blunt, proportional rule to "level the playing field." One might implement it in Python like so:

[code]

Gemini answer:

Okay, let's break down the idea of using tariffs to achieve an "even playing field" defined as eliminating the US trade deficit.
While the goal of balancing trade is understandable, devising an "easy way" to calculate tariffs to achieve this is extremely complex, and most economists would argue it's not feasible or desirable for several reasons.
However, let's outline a highly simplified conceptual approach based only on the numbers, ignoring the vast real-world complexities and consequences:
Simplified (and Problematic) Calculation Idea:
1. Identify the Bilateral Deficit: Determine the trade deficit the US has with a specific country (Country X).
Deficit_X = Value of Imports from X - Value of
• Exports to X
2. Target Reduction: The goal is to reduce imports from Country X (or increase their cost to US buyers) by the amount of the deficit, so that the value effectively balances out.
3. Calculate Required Tariff (Ignoring Economics):
• If you assume, very unrealistically, that a tariff directly reduces the value of imports by a corresponding percentage (which it doesn't
- it increases the price), you could try:
Required Reduction % = Deficit_X / Value of
• Imports from X

Claude:

What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%.
To calculate tariffs that could theoretically level the playing field for trade deficits, I'd suggest a straightforward approach based on the trade imbalance percentage:
1. Calculate the bilateral trade deficit with each trading partner: Trade Deficit - US Imports from Country - US
Exports to Country
2. Express this as a percentage of total bilateral trade: Deficit Percentage - (Trade Deficit / Total Bilateral Trade) × 100
3. Apply a tariff rate that corresponds to this percentage, with
your minimum 10% floor: Tariff Rate = max(Deficit
Percentage, 10%)
This creates a proportional response where countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher tariffs.
For example:
• If Country A has a 25% trade surplus with the US (meaning the US has a 25% deficit), apply a 25% tariff
• If Country B has a 5% trade surplus with the US, apply the minimum 10% tariff
This method is relatively simple to calculate and directly ties tariff levels to trade imbalances. However, I should note that economists generally caution that trade deficits alone don't necessarily indicate unfair trade practices, and tariffs can have complex economic consequences including increased consumer prices and potential retaliation.
Would you like me to elaborate on any part of this approach or discuss potential refinements to make it more sophisticated?

Grok:

the deficit. The deficit as a percentage of total trade is
$295B/$582B = 50.69%. Using the formula Tariff% = 10% +
(Deficit% × Scaling Factor), we choose a scaling factor of 50 for illustration:
• Tariff = 10% + (50.69% × 50) = 10% + 25.345% = 35.345%, rounded to 35.3%.
This means a 35.3% tariff on Chinese goods could be proposed to offset the imbalance, aiming to reduce imports and encourage domestic production or exports.
Extending to Other Countries
To provide a broader view, here's a table of top US trading partners with 2024 deficits, using data from The Motley Fool and similar calculations (assuming scaling factor of 50 for consistency):

[data table headings]
Country

Deficit
(USD
Billion)

Total
Trade
(USD
Billion)
Deficit %

Calculate d Tariff %

China
-295
582
50.69%
35.3%

Mexico
-172
840
20.48%
20.2%

Vietnam
-123
(Data incomplet e, estimate)
~30%
25.0%

Ireland
-87
(Data incomplet e, estimate)
~25%
22.5%

Germany
-85
(Data incomplete estimate)
~20%
20.0%

April 3, 2025 at 12:42 AM

Reposted

Bill DiFilippo

@billdifilippo.bsky.social

think it's important everyone understands what is happening on tiktok: right now, people are making increasingly ridiculous lebron-centric covers of songs. it is getting weirder by the day. see here: