Thomas Masterson
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thomasmasterson.bsky.social
Thomas Masterson
@thomasmasterson.bsky.social
280 followers 310 following 200 posts

Senior Scholar and Director of Graduate Programs at Levy Economics Institute of Bard College

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Economics 23%
Political science 16%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Thomas Masterson, Karen O’Leary, Dunlap , and 1 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d
Posts may be a bit more sporadic from me today as my kids are home from school because my city is being brutalized by the federal government to the extent that it's unsafe for schools to be open

Reposted by Fabián Muniesa, Anne Norton, Thomas Masterson

defector.com
Defector @defector.com · 4d
ICE agent kills woman, DHS tells obvious, insane lies about it: defector.com/ice-agent-ki...
ICE Agent Kills Woman, DHS Tells Obvious, Insane Lies About It | Defector
On Wednesday in Minneapolis, masked government agents apparently representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surrounded a stationary vehicle stopped in the middle of a residential street.…
defector.com

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

warren.senate.gov
Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 4d
I just left the Venezuela briefing.

It's worse than you thought.

Oil company executives seem to know more about Trump's secret plan to "run" Venezuela than the American people.

We need public Senate hearings NOW.

Reposted by William A. Allen, Thomas Masterson

levyecon.bsky.social
Levy Institute @levyecon.bsky.social · 6d
On December 10, the Fed lowered rates—again.

Our final policy note of 2025 argues that the Fed isn’t fighting inflation; it’s managing class power. Read the latest from scholars Nersisyan and Wray, who show what the data actually say.

www.levyinstitute.org/publications...
The Fed Lowered Rates Again. Is It Really a Surprise? – Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
The whole world was watching on December 10, 2025 to finally find out what the Fed was going to do. Big money bets were placed—would the Fed leave rates unchanged...more
www.levyinstitute.org

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 4 more

radosh.bsky.social
Daniel Radosh @radosh.bsky.social · 9d
Parker's piece nails why this matters. "Tech companies... would rather not answer for their products’ failures. Every headline that says “Grok apologizes” or “Grok admits” or “Grok says” creates a world where the chatbot takes the fall while Musk and his executives face no scrutiny whatsoever."

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 8 more

parkermolloy.com
Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 9d
I wrote about Grok's CSAM problem and how journalists keep fumbling the story

www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been “undressing” women and children in public. Journalists are letting xAI off the hook by pretending the bot is responsible.
www.readtpa.com

Reposted by Bruce D. Baker, Thomas Masterson

karlbode.com
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 9d
so basically our rich oligarchs launched a racist propaganda media campaign to demonize taxpayer-funded childcare, our garbage oligarch press parroted the attack, and now they're going to steal that money to put into their assorted cryptocurrency grifts
‘Scorched-Earth Attack’: Trump Admin Cuts Off Childcare Funds to All States | Common Dreams
"My team and I are exploring all our legal options to ensure that critical childcare services do not get abruptly slashed based on pretext and grandstanding," said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ell...
www.commondreams.org

Reposted by Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Brian Keegan, Carolyn Whitzman , and 1 more

jamesgoodwin.bsky.social
James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 10d
This would be so popular at the national level if centrist Democrats let us use those words in that order
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d
Mamdani: "The cost of childcare will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family, because we will deliver universal childcare for the many by taxing the wealthiest few"

Reposted by Mark D. White, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Felicity Callard , and 6 more

transnews.network
Trans News Network @transnews.network · 10d
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne, John Foot , and 2 more

cwebbonline.com
Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 10d
What the KENNEDY Center used to be…

Remember that time Aretha Franklin performed at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, paying tribute to Carole King, who co-wrote “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman,” and it brought a tear to Obama’s eye and everyone to their feet? And Carole King’s reaction. Wow.

Reposted by Thomas Masterson, Annalee Newitz

mabbattista.bsky.social
molly @mabbattista.bsky.social · 11d
truly a joy to discuss We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope with @annaleen.bsky.social @older.bsky.social @drkarenlord.bsky.social for my first-ever interview on @kfai.org's Write On! Radio kfai.org/we-will-rise...
We Will Rise Again w/ Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older - Write On! Radio | News | KFAI | Minneapolis & Saint Paul
We Will Rise Again is an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer inspiration for the social justice movements of tomorrow.
kfai.org

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

socio-steve.bsky.social
Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · 11d
7 beers a day is serious stuff. 3-4 cups of coffee is life sustaining in middle age.

Reposted by Thomas Masterson, Daxton R. Stewart

mcsweeneys.net
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 11d
Our 2nd most-read piece of 2025 is by the forever funny @mikedrucker.bsky.social, and we have no idea what he was getting at here, but it seemed to have struck a nerve with many, many readers.
Voting for the Mayor Who Promised to Blow Up the City Doesn’t Mean I Approve of the Mayor Blowing Up the City
It’s so easy to label people these days. From the way folks have been talking, you’d think everyone falls into two buckets: those who voted against...
buff.ly

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

alwaysadorecats.bsky.social
Queerhawk 🏳️‍🌈 | 🇺🇦 | 🛡 @alwaysadorecats.bsky.social · 13d
You similarly won’t find the NYT pressing Greene on her harassment of Marie Newman and her trans daughter, or Greene’s promotion of transphobic conspiracy theories.

To admit that her worldview is based in hatred and conspiracism would deprive the NYT of presenting that hate as a “controversy”

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Tuomas Mattila, R. M. Wilson , and 4 more

juliusgoat.bsky.social
A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 14d
Next time someone says they don’t have to apologize for being white anymore, ask them to tell about the most recent time they were forced to apologize for being white and who made them do it.

Reposted by Robert C. Richards, Thomas Masterson

kidadaewilliams.com
KEW @kidadaewilliams.com · 16d
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; She was one of the Clinton 12, a group of Black students who faced white mobs when desegregating a Tennessee high school in 1956 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; Braved Mobs in Integrating a School
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Mark D. White, Thomas Masterson

kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 16d
This is why it’s so important to trace things back to the beginning whenever possible.

I believe @rauchway.bsky.social calls these “historical urban legends”
amabel.bsky.social Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · Jul 31
looking up the source of quotes, whether for a book or a video script, is great for figuring out when a quote everyone "knows" and has repeated for ages is actually just weird bullshit someone else made up

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

philplait.bsky.social
Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 17d
Marsy Christmas!

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-red-plan...
A Red Planet Holiday
A mind-blowing image of Mars taken from above the planet itself
badastronomy.beehiiv.com

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Joe R. Feagin, Steve Peers , and 8 more

barackobama.bsky.social
Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 17d
Merry Christmas! Michelle and I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with light and joy.

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social
Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 18d
Leadership isn't a gala with billionaires at Mar-a-Lago; it’s a surprise visit to a children’s hospital. Remember which one actually served the people.

Reposted by Alan Richardson, Tom Stoppard, Thomas Masterson

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 18d
thomas chatterton williams, whose main literary output is three memoirs of declining quality, and who has written the same essay ad nauseam for 10 years, nonetheless has a sinecure at the atlantic, a teaching job at an elite college, and a nice handful of prestigious fellowships

thomasmasterson.bsky.social
Thomas Masterson @thomasmasterson.bsky.social · 18d
If you missed the talk earlier this month, video is now up on our YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMU...

Reposted by Alan Richardson, Ann Bartow, Thomas Masterson

nkalamb.bsky.social
Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 18d
Anti-trans demagogue and fifth place swimmer Riley Gaines earned $470,000+ last year from a conservative non-profit.

Notably, $420k was incentive-based.

A neat little window into the way the transphobic grift is being compensated.

I wonder what the per-post rate is?
According to the 2024 return, Gaines received just $54,158 in base pay to serve as director of the 501(c)(3) organization’s “Riley Gaines Center,” with a staggering $420,155 (89%) classified as bonus or incentive compensation. By comparison, Davis, as the nonprofit’s chief development officer, received a bonus of a mere $25,131 during the same cycle. Gaines’ incentive compensation was roughly four times larger than any bonus previously disclosed by the Leadership Institute, which no longer appears to have any affiliation with her.

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

levyecon.bsky.social
Levy Institute @levyecon.bsky.social · 19d
Twenty years ago, India launched the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and became an inspiration for the world.

Now, the act is set to be repealed. Read the new piece by Jean Dreze to learn more.

www.levyinstitute.org/blog/employm...
Employment Guarantee on the Block – Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
This article has been cross-posted from its original appearance in the Indian Express (published December 20, 2025). The VB-G RAM G Bill is all set to sink India’s employment guarantee in the guise of...
www.levyinstitute.org

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

famousartthief.bsky.social
not an art thief @famousartthief.bsky.social · 20d
said it for ten years but donald trump is just a make a wish kid that wouldn’t ever fuck off and die
donald trump wants cool ships

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

velshi.com
Ali Velshi @velshi.com · 21d
Please join me @velshimsnow.bsky.social 10a-1p w/

@darrickhamilton.bsky.social
@normornstein.bsky.social
@robertgarcia.bsky.social
@robert-faturechi.bsky.social
@stevebenen.com

#Velshi
2/2

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Axel Bruns, Ken Caldeira , and 11 more

meidastouch.com
MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 21d
🚨 The DOJ appears to have redacted Donald Trump’s name from the allegations made in this exhibit in the Epstein files.

Trump’s name was in the original release. Now, it’s blacked out.

See for yourself.

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

whipkclark.bsky.social
Katherine Clark @whipkclark.bsky.social · 24d
The American people need solutions, not another speech.

Reposted by Olivier De Schutter, Thomas Masterson, Pavlina R. Tcherneva

levyecon.bsky.social
Levy Institute @levyecon.bsky.social · 24d
"MGNREGA has captured the world’s attention with its demonstrated achievements and innovative design. To dismantle it now would be a historic error."

We have drafted a letter calling for the preservation of India's NREGA law.

Read the letter now and add your name.

levyinstitute.org?p=16777

Reposted by Thomas Masterson

kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 24d
In a spirited address to the nation, President Trump announced his plans to increase the moon by 800% and called for the execution of the California Raisins.