Dave Mazella
LightNews LightNews
banner
davemazella.bsky.social
Dave Mazella
@davemazella.bsky.social
3.3K followers 4.2K following 7.5K posts
eighteenth-century scholar in Heatstroke, TX. let's see how this goes.

Book: Making of Modern Cynicism, now in paperback from UVA press: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
davemazella.bsky.social
Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · Oct 25
My book on ancient and modern cynicism, The Making of Modern Cynicism (2007, UVA press), is now available again in paperback!

Because cynicism never goes out of fashion.

www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
The Making of Modern Cynicism
<div><p>Once describing a life of exile, self-denial, physical rigor, and mastery of one’s desires, cynicism now describes a life of political quietis
www.upress.virginia.edu
Reposted by Dave Mazella
nslayton.bsky.social
Reposting this piece I wrote earlier this week for no particular reason. newrepublic.com/article/2057...
Welcome to Trump’s Remake of Argentina’s Dirty War
The administration is speedrunning the worst abuses of the Latin American nation’s checkered history on the streets of American cities.
newrepublic.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:48 PM
davemazella.bsky.social
my suspicion, which I hope is not correct, is that the Dem plan is to win the midterms and presidency and then run this complex obama-style to keep cops and donors happy
January 30, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
jamellebouie.net
the arrest of journalists in minneapolis, including don lemon, is more evidence that the only move the administration knows how to make is to use force, and does not know how to respond when that force is met with defiance and indifference.
January 30, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
andreapitzer.bsky.social
I think there is some information in there that isn't familiar to a lot of people. Including that the US is currently holding three times as many people in immigration detention as were detained in the entire Nazi concentration camp system in spring 1939—six years into the Third Reich.
January 20, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
andreapitzer.bsky.social
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Into the abyss
The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
rleggos.bsky.social
Tell the ones you love you love them ❤️

(a pair of Santa Cruz Island foxes 🦊)
one is grooming the other behind the ear in a grassy spot
January 30, 2026 at 5:23 AM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
bibsocamer.bsky.social
📖 Reflections on Bibliographical Work: The Bibliographical Note in the History of English Studies 📖

Learn more in Rachel Sagner Buurma and Laura Heffernan's article in the December 2025 issue of PBSA.

Read the full article in our latest issue: Link in Bio 🔗
Black text on a purple background with information about an article in a recent issue of The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America Black text on a purple background. Quote from the article with information about the author at the bottom.
January 30, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
connieschultz.bsky.social
Lady Gaga summons the grace and power of Mr. Rogers.

youtu.be/gMFQmOBO6D4
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | Lady Gaga
YouTube video by Lady Gaga
youtu.be
January 30, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
romansmith.bsky.social
Greg Palast (the gold standard of rooting out vote prevention) has the simple explanation of what happened in Fulton County Wed, demonstrating how it's just one piece of the ongoing GOP project to illegitimately cheat their way into office

Always read anything from @gregpalast.bsky.social
The real story of the FBI raid on Fulton County
It's all about 2026 and 2028. Fulton County is the heart of “Blacklanta.” And Atlanta is the electoral heart of Georgia. And Georgia is the swingiest of swing states.
www.gregpalast.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
attackerman.bsky.social
They're going to get sympathetic treatment. On the cover of the Magazine. It's Been Ten Years Since [TK ATROCITY]. But People Won't Leave This Former ICE Agent In Peace. And you will be the villain of the story.
ruemcclammyhand.bsky.social SHUTDOWN 1/30 meghan 나영지 🇵🇸 @ruemcclammyhand.bsky.social · 2h
when all of this gets slightly less heated the NYT is going to be profiling anonymous ICE agents like they’re regretful Trump voters just you watch
January 30, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
loganmdavis.bsky.social
I’ve harped on this for years but the reason there’s a seemingly (or at least relatively) “low” amount of corruption in US politics is because we’ve legalized all of it.
prchovanec.bsky.social Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 9h
The issue isn't whether "Melania" is a good movie or a bad one. It's that one of the richest men in America, with business interests affected by public policy, gave the President's family $75 million to make it. Like that's somehow legal.
January 30, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
jesspish.bsky.social
I also talk in the book about why right-wing support for the 2A isn't inconsistent with their support for Trump. It's jusy white supremacy all the way down.
Mack’s explanations tend to generate huge confusion in the media. Whenever sheriffs appear, there follows a spate of stories about sheriffs “ignoring” laws “they don’t like.” While true in a sense, it undercuts the real goals of sheriffs aligned with Mack and his cohort: to promote a vision of the country that adheres to an extremely white, Christian belief system that focuses on protecting white citizens’ right to own firearms and ignores the rights of marginalized groups like women, immigrants, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities. Mack’s incantations of the words of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and his own court case show that he does believe in the law, very deeply. He seeks to return the law back to an imagined history—the same history that revered the sheriffs and their role of summoning posse comitatus. Yet, at the same time, there has been almost no discussion about the Black men who are serving prison time for illegal firearm possession. Prohibiting people with felony convictions from owning firearms remains one of the very few gun restrictions that sheriffs support. Not only does this bolster support for the “good guy with a gun” theory, it also tracks with the attitudes of white supremacy inherent in the support for gun rights.
January 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
jesspish.bsky.social
I talk extensively in the book about why there's no "left-wing state's rights"
While some of the sheriffs, including Mack, use interposition to justify resistance to gun laws, not desegregation, he is wrong to say that the doctrine has ever been anything but deeply racist. Despite some writers and scholars who might claim that left- wing resistance, like the nonenforcement of marijuana laws, which mostly rely on noncooperation, constitutes something like interposition, there is just no evidence this is so. It’s important to bear this in mind throughout the book because the false claims that interposition and nullification are grounded in history and are race- neutral— like the office of sheriff itself— are a main reason why the constitutional sheriff movement has been so successful. Constitutional sheriffs argue that they are resisting tyranny and restoring the original purpose of the Constitution when they interpose; they do not see what they do as rebellion. To the contrary, they see their purpose as respectable and within the bounds of ordinary governance. In
January 30, 2026 at 2:49 PM
davemazella.bsky.social
once again: there is no large city PD under civilian control; this seems like an obvious consequence of qualified immunity
geofffhughes.bsky.social Geoffrey Hughes @geofffhughes.bsky.social · 2h
This shows that ICE's supporters actually understand the notion of discretion and that not every crime needs to be a law enforcement priority--they just like holding immigrants to a higher standard than their own [heavily armed] colleagues...
treekisser.bsky.social treekisser @treekisser.bsky.social · 16h
LAPD won’t enforce California’s mask ban on ICE/CBP/DHS

www.instagram.com/reel/DUHDeCJ...
January 30, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
billcorbett.bsky.social
Saw the Melania doc last night and it was surprisingly fun, just her and the Jackass gang doing dangerous pranks. I didn’t even know they were all friends! Anyway Mel burned her left arm off but was a great sport about it.
January 30, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
akalhan.bsky.social
korematsuinstitute.org/what-is-fred...
Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution January 30 of Every Year "Stand up for what is right!" www.korematsuinstitute.org
January 30, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
profciara.bsky.social
From law faculty in Minnesota lpeproject.org/blog/an-open... ⚖️
An Open Letter to the Minnesota Law Community
Seventy-two University of Minnesota Law faculty address the federal government's ongoing campaign of fear, intimidation, and violence against Minnesotans.
lpeproject.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
joshtpm.bsky.social
every free state should do this

California's Evidence Bank For ICE Crimes
open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
California's Evidence Bank For ICE Crimes
A model for the next Minneapolis, from Attorney General Rob Bonta.
open.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
williamblake.bsky.social
Illustration to Dante's Divine Comedy, Hell https://www.wikiart.org/en/william-blake/illustration-to-dante-s-divine-comedy-hell-4
Illustration to Dante's Divine Comedy, Hell
January 30, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
rparloff.bsky.social
The Trump Adm is arresting Don Lemon and overcharging disruptive protesters at Cities Church to posture as if it’s protecting Christians. It’s not. DHS is staging disruptive ops at other churches, at least one of which has had to go online. ...
1/4
January 30, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
anita5446.bsky.social
Había una injusticia, se pusó al frente
January 30, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
tstran316.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse:
January 30, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
timothypmurphy.bsky.social
there's this new dynamic where the DOJ cannot win in court and is (relatedly) incapable of meeting the minimum threshold of professional legal conduct, and so an increasing percentage of its actions are purely for intimidation and content
January 30, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Dave Mazella
emptywheel.bsky.social
Fort filmed this before her arrest--she confirms they did go before a grand jury.
theletterhack.bsky.social The Letterhack @theletterhack.bsky.social · 3h
Minnesota based Independent Journalist GEORGIA FORT has been arrested for filming a protest of the church pastor that works as an ICE manager. SPREAD THE WORD! Georgia has been doing outstanding reporting from ground zero!
January 30, 2026 at 1:49 PM
davemazella.bsky.social
Can’t remember all the times I thought Dems were executing a strategy that thought more than 10 minutes ahead & they proved me wrong
January 30, 2026 at 2:02 PM