Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mark McKenna

Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 1d

Since taking office for his second term, Trump has been federalizing the National Guard by sending its troops to largely Democratic-led cities. His latest target? Chicago.

Here’s where things stand with his deployment of troops to the Windy City👇
https://bit.ly/4q4KEL4

Illinois Sues to Block Trump’s Deployment of Texas National Guard in Chicago

Read more here.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Mark McKenna

Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.bsky.social · 2d

Kavanaugh stop.

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 2d

American citizen, read this. www.koin.com/news/portlan...

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Reposted by Mark McKenna

Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 2d

Michigan Avenue right now.

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Stanford CIS @stanfordcis.bsky.social · 14d

@hartzog.bsky.social and @markpmckenna.bsky.social argue for more precision in their references to “scale” in regards to technology. Differentiating between “scale as more” and “scale as different” H & M suggest they have different implications for regulation papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Taking Scale Seriously in Technology Law

<p>Issues of scale—the relationship between the amount of an activity and its associated costs and benefits—permeate discussions around law and technologies. In

papers.ssrn.com

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 17d

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site

As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

www.miamiherald.com

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Tom Eblen @tomeblen.com · 17d

Fact-checker @glennkessler.bsky.social takes apart Trump's delusional United Nations speech with, well, facts.

open.substack.com/pub/glennkes...

Trump’s U.N. Speech: A World of His Own

False claims, imagined triumphs, and a fantasy take on global affairs.

open.substack.com

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Sep 4

Sadly, it apparently is our policy

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Sep 3

Rand Paul: "The reason we have trials & we don't automatically assume guilt is what if we make a mistake and they happen to be people fleeing the Venezuelan dictator? ... off our coast it isn't our policy just to blow people up ... even the worst people in our country, they still get a trial."

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · Sep 2

I know, I know, but: The president of the US saying, literally, "we're going in" in reference to sending the military to an American city for no reason beyond terrorizing the local population should be the most immediately impeachable shit imaginable

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Jeanne Fromer @jeannefromer.bsky.social · Aug 31

Thrilled that my article with @markpmckenna.bsky.social on "Amazon's Quiet Overhaul of the Trademark System" is now out in the California Law Review @califlrev.bsky.social

Amazon’s Quiet Overhaul of the Trademark System — California Law Review

Amazon’s dominance as a platform is widely documented. But one aspect of that dominance has not received sufficient attention—the Amazon Brand Registry’s sweeping influence on firm behavior, particula...

www.californialawreview.org

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Aug 30

Indeed, that is making “cause” mean the same thing as “at will.”

Todd Phillips @tphillips.bsky.social · Aug 29

DOJ says that "The President’s judgment about what constitutes 'cause' [for removing a Fed governor] is not subject to judicial second-guessing."

If that's true, then the Federal Reserve Act's removal clause offers absolutely zero protection.

That just cannot be the case.

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Reposted by Mark McKenna

Elizabeth Joh @elizabethjoh.bsky.social · Aug 29

Destroying PhD programs, on purpose

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew
Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.

Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students

Trump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious.

www.forbes.com

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Aug 30

Amazon’s Quiet Overhaul of the Trademark System (with @jeannefromer.bsky.social) is now published in the California Law Review.

Amazon’s Quiet Overhaul of the Trademark System — California Law Review

Amazon’s dominance as a platform is widely documented. But one aspect of that dominance has not received sufficient attention—the Amazon Brand Registry’s sweeping influence on firm behavior, particula...

www.californialawreview.org

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Reposted by Mark McKenna

NYU Engelberg Center @nyuengelberg.org · Aug 27

Chris Cotropia, @markpmckenna.bsky.social, @jnvictor.bsky.social, @rtushnet.bsky.social & @jeannefromer.bsky.social on "IP Rights as a Signal to Consumers" (a panel well represented on bluesky)

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Reposted by Mark McKenna

Forbes @forbes.com · Aug 26

As the U.S. government takes a 10% stake in Intel, Forbes has learned the tech company partnered with sanctioned Chinese surveillance firms Uniview, Hikvision and Cloudwalk.

Intel Worked With Chinese Firms Sanctioned For Enabling Human Rights Abuses

As the U.S. government takes a 10% stake in Intel, Forbes has learned the tech company partnered with sanctioned Chinese surveillance firms Uniview, Hikvision and Cloudwalk.

www.forbes.com

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Aug 25

Other, more serious countries have actual constitutional courts, with judges who don’t violate their oaths of office

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 10

Hochul: "This is what I call a legal insurrection ... they know they're going to lose next year. That's the only reason they're engaged in this. It also might be a nice distraction from people asking -- all of the sudden this happens when? When they refuse to release the Epstein files."

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Aug 4

He really does like dictatorship in all areas of his life.

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · Aug 4

with no shareholder vote

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · Aug 4

Tesla granted 96 million new shares worth about $29 billion to Elon Musk.
www.cnbc.com/2025/08/04/t...

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Aug 3

Why would anyone ever trust and work with the United States again?

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 3

Two former Afghan interpreters for U.S. forces face deportation despite following immigration processes, according to attorneys for the men.

ICE crackdown imperils Afghans who aided U.S. war effort, lawyers say

Advocates fear President Donald Trump’s ambitious deportation plan jeopardizes Afghan interpreters and other allies who worked for U.S. troops during the war.

wapo.st

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Milan Markovic @profmarkovic.bsky.social · Aug 3

Much of the settlement has nothing to do with antisemitism. As @mbkplus.bsky.social and I discussed on the pod, how can a university cede authority over admissions, hiring, and even locker rooms and still profess a commitment to "core values?"

livefromwatthall.transistor.fm/episodes/col...

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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · Aug 3

Only the best people

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · Aug 3

An utterly insane career bio. Getting a White House appt with this in your record is something else.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · Aug 3

An utterly insane career bio. Getting a White House appt with this in your record is something else.

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · Aug 3

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · Aug 1

"In older people, confabulation is one of the clearest early signs of dementia...Once you have seen that Donald Trump is confabulating, it cannot be unseen — and all sorts of other mildly disturbing incidents suddenly fall into place."
thehill.com/opinion/camp...

Trump’s mental decline is undeniable — so what now?

hemselves, that there is a problem, just as Biden’s supporters did for him. Donald Trump is showing all the signs of suffering from dementia. If this were a neighbor, a parent, or a family frien…

thehill.com

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · Aug 2

The sad and fundamental truth is that neither the Obama administration nor the Clinton campaign took Russian electoral interference seriously, meaning that now, a decade on, Russia’s man keeps trying to prove that he’s not.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...

‘Clinton Plan’ Emails Were Likely Made by Russian Spies, Declassified Report Shows

www.nytimes.com

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Judge Baker @judgebaker.bsky.social · Aug 1

I watched the NewsHour for the first time in a long time. It was striking how deep and thoughtful and efficient their broadcast was. I came away much better informed in a non-political way than I do from watching any of the cable news networks. That’s why Trump wants to kill it.

Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · Aug 1

I will maintain to my dying day that the reason most conservatives hate NPR and PBS is because the measured dignity and discipline of their broadcasting effortlessly carry with it a message that's bone-deep: unlike cable news, we will not sacrifice fully accurate reporting in order to stay afloat.

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