Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 20h

Whoa!

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 23h

Who would have thought that 25 times as many people would be getting their daily news updates from a Boston College history professor (Heather Cox Richardson, who has 2.5 million subscribers) than from the Washington Post.

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 20h

Complaining that the tale should have been “The Black Dog?”

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

I feel as if we’re still fighting this ridiculous fight!

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

Here’s a typically supercilious British review from the 1840s: “‘American Poetry’ always reminds us of the advertisements in newspapers, headed ‘The best Substitute for Silver:’—if it be not the genuine thing, it ‘looks just as handsome, and is miles out of sight cheaper.’” Ouch!

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

It’s just that there are lots of other wonderful Moby Dick-like freaky texts that Other people think are bad. Lots of wonders. Brit Lit Crit is a weird measuring stick — I think we agree on that!

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

Totally on board with this!

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

No no no! Critics do this to American lit , and some writers go along, but there’s tons of fabulous crazy shit that no one can actually see because of Brit Lit norms! I will die on this hill!

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 1d

What Jack said! I predict smooth sailing. But what a chore it is to gather the materials! Bon courage.

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 2d

Is CT an option? My mother is at Essex Meadows and I’ve eaten there—decent food, waspy vibe, but— and this is the amazing thing—100s of miles of well maintained trails in the adjacent woods. Life-giving, truly.

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 2d

Monsters.

Haunted Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 2d

these vicious loser motherfuckers

Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 2d

ICE kidnapped a 7th-grader with a pending asylum claim and spirited him out of state without notifying his parents, seemingly with the cooperation of the local police in Everett, MA.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...

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Waldo Jaquith, but Spooky @waldo.net · 4d

If your grandfather was saying this you’d be looking into long-term care options.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."

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Chris⚖️Justice @chrisjustice01.bsky.social · 4d

Roger Stone, another coup ringleader never held accountable. Note that his pardon was actually for these crimes. Before the coup

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capitolhunters @capitolhunters.bsky.social · 5d

Let's call out how bizarre it is that finance bros like Marc Rowan want to dictate what is taught in universities and overturn the free market. US students pick their schools -- MIT, or Oberlin, or Liberty -- and pay to attend. The right response to Rowan is, why do you want to reduce free choice?

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 5d

Most of this laundry list of "overwhelming evidence" is tendentious. Let's go through them.
1) A big driver of high costs at public universities has been a decrease in state appropriations. Many public schools have been forced to act on a public/private model as a result..../1

The evidence is overwhelming: outrageous costs and prolonged indebtedness for students; poor outcomes, with too many students left unable to find meaningful work after graduating; some talented domestic students and scholars have been crowded out of enrollment and employment opportunities by international students; and a high degree of uniformity of thought among faculty members and administrators, which can result in a hostile environment for students with different ideas.

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 4d

Strong enthusiasm for AI free English courses here…

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Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 6d

Just to underscore: VA Senate Dems brought the 🔥, but it’s very clear the text of their letter was directly inspired by public writing from @sivav.bsky.social, a UVA faculty member. Each party worked with the tools at hand, be they brain and words or force of law.

Resistance is an ecology.

Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 6d

Virginia State Senate Dems just brought down fire and fury regarding the “Compact,” notifying the President and Rector that UVA would lose ALL STATE APPROPRIATIONS if it signs and cedes the University to “federal political control.” Notably, their letter directly restates points made here by @siva.

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 7d

The “compact” for higher ed is an unserious document written by unserious people from a position of spectacular ignorance. No one should take it seriously. Sadly, my bosses are taking it seriously.

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 7d

"It wanted to signal strength. Instead, it’s revealing its weakness. The administration’s need to break the academy is forcing it to make a desperately risky gamble." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 7d

Interesting to note that in 2013 the House voted unanimously, 407-0, to provide back pay for furloughed workers.

ouse unanimously approves back pay for 800,000 furloughed federal workers
The House on Saturday unanimously approved legislation to provide retroactive pay for furloughed federal workers after the government shutdown ends. The vote was 407-0.Approximately 800,000 government employees have been furloughed during the shutdown, although the Pentagon announced Saturday that it will call 300,000 of its furloughed civilian employees back to work

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Spooky Laminariales Fax Machine 📠 @kelpkelpkelp.bsky.social · 7d

This is *exactly* the kind of thing John Roberts uses the shadow docket to make legal for Trump without creating precedent for President AOC.

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theblandone.bsky.social @theblandone.bsky.social · 7d

So the executive branch, of its own accord, is not only going to levy taxes, but assume the power of the purse to fund itself? Why do we have Congress then? And isn’t this pretty clearly a violation of his oath of office?

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Caroline Levine @carolinelevine.bsky.social · 7d

Cornell alums!
Cornell continues to be pressured by the current administration in DC to reach a deal to restore federal research funding.
Please consider signing this petition!
Please also share widely with any Cornell graduates you know!

Alumni in Support of Cornell’s Independence, Democracy, and Academic Freedom

Please add your name below if you agree to be a signatory of the following message to be delivered to the Cornell Board of Trustees: Dear Members of the Cornell Board of Trustees, Ongoing attacks on A...

docs.google.com

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 7d

Chilling.

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Meredith McGill @mlmcgill.bsky.social · 10d

Horrific. And this is one with a better outcome than many. All ICE arrests are suspect; none are necessary.

Josh Michtom @rsgat.bsky.social · 10d

Today, I drove an hour and a half with my wife and a couple friends to pick up a neighbor who was summarily, inexplicably arrested by ICE at a check-in ten days ago and then just as inexplicably released, 100 miles from home today. It was a happy occasion, all things considered, but...

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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 10d

The judge who granted this restraining order was appointed to the bench by Trump.

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 10d

BREAKING: A federal judge has granted a restraining order blocking President Trump's call-up of the National Guard in Portland.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 10d

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