Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Bright Wall/Dark Room @bwdr.bsky.social · 4h

One thing AI is good for is reminding people how even the very worst movie they’ve ever seen is better than AI “movies”

Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 1d

My #LastFourWatched for #LetterboxdFriday

Billy Madison is a little out of character, but in the spirit of honesty I included it. Thrilled to have found a region 1 DVD of "Le Pacte des Loups" at @bookmansaz.bsky.social in Tucson and promptly hit play

Been looking for that for a while now

Four movie posters: Prey, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Billy Madison, and Willy's Wonderland

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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 1d

Just a reminder that the Constitution gives Congress the power to set tariffs. It could end this madness any day they chose to discover their power.

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

Double check your permissions. I found a few that definitely didn't need access to my location data

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 9d

ICE is buying a location tracking tool that harvests data from hundreds of millions of phones a day. Protect your location data by updating a few settings on your phone 🧵 (1/4): www.404media.co/ice-to-buy-...

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day

Documents show that ICE has gone back on its decision to not use location data remotely harvested from peoples' phones. The database is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data.

www.404media.co

Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

Chills

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 9d

As if irony isn’t already dead, the Hatch Act violation on the DOJ website, which blames Democrats for the shutdown, appears on the page advising DOJ employees they are subject to the Hatch Act. joycevance.substack.com/p/a-note-abo...

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

I forgot how no film producer in Hollywood knew how to pronounce Samhain until recently...

Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

It's October so that means it's time once again to try and watch all 5 different Halloween timelines. Wish me luck

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

What normal 63 year-old talks like this?

Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 9d

I'm sorry: "if I wish to see a virgin on-screen"?

My Favorite Actress Is Not Human
Tilly Norwood doesn’t need a hairstylist, has no regrettable posts, and if you wish to see a virgin on-screen, this is one of your better chances. That’s because she’s AI.

A picture of some AI girl standing on an AI landscape with an AI monster behind her. I'm gonna be so real: she looks about 14

By Tyler Cowen

Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 9d

I was convinced that was too gross to be real...nope. Disappointed by humanity yet again

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Random Man James @jamesds.bsky.social · 11d

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 10d

Great flick to kick off October!

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 10d

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 11d

There are few things in this world as pure and potent as earning the trust of an alley cat

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 16d

Folks had no idea who owns their local TV stations - until large, faceless corporations, Sinclair and Nexstar, said they can't watch Jimmy Kimmel because of politics

This is why they've been warning us: media consolidation is a threat to democracy. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/jimm...

Kimmel blackout is what happens when your TV isn’t locally sourced

When most Americans weren't looking, a handful of companies seized control over what you see on your local TV channels.

www.inquirer.com

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 16d

And just the bare minimum is enough to make them give up. Stand up to them at all and they back down

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 16d

Appalled daily to find myself suffering through the dumbest apocalypse

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 16d

Flailing. Definitely not the defense he thinks it is

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 16d

"People don’t understand that Palm Beach in the 90s was a different time, he groused."

Every word of this is a yikes

Inside the White House Struggle to Tame the Epstein Crisis

Finger-pointing, disorganization and unforced errors by Trump advisers made the problem worse. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” the president said.

www.wsj.com

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 16d

Kimmel’s defiant return highlights one of the most disturbing dynamics of Trump II, that so many people in positions of leadership are chickenshit frauds who would rather fold in advance than put up anything resembling a fight www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Kimmel’s refusal to capitulate stands out because so many other well-situated people—those with the resources, platform, and power to stand up to the president, including, initially, the leaders of ABC—have surrendered, withdrawn, or become Trump sycophants themselves. One by one, American leaders supposedly committed to principles of free speech, due process, democracy, and equality have abandoned those ideals when menaced by the Trump administration. These cascading acts of cowardice from the people best positioned to resist Trump’s authoritarian power grabs have made Trump seem exponentially more powerful than he actually is, sapping strength from others who might have discovered the courage to stand up. Defending democracy requires a collective refusal to acquiesce to lawless behavior from many different sectors of society. All of these powerful people trying to save their own skin have effectively multiplied Trump’s attacks on constitutional government, by enhancing a false sense of inevitability and invincibility.

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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 17d

Empire in decline.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17d

oh my god lol -- Trump calls for UN workers to be arrested because his escalator didn't work yesterday

A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events! First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster. This was absolutely sabotage, as noted by a day’s earlier “post” in The London Times that said UN workers “joked about turning off an escalator.” The people that did it should be arrested! Then, as I stood before a Television crowd of millions of people all over the World, and important Leaders in the Hall, my teleprompter didn’t work. It was stone cold dark. I immediately thought to myself, “Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?” I then proceeded to make a Speech without a teleprompter, which kicked in about 15 minutes later. The good news is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews. Maybe they appreciated the fact that very few people could have done what I did. And third, after making the Speech, I was told that the sound was completely off in the Auditorium where the Speech was made, that World Leaders, unless they used the interpreters’ earpieces, couldn’t hear a thing. The first person I saw at the conclusion of the Speech was Melania, who was sitting right up front. I said, “How did I do?” And she said, “I couldn’t hear a word you said.” This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. I’m sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary General, and I demand an immediate investigation. No wonder the United Nations hasn’t been able to do the job that they were put in existence to do. All security tapes at the escalator should be saved, especially the emergency stop button. The Secret Service is involved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18d

Shadow docket: In a 6-3 one paragraph announcement, the court indicates that the President is entitled to fire United Nations employees because why not

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 18d

The lead story on the Fox “News” website involves a UN escalator stopping, which forced the Trumps to walk up the stairs. 1/2

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Butterflies Katz ⓥ @butterflieskatz.bsky.social · 18d

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A 2024 study published in JAMA involving 2.4 million children in Sweden, used sibling-control analysis. When comparing siblings—one exposed to #acetaminophen in utero & one not—the researchers found NO increased risk of #autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability.

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Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 19d

Goebbles or Miller?

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 19d

Certiorari "before judgment" is how #SCOTUS takes up a full appeal *before* the intermediate federal courts have heard it.

It used to be exceedingly rare. For instance, there wasn't a *single* grant of such expedited review b/w August 2004 & February 2019.

This is the *23rd* such grant since then.

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 19d

#BREAKING: Over dissents from Justices Sotomayor, Kagan & Jackson, #SCOTUS grants a stay in the Slaughter case (allowing President Trump to remove the last Dem member of the FTC), *and* grants certiorari "before judgment" to decide whether to formally overrule its 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor.

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Eric Durham @mrericthered.bsky.social · 19d

1998: Dairy Queen (family biz)
2007: Archaeologist
2009: Wild West Stunt Man
2011: Casino Prop Player
2012: Disneyland Tram Driver and Trainer
2014: Disneyland Entertainment Technical Writer
2015: Disneyland Entertainment Safety Specialist
2018: Television Post Production

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