Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 21h

Happy Tuesday to everyone who isn't Alex Jones!
(Gift article, no paywall.)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

Supreme Court Denies Alex Jones’s Appeal of Payment to Sandy Hook Families

www.nytimes.com

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 13d

I know you think I'm divisive, but I'd like to point out that you could turn me into a unifier by simply agreeing with me.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 27d

From the NY Times archives, 1935:
nyti.ms/47OfeSr

NY Times clipping from June 6, 1935: "JAILED FOR QUIPS ON NAZIS -- German Vaudeville Star Held In Secret Prison Since May 10." The article tells of the arrest and imprisonment of comedian Werner Finck.

May 11 1935 NY Times clipping: "NAZIS BANISH SATIRE. -- Close Two Berlin Cabarets for Amusing Customers Too Well." Article notes the closure of Katakombe and Tingle-Tangle for "carefully camouflaged satire."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 27d

Delurking to give a thumbs-up to The Decameron. It was better than I expected, and it finished strong -- the last two episodes will stick with me. Eight episodes, on Netflix.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLim...

The Decameron | Official Trailer | Netflix

YouTube video by Netflix

www.youtube.com

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Sep 2

or Some Desperate Glory by @emilytesh.net

bsky.app

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Aug 26

Ugh. The first rule of vexillology is "You do not put your city or state seal on the flag."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Jul 7

Hot take #1: The US has at least four national parties, so Musk is not proposing a third party, but a fifth one.

Hot take #2: A year from now, I'll look at this post and wonder what it was even about.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Jun 17

Today's pleasant surprise: @petridishes.bsky.social has begun writing for The Atlantic! This is a nice step up from her previous job at Jeff Bezos's in-house corporate newsletter, The Washington Post. Petri is brilliant and hilarious.
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

My Super-Special 79th Was Not Super Special

A diary entry by a disappointed president

www.theatlantic.com

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Jun 14

Kinda wish it had been made clear that on the silver screen, it's not the cigarettes that make the actor look cool. It's the director, the lighting, and the soundtrack. "Looking good when smoking" is a directorial choice, not something that teenagers will actually experience when smoking.

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · May 23

The issue is not the cost of the overhaul, nor the time it will take. The issue is that it's a bribe.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · May 6

Let me save everyone a click. The forceful pushback advocated by the NY Times is that we should all point out that a third term is not allowed. Literally, that's their suggestion.

NY Times Op-Ed headline, May 6: "Trump's Third-Term Jokes Deserve a Serious Response. The president's fantasizing about remaining in office deserves a more forceful pushback."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Apr 5

Rye-catching. Sport of the future.

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Mar 25

This incredible security lapse has been brought to you by a bunch of straight white guys who think DEI hires aren't competent.

Headline from The Atlantic magazine today: "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans," by Jeffrey Goldberg

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Mar 6

Additional supporting data:

Cartoon frame of child and grampa fishing on a pier, with Grampa explaining that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does suck a lot.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 27

Bezos in October: "We won't endorse a candidate, because it makes us appear biased, and we can't have that."
Bezos yesterday: "From now on we only print conservative opinions, because LOL."

Quote from WaPo owner Jeff Bezos on Oct 28 explaining that the paper won't endorse a candidate because it creates a perception of bias.

Quote from Bezos on Feb 26 explaining that the henceforth, WaPo will stop publishing editorials that don't support his views on "personal liberties and free markets."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 26

Aww, a classic from 2011. The child actor must be in college now.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 26

I canceled my WaPo subscription in October, when Bezos axed their Presidential endorsement. Kinda wish I could cancel it again this morning.

Jeff Stein @jeffstein.bsky.social · Feb 26

Massive encroachment by Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section - makes clear dissenting views will not be published

I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 24

One thing I've learned from reading biographies of Lincoln is that I enjoy reading biographies of Lincoln. This one, by a Pulitzer-winning historian, is currently on sale for $1.99 from all e-book sellers. Not sure how long that lasts.

Book cover of And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, by Jon Meacham (2022), featuring the standard half-of-a-face front photo of the subject, which apparently is required of all biographies now.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 17

Yep. There are two kinds of dogs:
- "I shall open my mouth, and allow you to gently deposit the treat therein, kind human."
- "Anything in physical contact with the treat is legally part of the treat and I can bite it."

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 14

Mostly I just love the idea of a song whose message is "I'm manipulating you to like this song, and this is how I'm doing it, and it works even though you know I'm doing it."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 14

In 1938, the leaders of Britain and France met with Hitler and decided that Germany could take the parts of Czechoslovakia that it wanted, in exchange for Hitler's promise not to start any other wars. Hitler cheerfully agreed. Been thinking about that a lot lately.

Screencap of a NY Times article in which Trump and Putin discuss what to do with Ukraine.

Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Feb 6

When Slobodan Milošević tried to displace a million ethnic Albanians from their homeland in Kosovo, the US response was "Ethnic cleansing is a hard no," and we led NATO in a war that stopped it. Trump suggested doing that to twice as many people, and the NYT calls it a "brazen proposal."

Screenshot from today's NY Times article referring to "Trump's brazen proposal to move as many as two million Palestinians out of Gaza"

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Reposted by Rob Beauchamp

Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · Feb 3

see this is what happens when you pretend to be religious but don't actually know how the story ends

Tweet from some yahoo named Javk Miladim to Justin Trudeau: had canada been trearing us fairly, this would never have happened. So buckle up Canada, you're taking on goliath

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Jan 23

A 5-minute NYT video (no paywall) of people who watched their countries slide into authoritarianism. They talk about warning signs -- not signs they missed, but signs they saw and disregarded.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/o...

Opinion | Lessons on Authoritarianism From Around the World (Gift Article)

Tyranny doesn’t happen overnight. Take it from the people who missed the first signs.

www.nytimes.com

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · Jan 15

Ask your doctor if Placenta® is right for you.

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