Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 1d

"...we have arrived not at the minimalist state of libertarian dreams but at a fully militarized one instead. State violence, rather than market discipline alone, will enforce the “natural” hierarchies that new fusionists find so captivating."

www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

From the Cesspool to the Mainstream | Suzanne Schneider

The “new fusionist” intellectuals are the missing link between nineteenth-century race science, twentieth-century libertarianism, and the contemporary alt-right.

www.nybooks.com

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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 1d

I think aligning CBS News' editorial line with what Trump wants was part of a quid pro quo for FCC approval of the Paramount/Skydance merger — there's no "mistake"!

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Do CBS News executives understand that MAGA will not be in power forever? I genuinely think this is lost on a lot of people. They've gotten scammed by bad actors into believing Trump's 2024 win represented something seismic and even permanent. I predict they'll look back on this as a serious error.

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 1d

CBS News current president Tom Cibroski praised Weiss on the call, saying "Bari's energy and passion is infectious and you will feel it, big time." He also added that the Free Press and CBS News "are going to learn a lot from each other...that's what this is all about."

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max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 1d

Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 1d

The National Weather Service announced that a deadly North Dakota tornado this summer has been assessed as a 5 on the enhanced Fujita scale, with wind speeds greater than 210 miles per hour. It’s the first time since 2013 that a tornado has been given the highest possible rating.

Deadly North Dakota Tornado Was a Rare EF-5, Weather Service Says

Experts reassessed the damage from a tornado that left three people dead in June, and gave it the strongest possible rating on the tornado scale.

nyti.ms

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 1d

Great time as always to advocate for press freedom.

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 1d

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 3d

I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.

A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.

Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 1d

Bleak

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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 2d

As media ownership consolidates into fewer hands, how to revive the public's trust in media is clear: Rebuilding a world-class public media system.

It is the only counterbalance to the consolidated media ecosystem and growing censorship. Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4nDA5g4

Quote from Roosevelt Institute blog: "What the polling makes clear is that Americans still want a free and trustworthy press—but the collapse of public media leaves fewer places to find it. Commercial outlets are built to maximize profit, not to safeguard democratic accountability."

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 2d

"As president, Trump wields both the power and clear willingness to scuttle any merger unless its parties dance for him, both of which he successfully leveraged in both securing a bribe and changing the shape of an enemy."

patrick @redford.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote about Bari Weiss as the grim future of mainstream media under billionaire control: defector.com/bari-weiss-s...

Bari Weiss Signs Huge Deal To Usher CBS News Into Its Vichy Era | Defector

On Monday, newly appointed Paramount CEO David Ellison announced that his company had acquired the Free Press, the smirking blood-and-soil blog founded and run by former New York Times hall monitor Ba...

defector.com

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Shahrzad Shams @shahrzadshams.bsky.social · 2d

A new SCOTUS term begins today. What fresh hell awaits our flailing democracy this time around?🧵

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 2d

Mark Sanchez is doing football commentary the right way.

by Ezra Klein

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 2d

💯

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Boo-Rian Making Comics @necroknights.bsky.social · 4d

Greta Thunberg is braver than most of us, and I’ll never entertain any other opinion of her.

Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 4d

““They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.”+

Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags

Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water

www.theguardian.com

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KimBo @zapperfan7.bsky.social · 5d

Will someone remind me why Greta Thunberg can be arrested but Benjamin Netanyahu can't?

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Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · 5d

My immensely talented colleague @aasthauprety.bsky.social made this for me. You are going to be seeing a lot of it. Share it around. Spread the good word about what FDR did.

a, "X mentioned!" meme about Franklin D. Roosevelt. As with all such memes there is an anime girl i the center holding a drink. This one places here with NYC as a backdrop. She holds a social security check. There is an image of Eleanor Roosevelt holding "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." There are other signs and buttons refering FRD, Hyde Park, the New Deal and more.

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 5d

Americans' trust in media hit an all-time low this week. But the trust numbers for public media look totally different. The public is wary of how commercial pressures impact news fairness and accuracy — and for good reason.

rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/trust-i...

Americans’ Trust in Media Hit a Record Low This Week. Only Public Media Can Restore It. - Roosevelt Institute

Wednesday’s government shutdown was the final nail in the coffin of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which officially closed after having its funding rescinded by the Trump administratio...

rooseveltinstitute.org

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Jacob Rosenberg @jacobrosenberg.bsky.social · 7d

“Over time, [the two state solution] did become something that people greeted with a yawn—and then as a joke, or a lie.”

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How the two-state solution became a “big, expedient lie”

In a new book, Robert Malley, a veteran US peace negotiator, argues it is well past time to think beyond an idea he spent much of his career pursuing.

www.motherjones.com

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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 6d

New @rfunkfordham.bsky.social report on the 15th anniversary of Citizens United. The evidence is now clear, in part through Rachel's research, that CitUtd has:

-increased the influence of billionaires
-reduced state democratic performance
-made state governments more rightwing
-increased corruption

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 6d

NEW📝: A flood of billionaire money in elections started after the SCOTUS #CitizensUnited decision.

Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3

Graph showing billionaire spending in Presidential elections before and after Citizen's United.

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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 6d

NEW📝: A flood of billionaire money in elections started after the SCOTUS #CitizensUnited decision.

Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 6d

Where are we 15 years after SCOTUS sanctioned virtually unlimited campaign contributions from billionaires and large corporations? @rfunkfordham.bsky.social's new report analyzes how the Citizens United decision is corroding democracy on multiple fronts, and calls for renewed urgency for reforms.

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 6d

One hundred billionaire donors poured a record $2.6 billion into the 2024 elections—1 of every 6 dollars spent.

New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Graph showing breakdown of top 100 billionaire donor spending on outside political spending groups.

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 6d

We simply have to become more serious people and less self-serious persons. I swear.

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Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · 9d

Its insane that American politics now more or less revolves around infrequently passing a single comically large overstuffed money bill instead of like... normal legislation

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Bilal Baydoun @bilalb.bsky.social · 9d

In Michigan news

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 9d

I’m sorry for the people who work at UChicago but its rake-stepping crypto-bro leaders are pretty funny, even before you think about the linkages with their famous economic ideology.

on.ft.com/4mK5vQS

‘UChicago was not risk-averse when it came to digital assets. The university’s financial statement shows it invested $64mn in cryptocurrencies in 2021. Samstein said the value of those holdings had “well more than doubled” since their acquisition (the school stopped publishing the value of the position after 2022). The investment has not yet generated any distributions, but Samstein said it was “not designed for cash flow.’

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