Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Erin Kelly

Arin Dube @arindube.bsky.social · Aug 2

Most regular folks don't wake up worrying about institutions. They have more immediate concerns.

But once you live through a period when core institutions fail, you start paying attention, and historical memory is rebuilt for a time.

We're going through one of those moments now.

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 1

What to make of POTUS's attempt to fire the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)?

Let's run down what knowledgable people are saying...

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · Jun 30

A contender for the most “Show me your budget and I’ll tell you who you are” bills in modern history.

An act of breathtaking moral monstrosity and nearly unprecedented self-sabotage for the country.

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · May 18

Glad to be part of this conversation. Thanks @equitablegrowth.bsky.social for pulling us together.

Washington Center for Equitable Growth @equitablegrowth.bsky.social · May 15

"The crisis of poor job quality has encouraged right-wing populist leaders to pitch divisive rhetoric to struggling workers and their families..."

@elkelly.bsky.social on drivers of poor job quality and concrete policy responses to address them 👇

#EssaySeries

equitablegrowth.org/americas-job...

America’s job-quality crisis and how to revive workers’ pay, dignity, job advancement, and economic well-being

This essay focuses on the drivers of the job-quality crisis and concrete policy responses to address those drivers.

equitablegrowth.org

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Washington Center for Equitable Growth @equitablegrowth.bsky.social · Apr 29

Join us 5/13 at the National Union Building for "The Rise of Populism and Economic Policy."

The event previews a new essay series on how people have experienced economic policy over the decades, plus ideas for the future.

See @awhf.bsky.social share what to expect:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M44L...

Populism and the U.S. economy

YouTube video by Washington Center for Equitable Growth

www.youtube.com

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Jens Notroff @jensnotroff.com · Apr 12

It's all fun and games until …

"Professor Gina Neff of Queen Mary University London told the BBC #ChatGPT is "burning through energy", and the data centres used to power it consume more electricity in a year than 117 countries."

www.bbc.com/news/article...

ChatGPT action dolls: What are the concerns?

As online users create Barbie-like dolls of themselves, experts urge caution over AI's energy and data use.

www.bbc.com

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Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · Apr 7

No human being belongs there, and no one should have been sent there. We need to keep repeating those parts, too.

60 Minutes @60minutes.bsky.social · Apr 7

60 Minutes could find no criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans the U.S. sent to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. https://cbsn.ws/4clubLP

Trump administration deports gay makeup artist to prison in El Salvador

A gay man with no known criminal record sought asylum in the U.S. He's since become one of 238 Venezuelan migrants deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration.

cbsn.ws

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Mar 28

- Rumeysa Öztürk has never been charged with a crime.
- Mahmoud Khalil has never been charged with a crime.
- Momodou Taal has never been charged with a crime.
- Badar Khan Suri has never been charged with a crime.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Mar 28

State Department spox Tammy Bruce just blatantly lies and says that students are getting visas revoked for "illegal activity" (Rumeysa Ozturk was not charged with a crime)

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · Mar 26

It’s worth stating this simply: For literally anyone in the US Govt from 1945 to 2025, Signalgate would require an instant resignation—and a criminal investigation. It would be a matter of personal *honor* to resign. The fact Mike Waltz & Pete Hegseth are choosing to fight it out is a terrible omen.

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Mar 26

Enjoy!! Wish I could be there!

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Emily Block @emilyblock.bsky.social · Mar 8

Tragic.

apple.news/AnjXnnoXpS8a...

Afghan women who fled Taliban to study abroad face return after USAID freeze — BBC News

US aid funding enabled thousands of Afghan women to study abroad or online, but many of these programmes are now suspended.

apple.news

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Michael Harriot @michaelharriot.bsky.social · Feb 22

By accepting Trump’s anti-Black premise and regurgitating the narrative that equates anything Black as DEI, the NY Times has become part of the propaganda machine

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Feb 17

Reminds me of Wilson & Roscigno research on public sector and opportunities (fading over time) for Black workers: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

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Elizabeth Wrigley-Field @wrigleyfield.bsky.social · Feb 9

Here are some facts about "facilities and administrative" (F&A) costs, what we in the business call "indirects" and what Musk is calling "overhead" as he tries to convince Americans with being ok with cutting billions on dollars from medical and public health research at universities & hospitals

1/

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Feb 8

The result of years of NIH support and of leadership at Minnesota, to make data more accessible… Another era.

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Feb 8

Terrible. So sorry.

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Kim Weeden @weedenkim.bsky.social · Feb 8

DOGE plans to slash about as much ($4B) from NIH, and hence from universities and medical centers, as the government gave SpaceX ($3.8B) last year.

It's not about the money and government "waste."

It's never been about the money or government "waste."

www.usatoday.com/story/money/...

Elon Musk wants to cut government spending. Tesla and SpaceX benefit from it

Over the last 16 years, Musk's business deals with the government total nearly $20 billion, according to federal contracting data.

www.usatoday.com

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Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · Feb 7

As someone who has studied autocratization elsewhere, I can tell you that you need to keep your eyes on THIS. Changes to the partisan balance of bodies overseeing elections or changes to the electoral system is key to how wannabe autocrats become actual autocrats.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/u...

Federal Election Commission Chair Says Trump Has Moved to Fire Her

Ellen L. Weintraub, who has served as a commissioner for the nation’s top elections watchdog since 2002, said she did not recognize a letter from President Trump relieving her from her post as legally...

www.nytimes.com

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Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · Feb 6

There are critics of DEI who point to its historic use as a way to capture the rhetoric of social justice movements and mitigate the transformative potential of anti discrimination law, and then there are critics of DEI who think race and sex discrimination is good.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Feb 6

do i roll my eyes at a lot of DEI stuff? yeah, i wrote a whole essay about why i thought it was bullshit back in 2020. but trump et al aren’t saying, “corporate DEI policies mainly exist to protect corporate interests from discrimination lawsuits.” they’re saying “get the blacks out”

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Beth Popp Berman @epopppp.bsky.social · Feb 2

I want to spell out the basic reason it’s so dangerous for Elon to have control of the U.S. payments system. It may seem like a technical matter, but the dynamics are simple. 1/x

Elon Musk’s Team Now Has Access to Treasury’s Payments System

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Mr. Musk’s representatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending.

www.nytimes.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Feb 2

EPA has 8,500 employees in total. Cutting 1,100 probationary employees would be a massive blow.
If all probationary employees are going to be fired (and given what Musk is saying, this sounds more likely) it will kill federal recruiting
www.cbsnews.com/news/epa-emp...

More than 1,100 EPA employees warned of immediate termination

"It's bad. I've been with the agency for over 33 years and I've never seen anything like this," said Marie Owens-Powell, president of the union that represents more than 8,500 EPA employees.

www.cbsnews.com

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Feb 1

Oh goodness. So sorry and hoping next steps on home, custody, and book ideation are clear. Thinking of you.

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National Labor Relations Board Union @nlrbu.bsky.social · Jan 28

This morning, we learned that President Trump fired Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, whose Senate-confirmed term runs until 2028.

This move must be called out for what it is—a frontal assault on the NLRB, its employees, workers, and the very idea of an independent civil service. 🚨

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Fabian Pfeffer @fabianpfeffer.bsky.social · Jan 15

🚨 Applications are still open for the rest of the week 🚨
(full review begins Monday, Jan 20)

Fabian Pfeffer @fabianpfeffer.bsky.social · Jan 14

Sociologists working on inequality:

Still time to apply for this 3yr+ postdoc position in beautiful Munich (no German required)

EN: job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/5...
DE: job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/f...

Applications are 01/15, but let me know if you need another 1-2 days to put in your materials

Picture of the main campus of the LMU Munich with students sitting on the grass and talking

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Erin Kelly @elkelly.bsky.social · Jan 11

Fascinating. I had no idea.

Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · Jan 11

How many incarcerated firefighters are fighting the LA wildfires? What type of work are they doing? And how do they feel about it?

I teamed up with @themarshallproject.org to answer all these questions we've been seeing online: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/11/l...

The Dangerous Yet Desirable Work of Being an Incarcerated Firefighter in California

More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their choice are complicated.

www.themarshallproject.org

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