Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

johnmark @johnmark.org · 1h

:D :D :D

Reposted by johnmark

Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 4h

The best way to get a wealth tax is to make government-granted patent monopolies shorter and weaker cepr.net/publications...

Weakening Patent Monopolies: The Most Effective Wealth Tax

A wealth tax faces huge legal and practical hurdles. The better solution is to prevent extreme fortunes through smarter market and patents.

cepr.net

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Reposted by johnmark

Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 2h

I'm interviewing Paulina Borsook for the Nerd Reich podcast on Friday. Got any questions for her/us?

Let me know—and sign up to get notified when it gets published.

Newsletter (paywall-free!): www.thenerdreich.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheNerdReic...

Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 14d

1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).

But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that

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Reposted by johnmark

Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 14d

1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).

But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that

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Reposted by johnmark

John Mark :blobcatverified: ☑️ @johnmark.freeradical.zone.ap.brid.gy · 2h

I'm a fan of Axl's 2nd act

https://mstdn.social/@vruz/115340877247119918

vruz (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image One might exercise doubt and restraint justifiably when it comes to rockstars, especially ones who have a horrific reputation, and little to offer by way of redemption. But here's the aging singer turned responsible and empathic American, citizen Axl Rose. Yeah he's quoting one of his old songs and framing it from a place of individual need, but even if clumsily executed, this still counts as the right thing to do in my book. #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #Gaza #Palestine #genocide

mstdn.social

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 3h

Leominster

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 5h

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

johnmark @johnmark.org · 3h

Molly does hands-down the best reporting on the crypto industry. Shining a light on blatant corruption may seem quaint and inconsequential right now, but it will make a difference. It's important to have a record of the grift, and you can play a role by supporting her investigative work.

Molly White @molly.wiki · 4h

Newsletter: Trump is still corrupt, a core developer warns bitcoin won’t survive an upcoming code change, and crypto lenders are ratcheting up leverage like it’s 2022.

www.citationneeded.news/issue-94/

Issue 94 – Backdoor deals

Trump is still corrupt, a core developer warns bitcoin won’t survive an upcoming code change, and crypto lenders are ratcheting up leverage like it’s 2022.

www.citationneeded.news

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 3h

And in the "saying-the-quiet-part-outloud" category...

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 4h

From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec

Reposted by johnmark

Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 1d

please read my memo www.theverge.com/business/793...

Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed

Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?

www.theverge.com

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 1d

So who's the Stalin to trump's Lenin?

johnmark @johnmark.org · 1d

OMFG! lolololololollllll

Ian Gordon @idgordon.bsky.social · 2d

If you'd like to delight in a side-by-side comparison, here's Bari Weiss' reported note to CBS staffers (left) and the one I cooked up on ChatGPT with a quickly dashed-off prompt (right). Looking forward to hearing from you in the days and weeks ahead!

1

Reposted by johnmark

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 2d

it's a really dark day for journalism and this country. the old institutions simply will not stand—and that's why it's time to create new ones.

make independent media a viable path. subscribe to the handbasket: www.thehandbasket.co/subscribe

The Handbasket

100% independent journalism by Marisa Kabas

www.thehandbasket.co

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 2d

Ok

1

johnmark @johnmark.org · 2d

don't be obtuse - ICE is an issue everywhere, but the subject under discussion is what governors can do to protect its constituents. I would vocally advocate for mutual aid for everyone under threat, but good luck getting a GOP gov to agree with that.

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 2d

please name a GOP governor that would be willing to enter into such an agreement.

To be clear about the subject being discussed: this is about preventing national guard from aiding and abetting ICE. Not sure that a Dem and GOP governor could come to any agreement

Reposted by johnmark

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 2d

Doing some back of the napkin math on the Free Press acquisition, I've determined The Onion is worth $2 trillion.

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 2d

This has been on my mind, especially since the Charlie Kirk murder: Truth and Reconciliation. There can be no reconciliation without truth.

#charliekirk #tanehisicoates #ezraklein #reconciliation

weareprolife.net/2025/10/06/t...

Truth and Reconciliation – We Are Pro-Life

weareprolife.net

johnmark @johnmark.org · 3d

some people have a severe shame and punishment kink.

Maia @maiamindel.bsky.social · 3d

what the fuck is going on

johnmark @johnmark.org · 3d

I found it invigorating - good escapist fun. But I've always been a sucker for madcap comedy with a side of cringe.

johnmark @johnmark.org · 5d

Idiocracy is now playing on @netflix.com and like... I'm not in the mood for a documentary

1

Reposted by johnmark

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 7d

*cough*

www.techdirt.com/2025/07/08/w...

Who Goes MAGA?

With apologies to Dorothy Thompson, whose 1941 essay in Harper’s, “Who Goes Nazi?” remains a worthwhile read on the cultural archetypes of who is drawn to fascism, and who would never go down such …

www.techdirt.com

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Reposted by johnmark

Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 7d

Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.

harpers.org/archive/1941...

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 8d

Apropos of nothing...

youtube.com/watch?v=LXCr...

Public Enemy - Shut 'Em Down (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by PublicEnemyVEVO

youtube.com

Reposted by johnmark

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 8d

Five days ago, an ICE agent shoved a woman asking questions about the detention of her husband.

Today they attacked two journalists.

We cannot accept or normalize what has now become routine violence at 26 Federal Plaza. It has no place in our city.

ICE agents assault amNewYork reporter at Federal Plaza immigration court; another journalist seriously injured after shove | amNewYork

ICE agents assaulted amNewYork's own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests of

www.amny.com

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 8d

Power doesn't panic

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Trump brags to military leaders about his strikes on boats: "They don't want go fishing. I don't blame them. There will be no fishing today. It's amazing what strength will do."