Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1h

...meanwhile the ratio of dependents (children + elderly) to workers has gone DOWN by a third over the same time period and won't reach 1960s levels until 2040+. There is no demographic crisis.... there is a resource distribution crisis.

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1h

This is the lie at the center of the "demographic crisis" framing. In the US, per worker productivity has tripled since the 1960s. But instead of increasing compensation or various forms of dependent care, this **enormous** new surplus goes to private profits, asset inflation, and rent extraction...

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 1h

People really don't like do deal with US labor productivity being *vastly* larger than even a couple generations ago.

US labor productivity and real hourly compensation from 1973 to 2024 both increase steadily.

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1h

"The Man in the High Castle" portrayed perfectly how fascism looks like a Norman Rockwell American dream for upper middle class white people.

Brian Beutler @brianbeutler.bsky.social · 1h

Watching so many people in high places go through the motions of polling and median-voter whispering can make you feel like you're in Bodysnatchers. It's worth a reminder that the typical experience of tyranny is...basically normal life. Which means we have to will ourselves to fight harder.

The Median Experience Of Tyranny

If the politics of tyranny were self-discrediting, we wouldn't need mantras like "never again."

www.offmessage.net

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1h

Good thing there is no downside to runaway deflation.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1h

ANDREESSEN: Even if AI ends up destroying all the jobs, “the result would be hyper-deflation of prices, which is the thing that people miss. .. Things that today cost a lot of money will all of a sudden be cheap or free.”

@fortune.com
fortune.com/2025/10/08/b...

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1h

While we're all handwringing over "political violence," here is political mass murder on an unimaginable scale.

Musk wants to die on Mars...history is going to bury him in a latrine.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2h

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 23h

I'm happy with <10% of what Carney has done or has indicated he plans to do so far, but 1) "transformative" sounds wordsmithed to be something only an idiot would assume is a compliment, and 2) there is a lot more at stake in this diplomacy effort than either of these two mens' egos.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

"You are a transformative president" -- I regret to inform you that Mark Carney is kissing Trump's ass

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

very cool that if you are working on behalf of right-wing culture warriors, you no longer need standing to have your claim adjudicated by the supreme court

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 1d

It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 1d

One thing about American's widespread distrust and disapproval of the Supreme Court is that mainstream news coverage mostly doesn't dwell on stuff like standing, so people don't even begin to grasp how rigged the Court truly is www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 23h

"The work I was involved in had no obvious therapeutic benefit. It was purely of scientific interest. I hope the country will continue to support basic research even though it may have no obvious practical value."
- John Gurdon

Katherine Brown @katherine-brown.bsky.social · 1d

Very saddened to hear of John Gurdon’s passing. I’ve been lucky enough to interact with him at multiple points through my career - from undergrad lectures, through his position as former Chair of @biologists.bsky.social’s Board of Directors, and as an author at @dev-journal.bsky.social.

Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Gurdon dies aged 92

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the Gurdon Institute.

www.cam.ac.uk

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1d

That's more of a funny [derogatory] thing about Parisians.

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1d

LOL.

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · 1d

@timeshighered.bsky.social responds to critics of its rankings methodology.

Protecting the integrity of university rankings

Addressing rare cases of attempted manipulation is built into the DNA of THE’s rankings. But we will go further, says Phil Baty

www.timeshighereducation.com

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kyrla @kyrla.bsky.social · 3d

All I'm saying is that when you write "I am alive" on some paper and put it in a photocopier, judging by the output we don't know that there's *not* a very small man in there. And maybe he deserves rights

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Frames @oxinabox.bsky.social · 3d

as a girl with a PhD in natural language processing and machine learning it's actually offensive to me when you say "we don't know how LLMs work so they might be conscious"

I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge.

We know exactly how LLMs work.

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Nick @boylan.xyz · 1d

Supreme Court poised to rule that religious beliefs allow for child abuse over the states interest in preventing child abuse.

Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 1d

NYT: Justices Seem Set to Rule Against Colorado’s Ban on Conversion Therapy www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

Supreme Court Live Updates: Justices Seem Set to Rule Against Colorado’s Ban on Conversion Therapy

www.nytimes.com

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1d

We've found a new low in individualizing climate responsibility.

Coach Jerry (referee 🔵) @gopher33j.bsky.social · 1d

As somebody with asthma who uses inhalers - SHUT THE FUCK UP. THIS ARTICLE IS SHAMING PEOPLE WITH A CHRONIC CONDITION.

"Significantly" My ass. You know what else does? AI Data centers - corporations - cows - asphalt - THOUSANDS OF OTHERS THINGS THAT ARE NOT MEDICINE.

Fuck you - fuck you again.

Inhalers contribute significantly to global warming, study finds

Millions of Americans using inhalers for chronic lung diseases like asthma may be unknowingly contributing to global warming, according to new research.

local12.com

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 1d

He's commenting on an essay by Dan Nexon, pointing out that the existing Constitutional order has failed - and the main question is what comes after.

www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/10/the-...

1) The Republic as we knew it is over. The fight now is whether the new one will be a fascistic, competitive authoritarian regime or a pluralist democracy that, we can hope, is better than what came before.
2) Even if you think restoration is possible, it’s a bad idea. The Constitution has failed. Or, more accurately, the Constitutional order built out of the New Deal, the Second Reconstruction, and the repudiation of the Nixon presidency has failed. This is not a prediction. It’s not a “if we continue on our current course.” The Constitution as designed by the founders, was supposed to prevent the current regime. Its original guardrails did not work. The ones added after the Civil War did not work. The de facto amendments created by the accretion of judicial decisions did not work. The post-Watergate reforms did not work.

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 1d

From Stephen L. Taylor: The Constitution Has Failed. outsidethebeltway.com/has-the-cons...

It is difficult to summarize how bad this administration is (it’s part of why I have the In Front of Our Nose series, because it is just so much). I suspect that if, for some reason, you are reading this but think Trump is a normal president, nothing I can say will disuade you, and if you agree with me that he is a clear threat to the constitutional order, I don’t need to make a list.

I will just note the following. He is usurping congressional authority on spending and staffing, and therefore literally ignoring the law. He has empowered ICE to violate due process. He has ordered the military to commit murder in the Caribbean (and they have complied). He has publicly directed the Attorney General to go after his enemies because he, Trump, declares them to be guilty. He has pardoned/commuted the sentences of ~1500 people who tried to disrupt a constitutional process. All the while, he and his family have been enriching themselves because he is president.

Oh, and the Supreme Court has said he is immune from prosecution for anything linked to his “official duties.”

The fact that the above is my short version of the situation is more than a bit disturbing.

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 1d

It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 1d

One thing about American's widespread distrust and disapproval of the Supreme Court is that mainstream news coverage mostly doesn't dwell on stuff like standing, so people don't even begin to grasp how rigged the Court truly is www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

Supreme Court Live Updates: Justices Seem Set to Rule Against Colorado’s Ban on Conversion Therapy

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 1d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Nick Fleisher @nickfleisher.bsky.social · 1d

See also: people who say we must "restore trust in higher ed"

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

I keep waiting for the powers that be in media to grasp the concept of bad faith, realize how often "restore trust in news" and similar statements mean "stop doing journalism, lie more in ways I like," come from people ideologically committed to destroying trust in news, and can never be satisfied.

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1d

I too am keen to "restore trust in news" by turning a major broadcast network into a 24/7 slurry of right wing culture war propaganda and engagement trolling

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1d

Big risk here is the extent to which university upper administrations welcome the restrictions on student and faculty speech and don't give a shit about the rest.

Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 1d

"Precisely because they have been losing court cases over free speech and visas for foreign students, Trumpists now seek to entrap universities in a deal that effectively removes the protections of federal law and gives the administration arbitrary power over them."

US universities must reject Trump’s ‘compact’. It is full of traps | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuse

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 1d

"Precisely because they have been losing court cases over free speech and visas for foreign students, Trumpists now seek to entrap universities in a deal that effectively removes the protections of federal law and gives the administration arbitrary power over them."

US universities must reject Trump’s ‘compact’. It is full of traps | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuse

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Michael Battalio @battalio.com · 1d

Did Perseverance see 3I/Atlas? Yes, maybe.

Is Avi Loeb using this as an opportunity to falsely impugn actual science in an effort to blow smoke up his own ass? Yes, undoubtedly.

Basically nothing Loeb has been in the news for in the last 5 years has proven correct. Stop falling for his grift.

Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 4d

Last night, NASA's Perseverance rover looked up at the night sky once more, to capture interstellar #comet 3I/Atlas flying by the red planet.

The distance was "only" 0.2 AU or 30 Mio km, far closer than the comet ever got to Earth. 🔭 #3IAtlas

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Simeon Schmauß

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Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 1d

Gosh the UST is putting us in a bit of a pickle.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 1d

The U.S. Treasury shared a proposal to mint $1 Trump coins to mark America’s 250th anniversary.

But U.S. code says only deceased individuals may appear on U.S. currency, a tradition dating back to efforts to break from monarchical rule. https://wapo.st/4pWsyL3

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Reposted by Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦

Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 3d

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

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Mallory Harris, PhD @malar0ne.bsky.social · 5d

A year ago, I warned university leadership to not help Jay Bhattacharya fashion himself a champion of open debate while he actively worked to undermine academic freedom.

Now, as NIH Director, he's waging a campaign of censorship to advance a political agenda.

stanforddaily.com/2024/10/03/f...

From the Community | President Levin’s first order of business: abandoning academic freedom

By standing with tenured faculty and powerful political operatives against contingent researchers and trainees at Stanford, President Jonathan Levin has already betrayed academic freedom, writes Mallo...

stanforddaily.com

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