Sign in

Francine McKenna

@fmckenna.bsky.social
16K followers 19K following 3.9K posts

Teacher/writer/speaker/reader. CPA. Using tools so tools can’t use me. Dogs rule! Kundera: “In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia.” I Dig. TheDig.Substack.com @retheauditors Chgo-born, Philly-based She/her

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
You can read more of my interview with Frances Haugen here. It's taken Hollywood a full DECADE to even try to tackle Silicon Valley. The Social Reckoning is long long overdue & a chilling reminder of why we HAVE to regulate these bros. 6/ www.thenerve.news/p/frances-ha...
thenerve.news
‘We have a $1tn company acting desperate’: Frances Haugen on The Social Reckoning, Zuckerberg, and Facebook's growing fragility
The whistleblower whose explosive revelations about her employer inspired Aaron Sorkin’s new film tells Carole Cadwalladr that, despite Silicon Valley’s power, ‘we have the ability to change a lot of ...
524576
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Calling my shot: we will see less than half as many pundit-consultant pieces about this Latino realignment as we saw in the other direction 2021-2025, because a Latino blue shift doesn’t fit the Dems-Too-Woke narrative
261199243
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Remarkable: As of now, Latino early vote is outpacing where it was at same time in 2024 in both percentages of vote share and in RAW VOTE TOTALS. That's big. Presidential turnout is usually higher than midterms. I obtained new analysis from Dem firm TargetSmart: newrepublic.com/article/2164...
401545379
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
when someone does something with Shakespeare I've NEVER seen before - not just in the area of like production design or aesthetics or setting, or even in the approach to one of the cornerstone characters, but to like . . . absolutely fuck with the plot - I am filled with such a true joy
11455
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
this is one of my favorite Shakespeare films ever not just because every frame is so breathtaking you would hang it on your wall as modern art, and not just because Denzel and Frances are all-timers, but because "wait is ROSS the big bad??" is an incredible question to be left asking yourself
543955
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This looks like a carjacking. I think any reasonable person would hit the gas.
381948363
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…
145144826234
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Lauren McGaughy @lmcgaughy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Scoop: In 2014, Ken Paxton sat for a deposition where federal lawyers quizzed him about his growing wealth and investment tactics. The depo has never been made public. We got a copy. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/u...
nytimes.com
Inside Ken Paxton’s Private Testimony About His Money
A leaked deposition from a fraud inquiry in 2014 provides insight into the Senate candidate’s growing wealth and his tactics for defending himself.
241013425
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
JUST UNSEALED: A judge ruled this week that the first Trump admin's "Remain in Mexico" policy illegally subjected thousands of people – many with meritorious asylum claims — to horrifically dangerous and violent conditions and deprived them of access to attorneys. cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/legal-doc...
412130797
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Going to the premier!
010
Reposted by Francine McKenna
yuegozy.bsky.social @yuegozy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
nytimes.com
‘Lincoln in the Bardo’: A Preview of the Met Opera Adaptation (Gift Article)
In an ethereal costume and surrounded by puppets, Anthony Roth Costanzo sang an aria from the operatic adaptation of George Saunders’s 2017 novel.
121
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I’ve watched Party Girl more than once. Also In the Mood for Love.
020
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Yeah, I hated when that happened.
000
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 08/10/2026
The last public execution in America was in 1936. A young black man in Kentucky was hanged by a drunk executioner; a news story said "They Ate Hotdogs While a Man Died." Was such an embarrassment that the governor outlawed it 18 months later www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Fort Hood shooter’s execution will be live-streamed, Defense Dept. says
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday about the firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.
58505195
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It’s almost like the ICE agents want you to film them and make them famous!
0161
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 09/10/2026
I wrote in 2023 about our new "golden age of brutal voyeurism." "It’s like there are suddenly many more movie theaters in town, and some of them are much more friendly toward snuff films" www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Violent videos and ‘brutal voyeurism’ are redefining modern war
From Russian soldiers shot down on camera to Hamas fighters slain as they tried to escape the Israeli navy, the scenes now shared across the internet are far more violent and graphic than in previous ...
324840
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 09/10/2026
Hard to overstate how much Hegseth's execution stream mirrors the U.S. military's traditional description of ISIS propaganda: broadcast killings designed to send a message, strike fear and create a social media spectacle. Will almost certainly be repurposed by online terror cells
642348838
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
thedig.substack.com/p/everybody-...
thedig.substack.com
Everybody called the Presidential race wrong, except Big 4 audit firm professionals
Professionals at the largest global public accounting firms are everywhere, including in government. Maybe they know something...
000
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Accountants generally fiscally conservative but some are socially progressive. The largest global public accounting firms are self-interested. May be personally conservative but the firms donate to and lobby whomever is in leadership and can influence legislation and rules they have an interest in.
110
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Kung Fu Fighting @mikedaily.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
An accountant? Society needs professionals, trades, expertise etc. What we don’t need are criminals, rapists, grifters, neo-Nazis, fascist traitors.
082
Reposted by Francine McKenna
e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 08/10/2026
brilliant example sir, this message is sure to resonate with the peasants
1241642215
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
⚠️ Aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee covered up Israeli killings of nine Americans
nytimes.com
How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel (Gift Article)
A top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to multiple officials and documents obtained by The Times.
212585
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Congratulations! 🎉🍾
000
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A thing I should have mentioned: They’re waiving adoption fees for the next week. You can just have this sweet sweet pup for zero dollars down. Or take her on a day trip, also zero dollars. She will love you unconditionally and slay your foes, probably. Go meet her.
513637
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account Text messages with a MAGA ally show her seeking funds and offering access to top administration officials ahead of her confirmation as ambassador to Greece.
wsj.com
Exclusive | ‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account
Text messages with a MAGA ally show Guilfoyle seeking funds and offering access to top administration officials before becoming ambassador to Greece.
38500209
Reposted by Francine McKenna
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 07/10/2026
who knows if jackson can win this thing but i am glad that he is making clear that susan collins's whole scam is to do everything she can to make life worse for mainers and then take credit for mitigating it in the slightest way possible
107106231804
Reposted by Francine McKenna
AG Rob Bonta @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov · 06/10/2026
In 2020, we took Lyft to court for dodging their obligations to provide full pay to drivers from 2016-2020 by misclassifying their workers as independent contractors. Last week, we secured the largest misclassification recovery in CA history—with $237 million going back to thousands of drivers.
54612
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
That is hilarious POV take.
010
Reposted by Francine McKenna
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
I could hug @anandwrites.bsky.social for this. This is so true but you NEVER hear it in US media. Never. Truly doing god's work.
515342314
Reposted by Francine McKenna
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
Holy shit.
704261568632
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Looks exactly like Helena Bonham Carter
050
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I have flown AA or BA quite a few times in last few years from Chicago or Philadelphia to London and back and I always choose Airbus vs Boeing flights.
110
Reposted by Francine McKenna
acabylon 👻👻 BOO 👻👻 @acabylonbee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
if you were wondering how he only served 13 months in prison after raping multiple minors, it's because he served zero jail time for raping multiple minors. the only jail time he served was for financial crimes covering up sexually abusing children. he kept his congressional pension up to now
9521194
Reposted by Francine McKenna
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
The press will do stories on Republican sex creeps, but it will never, ever point out -- much less make an ongoing narrative out of -- the fact that the GOP has been *ridden* with sex creeps for decades. You have to be blind not to see the pattern.
nytimes.com
Dennis Hastert, Powerful Politician Disgraced by Child Sexual Abuse, Dies (Gift Article)
The longest-serving Republican speaker of the House admitted in 2016 to abusing teenage boys decades earlier. He was 84.
441674495
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
If you followed me @retheauditors on Twitter you know this photo. Dad became semi-famous when Pulitzer Prize winning Sun-time photographer John White took his photo holding a baby at a fire. He became the face of the MDA “boot” campaign.
Dad holding a bay at a fire with his Chief standing next to him. Photo by John White who won a Pulitzer for another photo and famous for Muhammed Ali candids. The photo was on front page of Sun-Times then the Fire Dept Union magazine where it won a prize. Dad was then drafted at no compensation to become face of Muscular Dystrophy campaign with posters and donation boxes with the image everywhere for years. He left quite a legacy for us.
030
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
There is a method to my madness. Maybe I write a thinly veiled memoir of my parents’ “wild at heart” romance. Lots of stories…
120
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Tom Carter @thcarter123.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The image of trump banner over Exxon Station used in Wapo story today on Leonard Leo oil companies climate lawsuit, before Leonard Leo Supreme Court, is hanging on Leonard Leo funded Heritage Foundation. Leonard Leo not mention in Wapo story. Not once.
410038
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
We ate my dad’s cooking. View from the deck this morning. The vertical window is for a bathroom/powder room that was in the kutchen that is no linget there. #ghostwindow the horizontal one is 2nd floor bathroom.
Glass block #ghost window on back if our family house. Brick is common brick, that variety pack that is so common in Chicago. Our house had little boulders stuck in strategic places all over. On one side my brothers could climb up them to 2nd floor bedroom windows. Second floor bathroom window with jalousie vent.
180
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
More of my dad’s glass block work and his original inspiration.
This is my brother Anthony and my youngest nephew Jack at a “job” mixing the mortar. It has a different consistency then between bricks on a house, a magic mix of sand, water, and Portland cement. Anthony was the inly one of my four brothets who cocsistently was my dad’s helper but he gave plenty of summer jobs to other young men in neighborhood before ethey left for colege.  When my dad and sister went to Scotland they visited Glasgow neighborhood where dad grew up. (I went for first time to see in 2024.) This is the bar on the corner of theor street mear the Barras market where my grandma “tinkered”. The peole in thebar thy met remebetrd my grandpa. The glass block windows obvious inspiration to my dad when he wanted a good side job to being a Chicago fireman. My brother Anthony on the job, from the sample book I found, measurements in the top corner. See the rounded top which the owner wanted -a note in back of photo- required dad to build a replacement careful arched trim.
2211
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Incredible how the editors at @nytimes.com still don't understand how embarrassing it is to do this, and how it undermines the credibility of the paper and its journalists. It's like a toddler covering their face to play hide and seek. We see you but it's not cute, you look like an asshole.
251328264
Reposted by Francine McKenna
Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 04/10/2026
There are new and specific numbers in this story, so it’s worth reading. I continue to resent the lack of credit to Nick Schwellenbach at @pogo.org, Dan Friedman at @motherjones.com, and me, who have previously reported every other aspect of this story, including that the sale prices were very high.
Kristi Noem's Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She
Left
The Homeland Security Department signed a multi-million dollar agreement to buy five aircraft from a company owned by a political contributor of the secretary on her last day, documents show.
81897510
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I very well remember Pittsburgh Corning boxes all the time.
010
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
There’s the bubbly one you and I discussed before. I did not know the hourglass one was called Intaglio but I know it is special. I need to dig a bit more in garage. There’s some stuff of my brother’s in way
110
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Love it!
011
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Ah have boxes of these small rectangulat ones and the black border ones. Not sure what 😮 one with a house roof shaped top is for.
031
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
There is more in garage but have to find key or clicker.
110
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
He def has a detached and still ocasionally reachable quality.
010
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Mom likes to decorate deck with all dad’s orphan block.
Variety of my dad’s leftover glass block decorating worn deck on south side of Chicago.
3141
Francine McKenna @fmckenna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
In Beverly right now and found my dad’s sample book. Amac Glass Block was his shop. Most of the stuff he did was utilitarian. But occasionally he was able to exercise some creativity. These photos are late 80’s-90’s era.
Top photo is fairly large glass block basement window, no vents, built by my dad. He built in the garage then a small storefront and these windows got really heavy, and are if course very fragile, the bigger they are. 
Bottom photo is dad on a scaffold to put a window in prob a bathroom on a second floor. Again, heavy to lift up and then lift up to install. He prided himself on prefect neat fits into old trad window spaces and his bricklayer skills allowed him to expertly replace brick work and sills to make everything look very nice. Not sure where top window is but it was very large and block is more decorative, expensive. So probably a decor situation to add creative light with security and insulation. Bottom photo is a shower enclosure, curved !! In a very expensive huge house in Hinsdale. Dad used to say anyone can build a straight line but only a true craftsman can do a great curve or arch.
271