Reposted by Loren KingPhil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 11hI'm watching Buckaroo Bonzai for the first time since I saw it in the theater when it came out (!!) and am now convinced the reason they never made a sequel is because they ran out of money for drugs. 5448835
Reposted by Loren KingProPublica @propublica.org · 29/09/2026There’s no scientific basis to many of the public health concerns some critics have with solar development, an expert told ProPublica. “People try to come up with a rationale to justify their dislike of things they dislike for other reasons.” (Published April)propublica.orgUnfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar BacklashAcross the U.S., critics are pressuring public officials to stop or stall new solar projects, often citing unfounded health concerns. 28584208
Loren King @lorenking.org · 28/09/2026I support Wikipedia, where information is still human-created, fact-checked, and 100% free. donate.wikimedia.orgdonate.wikimedia.orgMake your donation now - Wikimedia FoundationDonate to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and other crucial free knowledge projects. Each year, the generosity of the 2% of readers who donate allows us to expand the reac... 010
Reposted by Loren KingKevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The history of political thought is replete with contempt for these sycophantic power-seekers. Yet I know of no systematic examination of it. I wonder if someone has constructed a tradition of thought about the toady? Their apparent ever-presence in political history is a regularity worth comment. 3399
Reposted by Loren KingMatt McManus @mattpolprof.bsky.social · 28/09/2026There is something so vulgar about the kind of conservative who came from a modest background, but strives to climb the same social hierarchies that once disadvantaged him by endlessly and shamelessly flattering those he now insists are our social betters. 1510222
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The techbros don't want you to see this trailer. Pass it on. 3149412707
Reposted by Loren KingBrent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.thebetter.newsFinland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.meIn Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness. 9372150
Reposted by Loren KingChris Neill 🐧 @chrisneill.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Excellent proposal to add jobs and therefore local economic activity to certain types of investments. </s> 011
Reposted by Loren KingDaniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Politics and Expertise. And Cats. 061
Reposted by Loren KingChristopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 26/09/2026A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS SHOULDN’T EVEN BE IN QUESTION AT THIS POINT And we definitely need more reporting on this issue: HEAT Data centers devour electricity and water, dump heat into communities, and Big Tech is building them faster than lawmakers are dealing with the consequences. 24961743081
Reposted by Loren KingPaul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Personally, I’d rather have healthy kids than mollycoddled millionaires 4233484656
Reposted by Loren KingBrent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026“Removing or failing to build safe bike-lanes can affect much more than cyclists...” It undermines the success of cities, and the safety of people, in a lot of critical ways. “Lessons on what cities lose by giving in to car culture.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social momentummag.com/ontarios-bik... 1225577
Reposted by Loren KingRobert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 25/09/2026DoorDash spent $1.4M trying to stop Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor. This week's historic $131.5M enforcement action against DoorDash for underpaying NYC delivery workers shows why. Yet another reminder that the only thing that can beat organized money is organized people.theintercept.comDoorDash Spent $1.4 Million Trying to Stop Mamdani From Becoming Mayor. Now We Know Why.In a wage-theft settlement, DoorDash now has to pay its workers around 100 times what it spent trying to beat Zohran Mam 6574015911783
Reposted by Loren KingChris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Prof. @josephinequinn.bsky.social's inaugural lecture, "Anarchical Antiquity", will be at 5pm on Thursday 8 October in the Old Divinity School Main Lecture Theatre, St John’s College, Cambridge. www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about-us/new... 0186
Reposted by Loren KingDaniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Petition to replace “wrote” with “prompted” in any discussion about the use of AI in generating papers. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...washingtonpost.comUsing AI, a professor wrote 200 papers this year. Researchers are alarmed.An online platform removed 257 papers written or co-written by the University of Chicago’s Nicholas Polson after other academics raised questions. 65020
Reposted by Loren KingKevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026My entire life I've heard centrists scolding leftist candidates with "oh, but how will we pay for all that? isn't your agenda unreasonable? shouldn't we run on a modest proposal for means-tested tax rebates?" Then Mamdani gets elected and makes it all look pretty easy. No wonder they hate him. 15184121898
Reposted by Loren Kingjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 22/09/2026this is a genuinely crazy story 11955291177
Reposted by Loren KingPhil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026"Unfortunately, the changes proposed Monday... allow the Carney government to do the same run around Canada’s environmental protections for species at risk, like the orcas, just without the public closely watching." Famously, nothing bad has befallen those who have crossed the orcas.thestar.comAlthia Raj: Whatever good is in Mark Carney’s Building Canada Strong Act is poisoned by the toxic restThe Mark Carney government frames this law as part of its “Canada Strong” plan — and frankly, some parts are good — but toxic with good is still bad. 0117
Reposted by Loren KingDaniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026“We don’t need anything that Canada has.” - Donald J. Trump, super-genius, deal-maker, June 10, 2026 052
Reposted by Loren KingCorey Atad @coreyatad.com · 22/09/2026the greatest lesson of my political life was watching Rob Ford accrue power in Toronto because, i shit you not, when he was a city councillor you could call up his office about whatever small issues (potholes, permitting, etc) and he'd actually help you out 19113597
Reposted by Loren KingCorey Atad @coreyatad.com · 22/09/2026“If you are staring at an example of social disorder or social inefficiency, and the left refuses to explain either why it has happened or how they will fix it, then the right gets to point at someone in the immediate area and say, ‘That’s who did it.’” crazy how much Mamdani speaks my language 5951591220
Reposted by Loren KingSmooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 20/09/2026been thinkin about how robots are gonna kill us 9186251859
Reposted by Loren KingJacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 20/09/20261) Every damn things he's built without Congressional authorization gets demolished on the first day. 2) Christ, he's like a 7-year old. "Oh yeah? Well MY arch is going to be a FORTRESS with GUNS and DRONES and LASERS, you'll be able to CONTROL THE WHOLE CITY from there." 681997365
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Love to have my traffic circle triumphal arch go up in a giant secondary explosion if a bus crashes into it (ask the Greeks about the parthenon) 2697
Loren King @lorenking.org · 19/09/2026It's easy to forget (because he has) that JD Vance has been on Bluesky for over fifteen months now, and his presence here is just as gut-churningly cringe-inducing as his live appearances. Maybe Peter Thiel will start paying him *not* to appear anywhere? 000
Reposted by Loren KingPhil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026A highlight reel of Chantal Hebert's best one-liners as a Heritage Minute would go so hard 0345
Reposted by Loren KingBrent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 19/09/2026READ THIS: How Amsterdam became the bicycle capital of the world. In the 1960s, Dutch cities saw cars as the transport of the future. It took the intolerable toll of child traffic deaths —and fierce activism— to turn #Amsterdam into the urban biking nirvana of today. It took vision and leadership.theguardian.comHow Amsterdam became the bicycle capital of the worldIn the 1960s, Dutch cities were increasingly in thrall to motorists, with the car seen as the transport of the future. It took the intolerable toll of child traffic deaths – and fierce activism – to t... 12343124
Reposted by Loren KingJacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026@thefireorg.bsky.social 15814
Reposted by Loren KingDaniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Global science and innovation is a lot of countries and companies realizing they’re pretty capable, in a few cases even better off, when the U.S. freezes them out. 251
Reposted by Loren KingPhil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Superb work from @dougsaunders.bsky.social on deconstructing what an "associate membership" will (and won't) look like. TL;DR: we will not get the type of integration that some are hoping (or fearing!) for, but there are some perks - like Aussie style 4 year work permits - that'd be worth pursuing.theglobeandmail.comIf Canada joins the European Union show, it will only be from the upper balconyIt might be disappointing to some Canadians – or maybe a relief – but ‘associate membership’ to the EU doesn’t look like it would change much of anything 32510
Reposted by Loren KingChris Neill 🐧 @chrisneill.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Airplane-with-red-dots.jpg 031
Reposted by Loren KingProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026Look at this photo we found from Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. Can you spot the Russian oligarch close to Putin who bankrolled the event? 🧵 22834391318
Reposted by Loren KingDaniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Losing a war, running up the price of gas and other goods, North Korea good, Canada bad, kids in concentration camps, ripping up the Constitution. It’s amazing that any of these mid-term races are close. But, hey, it’s not my republic to keep. 2121
Reposted by Loren KingJacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026dooo iiiiiiittttt www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...euronews.comCanada eyes ‘associate member’ status with EU amid US tensionsCarney reportedly seeks ‘associate’ EU membership as Ottawa-Washington ties hit fresh low. He will address the European Parliament next week. #EuropeNews 511818
Reposted by Loren KingDr. Genevieve Eastabrook, MD FRCSC (she/her) @placentadoc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Findings of new study – released as fuel prices for motor vehicles soar internationally – include fatality rates dropping, per 10 million trips, by 88% in Paris, 82% in London and 62% in New York City Meanwhile in Ontario…Doug Ford is demanding that bike lanes are removed! 😱newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.comPost-pandemic cycling boom in major cities, as cyclist safety improved thanks to more and better cycling infrastructure - Taylor & Francis NewsroomCycling in some of the world’s largest cities has continued to increase since the pandemic, thanks to safer and improved infrastructure which is also leading to a drop in fatality rates. Tracking data... 12406137
Reposted by Loren KingHolly Hoye 🇨🇦 @hollyhoye.bsky.social · 09/09/2026If we aren’t doing this everywhere, what are we even doing? Annual Toronto dog swim before they close down the outdoor pools for the season: 501401469
Reposted by Loren KingJacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026I know that the United States elected Trump twice, one time even sort of on purpose, but I'll still pick Brexit as the most eyes-wide-open act of willful national self-destruction in my lifetime. 2963091
Reposted by Loren KingLuke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 13/09/2026A Social Democrat-led coalition is currently projected to retake power in Sweden while the ascendant far-right Sweden Democrats are seeing dropping supporttheguardian.comSweden election: exit polls project centre-left government and bad night for the far-right – liveInitial projections put centre-left opposition bloc at 51.3%, with 46.8% for rightwing parties; result worse than expected for far right Sweden Democrats 512224
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 13/09/2026I should be inured to it by now but stories like this continue to just fucking infuriate me. The people in our society with the most wealth, the most social & institutional capital, were the *weakest* in the face of Trump's authoritarianism. Utterly cowardly and contemptible.nybooks.comThe Dartmouth Exception | Jacob WeisbergAmong its peers in the Ivy League, Dartmouth was perfectly positioned to resist Trump’s attack on higher education. It chose not to. 1322558
Reposted by Loren KingPhil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026I have had one bad large corporate landlord in the past. In contrast, I've had multiple bad holding company/solo landlords that were all local. Corporate landlords can be good and bad. Local landlords can be good and bad. We valorize the latter too much. 3234
Reposted by Loren KingChris Neill 🐧 @chrisneill.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Nice to see a memorial to Leanne Holland Brown, who was killed by a drunk driver while out for a lunchtime walk, on the sidewalk right outside a school. Would be nicer if there were some effort to improve pedestrian safety in the vicinity. kitchener.citynews.ca/2026/09/11/r...kitchener.citynews.caRoadside memorial sign for Leanne Holland Brown unveiled in WaterlooLeanne Holland Brown continues to be remembered as a titan of empathy, wisdom and positivity, whose life was cut short by an impaired driver when she was struck and killed while walking on the sidewal... 053
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 11/09/2026My brother in Christ, when they say the work they are doing has a 10% chance of causing human extinction within the next 10 years, they ARE enemies. 610410
Reposted by Loren KingCarl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Page One. @wsj.com 21433153
Loren King @lorenking.org · 11/09/2026I think Peter makes a really good case here, but I worry that, in our age of distortion and disinformation, and absurd excesses of wealth (bearers of which seem happy to let liberal democracy burn), fixing parties and reforming electoral systems may not be enough. www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?... 001
Reposted by Loren KingProfessa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026You do my dad's legacy and the legacy of all these victims no honor by using this tragedy to spread hate," he said. "I've had to grow up and spend the past 25 years seeing people use it to hate on our Muslim brothers and sisters, to hate on people who don't look like them." 212728
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 10/09/2026It is amusing watching some of the MAGA influencers on X arguing how great it would be to just hand $5,000 cash to people in homeless shelters, get them on their feet with first month's rent for an apt -- "Democrats would never have thought of this" 🤦♂️ PARTY OF FREE E̶N̶T̶E̶R̶P̶R̶I̶S̶E̶ LUNCH 2302
Reposted by Loren KingDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 08/09/2026For a certain kind of white man, there is no fear more primal than the fear that the people they have abused will gain power and treat them the same way. 574105162145