iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I shouldn’t have to step outside to smoke a bare foot pet. Nanny state.

Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I get the temptation to mock his promise to pay every adult citizen in the US $5000, b/c he perpetually lies. But can we please focus on the fact that the President just openly promised a direct monetary payout in exchange for a political outcome he wants? It’s open bribery. That’s the real problem.

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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 10/09/2026

The United States: where giving a frail voter waiting in the Georgia sun a glass of water is punishable by a year in prison, but the president can offer everyone $5k to vote for his party.

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Jeff Colgan @jeffcolgan.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Americans have had to pay an extra $95 BILLION for gasoline and diesel since President Trump decided to attack Iran on February 28, 2026. A war that hurts the global economy, undermines US power, creates hardship for working class, and helps the Iranian regime stay.🛢️🇺🇸 iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

Iran War Energy Cost Tracker

Tracks the extra cost paid by U.S. consumers for gasoline and diesel since the Iran conflict began on February 28, 2026, compared against a no-war counterfactual baseline.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I remember reading in 1997 or so that Walmart had surpassed GM as the largest employer in the US and thinking that it was a really important switch. 30 years on, I think I was right.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Important additional finding: the businesses don’t perform better in terms of growth. (They’re just suckier places to work.) “Is there aught we hold in common with that greedy parasite…” youtu.be/5rBVd9JAz3M?...

youtu.be

Solidarity Forever (Live From Victoria, Courtenay, And Vancouver, British Columbia / February,...

YouTube video by Utah Phillips - Topic

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Justin Levitt @justinlevitt.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

As mentioned in my comment on USPS's new ballot rule, the American postal service was born in 1774 _because_ the alternative system (the Crown's post) let the executive decide which mail not to deliver. For a Court riveted by bespoke historical analogs, this rule is 252 years of unAmerican.

electionlawblog.org

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Paging @jelenasubotic.bsky.social !! Turns out the British Museum is happy to spend copious amounts of money to help display art in different countries (esp if it’s arr from another country displayed in Britain). The Bayeux Tapestry’s Long and Bumpy Road to London www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/a...

nytimes.com

How the Bayeux Tapestry Got to the British Museum

French art experts insisted the fragile 900-year-old masterpiece could never travel. Political will, cutting-edge engineering and unorthodox diplomacy proved them wrong.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I can’t say my faith in the deepest of anyone I know. But it strikes as very sad that someone’s sensing of God’s presence is thru some D-grade middle school parlor trick. With all that privilege, that’s the best evidence of God you can muster?

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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Fellow academics: I know a Haitian PhD student who due to TPS termination needs another institutional affiliation not in the USA. Do you or someone you know have an avenue for them? If so, DM me.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

My new front-runner for best AI analogy:

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The other way to say it is that AI, and the forced-down-workers’-throats way that it’s been pushed out, is leading to a massive de-skilling of the workforce that will prove immensely costly going forward. www.thenerve.news/p/cory-docto...

thenerve.news

Cory Doctorow: The people who tell you ‘AI is changing everything’ are lying

It has become impossible to tell managers mesmerised by artificial intelligence that the tools are not, in fact, helpful. So employees just play along with the fiction to keep their jobs, writes our t...

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 05/08/2026

Today everyone — EVERYONE — should take a moment and read Ray Bradbury's four-page short story from 1950.

"Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, "in the city of
Allendale, California." It repeated the date three times for memory's sake. "Today is Mr.
Featherstone's birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita's marriage. Insurance is payable,
as are the water, gas, and light bills."

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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Brilliant ad

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Tim Longman 🏳️‍🌈 @timlongman.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The Department of Education has now officially submitted proposals to eliminate International Education and Fulbright Hays programs, which have funded thousands of students and scholars to study languages and conduct research abroad. I encourage you to make public comments and contact your reps.

govinfo.gov

GovInfo

Official Publications from the U.S. Government Publishing Office.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Very disappointed that no headline writers are taking advantage of the fact that the building in Manhattan currently, umm, finding it difficult to stay erect is the former HQ of PFIZER (maker of the little blue pill)!!

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The less the Brits try to make Mexican food, the better the world will be. #sisepuede

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Rep. French Hill (R-AK) wants NATO partners to do more to squeeze Russia and those buying its oil. Hill also voted against the War Powers Resolution to tame Trump’s actions in Iran and says nothing about Trump exempting countries buying Russian oil from sanctions bc of rising prices. Sure, French.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Cc: @jcbradbury.com. Need some op-eds in Raleigh and Charlotte newspapers!

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

How about we fund public education rather than subsidizing private, for-profit companies? How about it @joshsteinnc.bsky.social?

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

The level of money laundering is gonna go thru the roof.

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huck mason @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

eating in mexico as a european has gotta be like hearing music for the first time

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

What’s more impressive is that she’s been “very concerned” for about 75% of them.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

It’s remarkable how much Brian Finlay accomplished at such a young age. I met him the first time I presented at the UN and he was gracious, supportive, funny, and whip smart. Was also willing to share a punch bowl of some strong cocktail in Manhattan afterwards. RIP. www.stimson.org/2026/stimson...

stimson.org

Stimson Remembers the Life and Legacy of President and CEO Brian Finlay • Stimson Center

The Stimson Center mourns the loss of our President and CEO Brian Finlay, who passed away on June 3 from a fierce fight with gallbladder cancer. Brian was 53 years old.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Awful news. It’s hard to imagine how much better academia as a whole would be—smarter, more effective, kinder—if more of us were as giving, committed, and curious as Raúl was. Damn. Descanse en paz.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

“People say gas prices are hurting them.” “We talk to the CEOs of oil companies all the time and they’re doing just fine.”

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

It’s a huge problem for US democracy that members of one of the two parties thinks obscure sports trivia is qualifying for public office.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Psst. Proportional representation in multi-member districts is the only real answer to the ills of gerrymandering. Pass it on.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Can I block any skeet that has the word Bluesky? I find all of the navel gazing—ensconcing! Liberating!—really boring and self-serving. I grew up where dudes stood around and talked about their cars. That was boring & self-serving. Self-analyzing our use of a platform feels the same to me. Blah.

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jcpillars.bsky.social @jcpillars.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

The fact that Nyong’o’s beauty is causing a war between two rival cultures in America right now is proof enough that she is the perfect Helen of Troy.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

This is an important effort and one that more academics need to recreate for our own fields. Especially if it includes peer review, a kind of Wikipedia of violations across many sectors would be useful for the media, activists. Immigration, finance, environment, development, human rights, etc.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The right-wing Board of Trustees at UNC Chapel Hill continues to undermine one of the country’s pre-eminent institutions of higher education. Shameful and terribly short-sighted. www.wunc.org/education/20...

wunc.org

Q&A: Professor denied tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill speaks out

Dr. Kiran Asher is a professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Massachusetts.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

“Dear Reader, someone with experience at the FBI surely can find employment elsewhere. That’s your best option.”

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Another day, another “Oops, I AI’d” story. I suppose I’m naive, but isn’t the answer to most of this to actually read the stuff you’re referencing? Worried about accidentally AI’ing? Then read.

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Man who refuses to wear a suit insists that we need a ballroom.

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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I know there’s a lot going on in the world, and we don’t have enough attention to pay to any of it. But the throttling of Cuba by the US should be a bigger story than it is. There are about 10 million people in Cuba, subjected to horrendous collective punishment. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

theguardian.com

Cuba has run out of diesel and fuel oil, energy minister says, as US blockade pushes island to brink

Minister Vicente de la O Levy says ‘Cuba is open to anyone that wants to sell us fuel’ as rolling power blackouts increase

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Any chance anyone out there has had a consulting report generated by Huron Consulting? W”My university is looking in particular at the administration of research grants. If you have a report you’re willing to share, I’d love to compare across institutions. #academia

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Mark Nance @mnance.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Looted Art and the politics of restitution alert, @jelenasubotic.bsky.social!

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

by my tally we are now spending ~$2B to companies to NOT build more energy infrastructure. in the middle of an energy crisis

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Authoritarian personality cult watch

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