Leigh M. Johnson
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drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Leigh M. Johnson
@drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
720 followers 510 following 420 posts
Memphian (now in DC), philosopher, raconteuse, and co-host of Hotel Bar Sessions podcast (@hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social). I love arguments.

www.drleighmjohnson.com
www.hotelbarpodcast.com
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Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
ips-dc.org
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.

And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*

Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
We are, for real, living in a house of mirrors.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7h
JD Vance: "Democrats' idea was the way you get more prosperity is that you import more and more low wage servants."
November 14, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
jenhkling.bsky.social
This week, @drleighmjohnson.bsky.social, @philosophymatters.bsky.social, and I discuss imagination with our guest, Dr. Stephen Asma. Although I ask a lot of questions in this episode, I think Asma has a point that we need to focus more on imagination, especially as we look to the future!
Episode 203: Imagination (with Stephen T. Asma) - Hotel Bar Podcast
How can we recover not only the power, but the importance, of imagination for philosophy?
hotelbarpodcast.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social
Episode 203 is live and we've got a guest with us! Check out our fanciful conversation with Stephen T. Asma about imagination!

hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/imag...
Episode 203: Imagination (with Stephen T. Asma) - Hotel Bar Podcast
How can we recover not only the power, but the importance, of imagination for philosophy?
hotelbarpodcast.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
davidandress.bsky.social
This is a lie. Trans people are not a "risk" to cis women.

The only women put at risk by the continued pursuit of bigotry are trans women.

That's what they want. And when they've got you to accept that persecution, they'll come for abortion, & equal marriage, & contraception, & divorce...
hleehurley.com Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 10d
Claire Coutinho writing in the Times today that "Every day of delay over the guidance puts women at risk"
Every day of delay over the guidance puts women at risk Comment Claire Coutinho The jubilation outside the Supreme Court on April 16 was clear for all to see when For Women Scotland won its landmark case against the extreme gender ideology that had taken root within our institutions. The court ruled that sex in the Equality Act meant biological sex — and always had. For years, women were vilified, even hounded out of their jobs, for stating the obvious truth that biological sex was real. The ruling was supposed to end all of this. Ministers said the equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, would produce guidance to help everyone understand and comply with the law. But its draft now sits gathering dust on Bridget Phillipson’s desk — and The Times has revealed that ministers appear to want a regulatory impact assessment before approving the guidance, which could delay publication for another year. That may sound reasonable. But the guidance adds no regulatory burden, nor changes the law. It simply helps organisations comply with the law. Strange, then, that when it came to real changes — from the winter fuel payment fiasco to the family farm tax — this government was happy to charge ahead with no such assessment. The guidance is clear: single-sex spaces must operate on the basis of biological sex. This is not just common sense, it’s the law. And every day the government refuses to do its job and approve the guidance is a day that those breaking that law can plead ignorance of it. Every day of delay puts the dignity, privacy and even safety of women at risk. Claire Coutinho is shadow minister for equalities
November 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
50501newyork.bsky.social
Jeffries and the Democratic establishment are so unbelievably disconnected from the moment and how the tides are turning.

The answer to this question should be nothing other than an unequivocal, “Yes, Zohran Mamdani is not only the future of the Democratic Party, he’s the future of our democracy.”
kenklippenstein.bsky.social Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 11d
Hakeem Jeffries says Zohran Mamdani is not the future of the Democratic Party.
November 2, 2025 at 11:20 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
I can no longer exist without a guitar in my house.

I had to sell all but one of my guitars to afford the move to DC, but I left my last one In Memphis at a friend's house.

Anyone who wants to send me a guitar and/or ship mine to me will be rewarded with a bespoke song that I write for you.
November 3, 2025 at 9:49 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Before moving to my new place in DC, I honestly can't remember the last time (if ever) I had a garbage disposal. So, by habit, I regularly still scrape leftover food into my garbage can...
November 3, 2025 at 6:52 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Happy Halloween, y'all. We should do this every month!
November 1, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social
We're really excited about our new line-up of HBS co-hosts @drleighmjohnson.bsky.social, @jenhkling.bsky.social, and @philosophymatters.bsky.social!

If you haven't yet signed up to support Hotel Bar Sessions podcast on Patreon, no time like the present to do so!

www.patreon.com/c/hotelbarse...
Hotel Bar Sessions | Patreon
creating a podcast where the real philosophy happens
www.patreon.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:14 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
My best Halloween costumes: Fred Flintstone in 2015 and Alfalfa in 2010:
October 31, 2025 at 1:43 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Flashback to 2015, when I walked into my classroom on Halloween and one of my students was sitting in the back corner seat as pictured.

I am still haunted by this.
October 31, 2025 at 1:40 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Great to catch up with (and learn more from) my old @hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social co-host and friend, David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social at American University's McDowell Conference on AI yesterday!
October 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Reposted by Leigh M. Johnson
hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social
Episode 201 just dropped and this week our co-hosts @drleighmjohnson.bsky.social, @jenhkling.bsky.social, and @philosophymatters.bsky.social are drawing their lines in the sand!

hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/epis...
Episode 201: The Hills We Die On - Hotel Bar Podcast
How do we choose the hills where we make our stand?
hotelbarpodcast.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
@mlk50.com is out there doing the work in my hometown of Memphis. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM!

mlk50.com/2025/10/22/a...
A day and night in Memphis: Trump’s task force expands surveillance
A child sitting in the backseat of a car pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol peeks through the window during a traffic stop at an Exxon located at
mlk50.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:29 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Can AI Avoid the Enshittification Trap? | WIRED share.google/NRotLJexTHVv...
Can AI Avoid the Enshittification Trap?
Cory Doctorow’s theory of “enshittification” explains how tech platforms rot from within. As AI grows more profitable—and powerful—it risks the same fate.
share.google
October 19, 2025 at 1:49 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Looks I've got some new company at the hotel bar! Looking forward to the conversations, Bob and Jen!
October 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
That moment when you see a former student's publication that literally copy/pasted from work you shared with them.
a man is sitting in a chair in a diner and looking at the camera .
ALT: a man is sitting in a chair in a diner and looking at the camera .
media.tenor.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
If you're in DC on Oct 23, please attend this conference! I've got a few important things to say about how to re-frame our understanding of AI's "memory problems."

Also @davidgunkel.bsky.social is the Keynote speaker!
October 16, 2025 at 12:14 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Quelle surprise!

mlk50.com/2025/10/09/m...
Memphis ‘secret shoppers’ uncover housing discrimination in nearly half of properties tested
A Memphis nonprofit has uncovered evidence of widespread housing discrimination in the city — much of it based on race. The Fair Housing Council of
mlk50.com
October 12, 2025 at 12:22 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Saturdays are my most productive writing days. NCAA football games in the background all day. Can't quite work out the causal connection but, having been raised in devout and committed SEC household, I think it must have something to do with nostalgia.

Thanks for coming to my TED therapy session.
October 11, 2025 at 6:45 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Hard to believe it, but this is Hotel Bar Sessions podcast 200th episode! It's been a while coming-- not quite an eternity, but a long haul.
October 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Pete Kegsbreath gives very strong Luca Brasi vibes.
October 4, 2025 at 4:35 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
Currently addicted to the music of Mon Rovia, but this track in particular is living rent-free in my head:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyXc...
Mon Rovîa - Heavy Foot (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Mon Rovîa
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 5:18 AM
drleighmjohnson.bsky.social
"Petra Kelly once told us that, “If we don’t do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable.” Today we face the unthinkable. But the resilience and resistance of American cities show that another world is possible."

www.commondreams.org/opinion/this...
This Is Not a Drill: Bravery as Strategy in the Face of American Tragedy | Common Dreams
In recent memory, the prospect of a president preventing congressional elections from taking effect has been unimaginable. But today, it is not at all hard to imagine that this could happen.
www.commondreams.org
October 3, 2025 at 4:51 AM