Charlie Cy

Freelance writer | @columbia alum | words in @Harpers @courierjournal @newterritorymag @leoweekly @CityBeatCincy @Writerscollege

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

The arc of @BillAckman’s influence is a cautionary tale about ego, the limits of power and how quickly a crusader can become the butt of his own crusade.

Just weeks ago, William Ackman, the billionaire Wall Street hedge fund whale, looked almost omnipotent, on a dangerously powerful win streak.

(Which in hindsight appears to have been the apex of his authority and ability to shape public opinion).

Directing a full frontal assault on the nation’s top universities over their alleged mishandling of speech and protest on their campuses in the wake of October 7th, Bill harnessed social media to compel both @UniversityofP’s & @Harvard’s presidents to resign (the latter was heavily influenced by subsequent allegations/proof of plagiarism).

Then allegations/proof of his own wife’s plagiarism were exposed and his blistering offensive quickly morphed into a pitiful defensive woe-is-me posture.

His ‘masterful’ tirades on @X gave way to hypocrisy-screeds belabored with emotional drivel and endless whining about how his wife was off limits and unfairly targeted, underscoring how she was not a public figure but an incredibly “private” person.

He would attempt to turn the tables on the outlet that broke the news, @BusinessInsider, lobbying their parent company’s owner who he was allegedly chummy with to kill the story (to no avail), while mocking the outlet’s integrity, challenging its credentials, threatening law suits for defamation and going so far as suggesting the timing of the release of the exposé was antisemitic because the story dropped late on a Friday afternoon going into Shabbat—giving him, his wife @NeriOxman and their lawyers little time to respond before they were prepared to celebrate the Sabbath.

(The implication being that journalists must break stories based on mythology time and defer to the observation schedules of various religious adherents — or at least the believers in Judaism — or be branded bigots).

Meanwhile, on the merits of the accusations, little was said to challenge their validity, minus trying to argue Wikipedia, a source his wife allegedly used and failed to properly attribute, did not need to be cited like other sources because it is a website filled with common knowledge often drafted by anonymous users—which led Bill to question rhetorically, who would you cite anyways?

Moreover, the argument was made that at the time of his wife’s dissertation, there were no explicit standards in the MIT handbook on how to quote Wiki, so clearly quoting the Wiki source was not necessary bc it was not prima facie spelled out—disregarding the fact, as many detractors have subsequently noted that everyone who has ever taken an English composition course, whether at a community college or MIT, has been drilled with the inflexible rule that you MUST always cite a source no matter the medium when quoting/paraphrasing someone else’s words/ideas.

This would go on day after day. Bill’s endless rants, equivalent to temper tantrums, decrying how unfairly he and his wife were being treated.

How he was going to take a flamethrower to every dissertation from every elite institutions’ faculty and administration and burn down every heretic who ever dared cross the line.

And yet the more he wrote, the more people noticed what his allegedly private wife had done and how unhinged he’d become.

And the more he wrote, the more everyday folks grew disgusted with the first-world problems of this ivory tower finance-swine that he’d manifested.

Even his peers and allies in high places sympathetic to his campaign and privacy grew tired of his tedium and airing of dirty laundry so publicly and unintelligently, and questioned his judgement, mental stability and focus (as someone who manages other people’s $$$).

There was a way to finesse these things and Ackman, following in @elonmusk’s careless footsteps, was making a mockery of the image of the composed and calculating billionaire class with his sledge hammer and hubris.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Literally can’t watch Seinfeld anymore, once one of my fave shows. This man is a disgusting and proud racist who doesn’t support the genocide of a people but doesn’t even recognize their existence. He should be shunned from polite society, but, y’know, the ‘Palestine exception’.

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

Inflation in the US is now up to levels that were last seen after $4 trillion in pandemic stimulus was handed out for "free."

The worst part?

Most Americans have no idea that it is happening.

[Aaron Maté @aaronjmate]

I think we deserve a new National Holiday where Trump is not allowed to declare that an Iran deal is close. Just give us one day off. Then we go back to normal:

[Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein]

This guy is real life Sisyphus

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

It's hard to understand how I ever enjoyed this smug comedian.

[John Cusack @johncusack]

Really ? Then why is it being bombed ?

[Ryan Grim @ryangrim]

It really is as simple as this for the vast majority of voters.

When you say “Nazi tattoo” normal people think swastika. Then people find out it’s this and the Republicans look silly.

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

Breaking: Goaaaaaaaaaalllllll!!!

Mexico scores first goal against South Africa in World Cup / Copa del Mundooooooo!

#WorldCup

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

Trump on Monday: Netnyahau is not my boss! I'm his! And we're ending this war!

Trump today: We're again bombing Iran like Netnayahu wants!

(I love the notion that Iran is the aggressor by attacking a US helicopter there to impose a full embargo on Iran, a classic act of war).

[Ryan Grim @ryangrim]

NBC News has been bringing on a consultant for both Susan Collins and the Israeli ministry of foreign to attack Graham Platner. You can’t make this stuff up.

[Acyn @Acyn]

Reporter: Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning?

Trump: No, I love it. I love the inflation.

[Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein]

I know the names of two of Graham Platner's ex girlfriends but almost none of his policy views. This media coverage is dog shit.

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

@grahamformaine Way to fight Graham

[jeremy scahill @jeremyscahill]

Israel Intensifies the Killing in Gaza as the World Looks Away

“They have taken everything from us. They have taken away the possibility for life.”

Report by @AbdSabbah91 from Gaza and @sharifkouddous

https://t.co/1PBEry2ETv

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

@kenklippenstein A drama queen says what?

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

What just happened?

At 9:45 AM ET, the S&P 500 was trading nearly +1.5% higher and tech stocks were sharply higher.

At 10:40 AM ET, selling pressure began to intensify without any major headlines in one of the biggest reversals of the year.

Just 2 hours later, President Trump said Iran shot down a US helicopter "last night" and that the US must "respond to this attack."

This sent the S&P 500 to a new low of the day, down 240 points since 9:45 AM ET.

In just 3 hours, the S&P 500 has erased -$2.1 trillion in market cap.

Volatility is back.

[Nathan J Robinson @NathanJRobinson]

Mamdani shows the world we could live in if our political leaders thought "making people happy" was an important part of their job

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

@MarcWeinbergWX How's flooding in Louisville looking Marc?

[Graham Platner for Senate @grahamformaine]

They may have the money, but we have the people.

Thank you @BernieSanders. Polls close at 8:00PM. Please vote today.

[Charlie Cy @Charlie27Cy]

Oh dear.

[New York Post @nypost]

CBS News boss Bari Weiss poised to oversee CNN editorial operations: report https://t.co/9TOb1jnX68

[Jacobin @jacobin]

Anthony Bourdain died on this day eight years ago.

He never minced words, and he knew which side he was on.