Mark Reid
29.4K posts

Mark Reid
@MarkMReidisback
Retweets do not equal endorsement. Unlikely to answer DMs




I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about U.S. literacy rates on social media, so I wanted to dig deeper for myself. What I found is eye-opening: ~21% of adults are functionally illiterate ~54% read below a 6th-grade level In a world shifting towards AI, reading matters. AI can produce answers, but it can also be wrong. Reading and writing are some of the skills that let us question AI, make better decisions, and engage in critical thinking. If we want better outcomes for organizations, society, and ourselves, we need better readers (and writers). “When in doubt, go to the library.” — Hermione Granger I explored this more in my latest Substack article: open.substack.com/pub/loganpantp…





The Pope cites Lebanon as an example of peaceful “coexistence” between Christians and Muslims. Fun fact: Lebanon was literally created to be a homeland for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. And it was for a few decades. The moment Muslim invaders thought they had the numbers, they started a civil war that lasted 15 years because they didn’t want to live with the same Christians who made them part of the country. Thousands of Christians were massacred, Muslims became the majority, Hezbollah took over, and the country hasn’t known peace ever since. Lebanon is the first and ultimate example that coexistence between Christians and Muslims is quite literally impossible. It’s mind-blowing that anyone would use it as an example of coexistence, let alone the Pope.




When asked about what he would say to Catholics in Europe who believe that Islam is a threat to a Christian identity of the West, Pope Leo XIV responded: “In Europe, fears are present but often generated by people who are against immigration and trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race. I would say that we all need to work together. All of the conversations that I had during my time both in Turkey and in Lebanon, including with many Muslims, were concentrated on the topic of peace and respect for people of different religions. One of the values of this trip is precisely to raise the world’s attention to the possibility that dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible."


NYRB: The Hardy Men - Why is a right-wing press (@PassagePress) reissuing century-old adolescent Hardy Boys mystery novels?nybooks.com/online/2026/04…

“Reasonable minds can disagree about the 2020 election.” No, they can’t. If you think the 2020 election was stolen, you are not a reasonable person. If you make that claim in a court of law and advise your client to act on that fraudulent premise, you should be disbarred.










