Mark Laporta

Mark Laporta

@marklaporta.bsky.social

New York-based composer and author. www.youtube.com/@marklaporta_music https://heartofearthscifi.com www.youtube.com/@marklaporta_scifi

1.3K followers294 following3.3K posts

Mark Laporta reposted

Q: Why shouldn't Alaskans find it insulting that the administration is suggesting they can't read the word 'incumbent' on their ballot and know to vote for Sen. Sullivan? JD VANCE: People are busy. People have lives. People have jobs.

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

Charleston remains the ONLY North American city to run a uniform, stamped-metal badge system for urban slave labor. These copper badges reveal a larger truth: Charleston licensed, numbered, monitored, and taxed Black labor. Again I ask: Who knew?🤔 I didn't. #KeepItWoke #DedicatedToTam✡️🕊

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

Many of Charleston's roads, buildings, docks, and infrastructure were built or maintained by enslaved artisans and laborers. Their work shaped the city, yet their names were forgotten—omitted, or never known. The badge system remained in force until slavery ended in 1865. (cont)

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

badge—or wearing an outdated/forged one—the physical price was paid by the enslaved person. They were arrested on the spot, taken to the infamous Charleston Workhouse (below), and subjected to public whippings and imprisonment until fines were paid by the enslaver or slaves themselves. (cont)

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

by the 1800s. Surveillance insured the immediate identification of permitted laborers vs. runaways. Annual license fees funded city operations. Labor Control meant managing competition with white artisans. The penalty for Black people were severe. If caught without a (cont)

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

Each badge contained four details: 1. "Charleston" 2. The Year 3. A registration number 4. The trade—e.g., Mechanic, Porter, Servant, Fisher, or Free. The purpose? It was all about surveillance, revenue, and labor control. Thousands were issued(cont) nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/n...

nmaahc.si.eduNational Museum of African American History and Culture Acquires Largest Collection of Charleston Slave BadgesThe Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture recently acquired what is thought to be the largest and most complete set of historic Charleston Slave Badges.

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

municipal laws forcing enslavers to buy annual copper registration badges for any enslaved worker laboring in public. Every year starting in 1800, the City Treasurer issued new stamped copper tags. The badges were square, diamond, or round shaped. (cont) www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...

smithsonianmag.comThese Badges Shed New Light on the Enslaved Workers Who Built CharlestonThe Smithsonian has acquired a collection of 146 slave badges from between 1800 and 1865

Mark Laporta reposted

Replying to @eddsmitty.bsky.social

in 1783, the city required many free Black residents to register and wear "Free" badges identifying their legal status. In urban centers, enslavers often "hired out" skilled laborers (blacksmiths, porters, carpenters) into the city. By 1786, Charleston codified(cont)

Mark Laporta reposted

⚠️WOKE CONTENT⚠️™️ 🧵 In 19th-century Charleston, SC, urban slavery gave rise to a unique and chilling tool of control: Charleston Slave Badges. Who knew? 🤔 Pull up a seat🪑, my friends. #ProudBlue #ResistanceRoots #USDemocracy #Voices4Victory relicrecord.com/blog/charles...

relicrecord.comCharleston Slave Badges - RelicRecordCharleston Slave Badges, otherwise known as a “slave tags,” tell us that a slave was skilled and trusted enough to be rented-out for short-term work.

Mark Laporta reposted

Big Oil profits have skyrocketed since Trump launched his Iran War. Meanwhile, Trump himself owns up to $81 million in oil and gas stocks — which have increased in value by 43% since the end of 2025. When Trump says "we're making a freaking fortune," understand who he is really talking about.

Mark Laporta reposted

I’ll tell you why. It’s because big tech and AI data center executives are funding AI Ashley’s campaign. Unlike her, I’ll stand up to Big Tech because communities deserve a say about how their water and resources are used. #AngieforFlorida #WheresAshley

Mark Laporta reposted

NEW: A federal judge has now ruled that former SDNY prosecutor, Maurene Comey, was UNLAWFULLY fired by the Trump DOJ. He orders her retroactive reinstatement and back pay. Comey alleged in her lawsuit that she was fired for politically motivated reasons. www.cnbc.com/2026/10/26/m...

cnbc.comTrump DOJ unlawfully fired Epstein prosecutor Maurene Comey, judge rulesThe judge ordered that Comey, the daughter of ex-FBI director James Comey, be retroactively reinstated to her job as an assistant United States attorney.

Mark Laporta reposted

Yes Trump Screwed up the Whole World @proscot.bsky.social

ProScot@proscot.bsky.social

I wish I could vote, but as a mere Scot living in Scotland I of course have no US vote. Nevertheless, whatever the US public decide on 3rd Nov will affect my country & the whole world. Let's hope it'll be for the good - I.e., both House & Senate with huge unassailable Democratic majorities!

Mark Laporta reposted

House Judiciary Democrats have just released a 50-page report that pulls together years of assault allegations against Trump and his reported connections to Jeffrey Epstein. The report calls for a special counsel to investigate Trump's ties to Epstein.

ms.nowHouse Judiciary Democrats release 50-page report on Trump’s alleged involvement in Epstein filesThe report — issued just eight days before the election — makes multiple, uncorroborated allegations against the president while also detailing discrepancies in his statements about Epstein.

Mark Laporta reposted

From Zelenskyy. Patriot interceptors that could save innocent lives are sitting in European countries for weeks, which they paid for, unable to be transferred to Ukraine because Hegseth refuses to sign off.

Mark Laporta reposted

I believe in government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Mike Rogers believes in government of the billionaires, by the corporations, and for the special interests.

Mark Laporta reposted

As a former teacher, I never scrubbed in for a gender reassignment surgery, but I did instruct the kids on how to get the window screens off in case of an active shooter…

Mark Laporta reposted

Serbia and Brazil just proved it: no regime is untouchable. Power belongs to the people, not the politicians. When the public stands up together, tyrants fall and real change begins. No leader is bigger than the movement. When we unite, we win.

Mark Laporta reposted

Today, young people are BLOCKADING Apollo Global Management, a reported billionaire donor to Governor Hochul, over its financing of the massive STAMP AI data center threatening the land and livelihoods of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation.

Mark Laporta reposted

None of us should forget this. Meta should be subjected to corporate death penalty and permanently broken up into small pieces.

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Mark Laporta reposted

Nobody's shocked that Jason Miller is the one posting Bolsonaro's refusal to concede. Trumpworld isn't just watching Brazil, they're coordinating. Same playbook, same people, different country. The authoritarian network is global, and it's poison.

Mark Laporta reposted

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump have lost surprise elections thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

Mark Laporta reposted

Abdul punches back and doesn't take shit. He isn't a weak centrist nothing. People want fighters.

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Mark Laporta reposted

Trump admin arrests Colorado priest. Incarcerates him for over a year. Judge orders him released without charges. They release him without the wheelchair he needs -- other prisoners have to bodily carry him out. He's now being tested for latent TB: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/colo...

newsfromthestates.comColorado priest from Uganda released after 13 months in ICE detention in AuroraAfter 13 months in an Aurora immigrant detention center, where he became reliant on a wheelchair as his health deteriorated, a Ugandan priest who has lived in Colorado for more than 25 years was relea...

Mark Laporta reposted

Just to be clear... Prop 40 is a ONE-TIME retroactive tax. It applies ONLY to billionaires and would tax just 5% of their wealth — which grew 30% in 2025. California's billionaires would still be worth $2T+ AFTER the tax. The revenue will fund healthcare for millions of Californians. Vote YES.

Mark Laporta reposted

Kansas Dem Sen. nominee Adam Hamilton on trans rights: “I don’t think we should take a small group of people and bully them, pick on them, and hurt them. I understand one thing really clearly when it comes to transgender people, and that is Jesus told me I was to love my neighbor as I love myself”

Mark Laporta reposted

BRENNAN: The DOJ lawsuit demands the Alaska result not be certified if voters are confused. The confusion is defined as Sen. Sullivan not winning. BLANCHE: That's not what it says BRENNAN: I'm quoting from it. You are telling them not to certify it. What right does the federal govt have?

Mark Laporta reposted

CONGRESS APPROVED THE MONEY — SO WHY ARE OUR TROOPS STILL LIVING LIKE THIS? Pete Hegseth owes our troops & their families an explanation. #SupportTheTroops 🧵