Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 1h

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 9h

Exhibit A: "[L]egal doctrine has by and large insulated immigration enforcement, national security bureaucracies, and state-sponsored surveillance from the kind of skeptical (if not hostile) scrutiny reserved for labor, climate, and inclusionary regulations."

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Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 10h

The RIFs that began Friday will reportedly cut 65% of CISA’s 2,540 employees, one of the dumbest and most dangerous moves imaginable. CISA defends the nation’s cyber and critical infrastructure. Destroying it now only makes sense if you’re afraid of election integrity.

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Hey Spirits! @heyspirits.bsky.social · 12h

More of Trin's banger wow we thought you'd never ask

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Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 2d

Thread:

A year ago yesterday was a very happy day for me. I had lost my prostate. It was good riddance, as it was riddled with cancer. I’m now cancer-free — and thankful for the tax-funded technology that saved my life.

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 18h

Illinois law requires all registered vehicles to display front and back license plates, without exception. But to evade accountability, masked federal immigration agents are driving around in unmarked cars without plates.
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...?

Federal immigration officers wear masks, no name tags — now some drive cars without license plates

The Sun-Times has documented four unmarked cars carrying federal officers without required plates, offering another way to shield their identities. Federal officials say they’re meeting regulations.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 14h

Tens of millions of people have died from Covid.

Every country should have responded with record investments in public health infrastructure.

Instead the US government is putting us all at greater risk of more catastrophes by firing hundreds of top scientists whose job is to prevent outbreaks.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15h

vought's view is that the president is an elected dictator and lo and behold he is seizing outright the power of the purse

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 15h

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 15h

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

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awesomecosmos.bsky.social @awesomecosmos.bsky.social · 15h

This is literally criminal: Federal employees who violate the Antideficiency Act are subject to two types of sanctions - fines, imprisonment, or both.
While the fascists clearly think they’ll be in power forever, Vought has just issued memos on a fucking criminal conspiracy!

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Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 20h

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 19h

We will need Nuremberg-like trials

LongTime🤓FirstTime👨‍💻 @longtimehistory.bsky.social · 22h

ICE secretly kidnap autistic boy during bathroom break—never notify parents.

Mother reported him missing a week ago—turns out ICE had him detained the whole time.

He was helping sell fruit and asked to go to the restroom—by the time she was done helping a customer he was gone.

Houston, Texas

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LongTime🤓FirstTime👨‍💻 @longtimehistory.bsky.social · 22h

ICE secretly kidnap autistic boy during bathroom break—never notify parents.

Mother reported him missing a week ago—turns out ICE had him detained the whole time.

He was helping sell fruit and asked to go to the restroom—by the time she was done helping a customer he was gone.

Houston, Texas

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Mike Black @mikeblack114.bsky.social · 19h

So the Dems need to be clear again that any FMer carrying out direction to implement mil paychecks in the absence of appropriations will be subject to anti-deficiency act criminal penalties, because to be clear even with the reconciliation slush fund BS there is no way to legally so this, period

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 18h

WATCH: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

➡️ Read more: https://propub.li/4odsKnn

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TrustedReveler @trustedreveler.bsky.social · 4d

LA: we will fight you.

Chicago: we will fight you.

PDX: we will make you endure week after week of of improv theater.

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Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 21h

lol gentle reminder that DEI is not illegal. Supporting marginalized groups is not illegal. Anyone reneging on support is making a CHOICE to do so.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 21h

an incontestable fact of the second trump administration is it is actively trying to sicken and kill as many americans as it can

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 1d

They continue to eviscerate the public health machinery that has quietly kept Americans, and others around the world, safe and healthy for decades.

The staff of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the journal that reports on health trends and emerging infectious threats, was also laid off. The publication’s storied history includes a June 1981 report that five previously healthy gay men were treated for an unusual pneumonia — the first hint of the AIDS epidemic.

Roughly 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers — the so-called “disease detectives” who respond to outbreaks around the globe — received layoff notices, according to a person familiar with them. The service was spared during an earlier round of layoffs in February.

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Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 23h

They're talking about killing leftist activists. They're talking about murdering people organizing in defense of immigrant communities, doing mutual aid work, and protesting their violence. They are talking about murdering people like me and my friends. We must do more than acknowledge it's fascism.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 3d

My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."

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Devin Judge-Lord @judgelord.bsky.social · 22h

IRS layoffs are costly for the U.S., redistributing wealth to the top 1% (who lie on their taxes at jaw-dropping rates).

The bottom 99% generally pay their taxes. cepr.org/voxeu/column...

Taxes evaded as a percent of taxes owed from a study showing that the 99th wealth percentile and above evade significantly more taxes than everyone else. The richest evade 25% of the taxes they owe on average. The bottom 95% evade less than 3% of their taxes on average. While these data are from Scandinavia, similar patterns are likely in other countries, including the U.S.

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Akshay @aksh.ai · 22h

“The US is the only country in history to allow a seditionist to run unpunished. Even Hitler went to prison in between his putsch and presidency. But “scholars” of American politics have refused to ask why this unique disaster happened here.”

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · 1d

New Q & A answers are up! Readers sent in thoughtful questions on city raids, digital surveillance, the disappearing internet, and much more: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/panopticon...

PanoptiCon Artists: Your Questions Answered

On digital surveillance, ICE city raids, the need for new parties, and more.

sarahkendzior.substack.com

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Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 1d

HE WAS AN ACTIVE REPUBLICAN EXTREMELY PRO-FA

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Bondi: "We've been living through a horrific cycle of political violence in this country ... night after night antifa wrecks havoc on the streets of our cities. In Minnesota, a gunman murdered a state lawmaker and her husband."

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Ketracel Black @ketracelblack.blacksky.app · 22h

Another example of why we need to replace the police with real emergency responders. People trained to provide medical care rather than pass racist judgement.

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 22h

A lawsuit alleges a Black postal worker died after officers ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke, believing his medical emergency was drugs

The suit says guards left him helpless on a jail cell floor in his own urine for hours

KARE 11 Investigates: Postal worker died after police mistook stroke for drug impairment

Kingsley Bimpong was jailed instead of hospitalized; video shows guards ignored his suffering for hours.

www.kare11.com

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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 1d

It simply should not be possible for the president to repeatedly claim that a major city is burning without a wall of live standups happening in that city clearly demonstrating that it is not

Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 1d

American broadcast journalism has utterly failed and is a dead industry, there's nothing left worth saving

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