Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 5h

album of the day - The Life of A Showgirl from Taylor Swift

Reposted by Daniel Braaten

Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 1d

"People are _losing_ their jobs for _doing_ their jobs." WHEW. @lisalmoore.bsky.social on the current attacks on Texas higher ed #SaveUT

Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 2d

www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

After 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | Opinion

What was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes.

www.statesman.com

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Moot Dengrich ☠️🎢 @catfishsushi.bsky.social · 1d

Texas is governed by the whims of two prominent Twitter users from New York

The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 2d

Chaya Raichik, better known as Libs of TikTok, was dutifully bemoaning the fact that the city of Houston repainted a Montrose neighborhood crosswalk decked on in LGBTQ+ rainbow colors. Raichik wrote that the crosswalk “must be removed immediately.”

And our governor dutifully complied.

Cool! It Really Looks Like Greg Abbott is Taking Orders From Libs of TikTok

Acting on the orders of notorious cesspool Libs Of TikTok, the governor bravely stands up to the menace of decorative asphalt.

thebarbedwire.com

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 2d

MIT rejects the compact! 👏👏👏👏

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 2d

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

“The document also includes principles w/ which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression & our independence as an institution. And [it] is inconsistent w/ our core belief that scientific funding shld be based on scientific merit alone.”

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 2d

Good News!

Jay D. Aronson @jaydaronson.bsky.social · 2d

MIT rejects "the Compact"
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 2d

“There is no place in American higher education for death threats against professors,” Todd Wolfson, the president of the AAUP, said in a statement. “We stand with Professor Bray against this gross assault on academic freedom and freedom of speech.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...

Rutgers Expert on Antifa Flees to Spain After Death Threats

www.nytimes.com

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 2d

album (technically EP) of the day - Beast from Witch Post

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Reuters @reuters.com · 2d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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AAUP @aaup.org · 2d

Over 100 Brown U students & 20 faculty members gathered outside
the campus today to demand that the university reject Trump’s loyalty oath compact. Professors & students taped their mouths shut to symbolize the compact’s threat to free speech, #academicfreedom & diversity of thought.
#DefendHigherEd

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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 2d

"...Trumpists...seek to entrap universities in a deal that ...gives the administration arbitrary power over them. The carrots serve to lure institutions of higher learning into a dark alley where, rather than just waiting with a big stick, the government can put a gun to their heads at any time."

US universities must reject Trump’s ‘compact’. It is full of traps | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuse

www.theguardian.com

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Yael Schacher @yaelschacher.bsky.social · 2d

The Trump administration claims it has a mandate for ending refugee resettlement and gutting access to asylum. It absolutely doesn’t and we have the polling data to prove it.

www.refugeeadvocacylab.org/resources/st...

Strong Majority of U.S. Voters Support Refugee Resettlement as Administration Plans to Slash Program by Nearly 95 Percent — The Refugee Advocacy Lab

Polling also shows significant public opposition to other federal policies that undermine protection in the United States and put the lives of people seeking safety in jeopardy  WASHINGTON—New ...

www.refugeeadvocacylab.org

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 2d

album of the day - Songbird from Waylon Jennings

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Claire Adida @claireadida.bsky.social · 2d

There are very few policy positions on which Democrats and Republicans agree these days. Having a U.S. refugee resettlement program is one of them.

Too bad this administration is decimating it.

A September 26-28 poll of US likely voters conducted by the Refugee Advocacy Lab shows that 69% of likely voters (79% of Dems, 68% of Independents, and 59% of Reps) believe the government should have a refugee program that helps bring some people seeking refuge to safety in the United States.

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 2d

exactly right. faculty need to organize to resist, join or start a local @aaup.org chapter on your campus

Cas Ⓜ️udde @casmudde.bsky.social · 2d

If this is a surprise to you, better wake up soon. Universities only have your back when you don't really need it. They will not support you if the pressure gets real!

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Lucius Fox In The Box @carnegro.bsky.social · 3d

Pope Leo is spitting.

www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

Leo questioned a world where the wealth of the elite grows
"exponentially" while many "millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings." He also criticized "ideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,"
with false promises "that a free-market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty."

Leo described a "new tyranny," which shuns any kind of oversight and where the economy is structured "in such a way that sacrifices are demanded of the masses in order to serve the needs of the powerful." The poor, he wrote, are only allowed "drops that trickle down."

The pope openly challenged "prosperity theology" and called Christians to the practice of giving charity. "It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility," he wrote.

Popular movements that challenge "the empire of money," invite people to take on the cause to combat poverty alongside the poor, instead of on their behalf, and "make history," the pope said. It our duty, Leo said, to "make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve."

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AAUP @aaup.org · 3d

“I joined the AAUP because I wanted to connect w/ people who shared the values I hold dear — values that are under attack & need defending. I saw the opportunity to participate in the trial because of that connection. & because of that connection, I felt able to take a risk worth taking.”

I’m a Non-Citizen Professor. Here’s Why I Testified Against Trump. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

I am glad that I could re-learn this crucial lesson. Surround yourself with the right people. Stand in solidarity with them. Courses of action will make themselves known to you, along with the resourc...

www.thecrimson.com

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Sarah Posner @sarahposner.bsky.social · 4d

Pope Leo tells US bishops to address Trump's immigration crackdown

www.reuters.com/world/pope-l...

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Daniel Braaten @danielbraaten.bsky.social · 3d

album of the day - The Low End Theory from A Tribe Called Quest

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AAUP @aaup.org · 4d

Join the AAUP and other allied organizations across the nation on October 18 for a day of peaceful and impactful protest as we come together to make clear: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people!

#NoKings #AAUP #AcademicFreedom #HigherEducation #DefendHigherEd #Education

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Pablo Manríquez @pabloreports.bsky.social · 4d

NEW: Texas Bishop Mark Seitz just met with Pope Leo XIV and brought him a packet of letters from migrants terrorized by the Trump administration —
apnews.com/article/vati...

El Paso bishop brings Pope Leo XIV desperate letters from migrants in crosshairs of US crackdown

The Texas bishop on the front lines of the U.S. immigration crackdown has met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Daniel Braaten

jen rice @jenrice.bsky.social · 5d

The latest on TX redistricting: a top TX Republican revealed in federal court Monday he didn’t tell legislators about a phone call with the national GOP operative who drew the state’s new gerrymandered congressional map

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

In Testimony, Top Texas Republican Remembers Another Conversation With GOP Mapmaker