Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Evan Frost @wildwoods.bsky.social · 13h

"Without intervention, national parks like Yosemite could face the same fate as during the 2018–19 shutdown -- when vandalism, trash and damage left scars that took years to repair." www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

‘Dangerous and reckless’: Yosemite chaos sparks urgent plea to close parks during shutdown

Reports of illegal BASE jumping, unauthorized camping and unpermitted climbing have reignited warnings from current and ex-park officials to close Yosemite during the federal government shutdown.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 12h

"Gross" is an understatement. But aesthetics aside, why should the President become a demi-god?

Lisa Gerrish 💙 @gerrishlisa.bsky.social · 12h

Trump's face is on the Trump Gold Card and Trump Platinum Card, intended to be issued by the federal government as residency cards for wealthy foreigners able to pay $1 million and $5 million, respectively. Gross. 🤮

www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Trump's $1 Coin Would Automatically Break With This American Tradition

Could Donald Trump find immortality on the face of a coin? As it turns out, no - unless he decides to break a historic U.S. presidential tradition.

www.yahoo.com

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Writing something about ICE and sweet Jesus it is so incredibly dark what they are doing to these cities. We have all seen the videos, but when you wade into the details of their actions, it is extraordinarily bleak.

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

“They obviously have Chinese investors,” major SpaceX investor Iqbaljit Kahlon said in newly unsealed testimony, adding that some are “directly on the cap table,” referring to the company’s capitalization table, which lists its shareholders.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies

The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

sher12.bsky.social @sher12.bsky.social · 2d

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 2d

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

The only thing about this I will concede is that building such a facility for co-training was presaged by previous agreements. It is still “...A QATARI AIR FORCE FACILITY at the Mountain Home Airbase.”

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

Just to be clear, this is EXACTLY what Pete Hegseth said, word for word, on video in a formal announcement:

“We’re signing a letter of acceptance to BUILD A QATARI AIR FORCE FACILITY at the Mountain Home Airbase.”

Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

It isn't unusual for people elected to go to Washington DC to need to rent out a residence in their home state. Not going to say how I know this.

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 2d

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 1d

US government shutdown begins to undermine the country's economy

With no budget agreement being reached in the Senate, the US federal government has been shut down since October 1. Over 600,000 federal workers have been furloughed, and some could have back pay withheld.

www.lemonde.fr

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Sari Beth Rosenberg @sari.bsky.social · 1d

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. #NoKingsDay

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Will🇺🇸📎✌️🌲 @econaturalist.bsky.social · 2d

This is utter bull shit!

America First my ass.

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

Ultra-processed, "industrially made foods include a huge number of ingredients and processes to put them together, making it nearly impossible to track."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The hidden cost of ultra-processed foods on the environment: ‘The whole industry should pay’

Industrially made foods involve several ingredients and processes to put together, making it difficult to examine their true cost

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Emily Galvin-Almanza @galvinalmanza.bsky.social · 1d

Seriously, Judges *do no do things like this*

They don't give their opinion to the media

They don't criticize how SCOTUS works

This is them breaking the emergency glass, folks
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Michele Okoh |🖤🩶🤍💜|🔺🐘 @okohlaw.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you, @mit.edu, for taking the lead.

MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding, other schools still mulling — Reuters

Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth on Friday said she

apple.news

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Sam Halpert @samhalpert.bsky.social · 1d

Dems floated a narrow bill to fund the military, which can’t move because the House isn’t in session. Meanwhile, DoD is now going to spend funds not appropriated by Congress to ensure military paychecks continue.

POTUS now both commands and provisions the military. Unconstitutional and SO dangerous

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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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah, but dude needs to wear a helmet! Our heads are valuable, and helmets save lives.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

It’s pronounced cyclist.

Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

david s. pumpkins 🎃 @honkifyouareantifa.bsky.social · 2d

prog frogs 🐸

George Soros paid.. 48m

Aren't frogs a symbol of white nationalism?

...

StuffAboutHockey... 39m

That's Pepe, a specific frog.
Frogs arent a monolith.

...

Ro Laren RED57... 13m

These are prog frogs, they're cool.

...

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

Autopsy reports, "show lives cut short in ordinary, preventable ways – the air conditioning unit that broke, the immigrant who collapsed after the border crossing, the single mother who never woke up in her car."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Americans are dying from extreme heat. Autopsy reports don’t show the full story

Official reports are likely to overlook heat’s role in a death. As US temperatures rise, experts say the true toll needs to be counted

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 1d

“We can give $20 billion to Argentina but we can’t afford the CDC’s measles experts” is a hell of an argument

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 1d

The autocrat's toadies destroy functioning governance and launch crisis after crisis in order to create a nation that runs on patronage in which he's the only one able to do anything for anyone.

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 1d

'While the length of James’s loan is not clear, if it was a standard 30-year mortgage she would have defrauded the government out of about $633 each year.
“That’s bupkis,” said one former federal prosecutor.'
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The mortgage fraud case against Letitia James is ‘bupkis’, experts say

‘Are you really going to believe the attorney general of New York would commit this over $600 a year?’ says one lawyer

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

SPOOKY Mistress Usili (Sage) 🏳️‍⚧️ @usili.bsky.social · 2d

Also as a uh, fun reminder from 2022, so it literally just sounds like this.

www.stripes.com/branches/air...

$12 billion deal may bring hundreds of Qatar, US Air Force members to Idaho base

www.stripes.com

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

National Security Counselors 🕵 @nationalsecuritylaw.org · 2d

Here's the framing we should put on this.

"Hegseth announces that sharia law will apply to part of Idaho AF base"

Yes Qatar is governed by sharia law. UAE is more complicated but it partially follows sharia.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."

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Reposted by Doug Walter (he/his)

Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 2d

I remember when the GOP & right-wing hacks accused all Muslims of being Qatari agents & anyone who worked at Al Jazeera English or AJAM of being terrorists and extremists.

So, what does that make Donald Trump, who accepted a $400 million jet from them & now is letting them build a base on US soil?

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Doug Walter (he/his) @dougwalter5.bsky.social · 2d

"For the next decade, the labor force of the U.S.-born population will likely fall each year. To be clear, this does not necessarily imply great economic hardship. It is the level of GDP per capita that determines a country’s living standards, not its level of overall GDP. "