Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by laura c

s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 1h

This special education news is really devastating and we're going to learn more in the coming days as we get more info and people figure out exactly what it means, but a reminder that disabled people are entitled to a free appropriate public education.

Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education

Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.

www.npr.org

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laura c @elmcee.bsky.social · 28m

Anyone able to tell me how they’re doing organizing classical music these days? I tried switching a few years back but their classical organization was an absolute nightmare, and that’s an important part of what and how I stream.

Reposted by laura c

Nick Rhodes 🇵🇸 @nickrhodes.bsky.social · 5h

This bit is key, too.
No land border with Egypt means Israel controls everything that enters or leaves.

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laura c @elmcee.bsky.social · 2d

Re data centers being added in 2026: “Adding the two years together, and using the math from my prior post, you’d need approximately $1 trillion in revenue to hit break even, and many trillions more to earn an acceptable return on this spend”

Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 2d

“I’ve spoken with over two-dozen rather senior people in the datacenter universe, and there was an interesting and overriding theme to our conversations; no one understands how the financial math is supposed to work. They are as baffled as I am, and they do this for a living.”

AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought

An investment manager realized he made a crucial mistake — and that his grim prediction about AI investments may not have been cynical enough.

futurism.com

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 3d

The vast, terrifying scale of Trump’s detention state

With $75 billion and thousands of masked agents, ICE is just getting started.

www.motherjones.com

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 4d

she goes to a different school though you guys don’t know her

Bobby Silverman @robertsilverman.bsky.social · 4d

Bondi claiming they arrested [checks notes] "the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa" has me in stitches

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Bondi: "Bondi: "Just like we did with cartels, we are going to take the same approach, President Trump, with antifa -- destroy the entire organization from top to bottom. We are going to take them apart."

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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 5d

“We don’t have to approach and criticize this album as art, because it isn’t art. The Life of a Showgirl is made of Shein quality rip-offs of other people’s songs that are constructed shoddily and sold in ginormous quantities. Art takes time and care. This is profit. It’s content.”

WHEW.

No Good Art Comes From Greed | Defector

The packages arrived square and thin and carefully wrapped on Saturday afternoon. There were three of them, but only one was mine. If I could have rejected my package, sent it back from whence it came...

defector.com

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 5d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Nome @nome.bsky.social · 6d

11) I know I'm in the rare minority that's still masking because I take things like Covid seriously, but even outside of a pandemic, I have no idea what kind of person would willingly go through an airport unmasked.

It's... you're crammed in with thousands of people, from everywhere. Breathing.

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Guggenheim Collection @guggenheim.bsky.social · 6d

Lacerta by Victor Vasarely, 1955
https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137325

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Gift, Mr. and Mrs. Alan H. Pollack, 1984

© Victor Vasarely

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Reposted by laura c

the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 6d

you're already seeing & will see more stories about how various attempts at reducing energy use "aren't working," etc -- those are propaganda. this is fantastic

Jonathan @renewableenergy.bsky.social · 6d

Huge historic turning point — Renewables surpassed coal as the world’s leading electricity source for the first half of 2025!

#greensky #energysky #renewableenergy

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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 6d

27. To be sure, I don’t trust the press corps to do the work that democracy needs. Reporters are happy to show a live feed of Trump seemingly not knowing what’s going on, but that’s the extent of it. They are not going to ask for the names of the puppet masters.

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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 6d

17. This pattern is so frequent and so public that the DC press corps really should be asking, as @froomkin.bsky.social suggested:

“Is he a confused old man?
“Is he being manipulated by his staff?
“Is he delusional? Is he gaslighting us?
“Who’s in charge?”
presswatchers.org/2025/09/trum...

Trump: 'Am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening?' | Press Watch

Why is this quote not all over the national media? Because it raises questions about his mental competence.

presswatchers.org

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laura c @elmcee.bsky.social · 7d

very much this thread.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 7d

I don’t really understand the people who think we shouldn’t situate the current moment in context of the last 25 years in American politics, including the actions of the three Democrats who were president during that time

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laura c @elmcee.bsky.social · 7d

The fact that it’s a pro-accessibility power user’s alt text that they’re using to justify a retaliatory permaban, and thus leading people to suggest alt text is unsafe to use, is fucking maddening. This ban is harmful nonsense on so many levels.

Aveta👾🇭🇹 @aliafonzy.blacksky.app · 7d

Unfortunate update: Link reached out to BlueSky and got email back now on reason.

His appeal is denied. He will remain permanently banned on BlueSky’s side.

Here are the screenshots he just sent me as of 8:22 AM EST(my time)

A screenshot of an email from the Bluesky Moderation Team with the subject line “Bluesky Account Behavior” sent at 22:15. The email states that a Bluesky account controlled by the recipient, with the handle @spacelawshitpost.me, posted a reply with an image where the alt text reads: Charlie Kirk sitting in a white T-shirt that says “Freedom.” A negative consequence follows. The email indicates this post violates Community Guidelines regarding violent or threatening speech, specifically listing threats of violence or physical harm against individuals, groups, institutions, or the general public, and incitement of self-harm or suicide.

A screenshot of an email continuation from the Bluesky Moderation Team displaying a bulleted list of Community Guidelines violations. The first bullet point describes threats of violence or physical harm as including threats or encouragement of violence against individuals, groups, institutions, or the general public. The second bullet point defines incitement of self-harm or suicide as content that encourages self-harm or suicide. The third bullet point explains wishes of harm as expressions of a desire for harm directed at a specific person or group. Below the bullets, a paragraph states that users may not use Bluesky to break the law or cause harm to others and that all users must be treated with respect. The next paragraph informs the recipient that as a result of these violations, your account has been taken down. A closing paragraph thanks the user for doing their part to keep Bluesky a welcoming and empowering place for all users and instructs them to email moderation@blueskyweb.xyz if they have questions or wish to appeal the decision. The email ends with the signature Bluesky Moderation Team.

A screenshot of an email from the Bluesky Moderation Team sent at 08:11 with the subject line Re: Bluesky Account Behavior addressed To: Hide My Email. The email reads:

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to appeal the takedown of your account on Bluesky. We have carefully reviewed your case, including the information you provided and the activity that led to the suspension of your account.

After investigating, we have determined that your account activity was in violation of our community guidelines, specifically promoting hateful content or being disruptive to other users. We take these guidelines seriously to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all our users.

As a result, we regret to inform you that your appeal has been denied, and your account will remain suspended. This decision is final and cannot be reversed. We understand that this may be disappointing news, but we must prioritize the well-being of our community and maintain a consistent enforcement of our policies. We encourage you to review our community guidelines to better understand the expectations we have for user behavior on our platform. Please do not create new accounts, since those will be taken down for ban evasion.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 12d

Increasingly, I feel as if these self-proclaimed coalition builders talking about "winning the middle" aren't talking about the people they hope to win over. Rather, they're talking about themselves, and defining what it will take to keep them in the tent. Not opposed to purity tests; issuing them.

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 10d

Washington Post dismantled the platform Jamal wrote on. Discarded the fellowship they created in his memory.

They fired me unjustly for speaking the truth.

But I’ll never stop talking about my friend, writer, and amazing human, Jamal Khashoggi.

RIP, Jamal.

open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...

Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out

As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.

open.substack.com

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s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 10d

People like to claim that autistics are bad at communicating and like, my dude, the problem does not lie with us, it lies with the web of manipulation and lies and passive aggression and ulterior agendas that you weave around yourselves instead of just doing what we do, which is saying what we mean.

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Ashley C. Ford @smashfizzle.bsky.social · 11d

As long as the loudest folks on the left insist tone-policing, compromise on human rights, and acquiescence are our only options for a unified country, they will continue to lose the faith of the marginalized. And even when they win, they’ll just be waiting to lose the same way again.

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Reposted by laura c

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 11d

This is also why I cannot comprehend transphobic disabled people: do you imagine we are not next?

One of the most frequently cited scholars on ableism studies is an open terf, and it irks me endlessly when I see them cited.

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12d

Azeen Ghorayshi at the NYT has moved on from going after trans people and is now pushing the leasing question that autism diagnoses are too common because of its expansion of it to a spectrum.

archive.ph/Whji1

Alt text: A screenshot of a New York Times article titled “Should the Autism Spectrum Be Split Apart?” The image shows a woman with dark hair tied back with an orange patterned ribbon, smiling and leaning forward near a window with sunlight coming in. She is wearing a light orange top with thin straps.

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laura c @elmcee.bsky.social · 11d

Thread

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 12d

The Right’s core claim is that they represent an authentic, “real” America that is constantly being victimized - made to suffer under the yoke of leftist/liberal overreach, and therefore rightfully aggrieved.

And so many leading Democrats/liberals look at that and go: “I agree.”

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 15d

Most people who write about politics, right or left, have internalized the concept of the Trump supporter as the authentic american Volk and so many of their conclusions proceed from that
bsky.app/profile/qjur...

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Dorian Dawes @doriandawes.bsky.social · 12d

I am sorry you cannot talk about AI as a neutral force of automation without bringing up the specter of imperialism and siphoned resources that make it possible. You cannot talk about it without talking about the fascist ghouls who own this technology and what its primary use is and who benefits.

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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 11d

This is essential for those whose orientation to politics is moderated through ideas & ideology: fascists' isn't.

Even if you're a cynic in general about the efficacy of ideas in politics, fascists' attitudes toward them are brutely instrumental & unconstrained by them on a whole other level

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 12d

2a) Apart from featuring his definition of fascism (which he offers reluctantly), Paxton observes how the fascist relation to ideas is merely tactical and not grounded in intellectual consistency.

Useful for today's world to remember how fascists dont feel the need to "justify" changes in position.

The fascist leaders themselves, as we observed in chapter 1, called
their movements ideologies, and many interpreters have taken them at
their word. It is commonplace to see fascism defined by extracting common threads from party programs, by analogy with the other “isms.” This works better for the other “isms,” founded in the era of educated elite politics. I tried earlier to suggest that fascism bears a different relation to ideas than the nineteenth-century “isms,” and that intellectual positions (not basic mobilizing passions like racial hatreds, of course) were likely to be dropped or added according to the tactical needs of the moment. All the “isms” did this, but only fascism had such contempt for reason and intellect that it never even bothered to justify its shifts.

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Reposted by laura c

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13d

regular reminder that "he wants" ≠ "he will"

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Alanna Smith @alannamode.bsky.social · 13d

Give folks their flowers

No, I mean right now. Go tell someone you loved their work right now. They're on social media just say it, it has never been easier

"They know how much people love--" no they don't go say it right now to a composer or artist or game dev or writer or anyone AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Murlin @murlin.bsky.social · 14d

From bravewave.net/interviews/t...

Mo: Do you remember the first time you met someone who said they loved your work on Mega Man 2?

Tateishi: You’re the first, in 2013. No one else has.

Mo: Wow. I’m surprised. I don’t even have a follow-up question… how could no one come up and say something.

Tateishi: …

Mo: Now that you know how big Mega Man 2 is outside of Japan, do you look fondly back at the soundtrack?

Tateishi: Yeah, my thoughts have changed since I met you and became more aware of how people felt. But even when I was at Konami, I didn’t even bother telling anyone I did Mega Man 2. So the fact you came all the way to Japan to tell me these things makes me very happy I worked on the game all those years ago.

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