Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 5h

Fucking hell, this is so good.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 7h

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 7h

"OK but what is your PLAN?" Bish I am sitting at the back of this plane. I'm just willing to point out that the driver is gargling everclear and flying directly at the ground while reading a book titled HOW TO FLY AIRPLANES INTO THE GROUND.

What is MY plan? What is OUR plan? You're here too.

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Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 16h

Trump and Vought’s RIFs had to go through Bobby “the Quack” Jr’s approval.

This man continues his destruction our public health and science. HE HAS TO GO.

Join us at HHS headquarters one week from today.

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · 3d

FIGHT FOR SCIENCE RALLY ✊🌏
⏰ WHEN: October 17th, 2025
📍WHERE: 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC!
RSVP to JOIN THE FIGHT IRL: zurl.co/LayiM ‼️

📲 Join us Virtually!: zurl.co/Um47l

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · 21h

Russell Vought, OMB Director, is using this shutdown to further the aims of Project 2025. He is slashing the federal workforce, and dismantling our agencies.

This is not just a shutdown standoff — it's finishing the job of DOGE. Take action for federal workers here! zurl.co/up9de

Poster graphic reading: This isn’t just a shutdown standoff. Project 2025 aims to critically slash our federal workforce and dismantle our agencies. Doge already laid off 300k. Project 2025’s real goal? At least 1 Million federal employees laid off. In bold red highlighted text: Vought wants to finish the job.

Highlighted text at top of graphic reads: Solidarity with federal workers! In red text below: Take Action!
Two blue bubbles read: Call Congress and let them know: Stop Vought! and Stand with Federal Workers! Links in our Bio to sign:
A list of petitions: Solidarity with NASA, EPA, FEMA, NIH

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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 17h

MMWR was the early alert system that told doctors to be on the lookout for Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (and just about every other pandemic/epidemic since the 70s

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 17h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 20h

As a group, District Judges (from across the ideological spectrum!) performing as well as just about anyone right now in defending democratic liberty.

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 18h

It took Brezhnev regime 16 years to reach this desperate tone. Trump got there in 9 months.

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 18h

Trump got a Covid vaccine today.

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Coleen Murphy @ctmurphy1.bsky.social · 1d

Begging scientists (and media posts about science) to stop using ChatGPT-generated images

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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 1d

"He explained to me that he could hold onto his administrative post at Penn — which, in the contentious Trump era, has doubled down on institutional neutrality...Or he could heed the advice of his own book, and keep brawling in the rough-and-tumble arena for scientific truth.

Mann chose to fight."

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 2d

"Science is under siege. How Penn’s top climate scientist is fighting back" | Nice piece about my new book with @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social, #ScienceUnderSiege, by the great @willbunch.bsky.social for the Philadelphia @inquirer.com: www.inquirer.com/opinion/scie...

Science is under siege. How Penn’s top climate scientist is fighting back | Will Bunch

Michael E. Mann's new book, and the sacrifice this Penn scientist made to fight the war against climate disinformation.

www.inquirer.com

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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 1d

I SAY IT AGAIN: GET IN LOSER WERE URBANIZING CALIFORNIA

M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 1d

Ladies and gentlemen, we did it. SB 79 has been signed.

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 1d

Man, you have a patience of a saint with these idiots.

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Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 1d

It was two OUP books.

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Dan Nexon @dhnexon.bsky.social · 2d

🧵 As an academic whose formative college and graduate experiences took place during the 'modernists' vs. 'neo-primordialist' debates about nationalism, I find the causal ideological & methodological nationalism of even left-wing social media shocking.

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Drow Paweł Włodkowic 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @dov.bsky.social · 1d

The thing about xenophobic policy that we have learned EVERY SINGLE TIME SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME is that it doesnt pay economically literally ever, including for the ethnic majority, and yet

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 1d

Another day, another hit to our democracy as Trump’s corruption of the DOJ continues. AG Bondi is his tool for prosecuting his political targets.

Normalizing this is how democracies die. I refuse to accept it — and the American people shouldn’t either.

New York AG Letitia James indicted for alleged fraud following pressure from Trump

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted on at least one count of alleged fraud following pressure from President Donald Trump.

abcnews.link

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 1d

The headline for this should be "Trump has no idea what is in his Gaza peace plan", but there isn't enough spines to go around in the media.

PBS News @pbsnews.org · 1d

As Israel and Hamas implement the first phase of the ceasefire deal, President Donald Trump seemed optimistic Thursday that his plans will end the war in Gaza and lead to "peace in the Middle East."

Reposted by Jacek Olender

Cai @annenotation.bsky.social · 3d

Hasan Piker is a piece of shit (not news) but using a shock collar on the highest setting (they're for alerting your dog, it should never get a pain/fear response) because it sets one paw outside of its teeny tiny dog bed as it tries to stretch while on multi-hour streams? Pure asshole behavior.

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Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 2d

This is so damn scary. The book claimed that Jeffrey Epstein was the one who introduced Donald and Melania. Now the CEO of Harper UK is out.

Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 2d

In other news Charlie Redmayne, the long serving CEO of HC in the UK, resigned yesterday.

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

This is great. The one thing sociopathic AI bros completely forget that art is something that happens between people. Using autogenerators doesn't communicate anything beside the point of "I couldn't care less about my audience and have nothing to say". That's why it's not going to succeed.

Andy Carvin @acarv.in · 2d

@theoatmeal.bsky.social on AI art:

"Someone once told me that art is like emotional nutrition.

That made sense to me. Art feeds my feelings.

And if that's the case, consuming AI art is like eating styrofoam.

It's a farce."

A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal

This is a comic about AI art.

theoatmeal.com

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, it's fairly obvious he shocked the dog for shit and is now lying about it.

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Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 2d

there was a ceasefire when trump came in. he let israel blow that up, let famine spread, let his goons murder starving people, before using the power he'd had since he took office. grotesque to call this peacemaking. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/us/politics/trump-mideast-visit-israel-gaza.html

(from the nyt obvi) With Mideast Deal, Trump Is on the Brink of a Major Diplomatic Accomplishment

For President Trump, success in brokering a cease-fire is the ultimate test of his self-described goal as a deal maker and a peacemaker.

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

Hey, that's exactly the accountability @ericlipton.nytimes.com promised us!

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

I thought tankies were moving to Your Party, but I guess these guys might splinter into 57 factions within a year, so who knows.

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

Well yes, but I think self-segregation of cranks into greens would help the normal left to get a stronger footing elsewhere (e.g. in Labour, after Starmer crashes and burns completely).

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Jacek Olender @jacekolender.bsky.social · 2d

I think it'd be genuinely good for the political life of the UK to have all the left cranks in one party.

Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 2d

Can the Greens become a mass party of the left?

Owen Jones: The Greens can become a mass party of the left under Zack Polanski’s leadership

"There's a sense that the Greens seem to think that this is their time"

leftfootforward.org

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