Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 2h

There is no evidence that the man who murdered Kirk had any ties to any progressive nonprofits.

Michael Feola @feolski.bsky.social · 2h

"Scott Bessent said that his department is launching a War on Terror-style campaign against progressive nonprofits."
“Charlie’s death is like a domestic 9/11,” Bessent said. “Just as after 9/11, and Osama bin Laden... was captured... we are going to track down who is responsible for this.”

Big Talk: Treasury Secretary Declares New War on Terror Against the Left

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that his department is in...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 18m

Daniel Lurie has an urgent message: S.F. doesn’t need Donald Trump to send the National Guard www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/l...

Daniel Lurie has an urgent message: S.F. doesn’t need Donald Trump to send the National Guard

Mayor Daniel Lurie and San Francisco law enforcement leaders have delivered an unmistakable rebuke of calls for President Trump to send federal troops to the city.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 1h

Republicans calling millions of Americans terrorists for peacefully marching at a...checking notes..."No Kings" rally is a great way to unite the majority against them.

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Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 4h

you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you

Screenshot of a Facebook post featuring three of the Portland protesters wearing inflatable frog costumes with the following text:

Episcopalians on Facebook
Elizabeth Rose Elrod • 22h •
Exodus 8:2-6
"But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs...
The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials."

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 6h

What could be worse than screaming at a Capitol police officer?

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 9h

“A clarinet player was arrested after playing her instrument to the tune of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme song outside of a Portland ICE facility…”

Musician playing ‘Ghostbusters’ outside ICE facility is arrested by agents

‘Taking us citizens out of state to detain them without charge is a new action from the Feds and should be opposed,’ her band said

www.independent.co.uk

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18h

Yeah, that is a tear gas canister being fired toward the retreating couple holding the baby

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 22h

As I've noted, central to Stephen Miller's propaganda is the claim that the Chicago complex targeted by ICE was "filled" with Tren de Aragua "terrorists."

Now @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social reports that the number of TdA members netted in that raid is down to *one.*

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 20h

Literally nothing coming from the Pentagon, DHS, or DOJ should be considered credible unless backed up by an independent source outside of government. (This, for the record, is a huge problem!)

MFordTheRiver @prynnford.bsky.social · 21h

Of all the things that didn’t happen

Screen shot of ABC article with the headline “cartels issuing bounties up to 50k for hits on ICE and CBP agents, DHS says.”

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 22h

Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples?

HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.

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Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

Thousands of posts from a private Young Republican Telegram chat reveal a culture of casual racism/antisemitism, rape jokes and celebration of Hitler/Nazism.

Some of the ringleaders are below: We live in a world where 4chan types now occupy positions of real power.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Peter Giunta, chair of the New York State Young Republicans

Bobby Walker, vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans

William Hendrix, communications assistant for Kansas’ Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach

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St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 1d

This story is insane and the rhetoric within is gross

St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 1d

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 1d

"Together, the messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely — and where the Trump-era loosening of political norms has made such talk feel less taboo among those positioning themselves as the party’s next leaders."

St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 1d

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 1d

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

2

Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith

Politico @politico.com · 1d

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 1d

"Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass" by Tom Bowman of NPR. www.npr.org/2025/10/14/g... Recommended.

A thing frequently forgotten or ignored is that journalism is one of the few professions people will die for. [Via @brianstelter.bsky.social ]

Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass

Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...

www.npr.org

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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 1d

You need to see this:

“The show of force is the point. They want these images to be out…The Department of Homeland Security is walking around Chicago with a film crew.” @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

"During the encounter, Greeley said they told her she 'doesn’t look like' a Greeley."

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

Chicago Tribune: Greeley, who was born at Illinois Masonic hospital and is adopted, carries a copy of her passport just in case she runs into federal agents.

“I am Latina and I am a service worker,” Greeley said. “I fit the description of what they’re looking for now.”

During the encounter, Greeley said they told her she “doesn’t look like” a Greeley.

“They said this isn’t real, they kept telling me I’m lying, I’m a liar,” Greeley recalled. “I told them to look in the rest of my wallet, I have my credit cards, my insurance.”

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Obama: "When you see an administration suggest that ordinary street crime is an insurrection or a terrorist act, that is a genuine effort to weaken how we have understood democracy."

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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 2d

Reporting this piece drove home the value of generational turnover in politics. There's an energy that a 50-something Congressperson brings -- to jump in a car and track down their missing constituents -- that even an equally-well-meaning octogenarian is unlikely to match:

Her Kids Are U.S. Citizens. Trump's Admin Disappeared Them Anyway

Donald Trump's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) disappeared an immigrant mom living in Portland and her four U.S. citizen children.

www.rollingstone.com

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Jonah @anotherjonah.bsky.social · 2d

This morning I was filming ICE abducting sometime in Petworth. One of the agents told me "the last US citizen that did this he put in cuffs all the way to the courtroom".

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AMPTsuper @amptsuper.bsky.social · 2d

www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Documentary argues George Orwell's greatest fears are materializing

George Orwell's writings warning of the dangers of totalitarian and authoritarian states gave the English language the term "Orwellian." A new documentary called "Orwell: 2+2=5” argues that Orwell's g...

www.pbs.org

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St. John Barned-Smith @stjbs.bsky.social · 2d

Great get from @propublica.org

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

We are an independent, nonprofit newsroom with more than 150 dedicated journalists.

For those who want to read the facts of our reporting — and the documents on which it is based — here’s the full story:

Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them.

The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers. ProPublica found that, in one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

We are an independent, nonprofit newsroom with more than 150 dedicated journalists.

For those who want to read the facts of our reporting — and the documents on which it is based — here’s the full story:

Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them.

The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers. ProPublica found that, in one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two...

www.propublica.org

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 3d

CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow embodied what a journalist should be: someone who holds power to account instead of capitulating to it.

Over 70 years later, his segment denouncing Joe McCarthy’s congressional witch hunts rings truer than ever.

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