Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 10h

What if the unidentified masked men with guns don't accept the validity of your papers?

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MSNBC @msnbc.com · 10h

"I stand on solid rock and I will not bow, I will not break, I will not bend, I will not capitulate, I will not give in, I will not give up."

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks out after being indicted by the Trump DOJ.

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 12h

ofc, proj 25, etc, still matters a ton. think tanks! it is complicated, as we say.

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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 13h

So far, the only media outlet that has signed Pete Hegseth's new prohibitive press policy for covering the Pentagon is One America News.

Even Newsmax and the Washington Times have rejected the letter.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Even Newsmax rejects the Pentagon’s new press restrictions ahead of signing deadline

‘Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,’ the network stated on Monday. ‘We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon with review the matter further’

www.independent.co.uk

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 13h

but, there is lots laying around as well. like Pence began as a self proclaimed Limbaugh-lite. (or was it de-caffeinated Rush? something like that.) one time i looked at congressional bios to see if i could spot a party bias in previous broadcasters. yes, if i squinted. but never dreamed up a test.

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 13h

not to say this was a sure thing or that there was never a proximal practical CF alternative. just saying the pathway was there and he used it and plausibly with good effect. otoh, it was a strange primary!

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 13h

all fair. my (amateur) analysis of the crisis tends to be heavily media-centric. not sure T would even have gambled on the 16 primary w/out the 5+ years of Fox & Friends. that was profit seeking but also partisan education. now it is ouroboros!

www.adweek.com/tvnewser/her...

Here's Why Fox News Execs Gave 'The Donald' a Weekly Spot on Fox & Friends

“…And when it came time for President Trump to build out his administration, he knew where to turn.”

www.adweek.com

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 14h

let's add partisan media, esp R side

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Heath Brown @heathbrown.bsky.social · 1d

Really good one to start the week from @juliaazari.bsky.social on power open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...

Politics is about power. Our conversations about political parties should be, too.

Presidential excess is really about how the rest of the political system has failed

open.substack.com

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Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 21h

A Texas Tribune analysis has found that this explosion of vaccine non-compliance has played out across many school districts in the state in recent years, helping to push Texas’ measles vaccine coverage to the lowest it’s been since at least 2011. www.texastribune.org/2025/10/13/t...

This chart shows the percentage of Texas kindergarteners who were not vaccinated or fully vaccinated with the M M R vaccine each school year between the 2014-2015 school year and the 2024-2025 school year. The portion of kindergarteners in the state who received conscientious exemptions for the M M R vaccine rose from just above one percent in the 2014-2015 school year to almost four percent in the 2024-2025 school year. The portion of kindergarteners who were delinquent in their M M R vaccines were just under one percent in the 2014-2015 school year, spiked up to about three percent in the 2021-2022 school year, and are now at about 2.7 percent in the last school year. Data in this chart comes from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

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Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 20h

has anyone actually proved a causal relationship between doing things and the things being done

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 19h

For various reasons I think this one will be longer standing but this is also 100% true.

Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 19h

There were at least two ceasefires under Biden! In which more than five times as many living Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinians! Has everyone forgotten this?

Coffee Indiana @coffeeindiana.bsky.social · 19h

Also, ceasefires have happened under prior Presidents! The day he gets Palestine their own country he can be told he's the most special boy deserving of a shiny prize.

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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 16h

NEW: News organizations including the @washingtonpost.com, @nytimes.com, @theatlantic.com, and @cnn.com said their reporters will NOT sign the Pentagon's restrictive press policy. Outlets said that the policy infringes on their First Amendment rights. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Prominent news outlets reject Pentagon rules before signing deadline

The Washington Post and other major news outlets have refused to sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new press policy, citing First Amendment concerns.

www.washingtonpost.com

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 16h

i get the analysis and hangs together. not sure how to quantify the uncertainty. like, hard to know what could happen in a post-trump GOP brought face to face w his floor, (wherever that might be) and with a nuked filibuster to help retrospection in the electorate. but, proportional rep appeals now.

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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 16h

A thought I was having the other day: the whole far-right emergence was about “we will say and do the things the elites won’t let you say and do.” Eventually this stops making sense when you remain in power.

Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 16h

💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.

The Era of Orbánism as an Exportable Model May Be Ending - VSquare.org

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s once-admired “illiberal model” is faltering — plagued by economic crisis, voter frustration, and collapsing governance. With the 2026 election looming, his future — and the global appeal of his system — is at stake as his government faces its biggest political test.

vsquare.org

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Michael Li (李之樸) @mcpli.bsky.social · 16h

Reports that a North Carolina congressional redraw is now going to happen, most likely targeting NC-01, the eastern North Carolina district of Black Democrat Don Davis.

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 16h

two good items in the area here

bsky.app/profile/hims...

bsky.app/profile/svat...

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 16h

I've done a lot of reporting in Louisiana, and talked to many defense attorneys there. Can't tell you how many times some horrible problem in that criminal justice system was addressed only because a relevant case was finally heard by a black judge from one of the "opportunity districts."

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 18h

Wednesday is gonna be a rough day:

The Supreme Court will be hearing oral argument in a pair of cases that threaten what little remains of the federal government’s ability to protect voters from racial gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/louis...

Louisiana v Callais: The Republicans Justices Are Getting Ready to Finish Off the Voting Rights Act

In Louisiana v Callais, John Roberts will have the chance to finish his decades-long war on. voting rights.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Jake Wittich @jakewittich.bsky.social · 18h

The same ICE agent who handcuffed Ald. Jessie Fuentes has been filmed in at least 3 other violent encounters, including the viral arrest of a woman in Waukegan in front of the mayor.

“He’s obviously a danger to individuals and particularly women," Fuentes said.

Read more at @windycitytimes.com

Ald. Jessie Fuentes to file lawsuit against ICE agent who handcuffed her in Humboldt Park incident - Windy City Times

Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) is preparing to file a lawsuit against the ICE agent who handcuffed and threatened to arrest her at Humboldt Park Health earlier this month. In an interview with Windy ...

windycitytimes.com

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J. Mijin Cha @jmijin.bsky.social · 19h

New coal leases in the Powder River Basin have been paused after the first one had only a bid for 1/10th of a penny. They are trying to blame previous administrations, but the writing is on the wall. We should be supporting coal workers and communities not doing wtf this clown show is doing.

US postpones Wyoming coal lease sale after disappointing Montana auction

The Trump administration has postponed a scheduled sale of coal leases on federal lands in Wyoming two days after a disappointing auction in Montana, an Interior Department spokesperson said on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

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Jonathan Bernstein @jonathanbernstein.bsky.social · 16h

So that's really saying that Manchin (and perhaps a few others) should have done that. And yes.

But really? *Republicans* should have made the filibuster irrelevant by supporting democracy-strengthening reforms. McConnell, after condemning Trump, should have taken the lead.

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 16h

yes, democrats really should have broken the filibuster to reform the insurrection act in 2021

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 16h

This is an essential. "Democrats need to beat the Trumpists in elections that we ensure are free" is the best strategy for the next 2-4 years. But it is not a long-term strategy! The only possible long-term strategy is that someone else needs to defeat the Trumpists for control of the Repub Party.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 16h

www.instagram.com/p/DPm507ljBJ...

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 16h

hear hear

this one deserves the trifecta of like, re-post and affirmative reply.

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 16h

amen amen amen

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 16h

This is an essential. "Democrats need to beat the Trumpists in elections that we ensure are free" is the best strategy for the next 2-4 years. But it is not a long-term strategy! The only possible long-term strategy is that someone else needs to defeat the Trumpists for control of the Repub Party.

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 20h

“Win every election” is not a viable strategy for preventing authoritarianism

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 18h

Yeah, sure, Mr. Speaker, #NoKings is antifa, whatever.

Imagine being assigned to find antifa as part of a scavenger hunt and the closest thing you could find was me.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ... "

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