Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 10m

Why are we regressing?

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 39m

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 34m

Almost worst, we tried to pretend what she said didn’t matter and got right down to business with Putin

Nicolas Tenzer @nicolastenzer.bsky.social · 5d

Nineteen years ago, on October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated by Putin's hitmen.
She was the first to tell the truth about Russia's mass crimes in Chechnya, which foreshadowed those in Syria, Ukraine, Africa and elsewhere. They could have been prevented.
Almost no one listened to her.

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LOLGOP ❌👑❌ @thefarce.org · 32m

Yes, we need a BIG TENT.

"But for a big tent to stand, it requires a central rod — otherwise it’s a tarp that smothers you. To win this battle, we must run on — not from — the broadly-held values most Americans cherish and make clear we are in a battle against fascism, not just inflation."

Conclusion
So here we are, with many Democrats responding to each new horror unleashed with a social media post attempting to drive conversation back to what surveys say voters care most about. Instead of speaking about what’s actually occurring, these Democrats have wedged themselves into an impossible corner where what they say barely gets heard and what gets heard can barely be credited. You cannot occasionally tell Americans the truth that this regime is veering into dictatorship while also promising to meet and negotiate in good faith with it. You cannot convey the full extent of the threat before us, let alone marshall public will into needed resistance, when your actions (or lack thereof) routinely undermine your utterances.

We often hear of the need for a “big tent” to combat authoritarianism, a term that seems to mean welcoming in more people but not immigrants and their allies, not LGBTQ people and their loved ones, not women who’d like some reproductive autonomy and their champions. And, yes, it will take a mass movement to bring down this regime. But for a big tent to stand, it requires a central rod — otherwise it’s a tarp that smothers you. To win this battle, we must run on — not from — the broadly-held values most Americans cherish and make clear we are in a battle against fascism, not just inflation.

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LOLGOP ❌👑❌ @thefarce.org · 46m

"While Democrats are brandishing thermometers, Republicans power up flamethrowers."

Democrats poll to shape themselves. Republicans poll to find out how to shape the electorate.

Taking the Temperature Versus Changing It
The mistake Pollingism demands that we make is to take the temperature of the electorate and calibrate what to say on this basis. But taking the temperature today doesn’t help us to know, much less control, where it will be set tomorrow. It puts us behind in both electoral and movement strategy — failing to dominate daily conversation, and neglecting to steer longer-term public opinion.

While Democrats are brandishing thermometers, Republicans power up flamethrowers. They figure out not merely “where people are,” but rather where they could be capable of going, if they hear some refrain repeated over and again.

MAGA’s stories are potent and memorable, not about the issues people register as most important but rather those that MAGA wants brought to the fore. This is Magnetism 101: make sure you’re fighting on the terrain that benefits you most. This means setting the terms of debate by every possible means by engaging in activities that bring your preferred conversation into people’s ears.

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 27m

It's probably going to turn out to be just who we'd expect.

John Pavlovitz @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social · 8h

Good people need to start outing their ICE family members, neighbors, and community members.

They need to be made into pariahs in the places decent Americans gather.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 2h

The recent trajectory, in broad strokes:

- Regime starts militarizing the conflict in early summer
- Regime declares all liberal/leftwing political activity as domestic terrorist or terrorism-adjacent in presidential memo
- Regime ramps up the propaganda against “the Left” across all channels

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 2h

The regime gets more deranged every day. A rightwing conspiracy theorist assassinated a Democratic lawmaker - which the attorney general presents as an example of leftwing political violence in order to justify an authoritarian crackdown on the opposition…

We’re in incredibly dangerous territory.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Bondi: "We've been living through a horrific cycle of political violence in this country ... night after night antifa wrecks havoc on the streets of our cities. In Minnesota, a gunman murdered a state lawmaker and her husband."

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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 4h

“Who was president in 2020?” is the question of our time.

I wrote a substack about this on Friday!This isn’t an accident.

open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...

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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 8h

On NYT Home Page there's a Douthat column w/the headline "Trump's Foreign Policy is Succeeding. He Should Apply It's Lessons at Home." On what planet? Betraying our allies. Blowing up the global trading system. Embracing autocrats. Pulling back support for Ukraine. Helping to support Gaza slaughter.

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 6h

That's wonderful!

Congratulations to you all.❤️

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Angi Yoder-Maina, Phd 🇰🇪 @angiyo.bsky.social · 7h

The prison industrial complex...

bsky.app/profile/jonc...

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 19h

The nation’s largest private prison company is asking the Supreme Court to give federal contractors blanket immunity from lawsuits — including human trafficking claims.

If they win, private contractors could operate with even less accountability than they do now.

The Human Trafficking Case That Could Hand Government Contractors Blanket Immunity

In a little-noticed Supreme Court case, the country’s largest private prison operator argues companies should be shielded from lawsuits when doing the government’s dirty work.

www.levernews.com

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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 7h

Estonia has closed the Saatse border crossing with Russia due to an unusually large Russian military presence on the other side. The Estonian Police and Border Guard (PPA) noted increased patrols and military movements that were much higher than normal, which were deemed beyond routine activities.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 7h

WATCH — @drjessicaknurick.bsky.social : “Here’s a partial list of things Trump is choosing to no longer study — food insecurity, gun violence, toxic exposures etc… Just because you don't measure it doesn't mean the problem went away. Censoring science & data collection is scary in a democracy.”

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 7h

Get the fuck off tiktok or the 3D-printed personification of MechHitler will come to your house and peel of your skin to feed the blockchain.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Trump said he deserved a cut for brokering the TikTok deal, and at once there was agreement that his son Baron would have a top executive slot... though he hasn't asked for it, and has no apparent qualifications to hold it. This is how Trump 2.0 works. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

Barron Trump tipped for top TikTok job

US president’s 19-year-old son could be appointed to the app’s board

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 7h

Personified USA screaming hysterically & stabbing itself repeatedly.

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Gale Sinatra @galesinatra.bsky.social · 7h

Rewriting reality.

Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 9h

“The Heritage Foundation [which spearheaded Project 2025] says it will ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors over alleged bias.“ 9/18/25 … 1/ www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...

The right wing is coming for Wikipedia

The Heritage Foundation says it will "identify and target" Wikipedia editors over alleged bias. What does that mean for Wikipedia’s future?

www.wbur.org

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David Darmofal @daviddarmofal.bsky.social · 7h

If Biden had said this, @jaketapper.bsky.social would be trying to get a second book out of it. But because Tapper, like so many others in the legacy media, grades Trump on a curve, they just let it pass as a nothingburger. When, in fact, he's using false data to send the National Guard to Chicago.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 8h

ICYMI — Trump lied that Chicago had “4000” murders, when it’s projected to have 380 this year (way down from last year)

If it’s so bad there why does he have to keep lying about it?

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 7h

“ICE cited a ‘legacy deportation order’ dating back to the 1980s [and an intent to distribute plea]. … Subu, who was born in India but arrived in the United States when he was 9 months old, was never deported because he was serving a life sentence.”

(*drums fingers, stares at wall*)

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 7h

FUCK ICE FOREVER

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 9h

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 7h

Multi billionaire conducts months of historical and theological research into the Antichrist. Discovers, shockingly, that one thing the Antichrist would definitely do is tax billionaires. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Done
theguardian.com
呃
Jump to
He believes the Armageddon will be ushered in by an antichrist-type figure who cultivates a fear of existential threats such as climate change, Al and nuclear war to amass inordinate power. The idea is this figure will convince people to do everything they can to avoid something like a third world war, including accepting a one-world order charged with protecting everyone from the apocalypse that implements a complete restriction of technological progress. In his mind, this is already happening. Thiel said that international financial bodies, which make it more difficult for people to shelter their wealth in tax havens, are one sign the antichrist may be amassing power and hastening Armageddon, saying: "It's become quite difficult to hide one's money."

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 7h

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 7h

Seems like Peter Thiel, the blood-drinking global surveillance overlord, or the hateful wannabe dictator he helped install as president fits the bill better than Thiel's idea of an antichrist: someone who helps people. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist

The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’

www.theguardian.com

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Matt Ortega @mattortega.com · 9h

Absolutely. It is predictable. I wrote a warning about this a few weeks after the 2024 election.

When this ultimately all falls apart—and it will, one way or another—the overwhelming desire from elite quarters will be to just move on. It's in the past. We're looking forward.

Not this time.

When the country is left examining the wreckage of this administration and the movement which swept it back into power, those responsible and their enablers will seek to escape accountability on ratlines to the speaker's circuit for lucrative fees or slink off to the Harvard IOP fellows program. History informs us that the odds are in their favor. It is also instructive that the lack of accountability only begets further destructive actions. This past election is an acute example of this failing and we will all suffer as a result.

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 9h

Russell Vought has stated he wants them all insecure and in a constant state of panic.

shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 9h

it actually offends me how sloppy and careless they are. anyone who’s ever been laid off knows the panic you feel when it happens. and while obviously it’s good that they backtracked, these are people’s fucking LIVELIHOODS they’re messing with.

Trump Administration Is Bringing Back Scores of C.D.C. Experts Fired in Error

www.nytimes.com

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 9h

Just a reminder that Wikipedia is the only remaining reliable source of information that right wing billionaires can't control. (Although they'll never stop trying.)

Please donate to them whenever you can. Even a little bit helps.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Tim Murphy @tmurp1953.bsky.social · 9h

Antifa is not real. The Heritage Foundation is, and they are a mortal enemy of the Republic.

Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 9h

“The Heritage Foundation [which spearheaded Project 2025] says it will ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors over alleged bias.“ 9/18/25 … 1/ www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...

The right wing is coming for Wikipedia

The Heritage Foundation says it will "identify and target" Wikipedia editors over alleged bias. What does that mean for Wikipedia’s future?

www.wbur.org

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