Author | Lightnews

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spooky boolantro @rickycilantro.bsky.social · 4h

Max Dubler
@maxdubler • 2/8/25
That old saw about how "good times make weak men" is true in the sense that stable times with material abundance create reactionaries who want to destroy the systems that protect them because they're too sheltered and stupid to understand that things can get meaningfully worse.
Jason C &
@jasonc_nc・2/8/25
I don't think a lot of people appreciate how much of their overall lifestyle and relative certainty is backstopped by a steady, boring stability of systems they don't understand or even realize exist.
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Max Dubler
@maxdubler
True decadence looks like people who are three generations removed from the cultural memory of polio refusing to vaccinate their children against deadly communicable diseases because they don't like needles and don't think there will be any consequences, not queer dance parties.

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 4h

ABC News pulled the satellite imagery of the White House comparing Sept. 26 to today.

abcnews.go.com/Politics/new...

Satellite view of the White House showing an image on the left where the East Wing is still standing and an image on the right where it's completely demolished

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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 4h

Let them eat ballroom

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h

Leavitt: "At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's main priority."

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Rejin @rejinl.bsky.social · 6h

"Remove the criminals that the law does not permit (him) to remove" is quite an acknowledgment of federal lawlessness.

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 6h

BREAKING

President Trump says he is not going to attempt to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco after a conversation with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

The president says he has also spoken to SalesForce CEO Marc Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The Federal Government was preparing to "surge" San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress. I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, "It's an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let's see how you do?" The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject. Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a "shot." Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 8h

Oops. Sorry. I’m Snohomish County, not King, so haven’t waded into the goings on down there. Wouldn’t feel qualified to weigh in.

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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 1d

We are retroactively losing the Civil War, WWII and the Cold War thanks to white identity politics.

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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 1d

You could easily fit a single large room in place of the old East Wing, one that'd comfortably accommodate 2-3x more people than the East Room, while keeping give or take the same footprint and a very similar exterior appearance. That's what the reasonable version of the idea would have looked like.

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 1d

Breaking: Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke on the Senate floor for 22 hours and 37 minutes to denounce Trump and his agenda.

It's the fourth longest floor speech in U.S. Senate history.

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 1d

Sen. Jeff Merkley has been speaking on the Senate floor since 6:20pm last night — protesting Trump and warning that "tyranny has arrived."

"Trump is shredding our Constitution. Is it okay for masked federal agents to arrest people off the street because of their skin color … Not in a free America."

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

I’d say it is unbelievable, but unfortunately it is not. It fits perfectly with everything else he has done.

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 1d

I call dibs on "Our Hands Are Tied," as the title of a book about the failure of institutional "guard rails" in government and civil society during the Trump II administration.

Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 1d

this article gets to some of the questions I've had about this www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

‘Our hands are tied’: Can anyone stop Trump’s tear-down of the East Wing?

Many preservationists fear the answer is no. A pro-Trump review board is expected to approve the president’s planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, too.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Molly White @molly.wiki · 1d

oh no... i regret to inform you another Maine Democratic Senate candidate has revealed his tattoo

Facebook post by Jordan Wood: I’ve been getting a lot of questions about tattoos, so time to fess up — I have one. I got this tattoo a few years ago as a reminder of what hope and a positive vision can do in our politics. And yes, I knew what it was when I got it.

Photo is Wood shirtless holding an infant, with a tattoo of the Obama "O" with the stripes on it partially visible on his bicep

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d

“It is important to demonstrate that authoritarian gains are not permanent. That liberal society has the will to undo their grotesqueries.
Demolishing the Trump ballroom and restoring the East Wing will be symbolic. But symbolism matters to authoritarians.”

www.thebulwark.com/p/we-will-te...

We Will Tear Down the Trump Palace Ballroom and Casino

Thinking like a dissident movement.

www.thebulwark.com

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Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 1d

Amazing, he doesn’t know what this one is either

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Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 1d

The day after the Chinatown raid, New York AG Tish James launches an online portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity.

"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.

Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...

Attorney General James Launches Portal to Collect Photos and Videos of ICE Activity in New York

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James is encouraging New Yorkers to submit videos or other documentation of federal immigration enforcement actions in New York following yesterday’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on Canal Street in New York City.

“Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” said Attorney General James. “If you witnessed and documented ICE activity yesterday, I urge you to share that footage with my office. We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law. No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.”

Attorney General James is asking New Yorkers to share photos or videos of federal government actions using the Office of the Attorney General’s new online portal.

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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 1d

the left side of things seems to have an allergy to TELLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE A STORY. its this belief that people can just figure it out on their own or that the press will get to the bottom of it. its fucking stupid.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

This is bullshit, but as we know, that doesn't matter. It's an easy story to tell & an easy one to believe.

What is the counter-story? Are climate people telling it? Are Dems? Where are they on this? Can they actually get ahead of the curve for once in their f'ing lives?

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

Doing things in the correct order as usual I see. 🙄

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

The White House said on Tuesday it will submit plans for President Donald Trump's $250 million White House ballroom project to a body that oversees federal building construction, even though demolition work began earlier this week reut.rs/4ndTcfL

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Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · 1d

Pretty clear that Trump is building a private club at the White House, a northern Mar-a-Lago, where the price of admission will be bribes in the tens of millions of dollars.

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d

“The good news is this means that the next Democratic inhabitant of the White House can demolish the Trump Presidential Palace Ballroom and Casino and restore the East Wing and the rest of the White House grounds to their pre-Trump state.”

www.thebulwark.com/p/we-will-te...

We Will Tear Down the Trump Palace Ballroom and Casino

Thinking like a dissident movement.

www.thebulwark.com

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J6 Plaque @thejan6plaque.bsky.social · 1d

Targeted propaganda got him elected in 2024. It isn’t enough to make people ignore his stupidity in office. But it got them to misremember who he is and misjudge what his second term would be like. And that was enough to put him in.

YouGov America @today.yougov.com · 2d

NEW Economist/YouGov Oct 17-20
40% of U.S. adult citizens have a favorable view of Donald Trump
57% have an unfavorable view
Net -17
Last week
42% | 53% | -11
Start of term
50% | 48% | +3
today.yougov.com/politics/art...

A line chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "Favorable and unfavorable views of Donald Trump."

The chart has the sub-headline: "Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people? [Donald Trump] (% of U.S. adult citizens)."

The chart has the note: "Note: Responses of "don't know" are not shown. Data for Sept. 26 - Nov. 14, 2020 is among registered voters only."

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Elon Green @elongreen.bsky.social · 1d

again, "I'm stupid, not evil" is a legitimate defense, but that doesn't mean you get to run for senator against Susan Collins. Find something else to do.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Platner says he’ll remove tattoo that resembles Nazi symbol

His former political director said he "knows damn well" what the tattoo signifies.

www.politico.com

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 2d

If this wasn’t posted by Aaron Rupar I would immediately assume AI until proven otherwise. But…

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "We have Darth Vader. You know Darth Vader, right? Darth Vader is a man who is sitting -- is that Darth? Stand up please. Does everybody know -- they call him Darth Vader, I call him a fine man. But he's cutting Democrat priorities and they're never gonna get them back."

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Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 2d

Without the authority to do so, he’s demolishing the entire East Wing of the White House. Every major Democratic voice should be pounding him & his enablers. Any Democrat thinking about running for president in 28 should pledge to bulldoze Trump’s fucking ballroom if elected.

Meet the moment Dems.

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Sep 9

Q: but what if a full Epstein investigation also takes down Bill Clinton?????

A:

Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Jul 26

it’s not even a sacrifice, it’s like a Free Gift With Purchase

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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 2d

Here's the thing I don't understand. You can't as much as sneeze near a historic site in Washington without like 14 commissions, councils, and advisory boards giving you the okay. And everybody now is like...yup, fine with us? wtf?

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.

Photograph of ongoing demolition of the East Wing of the White House.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 2d

So a few months ago, we detailed how immigration agents were breaking car windows to grab the people inside.

Well, it turns out one agent just did that *with his gun* and mistakenly shot the person inside and a U.S. marshal.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/u...

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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 2d

DOJ declined to bring charges against two people who threatened to kill @ericswalwell.bsky.social this year, @nbcnews.com reports: www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

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