Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Anne Muntean

DevinCow @devincow.bsky.social · 1h

My sign for Oct 18

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Jude Nagurney Camwell (Iddybud) @iddybud.bsky.social · 2h

Michael Tomasky @newrepublic.com
Memo to Future Historians: This Is Fascism, and Millions of Us See It
newrepublic.com/post/201625/...

Historians of the future: Rest assured, millions of us know all this in real time. We are horrified, shocked, enraged, and ashamed. We are acting, in a thousand ways, to oppose it. This cannot, and will not, be how the United States ends.

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Hans de Vreij @vreij.bsky.social · 1h

'Spain’s defense minister has defended her country’s commitment to NATO after U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea that the southern European country should be expelled from the military alliance for not spending enough on its armed forces.' apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump blasts Spain for being NATO's spending 'laggard.' Madrid replies that it is a 'loyal' ally

The Spanish defense minister has defended the country's commitment to NATO after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested expelling Spain for not spending enough on its military.

apnews.com

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Hans de Vreij @vreij.bsky.social · 1h

'Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia deliberately waited for bad weather before staging a vast attack on Ukraine's energy system, adding the conditions reduced the efficiency of air defences by between 20% and 30%.' www.reuters.com/business/aer...

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Hans de Vreij @vreij.bsky.social · 1h

'Power restored to over 800,000 households in Kyiv, local outages remain' www.ukrinform.net/rubric-socie...

Power restored to over 800,000 households in Kyiv, local outages remain - DTEK

Power engineers have restored electricity to over 800,000 households in Kyiv, with local outages remaining. — Ukrinform.

www.ukrinform.net

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The Steady State @steadystatevets.bsky.social · 1h

Trump openly promising mass firings of civil servants “because they’re Democrats” is pure authoritarianism. The civil service exists to be nonpartisan—to protect the country, not Trump’s ego.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 9h

Q: "How many layoffs have you authorized?"

Trump: "A lot. It will be Democrat oriented...They should be Democrat oriented. It will be a lot and we'll announce the numbers over the next couple of days, but it will be a lot of people...Many of them will be fired."

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1h

Wow, this is the view on the Himalayas from Jainagar (India). The mountain chain is 150 km away and still beautifully visible - I’m sure this was a particularly clear day but it’s a truly wonderful sight. Source: buff.ly/aTj63aD

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tmel1219.bsky.social @tmel1219.bsky.social · 16h

#VoteForClimate

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Mollie Katzen @molliekatzen.bsky.social · 7h

"President Trump continued to describe Portland as a city on fire Friday even as residents enjoyed the first fall rain and the lone demonstrator at the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building was dressed as a pink Care Bear."

Sometimes there is a good sentence or two in the NYT.

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Andreas 🇨🇦 Fella 💙 @andreasor.bsky.social · 8h

Gavin Newsom:

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Senator Amy Klobuchar @klobuchar.senate.gov · 12h

There it is: $20 billion for Argentina at the same time they’re taking markets away from our farmers.

But no $ for health insurance for Americans?

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 7h

UPDATE: Judge Perry issued an opinion explaining why she blocked the Texas National Guard deployment in Chicago.

She begins with Alexander Hamilton’s rejection of a “preposterous” idea that the Constitution lets a President deploy a State’s militia to a different State for political retribution. 🧵

OPINION AND ORDER
Since this country was founded, Americans have disagreed about the appropriate division
of power between the federal government and the fifty states that make up our Union. This
tension is a natural result of the system of federalism adopted by our Founders. And yet, not even
the Founding Father most ardently in favor of a strong federal government believed that one
state's militia could be sent to another state for the purposes of political retribution, calling such
a suggestion "inflammatory," and stating "it is impossible to believe that [a President] would employ such preposterous means to accomplish their designs." But Plaintiffs contend that such
an event has come to pass, and argue that National Guard troops from both Illinois and Texas
have been deployed to Illinois because the President of the United States wants to punish state elected officials whose policies are different from his own.

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Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 7h

That sound you hear is plaintiff lawyers popping champagne corks and DOJ lawyers groaning.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h

Q: How many layoffs have you authorized?

TRUMP: It'll be a lot. And it'll be Democrat-oriented.

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Aaron Fritschner @fritschner.bsky.social · 14h

A few minutes ago in the House:

- Speaker Mike Johnson officially cancels votes next week, extending the House recess through a fourth week

- House Republicans block Democrats from passing a bill to pay the troops during the shutdown, ensuring they will miss paychecks next week

House Press Gallery: During today's pro forma session, the Clerk read a message from the Speaker designating Tuesday, October 14 through Sunday, October 19 as a district work period.

Punchbowl's Briana Reilly: House gaveled in and out of its pro forma just now w/o recognizing Rep Elfreth, who was seeking to UC a mil pay bill from Rep Sykes.

Elfreth told reporters after that House Dems stand “ready and willing to take” up standalone legislation to pay troops.

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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 14h

Farm bankruptcies are back in the news, so it's time to pull this chart out again.

Hey look they kept rising during Trump's first term. Then they went way down under Biden.

Now they're up again? So weird. Thanks Farm Bureau for the graphic

Screenshot from Farm Bureau article on farm bankruptcies. It shows farm bankruptcies climbing steadily 2014-2020, falling by half in 2021, & continuing to fall through 2023.

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Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 9h

Republicans are pushing debunked anti-abortion propaganda as an excuse to rip mifepristone off the shelves and block women from getting abortion care.

100+ studies prove mifepristone is safe and effective.

SPEAK UP, we can't let them get away with this.

Nearly All GOP Senators Urge the FDA to Restrict Abortion Pills

The senators are asking the FDA to suspend its approval of generic mifepristone, which would heavily restrict access to abortion pills nationwide.

www.notus.org

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Wendell Albright @wendella.bsky.social · 5h

he's a good man

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6h

My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.

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Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 5h

NEW: Russian forces launched a large, combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine on the night of October 9 to 10, primarily targeting energy infrastructure and civilian targets.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 10, 2025: isw.pub/UkrWar101025 (1/5)

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 5h

Imagine dressing like a Temu Richard Petty and criticizing anyone’s appearance

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 7h

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 5h

“Parliament had turned over its constitutional authority to Hitler and thereby committed suicide, though its body lingered on in an embalmed state.”

Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (p. 331)

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5h

“.. Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an “iron fist,” according to people who have heard the comments. Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.”

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Anne Muntean @annemuntean.bsky.social · 2h

Isn't "exceptional" usually a bad thing in a medical report?

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Chicago Public Square @chicagopublicsquare.com · 5h

12 Arrested in Immigration Raid at O’Hare Airport Rideshare Parking Lot Friday

Federal immigration agents targeted Uber and Lyft drivers in a raid at a parking lot near Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Friday, according to a coalition of rideshare drivers.

news.wttw.com

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Michael Bazemore @deepwatermike.bsky.social · 5h

Do you know what is stupid...a grown-ass 54-year-old man calling himself "Kid" anything. Also, this particular guy.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 7h

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

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Aviel Roshwald @avielroshwald.bsky.social · 5h

Amphibians join humans in opposing the reptile in the White House.

Reverend Jesus "H" Christ @reverendjesus.com · 18h

Blessed are the frogs, for they keep making authoritarians look incredibly stupid

Three persons in inflatable frog costumes. One of them is holding a nicely painted sign with two little cartoon frogs holding hands, below the text "FROGS TOGETHER STRONG"

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Aviel Roshwald @avielroshwald.bsky.social · 4h

The flow of formaldehyde through his veins is like nothing you’ve ever seen.

Raw Story @rawstory.com · 5h

President Donald Trump's newly released physical results from the White House sing the praises of his health and physical fitness, and claim that he, in fact, has the heart of a man in his mid-60s, rather than late 70s.

White House says Trump's heart tested 14 years younger than his 'chronological age'

President Donald Trump's newly released physical results from the White House sing the praises of his health and physical fitness, and claim that he, in fact, has the heart of a man in his mid-60s, rather than late 70s."President Donald J. Trump successfully completed a scheduled follow-up evaluatio...

bit.ly

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