Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 2h

frog alone weak, frogs together strong

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 2h

i cackled

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 3h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 3h

With lawmaking stymied, regulators gutted, and partisan judges installed as a roadblock, they turn government into a sideshow: useless for pursuing accountability, a fairer economy, or much else other than inflicting pain on scapegoats and convenient targets.

Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 3h

Earlier I read a lament that Republicans have no legislative agenda — which is true, but shouldn’t be misread to mean they have no *partisan* agenda.

They want impunity for themselves, and unfettered oligarchy for the economy. They wreck government from the inside to further those goals.

ProPublica @propublica.org · 5h

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.

She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.

(Published June)

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 3h

Earlier I read a lament that Republicans have no legislative agenda — which is true, but shouldn’t be misread to mean they have no *partisan* agenda.

They want impunity for themselves, and unfettered oligarchy for the economy. They wreck government from the inside to further those goals.

ProPublica @propublica.org · 5h

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.

She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.

(Published June)

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...

www.propublica.org

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Super Nintendo Chalmers @snchalmers.bsky.social · 5h

This is a great headline but also Pope Leo is spitting absolute fire right now

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 7h

You won’t believe what degrading practice the Pope just condemned

Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists The Pope has condemned clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism, at a private audience with global newswires. Australian media representatives were among those to hear directly from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday with about 150 members of newswire alliance MINDS International. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Drew McKevitt @drewmckevitt.bsky.social · 7h

Years ago I was teaching my gun history class and at the end of the quarter one of the students said that he was in the campus TPUSA chapter and they put him up to taking the class to spy on me but he felt bad about that because he loved the class and learned a lot and had a great time

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 4h

This is extremely good

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Dr. Damien P. Williams Wants A Better Sociotechnical Paradigm @wolvendamien.bsky.social · 6h

*Lil Jon Voice* States' Rights to What

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 5h

give me a prize for how peaceful i am or i'm going to fucking destroy you

Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 8h

The Guardian- The US president may impose tariffs, demand higher NATO contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says, if on Friday he is not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. www.theguardian.com/world/202...

Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he does not win Nobel peace prize

US president may impose tariffs, demand higher Nato contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says

www.theguardian.com

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 4h

Lmao I see it

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Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 6h

Of all the clerics they could have popped, those ICE idiots had to hit Hot Priest.

Presbyterian minister David Black on CNN, who was shot with pepper balls while praying outside an ICE facility.

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 6h

Our plane to Spain is in the air!

🙌🙌

Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.

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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 5h

I had a call today with someone in OR who was talking about the need for more “agitation theater” in street protests to humiliate ICE and make people laugh.

Well done Portland chicken and Portland frog.

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 5h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 6h

I didn't log on to be disrespected like this

Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 6h

the quotes proving once again that bluesky dot com is where the neurodivergents with procrastination issues hang out

Dane 🔜 NYCC AA L-34 @monkeyminion.com · 1d

I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 8h

1. truly outrageous
2. ofc lindsey halligan is the only attorney willing to put their name on the indictment
3. Acting US Attorneys love to leave the 'acting' out of their titles

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 9h

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

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chira 🎋 @artofchira.bsky.social · Jun 1

whenever i encounter people who say they can't understand shakespeare verses I always send them this clip from the 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing

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Balls & Strikes @ballsandstrikes.org · 16h

The Court's most enthusiastic Republican justice is out here giving free legal advice to Republican litigants

Sam Alito Is Just Asking Questions About Mail-In Voting

In Illinois, Democrats passed a law making it easier for people to cast absentee ballots. Alito was ready to give the Republican challenging the law some free advice.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

“We took the freedom of speech away. That’s been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but-"

to be clear it’s not just the courts that say you have that freedom

it’s the Constitution

right there in the First Amendment

like, numba 1
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

“We Took the Freedom of Speech Away” Is Somehow a Direct Quote From Donald Trump

Trump's definition of "freedom of speech" does not appear to incorporate anything the Supreme Court has said on the subject.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

months ago I said you can't win a rap beef in a court of law but looks like Drake can't win the legal dispute either lawl

bsky.app/profile/audr...

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · Jan 16

This is so embarrassing chdkdk and basically proving Kendrick's point about him being a phony who seeks benefits from but is not actually enmeshed the culture -- like, you can't win a rap beef in a court of law!

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

Judge writes that Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us "contains lyrics explicitly accusing Drake of being a pedophile, set to a catchy beat and propulsive bassline" lmao oh this is gonna be a fun read

it's been a long week, I'm taking this decision as a gift to me personally

Erik Uebelacker @uebey.bsky.social · 10h

NEW: Drake loses his defamation case against Kendrick Lamar over the “Not Like Us” lyrics.

More coming @courthousenews.bsky.social

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

I had more to say about this, yknow, while i CAN STILL SAY THINGS, DONALD

ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

“We Took the Freedom of Speech Away” Is Somehow a Direct Quote From Donald Trump

Trump's definition of "freedom of speech" does not appear to incorporate anything the Supreme Court has said on the subject.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

oh 100% that's different, because of reasons

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

I had more to say about this, yknow, while i CAN STILL SAY THINGS, DONALD

ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

“We Took the Freedom of Speech Away” Is Somehow a Direct Quote From Donald Trump

Trump's definition of "freedom of speech" does not appear to incorporate anything the Supreme Court has said on the subject.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 10h

for context, Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas are already down to declare assault weapons bans unconstitutional, and in June, Kavanaugh indicated that he was *almost* ready, too

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/kavan...

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 12h

Chat is it good when a lawyer for DOJ says this

Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 12h

Hamilton: “The president’s power is unreviewable.”

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