Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Nick Carnes

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 20h

Kristi Noem should never have been confirmed after this. It ended up being a perfect representation of what she would do.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 20

HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?

NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country

HASSAN: That's incorrect

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Berny Belvedere @bernybelvedere.bsky.social · 20h

Doing politics the right way is when the far-right regime in power memorializes a fallen influencer by terrorizing an academic that the influencer's McCarthyist organization once baselessly singled out for abuse.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 20h

Utterly sinister and deeply threatening to democracy:

"plans to deploy America's counter-terrorism apparatus... as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence"

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 23h

President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

www.reuters.com

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Lucius Fox In The Box @carnegro.bsky.social · 22h

Pope Leo is spitting.

www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

Leo questioned a world where the wealth of the elite grows
"exponentially" while many "millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings." He also criticized "ideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,"
with false promises "that a free-market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty."

Leo described a "new tyranny," which shuns any kind of oversight and where the economy is structured "in such a way that sacrifices are demanded of the masses in order to serve the needs of the powerful." The poor, he wrote, are only allowed "drops that trickle down."

The pope openly challenged "prosperity theology" and called Christians to the practice of giving charity. "It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility," he wrote.

Popular movements that challenge "the empire of money," invite people to take on the cause to combat poverty alongside the poor, instead of on their behalf, and "make history," the pope said. It our duty, Leo said, to "make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve."

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K. Liakos @kliakos.com · 1d

America 2025:

The facade of a store in a Delaware strip mall called its fashion but the lights on the o n and exclamation point are out so it says it’s fashi

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 23h

From @ryanenos.bsky.social & Levitsky: “Predictably, the extortionist has returned for more. The reward for capitulation was more extortion.”
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard, rather than quietly pursuing its own appeasement strategy, should lead the way to preserve academic freedom and democracy.

www.thecrimson.com

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Nick Carnes @carnes.bsky.social · 1d

Reminder that peacefully standing up to fascists works. Just do the right thing and don't become an accomplice by cooperating.

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1d

twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross

photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)

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Nick Carnes @carnes.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like there's a lesson here about grind culture and creativity.

Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 2d

the most delightful version of logging on to see what news you've missed

Dr Ramsdell, whose phone had been on airplane mode when the Nobel committee tried to call him, told the BBC's Newshour Programme that his first response when his wife said, "You've won the Nobel prize" was: "I did not."

To which Ms O'Neill replied that she had 200 text messages that suggested he had.

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Pat Bagley @bagleycartoons.bsky.social · 2d

Thugs

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 3d

Zelda Williams: “And for the love of EVERY THING, stop calling it ‘the future,’ AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line”

variety.com/2025/film/ne...

Robin Williams’ Daughter Tells Fans to ‘Stop Sending Me AI Videos of Dad’: It’s ‘Gross’ and ‘Not What He’d Want’

Zelda Williams tells fans not to send her AI recreations of father Robin Williams, calling them "gross."

variety.com

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Jon Green @modestholdings.com · 3d

My experience has been that dying is easy. It's the end of living, that's hard.

s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 3d

Hospice is not 'giving up,' it is a different kind of medical care suited to a change in your medical needs. You can get it at home, in a standalone facility, or in a hospital. It can come with the degree of intervention you want. Hospice cares for your loved ones too.

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Daniel Kibblesmith @kibblesmith.com · 3d

Printing stuff off my phone feels like the future

It’s probably the only technology in my life that feels like the future, the rest is awful

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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 4d

"I prompted the AI to devise a lesson plan that explains why students need to become proficient in prompting AI—so they can land writing jobs in the future, where they will spend their days prompting AI."

I Need AI to Write Better Lesson Plans So My Students Stop Using AI to Write Their Papers

I care deeply about my students’ learning, but with all the new technologies available to help them cut corners, I worry that they’re not doing the...

buff.ly

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Nick Carnes @carnes.bsky.social · 3d

Please read this.

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 3d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Nick Carnes @carnes.bsky.social · 3d

Not to pile on, but www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 3d

My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

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Alex Winter @alexwinter.com · 3d

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G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 3d

I'm just going to assume these kinds of videos are all AI now

Insta Science @instascience.bsky.social · 3d

Baby raccoons are trying to walk through a fence on a very windy day.

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 3d

The Sora AI disinfo nightmare is here

For more like this:
tiktok.com/@drewharwell
instagram.com/bydrewharwell

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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 4d

I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.

A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.

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Daniel Kibblesmith @kibblesmith.com · 3d

@schiff.senate.gov It does bro, it has. You gonna do something about it other than go on talk shows and look surprised

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 4d

Sen. Schiff to NBC: "He's described me as the enemy within. He's described other Democratic elected officials as the enemy within. He is using the Justice Dept. to go after his political enemies, and he's using the Justice Dept. to protect his political friends … This should concern every American."

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Leah Stokes @leahstokes.bsky.social · 4d

There is a massive overinterpretation of the 2024 election results in the media as being some huge pro-Trump swing. 2 out of 100 people net switched from the Democrats to the Republicans.

Just wait. There is going to be a big swing back to the Democrats in the upcoming elections and midterms...

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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 4d

Narrator: This is fascism.

The image is an X post by Mike Nellis (@MikeNellis
) from 19 hours ago, stating: "So let me get this straight: a Blackhawk helicopter and dozens of masked, armed federal agents roll up on a Chicago apartment building, cuff everyone—including kids—and then run checks for warrants and immigration status? What the hell is going on in this country? How is that not fascism?" The post includes a verified badge.

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Missing The Point @missingthept.bsky.social · 4d

“Mastodon actually has a lot of great people and if everyone here wants to pick up and move there that’s fine by me.”

Norman Rockwell man standing up a meeting painting.

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