Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 2h

It’s always the people you most expect. Paul Ingrassia is back in the news.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4h

"30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination" cancelled his colleague's hotel room so she would be forced to stay with him.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room.

Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 12h

The most ominous answer I can imagine:

Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 12h

Perry: DOJ's definition of rebellion would mean that
"literally all nonviolent protest” could be considered evidence of rebellion. Is that your argument?
Hamilton: The president has determined there is a danger of a rebellion, and you must defer to that finding

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 15h

Recently learned that if you are an AFT member—as, for example, members of the UC Faculty Association are, if we opt in to AAUP membership—you’re eligible for $6/mo professional legal insurance. Useful if, say, you’re in a dispute with your employer. www.aft.org/sites/defaul...

www.aft.org

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote legal editorials for the Post for a hot minute many years ago, and I was constantly anxious about making sure I got the details right. This editorial is just humiliating for everyone involved

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 1d

I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges

Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Describe your Bluesky account with a single image

A pair of tuxedo cats engaged in protected concerted activity re: breakfast

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Meredith Shiner @meredithshiner.com · 1d

“No protest in the free speech zone”

The People's Fabric @peoplesfabric.com · 1d

No protest from 6am to 9am in the Broadview free speech zone.

Just here with a handful of press waiting to see if we can catch the Texas National Guard arriving in Broadview tonight.

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Terri Gerstein @terrigerstein.bsky.social · 1d

Janet Mills vetoed collective bargaining for farmworkers (2022); a minimum wage for farmworkers (2024); and a bill outlawing retaliation against farmworkers for discussing work conditions (2025). Is *that* what we need in a Democratic candidate?!? (1/2)

Axios @axios.com · 2d

Scoop: Maine Gov. Janet Mills is poised to jump into Maine Senate race

Scoop: Mills poised to jump into Maine Senate race

Gov. Janey Mills' entry into the race would set off another complicated Democratic primary.

trib.al

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

This South Side Weekly report on the Chicago building raid is well worth reading. Most striking to me are the indications of collusion between federal authorities and the building owner and management to effect a mass eviction at the blighted property. southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Corinne Blalock @corinneblalock.bsky.social · 1d

When Justice Powell was nominated to the Supreme Court, Philip Morris (his long time client) threw a party for him in which they gave him judges robes emblazoned with their logo

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

The situation in America is not great. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Does "fix" mean something different in Europe?

A headline in Politico: “European businesses barely use AI. Brussels wants to fix that.”

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

I may not "know the rules of basketball," but this is now a Napheesa Collier stan account

Jezebel @jezebeldotcom.bsky.social · 2d

But Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is proving herself a labor rights legend.
www.jezebel.com/the-wnba-con...

The WNBA Contract Negotiations Are as Intense as the Finals

But Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is proving herself a labor rights legend.

www.jezebel.com

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Loren DeJonge Schulman @lorenraeds.bsky.social · 2d

Former OMB associate director on personnel here: This is blatantly false and inexplicably undermines Congress's authority. Congress made extremely clear in 2019 that furloughed feds are to be paid, full stop, period. There is no question, except why the Speaker would make such a statement.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Bat 🦇 Borus @matthewborus.bsky.social · 2d

Back pay for furloughs used to be a question. It certainly caused me stress when I was furloughed in 2013.

That changed in 2019 with the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which unambiguously guarantees back pay.

It passed the House 411-7. Mike Johnson voted for it. Donald Trump signed it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 2d

Yes, they are. "Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations..." 31 USC 1341. It's not even close.

www.axios.com/2025/10/07/t...

Scoop: White House memo says furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to backpay

A move to deny backpay to up to 750,000 furloughed workers would dramatically escalate Trump's pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown.

www.axios.com

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: In May, a Texas police department said they used the powerful Flock surveillance network against a woman who had an abortion "for her safety"

Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime

www.404media.co/police-said-...

Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime

Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 2d

I know it's tiresome to play the "imagine if the parties were reversed" game, but thinking about how Republicans (and right-wing media) would be reacting if a Democratic-controlled House was refusing to swear in a newly elected *Republican* member may be the apotheosis of this particular meme.

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 2d

Speaking of:

bsky.app/profile/maxt...

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 2d

Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 2d

But no need to press the suit for either version

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 2d

One thing to take from this is that legacy media’s attempts to win back GOP audiences have utterly failed. If those attempts have also eroded trust among Dems and Independents, then they’re a massive own-goal.

Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 2d

Gallup has been surveying Americans' trust in legacy media since 1972. This year, a mere 28 percent of the public have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in legacy media, its lowest level in more than five decades of tracking.

news.gallup.com/poll/695762/...

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 3d

Union lawyer, union organizer, union president

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 3d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 2d

That’s a movie I haven’t thought about for ages…

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 3d

Law review article, symposium piece, book

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 3d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

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Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 3d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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