Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Theresa

Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 25m

For the past two weeks, a three-judge federal panel has been hearing a high-stakes trial that will decide whether the Texas GOP can keep their new gerrymander. While most national outlets missed it, we were on the ground.

Here are the key takeaways👇
https://bit.ly/4pXR0LY

‘We Could Not Have Clearer Facts’: Minority Advocates Say Racial Motive Is Evident As Texas Redistricting Hearing Wraps Up

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

5 63 180

Reposted by Theresa

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 25m

At what point will our media ask about Trump’s obvious mental decline? He’s so far gone that he does not remember he was president in January 6, 2021

14 99 420

Reposted by Theresa

Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 2h

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

86 1.4K 2.5K

Reposted by Theresa

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 16m

Never mind the other lie that Republicans are working on it. The House is out of session so they’re doing nothing

1 1 26

Reposted by Theresa

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 18m

Republicans literally passed their healthcare plan in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. That’s why we are here

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20m

Johnson strikes a patronizing tone about MTG: "Republicans have been working around the clock on healthcare. They're on the committees of jurisdiction that deal with this. Marjorie doesn't serve on those committees, so I offered to have her come into the room and be a part of those discussions."

3 9 52

Reposted by Theresa

in absentia n color @soundsncolor.bsky.social · 6h

This may be one of the worst ICE deportation stories I’ve ever fucking read.

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 12h

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

1 35 130

Reposted by Theresa

lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 22m

alan moore hated people like thiel misinterpreting his work so profoundly that he dropped out of public life to become a shaman and worship a snake deity

Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 2h

thiel, man, what the fuck are you talking about

He describes the plot of Watchmen, a 1986 graphic novel involving superheroes grappling with moral questions about humanity against the backdrop of impending nuclear war:

The antihero Ozymandias, the antichrist-type figure, is sort of an early-modern person. He believes this will be a timeless and eternal solution – eternal world peace. Moore is sort of a late-modern. In early modernity, you have ideal solutions, ‘perfect’ solutions to calculus. In late modernity, things are sort of probabilistic. And at some point, he asks Dr Manhattan whether the world government is going to last. And he says that ‘nothing lasts forever.’ So you embrace the antichrist and it still doesn’t work.

Thiel later finds biblical meaning in the manga One Piece, discussing how he believes it represents a future where an antichrist-like one-world government has repressed science. He believes that the hero, Monkey D Luffy, represents a Christlike figure.

In One Piece, you are set in a fantasy world, again sort of an alternate earth, but it’s 800 years into the reign of this one-world state. Which, as the story unfolds, gradually gets darker and darker. You sort of realize, in my interpretation, who runs the world and it’s something like the antichrist. There’s Luffy, a pirate who wears a red straw hat, sort of like Christ’s crown of thorns. And then towards the end of the story, transforms into a figure who resembles Christ in Revelation.

Thiel, along with a researcher and writer at Thiel Capital, explored these ideas at greater length in an essay for the religious journal First Things earlier this month.

9 29 340

Reposted by Theresa

Jesus drank. @biancatempt.bsky.social · 24m

"This is the grain of sand at the center of the pearl of my ire, because "we are going to have to live here with each other" is the exact premise that Republicans do not agree with any of us about, and . . . Klein . . .
excises this reality entirely."

A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 7d

I wrote about why the regrettable conclusions of Ezra Klein pissed me off so badly in the last couple weeks.

On moral cowardice in an era that calls for clarity, and a popular political instinct to try to solve divisions of abuse by ignoring causes. www.the-reframe.com/eventually-y...

Eventually You're Going to Have to Stand for Something

On accepting the fascist offer and being better than Ezra.

www.the-reframe.com

19 58

Reposted by Theresa

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 11m

A reason why we got here is that the media stopped reporting facts and replaced reporting with making everything a reality tv show where contestants fight one another. It turned lying from a liability into an advantage since it would no longer be punished

2 29 110

Reposted by Theresa

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 11m

Protestors believe that action has meaning. Protestors are exercising the rights enshrined in the Constitution. For me, protest is about love of country. I will be there on October 18th, and I hope you will be too.
#NoKings
snyder.substack.com/p/no-kings-f...

No Kings — Freedom (video)

Why protest is patriotic

snyder.substack.com

7 93 330

Reposted by Theresa

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Great point from @mjtoma.bsky.social: Millions of us absolutely do see what's happening to the USA.

"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."

newrepublic.com/post/201625/...

Memo to Future Historians: This Is Fascism, and Millions of Us See It

From Chicago to Portland, James Comey to Letitia James, and so much else—this is no longer America.

newrepublic.com

92 1.2K 3.5K

Reposted by Theresa

boomdrummer.bsky.social @boomdrummer.bsky.social · 6h

1 6 19

Reposted by Theresa

Thiel, Musk & Murdoch’s Influence in 🇦🇺🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Politics‼️ @dove333.bsky.social · 7h

It’s all in Project 2025.

They want NO free press.

4 23

Reposted by Theresa

Shawna O @nonnashawna.bsky.social · 6h

Meanwhile in Portland:

www.npr.org/2025/10/11/n...

How social media influencers are promoting National Guard troop deployment to Portland

The Trump administration is working with right-wing influencers to shape the public's understanding of protests against ICE in Portland, Ore.

www.npr.org

5 7

Reposted by Theresa

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 6h

He should be arrested.

The agent who shot Marimar in Chicago should be arrested.

The one who shot the priest outside of Broadview should be arrested.

For all we know, they get a bonus for the extra brutality.

3 8 76

Reposted by Theresa

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 9h

Chicago journalist Debbie Brockman, who was thrown to the ground & handcuffed by ICE, has been released without charges

DHS said she assaulted an officer, but eye witnesses claim she didn’t

The lack of charges makes it clear that ICE is lying to try and cover up the fact that they attack the press

160 1.8K 4.9K

Reposted by Theresa

Constance Lee Menefee @conniemenefee.bsky.social · 1h

Bullfrog of the day!
Sunday, 12 Oct 2025

Bullfrog looking up to left, spattered with duckweed, sitting in duckweed and sun dapples

8 37

Reposted by Theresa

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 21h

“[T]he broader aim of all this agitprop is far uglier. Trump has employed a form of state propaganda that may be unrivaled by any presidency in modern memory, and these MAGA influencers are generating material for that vile effort.”

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

This MAGA propaganda is deeply sinister. Stephen Miller has been lying about Portland/Chicago relentlessly. It's core to his project: He's trying to establish quasi-absolute power for Trump to simply invent pretexts by fiat to justify whatever abuses he launches. 5/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

4 92 270

Reposted by Theresa

JulieW67 @juliew67.bsky.social · 3h

#10minutesfromhome #SilentSunday #Eastcoastkin
#Stunday #ClassicMono
Hollinhurst Park Early this morning covered in a blanket of fog

A black and white photo of a football field at Hollinhurst Park in Radcliffe covered in a blanket of fog.
The field is lined with trees that are barely visible.
A young boy wearing dark clothes stands alone on the right looking down at the ground.
He was actually with a group from a football club out of sight that were inspecting the pitch.

4 13 93

Reposted by Theresa

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1h

The firehose of easily disprovable lies from Trump and his allies continues to get worse each month, with one statement after another completely untethered from reality, which is why it is so important for them to take ownership and control of media platforms & intimidate others.

60 390 1.5K

Reposted by Theresa

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1h

Epstein files giving House Republicans over two months paid vacation and counting.

170 1.4K 3.9K

Reposted by Theresa

For the Love of Missy @missybbbobtail.bsky.social · 2h

It's really too early in the morning for the sing-songy voice, doncha think?

20 20 400

Reposted by Theresa

Rob Crank Photography @robcrank68.bsky.social · 8h

Good morning to you all, now it's time for #StunDay

This week i'm going with a male Bearded Tit with it's 'Splits Pose' using 2 reeds to balance Ninja Style at RSPB Leighton Moss.

#birds #photography #EastCoastKin #naturephotography #ukbirding #birdphotography #BirdLife #BeardedTits #naturetherapy

37 98 970

Reposted by Theresa

Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · 13h

#ResistanceRoots
#NationalHispanicHeritageMonth

Do you enjoy New Mexico chiles? I know I do. And for that, we can thank Mexican American horticulturist Fabian García, who has been described as the “father of the New Mexican food industry” because of his pioneering work. /1

An array of chiles grown in New Mexico. Photo credit: NewMexico.org.

9 56 140

Theresa @cookingtheresa.bsky.social · 22m

👇

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 5d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 5d

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