Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

davidpham5 @davidpham5.bsky.social · 3h

I’m reading the Seven Basic Stories and I’m thinking of Andor. I don’t quite know where it fits but it’s sophistication in telling a story of encroaching tyranny and ultimately the founding of the rebellion stands miles apart from the Star Wars prequels. Lucas was trying to tell the same story.

Reposted by davidpham5

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 4h

Trump just said online the "Biden FBI" placed agents into the crowd on January 6, but Trump was president on January 6.

94 220 890

Reposted by davidpham5

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 4h

JD Vance indicates to NBC that Trump isn't opposed to invoking the Insurrection Act.

A key line from Vance: "The problem here is not the Insurrection Act or whether we actually invoke it or not."

86 250 780

Reposted by davidpham5

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 4h

more of this. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back

16 95 660

Reposted by davidpham5

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 3h

The wrong was assuming that the Constitution and the law matters, which the Roberts Court is rapidly illustrating is false, at least while the court remains under Republican control.

3 27 220

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

Democracy Americana is a publication solely funded by readers. If you find pieces like this one helpful, you can subscribe for free – or, better yet: If you can, consider becoming a paid member. As an independent writer, I fully rely on your help to make this work possible. Thank you!🙏

Democracy Americana

A newsletter on U.S. politics and history - and the ongoing struggle over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America

steady.page

4 62 460

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

The Daily’s credulous/willfully ignorant/deliberately misleading portrait of Vought matters because it is indicative of a much broader tendency to normalize the assault on the constitutional order - to sanitize those who are responsible for it and the extremist ideas that are animating them.

9 140 890

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

Vought is at war with large swaths of the population, with the very idea of a society defined by democratic pluralism. If you have correctly identified that this guy is now in a really powerful position, that people like him are in control of the government, how is that not the main story?

7 180 1K

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

Vought’s ideology of “radical constitutionalism” captures the defining sensibility on the Trumpist Right: “The Left,” he believes, has command of America, there is nothing left to conserve, nothing short of a radical “counter-revolution” can now save the nation.

2 80 680

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

Vought is not interested in “normal” democratic politics: He seeks to “traumatize” civil servants, use the military to suppress protests, and sees Trump as an agent of God’s will. He is convinced to be fighting a noble war to defend his “real America” of white Christian patriarchal rule.

5 190 1K

Reposted by davidpham5

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

What he’s railing against is a profound shift in culture, status… He’s obsessed with the idea that America is controlled by a leftist “ruling elite” - but “elite” isn’t defined socio-economically or by political power, it means something like: Getting to define “real America” and who gets to belong.

17 190 1.6K

Reposted by davidpham5

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 6h

a key thing about vought — and all of these guys — is that they have a totally top down and hierarchical vision of the world. they believe that the cultural changes they hate can be turned off by destroying the federal government because they can’t imagine that they emerged bottom-up in society

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 6h

What he’s railing against is a profound shift in culture, status… He’s obsessed with the idea that America is controlled by a leftist “ruling elite” - but “elite” isn’t defined socio-economically or by political power, it means something like: Getting to define “real America” and who gets to belong.

240 2.6K 11K

Reposted by davidpham5

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 5h

Sens. Schumer, Merkley, Murray, and Peters are calling for the resignation of OMB Director Russell Vought.

"By impounding billions of dollars … and aggressively pursuing the illegal use of pocket rescissions, Vought has done everything in his power to gut the federal government piece by piece."

66 630 2.1K

Reposted by davidpham5

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 5h

What if all of these were just DMs?

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 7h

This has real -- I intended to dm "Pam" -- energy.

190 540 3.3K

davidpham5 @davidpham5.bsky.social · 5h

Print is back. Go read Wired Magazine
cc @katie-drummond.bsky.social

1 3 51

Reposted by davidpham5

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 7h

Just wanted to note that right after the clip cuts off the bystander filming asks the man being detained for his name and he shouts it out. The man also said to contact his family. Getting information from the scene is an important way to try to help.

1 56 430

Reposted by davidpham5

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 6h

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

28 390 1.5K

Reposted by davidpham5

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

A trend I’ve noticed after having watched too many of these despicable ICE arrest videos is when bystanders demand they let detainee go, an officer suggests they’re being picked up for a serious crime to try and deter help. But we know that’s not true of a vast majority of people and the jig is up.

14 180 1.2K

Reposted by davidpham5

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

New — Video shared with me shows ICE officers in DC detaining a man on Friday.

Bystander filming asks man for his name. ICE agent lies and says he’s not allowed to speak to him “by law” and another says “We’ve arrested American citizens for being too close…If he gets any closer, put him in cuffs.”

210 2.5K 5.5K

Reposted by davidpham5

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 6h

Vance says Trump is ‘looking at all his options’ as the president threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

Vance says Trump is ‘looking at all his options’ as the president threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act

The Insurrection Act would allow the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically for law enforcement purposes.

www.nbcnews.com

39 74 160

Reposted by davidpham5

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 6h

there really are no words. the compounding tragedies. the americanness of it all.

1 1 15

Reposted by davidpham5

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 6h

Needed to sleep on this and my god the evil of this news. I don't have better words than that.

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 18h

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

4 18 81

Reposted by davidpham5

Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 9h

It's tough to take these arguments seriously from those building AI slop TikTok.

You can read the entire essay below

Superintelligence Isn’t Enough

AI has many answers—but it can’t by itself build a new society.

www.persuasion.community

2 4 44

Reposted by davidpham5

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 9h

The Trump administration has promoted the anti-vax, anti-science movement which has now produced an epidemic www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

78 680 1.5K

Reposted by davidpham5

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 9h

The antivax crew scores some of their first modern US measles outbreaks, sickening kids and knocking students out of school for weeks in SC, MN, UT & AZ

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 9h

The Trump administration has promoted the anti-vax, anti-science movement which has now produced an epidemic www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

3 53 130