Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Alexander Howard

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 1d

MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

🇺🇸 “If YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of their religion, race, or national origin — don’t wait: tell them THAT KIND OF TALK IS UN-AMERICAN”— Superman
www.denofgeek.com/culture/supe...

Restored DC Comics poster showing Superman encouraging students not to stand up against bigotry & prejudice

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

I take the dogs walking in the woods because I wish to live deliberately, to reduce my gaze to only the essential facts of life & death, & determine if I could not learn what nature still has to teach me, & not, whenever I die, discover that I had not fully lived.

(Credit to HD Thoreau.)

#unwiring

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

The correct response to Republicans widely depicting the coming protests as terrorism is to go out and protest. Each person should get 10 more people to do so. If Republicans are going to hint at violent state responses to legitimate protest, the only answer is bigger numbers.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

By contrast, JB Pritzker told me that people should flood the No Kings protests precisely in order to let the American people know that something is deeply amiss.

More Dems should be doing this, to send the message widely that we are in real trouble right now.

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Angus Johnston @angus.bsky.social · 1d

There was never going to be a moment when everyone—everyone in government, everyone in media, everyone in the population—was roused to action at the same time. We're turning a battleship. And Pritzker understands that.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

By contrast, JB Pritzker told me that people should flood the No Kings protests precisely in order to let the American people know that something is deeply amiss.

More Dems should be doing this, to send the message widely that we are in real trouble right now.

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 1d

Who was president in 2020?

Senate Rs spent hours Wed insisting a Biden Censorship Regime was in power.

It’s ridiculous on its face—but dangerous in its purpose.

If you can convince people of that lie, you can justify what Trump is doing now. It’s “just payback”.

open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...

Who was president in 2020?

On pressure, coercion, and confrontations with reality

open.substack.com

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

My neighborhood is full of free expression these days.

I have a feeling many of our Halloween 🎃 pumpkins are going to be …lit this year.

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

No Kings 2 is Saturday, Oct. 18.

Nobody is getting paid to be there. But you can demonstrate to the world that you oppose the rise of fascism in the U.S.

Find your local protest here: www.nokings.org#map

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Sen. Roger Marshall: "October 18 is when the protest gets here. This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters. The agitators show up. We'll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it."

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

CRS: “If an individual in the US espouses extremist beliefs, such as anarchy or the superiority of the white race, that behavior is generally protected speech under the 1st Amendment.” www.congress.gov/crs-product/...
USAG & WH are pushing this illiberal line.

It’s a predicate for state violence.

Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

The Minority Leader has found his voice, now that Trump’s authoritarianism has been amply reflected in deeds for 262 days after inauguration.
This conflict between Trump & the rule of law in an independent judiciary was inevitable. Best to go to the mats now, before democratic integrity wanes more.

Chuck Schumer @schumer.senate.gov · 1d

This is what tyranny looks like. President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting him for fraud—and winning.

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 2d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 1d

Lots of folks talking about this. This was one of the most heavily discussed parts of the TRO request, and I covered some of that on Monday.

tl;dr: Read Law Dork; be informed.

www.lawdork.com/p/illinois-l...

It is further ORDERED that all Federal Agents, excepting those who do not wear a
uniform or other distinguishing clothing or equipment in the regular performance of their official
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Case: 1:25-cv-12173 Document #: 42 Filed: 10/09/25 Page 5 of 6 PagelD #:839
duties or are engaged in undercover operations in the regular performance of their official duties, must have visible identification (for which a unique recognizable alphanumeric identifier sequence
will suffice) affixed to their uniforms or helmets and prominently displayed, including when
wearing riot gear.

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

This member of the Society of Friends in the USA views unconstitutional orders & repression of dissent here similarly.

Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · 2d

Quakers in Britain have warned that new government plans to tighten protest laws even further are "not only unnecessary but dangerous".

Quakers warn new protest powers “dangerous and unnecessary”

Quakers in Britain have warned that new government plans to tighten protest laws even further are “not only unnecessary but dangerous”.

www.quaker.org.uk

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · 2d

Quakers in Britain have warned that new government plans to tighten protest laws even further are "not only unnecessary but dangerous".

Quakers warn new protest powers “dangerous and unnecessary”

Quakers in Britain have warned that new government plans to tighten protest laws even further are “not only unnecessary but dangerous”.

www.quaker.org.uk

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 1d

Lots of folks dislike Obamacare, but appreciate the ACA & subsidies. It’s the reason we see signs about keeping the Government’s hands off of Medicare.
MTG is hardcore on many issues of core importance to democracy, but she may also be in tune with her constituents in ways many of her peers are not.

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

Don’t sleep on how her donor base means she’s not beholden to the party for funding

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

It’s satire, but the delta between President Donald J. Trump & AG Bondi’s rhetoric about transparency & the reality of this White House & the Justice Department may never have been greater in US history. e-pluribusunum.org/2025/04/30/w...

youtube.com/shorts/fusEY...

Pam Bondi is so transparent, you can see right through her #dailyshow #pambondi

YouTube video by The Daily Show

youtube.com

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

3 of the most powerful words in journalism: “Help us investigate”

“Transparency of sources & ownership, accountability, quality & objectivity are the keys to restoring the role of citizens as protagonists in the system, convincing them to demand information worthy of the name.”-Pope Leo XIV

Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America

404 Media has gotten a grant to unearth public records about systematic censorship of books, schools, and libraries in the U.S.

www.404media.co

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

As a good governance type, I am glad to see @davidsirota.com write about corruption & the reforms necessary to fight it — open beneficial ownership is a key missing plank here:
www.thebulwark.com/p/anti-corru...
To be credible, Democrats must not tolerate corrupt Members (see: Biden & Menendez)

How Anti-Corruption Can Be a Winning Issue for Democrats

It’s a powerful, unifying theme—and it’s tied to the crisis of democracy under Trump.

www.thebulwark.com

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Reposted by Alexander Howard

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 2d

Nothing remotely resembling an insurrection is happening anywhere in the country. Any violence associated with protest has been isolated, mild, and, in nearly every case, instigated by federal law enforcement. If we let Trump get away with calling dissent an insurrection, our republic is over.

BREAKING: Trump Admin 'Seriously' Considering Using the Insurrection Act, Reports NBC

President Trump is "seriously" considering invoking the Insurrection Act in order to more easily deploy National Guard troops to major cities as part of crime crackdown, NBC reported on Wednesday

www.mediaite.com

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

“Doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime, but it is a right that must be protected. Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason, we are called to defend and guarantee it.” — Pope Leo XIV
press.vatican.va/content/sala...

Audience with participants in the 39th Conference of the MINDS International Association

press.vatican.va

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

Can’t take credit for
youtu.be/jwQHHNWwfi8?...

Trump mispronounces ‘Namibia’ in speech to African leaders

YouTube video by Washington Post

youtu.be

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

“He has demanded the Ministry of Justice prosecute his political opponents & told top military leaders that he wanted to fight the “enemy within,” raising grave concerns about how much further the plagued superpower will slide towards authoritarianism before Nambia’s gerontocratic Parliament acts.”

“What would you say if you saw it in another country?”

For years, professor Brendan Nyhan has asked us “what would you say if you saw this in another country?”

digiphile.medium.com

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

“The President of Nambia said a provincial governor & mayor of the former British colony’s 3rd largest city should be jailed, after they opposed deploying National Guard troops from another province to back raids. International observers are warning of escalating risks.”
apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump says Illinois governor and Chicago mayor should be jailed as they oppose Guard deployment

President Donald Trump says the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s thir...

apnews.com

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 2d

They’re still selling them in the stores & online.
There was no one trying them out at the Carnegie location when I was there last.
No killer app that early adopters are raving about & sharing, from what I can see.
Apple is now pivoting, after Meta made glasses people want for a tenth of the price.

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