Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 16h

🚨 Be on the lookout this weekend, Michigan!

Ballot initiative season is in full swing — and we’ll have signature collectors at major events all across the state. 🖊️

Take a minute to make sure you sign Invest In MI Kids, Michiganders for Money out of Politics & RMV. The others are maga backed trash.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 1d

Just hours after former President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his 21-point peace plan the IDF launched an attack in central Gaza. According to Reuters, a number of IDF tanks fired on Palestinian civilians early this morning, outside of Deir Al-Balah.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 1d

“We’ll be making cuts that will be permanent… only Democrat programs.”

So he’s admitting his plan is to gut programs millions rely on — healthcare, education, climate action — not because they don’t work, but because Democrats created them.
That’s not policy.
That’s revenge.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 1d

A new Progress Michigan poll shows that a majority of Michiganders—59 percent—support withdrawing U.S. military aid to Israel amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, placing public opinion sharply at odds with current U.S. policy.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 1d

This week, Distill Social spoke to House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. He did not mince words about the GOP, the government shutdown and who's to blame for the stalemate in Washington.

open.substack.com/pub/distills...

Hakeem Jeffries to Michiganders: Speaker Johnson Is Hiding the Epstein Files and Holding America Hostage

Jeffries Spoke with Distill Social and said the GOP was ‘Running Scared’

open.substack.com

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 2d

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) delivered a powerful and compassionate message during the government shutdown, emphasizing the severe human cost of the political stalemate, particularly on essential federal workers like air traffic controllers.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 2d

Metro Times posted a scathing exposé on MI Rep. Josh Schriver that let us know he's not as pure as he claims to be. And in Kalamazoo, US Rep. Bill Huizenga still doesn't want to appear in public.

open.substack.com/pub/distills...

Hypocrisy and Hideouts: Michigan’s Purity Patron Exposed and the GOP Congressman Who Can’t Show Up

Josh Schriver's history tab is full of fetish sites and Bill Huizenga still can't face his people.

open.substack.com

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 2d

Donald Trump is threatening to strip more than $1 billion in federal grants from GM and Stellantis, funds meant to modernize factories and keep Michigan at the center of the EV revolution. The cuts are a part of a wide variety of proposed reduction in Federal support for clean energy projects.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 3d

Michigan Rep. Josh Schriver is under fire after records from a major data breach linked his email to a fetish-oriented hookup site that listed explicit interests like “groupsex,” even as he leads a public crusade to ban online pornography and censor depictions of transgender identity.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 3d

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is defending Trump’s Medicaid work requirements. According to a report from Metro Times, Duggan spoke on Medicaid at a Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce stating “These Medicaid cuts are not as bad as they look, if state government knows what it’s doing”.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 3d

In our latest Substack, we talk about the current use of Federal force in Chicago and which leaders in Michigan are calling for the same to happen here.

open.substack.com/pub/distills...

Great Lakes Politics: Chicago Federal Raids & the National Guard Debate in Detroit

How federal raids turned into Michigan campaign fodder.

open.substack.com

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 4d

Donald Trump's comments in the Oval Office regarding a potential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, drew immediate fire for appearing to minimize a criminal offense. When asked about Maxwell, who was convicted of luring underage girls for sexual abuse, Trump stated he would "speak to the DOJ" about it.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 4d

David Hogg is doubling down on his mission to shake up a complacent Dem establishment. His group, Leaders We Deserve, has made its first big move, endorsing Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney over US House Rep. incumbent Shri Thanedar, signaling a push for fresher, more progressive leadership.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 5d

State Rep. Karen Whitsett’s record in Lansing has become a case study in political neglect dressed up as defiance. The Detroit Democrat has skipped a staggering 77% of House session days this year, claiming that attending votes and debates simply isn’t worth the drive or the cost of dog care.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 7d

In Logan Square, Chicago, a routine afternoon at the Rico Fresh Market turned chaotic when a masked federal agent in an unmarked SUV threw chemical irritant canisters into the street, sending bystanders scrambling.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 7d

Michigan kids woke up with a bipartisan school aid budget that delivers.

📚 Record per-pupil funding: $10,050 per student
🥪 Free breakfast & lunch for every child
🧠 Mental health & school safety funding preserved
🚌 Rural busing
📖 Support for special education & literacy
🍎 Teacher bonuses secured

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 8d

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested along with a number of high profile activists after Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian convoy attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza and deliver food and medical supplies.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 9d

A unified Democratic delegation is holding the line against a federal government shutdown, accusing President Trump and congressional Republicans of manufacturing a crisis to advance an agenda that is actively dismantling healthcare for working Americans.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 9d

Dear MAGAS,

Stop lying. There is zero proof undocumented people are getting free healthcare just like there was no proof they were eating cats and dogs.

Sincerely,
All critical thinkers

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 9d

While most of us were sleeping, Michigan’s new fiscal year began and lawmakers passed a short-term funding plan to keep things running.
 Now the clock’s ticking — they have one week to pass a full state budget.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 10d

His priority isn’t you, it’s chaos and cruelty.
He’d rather shut it all down than stop your healthcare costs from going through the roof.

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 10d

PLEASE REACH OUT AND URGE GARY TO HOLD THE LINE
DC Phone: (202) 224-6221
Send him an electronic message here: www.peters.senate.gov/contact/emai...

Email Gary | U.S. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Gary Peters of Michigan

www.peters.senate.gov

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 10d

🚨CALL TO ACTION: WE Appreciate Senator Gary Peters voting NO today.
Please call Gary and urge him to continue to vote no on the Republican budget so we don't continue to gut healthcare for Americans so the 1% can have tax cuts.
PLEASE REACH OUT AND URGE GARY TO HOLD THE LINE!
DC Phone:(202) 224-6221

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 10d

Michigan's budget is back in flux and the military is bored of Trump and Hegseth. Thad and more on our Substack!

open.substack.com/pub/distills...

From Lansing to D.C., Republicans Trade Leadership for Chaos

While Democrats show up to govern, Republicans gamble with schools, services, and national security.

open.substack.com

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Distill Social @distillsocial.bsky.social · 10d

Congress is paralyzed as House Speaker Mike Johnson, backed by the GOP’s far-right flank, steers the country toward yet another manufactured crisis. Instead of legislating, Republicans are holding the government hostage with political brinkmanship.

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