Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 1d

"Immediately upon returning to office, in January, the president signed an executive order to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment to ban birthright citizenship, the legality of which is still being debated in the courts. Heritage Americans seems engineered to move the goalposts even further."

Are You a ‘Heritage American’?

Why some on the right want to know if your ancestors were here during the Civil War

www.theatlantic.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 1d

You're welcome!

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 1d

Gift article:"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel recently warned that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg & critics of technology or artificial intelligence are “legionnaires of the Antichrist” in private lectures on Christianity that connected government oversight of Silicon Valley to an apocalyptic future"

Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction

In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.

wapo.st

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 1d

Gift article: "The furor grew after Fox News reported on the petition. Dr. Bray’s home address was revealed on social media. He received several death threats, including one vowing to kill him in front of his students."

Rutgers Expert on Antifa Flees to Spain After Death Threats

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Information

Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 6d

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

3.5K 16K 44K

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 9d

"There is a certain kind of Army officer who, after the excitement of company command, finds his career stalled, and who perhaps leaves the service as a major in the National Guard filled with bitterness and resentment."

Pete Hegseth Is Living the Dream

A man who retired as a major lectures hundreds of generals about the need to meet his standards.

www.theatlantic.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 9d

"[...] they was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other," Watson said. "That's all I kept asking. What is the morality? Where's the human? One of them literally laughed. He was standing right here. He said, 'f*** them kids.'"

ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground

ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.

abc7chicago.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 14d

Gift article: “Christians must learn to hate again,” a Texas pastor posted on X, citing a Psalm that reads, “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?”

Charlie Kirk and the ‘Third Great Awakening’

MAGA is embracing the language of a rising Christian movement.

www.theatlantic.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 14d

Gift article: "In a matter of months, the Justice Department’s independence has been obliterated as it has launched numerous investigations aimed at Trump’s perceived enemies as part of his promised retribution campaign."

Trump’s push for political prosecutions upends a cornerstone of American democracy | Editorial

Enabled by conservative Supreme Court members and elected Republicans, the president's crackdown on political enemies and free speech makes Richard Nixon look like a jackleg.

share.inquirer.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 14d

“The President has sent agents here to create chaos and riots in Portland, to induce a reaction, to induce protests, to induce conflicts. His goal is to make Portland look like what he’s been describing it as,” Oregon’s junior senator, Jeff Merkley said

Donald Trump says he is deploying troops to Portland, Oregon

Apparently misled by hyperbolic reporting from conservative outlets on a single small protest, president described peaceful city as ‘war ravaged’

www.theguardian.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 14d

"The acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento has said she was fired after telling the Border Patrol chief in charge of immigration raids in California that his agents were not allowed to arrest people without probable cause in the Central Valley."

Veteran U.S. attorney in California insisted Border Patrol follow a court order. Then she was fired

Michele Beckwith, U.S. attorney in Sacramento, said she was let go after warning the border patrol's Gregory Bovino not to violate a court injunction.

www.latimes.com

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 15d

"Experts say Heritage's push not only distorts the data but also diverts attention from the extremist movements actually driving violence: nihilistic violent extremist networks, accelerationist neo-fascist movements, and lone actors motivated by any number of far-right culture war grievances."

Heritage Foundation Uses Bogus Stat to Push a Trans Terrorism Classification

By inflating numbers and narrowing definitions, Heritage promotes a false link between transgender identity and violence in its push for the FBI to create a new terrorism category.

www.wired.com

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 15d

Gift article: “Is this a call for violence?” the third paragraph says. “Yes. Explicitly it is.”

“I want blood in the streets,” he added in the column, which ran with the headline “Enough Is Enough … I Choose VIOLENCE!”

Daily Caller Opinion Column ‘Explicitly’ Calls for Violence

www.nytimes.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 15d

Gift article: "The timing of the event has been of particular concern: The speech is set for Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year. If there is a government shutdown, it could leave key staff stranded in Virginia [...]"

New details emerge on Hegseth’s unusual mass gathering of top brass

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals for what is expected to be a short lecture on the “warrior ethos.” But top brass is bracing for possible firings or demotions.

wapo.st

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 16d

"In the absence of any conceivable military justification for these acts, it is difficult to view them as anything but premeditated murder, pure and simple."

Getting Away with Murder | David Cole

During his first presidential campaign Donald Trump famously claimed that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose

www.nybooks.com

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 16d

Gift article: "Here’s what I now realize: One day in the not-so-distant future, many will look back at us and wonder how we managed to get through such troubling times. America is not OK."

America is not OK under Trump’s leadership | Jenice Armstrong

A trio of heavy hitters, including brothers Bryan and Howard Stevenson, will be at the Fitler Club on Thursday to talk about surviving in today's political climate.

share.inquirer.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 16d

"For transgender people, Kirk’s killing has unleashed a new wave of anti-trans hate so intense that some are now making plans to leave the country altogether."

Transgender Americans are seeing a wave of hate unleashed by Charlie Kirk’s killing | Erin Reed

In the aftermath of Kirk’s death, the far-right and Trump administration have turned up attacks on transgender people

www.theguardian.com

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 16d

Gift article: "Immigration attorneys with clients inside said detainees’ recent sit-ins and hunger strikes have resulted in officers entering cells in riot gear and putting at least four inmates in solitary confinement."

ICE began shipping immigrants to this tiny California town. Chaos has reigned ever since

ICE began sending immigrants to a new California detention center in small town in August. Since then, it has been inundated with activists, desperate families and utter confusion.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 16d

“I kept comparing it to a natural disaster,” one worker at the [CDC] told WIRED. “But it wasn’t natural. Just a stampede of wide-eyed, confused government employees moving files around and looking over their shoulders because they think maybe Elon was creeping behind them with a chain saw.”

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers

WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

www.wired.com

Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 17d

Gift article: "... some humanitarian programs in malaria, AIDS and food assistance from American farmers are likely to find their footing — yet aid will still be only a shadow of what it once was, and many hundreds of thousands of children are forecast to die as a result."

Opinion | The Lives and Money We Are Wasting

www.nytimes.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 17d

Gift article:"Trump last week forced out the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik S. Siebert, after he declined to prosecute Comey [...] Trump then installed a White House aide with no prosecutorial experience, Lindsey Halligan, as the interim U.S. attorney in the Virginia office"

Va. federal prosecutors preparing to seek Comey indictment, people familiar with matter say

The investigation centers on testimony James B. Comey gave before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.

wapo.st

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 18d

“The country overall, I think, is closer to accepting our position than they were 10 years ago,” Fuentes said in a recent livestream. “I think we're kind of still waiting for that inflection point, and once that happens, I think it happens all very quickly.”

Nick Fuentes’ Plan to Conquer America

For years, influencer Nick Fuentes was too extreme even for MAGA. Now he's working his way into the mainstream—and has a plan for his secret followers to seize the levers of power.

www.wired.com

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 18d

"It would be ideal if Klein felt the burning commitment to justice that Russell felt, so much so that he similarly would not see the point in pretending to be “on the same side of a larger project” as the likes of Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro."

How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review

Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.

www.bostonreview.net

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 19d

Gift article: “Every study that I’ve seen found that crosswalk art improves public safety,” Jewett said. “This move to eliminate all crosswalk art really seems to be about primarily cracking down on any artwork that might be pro-LGBTQ.”

Protests, arrests and assault in Florida as the state removes street art

Crews have paved or painted over hundreds of intersections and sidewalks that for years have been colorful symbols of community identity and, city leaders say, safety enhancements.

wapo.st

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Information @erininformation.bsky.social · 19d

"Shortly afterwards, a reporter informed me I appeared to be the first attorney targeted in a larger scheme in which federal agencies were instructed to formally accuse attorneys of unethical conduct to try to disable them and dissuade further litigation."

I sought to protect an immigrant legal client. Instead, I’m facing Trump’s new sanctions

I appear to be the first attorney targeted in a scheme that calls on federal agencies to accuse lawyers of unethical conduct

www.theguardian.com