Author | Lightnews

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Dr. Damien P. Williams! Look over here! … It's All For You! @wolvendamien.bsky.social · 20h

Again: If SNAP payments don't go out tomorrow, it's because Trump and the Republicans went out of their way to defy judges' orders so that they could continue to refuse to help keep people alive.

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Dr. Damien P. Williams! Look over here! … It's All For You! @wolvendamien.bsky.social · 20h

Federal Judges have ruled a) that the President does have the authority to release emergency SNAP funds during the shutdown & b) that Trump *Must* do so.

That means if payments don't go out, it's because Trump & the republicans defied the Judiciary to refuse to use their authority to send them out.

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 3d

This is also the irony, unremarked upon by Peters, that Mamdani's speech about the unfinished project of democracy is deeply rooted in American political rhetoric, and from figures as ideologically diverse as MLK and Ronald Reagan. It is Vance's blood and soil nationalism that is a departure./5

In his speech criticizing “elites,” Vice President Vance objected to Mr. Mamdani’s Fourth of July social media post declaring his pride in a country that is “beautiful, contradictory, unfinished.”

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 3d

Hi

quick question

real quick

How many people are devotees of ballrooms

built by aspiring kings

demolishing American historical buildings

while food stamps are in danger of being shut off?

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 4d

I know it’s too much to expect them to know their history, but if the American Revolution had a motto, it definitely would not have been “immigrants go home.”

It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”

Craig Harrington @craigipedia.bsky.social · 4d

America... boy, I dunno.

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 4d

it would be good if, say, the New York Times reported that all of this stuff is *wildly* illegal under the Hatch Act.

Cadence ”Port Game Use Crane” Andrysiak @supportourpoops.bsky.social · 4d

man

Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 5d

This does seem bad but I don't want to draw conclusions from anecdotes. I'd like to see data on the rate of accidents recently, and I would need someone more expert than me to draw a throughline with an explanation of how 10 months of inept leadership might be causative.

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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 5d

Measles was eliminated in the US in 2000. Gone, with the exception of international travelers bringing it back in and causing small outbreaks. But now it's roaring back — it's incredibly contagious — thanks to guess who. Guess who!

Yup. Anti-vaxxers.

NBC News @nbcnews.com · 5d

More than 120 people have contracted measles in a community along the Arizona and Utah border, officials say. NBC News’ Erika Edwards details why the area is seeing a surge in cases — and how it’s spreading to touristy spots.

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the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist) @merovingians.bsky.social · 5d

this is in fact exactly why you stay non-violent and disciplined, so that this isn't just seen as pushing and shoving and instead the unlawful assault by the state that it is

Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 5d

This video from Portland is a metaphor for what is going on in America. ICE trying so hard to get Americans to cross a line and if they don't, dragging them across the line and violently attacking.

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 5d

Yes. This is definitely a cartoon from the past. Not at all a recent movie.

(...it could have been so much a better movie. Jem is in the Transformers Universe!)

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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 5d

This video from Portland is a metaphor for what is going on in America. ICE trying so hard to get Americans to cross a line and if they don't, dragging them across the line and violently attacking.

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 6d

Thank you for introducing me to this delightful moment in artistic history.

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 6d

I'm not saying I *believe* this conspiracy theory - that Trump murdered someone and is demolishing the place to cover up the evidence - but I am saying it amuses me sufficiently that I might *repeat* this theory - that Trump is destroying evidence of killing someone - every now and then.

bmazing.bsky.social @bmazing.bsky.social · 7d

Not sure if anyone else is saying this, but someone definitely got killed in there, right? Like a Trump literally murdered a human (or humans) in the east wing. Is there any other legitimate explanation for both the project itself and the speed of the demolition?

evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 6d

How I Got Out of the Labyrinth: A Thread

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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 7d

I don’t need to explain why it’s wildly unacceptable for the military to be illegally privately financed by the president’s wealthy allies, right?

Adam Cancryn @adamcancryn.bsky.social · 7d

New: The Pentagon confirms to CNN it will funnel $130M from an anonymous Trump “friend” toward military pay.

Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...

Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics

The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Dep...

www.cnn.com

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steve3797.bsky.social @steve3797.bsky.social · 8d

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GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 7d

using illegal and unconstitutional accounting gimmicks to keep paying the military so that you can deploy them to launch illegal and undeclared wars in colombia and venezuela while the rest of the government remains shut down is getting pretty close to the Very Bad scenarios

GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 7d

this is why i keep asking about the federal government's books, because everything they're doing is the kind of thing that creates massive accounting disruptions, and it's like no one in political media has even given a single thought to it

Dr Alex Cruikshanks @alexsaysstuff.bsky.social · 7d

Something that's just occurred to me is how are they going to account for these payments when the shutdown ends? Like, if they act as if these were part of regular paid salaries, you're going to see some soldiers bring claims of "No, that was a private gift, pay my full wages on top of that please".

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 8d

Odds are this aggressively did not happen. But it would of course be just as unconstitutional to spend money donated to the government without a duly enacted appropriation as it is to spend tax money that way.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Trump: "By the way, a friend of mine called us the other day and he said 'I'd like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown. I'd like to contribute any shortfall you have with the military.' Today, he sent us a check for $130 million. It's gonna go the military."

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Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · 9d

Donald Trump's tearing down of the East Wing is illegal, and our leaders need to be saying so. He is breaking the law and betraying the country. This has become a rule of law issue now.

savingplaces.org/stories/nati...

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Lissa Harris🐀 @lissaharris.bsky.social · 9d

my friend’s housemate, an Afghani with an asylum case, was taken by ICE

there is a petition for his release that emails the ICE field office responsible. please sign and boost

humanrightsfirst.quorum.us/campaign/Fre...

Free Ali

Help Us Ensure Ali is Reunited With His Family

humanrightsfirst.quorum.us

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 9d

Yup. It's really the perfect metaphor for all his crimes:

Abuse of process
Open corruption
Destruction of the notion of "public"
Bad taste

All during a government shutdown necessitated by tax cut for some of the zillionaires who paid for the ball room.

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 9d

Trump has done many many many many many things that are worse than this, but I bet this is one of the things that turns people.

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Mike Rothschild @rothschildmd.bsky.social · 9d

The optics of Trump building a ballroom that 99.9% of Americans will never set foot in while millions line up for food banks are worth more than any policy paper or economic proposal. This image is a visceral punch in the mouth that needs no words. It should haunt the GOP for a generation.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

a live look at the demolition of the White House's East Wing for Trump's ballroom

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evrythingcounts.bsky.social @evrythingcounts.bsky.social · 10d

Known to me from one of those individual lines from a book that stick in one's memory, in this case from Susan Cooper's "Dark is Rising" sequence, on hardtack: "Not so good halfway across the Atlantic I can tell you. By then you would swap the lot for a good warm slice of bara brith."

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Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 10d

Putting a Democrat with a Nazi tattoo in the Senate normalizes Naziism in our federal politics for a long ass time.

All these recent stories about secret Nazi group chats? Anytime that happens going forward will be met with "But Platner."

It's not a purity test. Think through the consequences.

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David Ryan Miller @davidryanmiller.com · 10d

It's not "budgetary Twister," it's willfully violating Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution.

Just because President Trump chooses to ignore Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 does not mean that the NYT should pretend Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 does not exist.

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