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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light
@johnalight.bsky.social
35K followers 1.3K following 230 posts
I’m an editor at TPM. signal: johnalight.99 email: [email protected]
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 3h
Much of the coverage of this White House "compact" remains really very bad, including today's headlines about MIT. Read @fishkin.bsky.social on what's actually going on here.

talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-tru...
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Reposted by John Light
jameeljaffer.bsky.social
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 6h
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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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6h
The "how" in this headline is weird.
How Letitia James Will Do Her Day Job
www.nytimes.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 23h
Under the law the administration has cited to deploy the Guard, there must be an invasion, a rebellion, or some other set of events that make it impossible to enforce the law. Judges are (understandably!) skeptical that this criteria has been reached.
Greg Bovino Emerges as Trump’s Man For Conjuring Up a Blue-City Insurrection
Elected officials, activists, and at least one former high-ranking Department of Homeland...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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Reposted by John Light
allegrak.bsky.social
Allegra Kirkland @allegrak.bsky.social · 1d
Greg Bovino is the face of Trump's anti-immigration crackdown in blue cities, staging military-style raids to conduct civil immigration arrests.

“The level of violence has changed since he was put in charge,” Chicago alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez tells TPM.

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/greg-bo...
Greg Bovino Emerges as Trump’s Man For Conjuring Up a Blue-City Insurrection
Elected officials, activists, and at least one former high-ranking Department of Homeland...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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Reposted by John Light
qjurecic.bsky.social
Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 2d
Hey guys. It's your boy J Edgar here. I have something new that I'm really excited to share with you—it's called COINTELPRO and I really think you're gonna love it
willoremus.com
Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 2d
Obviously not the main point here, but it's interesting how this is framed as content rather than policy.

"BREAKING" is typically what journalists or influencers say when they have a big story -- not what government officials say when they launch "undercover" operations
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Reposted by John Light
lopatto.bsky.social
Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 3d
please read my memo www.theverge.com/business/793...
Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed
Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?
www.theverge.com
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Reposted by John Light
kateriga.bsky.social
Kate Riga @kateriga.bsky.social · 4d
Dispatch for those catching up: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-m...
Judge Hands Down Second, Emergency Ruling Protecting Portland From National Guard Occupation
A federal judge handed down a ruling from the bench Sunday night...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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Reposted by John Light
kateriga.bsky.social
Kate Riga @kateriga.bsky.social · 4d
In real time during hearing, Judge Immergut grants Oregon/California's motion for another temporary restraining order - now talking through scope of relief based on "conduct of defendants," which she sees in "direct contravention" to first order
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 4d
Kate is liveblogging a highly unusual Sunday evening federal court hearing as Portland, Oregon and California attempt to block the Texas and California National Guards from being sent to Portland. (The administration is also trying to send the Texas Guard to Chicago.)
kateriga.bsky.social
Kate Riga @kateriga.bsky.social · 4d
1) Trump-appointed judge rules admin cannot deploy Oregon National Guard to Portland 2) Trump admin deploys California Guard there instead, circumventing her ruling 3) CA joins Portland/Oregon in filing for a second temporary restraining order 4) judge schedules emergency hearing (about to start)
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Reposted by John Light
opinionhaver.bsky.social
William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 6d
My hot take is that Bari Weiss is an extremely effective specific kind of propagandist because the free press produces relatively factual deporting, but is relentlessly *laser focused* on issues that are wedges in the enemies coalition. Rather than dismissing her should be thinking about how to copy
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
This. She's not far right but she's directionally anti-left.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
We'll see.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
But I think it's possible that because of this deal, the Free Press and Weiss may see their place in the discourse erode. Far from definite ... just possible.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
It's sad for a network with so much history. And it's sad to see this money continually, predictably handed over to writers who tell rich people what they want to hear. It's sad, too, because it is another cultural victory for reactionaries.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
At CBS, she'll be surrounded by standards people and lawyers and seasoned editors and reporters who, I suspect, will blunt her impact. That's assuming she chooses to stay and learn how to work within that bureaucracy. She might create a fiefdom within the newsroom; she might give up.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
Meanwhile, Weiss' views and relative inexperience are not uncommon among people who run major news outlets. Those news outlets are already doing what they're doing — sometimes bad work, often good — regardless of who is in charge.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
The acquisition of niche digital news sites by big legacy media corporations rarely works out well for those sites. Their independence — their ability to do whatever they want for good or ill on a whim — is part of the whole thing.
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 6d
I have a counterintuitive take on the Bari Weiss thing: I would not necessarily assume this deal will expand Weiss', or the Free Press', impact.
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Reposted by John Light
hunterw.bsky.social
Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 7d
Having some degree of plausible deniability is one reason memes and cartoon imagery have gained traction in white supremacist circles. And now, some of those same memes and images are popular on the Trump administration’s social media. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dhs-inc...
DHS Includes ‘White Supremacist’ Meme in Video Promoting Deportation Blitz
A video posted on X by the Department of Homeland Security included...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 9d
Employees at the Department of Labor were offered a suggestion on how to phrase their out-of-office message due to the shutdown: blame it on the Democrats. “Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations,” reads a template.
Government Shutdown, Day One
Follow along with our coverage here:
talkingpointsmemo.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 9d
If you've followed this case at all, there's some schadenfreude here. Right-wing judge who tried to ban abortion pill now very grumpy that the Supreme Court overturned his ruling (last year). He also rages at Ken Paxton.
Kacsmaryk Transfers Mifepristone Case To Court Made Up Of Mostly Trump Judges
Arch-conservative federal district court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, with much vitriol aimed at...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 10d
"That argument rests on a flawed premise: that the right had been devoted to open debate and restrained government power, only reluctantly abandoning these principles to counter left-wing illiberalism."
Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left
www.nytimes.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 10d
Small, publicly funded outlets like this are shutting down following a successful Republican vote in July to zero out their funding.
johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 10d
My first job in journalism (technically it was an internship in which my disembodied, 19-year-old hand held a microphone in front of various local political figures from whom we needed a soundbite) was at NJ PBS, then called New Jersey Network.
With NJ PBS shutting down in 2026, some on its board of trustees and chair resign
"The recent cuts by the federal government and New Jersey state government have been very significant," NJ PBS said in a statement.
www.cbsnews.com
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johnalight.bsky.social
John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 10d
My first job in journalism (technically it was an internship in which my disembodied, 19-year-old hand held a microphone in front of various local political figures from whom we needed a soundbite) was at NJ PBS, then called New Jersey Network.
With NJ PBS shutting down in 2026, some on its board of trustees and chair resign
"The recent cuts by the federal government and New Jersey state government have been very significant," NJ PBS said in a statement.
www.cbsnews.com
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Reposted by John Light
joshkovensky.bsky.social
Josh Kovensky @joshkovensky.bsky.social · 10d
DHS Had a Program to Stop Political Violence. The White House Shut It Down.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dhs-had...
DHS Had a Program to Stop Political Violence. Trump Largely Abandoned It.
In July, Franklin School District Superintendent Dan LeGallo got a surprise letter...
talkingpointsmemo.com
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