Author | Lightnews

Barb Cummings

@rahirah.bsky.social

1.7K followers 1.6K following 3.1K posts

Fandom Old. Arizona native. One dog, four cats, and a wife, not necessarily in that order. Dilettante gardener, half-assed DIY-er. Sometimes I write or draw things. Swear to god I'll finish that Spuffy WIP some day. She/her.

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Barb Cummings @rahirah.bsky.social · Oct 16

Note to people who follow me: I am not nearly ideologically pure enough to be a leftist. I think vote withholding is self defeating, incremental progress is better than none, and I am over sixty, which makes me intrinsically evil. I also like pineapple on pizza. Don't say I didn't warn you.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 6h

The Bezos-owned Washington Post wants you to know that there’s nothing wrong with the Bezos and Friends-funded President Oligarch Ballroom for Doing Bribes and Stuff, sponsored by Jeff Bezos.

Also, its owner in no way resembles a steroidal thumb that sprouted like a potato, that’s on the record.

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 13h

SNAP is not the reason your taxes are high.

SNAP recipients don’t need to “just go get a job”.

Most of them work. The rest are disabled, elderly, children or caregivers.

People need & deserve assistance

Your taxes fund wars and tax cuts for the ultra rich

Be mad about that

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Hyde Park Trish @pmorse.bsky.social · 10h

At the food pantry I volunteer at we were absolutely swamped today and by many first timers. We ran out of whole categories of food. Please donate cash to your local organization if you at all can.

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 7h

In a nearly illiterate editorial, WaPo defends Trump's ballroom project, without revealing the fact that the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, is a principal funder of the project. Shameful conduct all around. bsky.app/profile/bgru...

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7h

Here’s a free link to a house editorial that illustrates the collapse of the new Washpost Opinion page.

It’s important to read it, because it is so poorly written and reasoned, and it shows how quickly an editorial institution can fall completely apart under spineless leadership.

wapo.st/3J2IdIh

Opinion | In defense of the White House ballroom

Donald Trump vs. the NIMBYs

wapo.st

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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 6h

ACLU reporting that “several of the 6 women detained at South Louisiana ICE Center in Basile, LA, & Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA were pregnant & have miscarried while in custody.”

0 outrage from MAGAs about these fetuses. They were never about life. They are only about control of women.

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isaac @sevier.io · 10h

I'm starting to see multiple threads where bluesky folks are trying to raise money for their local food banks because of the shutdown of SNAP starting November 1... can we get a thread going for people to find each other? Drop your link and put your city in front, let's coordinate city by city!

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 9h

Rough math: 12.3% of Americans (41.7 mil) are about to lose SNAP. Many food banks produce 3 meals per $1, so a November worth of meals for one costs $30. Round it up to $35 for asst. costs & hygiene products. If 13% of us donate $35 each to food banks, we can get everyone through Nov! #EndHunger 🥙💪

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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.bsky.social · 9h

That AZ lawsuit to force Grijalva's swearing in looks stronger by the day.

The basic argument: AZ is entitled to be represented for the entire two year term the Constitution sets forth. No one has the right to shorten it.

Especially when her swearing affects the votes to challenge Speaker's power.

Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 11h

They don’t even pretend to care. This is the only story. You can’t open the government if the House refuses to show up.

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Dennis B. Hooper @dennisbhooper.bsky.social · 10h

I understand why they had to stop him but I don’t agree with imprisoning him in the phantom zone

Abcnews graphic: surreal moment as coyote drinks water from skylight window on top of Los Angeles hair salon

(Image of exactly that, except the framing is canted and as a result it looks like a coyote imprisoned in a glass square a la the phantom zone from Superman)

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Jason Karsh @jkarsh.bsky.social · 9h

You could go further, right? Where’s the demand for a new Speaker? If Johnson is going to refuse to do his job, why aren’t we calling for him to be replaced, the House sent back to work, the shutdown ended, and the Epstein files to be released.

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 9h

Democrats should hold a press conference and announce that if Mike Johnson has no interest in running the House they'd be happy to do it for him

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 10h

Mike Johnson has dissolved Congress. Why?

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Art by Emily K @museum.of.emilyk.art · 10h

"Tzefardea Tzedek" (Frog of Righteousness)

As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)

Hebrew calligraphy in dark green stretches in lines across the image. Negative space makes room for a simple representation of an inflatable frog costume with a blue bandana. That shape consists of the English translation of the Hebrew, in a lighter green, and in much smaller text.
--
Famously, the Egyptian tyrant causes Egypt to be overrun with frogs because he refuses to free the Hebrew people, but there are additional details that make this a fun one to ponder. For one, the Hebrew says "the frog came up" - ONE frog - even though the rest of the time it says "frogs." So there are a few explanations rabbis have come up with to explain this. One is that a single frog multiplied to create swarms. A more creative explanation is that there was a singular giant frog who traveled and brought destruction. Jewish social media was sharing videos of the Portland Frog protester with the caption, "One Big Frog! One Big Frog!" Of course the frog protesters did multiply, and many were seen in crowds all over the world on "No Kings" Day. This calligraphic work takes the verses addressing the frog plague and combines them to form a simple rendering of the Portland Frog protester. The frog figure itself is made up of the English translations of the Hebrew around it. At the bottom left my signature is in the shape of a lily pad.

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Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 11h

I really think that we need to talk more about the fact that Republicans have basically quietly abolished the House of Representatives

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 15h

i really resent the continued assertion that there’s so much anger on both sides, as if the causes of the anger are equally legitimate. we’re angry because masked maniacs are violently snatching our family and neighbors off the street, and they’re angry because we’re calling them out for it.

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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 13h

Pretty amazing finding.

mRNA covid vaccines may “turbo charge” cancer immunotherapy, research suggests

Patients with cancer who received a covid mRNA vaccine within 100 days of beginning immunotherapy treatment gained significant benefit in terms of survival and disease progression, new research sugges...

www.bmj.com

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Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 11h

I can’t get over a media that spent years dwelling on gaffes telling us which Presidential crimes aren’t a big deal

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 11h

A new report finds corporations like Kroger and McDonald's are using digital loyalty programs to track your data and potentially charge you more.

It's a tactic known as surveillance pricing.

Former FTC Chair Lina Khan explains. https://youtu.be/-cbtUYshYM8?si=GPRt5_WnLehnjgWR

The Shady World of Surveillance Pricing (Ft. Lina Khan)

Robert Reich

youtu.be

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Barb Cummings @rahirah.bsky.social · 10h

You had goddamn well better.

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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 15h

I think my favorite thing about "every city reveals its inner character" era of ice protests is that people keep saying portland is weird or cute or nice or silly when one of the most common chants at the ice building is people looking up at feds on the roof and yelling "jump! jump! jump!" in unison

Cmdr. Overbite @cmdroverbite.bsky.social · 15h

Portland resists with whimsical improv theater, Chicago resists by screaming at weird jagoffs that don’t belong in the neighborhood. Every city brings its own strengths to the fight

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 16h

The energy we need is this suburban dad standing out in the street -- barefoot with Blackhawks pajama pants on -- screaming at the masked goons to get the fuck out of their neighborhood.

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amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 15h

DC.

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 15h

Stonepeak is a private equity firm founded by two Australian billionaires, Michael Dorrell and Trent Vichie.

Dorrell owns the only private island in Palm Beach, Florida.

Vichie’s company, Everwind Fuels, claims to be a developing “green” energy alternatives.

Now they’re human traffickers.

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 15h

This ICE removal operated by Omni Air International is now making its second stop, in Sri Lanka. So far, migrants onboard have spent 34 hours in handcuffs, leg irons and a waist chain. There may be more stops.

Omni and its parent company were purchased in April by private equity firm Stonepeak.

An ADSBx map of South Asia showing the flight path of Omni aircraft N819AX. It flew east, landed in New Delhi, then flew south and is approacing Colombo, Sir Lanka.

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Stephanie Kollmann @slkollmann.bsky.social · 15h

I haven't seen people here mention this letter from the mayor of Illinois' 2nd-largest city (Aurora, 40+% Latino)

to the Aurora Police

following egregious attacks by immigration in Aurora and related protests

So here it is!

Hello Chief and APD Leadership,

I just wanted to jot a quick thank you note for those who participated in this meeting with the Latino community about ICE in our neighborhoods.

Sadly, this problem is not going away anytime soon. Historically, the police have been on the wrong side of history during the civil rights movement and the labor movement - defending capital. The pivotal points in American history are when police realized that their solidarity should be with labor; not capital.

Labor vs. police: Learning from working-class history Workers World

In this current struggle, I believe that we are 2-3 years away from a moment where we see the shift in solidarity.

I would like to see Aurora lead, and show something different. It will create discomfort during the transformation. I noticed during the march towards Blue Kangaroo, when the police escort disappeared, that activists I didn't know used their vehicles to block the intersections and protect the marchers.

All living things have the capacity to evolve and grow. Government is about to go through a huge evolutionary period and shed that which is not necessary, and re-focus on what is important.

As government continues to disintegrate from the top down, we have an opportunity to re-invent the ways we find food, water, shelter and protection.

We would like the Aurora Police Department to play a historic role in defending the United States of America, and our city against fascism. We have a unique opportunity to do something different, leave our mark in the history books, and make a difference. I'm excited about the opportunity and look forward to discussing it further.

Respectfully, John Laesch Mayor, City of Aurora laesch@aurora.il.us

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Barb Cummings @rahirah.bsky.social · 11h

I was kind of liking her from a distance a few years ago, and then suddenly she was taking stupid pills or something.

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GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 14h

not to start a discourse here (really) but i think dems actually have been doing a pretty good job working the ballroom into their public complaints and communications, even if it's not really breaking through in the media

wyden post mentioning the ballroom in context with snap drying up

merkely post talking about destroying the people's house to build a gold-plated vanity project

jayapal post mentioning health care costs skyrocketing and federal workers going without pay while trump focuses on the ballroom

schumer post quoting leavitt's comments about how the ballroom is the president's most important priority

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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 14h

Everyone is 12 theory undefeated

Marc Randazza eats shit for breakfast and sucks his own cock afterwards

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tinybaby @tiny.baby · 13h

it's important to remember the people doing this aren't "just following orders," they signed up to do this, they're excited to do it, it's what they want to be doing, and each one of them is personally culpable for the entirety of ICE's conduct

The Weekend: Primetime @theweekendprime.bsky.social · 14h

In video provided exclusively to MSNBC's The Weekend: Primetime, immigration agents are seen attempting to pull a man out a window of a Chicago home. Agents also jumped a fence into the locked backyard and manhandled people doing work. Hear from the homeowner tonight on The Weekend: Primetime.

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