Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

GemmaGem

@tippytaff.bsky.social

36K followers 55K following 6.9K posts

🌊Feel like I'm tossing pebbles in the ocean, but if we all toss pebbles, the current will shift! Ally to ALL! Hate has NO place! Books can save us! 📚 Only recently learned ERA was fully ratified, but NEVER PUBLISHED! But we want a WOMAN PRESIDENT?!

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

GemmaGem @tippytaff.bsky.social · 7d

Maybe it's time to recognize that America has *always* functioned from this model of a caste system using violence to assert power. The fantasy that this was 'all in the past' and 'it's just a few bad apples' has blown up in our faces. We see the truth now, and it's ugly.

Below a photo of a Native American man:
What if I told you the version of history you were taught in school was heavily revised to favor your own nation's agenda while hiding its crimes and in doing so fostered an unrealistic sense of false patriotism used to manufacture your allegiance to a corporate entity masquerading as your government?

6 37 140

Reposted by GemmaGem

UncleRicoReturns @unclericotnt.bsky.social · 18h

4 5

Reposted by GemmaGem

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 18h

Think the website says “Made in the USA”? Think again.

420 1K 3.6K

GemmaGem @tippytaff.bsky.social · 18h

a frog wearing a top hat and holding a bouquet of flowers says m lady

ALT: a frog wearing a top hat and holding a bouquet of flowers says m lady

media.tenor.com

1 12

Reposted by GemmaGem

Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 20h

Hmmm…. 🤔

120 190 410

Reposted by GemmaGem

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

2.1K 2K 6.6K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 19h

Reporting live from Chicago, there’s no “hellscape” I’d rather be in.

560 6K 23K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Texas Paul @realtexaspaul.com · 18h

I hereby nominate the Portland Frog for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Municipal Fox @amunicipalfox.bsky.social · 1d

This frog is your FRIEND
He fights for FREEDOM

Person in a frog costume faces down ICE agents

160 910 4.6K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Flimsy Asitis @flimsyasitis.bsky.social · 9d

Haley Williams a real person and real activist. She has spoken out several times about project 2025, racism, homophobia, and misogynistic disgust. She does the work to make the world a better place while simultaneously continuing to better herself. She isn't the glitz , she is an artist, a human.

1 3 9

Reposted by GemmaGem

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell @lastword.msnbc.com · 20h

@lawrenceodonnell.msnbc.com: Letitia James should wear being on Trump's enemies list as a badge of honor youtu.be/bxleSo4JY0k?...

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell with white text over his shoulder: Trump's "blatant perversion"

28 110 360

Reposted by GemmaGem

Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 23h

“The Founders would never believe that it would ever come to pass that one state militia could be sent to another state for the purposes of political retribution”

THAT PART!

Thank you, Judge Perry.

230 4.9K 18K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

SCARBOROUGH: The Nebraska Rural Health Association says at least 6 rural hospitals would have to close bc of the big beautiful bill

FLOOD: Here's the deal: Some hospitals that are rural hospitals are going to eventually have to transition from being acute bed hospitals into being an ER model

390 540 1.6K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Hakeem Jeffries @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social · 1d

The malicious prosecution of Attorney General Tish James is baseless.

And the indictment is not worth the paper it is written on.

360 2.3K 7.8K

GemmaGem @tippytaff.bsky.social · 18h

I believe the correct term is:

a man and a boy wearing leather jackets and sunglasses with correctamundo written on the bottom right

Alt: The Fonz and a boy wearing leather jackets and sunglasses with correctamundo written on the bottom right

media.tenor.com

Reposted by GemmaGem

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 19h

WAKE UP, AMERICA!

320 5.2K 12K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 21h

Tish James is an American hero and exactly the kind of leader we need in this moment. We stand behind her 100%.

New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 1d

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.

I am not fearful — I am fearless.

We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights..

16 180 850

Reposted by GemmaGem

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 23h

There is nothing an authoritarian fears more than peaceful, organized people power. That’s why the White House is now turning its sights on us. 🧵

www.reuters.com

43 560 1.5K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Jack Hopkins-The Original @therealjackhopkins.bsky.social · 22h

You know who takes a cognitive test? People whose family members suspect their loved one is suffering from dementia. If he kept getting “perfect” scores…they wouldn’t keep administering them. My take? He blew the first one he ever took. Now, they’re tracking the decline. I’d bet my hot coffee on it.

560 2.5K 12K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 19h

RFK Jr admitted there’s no proof Tylenol causes autism.

He said “we’re making the proof”.

This is the man directing public health policy for the country.

If you have to “make the proof” you haven’t solved the problem.

He’s a eugenicist grifter.

20 170 540

GemmaGem @tippytaff.bsky.social · 19h

Reposted by GemmaGem

Krassensteins @krassenstein.bsky.social · 1d

400 4.1K 14K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 20h

One thing we've learned from the American judicial system: The first 34 felonies are on the house*.

*Terms and conditions may apply. See prosecutors for details if you're not white. Or rich.

150 2.3K 8.3K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Dane 🔜 NYCC AA L-34 @monkeyminion.com · 1d

I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.

wrote 20 pages on Faulkner's The Bear four hours before final papers were due on trucker pills and coffee and cigarettes and got an A, fuck you.
You people couldn't hang with real slackers.
finn
wokeupchic • 4d
It's fuck Al till your homework due in 25 minutes

12 550 3.3K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 1d

There are certain hypotheticals you simply never get to test out. This seems to be an exception. How will a judge and later a jury treat an indictment if you had to fire multiple prosecutors before you could find someone to bring an indictment. I guess we'll find out! www.cnn.com/2025/10/09/p...

Letitia James, the New York attorney general who defeated Trump in court, indicted by Justice Department | CNN Politics

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in federal court on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s Justice Department continues to pursue charges against his political opponents, two source...

www.cnn.com

57 370 1.7K

Reposted by GemmaGem

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 1d

It is pretty galling that the Supreme Court spent four years telling Biden "you can't do that without Congress" then allowed Trump to seize a once-unthinkable amount of power from Congress within nine months and concentrate law-making authority almost entirely in the executive branch.

220 2.6K 9.7K

Reposted by GemmaGem

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

I think it’s pretty easy to see the gap in the logical progression between paragraphs 6 and 7 that will doom the case.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 1d

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

51 170 790