Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ben Thomas

LindaFly @lindafly.bsky.social · 5h

Comey knows where some bodies are buried. Discovery could get interesting.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 11h

Reporter's notebook: I actually began working on this story shortly after footage of the incident showed up last month.

But by the time I finally got ahold of folks, the story grew: 2 *other* faith leaders I spoke with *also* reported being shot w/pepper balls while protesting this ICE facility.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Professor Darkness @professordarkness.bsky.social · 1d

This is what I've been saying for MONTHS!

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ex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 10h

The Army Emergency Relief web page is crashing right now as the entire military grapples with the reality that they're probably not getting paid next week.

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 12h

farmer around and find out

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 12h

hypocrisy and slavish cowardice

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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 15h

this was really hard to read. my son is almost exactly the same age as the kid in here that Trump and Musk deliberately starved to death apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 15h

"This is where we’ve been headed since Jan. 6.

The man who fomented an actual insurrection will invent a fantasy insurrection to justify overturning the rule of law & deploying the military against civilians.

The thing about Rubicons is they can’t be uncrossed."

www.thebulwark.com/p/emergency-...

Emergency Triad: The Chicago Rubicon and What Comes Next

We aren’t at the worst-case scenario yet. But if you squint, you can see it looming out there, just over the horizon.

www.thebulwark.com

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 17h

We can resist the insatiable pursuit of money, power, and attention by caring for the vulnerable.

Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 19h

This admin used it as a public/private threat against Jerry Falwell Jr and possibly others, keeping it visible in social media to compel Falwell’s support, then exposed him anyway when they no longer needed him.

Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 20h

How depraved is this electorate that politicians (who are demonstrated cowards in reality) send others engage in performative violence and abuse to impress it?
Maybe I’m contradicting myself, but I think the politicians are doing what they want to do.
Power reveals who we are.

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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 21h

Russia's disinformation campaign is now using deepfaked audio of Holocaust survivors to attack Armenia, in videos published on the 2nd anniversary of the Hamas October 7th attack on Israel.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 1d

We‘re all going to be shocked when a GS-9 discovers a digital photo of a crumpled piece of aluminum on the ocean floor hidden in the corner of her Windows desktop…

CNN @cnn.com · 1d

The Trump administration has ordered FBI employees in Washington, DC, to immediately search their workstations and digital media for any records pertaining to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, a law enforcement source told CNN.

FBI employees ordered to immediately search for records related to Amelia Earhart, source says | CNN Politics

The Trump administration has ordered FBI employees in Washington, DC, to immediately search their workstations and digital media for any records pertaining to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, a la...

www.cnn.com

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Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 1d

It should be very very clear to everyone right now that the Attorney General was asked under oath if she possesses pics of the President with undressed teens and she refused to say “no.”

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 1d

The U.S. armed forces may soon face the choice of whether to refuse illegal and unconstitutional orders, @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes. What will they do?

The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here

The leaders of the U.S. military may soon face a terrible decision.

bit.ly

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 1d

I dare to question the integrity of an Attorney General running cover for the most corrupt admin in American history.
She has none or she wouldn’t be there.

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 1d

This has nothing to do with crime. This is an attempt to crush political dissent.

Never before, in our entire 250 year history, has the military or immigration agents been used like this. It's dystopian, illegal, and it should stop.

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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 1d

Nearly 70% of Americans believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new Fannie Mae survey.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Just as a reminder, Bondi’s origin story in Trump world is that she said she was going to investigate Trump University, Trump sent her a $25K check and the investigation disappeared. She later became Trump’s personal defense lawyer. So yeah, don’t challenge her integrity.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Bondi to Blumenthal: "You lied. How dare you? I'm a career prosecutor. Don't you ever challenge my integrity. Do not question my ability to be fair and impartial."

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Lindsay P Cohn @lindsaypcohn.bsky.social · 2d

Folks we are watching the adjudication of some of the most important constitutional issues of federalism, executive discretion, and judicial review since the 19th c

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Judge issues new broader order barring any National Guard from relocating to Oregon

Judge asked federal government lawyer: 'Do you believe this is an appropriate way to deal with a judge’s order that you disagree with?'

www.oregonlive.com

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 2d

Contrary to Stephen Miller, the president is not "commander-in-chief" of law enforcement within the United States. The invocation of the title "commander-in-chief" to justify anything Trump wants to do anywhere is a sign of how far down the road the administration is to Caesarism.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d

“I am living with the deep pain of watching someone I once loved become the face of evil.”

From July 17th: m.facebook.com/share/p/16yL...

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 3d

We can see it – this admin falsely claims there is unrest as pretext to deploy military force. It has no external enemies but views fellow Americans as its targets. It opposes protest, speech the 1st amendment protects. It abuses Americans while enriching itself. We are witnesses and won’t forget.

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Ben Thomas @benjaminthomas.bsky.social · 3d

good thing they’re all dressed like Delta operators

competentposter @competentposter.bsky.social · 4d

wizard frog is insane

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