Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 14h

Unpopular opinion: Conversion therapy—however ineffective—is clearly protected by the First Amendment. People can find it offensive. But offensive speech is still protected. The Supreme Court should (and I suspect will) overturn Colorado’s ban. reason.com/2025/10/08/i...

Is conversion therapy free speech?

Colorado says no. Supreme Court justices seem skeptical.

reason.com

5 1 5

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 6d

This is insane. DHS agents tackled an American citizen & held him for an hour because, according to his suit, they thought his ID was fake. Three weeks later, he was detained *again.* No one who cares about responsible government should be OK this kind of harassment. reason.com/2025/10/01/i...

ICE arrested a U.S. citizen—twice—during Alabama construction site raids. Now he's suing.

'I got arrested twice for being a Latino working in construction,' says Leo Garcia Venegas, in a lawsuit challenging ICE raids on construction sites.

reason.com

7 35 89

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 6d

Younes was a public defender whose community turned on her when she spoke out against COVID mandates. Now she’s making it her mission to defend civil liberties for *everyone*—even when it comes to speech she despises. A fascinating conversation: reason.com/podcast/2025...

Defend speech even when your side hates it

Civil liberties attorney Jenin Younes recounts her role in 'Murthy v. Missouri', her opposition to pandemic mandates, and why she believes Trump poses an even greater threat to free speech than Biden.

reason.com

1 8

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 7d

She sued Biden for violating the First Amendment—in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Now she’s gearing up to sue Trump for...the same thing.

I spoke with Jenin Younes about why free speech shouldn’t be partisan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP1A...

Defend Speech Even When Your Side Hates It

YouTube video by The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

www.youtube.com

1 5 16

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 9d

Shakur's activism coincided with COINTELPRO, the notorious FBI counterintelligence program that illegally surveilled people. You can condemn that misconduct without turning Assata Shakur into a saint. She was not one. reason.com/2025/09/29/a...

Assata Shakur stood with the oppressors

The fugitive freedom fighter allied with a government known for imprisoning dissidents, curtailing civil liberties, and forging equality in the sense that people are more equally oppressed.

reason.com

5

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 9d

The “freedom fighter” Assata Shakur cozied up to a regime that jailed dissenters, shut down the press with armed militias, and threw people into concentration camps. *That* is her legacy.

I wrote about why it’s absurd to treat her as a martyr for freedom. reason.com/2025/09/29/a...

Assata Shakur stood with the oppressors

The fugitive freedom fighter allied with a government known for imprisoning dissidents, curtailing civil liberties, and forging equality in the sense that people are more equally oppressed.

reason.com

7 1 17

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 10d

Not long ago, I interviewed several black Cubans about life there. Dissent can land you in jail, so we spoke over encryption & they were still afraid to talk to me at all. *That* is the regime Assata Shakur stood with. She was no freedom fighter.

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social · 11d

As we face the great fight for freedom of our day, may we find strength and purpose in these enduring words from Assata Shakur.

If there is a single truth in this world, it is that Assata died a free woman.

May she rest in power and paradise for all eternity.

2 8

Reposted by Billy Binion

Stephen Gutowski @stephengutowski.bsky.social · 15d

I'm really interested in the psychology of the masked up ICE agent with the Facebook camera glasses who also appears to be wearing a "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden Flag. Is it meant ironically? How does he square current ICE targets and tactics with the ethos the flag has traditionally represented?

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 15d

From yesterday and today: it certainly appears ICE in Chicago are wearing the Meta AI Ray-Ban glasses.

Different guy in camo with Arab style scarf, thick black glasses

51 100 470

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 16d

Brendan Carr turned Jimmy Kimmel into a martyr. His ratings were sinking. Now a lot of people are talking about & rooting for a comic whom they previously did not care about at all. Great job.

9 3 41

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 22d

Tyler Robinson texted his partner he killed Charlie Kirk because he’d “had enough of his hatred” & “some hate can't be negotiated out." It’s possible he wasn’t an ideologue. That doesn’t change the fact that it seems he acted because he felt Kirk was a bigot. Denying that looks crazy at this point.

5 4 21

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 23d

I'm not being sarcastic when I say it might be better for society if politicians were the ones to log off.

A lot of government officials use their taxpayer-funded salaries primarily to get attention on the internet, and it is bad.

Semafor @semafor.com · 23d

Politicians to America: Log off

www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

Politicians to America: Log off

GOP Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on NBC that ‘cancer probably isn’t a strong enough word’ for social media.

www.semafor.com

4 5 31

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 26d

Words aren't violence. Silence isn't violence.

I wrote this back in 2020—still true today. If you oppose violence, you need a coherent definition.

We should be more careful with our words. But they're not violence.

2 3 10

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 26d

I don’t think it’s ill-intentioned, but the impulse to use a tragedy to immediately push a political talking point is unhealthy. Victims deserve better than pre-cooked press releases that have nothing to do with what actually happened. It betrays a lack of basic critical thinking.

2 3 11

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 26d

Respectfully, people desperately need to stop pushing this talking point after every shooting. The guy used a hunting rifle, not an assault weapon. He fired one shot—no magazine restriction would've mattered. Over 21, no criminal record. No gun safety law would’ve prevented this.

Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 28d

Charlie Kirk has apparently been shot in the neck.

Praying for his recovery and acknowledging that prayers alone will not stop gun violence. Contrary to his claim that more guns make us safe, the science and facts tell us that we are safest when we have comprehensive gun safety legislation.

1/2

26 22 130

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 26d

The FBI agents I've met take their jobs really seriously. I'd like to think Kash Patel means well, but I can't imagine how it must feel to have to answer to him right now. He...did not meet the moment.

2 2 14

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 26d

Kash Patel is a great reminder why you shouldn't staff important positions based on who is the most loyal shitposter. Destroys trust in institutions when you need it most.

1 7 59

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 29d

In both Texas and Florida (which also banned lab-grown meat), ban backers said they were *resisting* authoritarianism because "the global elite" is trying to bring down ranchers, or something. But there should be no question about who the real authoritarians are in these cases.

1 7

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 29d

The wildest thing about the Texas law is that its sponsors didn’t even try to hide that it was specifically written to protect Big Ag. The same party that likes to talk about the importance of “free markets” is making it illegal to buy a product from anyone but their friends.

2 1 5

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · 29d

It really is insane that the ~free state of Texas~ just banned lab-grown meat. Blatantly violating the free market so they can do their friends in the agricultural industry a favor. So much freedom. reason.com/2025/09/04/t...

The new Texas ban on cell-cultured protein is an unconstitutional interstate trade barrier, a lawsuit says

The ban's supporters, whose motivation is plainly protectionist, claim they are defending freedom by restricting it.

reason.com

7 10 63

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

In any sane world, the answer should be simple: The government cannot take $95,000 from someone over a tiny infraction. That's not called "justice." It's called "larceny." /end reason.com/2025/09/02/a...

An Alaska man's $95,000 plane was seized over a 6-pack of beer. Now he's taking his case to the Supreme Court.

Alaska has been trying to seize Ken Jouppi's Cessna for 13 years because a passenger tried to sneak beer into a dry town.

reason.com

5 23

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

So what does this mean for Jouppi, the man who lost his $95,000 plane?

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled the seizure wasn't "excessive," claiming a 6-pack of beer can cause "grave societal harm." Ludicrous.

So he's now asking SCOTUS: What counts as an excessive fine? /9

1 3 12

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

In 2021, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that taking Timbs' car was an excessive fine. Eight years post-seizure, he'd finally get to keep his vehicle—once & for all.

The chief justice compared the state's effort to "Captain Ahab's chase of the white whale." Fitting. /8

1 2 5

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

SCOTUS rejected Indiana’s argument & sent the case back to Indiana court. But prosecutors weren't done.

Back home, they argued they should effectively be able to take everything you own if you commit a drug crime.

Your house. Your car. Your savings. /7 reason.com/2021/02/05/c...

Indiana Argues That the State Should Be Able To Take Everything You Own if You Commit a Drug Crime

The state used civil asset forfeiture to seize Tyson Timbs' car in 2013. His nightmare hasn't ended.

reason.com

1 5 13

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

...his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. There, Indiana argued it should be able to seize someone's car for going 5 mph over the speed limit. Five miles per hour!

That is not parody. And it shows how far government actors will go to legally rob citizens. That's bleak. /6

1 2 6

Billy Binion @billybinion.bsky.social · Sep 3

Jouppi isn’t the first to face this nightmare.

In Indiana, prosecutors seized Tyson Timbs’ Land Rover over a drug crime & spent *8 years* trying to keep it—a reminder that asset forfeiture enriches the government more than it fights crime.

Timbs' saga is important. In 2019.../5

1 2 7