Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 15m

A simple No to this is the only answer. To fudge on this one demonstrates what a complete toady this little ass wipe is.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

Reposted by Shelley Powers

Plenary Popehat Power @kenwhite.bsky.social · 52m

Mike Johnson’s position is young pregnant American women shouldn’t have to wait before being turned away to die in the parking lot from an ectopic pregnancy the hospital is afraid to treat

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Mike Johnson: "If you're a young, pregnant American citizen women who shows up in an ER and you get treated and they pay the hospital less for treating you than some illegal rabble rouser who came in from some South American country to do us harm, that is wrong."

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19m

in fairness I think that debate takes a backseat to the most pressing one we face, which is "who was president in 2020?"

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Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 19m

Never equate all of police with police orgs like this.

Most police unions are led by former cops, forced out of service because of their brutality or disregard for the law.

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 46m

🥴

I understand why people *want* the police to intervene--normies are like, 'I thought cops are supposed to arrest people doing crimes, ICE is right there doing crimes, go do your thing'

but police organizations take nearly every opportunity to be like, 'oh you misunderstood what our thing is'

Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 1h

The Fraternal Order of Police is on the side of MAGA and against the people they are supposed to be "policing." I think this says a lot to the people who insist local police are going to be "resistance."
www.foxnews.com/us/national-...

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Roy Edroso @edroso.bsky.social · 29m

Like, for instance, this lie:

Does Johnson believe it? Of course not. Do MAGA people? Again no, but they know it's more polite than "let beaners die in the street," and they expect it to confuse and silence other people.

Literally NO ONE actually believes these lies.

bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Mike Johnson: "If you're a young, pregnant American citizen women who shows up in an ER and you get treated and they pay the hospital less for treating you than some illegal rabble rouser who came in from some South American country to do us harm, that is wrong."

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Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 2h

prospect.org/politics/tru...?

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 5h

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20h

Murray: "If House Republicans were here, I'd make sure they understood over 3/4 of the families on the exchanges actually live in R states. And I'd make sure they understand the 10 states where families will face biggest average premium increase hikes when the ACA credits expire are all R states."

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20h

Klobuchar: "I went over there this morning and there are actually more statues of deceased Republican leaders than there are Republican House members over there right now."

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Materialist Gnostic @walmsley.bsky.social · 19h

it is fucking sickening that these people go on TV and boast about their campaign of terror against civilian fishermen

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Trump: "We call them the water drugs. The drugs that come in through water. They're not coming. There are no boats anymore. Frankly, there are no fishing boats. There are no boats out there period, if you want to know the truth. Does anybody go fishing anymore?"

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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 14h

He is the speaker of the House. Johnson can gavel the House in anytime he pleases. That's kind of the point of being speaker.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

RAJU: You swore in 2 GOP members during pro forma session. Why not swear in Grijalva? Does it have to do w/her signature on Epstein petition?

JOHNSON: It has nothing to do with that. We'll swear her in when everybody is back

R: Why not now?

J: Uh - we'll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Trump calls for Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker to be imprisoned

Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!

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Seth Stern @sethstern.bsky.social · 12h

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said, Megan Crepeau and @benjaminpenn.bsky.social report

news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Two Chicago-Area ICE Protesters

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said.

news.bloomberglaw.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3h

The same people who insisted devout Catholic Joe Biden was leading a “war on Christianity” are now cheering Trump on as his armed goons assault clergymen.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 4h

WATCH: Trump’s lawless Ice goons shoot an unarmed priest in the head with a pepper ball. Completely out of control.

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Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 3h

Oh

Ann Monster Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 3h

"The invitation to the 'Future of Pharmaceuticals' summit prompted consternation among some drug-company representatives, who worried that the gathering signaled that the White House wants them to work with the little-known BlinkRx because of its ties to the president’s family"

Trump Wants to Overhaul Drug Sales. A Company Tied to His Son Stands to Benefit.

The family members of President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are poised to benefit from efforts to remake the pharmaceutical industry.

www.wsj.com

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Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 3h

Dr. Richardson is at her best when she brings up historical precedence for the harms of today's administration.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-7-...

October 7, 2025

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today floated the idea that workers furloughed during a government shutdown are not guaranteed back pay when the shutdown is resolved.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 3h

We should. But if my area is any indicator...

Too many in the country don't 'see' the problem. It's a someone else's problem. It's not a 'my' problem.

Too many people in the country don't give a shit about democracy. They don't want to have to think, to feel empathy.

They just want cheap beer

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Shelley Powers @burningbird.net · 3h

popular.info/p/trump-appr...

Trump approves mining road, delivers $70 million windfall to MAGA billionaire

On April 6, 2024, a procession of Range Rovers, Aston Martins, and Bentleys rolled up to the Palm Beach mansion of billionaire John Paulson. The occasion was a glitzy fundraiser for Donald Trump’s pre...

popular.info

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 19h

Early voting is underway for Prop 50 in California.

I urge anyone in the state to vote yes.

This isn’t a race to the bottom. It’s a means of avoiding the bottom. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-blue-states-should-do-when-red

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 4h

Prosecution of Comey looks headed to a dead end.

"Federal prosecutors ... determined that a central witness in their probe would ... likely prevent them from establishing their case to a jury."

abcnews.go.com/US/central-w...

Central witness undermines case against James Comey, prosecutors concluded: Sources

Ex-FBI Director James Comey is set to be arraigned Wednesday, but prosecutors investigating him determined that a central witness would prove "problematic," sources say.

abcnews.go.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 15h

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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Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 16h

Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst noticed that Bondi flipped open a file during the Senate hearing and he zoomed in.

Inside were her crib notes for attacking the senators.

The GOP now practicing Cliff's Notes Fascism

In other words, under oath Bondi was purely a performance.

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 7h

This isn’t the first time Miller has used the term “plenary authority” with respect to the Presidency. He did so already in March, but that time he was referring to the president’s authority in foreign policy. What’s new here is now to say this absolute power also applies domestically.

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 10h

Stephen Miller said the quiet part out loud. Trump has “plenary authority,” then suddenly went silent. Their plan wasn’t to be public yet. Clearly, someone hit the panic button in his earpiece.

It gets weirder: CNN uploaded the interview with the “plenary authority” comment edited out.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 5h

Banning “dangerous gain-of-function” pathogen research is actually just banning pathogen research. TB causes chronic disease, the supposed cornerstone of the MAHA movement. Hard to see ending TB research on treatments as anything but another targeted attack on science in service of destroying it.

Rock Lab @rocklabtb.bsky.social · 5h

Ditto. Thanks for this Sarah. www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/g...

The NIH ordered me to stop my ‘dangerous’ gain-of-function research. It isn’t dangerous at all

Safe gain-of-function research is necessary to identify new treatments for diseases like for tuberculosis — but the NIH has imposed unfounded stops.

www.statnews.com

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Berin Szóka @berinszoka.bsky.social · 4h

"we are not at peace with Russia, either"

POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 5h

Russia is waging a campaign to "unsettle" citizens by flying drones into European airspace, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned today.

Von der Leyen warns of Russian ‘hybrid warfare’

Europe has to change its mindset to tackle the threat from Moscow, Commission president says.

ow.ly

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