Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

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

Bray is a historian at Rutgers who received death threats after landing on Turning Points USA's Professor Watchlist. As a result, he announced he was moving to Europe. And then this happened.

This kind of harassment and abuse of scholars is Charlie Kirk's legacy and it's only getting worse.

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 4h

“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.

We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 2h

I wrote legal editorials for the Post for a hot minute many years ago, and I was constantly anxious about making sure I got the details right. This editorial is just humiliating for everyone involved

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 3h

I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges

Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 2h

If I was told I couldn’t do a job Meghan McCain did I think I’d become a monk

Raw Story @rawstory.com · 1d

Bari Weiss, the incoming editor in chief of CBS News, once auditioned for a role on the hit daytime television show "The View," but tested so poorly with audiences that she "wasn't invited back," according to a new report.

CBS News' new boss once auditioned for 'The View' — and 'wasn't invited back': report

Bari Weiss, the incoming editor in chief of CBS News, once auditioned for a role on the hit daytime television show "The View," but tested so poorly with audiences that she "wasn't invited back," according to a new report. Variety reported on Tuesday that Weiss auditioned for "The View" when host Me...

bit.ly

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 1h

Notable how all of these bad opinions are being signed by “the editorial board”.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 3h

I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges

Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 2h

Honestly, it probably more or less stands alone.

The first one isn’t bad, mind, but it’s basically the same structure.

The only thing that might be a little confusing is the first scene, which follows directly from the end of the previous movie.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 2h

John Fetterman, ladies and gentlemen

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 2h

Trump has been illegally bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela.

Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff forced a vote on reasserting Congress's role over war powers and ending this reckless
warmongering.

It failed 48-51.

Murkowski and Paul voted yes.

Fetterman voted no.

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 2h

This one is an improvement on the original, but it has an issue the original doesn’t: since this is a sequel to an established property, you’re probably gonna know how it ends, which can make the trip there feel a little futile.

Still, it has some memorable bits, and the lead is really great.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 3h

American citizen, read this. www.koin.com/news/portlan...

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 3h

Next up: apropos of absolutely nothing, a double feature of pop star themed horror films. First:

8: Smile 2

A pop superstar gets infected with the smile demon from the first movie, with predictable results.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 5h

As the Supreme Court term begins, keep this framework in mind: Autocratic Legalism.

Instead of “rule of law” (law constrains the power), we get “rule by law” (law as a weapon for power).

Authoritarians usually have to install allies. Trump started his second term with that step already complete.

The only effective opposition is through the language of morality and documented harm—not legal technicalities that can be swept away with a 6–3 vote.” The text is centered on a neutral background, with “morality” and “documented harm” slightly emphasized to underscore the moral and empirical contrast with “legal technicalities.”

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 5h

hey @uconn.bsky.social out of curiosity would you say that you are now anti anti black racism. just asking some questions as an alum www.ctinsider.com/news/educati...

UConn may rescind Anti-Black Racism course requirement due to Trump administration: 'Slippery slope'

The "U.S. Anti-Black Racism" course at UConn is part of the general education curriculum.

www.ctinsider.com

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 5h

I’ll go ahead and say: no, the dog is fine.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 8h

“.. the debate inside the administration has shifted recently, from whether it makes sense to invoke the act to more deeply exploring how and when it might be invoked ..”

@nbcnews.com
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 6h

What www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

POLITICO
"They killed Charlie Kirk — the least that we can do is go through a legal process and redistrict Indiana into a nine to zero map," Sen. Jim Banks, the Republican of Indiana, told POLITICO last month.

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Erin, on the side of caution @calliopeanim.bsky.social · 7h

This one is basically a two person stage play with some minor additional elements. It’s not bad for what it is, and you will almost certainly feel a certain way about the ending, but I can’t help but feel like it’s missing something, a little extra punch. Still, watchable.

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 9h

Reminder to @CNN about why this is a humiliating self-own by them.

1) Prez *does* have some legal power to change geog name, as used in federal documents. Thus Gulf of Mexico-->USA!

2) Prez has *zero* legal power to create, abolish, or rename a fed dept. Requires act of Congress.

STOP NOW CNN

Jonathan V. Last @jvl.bsky.social · 9h

This is capitulation. It is not the "Department of War." If CNN concedes on this point, they'll concede on any point.

Jon Passantino @passantino.bsky.social · 10h

CNN is now using the Trump preferred “Department of War” name in its official statements

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 7h

"Some House Democrats have a new worry as concerns about lawmakers’ safety continue: That they won’t be able to rely on local law enforcement for help if they need it." -- welcome to the world everyone else lives in

Matt Henry 🥄 @matthenry.fyi · 18d

When the nazis were coming into power, there was a lag before local law enforcement was fully on board. People were able to get police protection from nazi-aligned paramilitaries. Here, today, police look at rising fascism and say “Finally. We’ve been waiting for this.” www.notus.org/democrats/me...

Democrats' New Fear: They Can’t Rely on Local Law Enforcement for Protection

“They called the local sheriff; they showed up and were going to arrest me,” said Rep. Steven Horsford.

www.notus.org

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 7h

As I told @josephcox.bsky.social for this piece, if DHS is concerned that the actions of their own officers might inflame public opinion against the agency, they should work to increase oversight and accountability at the agency — rather than seek to have the evidence banned.

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 8h

New: Apple banned an app that simply archived videos of ICE abuses. Rather than other apps that record ICE official's real-time location, Eyes Up is to "preserve evidence until it can be used in court." Videos from TikTok etc. Every submission manually reviewed

www.404media.co/apple-banned...

Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses

Eyes Up's purpose is to "preserve evidence until it can be used in court." But it has been swept up in Apple's crackdown on ICE-spotting apps.

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 7h

weird shit that every white house reporter will see today and not tell their audiences about

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 7h

Brandi Kruse at today's "antifa violence roundtable" at the White House: "This is one of the reasons I recovered from it. By the way, it’s much better to not have TDS. I’m happier, healthier, more successful. I even think I got a little more attractive after I got rid of my Trump Derangement System"

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 8h

This is almost as bad as the infestation NYC saw in the 1970s, in which violence would often break out between the Baseball Furies and the Gramercy Riffs or you'd be caught in a rumble between the Lizzies and the Boppers. Terrifying times.

Jeff Tischauser @jtischauser.bsky.social · 9h

that's right Kash and all we have are Mids

Screenshot from twitter that shows Kash Patel on Fox News. The post states "Breaking FBI Director Kash Patel has just revealed nearly 5% of Chicago's 2.5 million residents, approx 110,000 people are active gang members."

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 8h

We are at the 'whole AAA games cancelled for fear of offending rabid racists' stage of this clusterfuck now.

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 8h

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year

Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

www.gamefile.news

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 11h

Seems like he's handling the criticism well. Betting his next special will have at least 10 minutes dedicated to this incident that portrays himself as a victim.

He claimed he was one of the comedians who had “the most amount of shit” for appearing.

“All of these sanctimonious cunts out there … who don’t really sincerely give a shit,” he said. “If you actually give a fuck about those people and how they’re living over there, there’s gonna have to be these types of things to pull them in. And I will tell you, the Cheesecake Factory in Riyadh, it’s incredible. It’s right next to Pizza Hut and KFC, and if you want a pair of Timberlands, it’s across the street next to the Marriott, catty-corner to the fucking Hilton.”

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 11h

This isn't the criticism dude. The criticism is that the ppl signing your paycheck lead a severely repressive regime.

This week also saw Ansari, who is currently promoting his directorial debut Good Fortune, asked about the event by Jimmy Kimmel.

“It’s something I put a lot of thought into,” he said. “I have an aunt that lived there for a while and I talked to her about this and she said there’s people over there that don’t agree with the stuff that the government’s doing and to ascribe the worst behaviour of the government on to those people is not fair just like there’s people in America who don’t agree with the things the government is doing.”

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Reposted by Erin, on the side of caution

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 15h

Once upon a time, the social media accounts of federal agencies weren't a stream of fascist, white nationalist garbage interlaced with whiny culture-war posts. Earlier this year, even!

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