Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 4h

Given swing voters are suffering an epidemic of Medieval Peasant Mindset you just know blaming the kings evil advisor is the go to move.

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Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 11h

Steven Carrillo, another boogaloo boi, pleaded guilty to murdering a security guard in Oakland in 2020.

He had posted on Facebook about wanting to start an anti-government revolution. The right loves framing the left for violence.

They are always trying to set Reichstag fires.

41-year sentence for Ex-Air Force sergeant who killed guard

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A former U.S. Air Force staff sergeant and alleged member of the “boogaloo” extremist movement was sentenced to 41 years in prison Friday for the fatal shooting of a federal sec...

apnews.com

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Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 11h

Another riot in Minneapolis was instigated by a right-wing agitator who was convicted of shooting into a police station and setting it on fire, in the hopes of starting a civil war.

A self-described "boogaloo boi," he drove up from Texas to create a false flag.

Texas man in 'boogaloo' movement pleads guilty to firing at police station during Floyd protest

Ivan Harrison Hunter, a self-proclaimed member of the “boogaloo bois,” is accused of firing 13 rounds from a semi-automatic assault-style rifle at a Minneapolis station.

www.nbcnews.com

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Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 11h

The very first riot after a George Floyd protest was started by a white supremacist nicknamed "Umbrella Man."

He spraypainted "free shit" on an AutoZone, broke the windows, and encouraged others to come in. abcnews.go.com/amp/US/man-h...

Man who helped ignite George Floyd riots identified as white supremacist: Police

A masked umbrella-wielding man helped incite riots and looting in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd's death, police said.

abcnews.go.com

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Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 11h

🧵 Trump is criminally invading states under false pretenses. His supporters are trying to instigate violence by dressing as antifa and committing crimes.

In this clip from Portland, Joey Gibson of "Patriot Prayer" and his fiancée, Lindsey Nichols, tried to cause trouble before being forced away.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 10h

I think this is particularly true of the “what if someone transitions in name only just for the woman’s heavy weight boxing final” which appeals a lot to lawyers brained elites and is easily dismissed with “why would anyone do that?” by normies.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 1d

To be clear I think this is desirable, possible, but not likely. Trump general tendency has been to quadruple down on loyalists lately.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

My statement on the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023.

“Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities.

In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: adeath toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble. Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered. Our government has been complicit through it all.

This must end. The occupation and apartheid must end. Peace must be pursued through diplomacy, not war crimes, and our government must act to end these atrocities and hold those responsible to account.

These last two years have demonstrated the very worst of humanity. We must answer it by modeling the very best: a relentless pursuit of our higher ideals and an unwavering commitment to universal human rights.”

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 1d

The good but deeply un-cathartic path now looks like Trump ditching Miller et al for making him look bad, doing replacement level Republican evil, and spending 2028 tweeting how he’d be up 10 points but Vance doesn’t have the juice. Probably too high on his own supply / brain dead for that though.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 1d

Unfortunately I think a lot of people will read this quantification as “a new thing to worry about” rather than correctly “one less thing to worry about”.

Good to know. Put it very low on the priority list.

ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 2d

There’s a wide stable terrace on which to stand and denounce the state of Israel but TikTok is full of people speeding down the slopes to gutter antisemitism like a 5 man bobsleigh team.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 4d

Aside from Vance, who as veep is functionally unemployed, farming the approval of racist trolls for validation, this is their worldview: white people are true Americans and are entitled to be here, the rest of us are guests and must behave accordingly

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 4d

If you’re white, your accomplishments are your own and you can resent and criticize the country all you like, but if you’re black and successful you should be grateful to white people for allowing you in their presence. bsky.app/profile/jess...

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 4d

Weaponized gratitude is a key tool in the abuser's toolkit. The goal is to convince the victim that they owe the abuser so much, they should feel guilty for wanting to complain.

Tweet from the VP:
Joy Reid has had such a good life in this country. It's been
overwhelmingly kind and gracious to her. She is far wealthier than most.
Yet she oozes with contempt.
My honest, non-trolling advice to Joy Reid is that you'd be a much
happier person if you showed a little gratitude

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

Pretty much all non-elites in history were living on a calorific knife edge in an insecure nil-sum economy, a context abolished even in most developing countries today. That was understood and greek writers frequently contrast ruthlessness driven by “necessity” from that driven by “ambition”.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

Yeah seems to be basically an on par performance. I’m optimistic we’ll see stronger performance on the day. We’ve seen bigger swings in most special elections and North VA has been hit hard by Trumps bullshit.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

+12 doesn’t sound that good to me? That would be good in a presidential year but in this environment a +6 improvement on Harris’ margin seems unremarkable.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 6d

And yes, while Mastodon isn’t my thing and I prefer AT Proto to Activity as federated social media infrastructure, I am VERY glad it exists and is being built out, too.

The future absolutely requires online communication hubs that can’t be bought by dead-eyed Nazis.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 6d

You don’t need to become an expert on AT Protocol, you don’t need to learn to code, but I really do want to impress upon people that “federated social media” is a vitally important concept in a time of global authoritarian and technofeudalist consolidation.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

Fascism attempts to force humans to live as one of a small set of cliched archetypes. Generative AI is built on the quantification of cliches and archetypes they are in this regard perfect for each other.

ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

That’s good. Shithead Steve deserves a chance. You will act like Shithead Steve when your partner is chronically ill. And so long as they can’t summarily get rid of him you know you’re safe.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

In a org with a strong union the business will constrain itself in advance. So you don’t (often) fight firing an employee of the month who announced her pregnancy. You spend a lot of time insisting Shithead Steve does get 2 written warnings and retraining before being fired for safety violations.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

No Dems should vote funding for more than a month.
Every month any abused executive authority should be transferred by law to an acceptable appointee chosen by congress as part of the next budget.
GOP can break the filibuster if they don’t like it. But it’s how we have to operate post midterms.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

A lot of people respond to bad electoral outcomes by saying that democracy is fake or that the people are enthralled by dark magic. Not me. I know people just suck sometimes.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

They going to need to make this argument after the midterms when they will need to put Trump on a series of two weeks continuing resolutions and cut him off when he abuses executive power. “Trump is a mad dog who needs to be kept on a short leash” is very simple and intuitive.

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ciarangallagher.bsky.social @ciarangallagher.bsky.social · 5d

Low info voters get personality much better than policy. Being power mad is a personality trait they can so easily process. They also get cronyism and hate it.

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