Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1m

THIS. I'm not qualified to pass any kind of medical or mental health diagnosis on Donald Trump. But anyone with working sense organs knows that this man has failed upward through life as a pathological bullshit artist with no real or lasting consequences. Why would he stop now?

buy my book @nmamatas.bsky.social · 3m

Trump is surely sundowning and being fed misinformation but it is also true that any President that thought a city was in flames and all commerce had stopped would send more than a couple hundred member of some National Guard there. He knows he's bullshitting.

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3m

THIS THIS AND THIS. Had a sharp eyed editor save me from a careless hard-on-deadline poor phrasing that would have been actionably and indefensibly defamatory if it had gone to print. Instead, it was quickly fixed and the only damage was to my pride.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 12m

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 21m

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 14m

THIS. In any artistic field, its a pretty safe bet that the top-tier talents live the maxim that if you want to write you need to read widely and constantly. If you're a visual artist, keep your eyes wide open to everything Even if you don't like it - figuring out why is creative fuel.

Rosy @mpandainsilk.bsky.social · 3d

Okay another one, Comics vs Manga rivalry doesn’t need to be a thing especially when artists within said industries have been reading works from each other and don’t hold nearly as much hostility towards other works as some fans do.

Liam McGuire @liammcguire.bsky.social · 5d

Anyone have a particularly hot comic take?

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 28m

I'm as sick of saying it as you probably are of saying it but IF YOU'RE NOT A PROFESSIONAL THIEF, ANY INDUSTRY THAT CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT STEALING OTHER PEOPLE'S GOODS AND SERVICES DESERVES TO DIE.

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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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 33m

"The higher a monkey climbs the more he shows his arse."

No idea why that proverb has been an unusually persistent brain worm in recent days...

[RP with typo corrected]

Suspicious Monkey GIF by MOODMAN

giphy.com

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 43m

Thank you, Sir, for bringing that domestic terror-supporting bitch Martha Dandridge Custis Washington to justice!

Bobby Silverman @robertsilverman.bsky.social · 2h

lest anyone think the girlfriend line was a hilarious joke I concocted...

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 48m

Authoritarianism is bad for everyone's health.

Any Democratic office-holder who can't, or won't, grasp that simple fact needs to be gently but firmly shown the exit from public office.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 2h

Durbin on whether Democrats can use reining in ICE in Chicago as a precondition to rein in the government says “can’t do that. It’s gotta be health care all the way.”

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 54m

Fun Fact: One of those "iterations" of "Antifa" was my father enlisting in the 28th (Maori) Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

When you were one of the millions of men and women who fought against the Axis Powers during the Second World War, being ANTI-FASCIST was not optional.

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 2h

"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."

- Jack Posobiec at Trump's roundtable on antifa

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1h

Nothing says "rule of law" like the Attorney-General of the United States bringing ALL the box wine-soaked drama to a Real Housewives reunion show.

Bobby Silverman @robertsilverman.bsky.social · 3h

Bondi claiming they arrested [checks notes] "the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa" has me in stitches

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Bondi: "Bondi: "Just like we did with cartels, we are going to take the same approach, President Trump, with antifa -- destroy the entire organization from top to bottom. We are going to take them apart."

Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1h

If pundits are going to get back on their Pope-splaining bullshit, it would be really nice if they could stop talking about the Catholic Church like its just another secular lobby group and its Supreme Pontiff is just another CEO. Canon law and doctrine doesn't care about your feelings.

a man with a beard is sitting in a chair with the words " there is no dealing with the devil " above him

Alt: a man with a beard is sitting in a chair with the words " there is no dealing with the devil " above him

media.tenor.com

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 2h

Again ask yourself this question: Does it pass the smell test that the entire American news industrial complex is engaged in a vast left-wing conspiracy to suppress an endless fount of crime stories that would turbo-charge their ratings/circulation/traffic? Really? REALLY?

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 2h

That's fair - hell, I'm a ride or die Jane Austen stan who re-reads the sacred texts every year and not too proud to admit that every time I'm sorely tempted to skip Mansfield Park. Even the greatest can't score every time they take the field.

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 2h

I find it odd that anyone could get bent out of shape about that because Lanthimos himself is hardly coy about how calculated his off-putting aesthetic is. Like it or not (and I generally don't), ten features and twenty five years in there's no plausible deniability about what he does.

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 2h

The unbelievably laughable subplot of all this nonsense is that every news outlet in America -- apart from the brave truth-tellers of Trump Pravda - is engaged in a vast-left wing conspiracy to suppress stories that would turbo-charge their ratings/circulation/traffic?

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3h

Friendly reminder: When it comes to the Curia, the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church is NOT Donald Trump. Under Catholic canon law and centuries of precedent, the Pope has absolute authority to tell his bishops what to do and how to do it, and fire them if they're... disobliging.

Joshua McElwee @joshmcelwee.org · 13h

Pope Leo told U.S. bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump's hardline policies, attendees said, in the latest push by the pontiff on the issue. For @reuters.com:

www.reuters.com

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3h

No it isn't - but it is worth remembering that the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church is not Donald Trump - under Catholic canon law, he has the absolute authority to hire and fire at will any *bleep*er who doesn't fall in line. Subtle is an optional extra.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 4h

Oh — new reporting on Pope Leo from El Paso Matters, citing footage they have of yesterday's meeting.

Sounds like the pope was even *more* forceful in urging U.S. bishops to speak out about immigration than first reported.

I mean, that's…not subtle. elpasomatters.org/2025/10/08/e...

“I was struck at the beginning (of the video), it talks about the feeling of powerlessness, which I think is so much. I think it’s so important that we as a church give a message of hope in the midst of these horrible struggles, what’s going on in so many cities in the United States right now. At least the church cannot be silent,” the pope told the El Pasoans, according to a video of the meeting provided to El Paso Matters by Hope Border Institute.

Seitz responded: “You’ve spoken very strongly. We’re trying to do the same in our country and yet not get into the political fray the best that we can.”

Pope Leo told Seitz that he’d like to see the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops become more vocal on immigration issues.

“I mean, even within the conference, there are challenges. That’s one place they should be … I wish they were stronger in their own voice,” Leo said, adding that Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the president of the conference, should speak out more on immigration.

“There’s been some good movement in that sense, but I certainly intend to continue to encourage” U.S. bishops to address immigration, Leo said.

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3h

Cool. Please don't call and don't write when this "long-horizon strategy" results in another cycle of getting your arse kicked because the people you're throwing under a bus are checking out and staying home.

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3h

If you really want to talk about "the dumbest, most gullible motherfuckers on the planet" Trump supporters have NOTHING on 'institutionalists' who utterly failed to hold Trump and his flunkies accountable for any of the crimes they did the first time around. FAFO for real.

Bill Madden @maddenifico.bsky.social · 4h

Another FAFO moment for the dumbest, most gullible motherfuckers on the planet, Trump supporters. 😳👇

Reposted by Craig M. Ranapia

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 4h

A good time to be a serial killer or trafficker across state lines.

A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data — The Washington Post

Nearly a quarter of FBI agents are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing above 40 percent in the bureau’s largest field offices.

apple.news

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 17h

I really hope this angry inch's disbarment hearing will be live-streamed on Bravo, because Pam really knows how to bring the Real Housewives of the Beltway drama!

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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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 17h

I'm not sure these goons are capable of feeling shame, but it's on us to put them out of our misery and elect a government that will show up and DO THE WORK OF GROWN-UP GOVERNING instead of shitposting and trolling.

Russell Brown @publicaddress.bsky.social · 18h

Fucksake. It's quite clear now that they only looked at this benefit policy as political marketing and took no advice on who it would impact – which includes young people with serious health issues and disabilities. Just feckless and cynical. Shame on them. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Hundreds of teens with a health condition, disability may be cut from Jobseeker benefit

The government is ending Jobseeker payments to 18- and 19 year olds whose parents earn more than $65,000.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 23h

Let's make a deal - if you have "religious freedom" to try and torture the gay away, its only fair we get to start our own religion whose fabulous pantheon requires frequent human sacrifices.

Under Her Eye, bitches!

Behave Handmaids Tale GIF by HULU

giphy.com

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1d

IKR? Hell, I'm a rancid sewer-mouthed See-You-Next-Tuesday, but I don't throw shade without making sure I packed my thermal underwear and full-length mink coat.

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1d

YES. Also rather rich of the RW to accuse anyone else of being precious language cops who can't handle robust political debate when the likes of Nicola Willis can most charitably described as being as tough as a haemophiliac bound in a corset lined with sandpaper. #nzpol

Grumpy @grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social · 1d

1. It's an idiom, not a metaphor
2. We know it's an idiom
3. The issue is that YOU, a RW govt minister, directly linked an act of individual vandalism to a LW political party without any direct evidence.
4. When have the Greens ever advocated political violence?

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Morning Report political panel: Nicola Willis defends telling Greens to 'call the dogs off'

"I think we shouldn't be so precious that we can't use metaphorical speech," the Finance Minister says.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 1d

""I think we shouldn't be so precious that we can't use metaphorical speech and political speech."

The immediate follow-up should have been, "So, would your definition of 'precious' include taking umbridge when a critic on-line called you a bitch?" But, of course, it wasn't.

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