Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 14m

CNN is apparently afraid of reporting actual news when it is made on their air.

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 13h

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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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 3h

Check the timestamps. On CNN’s website, the uploaded interview starts at 2:52. On their YouTube page, the upload starts at 2:47. The “plenary authority” comment by Miller was at 2:41, as shown in my side-by-side video post. CNN should be reporting on what Miller said. It’s news!

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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 29m

Nailed it here

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 6h

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 4h

Henry Farrell on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities, arguing that the rollout signals weakness, and that academics need to band together to reject this authoritarian attack on university independence and academic freedom.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

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EleanorRigbyATX @eleanorrigbyatx.bsky.social · 1h

If he was half a man, Elon Musk could send loads and loads of food to these people in Myanmar. What else is he going to do with his money besides buy elections?
DO IT, ELON. SEND TONS OF FOOD TO THESE PEOPLE TODAY!!!
apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Bryan 🌐 🇺🇦 Slava Ukraine @papootx.bsky.social · 17h

Trump Is Openly Taking Bribes

Trump got $1.2 Billion to make 47 federal investigations into fraud, monopoly abuse, wage theft, and consumer deception vanish.

He didn't Drain The Swamp, he is selling forgiveness for crimes.

Corporate Crime Became Legal By Default

The $1.2 Billion Bribe That Bought Trump

by @DigitalWarfare1

open.substack.com

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Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 19h

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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Aunty Em @everycourthouse.bsky.social · 15h

Pick your battle because it’s one or the other. Either we shut everything down with a general strike and protest every day or we let assholes like this terrorize us. Which do you want?

Masked man pointing an assault weapon at an innocent woman

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Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) @axidentaliberal.bsky.social · 13h

Thus far, ICE and CBP in the Chicago region killed an immigrant

Shot a woman 5 times-after allegedly taunting her, saying “Do something, b****”

And shot a priest-who wasn’t remotely a threat-in the head

So when does Governor Pritzker deploy the National Guard to protect citizens from these thugs

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 18h

Kristi Noem confronts enemy combatants in the Portland war zone today.

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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 13h

The comments on this thread are worth the price of admission.

𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.bsky.social · 21h

Chicagoans are calling it "Operation Butterfingers."

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𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.bsky.social · 21h

Chicagoans are calling it "Operation Butterfingers."

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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 15h

Kudos to Sen Whitehouse for handling the Queen Karen of all time today. 👏

Too bad most of those who need to see this won't, but every bit of truth out there helps move the line a bit.
So spread this far and wide.

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 18h

One of many, I suspect.

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 18h

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 20h

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

www.oregonlive.com

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 21h

Maybe downplaying Trump & his minion's radicalism (& the fanaticism of many of his followers) and cramming Trump into a "slightly outside the normal candidate" box was not practicing actual journalism, but distorting reality to fit into your preconceived, comfortable narrative.

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 23h

An 84 year old couple, he a Vietnam Vet using a walker, in a peaceful group of neighbors, unprovoked attack by ICE.

The only "war zone" in Portland is created by ICE.

Aunty Em @everycourthouse.bsky.social · 1d

“We are home now. We marched from the park to ICE, very peaceful crowd. We were standing around ICE pushed us down, sprayed us with chemical and I was hit in the head with a projectile. This was so unprovoked. People have to know that the Feds are attacking people with NO provocation whatsoever.”

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Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, her refusal to answer valid questions should be deemed Contempt of Congress.

Yes, her refusals indicate consciousness of guilt and a likely involvement in malfeasance.

Yes, her testimony was filled with lies and constitutes Perjury or False Statements to Congress.

What else is there to say?

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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 23h

Sadly, not all of America knows this.

Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 1d

Bondi got her job because she's Trump's lawyer—and he made her his lawyer because she was willing to take a bribe to drop the Trump University case. The only reason this person is on TV today is because she is corrupt, willing to commit federal crimes, and will lie for Trump. All America knows this.

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 1d

Thread

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 1d

1/ The origin of the myth:
People assume “fewer components = safer.” It’s intuitive but scientifically wrong.
Your immune system encounters thousands of antigens every day from food, bacteria, and your own microbiome.
The few dozen antigens in vaccines even combined ones are trivial by comparison.

Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 1d

Has there ever been a more useless tool than Pam Bondi?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

SCHIFF: If a video exists of Homan taking $50k in bribe money from the FBI, will you support a request to provide it to the committee?

BONDI: You can talk to Director Patel about that

SCHIFF: I'm talking to you about it

BONDI: Will you apologize to Donald Trump?

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

seeing otherwise smart people share the story that a south carolina judge’s beach house was burned to the ground because of a ruling against trump despite there being no evidence of that has been frustrating. just because the other side has abandoned facts doesn’t mean we can, too.

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 1d

Draw on your own experience:

Is there any situation you've ever been part of, with you or anyone else in the hot seat, in which a person who does NOT have something to hide, reacts the way Bondi does?

I've been on trial juries that concluded "we can't trust that witness," after evasions like this

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

NOTABLE -- Pam Bondi refuses to answer direct questions about if the FBI has incriminating photos of Trump with half-naked young women, but instead deflects from them by attacking Sen. Whitehouse

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

NOTABLE -- Pam Bondi refuses to answer direct questions about if the FBI has incriminating photos of Trump with half-naked young women, but instead deflects from them by attacking Sen. Whitehouse

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A Dead Weird Carnie @ecarney.bsky.social · 1d

It's been really eye-opening to see nominally liberal acquaintances repeat the conservative framing of news stories they picked up from Twitter, while they justify their continued use of the platform simply by saying "I was here before Elon bought it." As if seniority inoculates against propaganda.

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