Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Julie Poole

estarianne @estarianne.bsky.social · 1d

You will be shocked to learn that the company the state sends to take people's houses is owned by private equity.

Yes someone's making a profit from this ghoulish venture.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 2d

In our magazine, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.

One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program

Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Julie Poole

Jeb Boyt 🌮 @jeboyt.bsky.social · 1d

Troubling.

If we were going to do this, we shouldn’t outsource it for someone to profit off of.

12.5 percent commission on recovered funds

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Reposted by Julie Poole

Patti Neff-Tiven @solestrella7.bsky.social · 1d

I had to get a lawyer to get POA on my dad who was already in a nursing home with Alzheimer's when my mom passed unexpectedly and then get a Lady Bird deed to avoid this very thing. We were privileged enough to go thru a year+ process. TX gonna TX

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 1d

Our top story, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: After suffering a stroke, their mother, Marilyn, spent two and a half years in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now the state wanted its money back.

“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”

One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program

Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 1d

It’s the little things, like when a story I wrote shows up in my google alerts.

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 1d

Important Medicaid programs are being cut right now. The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is the sort of program the government SHOULD get rid of, instead it’s going after the health care benefits that people actually need. MERP is wasteful spending at its absolute worst.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 2d

In our magazine, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.

One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program

Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 12d

A few years ago, I didn’t even know how to write a book review. Now I’m writing long form features. As a freelancer, I’ve had to hustle and grind. Most of the stories I do would not exist without grant funding. A handful of editors & organizations are the ONLY reason I get to do this work at all.

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 12d

Brilliant piece by @josephinelee.bsky.social No need to repeat that Trump has never cared about the working poor. That’s pretty clear by now.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 12d

Out today from @josephinelee.bsky.social: “The work is physically hard, the pay right now is barely keeping up with other jobs. There is a shortage of workers willing to even do these jobs because of the already low wages.”

Texas Domestic Workers Face Trump Attack on Minimum Wage

Advocates warn a proposed rule by the Department of Labor will deepen the country’s “crisis of care.”

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 12d

Tomorrow, I’m teaching a class on how to write an artist statement.

I searched for the last artist statement that I wrote and what I found blew my hair back.

My statement was so bold and vulnerable and true to who I am as a writer.

After I reread it I thought, “Damn, that was brave.”

Reposted by Julie Poole

Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 12d

BREAKING: The Federal Bureau of Prisons just terminated its union's collective bargaining agreement this afternoon, according to this letter posted online by the national union president:

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 18d

Hahahaha!!

Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 18d

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 20d

As far as I remember from J-school, the media’s job is to hold power to account. And that’s what journalists are doing.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 20d

New today: Media outlets, including the Texas Observer, argue that Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, are elected officials subject to public scrutiny.

News Orgs Fight to Unseal Records in the Paxtons' Divorce Case

The media outlets, including the Texas Observer, argue that the Paxtons are elected officials subject to public scrutiny.

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 20d

This is a “just keep going” type of moment. A refusal to get knocked off course by hopelessness and despair. I write a list of all the names I love.

Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 20d

What a lovely way to start the morning with such sweet words from a friend and fellow creative soul! Thanks @mistermysterio.bsky.social

Drew Pisarra @mistermysterio.bsky.social · 20d

Shout-outs to @cathylinhche.bsky.social, @regie.bsky.social, @juliepoole.bsky.social and all the other poets I've met and whose work I relish. #booksky #goodreads

www.drewpisarra.net/post/critici...

Criticism: Poetry by Contemporaries

A list of ten Goodreads reviews about poetry collections written by friends and people I've met.

www.drewpisarra.net

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 21d

Yep, this is pretty much the image I picture.

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 21d

If A.I. continues to speed or automate creative work, the total volume of cultural “stuff”—podcasts, videos, books, songs, articles, films, shows, plays, online personae, and so on—will increase. Will human-created content be able to cut through the noise?

A.I. Is Coming for Culture

We’re used to algorithms guiding our choices. When machines can effortlessly generate the content we consume, though, what’s left for the human imagination?

www.newyorker.com

Reposted by Julie Poole

ProPublica @propublica.org · 22d

There are 600,000 of you who now follow us on Bluesky 🦋

As journalists ourselves, we understand that regularly reading stories about broken systems can take a toll, and we never take the community here for granted.

Thank you to all of you who care deeply about the work we do.

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · 21d

Now this is the club for me!

Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 28d

AHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHH! 🗣️

At the inaugural meeting of Texas’s first “scream club,” shouting into the void is a form of therapy. https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/austin-scream-club/

I Met a Bunch of Strangers on a Bridge to Scream

At Austin Scream Club, shouting into the void is a form of therapy.

www.texasmonthly.com

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Reposted by Julie Poole

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 22d

Our top story: Ostensibly, medical care in American prisons should look just like medical care offered outside prisons. But decades of litigation and scandals have shown that correctional healthcare occupies a space wholly its own.

The Health Penalty: How Texas Prisoners Are Denied Medications, Treatments, and Legal Redress

At a North Texas prison, one nurse practitioner racked up more than 20 federal lawsuits over alleged medical mistreatment. The patients’ stories illuminate a healthcare system that often seems like…

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · Sep 3

Blood, sweat, and tears in each issue.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Aug 30

Editor-in-Chief @gusbova introduces the September/October 2025 issue of our magazine.

"As always, I hope you’ll find pleasure, alongside the inevitable indignation, in reading it."

Editor's Letter: Introducing Our September/October 2025 Issue

A note from the editor-in-chief

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · Sep 3

So much love for this poem by KB Brookins. 💗

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Aug 26

In poetry:
I insist on survival every day I stay in Texas.
Let me explain. A friend came over today
& boom: joy shone from our fingertips.
While the moon transitioned from waxing to waning,
my bro got a top surgery letter. We get by
with bitterness & rage.

Poem: Texas, No Exodus

I insist on survival every day I stay in Texas...

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Julie Poole

So Sayeth Black Lord: @jmood88.bsky.social · Aug 31

I have a master of public health, but it wasn’t until my grandmother got sick and started researching what assistance was available that I found out exactly how states use Medicaid to essentially steal from families that can’t afford to pay for treatment. They’re almost state-run reverse mortgages.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Aug 31

From @juliepoole.bsky.social in 2024: For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.

This State Program Collects Money from the Deceased. Families Pay the Price.

For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · Sep 3

This story took a very long time to report, but it was so worth it.

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Aug 31

From @juliepoole.bsky.social in 2024: For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.

This State Program Collects Money from the Deceased. Families Pay the Price.

For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.

www.texasobserver.org

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · Jun 1

So much love for this memoir by Neko Case. If you grew up in the PNW in the 80s/90s, you'll experience massive waves of nostalgia and want to bust out those albums you used to listed to on cassette tape.

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · Jun 1

I'm a day late to #1000wordsofsummer! But I'm here now, streaming services canceled, snacks in the cupboard ready to ROCK. 🥁☠️🛹📓

Jami Attenberg @jamiattenberg.bsky.social · May 31

Go on, write your way into knowing yourself a little better.

Happy first day of #1000wordsofsummer!

1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/p/day-1-of-1...

Day 1 of #1000wordsofsummer 2025

Because you're a writer.

1000wordsofsummer.substack.com

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Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · May 23

I’m trying to come up with a mission statement for my role as a freelancer. Right now “it’s finish next assignment, then get a full time admin job.” In a beautiful handwritten script this could work on my company letterhead.

Julie Poole @juliepoole.bsky.social · May 23

Gawd, I love a bingeable book. (Yes, I’m aware I’m very late to the party but that’s how this old b*tch rolls.) But seriously, I’m giving up two TV nights for this book. @rfkuang.bsky.social

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