Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Sharon Machlis @smachlis.bsky.social · 1d

This is a professor at Rutgers who teaches a class on the history of anti-fascism. He also teaches about human rights. He has received multiple death threats and been doxed. He is relocating to Europe for his safety. This is where we are in the US now. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2h

They did this with this dude more than twice too

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Old Man J @oldmanj.bsky.social · 2h

👇👇👇

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 15h

Donald Trump is breaching the Constitution and breaking the law.

A show of force so he can militarize our cities because of the 2026 elections.

We need to stand up together and speak up.

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 3h

Annals in sane-washing. When I checked NYT, WSJ, Politico, and WaPo for a story abt how Trump invited PizzaGate guy to the White House and declared an end to the First Amendment, this single story that mentioned it was on top of WaPo. Now it's buried.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

A story headlined, Trump builds case for deploying National Guard to Chicago, Portland The president said he would pursue designating antifa a "foreign terrorist organization" and called for Democratic officials in Chicago to be jailed.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday looked to bolster his public case for deploying the National Guard to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, cities where he claims Democrat politicians have failed to protect journalists and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from people whom he sees as left-wing domestic terrorists.

Trump said during a televised meeting at the White House that he would pursue designating antifa as a “foreign terrorist organization” — a label that would allow for key financial and legal penalties because foreign entities are not protected by the First Amendment. Proponents of antifa — a political protest movement composed of unaffiliated groups — militantly oppose fascism, right-wing ideologies and are often anti-capitalist or anti-state.

Trump also repeated a call he had made earlier in the day for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both Democrats, to be jailed, accusing them without evidence of “failing to protect” ICE officers who have been sent to the city.

His statements and other remarks given by top aides during a 2½-hour event laid out a legal and moral case for the administration’s push to send National Guard troops into U.S. cities. Designated foreign terrorist groups can face financial sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department. The Justice Department can prosecute supporters under enhanced charges of providing “material support” to a terrorist group.

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Anna O. Law @unlawfulentries.bsky.social · 3h

I teach in my undergrad class on the history of the US jury system that the institution's roots are in colonial juries serving as a counterweight to abuses of imperial power. The American jury has problems for sure but still can serve that roll. Don't blow off jury service.

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 13h

Jury Refuses To Indict Chicago ICE Protesters In Latest Revolt Against Trump Overreach talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Jury Refuses To Indict Chicago ICE Protesters In Latest Revolt Against Trump Overreach

A grand jury Tuesday night declined to indict two protesters in the...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 2h

Here's one of the explanations DOJ gave for needing to invade Chicago. A picture of LA (which it doesn't ID as such). Bring noisemakers, it says.

INVADE FOUR MONTHS LATER WITH TROOPS, Trump says.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

A poster for a solidarity rally in Chicago on June 10. It shows images from LA.

It tells people to bring noisemakers and a friend.

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 8h

"But Weiss didn’t test well with audiences, who didn’t understand her centrist-right contrarian politics. In fact, her focus group scores were so low that she wasn’t invited back to guest host, according to insiders."

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 9h

“She plays to an audience of 200 people,” one Hollywood executive with ties to Weiss told Variety. “It just happens to be that audience is made up of people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Ackman." www.rawstory.com/bari-weiss-2...

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," acco...

www.rawstory.com

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Old Man J @oldmanj.bsky.social · 15h

Now there’s some Orwellian double speak for you

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

TAPPER: But isn't the CR that Schumer voted on in March before the big beautiful bill passed, so it didn't contain the cuts to Medicaid or the reductions in increases to Medicaid?

MIKE JOHNSON: We didn't cut Medicaid. We reformed it.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15h

I don't want to call the president unreliable, but there *seem* to be store windows still intact here

www.see.cam/us/or/portla...

See Portland: 12th at Division Live Webcam & Weather Report in Portland, Oregon, US | SeeCam

Portland: 12th at Division Live Webcam & Weather Report in Portland, Oregon, United States - See WorldWide Live Stream and Still Timelapse WebCams by See.Cam

www.see.cam

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 16h

Again, if you live in Portland, just strolling around the city to verify the (checks notes) existence of store windows would do wonders for counteracting the delusions of President Livia Soprano.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16h

Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."

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Old Man J @oldmanj.bsky.social · 15h

Johnson is so confident in saying such obviously stupid things because he knows Tapper won’t press him about it

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

JOHNSON: That is a Dec. 31 policy issue

TAPPER: But doesn't open enrollment start Nov. 1?

JOHNSON: Some insurance companies will send out notices in November, that's right, and that's why the Democrats are so wrong to close this govt and burn up the time in October

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 15h

At U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments Wednesday, the justices signaled they’re wary of making it significantly easier to challenge election laws, as a Republican member of Congress and his allies are urging them to do. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

SCOTUS Sounds Skeptical of Right-Wing Push for Flood of Election Law Challenges

www.democracydocket.com

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 15h

Oh this is not great

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 15h

Remember this as Trump goes on about being "tough on crime."

@publiccitizen.bsky.social

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15h

The percentage of coverage the New York Times devotes to things that could have easily been an angry letter dashed off to the Harvard Alumni Review is disturbingly high.

No one else gives a shit, you weirdos. No one at all.

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 16h

Shocked, just shocked, by this important scoop on front page of today's NYT. /s/

Based on report that came out ... nine months ago

And behavior long predating that

("Skip a class? Perish the thought!!" Says anyone who ever worked on a college newspaper, which covers a lot of people in the media.)

NYT front page headline: "Harvard Finds Skipping Class Part of Culture."

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 20h

“Bullsh*t max reached”

(H/T @gavinnewsom.bsky.social )

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Old Man J @oldmanj.bsky.social · 20h

👇👇👇👇

Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 21h

On ICE raids and attacks in Chicago, local reporters have consistently shown up the national outlets attempting to report remotely.

Locals continue to break story after story even as the nationals are summarizing govt press releases. They've shown physical bravery in very dangerous circumstances.

COURIER @couriernewsroom.bsky.social · 1d

"With local news in a severe tailspin for decades, there was a real question about whether Chicago’s media would meet the moment. But they have indeed," writes @markjacob.bsky.social in Stop The Presses.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 22h

And now for a report from the hellish, war-zone that is Portland

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson: "This president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that quite frankly is a threat to our democracy. It's certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of a Black man unjustly."

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 23h

I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 21h

🏆 How does a comedy show have the best news research team? @thedailyshow.com

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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 21h

For the record, he has a JD, was a constitutional lawyer for the ADF (rightwing group behind 303 Creative, the Colorado gay cake case, and current conversion therapy one), and was even dean of a law school that never opened (shady).

But also? Claims to have no idea how laws or constitutions work.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 22h

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

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Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 1d

More propaganda with painfully normal people zip-tied at the side of the road please, this will for sure convince the American people that you're the good guys

Homeland Security @DHSgov

We're having an All Night Revival

Still frame from a video: Painfully normal people zip tied on the side of the road, sitting on a guardrail in a row

14:30 07 Oct 25 2.1M Views

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Johnson: "He has defunded our education system. He has defunded our transportation system. He's firing black women across this country. He's defunding our healthcare system. This president is absolutely out of control... Chicago is going to stand firm in protecting humanity."

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Hillary Rodham Clinton @hillaryclinton.bsky.social · 22h

Children around the world have died because Trump and Musk needlessly destroyed USAID. These are some of their stories.

apnews.com/article/myan...

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

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