Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Pema Levy

@pemalevy.bsky.social

3.3K followers 340 following 150 posts

Reporter at @MotherJones.bsky.social Send me secure tips: pemalevy[at]proton.me pemalevy.33 (Signal)

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Pema Levy

Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 19h

A year and a half ago, @hencarnell.bsky.social and I investigated the movement to resurrect conversion therapy

Now, oral arguments are about to begin in a Supreme Court case, Chiles v. Salazar, that could overturn bans in 23 states.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 21h

Anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy is ineffective and dangerous, leading to suicidality and depression.

Today, the Supreme Court will consider bringing this torturous practice back from the dustbin of history where it belonged. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

SCOTUS wades back into the war on trans kids—and considers greenlighting conversion therapy

The science is in: The anti-LGBTQ "treatments" are ineffective and dangerous.

www.motherjones.com

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

Why would the Republican appointees want a dual state? In an authoritarian state, the justices are revealed to be rubber stamps for the leader, without real authority. Their legitimacy, power, and prestige rests on the rule of law—or at least the illusion of it.

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

The normative state illusion is sustained by a healthy economy. But Trump is threatening that by trying to hijack the Fed and impose steep tariffs. SCOTUS will confront both issues this term. Will it manage the tricky balance of giving Trump power without tanking the economy and scaring the markets?

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

@evanbernick.bsky.social: “ICE is the face of a prerogative state, emerging or actual: It swoops in, it ignores safeguards, you can’t escape it. A Supreme Court that gets out of the way in that context...and tries to manage everything else as normal, is a dual state Supreme Court."

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

The Supreme Court facilitates a dual state by switching off the law for Trump. Take ICE. We now call its brutal, illegal stops "Kavanaugh Stops" because the GOP appointees let ICE racially profile people, and Justice Kavanaugh promised everything would be fine www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/supreme-court-racial-profiling-ice/“ICE

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

To Fraenkel, the prerogative state like a black hole, says Aziz Huq: “It’s this void, but it’s a void that exerts a gravitational pull on everything around it... And there are these moments where some piece of the normative state just gets collapsed and blown away.”

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

Ernst Fraenkel used the idea of a "dual state" to describe the legal system in 1930s Germany:

A zone of lawlessness, the "prerogative state," swallows the regime's enemies while the rest of the population lives in the law-bound "normative state." Except, the normative state is never really safe...

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 1d

“The reality is that the court is adjusting the law to make place for arbitrary power.”

To understand the Supreme Court's role in Trump's authoritarian project, I turned to the idea of a dual state: an authoritarian regime that keeps up a facade of normalcy

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 1d

We are experiencing a "dual state" phenomenon, writes @pemalevy.bsky.social, when "a dictator can exercise unfettered power " ensuring a "'zone of lawlessness' can swallow some, while the rest go about their lives under the protection of the law." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

My Father’s Daughter @aninsggirb.bsky.social · 1d

essential read: @pemalevy.bsky.social does an excellent job of bringing it full circle & making it relatable & plain - that if read - no excuse for anyone to pretend, or think it’s temporary or it will revert back, or ‘it doesn’t affect me’. Your ‘normalcy’ is an illusion on the verge of collapse.

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

When the Supreme Court blesses the Trump administration’s disregard for the law while maintaining the appearance that the law still applies, it enables a "dual state."

As @pemalevy.bsky.social writes, the "dual state" framework is how dictators exercise power while life appears mostly ordinary.

The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 3d

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

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

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 4d

“This is now a MAGA court, and Roberts is at the helm.”

I spoke with @thelisagraves.bsky.social about John Roberts' road to Supreme Court, his legacy after 20 years as chief justice, and how he's empowered Trump.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Taking stock of the Roberts court at 20—and the shadowy forces that built it

"Roberts will go down in history as the most destructive chief justice."

www.motherjones.com

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 4d

Is this a Kavanaugh stop?

"Rodrick Johnson, 67...detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties.

Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours"

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 5d

"Jones, 27, is among the residents left at 7500 S. South Shore Drive who are trying to piece together what remains after an early morning, high-powered federal immigration raid led to the arrests of dozens of their neighbors at their South Shore apartment building."

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

chicago.suntimes.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

Save VOA @savevoa.bsky.social · 14d

We are journalists, scientists, foreign aid workers, space experts, and more. Together, our voices are stronger. Check out this report by @pemalevy.bsky.social on @motherjones.com

Meet the posters behind Instagram’s federal agency alt accounts

How to defend the work of government, one meme at a time

www.motherjones.com

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 15d

“I want to be able to tell my kids that I tried,” Veronica says. “In 20, 30 years, when they ask me, ‘Mom, what did you do when our democracy came under fire and rights were being taken away and agencies were being closed?’... And I want to be able to give them an answer that I’m proud of.”

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 15d

“Democracies run on popular support and on expertise, both at the same time. What these alt accounts seem to be doing is trying to keep alive the other pillar on which democracy relies.”

“Do we really want to go back to polio and measles?...They’re trying to warn people that this is what’s coming.”

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 15d

Amidst fear and capitulation from big law, big media, and universities, here is the story of ordinary moms and federal employees who are defending their agencies, good government, and American democracy.

Meet the people behind Instagram's alt agency accounts:

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Meet the posters behind Instagram’s federal agency alt accounts

How to defend the work of government, one meme at a time.

www.motherjones.com

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 16d

Remember, Trump can order prosecutions of political opponents—even unlawful ones—thanks to the Supreme Court.

“He could use the DOJ to obstruct justice. He could use the DOJ as leverage for extortion.”

He could order the fabrication of evidence.

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 19d

My latest installment in a series I should start calling "Thanks John Roberts" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Supreme Court greenlit Trump’s political prosecutions—even the ones that are illegal

Thanks, John Roberts.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 18d

Truly appreciative of the time and care that @motherjones.com and @pemalevy.bsky.social put into this. It’s important.

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 18d

NEW: Federal judges have levied an “ego-driven, petty” attack that targets a transgender civil rights attorney.

We spoke with legal journalist, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social, to discuss the importance of this case:

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 18d

Exhibit A abcnews.go.com/US/trump-off...

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 18d

What looks like a vendetta against civil rights lawyers included secret hearings, due process issues, and threats of jail time.

As one legal team fighting the sanctions put it: “The process and procedures employed in this matter were so extraordinary as to approach unprecedented.”

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 18d

In Alabama, a trans civil rights lawyer is facing criminal charges; three civil rights lawyers are fighting sanctions.

I spoke to @chrisgeidner.bsky.social about how federal judges came after a team of civil rights lawyers who challenged a transgender care ban
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How federal judges put a trans civil rights lawyer under criminal investigation

A "ego driven, petty" attack targets attorneys who fought a transgender care ban in Alabama.

www.motherjones.com

Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 19d

My latest installment in a series I should start calling "Thanks John Roberts" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Supreme Court greenlit Trump’s political prosecutions—even the ones that are illegal

Thanks, John Roberts.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Pema Levy

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 19d

After Trump v. US, any attempted oversight or course correction of Trump's politically motivated investigations now runs up against his new exclusive powers.

That's because, as @pemalevy.bsky.social writes, the Supreme Court has made clear that no other branch of government may intervene.

The Supreme Court greenlit Trump’s political prosecutions—even the ones that are illegal

Thanks, John Roberts.

www.motherjones.com