Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 2d

"The best path out of the current crisis for higher ed would be a new social contract between America and its universities that was achieved via amendments to and reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and, if necessary, other pertinent statutes."
#AcademicSky
#TeachLearnSky
#edusky

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact

Now we have a chance for collective action

therenovator.substack.com

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 2d

"The Department of Education is acting like a legislature. This, without any doubt, is executive overreach.

But the department, it must also be said, is stepping into a vacuum left by a polarized and therefore ineffective Congress."

The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 2d

No, seriously. Hear Danielle out.

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact

Now we have a chance for collective action

therenovator.substack.com

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Reposted by The Renovator

FairVote @fairvote.bsky.social · 3d

#RankedChoiceVoting can encourage politicians to do the cross-partisan work necessary for a stable nation and prosperous economy.

FairVote CEO Meredith Sumpter shares why in @the-renovator.bsky.social, a new Substack from Danielle Allen ⬇️

How to End Our Zero-sum Politics

Hey, business leaders: Want a productive democracy? Try ranked-choice voting, like Alaska and Maine.

therenovator.substack.com

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 2d

No, seriously. Hear Danielle out.

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact

Now we have a chance for collective action

therenovator.substack.com

1

Reposted by The Renovator

Vox @vox.com · 6d

The number of kids getting hurt by AI-powered chatbots is unknown, but it’s not zero. Yet, for nearly three years, ChatGPT has been free for all ages without any guardrails. That sort of changed on Monday, when OpenAI introduced a suite of parental controls. But are they enough to keep kids safe?

We shouldn’t let kids be friends with ChatGPT

OpenAI still isn’t doing enough to protect young people.

www.vox.com

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 6d

Good stuff here:

Ben Winters @benwinters.bsky.social · 6d

"If everything is 'AI,' it stops lawmakers and their constituents from meaningfully engaging with what a given piece of regulation would actually do. This presents a problem..."

More from @kara-williams.bsky.social and me on how ~we~ need to be talking about AI

consumerfed.org/specific-ter...

Specific Terms for Specific Risks: The Need for Accurate Definitions of AI Systems in Policymaking · Consumer Federation of America

By: Kara Williams (EPIC) and Ben Winters (CFA) Cross-posted on both websites These headlines likely conjure up a picture of some super-intelligent, all-powerful robot capable of solving society’...

consumerfed.org

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Maryland Matters @marylandmatters.org · 6d

How much prison time is too much? How harsh are speeding penalties? Should people be charged for passing on an infection, and how best to honor a slain parole officer? Answers to those questions are among 400 laws that took effect Wednesday.
marylandmatters.org/2025/10/01/f...

From speed cameras to HIV laws, more than 400 new laws took effect Wednesday - Maryland Matters

How much prison time is too much? How harsh are speeding penalties? Should people be charged for passing on an infection, and how best to honor a slain parole officer? Answers to those questions are a...

marylandmatters.org

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Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 6d

I feel like we've gotten numb to these threats but it really is something to stack them all next to each other www.theverge.com/policy/79051...

Ingersoll’s calls for violence are in line with the official Republican position. John Gillette, a Republican state representative for Arizona, called for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) to be hanged on his X account. Two Kansas Republicans alluded to — “joked” — about shooting a former Democratic colleague on the floor of the Kansas House. Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins threatened to jail the mayor of Denver, while Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna threatened to refer him for criminal charges. Arizona Republican Paul Gosar shared an anime video depicting him killing Ocasio-Cortez and attacking then-President Joe Biden.

Denaturalization is another favorite Republican threat. Republican Andy Ogles of Tennessee said that New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani should be stripped of his citizenship and deported; Ogles later demanded the same for Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois. Texas Republican Brandon Gill, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, and South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace have called for Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a naturalized US citizen, to be deported.

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Maryland Matters @marylandmatters.org · 6d

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) vowed Wednesday to continue funding some federal programs as a federal government shutdown began with no end in sight.
marylandmatters.org/2025/10/01/m...

Moore vows to keep some federal programs in Maryland operating - for now - Maryland Matters

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) vowed Wednesday to continue funding some federal programs as a federal government shutdown began with no end in sight.

marylandmatters.org

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 6d

The admin's new scheme to arm-twist colleges into supposedly voluntary compacts to adopt Trump policies, on pain of losing favored access to grants etc., smacks of the awful "Manhattan" blueprint I analyzed in July, dressed up to make it less obviously unconstitutional (though it still is).

A Manhattan Institute Manifesto Would Give this President Sweeping Power to Force University Compliance with Right-Wing Demands

The statement is selling a naked ideological agenda as a defense of campus free speech.

www.cato.org

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 10d

"Youth Protest in Serbia: And some thoughts for America."
Serbia is a country without the rule of law, and its young people have been taking risks for the better part of a year in the hopes of creating a future where they can live normally in their own country.
snyder.substack.com/p/youth-prot...

Youth Protest in Serbia

And some thoughts for America

snyder.substack.com

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 10d

Gen Z is deeply divided across the political spectrum - check out our post from today about how some of them are working to strengthen democracy!

The Gen Z-ers Saving Democracy

Carnegie Young Leaders get to work addressing gerrymandering, polarization, government responsiveness, and more

therenovator.substack.com

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 10d

1️⃣ Maine is deciding a measure out on the ballot by conservatives that’d restrict the ease of voting in a bunch of ways, notably going after mail voting. boltsmag.org/maine-questi...

A Ballot Measure Targets Mail Voting in Maine - Bolts

Question 1, on the November ballot, would set up a barrage of new restrictions on absentee ballots that would considerably affect older voters and people with disabilities.

boltsmag.org

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 10d

Across the United States, dozens of state governments have attempted to establish their own 'efficiency' initiatives, some molded in the image of DOGE. Many promote the use of AI and expanded access to data systems. To learn more, I spoke to CDT's Maddy Dwyer and University of Michigan's Ben Green.

Following DOGE, US States Pursue 'Efficiency' Initiatives | TechPolicy.Press

A conversation with Center for Democracy and Technology policy analyst Maddy Dwyer and University of Michigan scholar Ben Green.

techpolicy.press

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 10d

2️⃣ This fall, Democrats in Georgia are trying to win their first non-federal statewide races in two decades!

They are challenging two GOP incumbents on the utility commission, a little-known but consequential body, in an election full of these oddities: boltsmag.org/georgia-publ...

As Georgia Returns to Electing Its Utility Commission, Worries over Democracy Linger - Bolts

A pair of races are crystallizing issues with fair representation in Georgia: officials who stay in their seats years past their term, low-turnout runoffs, and the diluted power of Black voters.

boltsmag.org

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 10d

Historically, new lawmakers have pushed Congress to change its ways, but various factors have made it increasingly difficult for them. bit.ly/48ANEbo

Can Newly Elected Politicians Shift a “Stuck” Congress?

Mounting forces of violence and fundraising pressure have made Congress increasingly inhospitable to change.

www.brennancenter.org

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Issue One @issueonereform.bsky.social · 10d

Congress was intended to serve as People's Branch of government. For the sake of the prosperity and security of the American people, they must take back their constitutional authority over trade.

More from Issue One CEO Nick Penniman: https://tinyurl.com/4rz55ccp

Congress Must Reclaim Its Constitutional Authority Over Trade

This op-ed is part of a series laying out a cross-partisan vision to restore congressional authority as outlined in Arti

thefulcrum.us

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 11d

Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'

Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune

Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.

fortune.com

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Adam Bonin @adambonin.bsky.social · 10d

Seriously: PA's richest man is sending out mailers accusing the PA Supreme Court of engaging in gerrymandering by using as the example ... the GOP map they threw out *as* a political gerrymander. Completely shameless and false. cc: @taniel.bsky.social @the-downballot.com
share.inquirer.com/m0or44

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 10d

My SCOTUS term preview for the Guardian - it focuses on the case challenging what remains of the Voting Rights Act (Callais), how that's part of a centuries-old campaign against Reconstruction, & how that's representative of several issues on the Court's docket.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

A 160-year-old campaign against civil rights heads to the supreme court

Louisiana v Callais could roll back what remains of the Voting Rights Act, putting the future of America’s multiracial democracy at stake

www.theguardian.com

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 10d

The SAVE Act would be the most restrictive voting law passed by Congress in generations, all to solve a problem we know doesn't exist. bit.ly/3IivtNa

Advocates for Strict Voting Requirements Can’t Find Evidence of Noncitizen Voting

Not surprisingly, a state investigation found that it's American citizens who vote in Louisiana.

www.brennancenter.org

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 11d

A lot of gerrymandering-related stories this week from @missouriindependent.com, @kansasreflector.com, @ncnewsline.com, @floridaphoenix.com. What's gerrymandering and how did we get here? Check out our explainer:

Gerrymandering explained

Infographics, an analogy, what's going on in Texas, the origin of the weird name, and plenty of links to explore.

therenovator.substack.com

The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 11d

And @statesnewsroom.com has written a guide for what to expect in the event of a government shutdown, as well as covering the situation in individual states: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fede...

A federal government shutdown is nearing. Here's a guide for what to expect.

WASHINGTON — Congress’ failure to pass a short-term government funding bill before midnight Tuesday will lead to the first shutdown in nearly seven years and give President Donald Trump broad authorit...

www.newsfromthestates.com

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 11d

Check out Shawn Griffith's article on open primaries in Oklahoma, an effective democracy renovation Danielle has been writing about in her column:
ivn.us/posts/oklaho...

ivn.us

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The Renovator @the-renovator.bsky.social · 11d

The Trump administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard is also facing challenges, even pre-emptively, in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and New Mexico, and is being discussed at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting:

Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup

Updates on campaigns, policy changes, obstacles and successes for democracy renovation at the state level.

therenovator.substack.com

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