Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sam Minter

J6 Plaque @thejan6plaque.bsky.social · 5h

Targeted propaganda got him elected in 2024. It isn’t enough to make people ignore his stupidity in office. But it got them to misremember who he is and misjudge what his second term would be like. And that was enough to put him in.

YouGov America @today.yougov.com · 8h

NEW Economist/YouGov Oct 17-20
40% of U.S. adult citizens have a favorable view of Donald Trump
57% have an unfavorable view
Net -17
Last week
42% | 53% | -11
Start of term
50% | 48% | +3
today.yougov.com/politics/art...

A line chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "Favorable and unfavorable views of Donald Trump."

The chart has the sub-headline: "Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people? [Donald Trump] (% of U.S. adult citizens)."

The chart has the note: "Note: Responses of "don't know" are not shown. Data for Sept. 26 - Nov. 14, 2020 is among registered voters only."

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Elon Green @elongreen.bsky.social · 5h

again, "I'm stupid, not evil" is a legitimate defense, but that doesn't mean you get to run for senator against Susan Collins. Find something else to do.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Platner says he’ll remove tattoo that resembles Nazi symbol

His former political director said he "knows damn well" what the tattoo signifies.

www.politico.com

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 6h

If this wasn’t posted by Aaron Rupar I would immediately assume AI until proven otherwise. But…

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h

Trump: "We have Darth Vader. You know Darth Vader, right? Darth Vader is a man who is sitting -- is that Darth? Stand up please. Does everybody know -- they call him Darth Vader, I call him a fine man. But he's cutting Democrat priorities and they're never gonna get them back."

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Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 7h

Without the authority to do so, he’s demolishing the entire East Wing of the White House. Every major Democratic voice should be pounding him & his enablers. Any Democrat thinking about running for president in 28 should pledge to bulldoze Trump’s fucking ballroom if elected.

Meet the moment Dems.

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Sep 9

Q: but what if a full Epstein investigation also takes down Bill Clinton?????

A:

Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Jul 26

it’s not even a sacrifice, it’s like a Free Gift With Purchase

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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 8h

Here's the thing I don't understand. You can't as much as sneeze near a historic site in Washington without like 14 commissions, councils, and advisory boards giving you the okay. And everybody now is like...yup, fine with us? wtf?

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 9h

NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.

Photograph of ongoing demolition of the East Wing of the White House.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 7h

So a few months ago, we detailed how immigration agents were breaking car windows to grab the people inside.

Well, it turns out one agent just did that *with his gun* and mistakenly shot the person inside and a U.S. marshal.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/u...

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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 8h

DOJ declined to bring charges against two people who threatened to kill @ericswalwell.bsky.social this year, @nbcnews.com reports: www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 11h

Breaking News: President Trump wants $230 million from the Justice Department for investigating him, people familiar with the matter say. Any settlement might ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended him or those in his orbit. nyti.ms/4hmIi5X

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 11h

"The White House account has drawn only around 12,000 followers. More than 100,000 users have the account blocked."

makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 14h

NEW: Inside the Trump Administration's Bluesky Invasion

Spoke with some administration officials who said the move was about "reaching new audiences." It's amounted to trench warfare.
www.wired.com/story/inside...

Inside the Trump Adminstration's Bluesky Invasion

On Friday, after months of internal discussions, federal agencies began posting on the left-friendly social network. Within days, they dominated a list of the most-blocked accounts.

www.wired.com

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jj skolnik @modernistwitch.myatproto.social · 10h

sorry man if you stupidly get a totenkopf and didn’t know what it was at the time you get that shit removed or covered up. you do not just rock with it

Axios @axios.com · 10h

NEW: Embattled Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner responded to a video revealing what appeared to be a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest:

"I am not a secret Nazi."

"I am not a secret Nazi": Maine Senate candidate responds to tattoo accusations

"I am not a secret Nazi," he said on a recent podcast appearance.

www.axios.com

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Daniel Ziblatt @dziblatt.bsky.social · 16h

Former presidents can go to jail if they are guilty of criminal offenses without causing democracy to collapse
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Sarkozy enters jail over campaign financing - France's first ex-president behind bars

Nicolas Sarkozy, president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison.

www.bbc.com

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

learned recently that the guy who wrote "The Night Before Christmas," clement clarke moore, also wrote a takedown of thomas jefferson's proto-scientific racism in "Notes on the State of Virginia," basically accusing him and others of making it up to justify slavery. which, that's right.

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 21h

Experimenting posting the same clips here as I have been posting to TikTok in the past. As you can see I am a little behind. Oops.

Curmudgeon's Corner @curmudgeons-corner.com · 21h

@abulsme.com discusses his rapidly diminished tolerance for waiting in lines, for anything. -- Clip from the 2025-09-20 episode of the Curmudgeon's Corner #podcast

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Ezra Levin ❌👑 @ezralevin.bsky.social · 1d

Now we build on the momentum. ezralevin.substack.com/p/whats-come...

What's comes after the largest peaceful protest in American history?

Indivisible's weekly newsletter with analysis and action

ezralevin.substack.com

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Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 1d

Last weekend, @annabower.bsky.social started to receive Signal messages from the U.S. attorney who is leading the prosecution of Letitia James.

Throughout the exchange, Lindsay Halligan complained about Bower’s tweets and reporting on the indictment–but never once asked to be off the record.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”

My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.

www.lawfaremedia.org

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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 1d

They asked 100 people walking by the Lays factory if they knew what chips were made of and 42% said fuck you I'm busy

Solomon @solomonmissouri.bsky.social · 1d

I....

fortune.com/2025/10/10/p...

Lay's drastically rebrands after disturbing finding: 42% of consumers didn't know their chips were made out of potatoes | Fortune

New bags—matte-ified and designed to look like wood planks (like a potato crate)—will hold the chips with revamped ingredient lists.

fortune.com

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 1d

JUST IN: Read James Comey's motions to dismiss his indictment based on (1) vindictive and selective prosecution and (2) unlawful appointment of Lindsey Halligan.

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

JAMES B. COMEY, JR.'S MOTION AND MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS INDICTMENT
James B. Comey, Jr., by and through undersigned counsel, and pursuant to Federal Rule
of Criminal Procedure 12(b), moves this Court to dismiss the government's indictment. As
explained further below, the government has singled out Mr. Comey for prosecution because of
his protected speech and because of President Trump's personal animus toward Mr. Comey.
Such a vindictive and selective prosecution violates the First Amendment, Due Process Clause,
and equal protection principles.
The proper remedy for this unconstitutional prosecution is
dismissal with prejudice. Any lesser remedy would be insufficient in light of the government's
flagrant misconduct and the need to deter the government from bringing further unconstitutional
prosecutions.

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Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 1d

Two Trump-appointed judges of the Ninth Circuit let Trump send the troops into Portland, pausing another Trump appointee's TRO.

The only non-Trump appointee denounces the "political theater" behind the deployment, calling for an en banc review to stop it. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

Hadn’t seen this one yet. No Kings in Pgh. There is something in my eye.

www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8AtgeAp/

The most nonviolent rally song there is. It felt so amazing to be surrounded by like-minded neighbors, to know we are all standing on the right side of history- loving our neighbors. 💙 We get distort...

TikTok video by Amy

www.tiktok.com

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

I actually have trouble believing that just happened so fast. I know he doesn’t care about rules and process. But there wasn’t even something in place protecting this as a historical monument? Nothing to slow it down? So any president can just knock down any part of the white house they don’t like?

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

Oh my!

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Reposted by Sam Minter

James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 1d

This remains the funniest way to hear about an internet outage, though.

Denise C.
@SpudBenBean
·
Follow
A woman who rang ABC Sydney radio said she found out about the Optus outage from her cat.

The cat has an automatic wi-fi feeder (connected to Optus) & when breakfast wasn't delivered at 6:10 am, the cat went to the bedroom to lodge a complaint with management.

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Sam Minter @abulsme.com · 1d

Hey all. I finally set up the Curmudgeon’s Corner Bluesky account to automatically post when there are new episodes. So follow it or something. I may do a couple more things with what that account posts at some point. Anyway, follow it. And listen to the podcast. Woo!

Curmudgeon's Corner @curmudgeons-corner.com · 1d

Episode 958: "Welcome To Be Here" is out!

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner @imbou.bsky.social is away, but @abulsme.com bumps into Emily at No Kings 2, and she joins him for the rest of the show. They talk about movies and...

https://curmudgeons-corner.com/ccep.php?epnum=958

#podcast #USPol

Curmudgeon's Corner

Listen to the latest episode

curmudgeons-corner.com

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David Fortunato @fortunato.bsky.social · 2d

Totally insane. Then Trump government spiked its ongoing investigations of MS13 in order to cut a deal with a Bukele, a co-conspirator of MS13, to hold and torture American migrants.

The GOP is fully pro-crime

Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 2d

This story is extraordinary even by 2025 standards. Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, made a deal with Bukele and agreed to renege on informant agreements in a years-long DOJ investigation into MS-13, totally undercutting credibility of such agreements.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal

To secure U.S. access to President Nayib Bukele’s notorious CECOT prison, Rubio agreed to turn over several MS-13 leaders central to a long-running Justice Department investigation.

www.washingtonpost.com

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