Author | Lightnews

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 9h

"(C)ommunity radio has always been more than music. It is also one of the few places where unheard voices can break through. Legacy media rarely carried Spanish- or Vietnamese-language programming, women-centered stories, or hometown news for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Community radio made room."

The Fight to Save Community Radio

The death of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting threatens a critical piece of U.S. civic infrastructure.

progressive.org

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 9h

"Legal experts have questioned why the U.S. military is carrying out the strikes, instead of the Coast Guard, which is the main U.S. maritime law enforcement agency, and why other efforts to halt the shipments are not made before resorting to deadly strikes."

www.reuters.com

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 1d

"...to fund EMS systems or CIHCS programs."

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 1d

"Only 21 states designate EMS as an essential service, which puts it on par financially with firefighters or police. With that designation, states can allocate a funding source towards EMS agencies, such as a tax. But without that designation, there is no requirement for states..."

Better Rural Mental Health Care Is Under Our Nose. Why Can’t More Communities Use It?

There's a solution to addressing shortcomings in behavioral health systems in rural America. Yet many rural communities are unable to access it.

barnraisingmedia.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 2d

"The rise of authoritarianism, xenophobia and nationalism is also fueling young people’s desire to act, as opportunities that were once available to their parents’ generations have nearly disappeared."

From Morocco to Madagascar, Gen Z is taking digital dissent offline | CNN

From Kathmandu to Lima, youth-led uprisings are driving thousands from their screens to the streets, demanding accountability, change and, in some cases, toppling governments.

edition.cnn.com

Reposted by Adam Dierksmeier

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 3d

EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification.

I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

"Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here."
Anna Bower
Monday, October 20, 2025, 5:40 PM
Share On: f X inK My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about
the Letitia James grand jury.

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 3d

"...under the action of the IMF and the World Bank, to straighten it out when it failed to meet its financial obligations."

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 3d

"Thanks to the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary, named after U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and which explicitly authorized the use of military force, Washington assumed the power to adopt all necessary measures to “stabilize” a country or,..."

CIA activity against Venezuelan leaders revives specter of US interventionism in Latin America

The agency’s covert operations, which Trump confirmed last week, hark back to the coups, assassination attempts and insurgencies supported or carried out by Washington in the region during the 20th ce...

english.elpais.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 3d

..."But he says he’ll maintain MAS-style benefits and take a gradual approach to free-market reforms, in hopes of avoiding a sharp recession or jump in inflation that would enrage the masses — as has happened before in Bolivia."

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 3d

"Paz plans to end Bolivia’s fixed exchange rate, phase out generous fuel subsidies and reduce hefty public investment, redrawing much of the MAS economic model that dominated for two decades."...

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia's presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival

Preliminary results show that Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator who was never a nationally prominent figure until now, has won Bolivia’s presidential election, galvanizing voters outraged by the country...

apnews.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 4d

"Highlander’s position as a gathering place for Black and white labor and civil rights organizers made it a target for Red Scare paranoia, inciting attacks and probes from not only HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) but also the Southern press, the capitalist class and the FBI."

Weathering Backlash with Care Infrastructure

The Highlander Nursery School’s free socialist early childhood education helped sustain the Southern labor movement. Here’s what we can learn.

inthesetimes.com

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 5d

""They are poor because wages are too low, because social protection is insufficient, and because small farmers do not receive a fair price for their products. Hunger is not a technical problem; it is a political one, and it can be eradicated.""

Olivier de Schutter: ‘A 2% tax on billionaires would provide social protection for 820 million people in low-income countries’

‘The money is there,’ says the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. ‘All that is needed is the political will’

english.elpais.com

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Reposted by Adam Dierksmeier

Karl (sad trombone noise enthusiast) @brainnotonyet.bsky.social · 7d

The American Gestapo is getting more and more comfortable with their brutality and flouting of the law and constitution because they know they will never be held accountable for it.

America’s fascism is going to require an effort on par with war to correct and decades to accomplish.

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 7d

A US citizen in Chicago was kidnapped by Border Patrol and dumped on the streets half a mile away. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS FILMING IT. They do not care about getting caught. They have no fear of accountability.

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 7d

"Nineteen states operate farm to school food purchase programs similar to LFS (Local Food for Schools). After the federal program was cut in March, states, including Vermont, Connecticut, Alabama, Oklahoma and Minnesota stepped in to increase their funding."

Rural Schools Struggle to Rebuild Fresh Food Programs Cut by Trump

Without funding from the USDA, some states are stepping up to fund locally grown produce for rural school districts who could not afford it otherwise.

barnraisingmedia.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 7d

"One of the concerns for Wisconsin students is a recent cut to federal grant funding in the state for the Special Educator Induction Program that attracts and trains special education teachers."

Federal layoffs in special ed leave Wisconsin advocates worried for students with disabilities

Special education advocates in Wisconsin are concerned about the potential impact of layoffs in the U.S. Department of Education offices that oversee special education programs.

www.wpr.org

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 7d

"Only the conservative One America News Network signed on. Its management likely believes it will have greater access to Trump administration officials by showing its support."

Journalists turn in access badges, exit Pentagon rather than agree to new reporting rules

Journalists at the Pentagon turned in access badges and cleaned out their workspaces, the price for refusing to agree to new restrictions on their jobs at the seat of U.S. military power.

apnews.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 7d

"...transparent investigation,” Salvador Santino Regilme, an associate professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands said."

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 7d

"“UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the 1988 UN Drug Trafficking Convention emphasise cooperation, boarding and consent mechanisms at sea, not summary destruction. Any strike that kills suspected traffickers should trigger a prompt, independent, and...

Trump approves CIA operations in Venezuela: What we know, and what’s next

Trump confirmed he has green-lit CIA covert operations in Venezuela, and that ground attacks might be next.

www.aljazeera.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 8d

"Global hunger "is at record levels", with 319 million people facing acute food insecurity, including 44 million in emergency levels of hunger, (World Food Program) said."

UN food agency warns aid cuts risk pushing 13.7 million people into extreme hunger

The UN's World Food Programme warned Wednesday that massive funding cuts could push as many as 13.7 million people receiving food aid into "emergency" levels of hunger – one step before famine.

www.rfi.fr

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 8d

"The case gives the conservative justices a chance to undercut a central element of the Voting Rights Act. The law's Section 2 prohibits electoral maps that would result in diluting the clout of minority voters, even without direct proof of racist intent."

US Supreme Court to hear case that takes aim at Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court is slated on Wednesday to hear arguments in a dispute over the composition of Louisiana electoral districts in a case that could imperil a key section of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark 1965 federal law enacted by Congress to prevent racial discrimination in voting.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Adam Dierksmeier

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 9d

Unless and until some kind of compelling legal and moral argument is presented as to why this is a legitimate use of deadly force, this is just…mass murder.

Amarnath Amarasingam @amaramarasingam.bsky.social · 9d

The military has now killed 27 people as if they were enemy soldiers in a war zone and not criminal suspects. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says

www.nytimes.com

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 9d

"According to the Feeding America Map the Meal Gap tool, which uses the USDA report and other data to create an interactive map broken down by county, more than 60,000 Dane County residents experienced food insecurity in 2023, an additional 18,510 from 2019."

Madison-area food pantries say they'll miss federal hunger report

Dane County pantries like Second Harvest Food Bank used a now-canceled annual USDA report to track national trends in food insecurity.

captimes.com

Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 9d

"In 2024, about 1 in 8 people in Wisconsin received SNAP benefits, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The average monthly benefit for a Wisconsin household was $161."

FoodShare, WIC benefits won't be fully funded come November if federal shutdown continues

More than 700,000 Wisconsin residents depend on the two affected programs.

www.jsonline.com

Reposted by Adam Dierksmeier

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 10d

- It is legal to organize and fund protest.
- That someone organizes and funds promotion of a protest does not mean most, some, or any protesters are paid.
- Even if all protesters are paid, that is also legal
- It is good to oppose kings and fascism
- That's not what what "begs the question" means

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d

Sean Duffy: "The No Kings protest, Maria, really frustrating. This is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question who's funding it."

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Adam Dierksmeier @adamdierksmeier.bsky.social · 10d

..."In 2024 its budget was about $7.5 billion, most of which went directly to states for programs aimed at mental health issues and addiction."