Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Ben Alpers

David Atkins @davidoatkins.bsky.social · 57m

The use of "surge" here is so fucking grotesque. Trump is using Iraq War language against the citizens of his own country.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 44m

Today in the Party of Small Government

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 4h

Total federal spending is up +7% in 2025 over 2024 year-to-date to Oct 20.

The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.

Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 45m

...and claim half a dozen or so fake national titles.

Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 47m

One of many mistakes the Framers made in putting together the Constitution was giving presidents the monarchical power to issue unilateral pardons.

Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 2h

CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison.

But then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.

Today, he got it.

If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 2h

Washington Post editorial board: Right-wing idiots who also cannot spell.

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🎃🪦 BLOODSUGARSETHMASKET 🪦🎃 @smotus.bsky.social · 1h

"My candidate is no Nazi and it's the Jews' fault for putting that out there" is a great approach

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 59m

He should do so as soon as Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer resign for refusing to back their own party's nominee for Mayor of New York.

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Katie Harbath @katieharbath.bsky.social · 1h

Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

As you know there's an entire industry in that sort of thing. One of the leading anti-anti-Trumpers (who finally admitted that Trump is a fascist this year) was on FB the other day citing Bill Ackman's support for Cuomo as proof that Trump's real cheerleaders are billionaire lifelong Democrats.

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 3h

Liberal purity tests are out of control. You can't even have Nazi tattoos now.

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Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 6h

What do you call it when a person sits down to dinner with two Nazis?

Three Nazis.

That is how it works.

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Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 6h

Back when I was infiltrating early Nazi Telegram, I very quickly came to the conclusion that it is outright DANGEROUS to cultivate on-background relationships with Nazis as sources.

Because I encountered too many researchers who were clearly compromised as a result of that sort of contact.

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · Sep 18

Yesterday Fresh Air did an interview with Robert Draper, who has covered Charlie Kirk. And this section on Draper's relationship with Kirk said a lot to me about modern access journalism, and the soft coverage we've seen in the wake of Kirk's death.

GROSS: After you profiled Kirk, and I think that was published back in February, you stayed in touch with him. And I think you were texting each other the day before he was killed.

DRAPER: That's correct. I'll tell you also, Terry, that the story, as you say, was published in February of this year. But I would say for a full year prior to that, Kirk and I had been getting to know each other, and he would often reach out to me. And I thought this was an interesting aspect to Kirk, that he would reach out to me just to run things by me. Not asking so much for my opinion - because, as a journalist, I couldn't give it - but just as a reality check, he'd say, I'm hearing from the right that this particular viewpoint is prevalent from the left. Am I just living in a bubble, or is that true?

GROSS: How would you respond to that?

DRAPER: Well, sometimes I would say, you know, I think what you're hearing you're hearing from the right-wing media ecosystem, and it's not supported by reality as I understand it. And he would take that and be grateful for it. There was also a time I reached out to him, I remember, to say, I'd like to talk to you off the record about the religious context in which so many people in the MAGA community are viewing Donald Trump. Can you explain to me how they see him as this sort of flawed vessel, like King David or something? And he was very fluent in describing that to me.

And so we had that kind of back-and-forth well predating the publication of the story, and continued to since then. I had dinner with him in D.C. once, I think, a couple of months before he was killed, and I remember he brought security with him. They sat at the bar. And he seemed very casual about it, which is not to say that he was utterly unconcerned. But it was essentially the cost of doing business, that that was just the world that we were in.

I was texting with him the day before the assassination because I wanted to come to Arizona and have dinner with him and his wife to catch up on various things. But also, there's a major magazine project that I'm beginning. And I wanted Kirk's thoughts about it, but not on the phone and not in writing. It just required a face-to-face. And he wrote back saying, absolutely. We would love to have you over for dinner. Just pick a date in September. And I think I sent, a few hours later, the text, how about September 23? And obviously, I never heard back.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

Unpopular opinion:

The racist AI ad posted last night by Cuomo is appalling and deserves to be broadly denounced, here and elsewhere. But sharing the racist Cuomo AI ad is still sharing an appalling piece of racist trash. People can find it if they want. Don't reproduce it, here or elsewhere.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

Johnson is very busy! He and his son spend their days monitoring each others PornHub usage.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

Shot from SOUTH PARK: Satan and Trump lying in a bed together in the White House.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

That is indeed why Mamdani frightens Jews-like-Stephens. Many other Jews (me, for example) see Mamdani's rise as the most hopeful thing to happen in our politics in the last year.

Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

a man is talking to a woman with the words i 'm worried that the baby thinks people can 't change

ALT: a man is talking to a woman with the words i 'm worried that the baby thinks people can 't change

media.tenor.com

Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

He couldn't do it without the unquestioned support of his party in the House, Senate, Supreme Court, and media.

Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 3h

You really cannot make this shit up.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

Federal official: "We are not going to permit any criminal enterprise, whether it be Italian organized crime, Asian organized crime, Eurasian organized crime. We are not gonna permit any of those organized crime families and organizations to operate in our city or country."

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 4h

You don't even have to assume that this prosecution is politically motivated (though, of course, it could be) to be suspicious of it. The Bureau is being run by a podcaster. Rudderless incompetence has to be added to all the traditional reasons to distrust the FBI.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

an FBI official says the alleged NBA gambling ring involves the "Toronto Rangers" (not a real team), which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the quality of their investigation

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The Wicker Dan (1973) @danlehner.bsky.social · 22h

this is hands down the most confusing graphic I have ever seen, I’ve been staring at it for like five full minutes

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 4h

It's as if the Cuomo campaign looked at the design of the 2000 Palm Beach County, FL, presidential butterfly ballot and said "we can top
that!"

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 4h

I was disappointed that CHUDs didn't show up to endorse Mamdani in it.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 5h

Bill Clinton is literally not the example. The example is the GOP response to Bill Clinton.

But thanks for playing!

Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 5h

Maybe they're tearing down the White House because they don't understand how to do a Reichstag fire.

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