Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Dan Epstein

Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 30m

NEW @motherjones.com: Nobody in that GOP group chat praising Hitler or making racist comments was a “kid,” as JD Vance claimed today

I tracked down their ages. (Weirdly, it seems nobody else did.)

Eight of the 11 in the group chat range from 24 to 35. Ages of others are unclear.

But… no “kids”!

No one in the GOP Hitler chat was a "kid"

We checked. Sorry, JD Vance.

www.motherjones.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 10h

Forcing them to watch the boss's speech and telling them they'll get in trouble for making fun of him.

That's just a sign of a respected and capable leader, folks.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 22h

NEW: Pentagon officials are forcing staff to watch Pete Hegseth's "Warrior" speech he forced generals to listen to.

Officials are even "testing" staff to see if they watched — and are threatening consequences if they lie about watching it or if they mock it, sources tell @swin24.bsky.social and I.

The Pentagon Is Ordering Staff to Watch Hegseth’s ‘MAGA Garbage’ Speech… Or Else

Defense Department sources tell Zeteo that staff have been warned that if they don’t watch or read the speech, or if they speak negatively of it, they could face severe consequences.

zeteo.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

There is a bunch of unprecedented stuff about this shutdown - turning public resources like airports or govt employees into partisan tools, the blatant lying about what is happening - but the worst is using the shutdown to engage in ideological targeting. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-shutdo...

Trump has been quite upfront about using the shutdown as an opportunity to engage in score-settling. When asked about the first wave of layoffs, Trump said “It will be Democrat-oriented...They should be Democrat-oriented.” When warning about a second wave of layoffs he left no doubt: “we’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we’re opposed to. And they’re never going to come back, in many cases…We’re not closing up Republican programs.”

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 10h

Sweet!

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T. Tex Edwards @ttexed.bsky.social · 1d

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 1d

“Lay down that mummy jive!”

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 1d

Time owner Marc Benioff (and Salesforce CEO) just announced a few days ago that he's eager to start sucking Trump's dick full time. He even wants troops deployed to San Francisco. But as we see here, it's never enough. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 2d

Back in the spring of 2007, I had the honor of interviewing the great Ian Hunter about his then-new (and excellent) album Shrunken Heads. The Q&A has never run anywhere in its entirety before, but my paid subscribers can now dig it over at Jagged Time Lapse:

danepstein.substack.com/p/ian-hunter...

Ian Hunter: "I much more enjoy the 'hovering in the dusk' kind of thing."

Talking about Shrunken Heads, Mott's glory days, the “Bowie bubble” and the pitfalls of fame with the man behind the shades

danepstein.substack.com

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Brian Beutler @brianbeutler.bsky.social · 4d

If two parties insist on “dueling versions” of reality, but one party includes journalists, local cops, local residents, and the other includes plagiarists, propagandists, and Orwellian GOP liars, it’s worth saying there is one reality, and one lurid fantasy. newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Implodes over Kristi Noem’s “Stare Down” with Man in Chicken Suit

A good New York Times piece on Portland nevertheless demonstrates how the conventions of objective reporting fail to accurately capture the bad faith driving pro-Trump propaganda.

newrepublic.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 4d

This MAGA propaganda is deeply sinister. Stephen Miller has been lying about Portland/Chicago relentlessly. It's core to his project: He's trying to establish quasi-absolute power for Trump to simply invent pretexts by fiat to justify whatever abuses he launches. 5/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 6d

The pushback against fascism will be insufficient if it does not result in Stephen Miller serving a lengthy prison term. bsky.app/profile/empt...

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 6d

Stephen Miller is murdering Venezuelans and Colombians in cold blood bc he believes it helps his propaganda campaign to paint Latinos as dangerous.

www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Stephen Miller views the air strikes as an opportunity to paint immigrants as a dangerous menace, according to one of the White House officials.

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 6d

The latest episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast is up —and this time out, Tony Fletcher and I share our transatlantic perspectives on the danceable world of Northern Soul, even pulling out some of our favorite singles of the genre!

danepstein.substack.com/p/keeping-th...

Keeping The Faith: Crossed Channels Goes Northern Soul

Episode 21 of our podcast examines the legendary British dance movement and the American soul music that inspired it

danepstein.substack.com

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 6d

Yeah, me too - hope I can swing it!

Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 8d

Today at Jagged Time Lapse: In honor of yesterday's surprise Rush tour announcement, I'm re-running a fun 2020 interview I did with Alex Lifeson, in which we talk guitar pedals, playing jangly chords, and getting hassled by The Man.

danepstein.substack.com/p/alex-lifes...

Alex Lifeson: Rush Hour

Flashing back to discussing gear (and unexpected visits from the police) with Rush's lead guitarist

danepstein.substack.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 12d

Everyone should listen to Chris Murphy's extraordinary warning about Trump on our pod. First, he says the logic must be that the more lawless he gets, the stiffer the resistance.

"If I give in and consent to these kinds of tactics then it just normalizes it all." 1/

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 12d

Today at Jagged Time Lapse: Bidding a fond farewell to the great Chris Dreja with a spin of The Yardbirds’ worst single.

danepstein.substack.com/p/pretty-gir...

Pretty Girls Are Everywhere

The Yardbirds — "Pafff... Bum" (1966)

danepstein.substack.com

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Paislie Giraffe Arts @paisliegiraffe.bsky.social · 15d

No Republican wants to work anymore.

MTN
MeidasTouch
3 hours ago
•
PHOTO: House Democrats continue to show up to work as Republicans take off as the U.S. barrels towards a shutdown

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 15d

This is absolutely a lie. There is no reason shutdowns trigger layoffs. They never have before. Trump is simply using the shutdown as an excuse to take federal employees hostages and to further gut the government.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/shutdown-h...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15d

Trump: "When you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So, we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and they're gonna be Democrats."

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 15d

"'Dude,' he whispered into my ear with a gust of nostril-singeing foulness. 'I been drinkin’ booze, I been takin’ downers!'”

Flashing back on my Chicago record store years, my early Lava Sutra days, and the wayward cop who was briefly part of both.

danepstein.substack.com/p/jtl-flashb...

JTL Flashback: Undercover Steve

Saluting an unforgettable character from my record store days

danepstein.substack.com

Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 15d

Right on!

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Jay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social · 16d

hey, cis people. we need you to call every single elected official you've got, now.

PinkNews @pinknews.bsky.social · 16d

Trump threatens to shut down US government unless Democrats agree to ban all trans health care
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/09/29/trans-care-ban-government-shutdown/?utm_content=1759153201&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky

Trump threatens to shut down US government unless all trans health care is banned

The US government's looming shutdown hinges on anti-trans measures after Donald Trump refused to speak to Democrats unless they were passed.

www.thepinknews.com

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Dan Mihalopoulos @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 16d

In which a top US Border Patrol official, incredibly, tells my tall and Anglo colleague @chipmitchell1.bsky.social that he's not the type they're looking for as they go about downtown Chicago arresting people based on "how they look"

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Feds in military gear flood downtown Chicago; top border official says arrests based on 'how they look'

The immigration agents were spotted making arrests in downtown Chicago and River North neighborhood early Sunday.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 17d

"Being respectful of our history" means not lying about it.

There are not, actually, "a lot of questions" about this grisly massacre

You should put your "confidence and trust" in the nonpartisan scholars who have studied this extensively instead of a right-wing Fox & Friends propagandist

"I think it's important that we be respectful of our history, but there are obviously still a lot of questions that swirl around what happened back then, but I put my confidence and trust in the people who have evaluated ... and that's the conclusion they came to."

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Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 18d

Since escalators are back in the news, here’s one that should definitely be investigated: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2b8...

The Corinthian Columns — Escalator to the Sun

YouTube video by Dan Epstein

www.youtube.com

Dan Epstein @dockfidrych.bsky.social · 18d

Thank you, Chris! Have a great weekend!