Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ellie Margolis

Amanda Marcotte @amandamarcotte.bsky.social · 12h

For those tempted to say Young Republicans have always been this way, they really have not. When I worked on campus and did bipartisan college events after, they were very much not like this.

That’s why groups like YCT and eventually TPUSA formed — because Young Republicans weren’t radical enough.

Politico @politico.com · 18h

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Annette Gordon-Reed @agordonreed.bsky.social · 2h

1)You may remember the articles criticizing liberal students for their hesitancy to make friends with conservative students—alleging that they were less open-minded than their conservative counterparts.

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 9h

Here are the little darlings they’ve created. Horrifying.

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

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 36m

“A clarinet player was arrested after playing her instrument to the tune of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme song outside of a Portland ICE facility…”

Musician playing ‘Ghostbusters’ outside ICE facility is arrested by agents

‘Taking us citizens out of state to detain them without charge is a new action from the Feds and should be opposed,’ her band said

www.independent.co.uk

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 28m

Get that flu shot asap if you haven’t.

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 4h

Japan is reporting a flu epidemic much earlier than is usual. This early season could have implications for other countries via international travel so do get your flu vaccines (if you can) soon! 🧪 #HealthPolicy

Japan declares a flu epidemic — what this means for other nations

Researchers say that the number of infections for this time of year is unusual.

www.nature.com

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Carl Cecere @carlcecere.bsky.social · 9h

The “do not mock the speech” directive really raises a lot of questions that are answered by the “do not mock the speech” directive.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 10h

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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IndivisiblePHL ❌👑 @indivisiblephl.bsky.social · 10h

Attending #NoKings in Philly this Saturday? Here is what you can expect - Thank You @whyy.org for the Interview! @indivisible.org whyy.org/articles/phi...

Philly is hosting a ‘No Kings’ protest on Saturday. Here’s what to know

Organizers expect upwards of 20,000 people to march against President Donald Trump’s administration.

whyy.org

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Sarah Fackrell @design-law.bsky.social · 12h

Transformative work of the day:

Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 12h

I love this so much. Funny, sweet, hopeful, and kind of bad-ass.

youtu.be/bw5zxdSObso?...

A Message From The Frog Resistance

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

youtu.be

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 12h

I did not know that!

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State Court Report @statecourtreport.org · 13h

From abortion to voting to property rights, state constitutions offer distinct and often more expansive protections than the U.S. Constitution.

JOIN US Nov. 6-7 for a free symposium exploring the future of state constitutional rights. RSVP to attend virtually or in-person: bit.ly/4hemOby.

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 14h

wrote about last week's super interesting tribal sovereignty decision in Washington Supreme Court

one justice wrote a standalone concurrence basically saying 'the court applied the law correctly, but also the law is terrible and it's our responsibility to say so'
ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...

A Washington State Supreme Court Justice Condemns Federal Indian Law as Racist and Awful

"Each time a court cites a case that has as its foundation such racist fallacies, it is incumbent on us to call out that racism, even if just in a footnote."

ballsandstrikes.org

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Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 15h

Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says
In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 15h

Such sad news. I gasped when I saw it.

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Carly Goodman @carlygoodman.bsky.social · 22h

Solidarity is the way

Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 1d

History faculty at Columbia & Barnard decrying the harassment of @mark-bray.bsky.social: "This is the first case in recent memory of a historian who has fled the country after receiving death threats on account of the history that they teach."

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 22h

Lots of exciting books here.

Harare Review of Books @hararereview.bsky.social · 22h

Brandon Taylor, Megha Majumdar, Susan Orlean, and more: 27 new books out today! lithub.com/brandon-tayl...

Brandon Taylor, Megha Majumdar, Susan Orlean, and more: 27 new books out today!

Literary fiction-heads (as LH devotees usually are) must celebrate: new Brandon Taylor AND Megha Majumdar in one week?! Not to mention exciting, unputdownable novels by Quan Barry, Anna North, Adam…

lithub.com

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 23h

Insightful thread.

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 23h

one of the reasons they're so mad at "no kings" is that they thought they were going to get a different kind of protest. they *want* the black bloc to be out there fighting with the cops. those are the images they've been trying to generate from "go." instead--

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Rage at “No Kings” Boils Over—and It Quickly Backfires on Trump

As Trump allies smear the coming protests, a good writer on MAGA skewers the absurdity of these attacks on large swaths of Americans—and explains why our best recourse will be to turn out in force.

newrepublic.com

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 23h

Ha. That’s excellent.

Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 23h

Uh oh. Do I want to look?

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 1d

Wisdom

Carly Goodman @carlygoodman.bsky.social · 1d

There are so many people whose mental health would be helped immensely by living in Philadelphia

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Ellie Margolis @elliemargolis.bsky.social · 1d

You are an honorary Philadelphian

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bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 1d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Carolyn Shapiro @cshaplaw.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, I am afraid this is true.

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

"The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were expressly crafted to grant Black people equal rights as citizens in a democratic society. The Court is preparing to use those very Amendments to deny those rights instead."

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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 1d

Our university system has been without doubt our single greatest source of soft power worldwide, and (for both better and worse) often the source of our hard power as well.

And spiteful conservatives are burning it all to the ground.

Julie Greene @greeneland.bsky.social · 1d

I just learned, Thomas Alter, tenured professor, has been terminated effective immediately. Shame on Texas State! We mst build support for Tom. spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-tex...

Texas State upholds the firing of associate history professor Thomas Alter

Alter’s termination occurred on Sept. 10, stemming from his remarks at the Revolutionary Socialism Conference on Sept. 7.

spectrumlocalnews.com

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John Collins @logicallyjc.bsky.social · 1d

This is the way.

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NPR @npr.org · 1d

A Statement from NPR’s Editor in Chief on the Pentagon’s Press Policy.
Read More: www.npr.org/2025/10/13/g...

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Dara Purvis @darapurvis.bsky.social · 1d

On one hand, I know and respect very good professors at red state publics who I expect will join this compact. This kind of decision isn't up to them and any individual faculty, staff, or student is at a school for lots of reasons. On the other hand...(Cont)

Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 1d

After getting zero firm commitments to this point from the first nine invitees, the Trump administration is extending its proposed compact to all colleges. Expect some red-state publics to say yes.

Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT

The Trump administration is inviting all US colleges to participate in a compact — initially rejected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that would grant preferential federal funding in re...

www.bloomberg.com

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