Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 15h

I am cry laughing so hard.

Purport to make an unqualified hack a federal prosecutor, don't be surprised when the unqualified hack does things an unqualified hack would do!

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 15h

Oh nooooo, Lindsey Halligan, this is not how any of this works

(15 screens into a Signal exchange) www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

26 210 1.3K

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 3d

Hopefully very loudly 🤣

1

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 4d

When the Nazi group chat ruins your talking points

120 2.3K 6.5K

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 4d

NEW from me: Employees at the Department of Education express fear that their layoffs will mean nobody will be able to enforce the rights of students with disabilities or make sure they have IEPs.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Special needs students pay as Trump guts Department of Education

Employees tell reporter Eric Garcia that they fear that students with disabilities will go without vital services after Trump’s recent layoffs in the federal government

www.independent.co.uk

4 35 54

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 5d

Donald Trump pardoned the “Camp Auschwitz” guy, dined with Holocaust deniers, and said, “any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.” The Young Republicans chat isn’t a coincidence. It’s a culture.

23 330 950

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 5d

Honest question - Have any of the major Jewish organizations condemned this yet? Or the fact that JD Vance is seemingly ok with it?

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

The Nexus Project @nexusproject.bsky.social · 5d

Too many leaders from the same party claim to be champions of Jewish safety all while ignoring vile antisemitism under their roof.

When we say that fighting the weaponization of antisemitism is critical to stopping antisemitism, this is exactly what we mean.

‘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

6 17

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Halie Soifer @haliesoifer.bsky.social · 5d

In the past 24 hours:

➡️ Politico revealed hundreds of antisemitic & bigoted messages b/n young Republican leaders;

➡️ A swastika was found in a Republican House office; and

➡️ Trump's Border Patrol posted a reel with an antisemitic slur.

When someone tells you who they are, believe them.

5 85 200

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.bsky.social · 6d

To everyone who says, "But this won't matter": *MAKE IT MATTER.*

You have that power! This is not inside baseball and your friends and neighbors will likely be appalled. And if they're *not* appalled, don't be cynical yourself. Take the lead, give the cue.

Politico @politico.com · 6d

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

54 1.1K 2.8K

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d

Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples?

HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.

500 4.6K 15K

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

People Who Work @deptofworkers.bsky.social · 6d

“We’re going to have a lot of empty school buildings.”

Project 2025’s authors are in Trump’s Department of Education, trying to gut public education across the country.

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...

www.propublica.org

1 5 3

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 7d

Worth flagging - in addition to OSERS staff - a large number of the people who help students with disabilities and their families navigate the processes to ensure students get the support they need from the Office for Civil Rights were also fired. The few that weren’t fired in the Spring.

1 1 8

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 7d

Special education isn't a "nice thing to have." It isn't "charity" or doing something to make us feel better. It is a right. The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed by a Republican president.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 8d

U.S. Department of Education fired nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday, according to the union representing the agency's employees. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

www.usatoday.com

34 870 2.4K

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Jaime Harrison @jaimeharrison.bsky.social · 9d

Government’s shut down. Federal workers aren’t getting paid — some even being fired.
MAGA Speaker Johnson just canceled House votes for yet another week.

And this guy’s out golfing.
You can’t make this 💩 up.

40 220 410

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Becky Pringle @neapresident.bsky.social · 10d

When hundreds of Department of Education employees are suddenly terminated, students bear the brunt of the consequences.

Special education oversight. Grants to high-need schools. Protection of civil rights.

Gone.

This administration is destroying our education system from the inside out.

2 8 15

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 12d

1 2

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 12d

Isn’t Netanyahu moving more about the fact that like 70% of Israeli citizens are demanding an end to the war - while a majority are blaming him for the fact that the hostages haven’t all been released two years in - and the reality of democracy- than anything about Trump?

1 3

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 13d

AFL-CIO President @lizshuler.bsky.social has sent a new letter to President Trump, urging him on behalf of our 15 million members and working people across the country to stop this administration’s squeeze on working families during the shutdown. aflcio.org/press/releas...

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler called on President Trump today to stop “squeezing working people until they abandon demands to address a mounting health care crisis.” and immediately fund the government, fix the health care crisis, and put America’s working people first.

In a new letter, she demands Trump meet with congressional leaders and find a funding solution to end the government shutdown, warning that every day this drags on threatens millions of jobs and price hikes working families can’t afford. “The people who work for a living—the people I represent—are the backbone of this country,” Shuler writes. “Our livelihoods should not be used as pawns or bargaining chips, whether it is threatening one set of workers after another, canceling construction projects, or jacking up electricity prices on top of higher health insurance premiums.”

Representing the nation’s largest labor federation of 63 labor unions and nearly 15 million working people, Shuler lays out the cascading effects of the government shutdown and skyrocketing health care costs that will crush workers if President Trump doesn’t act.

After months of DOGE-driven chaos, around 750,000 federal workers have been locked out of their jobs and 1.4 million more are forced to work without pay. As Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought threatens illegal firings and cancels funding for critical energy and infrastructure projects, Shuler raises the alarm on the risk this shutdown poses to the economy across industries, from the transportation and construction workforces to local and state governments.

In the letter, Shuler cautions that if the Affordable Care Act tax credits aren’t extended, some 22 million Americans will be forced to pay 114% more for their health care premiums, ultimately driving up health care costs for everyone—including the 179 million people with employer-based coverage—and leading to the loss of more than 100,000 health care jobs. “Anyone who cares about working people should want to explore ways to avoid these price hikes, this loss of health care and these job losses,” Shuler writes, reminding Trump, “it’s a crisis you can undo.”

The letter concludes, “[w]e implore you to meet with the leaders of the House and Senate to find a solution that funds the government, fixes the health care crisis, and puts working people first.”

2 21 43

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 15d

If you watch the news, you might not know that there is a government shutdown happening because the Republicans who control the White House, House, and Senate can’t do their job and fund the government.

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Mike Gehrke @mikegehrke.bsky.social · 15d

Caught in what now?

Blue Virginia @bluevirginia.bsky.social · 17d

"Republican Candidate in Virginia Caught in Tumblr Nazi Porn Scandal: John Reid has found himself in quite a scandal, as others call on him to resign from the race." - @newrepublic bluevirginia.us/2025/10/frid...

https://newrepublic.com/post/201304/republican-candidate-virginia-reid-tumblr-nazi-porn-scandal

The New Republic: "Republican Candidate in Virginia Caught in Tumblr Nazi Porn Scandal: John Reid has found himself in quite a scandal, as others call on him to resign from the race."

1 3

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 16d

I say respectfully, how about we focus on the Senators in the majority and expect that the GOP senators have the responsibility of governing.

Eric Jotkoff @ericjotkoff.bsky.social · 18d

As his fellow nominee that year for Lie of the Year - I think about this too often.

1 1

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 19d

DHS posts an antisemitic meme about keeping "globalists" out of the US.

One of the internet's most influential white nationalists, the British white supremacist known as "Raw Egg Nationalist," responds with a groyper meme.

The DHS account RESPONDS, calling him "Patriot."

24 260 710

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 19d

New Mark Robinson just dropped
americanjournalnews.com/tumblr-linke...

Tumblr linked to Republican John Reid engaged with Nazi porn accounts

Reid denies ownership with the blog.

americanjournalnews.com

5 18 56

Reposted by Eric Jotkoff

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 19d

Last night, the ADL took down its "Glossary of antisemitism" which included an entry for the term "globalist," describing it as a far-right codeword for Jews.

Hours later, the official DHS account authors a post with a common far-right meme, saying that "globalists" will be denied entry to the US.

32 460 1.3K