Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 52m

Trump said enforcement will continue in major cities while calling for investigations of his political opponents

Trump threatens more crackdowns in Dem cities, prosecutions of his political enemies | Arizona Mirror

Trump Operation Summer Heat FBI arrests total 8,700 as president pledges continued enforcement in Democratic cities

azmirror.com

2 4 9

Reposted by Jim Small

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1h

Meanwhile, Justice Gorsuch is nodding along to oral arguments at the Supreme Court about how there’s no racism in politics anymore

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 2h

This guy was a clerk for Justice Gorsuch. Anyone want to argue this is not a racist (and damn stupid) taunt?

19 170 630

Reposted by Jim Small

Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 3h

this is the dumbest shit i have ever read

230 260 2K

Reposted by Jim Small

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 1h

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Oct. 15, 2025
PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION
STATEMENT
Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.
The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.
PPA

220 1.6K 3.1K

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 3h

The judge said laws and regulations still apply during a shutdown and that, by all appearances, the Trump administration’s actions in the case appear politically motivated

Trump layoffs blocked by judge who says the administration is ignoring federal law | Arizona Mirror

Federal judge blocks Trump layoffs shutdown with restraining order as administration warns 10,000 could lose jobs

azmirror.com

8 23

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 3h

It needs to be said every time he does this: Our president is such a fucking moron that he thinks people seeking asylum here are *literally* people who used to be in insane asylums

His corruption is outstripped only by his stupidity

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Q: Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?

TRUMP: They have emptied their prisons into the US. Prisoners from mental institutions, insane asylums ...

1 7

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 6h

“Speaker Johnson is protecting pedophiles. He has one more day to protect all those pedophiles, whether it’s involving Donald Trump or any of his rich, elite friends.”

Grijalva accuses GOP House speaker of blocking her from taking office to protect Trump | Arizona Mirror

Grijalva swearing in delay Johnson intentional as Arizona Democrat says speaker blocking oath over Epstein petition

azmirror.com

2 13 24

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 6h

Certainly makes you wonder what he's said in his own group chats

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 9h

Fascinating. Politico notes that when notified of the texts, many state-level Republicans fired or condemned these cretins. Now Vance emerges to excuse the racism, and calls the reaction to it "pearl clutching."

He seems determined to purge the party of its last enclaves of decency.

‘College Group Chat’: JD Vance Dismisses ‘Pearl Clutching’ Over Young Republicans Leak to Attack Jay Jones

Liberals hit back at Vance's blunt dismissal of racist, antisemitic and misogynistic messages leaked from a Young Republicans group chat.

www.mediaite.com

5

Reposted by Jim Small

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Marco Rubio's State Department announces publicly that it is exercising unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in revoking people's visas based on comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Department of State v
@StateDept
g..
The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.
The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.:
5:55 PM • Oct 14, 2025 • 34.1K Views

64 1.5K 4.3K

Reposted by Jim Small

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

Remember when Stephen Miller claimed the Chicago apartment raid was on a building “filled with Tren de Aragua terrorists”?

Well, DHS has now dropped the number of alleged TdA members arrested in the building from 2 to 1.

Just one "verified" Tren de Aragua member and one U.S. citizen with an active warrant were among the 37, DHS said, without saying how it had verified that gang affiliation. Others taken that day, the agency said, were "illegal aliens."

97 1.6K 4.2K

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 1d

Trump said his administration will release a list of projects it’s cancelled or plans to eliminate funding for on Friday

Trump targets ‘Democratic programs’ as shutdown standoff heads for third week | Arizona Mirror

Government shutdown continues no compromise as Senate fails eighth vote and Trump vows more cuts to "Democratic programs"

azmirror.com

4 11 16

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 1d

“Speaker Mike Johnson is protecting pedophiles,” U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego said during an Oct. 10 interview

story via @caitlinsievers.bsky.social

Arizona AG threatens to sue GOP House speaker if he won't seat Adelita Grijalva immediately

Adelita Grijalva seating delay to block Epstein files vote prompts AG threat of legal action over constitutional representation

azmirror.com

4 35 61

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 1d

Some of those that work forces...

TPM @talkingpointsmemo.com · 1d

Members of the most extreme Proud Boys chapters are on encrypted appa sharing DHS recruiting materials and memes about joining ICE.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/in-the-...

In the New Trump Era, the Proud Boys Are ‘Not Apologizing Anymore’

To hear him tell it, Gavin McInnes’ recent return to the site...

talkingpointsmemo.com

4

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 1d

It was never about principle. It's always been about power.

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 1d

I seem to recall that it was the biggest 1st Amendment attack in American history when the Biden admin alerted social media companies to some content and said "hey does this violate your policies?" Will Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and (lol) CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss call this out?

Tweet from Pam Bondi:

Today following outreach from
@thejusticedept
, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target
@ICEgov
agents in Chicago.

The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

3 6

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 1d

The judge ruled on Monday that the lawsuit was filed prematurely because the law hasn’t yet been fully enforced and it might never be.

Story by @glorihuh.bsky.social

Judge dismisses legal challenge to Secure the Border Act

A lawsuit aimed at blocking a law that could someday give Arizona police officers the power to arrest migrants was thrown out by a judge.

azmirror.com

3 11 10

Reposted by Jim Small

Jerod MacDonald-Evoy @jerodmacevoy.com · 2d

First photo is what Noem says in the video. Second photo is what DHS sent me in response to me asking if Noem was aware that many municipal airports have policies against political advertising.

They did not respond to my follow up email.

“Hi, I’m Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. It is TSA top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe. However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government and because of this many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay. We will continue to do all we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel and our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:

"It is TSA's top priority to ensure that travelers have the most safe, pleasant and efficient airport experience possible. However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, most of our TSA employees are working without pay. While this creates challenges for our people, our security operations remain largely in impacted at this time. It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government."

1 21 77

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 2d

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, home to ICE Air hub, and Sky Harbor both refuse to display Democratic blame message

story via @jerodmacevoy.com

Arizona airports refuse to play Noem video blaming Democrats for shutdown | Arizona Mirror

Airports refuse Noem shutdown video blaming Democrats, citing policies that ban political advertising content

azmirror.com

3 47 140

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 4d

Lawmakers face difficult decisions next year as Trump administration changes threaten state revenues and services

story via @caitlinsievers.bsky.social

Trump policies are creating budget headaches for Arizona

Arizona budget federal cuts create uncertainty as analysts warn of tough decisions ahead for lawmakers and services

azmirror.com

1 7 9

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 5d

The announcement sent stocks tumbling, wiping $1.5 trillion in value from the S&P 500

Trump pledges additional 100% tariffs on China by Nov. 1 | Arizona Mirror

President Donald Trump threatened to add a 100% tariff rate on Chinese goods Friday, sending stock markets tumbling

azmirror.com

4 15 24

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 5d

Ah yes, a Kavanaugh Raid, working just how the justice envisioned

2

Reposted by Jim Small

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5d

Klobuchar: "Let's look at these healthcare premiums. Three-fourths of the people on ACA plans live in states that Donald Trump won. The majority of them are in Republican congressional districts ... "

40 240 930

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 5d

Rep. Ansari is a Democrat from Phoenix

👇 👇 👇

FFRF Action Fund @ffrfaction.bsky.social · 5d

FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is @repyassansari.bsky.social for introducing a resolution, along with Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, that defends state-church separation and opposes the Trump administration’s rampant Christian nationalism. ffrf.us/4ojqD1z

4

Reposted by Jim Small

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 5d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

96 3.2K 11K

Reposted by Jim Small

Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 5d

While pro-Trump and MAGA groups were invited to the coalition, leading civics education groups were not even aware of it before its public launch

Trump undertakes a MAGA-centric makeover of US civics education | Arizona Mirror

Conservative groups lead new patriotic civics education coalition for Trump, excluding traditional nonpartisan educators

azmirror.com

4 8 12

Jim Small @jimsmall.bsky.social · 5d

These same people throw tantrums about Starbucks hating Christians because their cups are red.

But they dismiss actual violence against an actual minister. Why? Because they want to oppress anyone who doesn't share their extreme beliefs, even other Christians.

It's about power, nothing else.

Media Matters for America @mmfa.bsky.social · 5d

A Newsmax host defended ICE agents shooting a minister in the head with a pepper ball by falsely claiming he was “actually an antifa member masquerading as a pastor.”

3