Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Tankbag

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 6h

JD Vance can dismiss the Young Republicans as a college group chat.

But let's be clear: the group chat includes a State Senator, a Trump Admin official, and multiple Republican staffers — and some of the worst comments came from folks associated with Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Lawler.

48 700 1.5K

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 6h

Got out of NSB just in time.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 7h

A judge issued a protective order against a Republican congressman from Florida on Tuesday, forbidding him to contact a former girlfriend who in court proceedings said he had threatened her with revenge porn after she broke up with him.

Woman Is Granted a Protective Order Against Representative Cory Mills

Representative Cory Mills’s former girlfriend, Lindsey Langston, the reigning Miss United States, told a judge that he had threatened to release sexually explicit videos of her.

nyti.ms

Reposted by Tankbag

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 6h

OK, I had a lot of behind-the-scenes, admin work to get done today.

I’ll be at SCOTUS in the morning, covering another effort from the right to kill off what little is left of the Voting Rights Act.

Subscribe to Law Dork now: www.lawdork.com

Law Dork | Chris Geidner | Substack

The Supreme Court, law, politics, and more. Click to read Law Dork, by Chris Geidner, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

www.lawdork.com

1 32 170

Reposted by Tankbag

Jesse Duquette @jesseduquette.bsky.social · 8h

To be fair, @time had the impossible task of trying to catch Friendless Urinal Cake’s “good side”

6 30 120

Reposted by Tankbag

Waldo Jaquith, but Spooky @waldo.net · 8h

It turns out that what Todd Gilbert meant by "that escalated quickly" is that he was unwilling to support a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump/Russia case. I'm surprised and impressed that Gilbert took this stand. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

9 120 510

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 14h

Looks like both fasteners on the right side of that panel are those cheesy looking flathead screws….

Detail of the tail section of Marc Marquez’s Ducati at Austin.

2

Reposted by Tankbag

Kevin Necessary @knecessary.bsky.social · 15h

Charlie would be proud:
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

8 12

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 15h

(You never have to hand it to Fox News.)

Reposted by Tankbag

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 20h

I know it is beside the point because this administration simply wants resegregation but conferences for Black professional associations have always been open to everyone. Typically, the started as a response to white exclusion, and did not replicate that.

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 20h

Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats

A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.

www.dispatch.com

8 190 690

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 15h

The Republican Party stands for racism, ignorance and greed. The Republican Party supports and encourages Nazis.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 16h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

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

Reposted by Tankbag

Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 22h

"Trump is a field day for Palantir, OpenAI, xAI, Anduril & others. He may think he's the ultimate peacemaker. But his actions are stoking China’s self-belief and elevating America’s military-AI complex. It would be rash to assume he knows what he is doing." My column. www.ft.com/content/7343...

US-China déjà vu all over again

Trump’s latest piece of brinkmanship is likely to result in another climbdown

www.ft.com

10 48 180

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 18h

Data center? But not that kind of data says Newsome…

Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social · 18h

Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have tracked data centers’ growing water footprint. He says California is “well positioned” to support the AI-driven data center boom, and he is reluctant to impose “rigid reporting requirements.” www.latimes.com/environment/...

California cracks down on water theft but spares data centers from disclosing how much they use

Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required data centers to report their projected water use when applying for a business license.

www.latimes.com

Reposted by Tankbag

Tiff 🏳️‍⚧️ & Eve @tiffandevecomics.bsky.social · 18h

I don't like that I have to consider it more and more these days. #webcomics

Tiff, wearing a trans pride colored t-shirt is walking and notices a poster with a gun on it that reads “Defensive Handgun Training”
~
She stands looking at the poster considering it.
~
Tiff has a sudden moment of realization.
~
Tiff walks off, scratching her head with a look of concern.

18 55 390

Reposted by Tankbag

American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio @acluohio.bsky.social · 19h

🚨Today, we filed a brief as amicus curiae in Ohio’s 6th District Court of Appeals with the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in NetChoice v. Yost, a case addressing the First Amendment concerns of minors as a result of an Ohio law requiring age verification for social media accounts. 📣💻📲

2 17 66

Reposted by Tankbag

Julia Davis @juliadavisnews.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile in Russia: state TV pundits say that Trump's threat of providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine is merely a part of the plan worked out with Putin in Anchorage, and after Trump's call with Putin, he will announce a change of plans and send nothing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v87t...

State TV pundits say Trump's call with Putin is a ploy not to provide Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

YouTube video by Russian Media Monitor

www.youtube.com

37 130 330

Reposted by Tankbag

Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Researchers pointed a satellite dish at the sky for 3 years and monitored what unencrypted data it picked up. The results were shocking: They obtained thousands of T-Mobile users' phone calls and texts, military and law enforcement secrets, much more: www.wired.com/story/satell... 🧵👇

Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypte...

www.wired.com

17 460 880

Reposted by Tankbag

John Fugelsang @johnfugelsang.bsky.social · 1d

56 310 1.1K

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

Ms. Swift’s bankers hoped the President would say more to further boost sales of her products…

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 1d

aged like fine wine

Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the “HOTTEST” ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are “flying off the shelves.” Go get ‘em Sydney! On the other side of the ledger, Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER! The CEO just resigned in disgrace, and the company is in absolute turmoil. Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad. Shouldn’t they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke and essentially destroyed, in a short campaign, the Company. The market cap destruction has been unprecedented, with BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SO FOOLISHLY LOST. Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT. The tide has seriously turned — Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

Cheap EVs are coming.

Charts showing average battery pack cost in dollars per kilowatt hour falling from over $700 in 2014 to under $200 in 2024, and battery storage capacity rising to almost 70 gigawatts from almost nothing in 2014.

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

Nobel Prize for avoiding questions.

Editing the Blue-Gray Lady @nytdiff.bsky.social · 1d

Trump Takes a Victory Lap, but Avoids Questions About What’s Next

Except for brief references, President Trump did not talk about what it would take to rebuild Gaza or the future of the Palestinian people.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Tankbag

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1d

I appreciate @punchbowlnews.bsky.social noting something that's objectively true and necessary context, but routinely elided over:

The House GOP is not away because of the shutdown, but to avoid taking a vote on releasing info about a notorious pedophile because that info implicates Trump.

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

👀 “The Ghost House”: Eye opening report from @punchbowlnews.bsky.social this am on how Mike Johnson has turned the House into a joke under Republican rule. He has turned House Republican leaders into Trump White House’s poodles (if you catch my drift) covering up for #EpsteinFiles.

$“The Ghost House. Speaker Mike Johnson and top House GOP leaders have kept members home since Sept. 19. While the complaints are growing louder inside House GOP ranks over the issue, Johnson insists Republicans have done their job and there’s no reason for them to be here. House GOP lawmakers passed a “clean” CR that would keep federal agencies open until Nov. 21. Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked that measure, which led to this shutdown. Democrats are demanding a vote on their own proposal to permanently extend expiring Obamacare premium credits, a rollback in massive Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the end of unilateral spending rescissions. Yet the House’s absence makes it easier for the shutdown to continue. Part of what ends shutdowns is anxiety building among the rank-and-file. Members are home, so there’s limited pressure on House GOP leaders to do anything. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and dozens of Democrats have been in D.C. throughout the shutdown. More importantly, Johnson has emerged as the “face” of the shutdown for House Republicans. He’s doing daily press conferences and more media interviews, putting himself in the center of the fracas. A C-SPAN caller begging Johnson to bring the House back last week went viral. So did Johnson’s hallway confrontation with Arizona Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly over Johnson’s refusal to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, a move that has infuriated Democrats.”$

OBBB and done. The reality is that since the OBBB passed on July 3, the House has been checked out. A virtual non-entity for more than three months. And this is the off-year, when Congress is supposed to be busy.
Since July 3, the House has only been in session for 20 days (out of more than 100 calendar days.) Even accounting for the normal August break — which began early because of the Epstein mess – the House has been AWOL.
There have been just over 90 floor votes during this period. A lot of these were amendment votes or votes on non-controversial suspension bills. Several were partisan FY2026 spending bills that have no chance of passage. All in all, very little of substance has been taken up. But as Johnson will remind you, the House did pass a CR.
The only period comparable to this in recent decades was in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi used proxy voting to buttress the Democratic leadership’s power. Republicans yelled loudly about that at the time, even filing an unsuccessful lawsuit to stop it. But a similar thing is happening in reverse now.
If you see it, don’t say it. House Republicans have done virtually no oversight on the Trump administration, rolling over on a number of issues that their predecessors would have screamed loudly about. It’s true that House Democrats did little or nothing to rein in President Joe Biden when they controlled the House. But Trump has gone far beyond Biden in using executive authority. “Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an ‘iron fist,’” the Wall Street Journal reported.
For an institution that has complained for years about the need to claw back power from the executive branch, it’s a sad state of affairs. And it shows no sign of ending soon.

13 190 650

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

One for all and all for me, just as the founding fathers intended.

@GottaLaff @gottalaff.bsky.social · 1d

"I'm the only one that matters"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump on Orban: "We love Viktor. You are fantastic, alright? I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but I'm the only one that matters. He's a great leader. I endorsed him the last election he had and he won by 28 points. You're gonna do even better this time when you have another election."

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

Cryptocurrencies and ‘valuations don’t matter’ analysis say ’hold my beer’ to irrational exuberance.

Barry Ritholtz @ritholtz.bsky.social · 1d

Remember, Greenspan’s "Irrational Exuberance" speech was in December 1996.

All bull markets run further, longer, and higher than most expect...

Tankbag @tankbag.bsky.social · 1d

This reminds me when I got my first hard drive. A whole 20 megabytes. I wondered how long it would take to fill it. Today, one Iphone Air image would need three of those 20mb drives. 🤔

George Pearkes @peark.es · 1d

great story, this chart RULES

Charts showing average battery pack cost in 2024 $/kWh and battery storage capacity additions globally in GW

Reposted by Tankbag

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 1d

Front page of Scottish newspaper The National today.

43 3.4K 8.7K