Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 2h

I say this not to valorize the founders or exempt any of the past and ongoing harms of the US but to simply note that the constitutional order is failing despite being structured specifically to avoid this exact problem, now broken by two whole branches of Salacious Crumbs en thrall to a Jabba.

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 3h

It's of course against the constitution but given that the entire national Republican party views their lives and careers as subservient to the goal of permanent Trumpist rule, barring external pressure there's not a clear mechanism at the top level to stop it. Fight is in lower courts, states

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 3h

This is fundamentally a live tension in American government, unless the same party controls Congress and the Supreme Court and the Presidency and all agree that the President should rule us like a king, with the rest as merely ornamentation. This is Voughts Leviathan.

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 3h

The English Revolution was in no small part sparked by King Charles I routing around parliament to find everything he wanted through non/legislative means, despite that being why Parliament exists. Over a century later, American colonists aware of this explicitly gave their Congress power to stop it

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 4h

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3h

worth reading vought's 2022 essay where he lays this out, focusing on his complaint that congress can shape policy against the wishes of the president americanmind.org/salvo/renewi...

Renewing American Purpose

Statesmanship in a post-Constitutional moment

americanmind.org

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Reposted by Kelsey Atherton

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3h

vought's view is that the president is an elected dictator and lo and behold he is seizing outright the power of the purse

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 4h

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 3h

In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth, The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!

Scare-ic Hirsch @ehirsch.bsky.social · 3h

It’s kind of crazy to me that Sufjan Stevens hasn’t put out a statement about the troops occupying Illinois

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Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 4h

The priest on the right is holding a monstrance. It’s used to display a piece of communion bread — which Catholics believe becomes the literal body of Christ when it’s consecrated — for worship.

A monstrance is normally only used in *very* solemn ceremonies.

amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 7h

Outside of the Broadview ICE facility, a state trooper tells the delegation attempting to have communion with detainees that ICE has denied their request.

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 5h

Picked this up at a childrens book fair, should I mail it to the HHS secretary

LET'S-READ-AND-FIND - OUT SCIENCE®
GERMS
READING
RAINBOW
Воок
MAKE ME SICK!
BY MELVIN BERGER • ILLUSTRATED BY MARYLIN HAFNER

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 5h

Every ICE agent is a monstrous goon familiar to all of history and every neighbor protecting neighbors from ICE is braver than the troops chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid, one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before t...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Atherton

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 9h

The ease with which officials lie in 2025 is honestly terrifying

rost
Tricia McLaughlin @TriciaOhio
X.com
She was arrested for throwing objects at law enforcement.
Heartland Signal v
@HeartlandSignal • 22h
BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

€ 67°
CHICAGO'S VERY OWN
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WGN employee detained amid ICE activity on Chicago's North Side, ...
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www.greenattic.com
CHICAGO (WGN) - A WGN creative services department employee was detained by two Border Patrol officers and later released after federal agents
swarmed a busy intersection on Chicago's North Side Friday morning, at the height of rush hour.
WGN is not naming the employee, as station policy requires blurring faces and not identifying those who have not been charged with a crime.
Witnesses on site who captured the incident on video spoke to WGN about the moments leading up to the staffer's detainment.
NORTHWELL GREENWICH
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SEE WHAT'S NEW
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@ wgntv.com

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 9h

I mean this as loudly as I can say it: every tamale vendor is 10,000 times more important, as a person but also for society and safety and security, than every ICE agent.

www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-au...

Donate to Help My Aunt Rebuild Her Life After Being Taken by ICE, organized by marilyn perez

We just found out through social media that my aunt — who sells t… marilyn perez needs your support for Help My Aunt Rebuild Her Life After Being Taken by ICE

www.gofundme.com

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 10h

in this, at least we'll be aided by the material reality of the situation. Not only is elite sentiment split, but what Trump is promising almost everyone in the judiciary, except a tiny tiny few, is immiseration and irrelevance.

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jon rosenburger @jonrosenberg.bsky.social · 10h

They're spinning this as a marketing fail but I think the real story is just that people are stupid as fucking rocks now fortune.com/2025/10/10/p...

Lay's drastically rebrands after disturbing finding: 42% of consumers didn't know their chips were made out of potatoes | Fortune

New bags—matte-ified and designed to look like wood planks (like a potato crate)—will hold the chips with revamped ingredient lists.

fortune.com

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 10h

It's metamorphing time

Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 11h

The noble frog's reclamation from fascist pervert associations is so long overdue

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 11h

we don't really get to major change without major elite division and it's more than small relief that "pro-democracy, pro rule of law" remains held by at least some in power

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 11h

More and more people are saying it:
SCOTUS is a reactionary monarchist vanguard against all the rest of the courts, who would prefer that law and their lives mean something www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 11h

The noble frog's reclamation from fascist pervert associations is so long overdue

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Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 11h

A confrontation is building between the Supreme Court and the lower courts.

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 14h

If SCOTUS were not also simply an organ of Trumpist rule, Voughts entire vast papertail of "I hate the government and will break laws to destroy it" would make these layoffs illegal & the workers could rightfully expect court to rule in their favor. Unfortunately, SCOTUS

www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/p...

Trump administration lays off thousands of federal workers during government shutdown | CNN Politics

More than 4,000 federal employees received layoff notices Friday as part of the Trump administration’s broad effort to reshape the government while it remains shutdown, according to a court filing Fri...

www.cnn.com

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1st Viscount Craigavon @cdgoldstein.baseballprospectus.com · May 24

the best baseball post of all time

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Reposted by Kelsey Atherton

Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 20h

The teams have stopped play and have joined each other on the field to sing Christmas carols

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 21h

[Tulane School of Public Health cautious considers, approves]

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 21h

Every ICE Agent is the worst person alive

Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 1d

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.

A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 22h

Greater Pumpkin

A giant pumpkin hot air balloon at the balloon fiesta

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