Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 1d

As a historian, I can certify that we are in the bad times. But bad times eventually end.
In the meantime:
• Figure out a small way to help someone
• Figure out a small way to fight back
• Figure out a small place to find joy
• Figure out a small way to grow and thrive

And do it often.

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Jay Kuo @nycjayjay.bsky.social · 1d

Excerpt from here: buff.ly/oSBc5zA

Trump says migrants drive violent crime in Illinois. But ICE can’t find many violent criminals.

Masked ICE agents and other federal forces showed up in Chicago to go after gangsters. Instead, they keep catching people who are just living their lives.

www.msnbc.com

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Gbenga Ajilore @gbenga-ajilore.bsky.social · 1d

"People fight for things they truly believe in." I think this is the biggest lesson from the last five years (and even further back) about how fragile progress has been.

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

I fear that schools being willing to drop diversity programs without a fight shows how flimsy their commitment to inclusion was in the first place. People fight for things they truly believe in.

Victor Ray, a sociology professor at the University of Iowa who studies race, said in an email that OSU’s decision to interpret federal guidance in this way “reflects the real pressure universities face as the Trump administration and Republican legislators attack higher education.”

But, Ray added, it may also be exposing the true colors of many universities that were broadcasting their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion when it was politically expedient to do so just a few years ago.

“The swiftness with which these organizations have complied with legally dubious orders shows that their commitments to diversity were often paper-thin before this administration’s pressure,” he said. “In many cases, administrators with existing qualms about diversity, perhaps going too far, now have political cover to take anti-equitable actions.”

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 2d

Whether it's young Democrats expressing their support for DEI or young Republicans saying "I love Hitler,' both sides have expressed controversial opinions.

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Marcus Sniffles @marcussniffles.bsky.social · 1d

Imagine if one billionaire had this type of mindset. ONE

Positive Black Content @miiriya.com · 1d

A man named Nicky Crawford transformed a school bus into a mobile laundry service for the homeless called “Flowing with Blessings” He teamed up with Georgia Tech engineering students and created the bus, which provides free laundry, showers, haircuts & meals for the homelessness

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Sara Luterman @slooterman.bsky.social · 2d

If you’re a parent of a child with a disability, you’re worried about how your family will be impacted by SpecEd Department of Education layoffs and you want to talk to a journalist about it, please DM, email (sluterman at 19thnews dot org) or Signal (slooterman.18).

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birdsinapuddle🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦🆘 @birdsinapuddle.bsky.social · 2d

I bet he was wishing he’d stood there and taken it when he struck out on the next pitch

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 3d

My periodic shout into the void:

The only reason why anyone cares about anyone's gender is cuz the whole of society is based around assigning human rights based on gender (&societal privileges to the "better" genders)*

*terms and conditions apply,worse in some societies than others,but all do this

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Pam Keith @pamkeithdc.bsky.social · 3d

A typhoon hit the west coast of Alaska and several homes and communities have been washed out. Most of the communities are indigenous, so…no press coverage.

They also can’t count on FEMA.

Sad and ridiculous.

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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 3d

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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 3d

On this date, Matthew Shephard died 27 years ago. He was beaten, tortured, and left for dead on fence for being gay. Please keep him and his wonderful mother Judy in your thoughts. And let's all work for a world where such horrific things do not happen to anyone. ❤️🏳️‍🌈

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Andy Pearlman @apearlma.bsky.social · 3d

SCOTUS: "At long last, we have created a Dictatorship from classic historical document Don't Create The Dictatorship."

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 4d

a key thing about vought — and all of these guys — is that they have a totally top down and hierarchical vision of the world. they believe that the cultural changes they hate can be turned off by destroying the federal government because they can’t imagine that they emerged bottom-up in society

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 4d

What he’s railing against is a profound shift in culture, status… He’s obsessed with the idea that America is controlled by a leftist “ruling elite” - but “elite” isn’t defined socio-economically or by political power, it means something like: Getting to define “real America” and who gets to belong.

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 4d

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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birdsinapuddle🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦🆘 @birdsinapuddle.bsky.social · 4d

I have made some great clothes out of thrifted sheets and table cloths!

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Alan Dettlaff @alandettlaff.com · 4d

Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum. This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.

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birdsinapuddle🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦🆘 @birdsinapuddle.bsky.social · 5d

I had the exact same initial reaction

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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 5d

💚That deep sadness you feel, the irritability, anger, and numbness. It’s grief. Grief for who we were. Grief for who we could have been. Grief for the loss of CDC as we knew it and all that means for so many.

Be kind to yourself. Be patient. It’s ok to grieve. 💚

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birdsinapuddle🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦🆘 @birdsinapuddle.bsky.social · 5d

Unfortunately it’s not so simple for everyone. We were privileged that we could afford it—many can’t—and that my husband works remotely. It’s a horrible choice to have to make—to uproot your life and start over somewhere

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 5d

A lawsuit alleges a Black postal worker died after officers ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke, believing his medical emergency was drugs

The suit says guards left him helpless on a jail cell floor in his own urine for hours

KARE 11 Investigates: Postal worker died after police mistook stroke for drug impairment

Kingsley Bimpong was jailed instead of hospitalized; video shows guards ignored his suffering for hours.

www.kare11.com

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birdsinapuddle🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦🆘 @birdsinapuddle.bsky.social · 5d

My husband and I recently moved our family to IL so our two queer sons could have a better future than our red home state

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 5d

a russ vought special

Sara Partridge, PhD @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 5d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Sunny Moraine @dynamicsymmetry.bsky.social · 5d

Okay so I’m not a strategist and I’m trying to not PLAY strategist very much but if I can just say: I think this should be a model for Dems all over the country, even in conservative areas

Not in literal content but in sentiment. “Trans people are vulnerable and targeted and that’s wrong”

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 5d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.bsky.social · 5d

This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Donald Trump’s first appearance in the New York Times was when the Nixon Justice Dept. sued him and his father for refusing to rent apartments to black people.

◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · 5d

HUD laid off so many fair housing investigators on Friday that it shuttered the regional offices that oversee discrimination cases in 9 states: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts

Fair housing staffers who investigate claims of housing discrimination at field offices nationwide were among the hundreds of HUD staffers who received layoff notices.

www.bloomberg.com

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Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve lived in Hermosa in Chicago nearly my entire life. It’s an 80+% Latino community. There are no words for what we’re experiencing right now. I can’t stress this enough—

My home, my people are being psychologically terrorized
People are going missing
People are terrified

Don’t forget about us.

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