Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21m

I'm aware, this is what I'm responding to. But the article you shared is trash full of insinuations and snide comments.

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 4h

Oh man, the New York Young Republicans implicated in the Nazi groupchat scandal ran up a $23,000 tab eating filet mignon and drinking at a hotel in Syracuse -- a city with one of the highest child poverty rates *in the nation* -- and then refused to pay the bill.

160 820 2.4K

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1h

I believe you're wrong about that. Go through 20 years as a meathead in a rural state with a totenkopf hidden on your chest and let me know how many people point it out to you. You're claiming that some speculation is fact. If I'd seen it I'd have thought he'd been in a biker gang or in prison.

1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1h

I like what he says policy wise, but I was concerned about his background. Returning for several tours of duty. Dropping out of his history program. Shows what he valued. I'm on the fence now. I dislike Mills, she vetoes progressive legislation, but we have to beat Collins.

2 9

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1h

I'm Platner's base. I'm RSVP'd to see him at a private event later this week. I don't think he's a Nazi. But this is really, extremely bad. It makes him look like an idiot with extremely bad judgment and uncurious enough to not find this out in twenty years.

4 25

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 20h

Democrats say that praising Hitler in Republican group chats and doing the Sieg Hiel at Republican campaign rallies is antisemitic. But here's why Democrats on Bluesky are the real antisemites.

--CBS frontpage, byline Bari Weiss' sister

26

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 20h

If Comey wins this motion for vindictive prosecution then Trump should be imprisoned instead; it's only fair.

1 6

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21h

What I'm scared of is all the people who will be tortured and killed by the Nazi dictatorship that we're building. Feckless politicians who prioritize losing their seat or not being made fun of over their actual job are part of why we're failing to stand up to enemy action.

1 1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21h

Voting is not enough. 77 million people voted for fascism last year, many of them nor even understanding what they were doing. We need to stand up for our values actively and not succumb to lies and propaganda, or to fear of those who peddle them.

1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21h

Democrats failing to do what needs to be done to keep this country a safe place for hundreds of millions of people because of their fear of being vilified is one of the main reasons I vilify them. When politicians outsource their values to focus groups they reduce themselves to empty shells.

2

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21h

Breyer didn't want to retire either but Democratic leadership got the message to him eventually. The party didn't take a hardline with RBG because they weren't taking the court seriously enough.

1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 21h

1. RBG didn't retire
2. They allowed Mitch to steal Garland's seat
3. They didn't force the matter with ACB, allowing a violation of the "McConnell" rule

Politics isn't about legal options, it's about practical options. They should have shut down the senate to prevent the theft of power.

2 5

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 22h

I keep thinking of how Democrats allowed Mitch McConnel to steal a supreme court seat and then the court declared Trump a king immune from both the law and also all checks and balances from other branches

2 35

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1d

What ever happened to emoluments? Jared Kushner and Larry Ellison are going to develop Gaza. Trump keeps making hundreds of millions of of shitcoins. He owns a social media network for fuck's sake. Focus on restoring rule of law, that is what I want from you.

1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1d

Go ahead and release the files or whatever, but I want to hear you talking about restoration of rule of law, stopping the murders in the Caribbean, ending illegal tariffs, 25th amendment, impeachment, ending the genocide in Gaza, restoring arms shipments to Ukraine, posse comitatus, and on and on

1

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 1d

I don't care about Jeffrey Epstein. If you'd shut up about it you'd have been able to release the files but because you keep showing your hand, Rs are blocking Rep. Grijalva from taking her seat.

1

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 1d

He murdered a Colombian citizen in violation of domestic and international law. He’s now promising to illegally impose tariffs on Colombia because its president had the temerity to publicly criticize him for murdering one of that country’s citizens.

Yes, we are the baddies.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump says he's imposing new tariffs on Colombia but won't say what the rate will be

31 530 1.9K

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 2d

This is what the Department of Transportation is tweeting out today.

310 240 1.1K

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 4d

Cops led us into the street as the new “protest zone” and then beat us repeatedly.

Got hit in the face with a baton. Leaving to pick up my friends who were arrested.

Stay safe out there.

This picture is from about 5 minutes after being hit. A visible bruise is forming on my right cheekbone and by my right eye.

830 7.8K 23K

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 3d

Leo Garcia Venegas was even accused of obstructing agents – after the video of his first detainment at an Alabama construction site went viral

A DHS spokesperson later said he “physically got in between agents” and his brother, whose arrest he was filming.

Watch for yourself:

4 64 260

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 4d

He's one of the most likely Democratic presidential contenders and he's done good work protecting trans people. I've been giving him a chance because at least he's much better than Newsom. By and large I support him, which is why this is really disappointing and troubling.

2 4 57

Reposted by Berry Ladder

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 4d

An ICE agent, who is being arrested for drunk driving and nearly killing his little kids & others, tries to stop the arrest by racially profiling the officers arresting him. Amazing to watch the courtesy given to him as he is belligerent and uncooperative

1.9K 9.7K 23K

Reposted by Berry Ladder

Molly McKew @mollymckew.bsky.social · 4d

As ranking Dem and former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, he usually stays in his lane because you save your powder for the defense fights.

When he lays it out like this, we should listen /2

So that's the second thing that a president has:
Article II, the inherent right of self-defense. If somebody is about ready to launch missiles at the U.S. or launch an attack, the president does have the authority to strike those people.
Drug runners do not qualify for that. And I know
—drugs kill-and they do. They kill tens of thousands of people. But it is not the intention of the drug runners to kill people. They're selling drugs, and drugs are a major problem in this country. I happen to think it's as much of a demand problem as it is a supply problem-but it is not a direct attack to try and kill Americans or seize territory in America.
And it sure as hell isn't that on a boat off the coast of Venezuela that is thousands of miles from the U.S. And that's the other thing-they haven't presented a shred of evidence that those boats were even headed to the United States.

Smith: Yeah and also understand the other connection, as you've seen the stories about Trump authorizing CIA action in Venezuela. I have no independent confirmation of that other than what I've read in the media. And as you see the rhetoric from him ramp up about the Maduro regime in Venezuela, is this really about stopping drugs or is he engaged in a regime change effort in Venezuela, which certainly hasn't been approved of by Congress and certainly doesn't fall under the Article II designation. Trump has mused about how now maybe they may bo hitting targets on land within Venezuela. So he is asserting the unilateral right to start a war with Venezuela

Smith: I've not been briefed. I don't know if I'd go so far as, I expect war. But if we, as a country, don't stand up and say, no, President Trump, you do not have the unilateral power to override the Constitution and do whatever you want whenever you want whenever you want to do it-Trump's just going to keep expanding.
And look, I'll tie a little terrifying connection in for you here. You hear what's going on in Chicago—and it's going on in other cities as well—but in Chicago, most blatantly, they are literally stopping people on the street and demanding their papers. If they don't have them-frequently citizens, legal residents— are being detained by your United States federal government without any probable cause, articulable suspicion, or any measure, just because they showed up and they want to say it.
They are violating our rights individually, and then Trump is asserting his right to use the United States military in any way that he sees fit— certainly in the Caribbean, but also right here in the United States of America. He's trying to send them to Portland, trying to send them to Chicago.

How far are we away from President Trump deciding to use the U.S. military to do a kinetic strike on people within the U.S. because he sees them as a threat, by whatever definition he wants to throw out there?
I want to say-and I know there's a lot of people on the left and in the Democratic Party who are all over this— but I want to say to the rest of you who are not: come on.
I mean, you could not like the Democrats, you could not like a bunch of our policies. Hell, you can oppose the Affordable Care Act, you can oppose a bunch of other things.
If you are an American conservative, do you want the federal government to be able to have that type of power-to take away your liberty-whether it's Trump or anybody else?

3 98 360

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 4d

@jbpritzker.bsky.social Bad look. If you say anti authoritarian stuff but then your state violence patrol goes around beating up peaceful protesters and violating their constitutional rights, it makes me think maybe you're full of shit.

2 19 190

Berry Ladder @celestenovice.bsky.social · 5d

1. Everybody hates my truck and I like that
2. Included in "everybody" was my ex-wife

38