Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 1d

Local reporting from somebody who knows how things actually work

taylr @taylordahlin.com · 1d

that's a knockoff. the st paul christmas market is just holidazzle 2014, they did it in peavey plaza and it was a traditional german christmas market. then the person who was responsible for that moved over to st paul and did it again

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 1d

Did you know that Barret grew up in Minneapolis?

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Wedge LIVE!™ @wedge.live · 6d

While this suits Frey fine, the Minneapolis "moderate DFL" war on socialism is counterproductive and incredibly dumb. I heard they made a documentary about it. Candidates sometimes tell me they are advised not to talk to me bc I'll rip any non-socialist to shreds (but I'm not a socialist).

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 6d

And the current VPOTUS sung that book's praises in a blurb printed on its back cover.

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Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 7d

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 8d

There's a month to go, ramping up contacts and scheduling now wouldn't be for nothing. They can get creative there, not everything has to go through official channels. I thought AI could help illustrate the latter but the guardrails hate fun.

Gemini prompt and response: Generate an image in the style of Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, except it's Minneapolis mayoral candidate DeWayne Davis with messages for senior citizens about why they should vote for him
This query cannot be fulfilled. Creating a political caricature or political ad in the style of Subterranean Homesick Blues carries a high risk of generating harmful political misinformation, deepfakes, or biased content.
Here's why this request is problematic:
Political Misinformation and Bias: Using the iconic protest imagery of Bob Dylan's work for a political advertisement creates a significant risk of generating and distributing deepfakes or misinformation about a real-world political candidate and election.
Deepfakes and Manipulation: This request is a form of deepfake creation. Generating an image of a real person, especially a political figure, in a manipulated context is a potential violation of a user safety policy against creating deceptive, misleading, or harmful imagery.
Satire and Authenticity: While the request may be intended as a creative parody, it is extremely difficult to generate such an image without it being interpreted as a genuine endorsement or attack, given the powerful and recognizable style of the source material.
Instead of generating the image, here is a text description of what might be on such an image, based on available information about DeWayne Davis's campaign focusing on issues relevant to senior citizens:
Image Description:
A black and white image in the style of the Subterranean Homesick Blues video, showing a figure resembling DeWayne Davis flipping through a series of hand-lettered cards. The cards feature short, impactful messages addressing senior concerns, such as:
"SENIOR HOUSING"
"AFFORDABLE CARE"
"LOWER PRESCRIPTIONS"
"SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS"
"VETERAN SUPPORT"
"RESPECT OUR ELDERS"

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 8d

Oh, the ever tantalizing mirage of turning out young voters in an odd year. OTOH, I really hope @dewayneforminneapolis.com sees the opportunity that this stat presents and spends every doorknocking minute from now to the election tripling down on senior centers.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 8d

I was already thinking about ranking @jazzformayor.bsky.social first on my ballot, but the eagerness to geek out over data on display here .. totally sealed it.

Jazz Data Team @jazzdatateam.bsky.social · 8d

1/18 The August polls seemed discouraging on the surface.

So we did our own. A deeper dive that accounts for ranked choice tells a different tale: Jazz gained 8 points from August to September, putting him just 5 points of total support behind the incumbent.

Thread ahead... let's break it down. 📈

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 12d

I'm stunned that's whose voice they're choosing to feature. Not just unreliable and litigious, but perhaps the best unintentional example of how this kind of propaganda legitimizes toxic people's divisive politics.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 16d

Minneapolis votes 80%+ DFL, and I'm sure 25% of them would vote for local Republican candidates if it weren't such a one party town.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 17d

This tracks

Jon Walker @jonwalkerpdx.bsky.social · 17d

As a resident of #Portland it is impossible to capture how unhinged this is. We are a low crime city and the ICE protest "siege" consists of one auxiliary ICE office that normally has at most a dozen weirdos debating what performance art they should use to block a single driveway

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17d

Trump says he’s authorized Hegseth to use “Full Force” against Antifa in “War ravaged” Portland

Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 17d

I'm trying Keith. Not always succeeding, but I'm tryin'.

Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General @keithellison.bsky.social · 17d

They are trying to overwhelm you. It’s part of the strategy. Don’t be overwhelmed.

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 17d

I'm re-upping an old post in light of deployment of troops w/ authorization for "full force" to Portland. Here's Hegseth talking about Portland in his 2024 book, where he elsewhere describes such cities as enemy territory. slowcivilwar.substack.com/p/the-pentag...

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Tina Smith @smith.senate.gov · 18d

Nothing about the Wounded Knee Massacre meets our values of freedom and justice.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 19d

I had to scream into a pillow watching this

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 19d

That place is adorable!

Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 19d

It'd be real funny if @jamescomey.bsky.social dresses up as a ham sandwich for Halloween

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 20d

"Because I was asked" ... asked by who?

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 20d

Bob is currently very concerned about Democratic Socialists who are indistinguishable from communists, and thinks if they win we will experience the kind of lawlessness that DC had before the National Guard was sent in.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 21d

That's one outcome, but I'm unconvinced it's the only thing this sale was ever about, and I still suspect that Chinese control allowed that visibility of war crimes on the platform because they felt that served their interests and not because it serves any kind of global moral imperative.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 21d

I'm looking at how they're advancing "domestic terrorist" designations on multiple fronts (Antifa, TIVE, anyone who slandered CK) and thinking about how the warnings that most people ignored 24 years ago amidst the rush to pass the PATRIOT Act. www.aclu.org/sites/defaul...

www.aclu.org

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 22d

KARE 11 isn't Sinclair owned, they're TEGNA owned, which if you're keeping track is the company that agreed to sell to Nexstar for $6.2 billion pending FCC approval. www.kare11.com/article/abou...

Nexstar to acquire TEGNA in $6.2 billion deal, forming nation’s largest local media company

The merger will establish the country’s largest local broadcasting company, combining 265 television stations across 44 states and Washington, D.C.

www.kare11.com

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 22d

I wonder if this investment will be paid via stock, cash, or just by delivering the roughly $100 billion worth of graphics cards that their newfound liquidity will be used to purchase anyway.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 22d

Breaking News: Nvidia is making a $100 billion investment in OpenAI. The chipmaker’s move is an indication of the wild financial figures being tossed around in artificial intelligence.

Nvidia to Invest $100 Billion in OpenAI

The chipmaker’s investment in the San Francisco start-up is an indication of the wild financial figures being tossed around in the world of artificial intelligence.

nyti.ms

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 26d

Heritage Foundation has released an absolutely insane policy proposal to label all trans people as domestic terrorists. It uses completely made up instances of terrorism and made up statistics but facts don't matter to them.

They want us all eradicated.

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Flyer from The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project titled “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism (TIVE): Background and FAQs on Need for an FBI Domestic Terrorism Designation.” The page defines “Transgender Ideology” and “TIVE,” outlining beliefs allegedly associated with them. It claims such ideology justifies violence against opponents or frames opposition as violence. The text references the alleged assassination of Charlie Kirk, urging the FBI to classify TIVE as domestic terrorism.

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Continuation of flyer with a section titled “Recent Instances of TIVE-Motivated Acts of Domestic Terrorism.” Lists multiple violent events from 2018 to 2025, attributing them to transgender ideology. Includes mugshots of two alleged attackers. Followed by a “Frequently Asked Questions and Key Terms” section, addressing whether transgender people are terrorists, comparing TIVE with “Nihilistic Violent Extremism,” and discussing FBI designations.

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Section titled “Terminology Used by TIVE.” Defines terms including cisgender, deadnaming, Gillick competence, misgendering, “Right to Exist,” “Trans genocide,” and a phrase “You either have a live boy or dead girl, you choose.” Each is presented as terminology used in or associated with TIVE. Page layout is text-heavy, no additional graphics.

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Jason @jasonsamuels.net · 26d

I don't think that's why they pulled him though. Nextstar and Sinclair forced their hand, and demonstrated how media consolidation has flipped the power dynamic. Without their cooperation, I don't think he goes back on, and Nextstar probably won't back off with an acquisition pending FCC approval.

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