Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 9h

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Mike Johnson Said He and His Son Monitor Each Other’s Porn Usage, and Yeah, It’s Exactly as Weird as It Sounds"

3 11 44

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 12h

LOL

Sarah Burris @sarahburris.bsky.social · 12h

When your old employer won't sign onto your demands.... that's gotta be awkward

1 10

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 12h

2 7 35

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 14h

Surely someone from #TeamAbundance will be talking about waiting for a Republican "epiphany"

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 14h

Some bad news for that brand of Dem that still thinks there's some more reasonable GOP leadership out there that will eventually take the reins back...

‘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

1 5 33

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 14h

🙃

Jeff Hauser @jeffhauser.bsky.social · 14h

But somewhere some college progressives argued that student fees cash shouldn't go to comedians who mock the identity of students, and so it all comes out in the wash. #bothsides

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 14h

"Together, the messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely — and where the Trump-era loosening of political norms has made such talk feel less taboo among those positioning themselves as the party’s next leaders."

Can't call them fascists?

1 2 31

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 14h

"Together, the messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely — and where the Trump-era loosening of political norms has made such talk feel less taboo among those positioning themselves as the party’s next leaders."

Can't call them fascists?

‘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

19 140 350

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 15h

I mean Mike Johnson just maybe making Marjorie's case himself? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Joe Sudbay @joesudbay.bsky.social · 16h

The most threatening thing he saw was naked bicyclists? How closely did he examine these naked bicyclists? Did it trigger his porn buddy alert?

Just a complete fucking fraud. Lying for his one true lord, Donald Trump

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

Q: We've seen images out of Chicago of federal agents shooting faith leaders with pepper balls and arresting journalists. Where's the limit for you on what's acceptable conduct by federal agents?

MIKE JOHNSON: I've not seen them cross the line yet.

3 22

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 15h

“There’s a lot of weak Republican men, and they’re more afraid of strong Republican women. So they always try to marginalize the strong Republican women that actually want to do something and actually want to achieve.”

2 5 31

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 15h

👀 “Ms. Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks. No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country, or anywhere else in the world." - Brockman's attorney

This story re WGN employee is not going away.

WGN employee released without charges after she was 'violently detained' by federal agents, her lawyer says

Debbie Brockman, of WGN's creative services department, is a U.S. citizen not acting in a professional capacity when she was arrested Friday in Lincoln Square.

chicago.suntimes.com

1 26 47

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 17h

Mike can’t keep his story straight.

More importantly, note the Epstein file discharge petition has bipartisan support.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

FOX: You said last week that you would swear in Grijalva whenever she wants. She has written a letter to your office. You have not sworn her in. Doesn't your resistance add fuel to the fire that this is about Epstein?

MIKE JOHNSON: No. This is another partisan manufactured thing

13 31

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 17h

It’s done up by an Oregon fan. So … 🤷🏻‍♂️

1

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 17h

Nobody (decent and rational) wants this.

Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 18h

for over four months I’ve reported as Trump has put troops and federal agents in cities across America. more than ever I’m seeing and hearing from people pushing back — standing up for immigrants, democracy and members of our military who don’t want this.

1 6 25

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 20h

Good am. Now 1,194 days left till January 20, 2029 - when Trump has to leave the White House. #Lameduck

7

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

Exactly this. Access to official press events hosted by this regime is beyond overrated given it will be all right wing propaganda geared for right wing outlets not interested in objective facts based in reality.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

maybe this will help some realize that you don’t need access to cover the government effectively. in fact, it’s actually better.

Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 1d

The Pentagon is telling beat reporters to sign restrictive new rules by Tuesday or surrender their press passes by Wednesday. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will not sign. Here's my latest >>> www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/m...

1 6 21

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

Good to see news orgs mostly standing strong. At this point to cover this admin - media outlets don’t really need access given the questions around the veracity of Trump aligned official sources.

Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 1d

The Pentagon is telling beat reporters to sign restrictive new rules by Tuesday or surrender their press passes by Wednesday. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will not sign. Here's my latest >>> www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/m...

Media outlets, including MAGA channel Newsmax, refuse to sign Pentagon’s press access rules | CNN Business

The Pentagon is telling beat reporters to sign restrictive new rules by Tuesday or surrender their press passes by Wednesday. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will n...

www.cnn.com

1 7 31

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

When you brag about getting an A in a group project w/o doing any of the work.

#ucla #gobruins

UCLA Unlocked: Martin Jarmond pats himself on the back for football's revival

Athletic director Martin Jarmond isn't wasting any time taking credit for the new UCLA coaching staff.

www.latimes.com

6

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

If Amy Coney Barrett felt secure about defending her BS partisan arguments justifying this MAGA #SCOTUS’s repeated shadow docket decisions to empower its dear leader - she’d have the courage to go on an intellectually honest media platform other than engaging in right wing propaganda on Fox News.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Barrett turns to Fox News, rather than the docket, to explain her silence in key rulings.

Justice Barrett wrote nothing in the racial profiling shadow docket ruling, but had something to say on Fox News Sunday.

Tonight, at Law Dork:

Barrett turns to Fox News, rather than the docket, to explain her silence in key rulings

Justice Barrett wrote nothing in the racial profiling shadow docket ruling, but had something to say on Fox News Sunday. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.

www.lawdork.com

11 75

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

I am sorry. I have tried hard and look closely but I can’t find anything wrong with this week 7 rankings of college football. #GoBruins 🤷🏻‍♂️

Official Tentative Week 7 OregonHomer Power Rankings that shows UCLA as “elite”

1 2

Reposted by Murshed Zaheed

Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 1d

These are the same kind of weasels who would’ve called George Washington & America’s revolutionaries “terrorists.” They spend their days sucking up to King Trump & demonizing peaceful protest just as some in America sought to appease King George III.

Looking forward to No Kings Day.

Johnson describes planned No Kings rally as ‘hate America,’ ‘pro-Hamas’ gathering

Organizers largely blew off the rhetoric, but some Democrats online criticized the tone.

www.politico.com

80 630 2.2K

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

“Release the Epstein files” has been a common mantra for quite a while. “Release the Homan tapes” is just getting started. Watch this space.” - @stevebenen.com

Steve Benen @stevebenen.com · 1d

The White House has had nearly a month to come up with some talking points on Tom Homan’s cash-in-a-Cava-bag scandal.

The latest comments from JD Vance and Pam Bondi suggested that Team Trump still hasn’t come up with much of a defense. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Pressed on Tom Homan controversy, JD Vance and Pam Bondi struggle to answer

The attorney general and the vice president confronted straightforward questions about the scandal surrounding the border czar. Both Republicans struggled.

www.msnbc.com

1 6 12

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

You won’t read this in Republican press clips aka “the Playbook” of @politico.com - but cracks are everywhere in Mikey Johnson’s GOP caucus. MTG is not the only one getting restless at the cowardice of the MAGA Speaker.

Soon to be voted out - CA’s Kiley speaks out.

x.com/mkraju/statu...

X screenshot

“New — GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley breaks with the speaker’s strategy of keeping House closed and not negotiating with Ds.

And says Grijalva should be sworn in

“There’s a duly elected member of Congress from that district, and she should be sworn in. I don’t know why this is an issue””

20 74

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

House Republican Speaker sure appears to care more about keeping #EpsteinFiles locked up than providing healthcare to people living in House Members’ districts.

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.

1 11 53

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.

4 130 370

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

Shocker: “The Americans who own the most guns aren't hunters or veterans or cops — they're white evangelical Christians.” @axios.com

Axios screenshot:

“The Americans who own the most guns aren't hunters or veterans or cops — they're white evangelical Christians.

Why it matters: Evangelicals also run major gun manufacturing companies, Axios copy editor Bill Kole, a former AP foreign correspondent, writes in a book out tomorrow, "In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms."
Kole is an "exvangelical" who left the movement over guns and social issues.

Progressive Christians are working to reclaim the narrative around God and guns by organizing buyback events and turning AR-15 rifles and other weapons into garden tools.”

2 16 27

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

Good am. Now 1,195 days left till January 20, 2029 - when Trump has to leave the White House. #Lameduck

1 6