Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 12h

Colorado is scrambling to process 900+ unemployment claims from federal workers during the government shutdown and the food pantry at Buckley Space Force Base has seen demand double

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1h

If you were “prematurely anti fascist” about this you were a hysterical lib, if you were wrong about it you’re a respectable intellectual with lots of billionaire connections bsky.app/profile/gtco...

George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 6h

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 1h

In the wake of the Hegseth/Pentagon press ban, I'm reminded of this section from Sebastian Junger's National Review essay, 2024.

www.nationalreview.com/magazine/202...

And then we invaded Iraq. Although I was drawn to the sheer magnitude and drama of the war, I didn’t cover it because I was personally so against our decision to invade that I didn’t think I could be objective. I still had high hopes for Afghanistan, but my optimism didn’t survive long. I spent a year embedded with a platoon from the 173rd Airborne in the infamous Korengal Valley, and our outpost was attacked almost daily. After one particularly fierce firefight, a special operator shook his head and said, “We’re never going to win this war until we admit we’re losing it.”

What he said shocked me: It was 2007, and questioning the war was still considered unpatriotic heresy. If you didn’t believe America was right and honorable in all things and would win any war it fought, you were basically siding with the terrorists. And yet here was a highly experienced soldier questioning exactly that. And that is the proper role of the press: to provide the kind of honest and brutal assessment that generals, politicians, contractors, and second lieutenants can’t because they’ll lose their jobs. The simple truth is that if you’re against the working press, you’re against protecting American soldiers from faulty weapons and bad decisions. No military or government will publicly examine itself for failures. Only the press — and internal whistleblowers — can do that.

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 3h

ICE's military raids and masked kidnappings are resonating deeply/negatively in the cultural spaces we keep hearing Dems need to reach: Manosphere, Joe Rogan, country music, disengaged voters. That's rare and it gives Dems a big opening to engage.

Thoughts on this:

newrepublic.com/article/2018...

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2h

roberts thinks it is an affront that a community of upstanding citizens can not do as it chooses when it comes to voting. if that means that they might discriminate against a racial minority, he has no problem with that either as long as it is facially neutral.

Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 23h

Everything about John Roberts's approach to the Voting Rights Act makes sense when you remember that John Roberts has has always been hostile to the Voting Rights Act, never believed it was appropriate, and has spent most of his 45-year legal career working to hollow it out.

One of the Biggest Cases of the Supreme Court’s Term Is John Roberts’ Decadeslong Pet Project

If there’s one thing the Roberts court has been consistent on, it’s this.

slate.com

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 16h

“.. Pentagon reporters in Arlington, Virginia walk out of the building carrying their belongings after turning in their press badges. Reporters from nearly every major news organization would not sign new rules viewed as an infringement on First Amendment rights ..”

@gettyimages.com

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Witty Librarian Resistance @paulwartenberg.bsky.social · 2h

I love Star Wars pass it on.

A Blue Jedi hanging out with the Mandalorienne.

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Witty Librarian Resistance @paulwartenberg.bsky.social · 2h

"Mercy"?

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𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.bsky.social · 3h

I’m old enough to remember when Conservatives screamed bloody murder about the IRS looking at their think tanks. Trump is weaponizing the IRS to go after liberal non-profits. Gifted article:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups

The effort would install a Trump ally at the IRS’s criminal unit who has drawn up a list of investigative targets.

www.wsj.com

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Steve M. @stevemnomoremister.bsky.social · 3h

J.D. Vance has done a number of different things in his forty years on earth, but being an obnoxious defender of the morally indefensible seems like the work he was born to do.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 16h

That’s $5 billion more than the entire annual USAID budget. All to one country. To rescue one friend of the president’s.

Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 17h

Trump found another $20 BILLION to give to Argentina, totaling their bailout to $40 BILLION.

Yet we can’t afford to prevent millions of Americans from losing their healthcare.

Shame.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 14h

Feels quaint, almost cliché, to say this about a Trump action, but just for the record:

This is all illegal, the President can't simply disregard the laws passed and agencies created by Congress, and both Vought & Trump would be impeached if the Constitution or the rule of law mattered to the GOP.

Reuters @reuters.com · 20h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers

White House budget director Russell Vought said he wants to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and expects to do so within the next two to three months.

reut.rs

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Silverman on Security @silvermansecurity.bsky.social · 14h

I think it is important to note that the Trump administration, including Secretary Lethality, has made the US the weakest it has been in over a century. Our allies don't trust us, our adversaries don't fear us, everyone has figured out how to manipulate Trump to get what they want from him. 1/

WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 20h

"If this war does not end, the United States, together with its allies, will take the necessary measures to make Russia pay the price for continuing its aggression." - U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth said.

So, will they roll out another red carpet?

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WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 22h

Ukrainian media report that two 16-year-old boys from Melitopol were tortured to death while in Russian captivity.

Danylo Dakhov and Pavlo Hrymak were detained in August 2023, accused of involvement in the sabotage movement "Black Sabotage."

suspilne.media/zaporizhzhia...

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 14h

The military/FBI are marked by high professionalism, high education among the leadership, and broad commitment to the constitutional order. Trump wants these orgs to be more loyal to him and more like ICE/CBP. Controlling their paycheck is one means to do so.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

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PortiaMcGonagal @portiamcgonagal.bsky.social · 14h

Not farmers
Not FEMA
Not healthcare
Not schools

MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 21h

$40 billion for Argentina now. America First!

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Witty Librarian Resistance @paulwartenberg.bsky.social · 14h

A friend of mine in 1st grade got a picture book with her name and her friends inserted to the story back in 1975. It's been around a long time. The technology has gotten more advanced, and no longer limited to the printed page. And somewhat more terrifying.

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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 15h

Feds, attorneys spar over 15-year-old detained by U.S. immigration officers.

The incident sparked fresh controversy over immigration enforcement tactics in Chicago.

www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/f...

Feds, attorneys spar over 15-year-old detained by U.S. immigration officers

Family is calling for an investigation into the detention of a teen by federal agents in East Chicago on Tuesday, with DHS arguing it acted within the law.

www.nbcchicago.com

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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 19h

And the craziest part is this was needless. Congress would've passed a military pay bill with near unanimous support! Congressional Ds have been begging Rs to bring a bill to pay the military to the floor! But Johnson refuses to gavel in because he doesn't want an Epstein vote.

Johnson wearing a jacket that's photoshopped to say "this has nothing to do with epstein"

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Trump is upfront in saying he will use the shutdown to punish Democrats, and here are the receipts. About $27.2 billion cut from Dem districts compared to about $0.7 billion in GOP districts.
We all complain about the media, but need this type of in-depth journalism.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown (Gift Article)

The Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion primarily located in Democratic-led districts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 20h

started / going

DHS Says Social Media Will Be Screened for ‘Antisemitism’ as It Purges Pro-Palestine Immigrants
Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem says people shouldn't try to "hide behind the First Amendment."

Border Patrol Posts Instagram Propaganda Video Featuring Antisemitic Slurs
The video was pinned to Border Patrol's Instagram Reels.
By Matt Novak
Updated October 15, 2025

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Witty Librarian Resistance @paulwartenberg.bsky.social · 17h

kindness is punk rock

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Andrew Karre @andrewkarre.bsky.social · 1d

🧵It has been clear for years that a key difference between past instances of book banning and the present censorship cataclysm is that the banning happening now targets not only books, but librarianship as a profession and libraries as an institution. 1/4

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Witty Librarian Resistance @paulwartenberg.bsky.social · 21h

well, he did segue into a Milli Vanilli medley...

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Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 21h

Someone in the crowd: “Go Cubs!”

Pope Leo XIV: “Han perdido! They lost!”

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