Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)

Amanda Marcotte @amandamarcotte.bsky.social · 10h

The TPUSA “alternative” halftime show hasn’t booked acts yet.

But it has already revealed how their fans are, to put it gently, a bunch of losers.

MAGA wants to win the culture wars. But this whole debacle shows why they are doomed to fail.

www.salon.com/2025/10/15/m...

MAGA's fake Super Bowl halftime show reveals their real failures

Turning Point USA's followers are pitifully out-of-touch with pop culture

www.salon.com

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Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

Thousands of posts from a private Young Republican Telegram chat reveal a culture of casual racism/antisemitism, rape jokes and celebration of Hitler/Nazism.

Some of the ringleaders are below: We live in a world where 4chan types now occupy positions of real power.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Peter Giunta, chair of the New York State Young Republicans

Bobby Walker, vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans

William Hendrix, communications assistant for Kansas’ Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach

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Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 20h

JD Vance can dismiss the Young Republicans as a college group chat.

But let's be clear: the group chat includes a State Senator, a Trump Admin official, and multiple Republican staffers — and some of the worst comments came from folks associated with Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Lawler.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 9h

Forcing them to watch the boss's speech and telling them they'll get in trouble for making fun of him.

That's just a sign of a respected and capable leader, folks.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 21h

NEW: Pentagon officials are forcing staff to watch Pete Hegseth's "Warrior" speech he forced generals to listen to.

Officials are even "testing" staff to see if they watched — and are threatening consequences if they lie about watching it or if they mock it, sources tell @swin24.bsky.social and I.

The Pentagon Is Ordering Staff to Watch Hegseth’s ‘MAGA Garbage’ Speech… Or Else

Defense Department sources tell Zeteo that staff have been warned that if they don’t watch or read the speech, or if they speak negatively of it, they could face severe consequences.

zeteo.com

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 9h

"As Congress bickers over whether ICE should be masked or unmasked, regulated or unleashed, the raids roll on — unbound, unaccountable, and increasingly at the center of America’s moral crisis."

migrantinsider.com/p/mike-johns...

Mike Johnson Says ICE Hasn’t “Crossed the Line.” The Country Disagrees.

From Chicago to Los Angeles, ICE raids are breaking windows, families, and trust — but not, apparently, the Speaker’s conscience.

migrantinsider.com

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Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)

Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 1d

This is the whole ballgame: “A candidate in today’s day and age needs to be able to explain ideas in a 30-second vertical social media video, a three-minute television hit and a three-hour long-form podcast.”

Can’t do all 3? Can’t hang in 2025. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/m...

Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani

www.nytimes.com

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Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 17h

"What would we do if the aliens arrived? Wilson imagines the actions that might be taken by intelligence experts, military leaders, scientists and regular folks — including a Cherokee oilfield worker — and weaves them into a deliciously tangled tale." www.universetoday.com/articles/nat...

Native Americans Had Their Own Tales to Tell About Space Aliens — and Here's a New One

In a newly published novel titled “Hole in the Sky,” Cherokee science-fiction author Daniel H. Wilson blends Native American tales about alien civilizations with up-to-date speculation about UFOs,…

www.universetoday.com

Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 18h

"Long before colonizers arrived, Native American and Indigenous communities across North, Central, and South America developed technologies, agricultural systems, and medicinal practices that laid the foundation for many modern inventions." newsone.com/6531978/nati...

10 Native American Inventions That Changed The World

These Native American contributions are often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Yet, their legacy is woven into daily life.

newsone.com

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Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 19h

"If Trump wants to celebrate the good things about Christopher Columbus then let him. Let him do that. But also tell the truth about him and let us also celebrate Indigenous peoples' accomplishments," said Iron Eyes. "We don't teach that in America's schools." www.wftv.com/news/nationa...

Some Indigenous Peoples Day events strike conciliatory tone amid Trump's focus on Columbus

From Seattle to Baltimore, people in the United States are recognizing Monday as Indigenous Peoples Day

www.wftv.com

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Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 20h

"I often think about what it must have meant for my ancestors to greet one another in the day by saying something as simple and profound as, you know, that they had 'survived the night.' What did that mean in the winter of 1863, for example?" www.democracynow.org/2025/10/13/j...

“We Survived the Night”: Julian Brave NoiseCat on Residential Schools & Recovering Native History

To mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we sit down with the award-winning Indigenous writer, journalist and filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat, member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq’escen and a descendant of the…

www.democracynow.org

Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 21h

Leonard Peltier: "All we were trying to do was save a race of people from being terminated. They enslaved us, killed us, massacred us, raped our children, enslaved our children." www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier on adjusting to life at home after decades in prison

To many supporters, Leonard Peltier was a political prisoner unjustly punished for his activism with the American Indian Movement. To his critics, he is a remorseless killer of two FBI agents in…

www.pbs.org

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

wow. bezos has destroyed this paper.

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 2d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 1d

This from the great @sulliview.bsky.social on the media's anemic (or non-) coverage of the massive No Kings movement is such a great point

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

New in PN: Stephen Miller's radically bogus idea of "plenary authority"

"Miller’s contention about ICE officers 'having to street battle against antifa every night' is objectively absurd. Courts cannot possibly be required to accept anything Trump says, no matter how disconnected from reality."

Stephen Miller's radically bogus idea of "plenary authority"

This is not how the Constitution works.

www.publicnotice.co

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 1d

Folks should read this post on the pathways for Democrats to win the shutdown -- and why such a win is surprisingly (to many) likely. open.substack.com/pub/firstbra...

The Queen of Hearts Shutdown

Through the looking glass on conventional CR wisdom as the House is late—late—for a very important vote

open.substack.com

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Politico @politico.com · 1d

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘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

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Daniel Larison @daniellarison.bsky.social · 1d

Murderer-in-chief murders six more people: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

US strike on boat off Venezuela kills six, Trump says

A U.S. strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump said in a social media post.

www.reuters.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Trump is no longer even pretending to have any kind of argument that his murdering of people in the Caribbean Sea has any kind of statutory validity. Just straight up declaring that he has quasi-unlimited power to execute people based on (nominal) suspicion.

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Jill Lawrence @jilldlawrence.bsky.social · 1d

Good discussion with @gregsargent.bsky.social on No Kings and the right to protest: "They’re trying to turn it into something really evil. But that’s because they’re scared of it, and they know it turns public opinion... I think they should be worried, because nothing they’re doing is popular."

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

If Republicans are going to label you a terrorist for peacefully protesting Trump's failing presidency, abuses of power, and treatment of blue America as an enemy nation, let's turn out in even bigger numbers.

On the pod, @jilldlawrence.bsky.social and me on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Rage at “No Kings” Boils Over—and It Quickly Backfires on Trump

As Trump allies smear the coming protests, a good writer on MAGA skewers the absurdity of these attacks on large swaths of Americans—and explains why our best recourse will be to turn out in force.

newrepublic.com

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Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 1d

"There's been so much erasure of Native American people historically that we don't often get to hear their stories and their voices, especially compared to other racial and ethnic minority groups. This research brings Native voices to the table, literally." news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...

Native American stereotypes, as seen by Native Americans | Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell-led study is among the first to explore Native Americans’ perceptions of stereotypes about them, centering the voices of teenage citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

news.cornell.edu

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Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics) @robschmidt.bsky.social · 1d

"Philanthropy's sparse giving to Native American-led organizations means there's little private money for such efforts. Less than 0.5% of funding from large U.S. foundations goes to Native American nonprofits, according to a 2019 report." wtop.com/national/202...

Here’s what young Native Americans funded with $720K from Newman’s Own Foundation and Novo Nordisk - WTOP News

NEW YORK (AP) — Armed with hundreds of thousands of dollars from Newman’s Own Foundation and Ozempic creator Novo Nordisk, young Native Americans are leading the fight against persistently high rates…

wtop.com

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Red POP! News @redpopnews.bsky.social · 4d

From Catch the Fair One to True Detective: Night Country, Kali Reis has shown us what Indigenous strength looks like beyond stereotypes. Now she’s stepping into Raccoon City bringing that same energy to one of horror’s most iconic franchises.

redpopnews.com/from-true-de...

#residentevil

From True Detective to Resident Evil: Kali Reis Expands Her Reign

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot just became a lot more interesting with the announcement that Kali Reis has joined the cast. Her addition is already one of the most talked-about moves in the proje...

redpopnews.com

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Lucas Brown Eyes @lucasbrowneyes.bsky.social · 2d

Happy Indigenous People's day, did you know that up to 5,500,000 Indigenous people were enslaved? A fact that is often erased because Indigenous erasure is ingrained in American society.

Brown.edu -- "Native American slavery "is a piece of the history of slavery that has been glossed over," Fisher said. "Between 1492 and 1880, between 2 and 5.5 million Native Americans were enslaved in the Americas in addition to
12.5 million African slaves.""

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 2d

Front page of Scottish newspaper The National today.

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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 2d

Trump, speaking in the Israeli parliament, boasts about the weapons the U.S. has provided and says "you obviously used them very well."
An estimated 20,000 children have died in the war in Gaza.

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