Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 8h

"Sorry, but I have plenary authority over *mumble mumble mumble*."

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 8h

I look forward to President AOC declaring that ICE is no longer fulfilling its mission and unilaterally disbanding the agency.

1 1

Reposted

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 17h

We constantly talk about Dems' struggles to reach deeper into the culture and access people who ignore politics.

You know what issue is penetrating deep into the culture? ICE's masked raids and kidnappings! It's on Rogan and in country music. In the Manosphere!

newrepublic.com/article/2018...

19 200 830

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 9h

This will end when Republicans are no longer confident it's a fight they will win.

2

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 9h

In the short term, I think Democrats are likely to win the House in 2026 anyway.

In the medium term, Democrats need to gerrymander the fuck out of every D+10 or greater state (zero out the R reps), and be ready to refuse to seat Republicans.

1 2

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 9h

Living without the rule of law is going to cut both ways.

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 10h

Kirby has been Mr Unreliable since the All Star Break

2

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 10h

[Hashtag] George Kirby

Guy Trivago @convolutedname.bsky.social · 10h

Mariners, wyd

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 10h

The counterpoint to "Trump can do anything and the law cannot bind him" is that the next Democratic president can do anything and the law cannot bind him/her.

I don't see why President Newsom/AOC can't just order Trump cronies arrested and gesture vaguely at Article II.

6

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 14h

This chart assumes California gerrymanders away 5 Republican seats, as Newsom has promised. Nothing more from Democrats.

We need to take off the kid gloves and fight fire with fire.

21

Reposted

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 14h

This is a scary chart, but Democrats need to respond in kind. If Louisiana is going to eliminate every Democrat in a R+20 state, California needs to eliminate every Republican in a D+20 state.

California should be 52D-0R
New York should be 26D-0R
Washington should be 10D-0R
Colorado should be 8D-0R

1 17 54

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 14h

This is a scary chart, but Democrats need to respond in kind. If Louisiana is going to eliminate every Democrat in a R+20 state, California needs to eliminate every Republican in a D+20 state.

California should be 52D-0R
New York should be 26D-0R
Washington should be 10D-0R
Colorado should be 8D-0R

1 17 54

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 15h

@governor.ny.gov, @governorferguson.bsky.social

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 15h

This is really the crux of the whole thing. Democrats need to arm themselves with the tools they need to flip back a ~15-20 seat gerrymander, nationally. Every Dem state with a redistricting commission needs to be looking into repealing those *right now.*

1 2

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 15h

This is really the crux of the whole thing. Democrats need to arm themselves with the tools they need to flip back a ~15-20 seat gerrymander, nationally. Every Dem state with a redistricting commission needs to be looking into repealing those *right now.*

1 14

Reposted

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 16h

white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans

www.nytimes.com

120 1.7K 5.6K

Reposted

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 20h

It's one of those ethical issues where basically everyone understands that adopting the former view is better for society and adopting the latter view is better for you as an individual, and like most issues like that, elites have shifted very hard towards the "fuck society" position

3 21 280

Reposted

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 20h

I think one of the biggest cleavages in our society that no one talks about is the division between those that think powerful people must be held to a higher standard than non-powerful people and those who think powerful people should be flattered and sucked up to.

56 340 1.9K

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

What Vought is doing is against the law and against the Constitution. Small potatoes next to sending the army into cities and brown people to gulags, maybe, but this administration is lawless from top to bottom.

3 36 460

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

I should say, 30 seats, less the gerrymanders. Still, Republicans have a 3 seat advantage now, so a 19 seat gerrymander is still likely not going to be enough.

2

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

It would be hard to actually gerrymander 19 seats, especially by 2026. Even if they did, Democrats are still reasonably likely to pick ~30 seats up, and if California goes full nuclear it can gerrymander 12 Republicans out of existence.

1 4

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

Trump and his thugs hate us. They want to hurt us and terrorize us.

There needs to be consequences for these people when they no longer have Trump to hide behind.

Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

Korol is a US citizen. Her family hasn’t heard from her since she was taken, public charges haven’t been released—what crime did she even commit? 2nd-Degree Woodwinding?—and there has been no explanation for her “renditioning” across state lines.

We’ve moved into a new phase of Trump lawlessness.

Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

A musician, Oriana Korol, was peacefully playing clarinet with her protest band outside ICE facilities in Portland, OR.

When the band started playing “Ghostbusters,” ICE thugs suddenly poured outside, slammed her into the mud, arrested her and took her to a jail 9 miles away in Vancouver, WA.

Reposted

Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

Korol is a US citizen. Her family hasn’t heard from her since she was taken, public charges haven’t been released—what crime did she even commit? 2nd-Degree Woodwinding?—and there has been no explanation for her “renditioning” across state lines.

We’ve moved into a new phase of Trump lawlessness.

Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1d

A musician, Oriana Korol, was peacefully playing clarinet with her protest band outside ICE facilities in Portland, OR.

When the band started playing “Ghostbusters,” ICE thugs suddenly poured outside, slammed her into the mud, arrested her and took her to a jail 9 miles away in Vancouver, WA.

Musician playing ‘Ghostbusters’ outside ICE facility is arrested by agents

‘Taking us citizens out of state to detain them without charge is a new action from the Feds and should be opposed,’ her band said

www.independent.co.uk

18 810 1.6K

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

Criticizing the president is against the law. It's hate speech. Straight to the gulag.

1

thestinkfoot.bsky.social @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 17h

Republicans are definitely going to cheat, but even if California doesn't strike back (and I expect they WILL strike back), Republicans are extremely likely to lose the House next year.

1 7