Rajan Narang
LightNews LightNews
banner
rdnarang.bsky.social
Rajan Narang
@rdnarang.bsky.social
1.3K followers 890 following 2.6K posts
Working for a just democracy. Both learning and explaining so that we do better with our next opportunity. We’re mobilized, and now it's time for us to organize. Personal account
Posts Replies Media Videos
rdnarang.bsky.social
my politics in a nutshell:
Poster reading Hail Mary, full of grace, kick ICE out of this place The Virgin of Guadalupe, her cloak full of American stars, is portrayed stepping on a dead snake labeled ICE
November 23, 2025 at 2:26 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Rod's preferred governments deciding whether to go full Hitler:
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Did I just argue with a joke?
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
After a superb roster of institutional Catholicism's successes and failures to stand up for democracy in recent history, a veritable host of action items (we love action items!)
Catholics can speak truth to power. Bishops can use sermons, pastoral letters, op-eds and media engagement to reaffirm democratic principles rooted in Catholic social teaching, and to denounce authoritarian abuses of power and the harmful religious ideologies underpinning them. They can encourage diocesan leaders, heads of Catholic academic institutions and local priests to preach on Catholic social teaching and the importance of democratic principles to the common good. Catholic media outlets and social media influencers could amplify powerful pastoral letters like that of Bishop Mark E. Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va., who wrote, “It is Catholic teaching that an unjust law does not bind in conscience” and invokes the possibility of noncooperation with unjust laws. They can promote critical discourses on the harmful effects of white supremacy on U.S. Christianity. Catholics can couple moral protest with an affirmative vision of a democratic society grounded in respect for human dignity and the common good, like that offered by Robert McElroy, then bishop of San Diego, when he wrote, “We must dedicate ourselves to completely transforming our political and cultural life so as to emphasize unity over division, dialogue over confrontation and character over political and personal gain.” We can revive study of Vatican II documents on the characteristics of a vibrant political community, “especially with regard to universal rights and duties both in the exercise of civil liberty and in the attainment of the common good…” (“Gaudium et Spes,” No. 73). Catholic leaders can emphasize that the struggle in the United States is not between red and blue, or Republican and Democratic. Rather, it is between what Pope John Paul II called the “arrogance of power” and the forces of human freedom and a belief in the imago Dei (the image of God in all God’s creation). All Catholics can bring expressions of Catholic faith into pro-democracy protests and public witnesses, immigration hearings and detention centers with hymns, prayer, and public devotions like praying the rosary. They can offer pastoral care, mitigate fear and normalize noncompliance with harmful practices. The “Jericho walks” around 26 Federal Plaza in New York City (the site of immigration hearings), and weekly prayer vigils and protests outside Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades are good examples of ritualized faithful action. In Illinois, there have been Eucharistic processions to the ICE detention facility in Broadview and “holy nuisance” actions in Chicago to slow or impede ICE arrests. Bringing the power of music into faithful gatherings, protests, vigils and demonstrations can help break fear and unite people in shared purpose. Catholic schools can offer education and training. Catholic universities, schools, parishes and civic groups can educate the public about the dangers of our current political environment and offer strategies and tactics for defeating authoritarianism, drawing on the rich tradition of Catholic nonviolent resistance. Some examples already happening include webinars, teach-ins, pray-ins and workshops, such as those hosted by the Franciscan Action Network, Campaign Nonviolence/Pace e Bene, One Million Rising, the Freedom Trainers and Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence. They are all focused on nonviolent resistance and making political violence and repression backfire. The Faithful Fight toolkit series offers concrete ways for faith communities to challenge authoritarianism, ranging from bridge-building and survival strategies to noncooperation and civil disobedience. The Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, a project of Pax Christi International, offers a wide range of scriptural and practical tools and resources related to nonviolence and nonviolent action, and their role in challenging violence and oppression. … Catholic consumers and business leaders can refuse to cooperate with unjust government action and amplify the call for corporate accountability. This could include communities boycotting corporate enablers of authoritarian practices (like Avelo airlines, the main carrier for ICE deportation flights; Home Depot, which has become a staging ground for immigration raids targeting day laborers; and Amazon, which has profited from government contracts and surveillance technologies that enable injustices) until they shift their practices. Consumers could also reward companies willing to stick their necks out to defend democratic principles (so-called buycotts). Another tactic is putting up “No ICE” signs in businesses and near schools and places of worship. This strategy could also involve using financial leverage like investment and pension funds to influence government and corporate behaviors, or meeting with sheriffs’ departments to urge noncooperation with ICE. Noncooperation is the most powerful set of tactics in nonviolent resistance because it involves directly shifting power away from unjust political and economic systems. Catholics can build a united front and support popular movements. There is an urgent need to bring Catholics together across divides to find common ground in the face of cruel and dehumanizing government practices. It is important for the church to collaborate with organizing, social ministry and popular movements in order to live out its call. As Pope Francis said at a world meeting of popular movements in 2015: “I am pleased to see the church opening her doors to all of you, embracing you, accompanying you and establishing in each diocese, in every justice and peace commission, a genuine, ongoing and serious cooperation with popular movements. I ask everyone, bishops, priests and laity, as well as the social organizations of the urban and rural peripheries, to deepen this encounter…. As members of popular movements, you carry out y… Practically, building a bigger tent can involve parish and community dialogues, potlucks, supporting efforts like Nuns on the Bus and deep work within communities. It involves forging partnerships with key pillars like unions, businesses, veterans’ groups and professional associations, which boast many Catholic members, and undertaking collective action. The Family Assistance Program in Los Angeles involving active partnership with businesses, the Catholic Labor Network’s work with unions, and Catholic public interest law societies’ partnerships with immigration rights groups are good examples of cross-pillar collaboration. Large, cross-sectoral nationwide actions, like Unite for Veterans and the No Kings demonstrations, offer opportunities to forge connections and build solidarity across divides. Meanwhile, during a recent meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Chicago labor leaders in Rome, the pontiff highlighted the power of unions to embrace the marginalized and encouraged them to continue to advocate for the dignity of the most vulnerable. Across national borders, Catholics can build global democratic solidarity by shedding light on how Catholics from across the political and ideological spectrum from around the world have challenged dictatorship. That includes Catholic leaders in Nicaragua, like Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was exiled for supporting nonviolent opposition to the Ortega regime, and Filipino bishops and women religious who were outspoken in their condemnation of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s inhumane policies as part of a “war on drugs,” which included thousands of extra-judicial killings. Strengthening learning and relationships across borders is key to building global democratic solidarity in the face of rising global authoritarianism.
November 12, 2025 at 9:21 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
I hope someone's tracking all this private prison revenue so we know exactly how much to fine these companies and pay in reparations.
Where is business booming? The companies that are supporting ICE’s exploding immigration enforcement operation. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” the founder of private prison company Geo Group, George Zoley, said on an earnings call yesterday. The ICE machine, by the numbers: $682 million in revenue for Geo Group in this year’s third quarter and $580 million in revenue for CoreCivic, another private prison company, in the same period. More $$: ICE paid tech company Palantir $51 million for software to help with criminal investigations and track self-deportations and visa overstays, according to an analysis of transaction history on USAspending by NOTUS’ Jackie Llanos. “We power ICE,” CEO Alex Karp boasted on the company’s earnings call this week.
November 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
We're in a battle for democracy against fascism. But we're also in a battle for democracy against crypto's attempt to purchase us wholesale, and our allies aren't necessarily the same between the two fights. It's going to be a hard slog.
Graph showing corporate donations since Citizens United in 2010, with crypto donations highlighted
November 11, 2025 at 4:55 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Gonna need Netflix to deliver better content before they start talking this big talk!
Netflix's Ted Sarandox quipped that YouTube is in the "killing time" business, while Netflix is about "spending time"
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Strong doge weak doge meme. Gavin Newsom 2025 is the strong doge, Gavin Newsom 2022 is the weak doge
November 7, 2025 at 6:33 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Thank you, Matt, for reminding me that Garfield (and this speech) absolutely ruled
And it did gentle the condition and elevate the heart of every worthy soldier who fought for the Union, [applause,] and he shall be our brother forevermore. Another thing we will remember: we will remember our allies who fought with us. Soon after the great struggle began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] Our comrades escaping from the starvation of prison, fleeing to our lines by the light of the North star, never feared to enter the black man's cabin and ask for bread. ["Good, good," "That's so," and loud cheers.] In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.] A poet has said that in individual life we rise, "On stepping-stones of our dead selves to higher things," and the Republic rises on the glorious achievements of its dead and living heroes to a higher and nobler national life. [Applause.] We must stand guard over our past as soldiers, and over our country as the common heritage of all. [Applause.]
November 7, 2025 at 6:30 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Matthew Yglesias tweets "I keep talking to Democrats who are mildly flummoxed by the fact that a shutdown strategy they undertook under duress and against their better judgment appears to be working. 😂" Mad face underneath a smile
November 7, 2025 at 5:02 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
The Yale School of Management:
Copy of the dril tweet saying “turning a big dial taht says "Racism" on it and constantly looking back at the audience for approval like a contestant on the price is right”
November 6, 2025 at 10:33 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Stringer Bell glaring
November 6, 2025 at 12:12 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Dearest mother, landing a second Union army on the James River has worked better than McClellan ever dreamed. We have taken Richmond and its suburbs, and we push north to link with our compatriots-in-arms moving south from the Capital. Sending love to you and papa,
Map of Democratic seats and flips in the Virginia House of Delegates
November 5, 2025 at 5:39 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
With immense sympathy, I would nonetheless point out that these were all foreseeable problems! www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Former Biden administration officials say the administration let bureaucracy, a fear of repeating past failures like Solyndra, and an unawareness of how quickly the Trump administration would undo their work derail a quick and effective rollout of climate and clean energy policy.
November 5, 2025 at 7:54 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
got pretty emotional watching this beautiful family bask in victory (to our music, no less)
Zohran Mamdani and his family at his victory rally
November 5, 2025 at 4:47 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
No, Glenn Youngkin -- Virginians didn't want your party, your underlings, and your thinly veiled prejudice.

Congratulations to Lieutenant Governor-elect @senatorhashmi.bsky.social, who reps our community with poise and courage.
Youngkin doesn't want Hashmi in the state Hashmi defeats Reid by 10.5%
November 5, 2025 at 3:58 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Straight into my veins
From @dylanewells on Twitter: Overheard from an attendee at the Cuomo watch party, where some supporters have already left: “He’s going to speak at this? What the fuck is he going to say, I suck, I lost?”
November 5, 2025 at 3:25 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
MOOD:
November 5, 2025 at 2:53 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
With an estimated 26% of votes in, Maine is so far rejecting a Republican attack on absentee voting. An estimated 75% of the city of Portland is in so far, fueling the No vote. But as you can see, No's strong performance is not limited to urban areas
election results map of Maine
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Haven't read Mitchell's book yet, I hear it's quite good, but saying that Clausewitz wishes he could have done as well is BOLD
Book review compares Wess Mitchell's newest book favorably to Clausewitz
November 4, 2025 at 9:54 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
this is perhaps the least fergalicious man of all time
My statement regarding Governor Moore's announcement creating a mid-cycle redistricting commission in Maryland: If the goal of the commission is to hear directly from Marylanders, the Senate will participate in a process which includes in-person listening sessions in each of Maryland’s eight existing congressional districts. Marylanders’ voices remain central to this process, and these public meetings will provide an opportunity for voters to hear about the unique legal barriers in Maryland - barriers that could unintentionally give Donald Trump another one or two of Maryland's congressional seats should this effort backfire in our courts. The Senate Democratic Caucus understands that this is an unbalanced risk reward calculation. It is why there is overwhelming concern about Maryland joining the mid-cycle redistricting wars rather than focusing on tangible, immediate policies to protect our State from this lawless Trump Administration.
November 4, 2025 at 6:16 PM
rdnarang.bsky.social
A searing coda from @rtraister.bsky.social, correctly indicting Dems' tendency to lean on and coddle gerontocrats: "The short-term grab at a familiar past got us through an immediate crisis, yes, but simultaneously assured a longer-term and more corrosive defeat." nymag.com/intelligence...
Prioritizing the urgency of now over the chance to build deeper into the future is the trade-off Democrats made when they decided Biden was the only one who could beat Trump in 2020. Would one of the candidates who drew younger support have been a riskier pick in that cycle? Less safe because we have no reassurance of their past victories? Absolutely. Might Trump have won reelection then? He sure might have. Yet six years later, here we are. The short-term grab at a familiar past got us through an immediate crisis, yes, but simultaneously assured a longer-term and more corrosive defeat. A second consecutive Trump term — which then felt like the worst outcome but would have left the right less time to strategize and grow more canny in their malevolent aspirations — would perhaps have been better for the country’s future than what we have now, the bottomless catastrophe where an elderly Biden and his supporters in the Democratic Party dumped us.
November 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Ezra Klein makes an important point here: The Democratic Party isn't running aground because of "the groups", but because of its broader political culture (which is ironically heavily influenced and sometimes steered by the people who've griped loudest about "the groups")
Since the 2024 election, there has been a lot of talk on the Democratic side about the power of the so-called groups — the progressive advocacy organizations and nonprofits that have arguably pushed Democrats to the left. I’ve used that term before, but I think it’s imprecise. The real thing we’re talking about here is what might be called the professional political classes. The groups that we’re talking about are downstream from the progressive professional political class. The people in them are the same people who staff or drive the other parts of progressive politics: One year you’re with a nonprofit, then you’re on a campaign, then you’re in the White House, then you’re back at a group. You’re followed on X or Bluesky by left-leaning journalists like me, by producers at MSNBC or breaking news reporters at Politico. It’s not a bunch of groups. It’s a professional community that exists largely online. And so that professional community’s culture and attention are governed not by its values or its goals but by the decisions of the corporations and oligarchs who own the social media platforms and design them to further their profits or their politics. The conversations pulsing across these platforms are shaped not by civic values but by whatever proves to keep people scrolling: Nuanced opinions are compressed into viral slogans; attention collects around the loudest and most controversial voices; algorithms love conflict, inspiration, outrage and anger. Everything is always turned up to 11.
November 4, 2025 at 4:02 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
Oh good; in this bureaucratic turf war, we have a possible traitor on one hand and an incompetent crooked clown on the other.

And it's no biggie! Merely a matter of who runs our counterintelligence efforts against unfriendly nations!
The FBI is fervently opposed to a House bill that would give Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard increased oversight of counterintelligence, revealing an apparent turf battle within the intelligence community under the Trump administration. The proposal would make the Office of the Director of National Intelligence the federal government’s top counterintelligence agency. The FBI has long been the country’s lead agency for counterintelligence, or the work of thwarting foreign spies and intelligence threats, and the bureau wrote a letter to Congress expressing its “strong objection” to the proposal. In the unclassified letter, the FBI said the proposed changes “would cause serious and long-lasting damage” to U.S. national security.
November 3, 2025 at 6:42 AM
rdnarang.bsky.social
is it illegal to run in Slovakian cities starting next year?
Pedestrians in Slovakia will need to watch their step starting next year. On Tuesday, Slovakian lawmakers passed an amendment that will require people to move no faster than 6 kilometers (or roughly 3 miles) per hour on sidewalks in urban areas. The law, which also applies to skaters and cyclists, aims to improve traffic safety—particularly in an effort to reduce scooter collisions. The speed limit will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
November 3, 2025 at 6:26 AM