iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I took a long weekend to climb Mount Marcy. It was a great hike, and especially now, in the early fall. If you live near the Adirondacks, consider it!

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In which I hand it to Fox News for telling it like it is. talkingpointsmemo.com/the-brief/th...

Screenshot of the following text:

That, yes, is a set of phrases that might make the average reader’s eyes glaze over, but what it means is this: Republicans are trying to claim more power in Congress and the Electoral College by counting fewer people in blue states and regions. That power would shift to red states and regions. This plan violates the Constitution, though right-wing lawyers have mobilized a set of arguments they will use to argue before the Supreme Court that it does not. This is another power grab, albeit a wonkier and more statistics-focused one than such things as Stop the Steal. Unfortunately, the planning for this power grab within the executive branch involves terms and concepts that put most Americans to sleep.

Fortunately, President Trump’s allies in Congress are helping to make it all more explicit. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) this week introduced the “Make Apportionment Great Again (MAGA) Act.” It, too, would do what the Census Bureau is attempting to do: exclude categories of immigrants from apportionment. Clyde gave Fox News an exclusive heads up that his bill was coming. “‘MAGA Act’ could rip House seats from Dem states ahead of next presidential race,” Fox’s headline declared, perfectly accurately.

Super helpful in amplifying this drum we’ve been banging.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This is not a new observation, but Axios' little "smart brevity" terms feel particularly condescending toward the audience when covering such things as the rise of a party that winks and nods toward Nazism. www.axios.com/2026/09/06/a...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Stephen Miller complains that jurors in cities aren't throwing anti-Trump activists in prison in the way he wishes they would. www.state.gov/releases/off...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Unlike the VC-funded outlets of yesteryear, we don't have million-dollar consultants. We don't really have support staff. When you contribute to TPM, the money goes to the people who create the media (and helps buy lunch for the NYC staff on Wednesday). accounts.talkingpointsmemo.com/contribute

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

A lot of work goes into revelations like this! You can help get us to $250k in our annual journalism fund drive, which helps pay out reporters, editors, lawyers, etc. We're nearly there. accounts.talkingpointsmemo.com/contribute

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/a-day-a...

A Latina woman clutching a folder full of papers who had somehow ended up in the courtroom desperately tried to show the clerk her ID and case information on her phone; the clerk waved her away, refusing to talk to her. She sat, mute, seemingly unsure what to do. When the clerk reached another couple without a lawyer and asked if they had an attorney, they gestured at paperwork while speaking Russian. A lawyer sitting next to them, not theirs, who happened to speak Russian conferred with them; he reported that they filed a motion to change the venue because their lawyer is in Chicago. Only after that did the clerk tell them they could leave.

“What a fucking shitshow,” a different lawyer exclaimed aloud.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

TPM is doing it's annual journalism fund drive. This money helps pay for nearly every thing we do, but it also allows us to create free memberships for students and people who might not otherwise be able to subscribe.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Some thoughts on America's 250th anniversary and patriotism. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/chicago...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Wild stuff funded by America250 — which is the congressionally licensed entity, different from Trump's Freedom 250 grift operation. talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/america...

The Constitution, the series asserts, was predicated on Biblical morality. “If we live by virtues, if we follow the laws going back to the time of Moses, our Constitution can hold strong,” the narrator of “The U.S. Constitution” comic tells us. This narrator guides us through the entire text, article by article, and he and his assistants tell us, in no uncertain terms, that: God was displeased by the three-fifths compromise on how enslaved people would be counted in the distribution of U.S. House seats; that Clarence Thomas was “smeared by rumors and mudslinging” in his 1991 Senate confirmation hearings; that the Electoral College should be preserved to force candidates “to care about the needs of small states”; that court packing is bad and “will lead to chaos”; that Originalism is good because Justice Antonin Scalia said so; that Roe v Wade was rightly overturned because it “created law, it didn’t interpret law”; that the proposed Bill of Rights being whittled down from 17 to 10 amendments at the Constitutional Convention made it “like our 10 Commandments”; that there should be no wall keeping religion out of public life or preventing the government from supporting religions; that regulating hate speech or internet propaganda is bad but regulating spending on political ads is a grave violation of the First Amendment; that the personal right to carry firearms bestowed by a 2008 Supreme Court decision is good because “home isn’t the only place you encounter criminals”; that it’s unclear if the 14th Amendment applies to children born to people who are in the country illegally (it is); that the 2023 Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action was good because it “stopped preferential treatment given to people of certain races” (rather than trying to correct for centuries of affirmative action for white people); and, once again, that the Constitution is a miracle.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Better race and ethnicity data would help Democrats in their redistricting goals, the Center for Renewing America document claimed. "The more finely it organizes the population into multiple categories, the more grievances can be generated," the document alleged of the program.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

You hate to see it. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/n...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Guy behind campaign to draft Bovino for presidential run claims the 'commander' knows he was arrested for meth but believes it to be 'bad ass' www.ms.now/news/greg-bo...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Don Jr.'s investing career creates the possibility for huge conflicts of interest—to the extent that its hard to pick any particular one to focus on. But @robert-faturechi.bsky.social has the reporting at @propublica.org to show a particularly corrupt transaction. www.propublica.org/article/dona...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This is fascinating. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/polis-c...

The current Mesa County clerk and recorder Bobbie Gross, in an earlier interview with TPM, explained that the county is still reeling from Peters’ crimes and warned that early release from her sentence would only reignite the county’s election conspiracy environment.

“If she is released, I believe that it could spark some discontent in the nation, not just Mesa County, but Colorado and other places,” she said.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

These Getty Images of Vance's ill-fated Hungary trip really captures what's amusing about both leaders.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Also, this is something we'll be watching.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The fight over historical memory in Argentina is wild. www.batimes.com.ar/news/argenti...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

SEC's ex-enforcement chief clashed with bosses over Trump cases before leaving, sources say www.reuters.com/business/fin...

One case that sparked tension involved cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, a major backer of the Trump family's World Liberty Financial venture, and another involved Tesla boss Elon Musk, a big donor to Trump's campaign who briefly served as the president's special adviser, the two people said.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Confused about why we went to war in Iran? You're not alone! Fortunately, evangelical influencers are offering "powerful new livestreams" with all the information you need the piece the puzzle together. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/iran-bl...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Donald Trump walked so Brandon Herrera could run, Herrera (basically) tells TPM. Herrera is the YouTube gun influencer who is likely to unseat scandal-plagued Tony Gonzales tonight. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

One of the weird things about this second Trump term is, during moments of crisis, it's unclear if the president is getting real information and spinning that real information, or if he is getting the same disinformation from his advisors that they are giving to the public.

Trump Truth Social post: "This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do! Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account? And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota? We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy. We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW. Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud. The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! 12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!"

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

NYC's immigration courthouses have loomed large in our reporting on ICE. Routine hearings now inspire terror for immigrants, who might be aggressively detained in the halls. However, I didn’t realize, until TPM spoke to him, that Mamdani’s father was there this spring for a citizenship interview.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

One wild thing that's probably not gotten enough attention this year is the administration refusing to let members of Congress inspect immigration detention facilities, a violation of the law. This story has some details on how that's played out. talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/how-...

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) was mad.

It was Dec. 8 and she was inside 26 Federal Plaza with Goldman and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). The congressional delegation was on the building’s fifth floor, which advocates say has played host to the majority of detentions in recent weeks, as immigrants are required to show up there for routine checkins. It’s a hard claim to verify; advocates, attorneys, and credentialed reporters have been barred from observing the activity on the floor. Now, the members of Congress were being shut out too. Velázquez fumed after she was turned away following a tense standoff that lasted several minutes.

“I stayed there listening to some bullshit,” Velázquez said with a wave of her hand as she stormed off to the elevators.

Guards from Paragon Systems, a private contractor that provides security at federal buildings around the country, had initially stopped the lawmakers at the elevators and prevented them from proceeding onto the floor. After they called in a DHS commander, the congressional delegation was taken down the hall, out of sight of their staff and of TPM. They returned after a short — and apparently unsatisfactory — exchange.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

TPM's Golden Duke Awards: coming soon. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/its-t...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Jack Posobiec, one of the primary influencers behind the Trump administration's claims that its enemies are all "antifa," notes that "antifa" was founded during the Weimar Republic. (His point is that it makes sense for the Trump admin to target German antifa groups.)

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

One of those where the subhed undercuts the hed. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Much of the coverage of this White House "compact" remains really very bad, including today's headlines about MIT. Read @fishkin.bsky.social on what's actually going on here. talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-tru...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Texas AG Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, is headlining an event with this guy, whose claim to fame is that he stormed the Capitol and was caught on camera toting Nancy Pelosi's lectern. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-a...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Could be better. (Could be worse.) Generative AI models love to cite Reuters and Axios, study finds www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/gene...

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

JD Vance imagines someone who - has ancestors that fought in the Civil War - has been labeled by the ADL as an extremist “I think the people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don’t belong." A lot going on there.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

TPM is doing a membership drive right now, and we're almost to our goal. If you've been enjoying our work, consider joining. Our (very small but very skilled) team has been going all out in recent weeks, producing some great coverage of the new administration. talkingpointsmemo.com/memberships?...

An image showing TPM has 2,435 new members, and a goal of 2,500.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Really quality project by @niemanreports.org. Among the takeaways is this, on the importance of member-supported news, from an editor in Orbán's Hungary. niemanreports.org/dear-america/

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Very weird end to this story. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/hegseth...

An "adviser to Pete Hegseth" calls a TPM reporter a "jackass" after an inquiry about his tattoos.

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John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 07/06/2023

someone who thinks he would like dill pickles looking at someone who knows he would not

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