Nikos Leverenz
@nikosleverenz.bsky.social
Wandering through the Skeetverse in Honolulu, Hawaii. Still paying attention elsewhere.
Vatican News: "The pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic parish revealed that Pope Leo XIV sent a personal condolence message following an Israeli missile strike that killed five people." Life is hell for Gazans. Please give to my dear friend. No amount is too small. 💗 chuffed.org/project/1981...
Trump says that skyrocketing gas prices are a "small price to pay" for his war in Iran
Condolences to his son. [GIFT ARTICLE] 🎁 Jim Bakker, Television Preacher Felled by Sex and Financial Scandals, Dies at 86 | New York Times
Jim Bakker, Television Preacher Felled by Sex and Financial Scandals, Dies at 86 (Gift Article)
With his wife, Tammy Faye, Mr. Bakker built a broadcasting juggernaut around the gospel of prosperity.
nytimes.com
Quoc was the beloved barber at Moanalua Great Clips. I donated after learning he was deported to Vietnam, separated from his wife and two children, and now needs housing and food. The GoFundMe is 86% funded. Thanks to everyone helping him rebuild. #SupportQuoc gofund.me/2e624a6c4
Donate to Help Quoc Start Over in Vietnam, organized by Taylor Cook
Quoc is a beloved barber at the Moanalua Great Clips and a longtime family friend who has … Taylor Cook needs your support for Help Quoc Start Over in Vietnam
gofund.me
Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointee in New York, rebukes ICE for arresting two people erroneously — including a U.S. citizen — and later claiming "mistaken identity." "ICE agents falsified official records," he says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It's been such a long few years, I'd forgotten this particular rape accusation against Hegseth. The woman told police she may have been drugged. Hegseth, who was married to one woman and had just had a baby with another, said it was consensual but paid her $50k to settle. He was confirmed anyway.
Radley Balko@radleybalko.bsky.social · 2d agoJust a reminder: Tillis persuaded the woman Hegseth allegedly raped to come forward with her story, and told her that if she did, it would sink the nomination. She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth. Because he’s a goddamned coward.
No matter how petty. The goal is to make it look like he was never there, never existed.
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 2d ago"De-Trumpification" has to be one of the top agenda items if Dems win power. All the lawlessness and every last one of his efforts to turn DC into an imperial capital should be undone.
Despite multiple complaints — and videos — of physical abuse and mistreatment of students, Arkansas' Delta Institute continues to receive public funds. It is just one of hundreds of private schools taking state money with little oversight. (Published July with @arktimes.bsky.social)
This Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It.
One of the few requirements for Arkansas private schools is that they have an American flag and a flagpole. But millions in state funds go to the largely unmonitored schools while complaints about saf...
propublica.org
Join the fight against government regulations on the books that you and your family are allowed to read in the United States by signing the petition today. action.everylibrary.org/bannedbooks via @everylibrary.bsky.social
PETITION: Don't Ban Books in the United States
Proposed censorship measures in several states could deny your right to read some books in our Nation's libraries and lead to librarians facing criminal charges for the books on the shelves.
action.everylibrary.org
What is really interesting in this exchange is that he fully put Martha MacCallum on the defensive to the point where she was trying to act like she hasn't been a cheerleader for this war -- which anyone who has watched her program the past year can say in unequivocably false.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d agoEl-Sayed on Fox: "There is this argument you try to make often is that the best way to take this problem on is more war. How has that worked out for us? The war in Iraq which this channel spent years and years pressing -- has that made us safer? Are we more safe because of the war in Iran?"
The money tells a story reinforced by the polling. Republicans pulling money out of NC and putting it in KS? Whoa… time for us to press even harder! They’re running scared, and this could be a blue tsunami. Story: buff.ly/6dq8VJw
Trump's reckless and sloppy war with Iran is crippling America. Full stop. Will Democrats have the nerve to drag that m—f—er and his silly goons, government and corporate, ceaselessly for weakening the U.S.? There should be no limit to calling out the myriad failures and wanting corruption.
I don't really know what to do with these pieces, because: 1. They refuse to used "illegal" & "unconstitutional" & "corruption" in the heds, deks, ledes, or body text 2. They disappear from the front page/headlines within 36 hours & never become THE NARRATIVE, contra EMAILS & BIDEN IS OLD, etc.
Eric Lipton NYT@ericlipton.nytimes.com · 4d agoJUST POSTED: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have pushed a multibillion oil deal with Russia as part of peace talks that will bring profits to their family business partners. A new front for Trump-era conflicts of interest. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
In 1989 CEOs made 60x the average worker. Today it's 325x. I guess the corporate ladder is getting taller. With @svaneksmith.bsky.social https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/why-is-concentrated-wealth-a-problem
I just committed to a monthly donation to support World Central Kitchen in its humanitarian work in honor of my father Roman, who walked the path of peace through his life. @wck.org
Donate to World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen https://giving.classy.org/campaign/749360/donate
donate.wck.org
Gideon Levy: A wicked man prospers because he is Jewish; a righteous man suffers because he is Palestinian. Could anything be more surreal than ex-cons defeating an innocent man in the High Court of Justice, and all because of an opinion piece? www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026...
Opinion | In Israel's Supreme Court, thoughtcrime depends on whether you're Jewish or Arab
A wicked man prospers because he is Jewish; a righteous man suffers because he is Palestinian. Could anything be more surreal than ex-cons defeating an innocent man in the High Court of Justice, and a...
haaretz.com
Prof. Eliot Jacobson: The final results are in and 2026 came in 2nd place behind 2023 for the total number of days with global surface temperature above 16.0°C. 2023: 128 days 2026: 126 days
Trump wants the Supreme Court to rule that DHS can imprison-indefinitely-immigrants who enter the US illegally He wants ICE to arrest millions of migrants and keep them incarcerated-maybe for years-until they can be deported Even if they have legal status In violation of their due process rights
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
nytimes.com
"Both reparations and apologies were a matter for the government, a palace spokesperson said." No apology but King Charles will not shy away from slavery issue during Caribbean tour, Buckingham Palace says | Reuters @reuters.com
No apology but King Charles will not shy away from slavery issue during Caribbean tour, Buckingham Palace says
King Charles will not shy away from Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade when he tours the Caribbean later this month, but will not formally apologise for "the darkest days of our p...
reuters.com
Mike Pompeo has been rewarded with a teaching fellowship at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. The same school that canceled my class on media, race and international affairs. @columbiasipa.bsky.social share.google/KEvTy5yER71U...
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join SIPA faculty
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will join the School of International and Public Affairs as a fellow at SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics in March, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
share.google
Tony Somogyi 🇺🇦 🇨🇦🇪🇺@tonysomo.bsky.social · 5d agoThank you for your courage and for reminding us about this murder & cold blooded dismemberment of a courageous journalist. I can never forget Pompeo’s off the cuff dismissal of Jamal’s fate and Kushner’s divulging of intelligence about MBS enemies in exchange for deal$; all of them put to death!
At least 57 people have died in ICE detention since the start of President Trump's second term — more than double the number of deaths recorded from the previous four years combined. ICE must be held accountable before any more lives are lost.
Deaths in ICE Detention More Than Doubles Under Trump
Death rate could be higher if it includes hidden deaths of people released from detention that ICE is reporting under Trump administration.
aclu.org
Law Professor @jentaub.bsky.social joined me to talk the case in Cornell University. She explained, "Every institution that was supposed to help her as a victim failed her" from Cornell Univ to Cornell Police to the District Attorney. youtu.be/PsMv0cDPKVw
What Is Really Happening at Cornell? Law Professor Jennifer Tapp Explains
YouTube video by The Dean Obeidallah Show
youtu.be
Hawaii's famed Holei Sea Arch is gone forever | SFGate @sfgate.com
Hawaii's famed Holei Sea Arch is gone forever
The arch is believed to have been 550 years old.
sfgate.com
We’ve got the inside story of how Trump’s displeasure with seeing homeless people in D.C. became the first domino in a series of actions that culminated in the administration’s stunning decision to weaken the rights of millions of disabled Americans to live in their homes and communities.
How Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights
After issuing a memo making it easier to institutionalize homeless people, the Justice Department began abandoning cases protecting disabled people’s right to live in the community.
nbcnews.com
"Here, it was very much a bottom-up approach of the heritage society coming up with a plan, working with professionals." ‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity | The Guardian @theguardian.com
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore
theguardian.com