Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 22h

I'm chagrined to admit that I don't speak Spanish, but that doesn't impact my enjoyment one whit. I also love Grand Opera, which is sometimes also in languages I don't speak. Good music is good, no matter my linguistic entry point.

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Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 23h

My darling sparkle glitter unicorns, one of my silver linings of the last few weeks is that I've discovered that I rather like Bad Bunny's music, and he provides an excellent soundtrack for making dinner.

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

“𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐳…” @killlthehype.blacksky.app · 1d

RIP D'Angelo (1974-2025) 🕊️😔

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Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 1d

Another week of charming, cheeky nonsense from @teagrandarbiter.bsky.social et moi! Friday, we have marvelous guests, @sharonskinner.bsky.social & @brickcave.bsky.social. And! My favourite book chat in all the universe on Sunday. (I may be biased) More at the link

madameaskew.com/2025/10/14/w...

Weekly Tea and Tomfoolery

The Grand Arbiter and I have more cheeky nonsense to share with you this week, including more special guests!Join me tonight live for my sewing AMA and chat at 5PM Pacific (Seattle/Tucson) on YouTu…

madameaskew.com

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 1d

At one time in my life I wouldn't donate to fundraisers if I only had a little to give. It seemed too small to make a difference so why bother? Now I know that goals get achieved when LOTS of people give those small amounts! Let's smash this hay drive one $8 bale at a time. 🍂

Merrymac Farm Sanctuary @merrymacsanctuary.bsky.social · 1d

Truly, every bale matters and you can give one today for only $8! donorbox.org/mmfs-2025-ha...

2025 Hay Drive | Merrymac Farm Sanctuary (Powered by Donorbox)

Hay, grain and supplements are the #1 expense at MMFS. It's part of the foundation of the farm's daily activities. As you may imagine, we go through a LOT of it, and it's not cheap - costing $8 per ba...

donorbox.org

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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 2d

Breaking: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, the legendary transgender activist and veteran of the Stonewall uprising who dedicated her life to the liberation of trans people, especially Black trans women, has died at 78.

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 4d

This heartfelt and meaningful statement by Portland resident and author Cristina Breshears on another social media platform bears reposting here. I don't think the intent is to idealize Portland but to remind all of us what is important and why. (Posted here with permission.)

For nine nights now, the steady thrum of Black Hawk helicopters has circled over Portland. The sound is constant, invasive; a low mechanical beating above our homes. It’s expensive. It’s intimidating. And it’s unnecessary.

Our protests have been largely peaceful. There is no insurrection here. Yet this federalized military presence makes us feel like we are living in a war zone (the very kind of chaos this administration claims to be protecting us from).

The irony is painful: it is only this occupation that makes Portland feel unsafe.

Each hour of helicopter flight costs taxpayers between $2,000 and $4,000, depending on crew, fuel, and maintenance. Multiply that by multiple aircraft over multiple nights, and you’re looking at hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars burned into the sky.

Meanwhile, the Woodstock Food Pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church — which feeds working families, elders, and people with disabilities — has seen its federal funding slashed by 75%. How can we justify pouring public money into intimidation while cutting aid to those who simply need to eat?

This is waste, fraud, and abuse in plain sight:
* Waste of public resources on military theatrics.
* Fraud in the name of “public safety.”
* Abuse of the communities that federal agencies claim to protect.

Portland is a Sanctuary City. A sanctuary city is not a fortress. It’s a promise — a living vow that a community will protect the dignity and safety of everyone who calls it home. It means that local governments and ordinary people alike will refuse to criminalize survival. That schools, clinics, churches, and shelters will remain safe spaces no matter who you are or where you were born. But the term reaches far beyond policy. It’s an ethic of belonging; a refusal to criminalize need, difference, or desperation.

Sanctuary isn’t weakness. It’s courage. It takes moral strength to meet suffering with care instead of punishment, to believe that our neighbors’ safety is bound up in our own, to insist that safety is not achieved through force but through community, inclusion, and trust. It is living Matthew 25:40 out loud and in deed. It is an act of moral imagination and moral defiance. To hold sanctuary is to say: you belong here.

When we hold space for the most vulnerable — refugees, the unhoused, the undocumented, the disabled, the working poor, the displaced — we become something larger than a collection of individuals. We become a moral body. We do more than offer charity. We offer witness. We declare that the measure of a nation is found not in its towers or tanks, but in its tenderness.

Sanctuary cities are not lawless; they are soulful. They represent the conscience of the nation, a place where the laws of empathy still apply. To make sanctuary is to affirm that the United States is not merely a geographic territory, but a moral experiment: a republic that must constantly choose between fear and compassion, between domination and democracy.

A nation’s soul is measured not by the might of its military, but by the mercy of its people. When helicopters circle our skies in the name of order, while food pantries struggle to feed the hungry, we are forced to ask: What are we defending, and from whom? The soul of a nation survives only when we make sanctuary for one another. Not through walls or weapons, but through compassion and collective will. If we allow intimidation to replace compassion, we will have traded our conscience for control.

Please know that despite the hum of war machines overhead, the conscience of our city — whimsical, creative, stubbornly kind — can still be heard.

Portland is not the problem. Portland is the reminder. A reminder that a city can still choose to be sanctuary. That a people can still choose to be human.

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 2d

The gutting of the VRA in recent years is one of the topics mostly likely to get me in a fight with folks on social media, mostly because so few even know what Shelby v Holder was, or to what extent voting has not been free OR fair in much of the South, in the most racist ways imaginable.

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 2d

Wednesday is gonna be a rough day:

The Supreme Court will be hearing oral argument in a pair of cases that threaten what little remains of the federal government’s ability to protect voters from racial gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/louis...

Louisiana v Callais: The Republicans Justices Are Getting Ready to Finish Off the Voting Rights Act

In Louisiana v Callais, John Roberts will have the chance to finish his decades-long war on. voting rights.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 2d

Find a voting rights org and follow them. Pay attention to grassroots voter orgs on the ground in Southern states. Those organizers know all about unfair elections and we are going to need their knowledge.

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Nikkolas Smith @4nikkolas.bsky.social · 5d

after millions of views and shares of my Portland Frog art. (thank you all🙏🏾) I got requests to highlight priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee. so this is for US.
𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚆𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚗.

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Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 2d

I had been too lazy to do this up until this point but I just did it. Maybe the AI bubble will burst in a year and I won't have to worry because I'll be training my birds to fly to you all with shitposts

a screenshot of the Update & Security menu, showing the Windows Update and the Enroll Now option to enroll in an extra year of security

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Tamas Rev @tamasrev.bsky.social · 4d

Each time I need to refine the beginning (and thus the end) of a story, I always rewatch this pieace from @maryrobinettekowal.com

It's a short vid, I could just memorize it, but listening to this helps me thinking outside of the box.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=brI_...

How to Write STRONG Openings: Action-Driven vs. Voice-Driven

YouTube video by Mary Robinette Kowal

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Travis Baldree @travisbaldree.bsky.social · 4d

Love is real @ NYCC

Photo of Travis with the incredible Chuck Tingle

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social · 4d

Today is National Coming Out Day!

It's also Freedom to Read Day, aka the last day of Banned Books Week.

This feels right — because the main reason they try to ban books is to keep people from dreaming they could ever come out.

My latest newsletter: buttondown.com/charliejane/...

They Want To Ban Books To Keep Us From Coming Out

Quick housekeeping! I’m doing a flurry of events once again: Tuesday I’ll be in the Koret Auditorium at the SF Public Library talking about banned books for...

buttondown.com

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

High Priestess, Low Patience @cheriepriest.com · 3d

anyway good night

Fluffy gray tabby asleep on a green blanket; he is doing a most delicate snooze.

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Kevin Foster @kevinhfoster.bsky.social · 3d

Massive escalation at the Portland ICE facility. Worst I’ve ever seen. More pepper balls than I can count. Teargas in the middle of crowd. Violent arrests. Some type of either noise or rubber bullet shotgun fired into the air then later aimed at protesters chests/heads at near point blank range.

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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 4d

Hey, Sydette needs help. She is one of the people who makes the world brighter and better simply by existing. If you have the capacity, please consider dropping her what you can.

🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · 4d

Yeah I really need help with this . I’m gonna go hyperventilate into a bag but this has gone bad quickly

🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · Apr 10

Welp it’s gotten real real if you can please help. If you can’t it’s really hard out here so share

gofund.me/a5ee0064

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Gail Carriger @gailcarriger.bsky.social · 4d

Ever wonder how a story idea turns into a book? Join me live TOMORROW Oct 11 3pm pacific/6pm eastern on both FB & YT and we'll talk about that process.

FB: www.facebook.com/events/13255...
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/gailcar...

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Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 5d

I, too, have a torrid relationship with nature. Nature is always trying to murder me every time I go outside. Really rude, honestly

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Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 5d

So Gay! 💖💖💖

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Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 5d

They know they are ridiculous people and the thing they hate most is being laughed at. They want everyone terrified and intimidated by how MANLY and LETHAL they are, not laughing because they got got by a grating frog.

Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 5d

This video is everywhere because it's a hilarious visual refutation of Portland being on fire. You can't get a mass movement going without convincing the masses

so yes, this does do something actually

Post

Dallas Steele

@Cherrykickstart

Follow

This literally does nothing. You are not beating fascism by dressing up in inflatable suits and dancing

Quote tweeting Claude Taylor @TrueFactsStated

Follow

|

Portland is leading the way. This is how you (non violently) beat Fascism. Humor and ridicule are key.

Stillframe from a video of Portland protesters dancing in inflatable suits

9:17 AM 08 Oct 25 758K Views

13:01 09 Oct 25 32.6K Views

88 Reposts

11 Quotes

1,049 Likes

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 5d

You've got questions, we've got answers. Join us for a very special Friday What's the Plan, in just a few minutes:

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 5d

Later this afternoon, @leahgreenberg.bsky.social and @ezralevin.bsky.social will be here for their weekly chat. Our co-founders will cover the ongoing Trump Shutdown, the upcoming No Kings Day, the Trump regime’s smears of our movement, and much more.

What’s the Plan? A Weekly Discussion with Indivisible’s Co-Founders · Indivisible

The onslaught of news, the chaos coming out of the White House – it’s all meant to overwhelm us. It’s a deliberate strategy to sow confusion and make us believe we are powerless to fight back. The an...

www.mobilize.us

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Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within @madameaskew.bsky.social · 5d

My deepest condolences

Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Leanna Renee Hieber @leannareneehieber.bsky.social · 5d

MI! Join us! I will be discussing the power of ghost lore with the amazing @crystakcoburn.bsky.social & @kgraywrites.bsky.social tonight at 6pm as part of AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC book tour!!

Ann Arbor District Library @aadl.org · 16d

Join @leannareneehieber.bsky.social and the hosts of Haunted Mitten Podcast as they discuss spooky stories, women in the paranormal, and much more!

Friday, October 10 at 6 PM at the Downtown Library.

👻 https://aadl.org/node/640558

A black promo graphic for an upcoming 'Haunting Tales' Author Event with Leanna Renee Hieber. A photo of Hieber is on the right. Bold, white text displays the event title and details.

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Reposted by Madame Askew ➡️ Embracing the Crone Within

Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 5d

Courtney Milan’s critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling Turner series is now available in one boxed set. This set contains three full-length books —Unveiled, Unclaimed, and Unraveled —a novella, Unlocked, and two short stories, Birthday Gift and Out of the Frying Pan.
/jb

Image of The Turner Series box set by Courtney Milan. Image is of a white woman wearing dress with a white top and bright pink skirts with a background of rolling green hills. Includes the books: Unveiled, Unlocked, Unclaimed, and Unraveled.

Purple background with text that says:
The Turner series.
Three brothers who have overcome extraordinary odds just to survive are taking on their biggest challenge yet: happiness.
"Quite compelling and emotionally complex." - Book list

Collage of covers for The Turner Series books by Courtney Milan: Unveiled, Unlocked, Unclaimed, and Unraveled.

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