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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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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 4d

"The man with the most power has expended enormous energy targeting those with the least." - Zohran Mamdani, 10/11/2025

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 4d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 4d

I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:

www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...

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Dom Kelly @thetattooedjew.com · 5d

You actually don’t have to hand it to Donald Trump. You don’t have to give him credit for anything. He’s a horrible human being who has never known a day of suffering in his life. Nor does he care an ounce about the suffering of anybody else. Hope that helps.

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 5d

They didn’t just NOT give Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, they wrote a citation that reads like an anti-Trump rallying cry.

(He’s gonna extra-tariff Norway now, isn’t he?)

Reuters @reuters.com · 5d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 7d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 6d

Only about 127 days until pitchers and catchers report to camp.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 6d

New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption.

My full statement:

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 6d

It is wild. When I was driving through Florida this summer, I had four swallow-tailed kites just fly over the road, and there always seem to be cattle egrets chilling on the shoulder at some point.

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 7d

Baseball is the best.

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 8d

Fan wearing a "Dump Here" jersey with 61 caught Cal's HR 🔥

Immediately changes into an identical 62 jersey

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 12d

🫡

How to Turn Off AI Tools Like Gemini, Apple Intelligence, Copilot, and More - Consumer Reports

AI features are crowding into Google search, Gmail, iPhones, Windows laptops, and other products. If you're suffering from AI overload, these settings can help.

www.consumerreports.org

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 12d

The images that will stick in my mind from this week include jackbooted thugs rappelling from a Blackhawk helicopter to rip children from their beds in Chicago and yet another indiscriminate murder from the sky, both events celebrated by a lawless administration in videos shared on social media.

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 12d

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that intelligence shows anything “without a doubt,” but even if the intelligence was water-tight, this strike was still murder. No law permits the deliberate, premeditated killing of civilians.

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Dawn Xiana Moon @dawnxianamoon.bsky.social · 13d

This thread.

Also? Klein apparently thought he didn't get to talk enough in the interview.

I read the transcript rather than watching it - Coates speaks maybe half the amount Klein does.

It's an example writ large of exactly what Ashley is talking about here.

Ashley C. Ford @smashfizzle.bsky.social · 13d

The conversation between Klein and Coates showed me that a lot of people who screech about “infighting” on the left aren’t aware of the fact that marginalized people have been forced to learn how to regulate their emotions during conflict, and so, are better able to hear what’s actually being said.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 13d

"What is this entire anti-terrorism memorandum if not an admission that terrorism works, and that terrorism has secured the White House?"

wake up babe @lopatto.bsky.social and @sarahjeong.bsky.social banger alert www.theverge.com/policy/79051...

It is of course helpful to remember that in the Trump regime, every accusation is a confession. Antifa might not be organized, but the Department of Homeland Security sure is. George Soros might not be paying professional protesters, but right-wing media personalities are bankrolled by Trumpist billionaires. In the case of Ben Shapiro, that’s billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks; for Rumble, thank Peter Thiel. This is to say nothing of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, or Elon Musk’s X, or the Daily Caller itself, which is funded by Charles Koch.

Indeed, the memo’s description of the environment that leads to terroristic violence applies cleanly to the entire right-wing ecosystem. But perhaps the most striking accusation-as-confession is this paragraph from the national security presidential memorandum:

This political violence is not a series of isolated incidents and does not emerge organically. Instead, it is a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society.

What is this but an elegant encapsulation of the past 10 years? It describes everything from the removal of Jimmy Kimmel from the air to the Libs of TikTok pattern of incitement to Charlie Kirk’s Professor Watchlist to Fox News’ defamation of Dominion Voting Systems and its employees to the celebrity worship of people like Kyle Rittenhouse.

What is this entire anti-terrorism memorandum if not an admission that terrorism works, and that terrorism has secured the White House?

a verge feature story with the headline / subheadline of "Everything is terrorism in Trump’s America /
Identifying faceless ICE agents. Mutual aid for jailed protesters. Calling JD Vance a fascist. The war on ‘antifa’ is a war on free speech, and it’s just getting started."

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Shaker Samman @shaker.bsky.social · 16d

this is basically the aim of every AI company

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 18d

PS from the Portland reddit...

"Thank god they're sending troopd, they didn't even give me a bendy straw."

Small dog sits at outdoor shady table with plates of delicious food in front of them and a backdrop of a calm, nice shopping street in Portland.

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 21d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Asher Hellbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 23d

Shanah tova, everybody. It has been a hard year, and it’s hard to imagine this next year will not be hard, too. But there is sweetness to be had amidst the sorrow and struggle, and always the hope for something better. May 5786 treat us all well. May we be sealed for good in the book of life.

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tatzanx @tatzanx.bsky.social · 27d

Making a Zine: Keeping D.C. Music and Its Meaning in Print - Washington City Paper washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7709...

Making a Zine: Keeping D.C. Music and Its Meaning in Print

In the hardcore punk scene and beyond, local zine makers build community and support movements through self-publication.

washingtoncitypaper.com

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KP @hagofbolding.bsky.social · 26d

The federal govt wants to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would open 45 million acres of public land for private interests - disrupting wildlife habitat, destroying carbon sinks, and imperiling outdoor recreation in the places we love

TODAY is the last day for public comment - file yours now!!

FUSEE: Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology @fuseefire.bsky.social · 27d

Last chance to protect the Roadless Rule! Comment period ends tomorrow. Submit a comment now.

tinyurl.com/3f439mf8

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is initiating an environmental impact statement (EIS) and rulemaking concerning management of inventoried roadless areas on approximately 44.7 million acres of Natio...

tinyurl.com

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27d

I don't think pointing out the fascists' 'hypocrisy' is a good use of time. It's not hypocrisy, it's hierarchy. They actually do believe that they have the right and obligation to dominate you because they are superior to you. They are using their power not being hypocritical.

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 28d

I started a to-do list with the header TO-DO.

Started writing the first item as "to-do."

Recursive to-do lists it is.

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · 29d

This is the carriage, this is the house,
Open the door, and behold the mouse.

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Crip Dyke @cripdyke.bsky.social · Sep 16

I've seen trans ppl promoting this piece several times today, but I haven't seen a single cis person linking or praising it.

It's the same old thing, an article is written FOR cis ppl but ABOUT trans ppl and yet for some reason the cis folks to whom it's addressed seem to not notice the piece.

Helen 🏳️‍⚧️✊🏻💕 @mimmymum.bsky.social · Sep 15

“Anti-trans harassment and violence is all the rage. Trans people are afraid to leave the country, let alone leave their houses. The right-wing ecosystem has gladly spent years creating these conditions, while Democrats have by turns avoided saying anything about them at all” 😞

👉🏻 archive.ph/ewBhT

THE CUT

They Want the Shooter to Be Trans
By Lex McMenamin, a writer and editor at Teen Vogue.

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24 Hour Revenge Therapist @misunderstruck.bsky.social · Sep 15

One of my messages from day 1 is that you are not always going to know the answer right away, but we will work together to help you learn how to take steps towards (and hopefully, in many cases, to) the answer.

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