M. A. Gaylor
LightNews LightNews
banner
mamagaylor.bsky.social
M. A. Gaylor
@mamagaylor.bsky.social
280 followers 500 following 1.3K posts
Reality ex-pat
Posts Replies Media Videos
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Jim’s American cousin, now living in France.
Orange tabby cat with a white bib and a white paw tucked into layers of blue and white bedding. Orange and white tabby cat with a white chest, belly and socks rolling on its back in red clay dirt. Orange tabby cat with a white belly, chest and paws, draped dramatically across a piece of wood in green grass with one hind leg in the air. Orange tabby cat laying in green grass with its eyes scrunched up, tongue out licking its white chest.
November 27, 2025 at 8:35 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
1/4 I don’t see how this context explains anything about this moment.

Possibly, it’s meant as a pre-defense for enlisted people in the chain that has already led to at least 83 murders? Enlisted, BTW, are no more an “undifferentiated mass” than Hertling says of the military as a whole. There’s a …
Screenshot of a portion of the linked article reading: This matters in a moment when Americans are hearing loud claims about using the military to solve political disputes, intervene in elections, or take actions beyond statutory authority. People are right to worry. But they should also understand the guardrails already in place. The military has been here before—they have already, at times in our history, faced unlawful pressure, political manipulation, or attempts to turn the armed forces into a tool of personal power. The two sentences in the paragraph beginning “People are right …” are highlighted. Screenshot of a portion of the linked article reading: This is not a moment for panic. It is a moment for clarity. If Americans understood the difference between the two oaths—one grounded in obedience, the other grounded in constitutional discernment—they would see that the republic’s defenses against unlawful orders are not theoretical. They exist. They function. They don’t depend on the whims of political actors on either side of the aisle, but on the integrity of those who swear to uphold them. The first two sentences as well as the last are highlighted.
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Darmok and Jalad’s breakfast.
A box of 6 eggs with the brand name Tanagra.
November 22, 2025 at 11:02 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
I see your possum and raise you three possums.
A woman sitting in her kitchen wearing glasses with 4 baby possums sitting on top of her head.
November 18, 2025 at 11:13 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
Album cover of Bob Dylan’s Desire, released in 1976. It shows Bob Dylan in profile wearing a gray felt hat with a black and white band, an overcoat with a large furred collar, a black suit jacket, a white shirt and a black and cream scarf flowing in a breeze, set against a background of trees.
November 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
I think people should be able to be as happy as this kitten playing with a bit of yarn is.
November 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
This hummingbird would fly for miles rather than crossing a picket line.
Hummingbird drinking from a feeder held in someone’s hand
November 13, 2025 at 6:44 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
In honor of @sarahkendzior.bsky.social

This one’s for you @support.bsky.team @aaron.bsky.team @jay.bsky.team
Black and white photo of Johnny Cash flipping the camera the bird while performing at Folsom Prison. I know the day is comin’, it’s just around the bend When I’ll see the sunshine and chat in person with my friends I’m stuck in Bluesky prison, not knowing what’s going on But the day it keeps comin’, when Bluesky’s relevance is gone. When I was just a young’n, social media was fun, Before Zuck enabled genocide and Elon bought the sun. So I posted this here song just to watch them pile on me. But the community in guidelines is dumb and context free. I bet there’s rich folks scheming on making Bluesky pay How to monetize our gazes, not let this platform get away. New rules are being written, accounts they’re shutting down All to pave the way when the money comes to town. If I had a platform, one that’s mine all mine I’d surely move it backwards toward all those better times When we could safely post with intelligence and wit, When mods had more humanity than soulless piles of shit.
November 13, 2025 at 9:30 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
BlueSky support says:

1. Because on 11/10, she paraphrased a Johnny Cash song intending harm to someone;
2. She was told the reason for the suspension; and
3. She immediately engaged in a discussion with BS about it all.

These are lies.

From Sarah’s substack.
Screenshot of a post on Sarah Kendzior’s substack Notes page reading: I was suspended from BlueSky for defending the honor of Johnny Cash. I wish I were joking. In early October, I referenced the “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” lyric of “Folsom Prison Blues” in response to a terrible Wall Street Journal article saying that Johnny Cash was uncool. I quote-tweeted the article and everyone understood the reference. There was no outcry. I stand by my assessment that Johnny Cash is cool. I do not like being the subject of so much attention, especially when I cannot see the discussion. But the BlueSky admins are now claiming that I wrote a post saying, out of nowhere, “I want to shoot the author of this article just to watch him die”. They are not posting a screenshot of the actual tweet, which shows that I am quote-tweeting an article about Johnny Cash, and that my post is obviously not a threat but a play on “Folsom Prison Blues.” BlueSky is lying and saying I posted this line on November 10. I did not. I posted it in early October, when the WSJ article came out. You can see that they are lying about the date from this page showing my last BlueSky tweets: I was not given any explanation for my suspension the first two times I inquired. Later I was told it was for the “Folsom Prison Blues” reference, and I asked for clarification but did not receive it. I thought it might be a prank until a reporter reached out this morning and confirmed it. BlueSky’s behavior is bizarre and unwarranted. I have lost access to friends and all my posts and photos. I am incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support here on Substack and also on BlueSky — though I cannot see it, because I am suspended. To quote another Johnny Cash song: "I ain’t never done nothin' to nobody/ I ain’t never got nothin’ from nobody, no time/ And until I get somethin' from somebody, sometime, I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time." As for BlueSky… This text is followed by a black and …
November 13, 2025 at 8:23 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
No explanation given.

From her substack.
Screenshot of a comment by Sarah Kendzior to her substack site discussing her BlueSky suspension, reading: I've been suspended from BlueSky. I don't know why. I wasn't online much today, and the last things I posted were excerpts from my substack newsletter articles. The suspension followed without explanation. • • It seems there's a crackdown. If you enjoy my work and want to make sure you can access it, subscribe! It's free - I would never paywall in times of peril - and voluntary paying subscribers keep it going. It would be great to have your support at this time. Thanks!
November 11, 2025 at 8:55 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
While screenshotting through a block is frowned upon, it’s justified in this instance.

This post is inaccurate, either a rebroadcast of something unusual whales posted on twitter or an inaccurate summary of this article.

Do not trust this account.
www.cnbc.com/2025/10/31/t...
Screenshot of a skeet by FinTwitter saying: 70.5% of new tariffs were passed onto consumers - per LendingTree LendingTree data show that over two-thirds of new tariff costs were directly borne by consumers, highlighting how trade barriers are driving up retail prices and adding to inflationary pressures. The skeet does not post a link to or a screenshot of the purported reporting. However, searches on various search engines reveal that LendingTree never reported that. It instead appears to have come from Bank of America reporting, which was reported on in the linked article, which also discusses a LendingTree report on the inflationary effects Trump’s tariffs will have on consumer spending during the holidays. PSA - Beware when accounts who report what others purportedly say do not link to any source.
November 8, 2025 at 10:46 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
famous-trials.com/mylaicourts/...
Two paragraphs of the linked decision in Lt. William Calley’s appeal of his conviction of murder for his action in slaughtering innocent civilians - elderly, women and children - upholding Calley’s conviction reading: In the stress of combat, a member of the armed forces cannot reasonably be expected to make a refined legal judgment and be held criminally responsible if he guesses wrong on a question as to which there may be considerable disagreement. But there is no disagreement as to the illegality of the order to kill in this case. For 100 years, it has been a settled rule of American law that even in war the summary killing of an enemy, who has submitted to, and is under, effective physical control, is murder. Appellate defense counsel acknowledge that rule of law and its continued viability, but they say that Lieutenant Calley should not be held accountable for the men, women and children he killed because the court-martial could have found that he was a person of "commonest understanding" and such a person might not know what our law provides; that his captain had ordered him to kill these unarmed and submissive people and he only carried out that order as a good disciplined soldier should. Whether Lieutenant Calley was the most ignorant person in the United States Army in Vietnam, or the most intelligent, he must be presumed to know that he could not kill the people involved here. The United States Supreme Court has pointed out that "[t]he rule that 'ignorance of the law will not excuse' [a positive act that constitutes a crime] . . . is deep in our law." Lambert v California, 355 US 225, 228 (1957). An order to kill infants and unarmed civilians who were so demonstrably incapable of resistance to the armed might of a military force as were those killed by Lieutenant Calley is, in my opinion, so palpably illegal that whatever conceptional difference there may be between a person of "commonest understanding" and a person of "common understanding," that differ…
November 1, 2025 at 2:06 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
And for those hard to clean feeds …
October 30, 2025 at 1:44 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Here’s a passel of possums in a persimmon tree.
Three juvenile possums among the branches of a persimmon tree.
October 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
And instead this …
Photograph of Lauren Sanchez emerging from an opening in a gray and white striped tent next to a vaporetto containing Jeff Bezos during their wedding festivities in Venice. Sanchez is wearing a Schiaporelli couture structured corset dress in cream silk satin. The top of the sleeveless dress is a panel embroidered in soft deep blues and greens, with occasional touches of fringe, matched by its skirt. Its bodice is a metallicized fabric cinched so tight at the underbust, waist and hips that you can hear seams ripping through the photograph. Photograph of Lauren Sanchez emerging from an opening in a gray and white striped tent and being helped into a vaporetto by Jeff Bezos during their wedding festivities in Venice. Sanchez is wearing a Schiaporelli couture structured corset dress in cream silk satin. The top of the sleeveless dress is a panel embroidered in soft deep blues and greens, with occasional touches of fringe, matched by its skirt. Its bodice is a metallicized fabric cinched so tight at the underbust, waist and hips that whatever seams remaining intact surely let go as she bends to enter the boat. I assume that wedding security were armed with sewing kits as well as Beretta pistols.
October 30, 2025 at 6:41 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
This is my possum shoulder angel
Juvenile possum on its caretaker’s shoulder, cheek to cheek. The possum has a white face and chest with a gray widow’s peak and body, big, round black ears with white tips, a pink nose and fingers, and bright black shoe button eyes. She is looking straight at the camera.
October 28, 2025 at 4:12 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Three juvenile possums clinging to the bars of their black outdoor cage with their hands, feet and prehensile tails. They have gray bodies, white bellies and faces, black ears, pink noses, fingers and toes, and black bright shoe-button eyes.
October 26, 2025 at 7:08 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
A juvenile possum poking her head out of the bars at the top of her outdoor cage. She is looking away from the camera and surveying the freedom of green grass and trees.
October 24, 2025 at 9:39 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Is the guy behind the woman in white wearing a United States Coast Guard ball cap???

It shouldn’t surprise me, I guess. After all, the Guard returned Haitians to almost certain torture and death during the Duvalier regime.

Saving lives went from its primary mission to number four on the list.
Screenshot of US Coast Guard’s website “We We Do” page, reading: In order to secure U.S. borders and economic prosperity, the Coast Guard performs the following: Control the U.S. Border and Maritime Approaches We use boats, ships, aircraft, sensors, and intelligence to control vessels, people and activities on the water. Protect America's Ports and Waterways We use broad authorities and tools to ensure port and waterway safety and access. Conduct Military Operations to Defend the Nation Our wide range of military, law enforcement, and humanitarian capabilities makes us a unique instrument of national power. SAVE LIVES LEAD IN NATIONAL EMERGENCIES ENFORCE FEDERAL LAW
October 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
A baby possum wrapped up in a light blue washcloth with just her head visible. She has a white face with a heather gray widow’s peak, large black ears with white tips and a pink nose.
October 22, 2025 at 7:33 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
This isn’t just a political corollary to Groucho Marx’s “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.” It reflects a deeper truth about humans as political animals.

I strongly recommend reading @brianklaas.bsky.social’s “Corruptible.”
Screenshot of the cover of the book “Corruptible Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us” written by Brian Klaas. There are snippets of three reviews: 1) “Fun and entertaining.” The Washington Post (Odd way to describe a book that’s largely about one of the darkest sides of the human experience. I’d have gone with “accessible” as an alternative. ); 2)”Unexpected insights.” Business Insider (I’m sure many of the readers of this outlet are looking for such insights to compete in business, not sure whether this is a good or bad thing overall.); and 3) “Illuminating regarding why some people are more likely to be corrupted by power than others.” Adam Grant.
October 22, 2025 at 7:25 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
4/7 and military’s systems own weaknesses against themselves in pursuit of his, Hegseth’s and Miller’s aims. The standard as enunciated in Calley’s appeal of his court martial for My Lai is “palpably illegal.” See www.asser.nl/upload/docum...

I can perhaps excuse the enlisted personnel in the …
Screen shot of a portion of the opinion denying William Calley’s appeal of his court martial reading: Except in such instances of palpable illegality, which must be of rare occurrence, the inferior should presume that the order was lawful and authorized and obey it accordingly, and in obeying it can scarcely fail to be held justified by a military court. Screen shot of a portion of the opinion denying William Calley’s appeal of his court martial reading: Whether Lieutenant Calley was the most ignorant person in the United States Army in Vietnam, or the most intelligent, he must be presumed to know that he could not kill the people involved here. The United States Supreme Court has pointed out that "[t]he rule that 'ignorance of the law will not excuse' [a positive act that constitutes a crime] ... is deep in our law." Lambert v California, 355 US 225, 228 (1957). An order to kill infants and unarmed civilians who were so demonstrably incapable of resistance to the armed might of a military force as were those killed by Lieutenant Calley is, in my opinion, so palpably illegal that whatever conceptional difference there may be between a person of "commonest understanding" and a person of "common understanding," that difference could not have had any "impact on a court of lay members receiving the respective wordings in instructions," as appellate defense counsel contend. In my judgment, there is no possibility of prejudice to Lieutenant Calley in the trial judge's reliance upon the established standard of excuse of criminal conduct, rather than the standard of "commonest understanding" presented by the defense, or by the new variable test postulated in the dissent, which, with the inclusion of such factors for consideration as grade and experience, would appear to exact a higher standard of understanding from Lieutenant Calley than that of the person of ordinary understanding.
October 17, 2025 at 10:37 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
1/x I’m not a follower of @hcrichardson.bsky.social, but I do get her daily email newsletter recounting the day’s events in America’s speed ski run into fascism. I subscribed before I started reading it regularly as I didn’t initially find it useful.

I wanted to DM her with this or leave it as a …
Screenshot of a paragraph of Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter Letters From an American reading: That “multiple U.S. officials” were willing to discuss the presidential finding with the New York Times journalists suggests the administration wanted to leak this information—perhaps, as legal analyst Asha Rangappa suggests, to make it sound like there is legal cover for what they are already doing or, as legal analyst Allison Gill suggests, to do an end run around Congress.
October 16, 2025 at 5:57 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Check
A little black cat with bright yellow eyes, his tail curled around his feet, sitting in a cardboard box.
October 14, 2025 at 6:30 AM
mamagaylor.bsky.social
Juvenile possum among the branches of a persimmon tree. Her hands and feet are black with pink at the end of her toes and fingers. She has a gray body with white guard hairs, a white face, crinkled black ears, a pink nose and black shoe button eyes. She appears to be wearing a little smile.
October 14, 2025 at 5:19 AM