Mary Vavrus
maryvav.bsky.social
Mary Vavrus
@maryvav.bsky.social
Media Studies prof, studying & teaching about media and: gender, race, politics, war, political economy
Dog and cat lover
Hiker and cyclist
Anti-trump through and through
This collection looks perfect for these times. I look forward to reading and learning from these authors.
Publishing in February from @sunypress.bsky.social , a co-edited volume with the wonderful Lisa DiBartolomeo. It contains 25 chapters from an outstanding group of authors, and each one is a certified banger. 🙂✊

(gotta finish reviewing the galleys though--next week, @rcolesworthy.bsky.social!)
The Campus Crisis Toolkit
sunypress.edu
November 27, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
From the MN Society for Professional Journalists: St. Paul police shot three photojournalists (MPR, Reuters, Sahan Journal) with "less lethal" munitions during an ICE operation yesterday. One had to go to the hospital. They say they were specifically targeted by St. Paul police.
November 26, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Miss Piggy FTW
November 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
No matter how long I live after we get through this dark chapter, I will never get over the immorality, the amorality, the corruption, the criminality and the cruelty in service to one of the worst humans to ever walk the earth.
November 26, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Pretty remarkable that Trump has installed someone on the Saudi dole — Jared Kushner collects millions in fees from the Saudis every year — in a key role for America's most sensitive and consequential foreign policy negotiations (Gaza, Ukraine), and it is largely TREATED AS A NON-STORY
November 23, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Good for them. This is a necessary step to document the long list of offenses coming from 47 and his minions.
A member of Congress just filled out a threat report with the Capitol Police naming the President of the United States as the person making the threat.

Think of where we were on January 7, 2021 when the country overwhelmingly repudiated what had happened.

And think of where we are now.
November 21, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Astonishing to stop and realize that, at any given moment, bands of masked men armed to the teeth are storming churches and daycares, terrorizing entire communities—and that most of the country's political establishment barely blinks.
November 19, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Authoritarians are openly buying up major social networks (X, TikTok), and what's left of our broken mainstream media (CBS, CNN), then tasking Carr with bullying any stragglers into being feckless echoes of serious journalism.

Carr is a joke, but the broader mission is still deadly serious.
media coverage of this is already as pathetic as you might expect, usually failing to mention:

the FCC has no authority over the UK's BBC

the scandal was created by right wing media

the year-old BBC edits fall outside limits of UK defamation law

PBC, NPR never aired the documentary
Trump's censor in chief at the FCC, Brendan Carr, just sent a letter to the heads of BBC, NPR and PBS informing them he's launching a "news distortion" probe into the BBC's editing of a documentary on Trump's Jan. 6 activities.

Here it is:
November 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Stuff like this is why it's impossible to have full "viewpoint diversity" be a content-free goal of our universities. If that means "accepting as valid all views of both major political parties in 🇺🇸 politics in 2025," then we will no longer be serious research institutions.

bsky.app/profile/mcop...
“The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

Also, “the moon isn’t made of cheese” isn’t an evidence-based claim because studies haven’t ruled out the possibility it is made of cheese.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
November 16, 2025 at 7:40 AM
It's crazy making!
I can't tell if it's a Minnesota thing or 2020's thing to obsessively remove every leaf from your yard, often paying someone to use a very noise machine at whatever time is convenient for them.
November 15, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Religion and morality are important to Mike Johnson - except, apparently, when Trump is involved. Righteous Mike and other Christian nationalists turn a blind eye to Epstein emails indicating Trump "knew about the girls" and "spent hours" with one of them.

All links and subscription are free.
Christian nationalists are sinfully silent
If the president knew about Epstein’s pedophilia, shouldn’t he be held accountable?
fightthefire.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
The excuse Trump, Vance, Bessent and every member of the admin constantly uses is things are so bad because of what “they inherited.” What about what Biden inherited? Has everyone forgotten Jan 2021? Economy in shambles, global supply chain a mess, global inflation, J6 aftermath.
November 14, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
JD Vance is becoming the poster child for the corrupt, lying, scheming, dishonest, crooked, sleazy, criminal, morally bankrupt politician.
November 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
ah, perhaps instead of pumping millions into endless factional infighting Dem donors could invest in making local Dem organizations genuine civic spaces that can reach people during and between elections
November 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Looking forward to learning all about how the right should move left to win elections tomorrow. They should maybe dye their hair pink, learn to love pronouns.
November 5, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Laura Loomer is now officially part of the Pentagon press corps.

We live in Idiocracy.
November 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
Blah blah blah men…Young women are ready to set the country on fire
A moment of silence, please, for the "young men are all MAGA now" narrative.

(Source: www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...)
November 5, 2025 at 1:42 AM
This is very good. Wish it didn’t need doing, but here we are in dystopia USA.
The University is showing up in this emergency!
The University of Minnesota just announced the "Meal-A-Day Program" which will provide one meal a day for SNAP benefit recipients while the SNAP program is limited or unavailable. This makes me very happy. A lot of students, faculty, and staff at the U need this, unfortunately.
November 4, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
ICE are Chump's American Born
Terrorists......
November 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
November 2, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
November 2, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
THIS MOTHERFUCKER HELD A GREAT GATSBY PARTY WHILE 43 MILLION PEOPLE GO HUNGRY AND HEALTHCARE COSTS KEEP RISING.
November 1, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
You would be kicked out of any writer’s room in existence if you had the villains celebrating a Great Gatsby-themed party while taking away food benefits from millions of poor people.
November 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Mary Vavrus
As open enrollment begins, remember that 80% (!) of the ACA subsidies about to expire go to people in states that Trump won in 2024.

Time and time again, Trump and MAGA Republicans will sell out their own voters — all to fund massive tax cuts for the super rich.
November 1, 2025 at 9:00 PM