Vivian McCall
vivmccall.bsky.social
Vivian McCall
@vivmccall.bsky.social
News Editor at The Stranger
Trans journalist 🏳️‍⚧️
Music as Pansy (https://pansysucks.bandcamp.com/track/mercy-kill-me-2)
Pinned
I mostly talk journalism/serious shit here, but I am really stoked to share that my band was included in @pastemagazine.bsky.social's Best New Songs this week. Thanks to @yogurttowne.bsky.social for the overwhelmingly kind words. I'm ecstatic!!

www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-n...
Best New Songs of the Week (September 25, 2025) | Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.
www.pastemagazine.com
Reposted by Vivian McCall
I wrote about Minneapolis.

nymag.com/intelligence...
The People vs. ICE
Renee Good’s death galvanized a city eager to push back against Trump’s invasion.
nymag.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:32 PM
if you get strong enough you don't need transportation
Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is LASER FOCUSED on fixing the problems that affect most Americans
January 23, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
Ryan makes a good point—Harrell, Seattle's Sweeps Mayor, overinterpreted a city rule on removing "obstructions" that was previously misused by the Durkan Administration to sweep people from place to place for four straight years, no City Council permission required.
Not even a month into the first progressive mayor in 16 years, and the Seattle Times is doing an immediate heel turn toward "actually it's the city council that has all the power under our system of government, and don't forget it."
Seattle Times just casually comparing Mayor Katie Wilson to Trump because she wouldn't commit to sweeping homeless people out of parks (and into other spaces, since displaced people don't just vaporize). As if any prior mayor ever swept 100% of people.

www.seattletimes.com/opinion/edit...
January 23, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
kelty comic this week about to make the onion store a zillion dollars
January 20, 2026 at 7:21 PM
isn't this guy's job tweeting?
JD Vance: "To our fellow Americans we say, you're never gonna find great meaning in a cubicle or in front of a computer screen. But you will find great meaning if you dedicate yourself to the creation and sustenance of human life."
January 23, 2026 at 9:43 PM
If Dow Constantine had looked up from his train set to gaze toward the heavens, he'd have seen the fault in their stars.

high art from @gramsofgnats.bsky.social
www.thestranger.com/news/2026/01...
The Light Rail's Cross Lake Connection Not a Love Match for the 1 Line
My sister in law says there are serious astrological complications.
www.thestranger.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
All eyes are on Minnesota today, as millions of us watching make our own private calculations for how far we’ll go to protect our cities. Or how we’ll live with ourselves in what’s left of them.
Minnesotans Launch General Strike Against ICE
Faith leaders, labor unions, and community groups in Minnesota have banded together to call for a state-wide general strike today to protest the “ICE campaign of terror." It's kind of a big deal...
www.thestranger.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
New bills in Olympia would give Washington farmworkers collective bargaining rights for the first time, putting them on equal footing with nearly every other worker in the state.
State Bills Bring Farmworkers to the Table
Two bills in Olympia could create a collective bargaining structure for the hundreds of thousands of farmworkers in Washington to band together to negotiate for fair wages, workplace protections, and ...
www.thestranger.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
hey did you see a headline on google? turns out that headline might be an llm hallucination www.theverge.com/tech/865168/...
Google won’t stop replacing our news headlines with terrible AI
“This feature performs well for user satisfaction,” claims Google.
www.theverge.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
The 5-year-old arrested by ICE In Minnesota is detained at Dilley. We reported on conditions there in the below article.

Parents said the food was contaminated with mold and worms & that children were so under so much stress that they were hitting their own faces & wetting themselves.
Analysis by The Marshall Project of ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project found that the Trump administration’s revival of family detention has swept thousands of children into ICE custody. At least 3,800 children under 18, including 20 infants, have been booked since Trump took office.
ICE Threw Thousands of Kids in Detention, Many For Longer Than Court-Prescribed Limit
Former immigration staffers argue ICE is choosing to detain families for prolonged periods to speed deportations and compel them to leave.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 22, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
Vice President JD Vance said he's in Minnesota to "tone down the temperature." He then swiftly said "a lot of the media is lying" and called protesters and observers "far-left agitators" without evidence.
Live: Activists arrested after church protest, JD Vance to meet with ICE agents in Minnesota
Attorney General Pam Bondi announces arrest of civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong in Minnesota.
bit.ly
January 22, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
JD Vance: "When federal law enforcement officers violate the law, that's typically something federal officials would look into."
Except when an ICE agent murders a mom in her car. Then the Trump regime praises the agent, smears the victim and refuses to investigate.
JD Vance: "I didn't say that officers who engaged in wrongdoing would enjoy immunity. That's absurd. What I did say is that when federal law enforcement officers violate the law that's typically something federal officials would look into. We don't want these guys to have kangaroo courts."
January 22, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
The photo of the 5-year-old who was arrested by ICE has been circulating on the internet. Here is a story we recently did about the growing number of children being put into ICE detention and what the face, to provide larger context.

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...
ICE Threw Thousands of Kids in Detention, Many For Longer Than Court-Prescribed Limit
Former immigration staffers argue ICE is choosing to detain families for prolonged periods to speed deportations and compel them to leave.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 22, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
"Newsom's stated reasons are bad enough on their own, a stinking bolus of exhausted Third Way bullshit that explicitly treats the state's richest scumbags as resources—of tax revenue, of innovation, of job creation—rather than as the sucking leeches they are." *chef's kiss*
Gavin Newsom Has Nothing To Offer | Defector
In California, a proposed law drafted by organized labor would impose a one-time tax on all the state’s billionaires, equal to some portion of their total worth. Those whose net worth exceeds $1.1 bil...
defector.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
Nikema Levy Armstrong was arrested days after an activist group disrupted a Church service at a location where a Pastor doubles as an ICE agent.

It appears that the White House has posted an AI manipulated image to make it seem like the protester is crying upon arrest, when compared to the original
January 22, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
ICE’s “less lethal” weapons, including tear gas and pepper spray pellets, have serious health impacts, experts say. One Minneapolis family’s infant lost consciousness after exposure.

Written by Andrew Hazzard
How ICE’s use of tear gas in Minnesota causes serious harm
ICE’s “less lethal” weapons, including tear gas and pepper spray pellets, have serious health impacts, experts say. One Minneapolis family’s infant lost consciousness after exposure.
sahanjournal.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
To quote one source:
“They’re terrified of being labeled anti–law enforcement. They want this to go away so they can talk about the cost of living more. Problem is, it’s not going away.”
prospect.org/2026/01/21/j...
Jeffries Won’t Whip Vote Against ICE Funding - The American Prospect
While the House Democratic leader announced personal opposition to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, he won’t pressure his colleagues to do the same.
prospect.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
An observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 21, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
DHHS officials announced the referral for investigation on social media Jan. 15, naming five other hospitals in addition to Lurie's.

In response, the hospital said it won’t give any prescriptions to patients <18 who would be new to gender-affirming care at its hospital.

w/ @kschorsch.bsky.social
Lurie Children's Hospital pauses gender-affirming meds for new patients under 18 after feds threaten probe
Lurie Children’s Hospital, which has one of the oldest gender-affirming programs in the U.S., said it won't give any prescriptions to patients younger than 18 who would be new to the care. HHS announc...
chicago.suntimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:43 PM
At least six Seattle public schools sheltered in place after *unconfirmed* reports of ICE activity in South Seattle.

www.thestranger.com/news/2026/01...
Six Seattle Schools Sheltered-in-Place After Unconfirmed  ICE Activity
At least six schools sheltered-in-place after these unconfirmed reports.
www.thestranger.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:19 PM
I believe "western civilization" is currently sending troops to defend Greenland
January 16, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Vivian McCall
In a special session yesterday, Spokane City Council voted to accept a million dollar police grant from the Department of Justice. Out of 39 conditions, 1 requires police to give federal law enforcement information on immigrants and violates the Keep Washington Working Act.
City accepts DOJ police grant, saying police won’t comply with Trump – RANGE Media
In 5-2 vote, council bucks dissenting public commenters, who worry the grant conditions will endanger immigrants or expose Spokane to retribution from the federal government.
rangemedia.co
January 16, 2026 at 11:30 PM
That's funny, I was just thinking about how peaceful everything was
January 15, 2026 at 10:54 PM