Elisabeth Van Every
@e-van-every.bsky.social
Writer, editor, educator, naturalist, knower of things. Wildlife interp, media, film, fandom, politics, noir, goth, fashion, cocktails, hockey, public health/COVID safety, anything else I find of interest. Animal photos sometimes. Caution: Swears. She/her.
This is what I do (if I do anything). This year was "protection."
I have shared this in previous years, but I don't do new year resolutions.
Instead, I pick a theme word or words.
The past couple years (with an eye to the potential, then definite, looming Trump regime) have been about redundancy & adaptability.
For 2026, I am choosing "light."
In many senses.
Instead, I pick a theme word or words.
The past couple years (with an eye to the potential, then definite, looming Trump regime) have been about redundancy & adaptability.
For 2026, I am choosing "light."
In many senses.
November 22, 2025 at 9:42 PM
This is what I do (if I do anything). This year was "protection."
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Republican Health Care Lingo Every Voter Should Know.
Do YOU know what your Republican Member of Congress means when they say things like "high-risk pools?"
It means they want to go back to when people with pre-existing conditions like cancer could be denied coverage.
Do YOU know what your Republican Member of Congress means when they say things like "high-risk pools?"
It means they want to go back to when people with pre-existing conditions like cancer could be denied coverage.
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Republican Health Care Lingo Every Voter Should Know.
Do YOU know what your Republican Member of Congress means when they say things like "high-risk pools?"
It means they want to go back to when people with pre-existing conditions like cancer could be denied coverage.
Do YOU know what your Republican Member of Congress means when they say things like "high-risk pools?"
It means they want to go back to when people with pre-existing conditions like cancer could be denied coverage.
Spouse has found a cache of videos of a tejano band doing covers of 1980s alt/postpunk songs and they are THE BEST and he's actually teary-eyed over them.
November 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Spouse has found a cache of videos of a tejano band doing covers of 1980s alt/postpunk songs and they are THE BEST and he's actually teary-eyed over them.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
November 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
This is why this story needs to be taken seriously.
I have found it very entertaining and had my share of laughs at these gross and foolish people, but their seedy secrets - and their lack of ethics - have resulted in real harm at an untold scale.
I have found it very entertaining and had my share of laughs at these gross and foolish people, but their seedy secrets - and their lack of ethics - have resulted in real harm at an untold scale.
Children are dying because of RFK Jr being Secretary of Health and Human Services. And this amoral fuckup (R Lizza, 51) knew a 'journalist' (Nuzzi, 32) he was fucking was running a catch-and-kill operation for political candidate RFK?
Even when you know the system is corrupt....
Even when you know the system is corrupt....
November 22, 2025 at 7:28 PM
This is why this story needs to be taken seriously.
I have found it very entertaining and had my share of laughs at these gross and foolish people, but their seedy secrets - and their lack of ethics - have resulted in real harm at an untold scale.
I have found it very entertaining and had my share of laughs at these gross and foolish people, but their seedy secrets - and their lack of ethics - have resulted in real harm at an untold scale.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Jail or prison time served by high-ranking Nixon officials as a result of Watergate:
Attorney General: 19 months.
Chief of Staff: 18 months.
White House Counsel #1: 18 months.
White House Counsel #2: 4 months.
Secretary to the President: 8 months.
Special Counsel: 7 months.
Attorney General: 19 months.
Chief of Staff: 18 months.
White House Counsel #1: 18 months.
White House Counsel #2: 4 months.
Secretary to the President: 8 months.
Special Counsel: 7 months.
November 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Jail or prison time served by high-ranking Nixon officials as a result of Watergate:
Attorney General: 19 months.
Chief of Staff: 18 months.
White House Counsel #1: 18 months.
White House Counsel #2: 4 months.
Secretary to the President: 8 months.
Special Counsel: 7 months.
Attorney General: 19 months.
Chief of Staff: 18 months.
White House Counsel #1: 18 months.
White House Counsel #2: 4 months.
Secretary to the President: 8 months.
Special Counsel: 7 months.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Just putting this down on paper since I'm seeing so many people expressing so confidently that nobody in the Trump admin will ever see jail time for the crimes they're committing now.
We've done it before. We can do it again.
We've done it before. We can do it again.
November 22, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Just putting this down on paper since I'm seeing so many people expressing so confidently that nobody in the Trump admin will ever see jail time for the crimes they're committing now.
We've done it before. We can do it again.
We've done it before. We can do it again.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Don't be so hard on yourself.
Leave that to the ancient queen of dark fairies, whom you'll be hearing from very soon, if rumors carried by the ravens are true.
Leave that to the ancient queen of dark fairies, whom you'll be hearing from very soon, if rumors carried by the ravens are true.
November 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Don't be so hard on yourself.
Leave that to the ancient queen of dark fairies, whom you'll be hearing from very soon, if rumors carried by the ravens are true.
Leave that to the ancient queen of dark fairies, whom you'll be hearing from very soon, if rumors carried by the ravens are true.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
I’m liking the term “Epstein class” more and more the longer I sit with it
I had not previously considered that Jeff Bezos might be in the Epstein files. This decision confirms to me beyond doubt that he is
The Washington Post editorial board decided the Epstein files have “no public interest” before even seeing them. That’s a stunning position for any newsroom to take. Praising Clay Higgins as the lone ‘no’ vote, too? No wonder no one trusts legacy media. Absolutely disgusting.
November 22, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I’m liking the term “Epstein class” more and more the longer I sit with it
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
The Washington Post editorial board decided the Epstein files have “no public interest” before even seeing them. That’s a stunning position for any newsroom to take. Praising Clay Higgins as the lone ‘no’ vote, too? No wonder no one trusts legacy media. Absolutely disgusting.
November 22, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The Washington Post editorial board decided the Epstein files have “no public interest” before even seeing them. That’s a stunning position for any newsroom to take. Praising Clay Higgins as the lone ‘no’ vote, too? No wonder no one trusts legacy media. Absolutely disgusting.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Trump was ok with Mamdani calling him a fascist while next to him in the Oval Office not because trump is a good sport ever but because he believes everyone else is as empty and cynical as he is, and that Mamdani just says those things for the base and couldn’t possibly mean it even tho Zohran does
November 22, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Trump was ok with Mamdani calling him a fascist while next to him in the Oval Office not because trump is a good sport ever but because he believes everyone else is as empty and cynical as he is, and that Mamdani just says those things for the base and couldn’t possibly mean it even tho Zohran does
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
When I talk to students about public speaking or teaching, I always bring this up: Just tell people when you don't know something! It's remarkably powerful b/c it signals to your audience that you know the boundaries of your expertise and they can trust what you DO talk about.
completely outside of politics, this is so charming
November 22, 2025 at 5:18 PM
When I talk to students about public speaking or teaching, I always bring this up: Just tell people when you don't know something! It's remarkably powerful b/c it signals to your audience that you know the boundaries of your expertise and they can trust what you DO talk about.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Next they’re gonna want to count everybody’s Jewish grandparents
Nalin Haley, the son of former 2024 presidential candidate and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, said that naturalized citizens should not be allowed to hold public office. Read more: https://bit.ly/4paM8CF
November 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Next they’re gonna want to count everybody’s Jewish grandparents
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
This is right and the other thing here, especially because Lizza doesn’t present evidence, is that “catch and kill” means something specific—putting a source into a contractual obligation so that they don’t have the option of taking a story elsewhere and then not running it.
something i'll note is that if nuzzi ran catch-and-kill ops for rfk jr and lizza knew this prior to him being appointed as HHS, and instead of telling anyone, he decided to save it for his substack long after rfk jr had made communicable disease into federal policy, that's completely fucked
November 22, 2025 at 6:41 PM
This is right and the other thing here, especially because Lizza doesn’t present evidence, is that “catch and kill” means something specific—putting a source into a contractual obligation so that they don’t have the option of taking a story elsewhere and then not running it.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
yeah, I think this is it: I have grace in my heart for the people who turn to this.
I have the rage of 10,000 suns in my heart for the people who monetize and exploit that desperation.
I have the rage of 10,000 suns in my heart for the people who monetize and exploit that desperation.
20 years of medical pros & family members going "Teehee, pain is just part of being a woman" before finally getting diagnosis and any useful treatment
I get incandescent with rage that so many of us have these stories; I desperately try to keep grace in my heart for those who turn to the Woo path
I get incandescent with rage that so many of us have these stories; I desperately try to keep grace in my heart for those who turn to the Woo path
The extent to which I was completely abandoned with pcos/endo is hard to quantify, and plenty of people tried to sell me WooWoo solutions for pain.
Doctors completely failed me on every front for most of my life, I am sympathetic to not trusting them. It is a hard convo.
Doctors completely failed me on every front for most of my life, I am sympathetic to not trusting them. It is a hard convo.
November 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
yeah, I think this is it: I have grace in my heart for the people who turn to this.
I have the rage of 10,000 suns in my heart for the people who monetize and exploit that desperation.
I have the rage of 10,000 suns in my heart for the people who monetize and exploit that desperation.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Here's another way to say this: they broke the law to murder people
November 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Here's another way to say this: they broke the law to murder people
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
I absolutely mean to high horse it. You have failed, morally and ethically, if you give Lizza money, he's no Saint either, just another bland sleaze stumbling his way through the morass, drinking it up as he goes. Spend your money on the people whose good stuff you see on this site all the time.
i promise i don’t mean to high horse this but if you’re thinking about giving lizza ten bucks there are a lot of good independent journalists whose work you could subscribe to for a month instead
November 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I absolutely mean to high horse it. You have failed, morally and ethically, if you give Lizza money, he's no Saint either, just another bland sleaze stumbling his way through the morass, drinking it up as he goes. Spend your money on the people whose good stuff you see on this site all the time.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear: “This war can only end with Ukraine’s full consent. It cannot be resolved by great powers over the heads of those under attack.” He stressed that Europe must be part of any solution and warned that Ukraine’s defeat would destabilize the entire continent.
November 22, 2025 at 5:41 PM
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear: “This war can only end with Ukraine’s full consent. It cannot be resolved by great powers over the heads of those under attack.” He stressed that Europe must be part of any solution and warned that Ukraine’s defeat would destabilize the entire continent.
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Remember all the way back to last week when maga lost its shit over former military members of Congress doing an ad telling current military not to obey unlawful orders?
Trump administration turned to Pentagon after CIA lawyers nixed drug boat attacks: report
www.rawstory.com/trump-boats-...
www.rawstory.com/trump-boats-...
Trump administration turned to Pentagon after CIA lawyers nixed drug boat attacks: report
Donald Trump and adviser Stephen Miller’s grand plan to ramp up the war on drugs by blowing up alleged “narcoterrorists” in attacks from above did not pass legal muster with the lawyers at the CIA.So ...
www.rawstory.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Remember all the way back to last week when maga lost its shit over former military members of Congress doing an ad telling current military not to obey unlawful orders?
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Fun fact: this is explicitly why Dick Wolf created Law & Order: he violently hates defense attorneys and felt tere weren't enough shows about how defendants and their lawyers are scum
(also when somebody "gets off on a technicality" that actually means the cops committed a crime against them)
(also when somebody "gets off on a technicality" that actually means the cops committed a crime against them)
November 22, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Fun fact: this is explicitly why Dick Wolf created Law & Order: he violently hates defense attorneys and felt tere weren't enough shows about how defendants and their lawyers are scum
(also when somebody "gets off on a technicality" that actually means the cops committed a crime against them)
(also when somebody "gets off on a technicality" that actually means the cops committed a crime against them)
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
Blacklisting has terrible history - see what McCarthy era did to US. List will not stop with a few names. Lists will grow, be prone to errors, use circular logic, be based on unethical standards, be weaponised.
Fight back: vote.gov
Gift article from NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Fight back: vote.gov
Gift article from NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Federal Suit Seeking Names of Some Jewish Employees at Penn Sparks Backlash
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Blacklisting has terrible history - see what McCarthy era did to US. List will not stop with a few names. Lists will grow, be prone to errors, use circular logic, be based on unethical standards, be weaponised.
Fight back: vote.gov
Gift article from NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Fight back: vote.gov
Gift article from NYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Ethical, responsible journalism is not for everybody (and, I fear, increasingly not for anybody).
Journalism is not for everybody.
November 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Ethical, responsible journalism is not for everybody (and, I fear, increasingly not for anybody).
Reposted by Elisabeth Van Every
There is no ethical way to research what “causes” autism. It’s an inherently eugenicist project. The only practical application for such research is eliminating #autistic people.
November 21, 2025 at 11:15 PM
There is no ethical way to research what “causes” autism. It’s an inherently eugenicist project. The only practical application for such research is eliminating #autistic people.