Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 18hUS strikes a deal to import Russian diesel, and the US essentially calls for regime change in Ukraine. I wish I were surprised, but I'm not. I've been saying this since Nov. 2024: Ukraine and the rest of Europe cannot count on the US as an ally or as a rational actor. Putin has counted on this. 19129
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonRevolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026“Y’all are going to need a bigger hospital.” Already burdened by petrochemical plants, Louisiana is facing a wave of gas-powered AI data centers—and their pollution. Dorothy Slater, an oncology nurse, writes for @dissentmag.bsky.social about nursing her patients at the frontier of AI buildout.dissentmagazine.orgDeath by Data Centers - Dissent MagazineI’m an oncology nurse in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. My patients and I breathe the same polluted air, and we can’t afford the toxic exposure from the gas-fired plants set to power the state’s proposed A... 26543
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I successfully defended my dissertation on Friday! Feels unreal. I'm so grateful for the incredible support I've had along the way. I'm a first-gen college student & Pell Grant recipient from rural Southeast Texas. Without Swarthmore, I never would have dreamed I could do this. I'm a Dr.! 3923418
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonThomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism. Some thoughts from my new piece: 🧵steady.pageA Far-Right International Is Assaulting DemocracyMAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism 6611284
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026It has often felt like I got tossed in a blender over the last few months: moving, finishing my dissertation, course prepping, my defense next week, and *fascism*. HOWEVER, experiencing my first Morehouse Convocation today was wonderful. I cried. The energy, the community, the feeling. I'm lucky. 0250
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonTom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026This is yet another telling example of the Trump regime’s racism. There’s no pretense here of targeting criminals - the usual excuse for mass deportations. DHS is specifically encouraging Haitian “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave. Any decent society would value these people. 732311693
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I'm crowdsourcing suggestions. I'm a brand-new tenure-track professor at an SLAC and want to know how y'all are managing teaching, research, grading, reading in the field, and living. ALL OF IT. I've taught HS and CC full-time, but the research expectations, etc., on top of teaching are new.static.klipy.comHelp Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for HelpALT: Help Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for Help 152
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I defend my dissertation in two weeks and will embargo it. I always planned to, as it is an important way to protect your work as you revise for publication. Plus, it is not like the group harping on this will consider me a legit academic anyway b/c I'm Black/a woman/an Ivy Leaguer. I'm tired. 2132
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonKathleen @kathleencarson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I just want to point out, this guy is still a full professor at Duke, despite multiple accusations of research fraud over the last 5 years, resulting in retractions of publications. His research topic: honesty and procrastination. And he was Epstein's friend and in the Epstein files >600 times.dukechronicle.com‘Insane data’: Duke professor Dan Ariely accused of additional research fraudNew evidence released Monday shows that Dan Ariely, professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business, likely tampered with or fabricated data in an influential research paper from ... 12819
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonAmy Stanley @astanley711.bsky.social · 03/09/2026What is the point of trying so hard to maintain your academic freedom if you’re going to abandon the entire educational enterprise, sacrifice the undergrads to the tech companies, and then light your reputation on fire?thecrimson.comHarvard Humanities Faculty Push Back on Deming’s Call for AI Use in Writing Courses | The Harvard CrimsonHarvard faculty in the humanities and social sciences expressed broad concern over an email Harvard College Dean David J. Deming sent students Wednesday suggesting that artificial intelligence be inte... 213146
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonMar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 03/09/2026They’ll keep telling us it’s inevitable but NYC and other large school systems are starting to say no to AI, recognizing it’s not a legitimate tool for k-12 learning. Even some universities are putting their foot down, like U Chicago (and some law schools) www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...nyc.govMayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation’s Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools 261168310
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Important to note that the University of Texas-Austin is also planning major cuts of at least 100 courses. Our (I'm a Texan) flagship universities are being gutted, and it is being sold to the gen. public as a way to earn a degree faster. 13817
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonBill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Pastor Carl Ruby, of Springfield's Central Christian Church, can state the issue more clearly than 98% of people working in politics today. 5827261050
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I'm a born-and-bred Southeast Texan. Y'all is my birthright, so Mr. Man can go whine to somebody else. 020
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonMark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Now write the tandem piece about what is happening to public university funding & immigration policy in Canada, the UK, Germany, etc. These high-profile hirings are good headlines. The real story is no other country is coming to save higher ed & scientific research right now, including Canada.ft.comCanada poaches 48 US-based top academicsTrump administration’s assault on universities boosts Ottawa’s efforts to attract top research talent 924861
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Volgograd to Stalingrad, then back to Volgograd. I've seen this movie before, but I was told it only happened in COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS. Sigh. (re: Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico). 2266
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026In the last two days I have been teaching, I have found out that one of my heroes has died right after class. I CANNOT. 120
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Tim Curry and Dolly Parton ON THE SAME DAY. That's enough! I need Patti LaBelle on 24/7 security. 1173
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026I'm crying. Dolly changed the lives of millions of children and families. Beyond her music career (which also shaped the lives of millions), she helped to bring the gift and opportunities of literacy. True righteousness. THIS SUCKS. 0263
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonAlex Zalben @azalben.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.comimaginationlibrary.comDolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AUDolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas. 45121515977
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Dolly. Not Dolly. This hurts. She was an amazing example of how to be a good person and use money and fame for good. What a beautiful life she led. 1264
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/08/2026I've just been over here yelling from the rooftops about how the imagined white 'purity' of Russia has been a problem for years now... 131
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonThe Drift @thedriftmag.com · 19/08/2026Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...newsletter.thedriftmag.comRacism and labor at Bates: the other side of the storyAndrew Baker responds to Tyler Austin Harper 10600264
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Pack and listed my house, moved to GA, tons of issues & delays w/the movers, slept on an air mattress for 2 weeks, plumbing issues & basement flooding in my rental, all while finishing my dissertation & course prepping. What may break me is my bibliography b/c I did all my citations by hand... 3222
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026static.klipy.comDwight Schrute: It's TrueALT: Dwight Schrute: It's True 000
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/07/2026I know nothing about soccer rules, but I do know that Spain showed a lot more restraint than they should have. Pardon my English, but Spain should have been handing out ass whippings to Argentina after that mess. 010
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Claire, as a cradle Catholic, thank you for your updates. Giving me life! 020
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonMallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 02/07/2026The fact that this article from Associated Press in NPR doesn't mention that the original Lefebvrist tendency has had consistent decades long links to nazis and spreading antisemitic ideology really underplays what's gone on here. 61858638
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Show trials. I don't know if most Americans realize how much work is needed to restore our institutions, investigate and punish the criminals, & restore trust in our institutions. Look at how people view the state and public institutions in former Soviet regions. A Dem Admin in 2028 isn't enough. 0309
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026So, remember how I asked whether Vance was a real Catholic, given that he knows nothing about the faith and didn't attend Catechism? Guess who he supports? THE SCHISMATICS. Also, good on Pope Leo for taking out the trash. They appointed fake bishops!! 4254
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026The GDR changed the law in 1972 to allow for East German women to seek abortions on demand (in the first trimester). 050
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Reading about East German women applying for abortions to all-male panels, having to prove their circumstances, and how many were rejected despite the hardships pregnancy represented. I can see TX leaders doing this, though they yell that they hate socialism. It's about patriarchy and control. 2276
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Now, from what I understand, Vance never attended any adult Catholic catechism classes. So, how is he a Catholic? What does he know about the faith? What do I know? I just grew up Catholic: First Communion, Altar Server, Confirmation...wanted to be a nun until middle school. 8354
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonMark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026I am stunned that the constitutional question was so close. I thought it would be 6–3 or 7–2. It is profoundly disturbing that four justices would allow either the president or Congress to rewrite the plain text of the 14th Amendment. This is obviously a good outcome, but the margin is alarming. 5544421113
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonAdam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 29/06/2026Elon Musk doesn't believe gutting USAID caused any deaths. He claims his DOGE team was unable to find kids the agency was helping. Well, here are some specific people he could talk to: parents whose kids are now dead, and kids who are now orphaned, thanks to him. www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-the-cu...thebulwark.comYes, the Cuts to USAID Have KilledElon Musk dismisses the human toll of the Trump administration’s gutting U.S. foreign aid—but it’s real and it’s measurable. 17638282
Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-VarnonJean Beaman @jean23bean.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Belated appreciation for another great @ces-europe.bsky.social conference! I organized two panels on Race and Racism in Europe/European studies @camillahawth.bsky.social @ksvarnon.bsky.social @chelsiwo.bsky.social @elisajoywhite.bsky.social Laura Westerveen and Taryn Marcelino 162
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Now, y'all told me that this level of party-state capture and control only happened in *Eastern European COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS*. Because, let this Soviet historian tell you, we've arrived, and there isn't any communism around here. 33819
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 11/06/2026I am seeing the news coverage of Belfast, and I am reminded of the Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots in East Germany in the early 1990s. The precipitating event is different, but the destruction and racial targeting are not. Terrifying. www.dw.com/en/germany-r...dw.comGermany remembers 1992 anti-immigrant riots in RostockThe Lichtenhagen district in Rostock became infamous in 1992 as the scene of a racist riot against the Vietnamese and Roma communities. Some Vietnamese survivors feel even more bitter now about the la... 0247
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 09/06/2026He is simply propagating the same lies that Russia promoted for over a decade. Ted Cruz fell for the same when he posted about how "un-woke" Russia's army was. Russia is depending on national minorities, misled foreigners from the Global South, and men who didn't have bribe money to avoid the front. 45911
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Completely shocked and devastated. I've been following Dr. Pacheco-Vega since before I started graduate school. His posts on writing, productivity, and working to enjoy what we do as academics have kept me afloat. My thoughts are with his family and friends. 0173
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Oh my goodness. I can't believe it! I've been following him for years. This is devastating. 060
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Some of the most openly vile extremists are running against and beating the most devout Maga-ists in the TX GOP runoffs. The ads this cycle have been horrifying. The results are horrifying. 3267
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026I'm not lying about his sweetheart plea deal for a predator: www.texastribune.org/2026/05/19/k...texastribune.orgInside Ken Paxton’s plea deal for a child sex abuse caseCritics are pointing to two other serious felony cases that the attorney general’s prosecutors took to trial that ended in mistrials and, eventually, plea deals. 071
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Idk if natl politics watchers know about Paxton like Texans do, but the man is vile. The impeachment (by the TX GOP), the affairs (and hooking the ladies up w/state $), and the latest scandal of helping a child abuser avoid serious time/no name on the offender registry. They still voted for him. 32411
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Saw the same ad while at the dentist's office last week, and every time I go to the gym. Roy is a fool, but Middleton makes him look like a Rhodes Scholar. This is not good for Texas (thank goodness it is just the GOP runoff...) 182
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Just feels appropriate to listen to Stankonia while drafting this last dissertation chapter...since I'm moving to the birthplace of two of my all-time favorite music groups: Outkast and Mastodon. (I contain multitudes, thank you). 2120
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Something I've been working on since 2020 (and will get back to it once my dissertation is complete) is Russia's inversion of Soviet internationalism to court far-right and white supremacist groups from the US and Western Europe. 54418