Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
@mecm.bsky.social
Content design/strategy, information architecture. Feminist. #BlackLivesMatter. #Baltimore. Civic tech, #a11y, vintage stuff, powerlifting. Kinda salty.
So this is an unusual thing in case someone has a Lenox Spice Village collector in their life and hasn’t yet bought a holiday gift. I have a set of 7 of the 1992 coffee mugs from that collection now available on my Etsy account, on sale through tomorrow. www.etsy.com/listing/4424...
December 19, 2025 at 12:34 AM
So this is an unusual thing in case someone has a Lenox Spice Village collector in their life and hasn’t yet bought a holiday gift. I have a set of 7 of the 1992 coffee mugs from that collection now available on my Etsy account, on sale through tomorrow. www.etsy.com/listing/4424...
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
I reiterate: any design thing by Trump (or Big Balls) is just ripping down something that previously worked and replacing it with something less accessible to Americans (and thus illegal under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act)
This tweet from Big Balls says the new “Tech Force” website is their first using the “America Design System.” Here are just a few reasons why that sucks. 🧵
December 15, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I reiterate: any design thing by Trump (or Big Balls) is just ripping down something that previously worked and replacing it with something less accessible to Americans (and thus illegal under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act)
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
This tweet from Big Balls says the new “Tech Force” website is their first using the “America Design System.” Here are just a few reasons why that sucks. 🧵
December 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
This tweet from Big Balls says the new “Tech Force” website is their first using the “America Design System.” Here are just a few reasons why that sucks. 🧵
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
As I posted earlier, this campaign is similar to panic about "boys in girls' sports" and, as commenters pointed out, "welfare queens"—and refugees! And DEI! Conservatives try to use outlier scenarios to stoke resentment and suspicion about any system that extends benefits to marginalized people.
One of the biggest impacts I’ve seen from the unproven idea that people are wrongfully using disability accommodations is that people stop trusting people with disabilities and in fact further restrict, remove, and demonize accommodations for people with disabilities in general
December 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM
As I posted earlier, this campaign is similar to panic about "boys in girls' sports" and, as commenters pointed out, "welfare queens"—and refugees! And DEI! Conservatives try to use outlier scenarios to stoke resentment and suspicion about any system that extends benefits to marginalized people.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Every sensational claim I see about AI reduces to this When you test AI on a task class you find that it fails to replace the human effort in the task. It shifts effort while automating a reduced set of activities within the task.
I’ve been automating analytics for years and this is well known.
I’ve been automating analytics for years and this is well known.
Headline: "AI can replace 11.7% of workforce"
Actual study: Anthropic paid MIT to use a "labor simulation tool" that said 11.7% of TASKS could be done by AI
Actual study: Anthropic paid MIT to use a "labor simulation tool" that said 11.7% of TASKS could be done by AI
MIT study finds AI can already replace 11.7% of U.S. workforce
Artificial intelligence can already replace 11.7% of the U.S. labor market, across finance, health care and professional services, according to MIT's study.
www.cnbc.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Every sensational claim I see about AI reduces to this When you test AI on a task class you find that it fails to replace the human effort in the task. It shifts effort while automating a reduced set of activities within the task.
I’ve been automating analytics for years and this is well known.
I’ve been automating analytics for years and this is well known.
I can’t get into specifics here in public but boy, my household is observing a situation that is an object example of how the consequences of collaborating with fascists are more likely to blow back on the collaborators and no one else.
You might as well do the right thing, kids.
You might as well do the right thing, kids.
November 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM
I can’t get into specifics here in public but boy, my household is observing a situation that is an object example of how the consequences of collaborating with fascists are more likely to blow back on the collaborators and no one else.
You might as well do the right thing, kids.
You might as well do the right thing, kids.
Hi folks! If you’re looking to start your holiday shopping this week, nearly my entire Etsy shop is 25% off as part of Etsy’s Cyber Week event marycmvintage.etsy.com
marycmvintage.etsy.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Hi folks! If you’re looking to start your holiday shopping this week, nearly my entire Etsy shop is 25% off as part of Etsy’s Cyber Week event marycmvintage.etsy.com
So, we’re getting towards holiday gift giving season, so here’s a list of cool stuff from my Etsy shop. Items $35 and over ship free in the U.S. and as always, if we know each other in some way, message me and I might be able to give you a non Etsy deal.
November 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
So, we’re getting towards holiday gift giving season, so here’s a list of cool stuff from my Etsy shop. Items $35 and over ship free in the U.S. and as always, if we know each other in some way, message me and I might be able to give you a non Etsy deal.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Nuzzi's fawning coverage of the sociopathic conspiracy crank she was having an affair with aided his rise to political power, which he is using to perpetrate the worst intentional public health catastrophe of our unnecessarily shortened lifetimes, and THAT is the STORY.
November 15, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Nuzzi's fawning coverage of the sociopathic conspiracy crank she was having an affair with aided his rise to political power, which he is using to perpetrate the worst intentional public health catastrophe of our unnecessarily shortened lifetimes, and THAT is the STORY.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review
Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.
www.bostonreview.net
September 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
Worth a watch. Push back. There’s mounting evidence showing that states/institutions that are pushing back are losing less than those that just comply.
September 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Worth a watch. Push back. There’s mounting evidence showing that states/institutions that are pushing back are losing less than those that just comply.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
The professor has been fired and senior administrators removed from their post. No mention of this in the New York Times, The Free Press, The Atlantic or other outlets who drove the campus speech moral panic.
Texas A&M University System orders audit of all courses after gender identity lesson goes viral
Details: bit.ly/42jauQZ
Details: bit.ly/42jauQZ
September 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The professor has been fired and senior administrators removed from their post. No mention of this in the New York Times, The Free Press, The Atlantic or other outlets who drove the campus speech moral panic.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/
September 7, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
It's happened! My newsletter has finally Gone Woke!
Trump appointed landlord app AirBnB's co-founder as the Chief Design Officer of the USA, right after DOGE blew up 18F (which did real work). And the UX commentariat cheers, because the vibes of a "seat at the table" play better than the reality.
Trump appointed landlord app AirBnB's co-founder as the Chief Design Officer of the USA, right after DOGE blew up 18F (which did real work). And the UX commentariat cheers, because the vibes of a "seat at the table" play better than the reality.
The aesthetics of success come at the cost of failure
It's easy to get a seat at the table. Just agree to become part of the problem.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
August 31, 2025 at 9:21 PM
It's happened! My newsletter has finally Gone Woke!
Trump appointed landlord app AirBnB's co-founder as the Chief Design Officer of the USA, right after DOGE blew up 18F (which did real work). And the UX commentariat cheers, because the vibes of a "seat at the table" play better than the reality.
Trump appointed landlord app AirBnB's co-founder as the Chief Design Officer of the USA, right after DOGE blew up 18F (which did real work). And the UX commentariat cheers, because the vibes of a "seat at the table" play better than the reality.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
LIVE: CDC staff plan walkout at Atlanta HQ after Trump firings
YouTube video by Associated Press
www.youtube.com
August 28, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
"Democratic-led states and select blue-leaning cities fought back in court and saw money for public health efforts restored — while GOP-led states sustained big losses."
Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks - KFF Health News
The Trump administration's cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News...
kffhealthnews.org
August 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
"Democratic-led states and select blue-leaning cities fought back in court and saw money for public health efforts restored — while GOP-led states sustained big losses."
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
This is great: a National Guardsman standing up to say every member of the National Guard and military "is legally obliged to disobey an illegal order."
My name is Captain Dylan Blaha, and this message is for members of the National Guard across the USA.
I've served in the Illinois Army National Guard for over 12 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan and three years on active duty in Europe.
What's going on right now is not normal.
I've served in the Illinois Army National Guard for over 12 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan and three years on active duty in Europe.
What's going on right now is not normal.
August 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
This is great: a National Guardsman standing up to say every member of the National Guard and military "is legally obliged to disobey an illegal order."
One of the deep issues of liberalism is the assumption that if you just explain things properly, all people will come around to believe the correct thing. And thus, there’s an impulse to blame themselves for not communicating 100% accurately.
I understand, as a matter of epistemic & social hygiene, that one should not simply *assume* that the latest right-wing thing is a result of dumb, selfish people believing deliberate lies. One has to be open to other possibilities.
But conversely, it makes no sense to me ...
But conversely, it makes no sense to me ...
August 24, 2025 at 1:11 AM
One of the deep issues of liberalism is the assumption that if you just explain things properly, all people will come around to believe the correct thing. And thus, there’s an impulse to blame themselves for not communicating 100% accurately.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
They fired all my friends who were experts at doing this so that they could hire corrupt vendors to do this poorly
I can't be the only person disgusted by this cynical, lying garbage. (Sidenote: "America By Design" was a great book on the history of how engineers sold themselves down the river to corporate interests, RIP Dave Noble). www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Improves our Nation Through Better Design
IMPROVING GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to launch the “America by Design” initiative, establishing the
www.whitehouse.gov
August 22, 2025 at 1:39 AM
They fired all my friends who were experts at doing this so that they could hire corrupt vendors to do this poorly
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Thank god I put it in The Paper because they are going to pretend none of this ever happened.
Altman says all sorts of things, all the time. But the hard pivot away from AGI/superintelligence rhetoric by Eric Schmidt is genuinely jarring, sort of funny, and I think telling nymag.com/intelligence...
August 20, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Thank god I put it in The Paper because they are going to pretend none of this ever happened.
So, as someone observing a lot of online discussion of tariffs (including from MAGA folks) and someone who has stumbled into becoming the proprietor of a small business over the last year or so, I am now:
1. No longer surprised at the rate of failure of small businesses….
1. No longer surprised at the rate of failure of small businesses….
August 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
So, as someone observing a lot of online discussion of tariffs (including from MAGA folks) and someone who has stumbled into becoming the proprietor of a small business over the last year or so, I am now:
1. No longer surprised at the rate of failure of small businesses….
1. No longer surprised at the rate of failure of small businesses….
I don’t believe this person actually exists but, if it did, it would kind of prove the point of why people are critiquing the ad. Mind you, no one offering a critique of the ad has any kind of formal leadership or spokesperson role within the Democratic Party.
A message I just got from a buddy of mine, who’s a long time Democratic Party campaign consultant: “This Sydney Sweeney thing is the kind of thing that turns men away from our party. It’s why men think our party is weak & insane.”
My response to him? “Fuck yea it is. You are exactly right.”
My response to him? “Fuck yea it is. You are exactly right.”
July 30, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I don’t believe this person actually exists but, if it did, it would kind of prove the point of why people are critiquing the ad. Mind you, no one offering a critique of the ad has any kind of formal leadership or spokesperson role within the Democratic Party.
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Shout out to the WSJ journalists who reported on Vought’s impoundment by footnote, causing the White House to walk it back. Impact journalism!!
UPDATE: The pause was scrapped Tuesday evening after intervention by top White House officials. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump Administration Scraps Effort to Pause Health-Research Funding
The administration halted and then restarted billions in new research grants flowing from the National Institutes of Health.
www.wsj.com
July 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Shout out to the WSJ journalists who reported on Vought’s impoundment by footnote, causing the White House to walk it back. Impact journalism!!
Reposted by Mary Carroll-Mason (she/her)
Everything he said is wrong.
The NIH is a boon to states economically.
It did not, in any respect, cause the pandemic. This is lab leak bullshit.
And the final claim is just an open admission they’re imposing rightist ideology on science.
It’s a war on science this administration is waging.
The NIH is a boon to states economically.
It did not, in any respect, cause the pandemic. This is lab leak bullshit.
And the final claim is just an open admission they’re imposing rightist ideology on science.
It’s a war on science this administration is waging.
TAPPER: 14 Republicans say you're risking undermining critical research by holding up NIH funding
VOUGHT: If they were a company, their stock price would in shambles. They in some respects caused the pandemic. You have an entire institute that does nothing more than DEI research at the NIH.
VOUGHT: If they were a company, their stock price would in shambles. They in some respects caused the pandemic. You have an entire institute that does nothing more than DEI research at the NIH.
July 28, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Everything he said is wrong.
The NIH is a boon to states economically.
It did not, in any respect, cause the pandemic. This is lab leak bullshit.
And the final claim is just an open admission they’re imposing rightist ideology on science.
It’s a war on science this administration is waging.
The NIH is a boon to states economically.
It did not, in any respect, cause the pandemic. This is lab leak bullshit.
And the final claim is just an open admission they’re imposing rightist ideology on science.
It’s a war on science this administration is waging.
This is correct. My professional expertise is communications and digital strategy AND I currently support a federal agency under attack rn.
Do my clients sometimes do not a great job explaining their value? Yes. Does that matter when you have bad actors completely distorting reality? No.
Do my clients sometimes do not a great job explaining their value? Yes. Does that matter when you have bad actors completely distorting reality? No.
You hear this a lot on the left but it isn't true. USAID did not "fail to tell its story to Americans," the right targeted the agency with lies and misinformation.
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
June 30, 2025 at 9:40 PM
This is correct. My professional expertise is communications and digital strategy AND I currently support a federal agency under attack rn.
Do my clients sometimes do not a great job explaining their value? Yes. Does that matter when you have bad actors completely distorting reality? No.
Do my clients sometimes do not a great job explaining their value? Yes. Does that matter when you have bad actors completely distorting reality? No.