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Tara C. Smith

@aetiology.bsky.social

32K followers 2.8K following 5K posts

Collector of social media sites. Infectious disease epidemiologist. Writes about vaccine hesitancy, science misinfo, zombies. Probably somewhere on a trail. Views own etc.

Videos

The Smith special counsel investigation was a special counsel investigation that was opened by U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland on November 18, 2022, three days after Donald Trump announced his campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election. The investigation was created to continue two investigations initiated by the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding former U.S. president Donald Trump. Garland appointed Jack Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor, to lead the independent investigations. Smith was tasked with investigating Trump's role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack and Trump's mishandling of government records, including classified documents. .. more

Political science 39%

Economics 19%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 4h

Thank you!

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Smith , and 4 more Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Smith, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller, Rebecca Zorach, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5h

"30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination" cancelled his colleague's hotel room so she would be forced to stay with him.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn’t have a hotel room.

Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 5h

Thank you!

Reposted by Smith

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 7h

"Institutions should embrace collective storytelling between those who hold deep knowledge and those with the cultural fluency and media reach to deliver it effectively." Amen to that!

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies

To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Smith

Nancy Parmalee @nparmalee.bsky.social · 9h

I don’t want to generate or receive an email, document, manuscript, PowerPoint deck, post it note, grocery list, novel, film, or hit list that has been generated with AI.

Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 9h

I write because I love writing. I love writing even when I'm struggling with a writing problem that is killing me. Finding a way through that problem is both intensely rewarding and also helps me become a better writer. There is no reason for me to ever outsource that.

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 9h

there’s this weird idea a lot of people seem to have about how all of us writers and artists must secretly want to use AI and are merely resisting temptation for ethical reasons, and like, no, it’s not hard for me to resist drinking the bowl of Piss With Glass In It actually

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Reposted by Smith

CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 10h

Trial results indicate Jynneos vaccine performs well in young children

The immune response in children aged 2 to 11 years was non-inferior to that observed in adults, and 2.5-times greater in children aged 2 to 5.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...

Photo: Doc James / Wikimedia Commons

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 12h

He thinks he's too smart for that.

Reposted by Smith

A.J. Bauer @ajbauer.bsky.social · 12h

This perfectly encapsulates how right-wing politics works and why it is so dangerous.

Rather than observing the world as it is and proposing changes, right-wing politics start with an idealized conception of the world and go about reshaping reality to confirm to that vision.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 13h

Someone should 1) Tell Bobby not to believe everything you see on the internets and 2) tell him that a baby is not carried in the woman's damn placenta.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

RFK Jr: "Somebody showed me a TikTok video of a pregnant woman at 8 months pregnant -- she's an associate professor at the Columbia Medical School -- and she is saying 'F Trump' and gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta. The level of Trump Derangement Syndrome is now a pathology."

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Reposted by Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Joseph Schafer , and 7 more Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Joseph Schafer, Kevin Carey, Smith, Alan Richardson, Andrew Jacobs, Scott A. Imberman, Simon Lester, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

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Reposted by Philip Nel, Smith, Melanie C. Green

Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 20h

It cannot be made clearer.

If you continue to support the Harry Potter franchise in any way, you are directly funding the removal of trans people's human rights in the UK.

JK Rowling pledges to keep up fight against SNP trans policies

Author vows to bankroll campaigners after Scottish government fails to pay group's legal fees in Supreme Court equality case

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting. Seems like important context.

Reposted by Smith, Brian Keegan

Adrian Walking Dead 🧟‍♂️ 🦇 @adrianswalker.blacksky.app · 1d

“the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa”

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d

(Maybe they discuss that in the article--I don't have a subscription).

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, their last President was prior OSU football coach Jim Tressel (now Ohio's Lt Gov). YSU is just weird with leadership.

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Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson , and 38 more Meredith Broussard, Lisa W. Fazio, James Q. Wilson, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Dorothy Bishop, Anna Nagurney, Brigitte Nerlich, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Gavin A. Schmidt, Jesse H. Kroll, Julie L. Lockwood, Patrick A. Jansen, Joshua S. Weitz, Nicole Dubilier, Jason Stajich, Simon J. Greenhill, Michael A. Clemens, Hugo Mercier, Megan L. Ranney, Rosemary A. Joyce, Philip N. Cohen, Michael J. Allen, Andrew Curry, Jacob Montgomery, Juan Cole, Kris Inwood, Smith, Robert C. Richards, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Victor Galaz, Scott A. Imberman, Sebastian Karcher, Brian Keegan, Ann Bartow, Jack Stilgoe, Ted Temzelides, Christina Pagel, Annalee Newitz, David Darmofal

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Reposted by John McLaren, Philip Nel, Smith , and 4 more John McLaren, Philip Nel, Smith, Alan Richardson, Mary Jane Curry, Larry W. Hunter, Katelyn K. Jetelina

Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 1d

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d

Sharing again for Ohio folks as we will be printing these Husted "thank you" cards early next week for Columbus delivery. I know many folks here have thoughts about his votes re PH & healthcare. Please take 60 seconds to write so we can share them with his staffers, and please share w/ Ohio friends!

Elizabeth Lanphier @ethicselizabeth.bsky.social · 4d

Tell Jon Husted what you think about his track record on health and healthcare in #Ohio. Letters will be printed on note cards and hand delivered to his office on October 15th.

Write a Letter to Senator Jon Husted to Defend Public Health in Ohio

On October 15th the Ohio chapter of Defend Public Health will convene in Columbus to deliver as many cards from constituents as possible to Senator Jon Husted to "thank" him for threatening the health...

forms.gle

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, that's unrelated to what we're doing on Wed.

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 1d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Smith, Evan Roberts

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

glad to be born at a time when i got to see what life was like before the internet and will be dead before AI completely destroys humanity

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Reposted by Smith

Mara Wilson @marawilson.bsky.social · 2d

Peter Fonda saw Pablo Picasso paint. I know this because he told me when we were in a Thomas the Tank Engine movie together.

Yes, it’s as surreal as it sounds.

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Reposted by Smith

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 2d

“In Womelsdorf, Pa., Rebecca Seidel has been trying to find a vaccine for her 7-year-old son. The pharmacist at a nearby CVS said that the store had no pediatric doses and that two other CVS locations didn’t either. So Ms. Seidel contacted the family’s pediatrician — who directed her to CVS.”

Seeking Covid Shots for Their Children, Some Parents Hit a Wall

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Smith

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2d

"consuming AI art is like eating styrofoam"

The always brilliant The Oatmeal on the emptiness and sadness of AI art

theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

A screenshot of the Oatmeal comic, featuring a colorful meal on a plate with emojis around it, the text reads: "Someone once told me that art is like emotional nutriton. That made sense to me. Art feeds my feelings (accompanied by a smiley face and sad face emoji). And if thats the case, consuming AI art is like eating styrofoam"

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Reposted by Smith

PalMD @palmd.bsky.social · 2d

Hey all, @defendpublichealth.bsky.social is working hard to, well, defend public health. In Michigan we're launching a petition/signature campaign and if you can share it with Michiganders i'd appreciate it. actionnetwork.org/petitions/mi...

Michigan: Protect Our Public Health

More and more Michiganders are waking up to the fact that the pillars of the health care system that they count on for themselves and their families are in danger of collapsing. Affordable health insu...

actionnetwork.org

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 2d

saaaame. Working on a chapter right now and there are SO MANY that I will have to go back and edit some out.

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 2d

I mean--scientists are writers too!

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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 2d

Amen.

Shannon Stirone @shannonstirone.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s the thing I wish everyone could hold in their minds about writers—we love em dashes. We use em dashes. We are humans and not AI. We will not be deleting our em dashes just because AI uses them too. We were here first. You can pry my em dashes from my cold dead hands. F*ck AI.

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