Amanda Fanniff, PhD
@amandafanniff.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Psychology. Research focuses on culturally informed forensic mental health assessment. Posts reflect my own views, not my employer's. She/her.
Typo in initial post that will now drive me crazy. Taking stock of *all that has been done
November 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Typo in initial post that will now drive me crazy. Taking stock of *all that has been done
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Earlier this week, a new page titled “Vaccines and Autism” appeared on the CDC website. The agency's employees are not happy about it.
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“Embarrassing” and “horrifying”: CDC workers describe the new vaccines and autism page
"The best way I can put it is it feels like we're on a hijacked airplane."
www.motherjones.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Earlier this week, a new page titled “Vaccines and Autism” appeared on the CDC website. The agency's employees are not happy about it.
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Some vaccines like COVID and flu don’t stop completely stop infection.
But they do reduce the risk of getting infected and greatly reduce severe illness risk.
They are still worth getting.
Since they are not 100% effective it’s also wise to add another layer of protection by wearing a mask.
But they do reduce the risk of getting infected and greatly reduce severe illness risk.
They are still worth getting.
Since they are not 100% effective it’s also wise to add another layer of protection by wearing a mask.
November 23, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Some vaccines like COVID and flu don’t stop completely stop infection.
But they do reduce the risk of getting infected and greatly reduce severe illness risk.
They are still worth getting.
Since they are not 100% effective it’s also wise to add another layer of protection by wearing a mask.
But they do reduce the risk of getting infected and greatly reduce severe illness risk.
They are still worth getting.
Since they are not 100% effective it’s also wise to add another layer of protection by wearing a mask.
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Utterly ludicrous framing from @nytimes.com here, treating Pete Hegseth's arguments as if they're legitimate. The casual reader will be left with no inkling whatsoever of how unusual and corrupt an abuse of the process this truly is:
November 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Utterly ludicrous framing from @nytimes.com here, treating Pete Hegseth's arguments as if they're legitimate. The casual reader will be left with no inkling whatsoever of how unusual and corrupt an abuse of the process this truly is:
“Resistance is everywhere… civil society & civil servants; human rights, climate & environmental groups…religious leaders & institutions, elected officials… the military, lawyers & judges, educators and students, librarians…medical professionals, journalists, editors & publishers, people in the arts
November 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
“Resistance is everywhere… civil society & civil servants; human rights, climate & environmental groups…religious leaders & institutions, elected officials… the military, lawyers & judges, educators and students, librarians…medical professionals, journalists, editors & publishers, people in the arts
I was late to read this, but it is such an important piece. Taking stock of ask that has been done, even when there is still much to do, can fuel forward momentum. Thank you @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social (& @strictscrutiny.bsky.social for mentioning it)
I took inventory. It looked good.
In 2025 We Showed Up: Notes on Resistance to the Regime
Ayoung white woman in yoga clothes berating masked ICE agents in a parking lot this spring. A pope speaking up again and again for immigrants. Furious judges dressing down the Trump administration and...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I was late to read this, but it is such an important piece. Taking stock of ask that has been done, even when there is still much to do, can fuel forward momentum. Thank you @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social (& @strictscrutiny.bsky.social for mentioning it)
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
@sanders.senate.gov: "Even if by some miracle you got 60 votes, where do you think that amendment would go? Speaker Johnson has made it very clear that he's not going to entertain it. Trump would never sign it. So it is an empty gesture. It bothers me that people want to raise false hopes."
November 11, 2025 at 8:26 AM
@sanders.senate.gov: "Even if by some miracle you got 60 votes, where do you think that amendment would go? Speaker Johnson has made it very clear that he's not going to entertain it. Trump would never sign it. So it is an empty gesture. It bothers me that people want to raise false hopes."
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
In the most predictable development ever, Mike Johnson is not committing to hold a House vote on ACA subsidies
November 10, 2025 at 10:19 PM
In the most predictable development ever, Mike Johnson is not committing to hold a House vote on ACA subsidies
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
This is the facility that I and many others have been protesting. We’ve been hit, thrown, gassed, and shot with pepper bullets but none of that holds a candle to what is being done to people *in* the actual facility.
Read this thread. Don’t look away. Keep your eyes and the pressure on Broadview.
Read this thread. Don’t look away. Keep your eyes and the pressure on Broadview.
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This is the facility that I and many others have been protesting. We’ve been hit, thrown, gassed, and shot with pepper bullets but none of that holds a candle to what is being done to people *in* the actual facility.
Read this thread. Don’t look away. Keep your eyes and the pressure on Broadview.
Read this thread. Don’t look away. Keep your eyes and the pressure on Broadview.
Another awful decision in which “The assertion without any deep analytical support that the lower-court ruling at issue is inflicting “irreparable harm” on the executive branch” rules the day w/o considering the real harm to plaintiffs. footnote 1 -SCOTUS is also ignoring Article 1 altogether
189. The Breezy Inequity of Trump v. Orr
The Supreme Court's latest grant of emergency relief to the Trump administration illustrates in technicolor the direct (and ugly) consequences of the two different ways it keeps messing up "equity."
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Another awful decision in which “The assertion without any deep analytical support that the lower-court ruling at issue is inflicting “irreparable harm” on the executive branch” rules the day w/o considering the real harm to plaintiffs. footnote 1 -SCOTUS is also ignoring Article 1 altogether
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
Tesla shareholders approve $878 billion pay plan for Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
reut.rs
November 6, 2025 at 10:19 PM
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Every time one anti-vaxxer is quoted in the media, one million scientists and healthcare workers should also be quoted in support of vaccines.
False equivalence in the media is killing us.
False equivalence in the media is killing us.
November 5, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Every time one anti-vaxxer is quoted in the media, one million scientists and healthcare workers should also be quoted in support of vaccines.
False equivalence in the media is killing us.
False equivalence in the media is killing us.
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
WOW. A federal judge says he's going to issue a Temporary Restraining Order requiring ICE to make changes at the Broadview facility in Chicago, a facility that until January was only for stays under 12 hours "absent exceptional circumstances," but has become, in Judge Gettleman's words, "a prison."
U.S. Robert Gettleman is now giving his thoughts. He says, "I think the evidence has been pretty strong that this facility is no longer just a temporary holding facility. …
"It has really become a prison."
"It has really become a prison."
DOJ's Jana Brady steps up next but says she'll largely "rest on our brief that we filed."
She wants any TRO to not "interfere with the executive branch."
She wants any TRO to not "interfere with the executive branch."
November 4, 2025 at 10:29 PM
WOW. A federal judge says he's going to issue a Temporary Restraining Order requiring ICE to make changes at the Broadview facility in Chicago, a facility that until January was only for stays under 12 hours "absent exceptional circumstances," but has become, in Judge Gettleman's words, "a prison."
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
A Maine ballot measure to add new election restrictions failed because — and hear me out on this — voters like voting.
November 5, 2025 at 3:15 AM
A Maine ballot measure to add new election restrictions failed because — and hear me out on this — voters like voting.
Going with a throwback here. This post is so demure, so mindful....
November 4, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Going with a throwback here. This post is so demure, so mindful....
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Interdictions beyond our borders have been controversial, with courts expressing skepticism about the constitutionality of prosecuting (not killing!) drug traffickers captured in international waters. www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Interdictions beyond our borders have been controversial, with courts expressing skepticism about the constitutionality of prosecuting (not killing!) drug traffickers captured in international waters. www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
Judge Talwani: "Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds as detailed below"
The admin has to report back Monday whether/when they will authorize benefits
The admin has to report back Monday whether/when they will authorize benefits
Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, keeps the TRO request under advisement while the Trump administration decides — by Monday — if it is going to use the contingent funding to proceed with (at least reduced) November SNAP benefits.
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
October 31, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Judge Talwani: "Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds as detailed below"
The admin has to report back Monday whether/when they will authorize benefits
The admin has to report back Monday whether/when they will authorize benefits
Empirical evidence shows that public expenditures like SNAP are associated with better child outcomes @kristenharknett.bsky.social et al published just one of the papers to prove this
@spssi.bsky.social
Fund #SNAP
Fund #ACA subsidies
Reverse restrictions on access to #Medicaid
bit.ly/4oMjerx
@spssi.bsky.social
Fund #SNAP
Fund #ACA subsidies
Reverse restrictions on access to #Medicaid
bit.ly/4oMjerx
SPSSI Journals
Our article utilizes variation across the 50 U.S. states to examine the relationship between public expenditures on children and child outcomes. We find that public expenditures on children are rela...
spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Empirical evidence shows that public expenditures like SNAP are associated with better child outcomes @kristenharknett.bsky.social et al published just one of the papers to prove this
@spssi.bsky.social
Fund #SNAP
Fund #ACA subsidies
Reverse restrictions on access to #Medicaid
bit.ly/4oMjerx
@spssi.bsky.social
Fund #SNAP
Fund #ACA subsidies
Reverse restrictions on access to #Medicaid
bit.ly/4oMjerx
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
I love how Rep. Joe Neguse reframed this question.
October 31, 2025 at 8:19 AM
I love how Rep. Joe Neguse reframed this question.
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
- What is the current "boat strike" death toll? (43)
- How much of cocaine supplies (est) actually transit Venezuela? (10-13%)
- How much US-bound fentanyl comes from South America? (none)
We all need credibly sourced information right now. And here is a new @wola-org.bsky.social fact sheet:
- How much of cocaine supplies (est) actually transit Venezuela? (10-13%)
- How much US-bound fentanyl comes from South America? (none)
We all need credibly sourced information right now. And here is a new @wola-org.bsky.social fact sheet:
Facts to Inform the Debate about the U.S. Government’s Anti-Drug Offensive in the Americas - WOLA
Fact sheet: U.S. military anti-drug strikes have killed at least 43 civilians in the Caribbean. Examines the operations' legal basis, justifications, and effectiveness.
www.wola.org
October 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM
- What is the current "boat strike" death toll? (43)
- How much of cocaine supplies (est) actually transit Venezuela? (10-13%)
- How much US-bound fentanyl comes from South America? (none)
We all need credibly sourced information right now. And here is a new @wola-org.bsky.social fact sheet:
- How much of cocaine supplies (est) actually transit Venezuela? (10-13%)
- How much US-bound fentanyl comes from South America? (none)
We all need credibly sourced information right now. And here is a new @wola-org.bsky.social fact sheet:
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
"...global vaccine efforts have saved >150 million lives since 1974, cavities have declined dramatically since community water fluoridation began in 1945, and milk pasteurization has saved millions from foodborne illness"
We need #evidencebased policies, not conspiracies & junk science
#publichealth
We need #evidencebased policies, not conspiracies & junk science
#publichealth
Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over a century www.statnews.com/2025/10/22/a...
Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over a century
More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year.
www.statnews.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:58 AM
"...global vaccine efforts have saved >150 million lives since 1974, cavities have declined dramatically since community water fluoridation began in 1945, and milk pasteurization has saved millions from foodborne illness"
We need #evidencebased policies, not conspiracies & junk science
#publichealth
We need #evidencebased policies, not conspiracies & junk science
#publichealth
Reposted by Amanda Fanniff, PhD
1/ The chaos at our nation’s public health agencies continues. Last Friday, amidst an ongoing government shutdown, roughly 1,300 CDC employees were fired with no warning.
Federal employees in mental health and disease control were among targets in weekend firings
Federal employees working on mental health services, disease outbreaks and disaster preparedness were among those hit by the Trump administration’s mass firings over the weekend.
apnews.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:23 PM
1/ The chaos at our nation’s public health agencies continues. Last Friday, amidst an ongoing government shutdown, roughly 1,300 CDC employees were fired with no warning.
One of APA's summaries of the need for these bans: www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq...
www.apa.org
October 7, 2025 at 4:38 PM
One of APA's summaries of the need for these bans: www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq...