Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
@econrevirvine.bsky.social
Retired Health Economist
Retired Episcopal Priest
Canonical residence Utah, live in OC California
Weird Coffee Person
Love to cook
Communitarianism & Virtue Ethics
Have left Meta platforms
Killed my Twitter/X account
All opinions entirely my own
Retired Episcopal Priest
Canonical residence Utah, live in OC California
Weird Coffee Person
Love to cook
Communitarianism & Virtue Ethics
Have left Meta platforms
Killed my Twitter/X account
All opinions entirely my own
Pinned
Note: If you follow me and a check of your feed only shows nude or semi-nude pics I will not follow back but I will block you.
I wonder which high-income country they are referring to? 🤔
International leaders and philanthropists, including Bill Gates, announced $1.9 billion in funding to advance polio eradication, but a large funding gap remains after high-income countries’ reductions in foreign aid. https://cnn.it/48BfHpK
December 8, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I wonder which high-income country they are referring to? 🤔
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
⚠️RFK Jr appoints anti-vaxxer to head FDA drug research center—"Putting Tracy Beth in charge [of FDA’s CDER] is like dropping an atom bomb," says an agency source, & multiple top-level officials preparing FDA resignations. "It's an extinction level event."
www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-tra...
www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-tra...
Appointment of controversial FDA official rocking agency like "an atom bomb," scientists there say
The Trump administration's elevation of Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg to lead a high-profile office within the Food and Drug Administration is raising alarm among multiple senior FDA officials.
www.cbsnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:34 AM
⚠️RFK Jr appoints anti-vaxxer to head FDA drug research center—"Putting Tracy Beth in charge [of FDA’s CDER] is like dropping an atom bomb," says an agency source, & multiple top-level officials preparing FDA resignations. "It's an extinction level event."
www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-tra...
www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-tra...
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
To be very clear: Kennedy's team is messing with a vaccine which has led to a 99 percent drop in the incidence of hepatitis B, which kills, early and painfully, 25 percent of the children who get it.
RFK’s Anti-Vax Team Readies Its Next Moves
“Their game is, let’s really destabilize trust in the vaccine, and make people really anxious about it.”
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
To be very clear: Kennedy's team is messing with a vaccine which has led to a 99 percent drop in the incidence of hepatitis B, which kills, early and painfully, 25 percent of the children who get it.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Trump rages that Henry Cuellar didn’t pay him back for a pardon by switching parties, blasting Cuellar for a “lack of LOYALTY.”
In other words, Trump admits he was trying to use his pardon power to buy Republicans a House seat.
In other words, Trump admits he was trying to use his pardon power to buy Republicans a House seat.
December 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Trump rages that Henry Cuellar didn’t pay him back for a pardon by switching parties, blasting Cuellar for a “lack of LOYALTY.”
In other words, Trump admits he was trying to use his pardon power to buy Republicans a House seat.
In other words, Trump admits he was trying to use his pardon power to buy Republicans a House seat.
This OSU-IU game is something; and it’s the first real challenge for either team all year.
December 7, 2025 at 4:14 AM
This OSU-IU game is something; and it’s the first real challenge for either team all year.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
More of this nationwide please!
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara issued a stern warning to his officers on Thursday: Intervene when you see Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using unlawful force or lose your job.
Minneapolis police chief warns officers: Stop unlawful force by ICE or lose your job
Chief Brian O’Hara says he’ll fire city police officers if they don’t intervene when immigration agents use unlawful force.
www.ms.now
December 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
More of this nationwide please!
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Decades of conservatives mocking the idea that everyone is a winner — and now this.
December 6, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Decades of conservatives mocking the idea that everyone is a winner — and now this.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
at a certain point we will move beyond the "war crimes" debate, since there is no war, and into a "murder" debate that asks not just whether these are individual murders but whether they are widespread & systematic attacks on civilians and thus constitute crimes against humanity.
Excellent reporting from @charliesavage.bsky.social and @julianbarnes.bsky.social starting with the "plain reality" that there was no warship, and no fighting going on, in the Sept. 2 strike, or any of them:
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
December 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
at a certain point we will move beyond the "war crimes" debate, since there is no war, and into a "murder" debate that asks not just whether these are individual murders but whether they are widespread & systematic attacks on civilians and thus constitute crimes against humanity.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
"When there’s no war, you aren’t committing war crimes when you kill people indiscriminately. You’re just a straight-up murderer."
A war criminal without a war
It's just murder.
www.publicnotice.co
December 5, 2025 at 9:57 PM
"When there’s no war, you aren’t committing war crimes when you kill people indiscriminately. You’re just a straight-up murderer."
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Hearing that Bessent is up for the National Hockey League-Hellman’s Mayo Prize in Economics.
December 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Hearing that Bessent is up for the National Hockey League-Hellman’s Mayo Prize in Economics.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
I can't stop thinking about the purported drug smugglers being murdered by the US military. The punishment for drug offenses isn't the death penalty. This is just bloodlust and men in suits playing with lives they don't care about. It's truly grotesque and gravely compromises this country.
December 5, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I can't stop thinking about the purported drug smugglers being murdered by the US military. The punishment for drug offenses isn't the death penalty. This is just bloodlust and men in suits playing with lives they don't care about. It's truly grotesque and gravely compromises this country.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
1: Trump slaps tariffs on Australia, despite U.S. having a trade surplus with the country.
2: Countries get scared away from US assets, buy gold.
3: Australia is one of the top gold exporters.
4: U.S. trade surplus with Australia sinks to lowest level in 20 years because gold sales to U.S. grow 10x
2: Countries get scared away from US assets, buy gold.
3: Australia is one of the top gold exporters.
4: U.S. trade surplus with Australia sinks to lowest level in 20 years because gold sales to U.S. grow 10x
Trump has orchestrated a golden age for Australia
China’s epochal rise was the driver of Australia’s first resource boom, in 2025 President Trump has engineered something almost as astounding.
www.smh.com.au
December 5, 2025 at 10:09 PM
1: Trump slaps tariffs on Australia, despite U.S. having a trade surplus with the country.
2: Countries get scared away from US assets, buy gold.
3: Australia is one of the top gold exporters.
4: U.S. trade surplus with Australia sinks to lowest level in 20 years because gold sales to U.S. grow 10x
2: Countries get scared away from US assets, buy gold.
3: Australia is one of the top gold exporters.
4: U.S. trade surplus with Australia sinks to lowest level in 20 years because gold sales to U.S. grow 10x
Yeah, No.
December 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Yeah, No.
She seems nice
Megyn Kelly on alleged war crimes: "I really do kind of not only wanna see them killed in the water, whether they're on the boat or in the water, but I'd really like to see them suffer. I would like Trump and Hegseth to make it last a long time so they lose a limb and bleed out."
December 2, 2025 at 4:54 PM
She seems nice
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
December 2, 2025 at 2:22 AM
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
The snowman seems engaged in some sort of animistic ritual among the Christmas trees. Seems sketchy.
December 1, 2025 at 3:00 AM
The snowman seems engaged in some sort of animistic ritual among the Christmas trees. Seems sketchy.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Mark Kelly: "This president, when he says things like 'third world countries,' what is he really saying? I think what he's saying is he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that's disturbing. It's un-American."
November 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Trump pardons a narcotics kingpin, but he blows up fishing boats in the Caribbean.
WHOA. Trump says he will pardon Juan Orlando Hernandez, who once said that he wanted to “shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.” He had people killed as part of his narco-trafficking ring, which he at times operated directly out of his presidential office.
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Trump pardons a narcotics kingpin, but he blows up fishing boats in the Caribbean.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
The biggest technological revolution of our lifetime is underway and it's not AI:
Official data is in this week, and US solar continues to grow rapidly, with generation up 30% compared to last year!
November 29, 2025 at 12:21 AM
The biggest technological revolution of our lifetime is underway and it's not AI:
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Three things about the Witkoff tapes:
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Three things about the Witkoff tapes:
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
Phil Knight is almost single handedly funding the OR GOP, one of the more extreme state GOPs in the country. Keep that in mind next time you’re in the market for sportswear or sneakers. www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Nike co-founder Phil Knight makes record-setting donation to help elect Republicans
It is the single largest donation Knight has made to an Oregon candidate or political action committee.
www.oregonlive.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Phil Knight is almost single handedly funding the OR GOP, one of the more extreme state GOPs in the country. Keep that in mind next time you’re in the market for sportswear or sneakers. www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
"The first mistake was for 77M voters to re-elect a man as dangerously unfit…as Trump, one who was immunized and unleashed by John Roberts’ SCOTUS. But the second and related mistake was for a GOP Senate to confirm a dangerous collection of incompetents"
www.americaamerica.news/p/only-the-b...
www.americaamerica.news/p/only-the-b...
"Only the Best and Most Serious People"
The consequences of Trump inserting unfit sycophants in positions of power are tragic and immeasurable
www.americaamerica.news
November 24, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"The first mistake was for 77M voters to re-elect a man as dangerously unfit…as Trump, one who was immunized and unleashed by John Roberts’ SCOTUS. But the second and related mistake was for a GOP Senate to confirm a dangerous collection of incompetents"
www.americaamerica.news/p/only-the-b...
www.americaamerica.news/p/only-the-b...
Reposted by Rick Whittaker (he, him, his)
JD Vance and Peter Thiel are running a sustained operation out of the White House designed to acquire Greenland, either voluntarily or by force. Thiel has laid out plans for what he intends to do with the island nation in past writings. It doesn't entail the consent of the Greenlanders for anything.
November 23, 2025 at 8:52 PM
JD Vance and Peter Thiel are running a sustained operation out of the White House designed to acquire Greenland, either voluntarily or by force. Thiel has laid out plans for what he intends to do with the island nation in past writings. It doesn't entail the consent of the Greenlanders for anything.
Seems bad
#DV1 #ProudBlue #Pinks
🚨🧵BREAKING: Today, Tyson Foods announced the closure of their plant in Lexington, Nebraska with 3,200 people losing their jobs. This is a HUGE blow to the local economy considering the population of
1/3
nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/21/n...
🚨🧵BREAKING: Today, Tyson Foods announced the closure of their plant in Lexington, Nebraska with 3,200 people losing their jobs. This is a HUGE blow to the local economy considering the population of
1/3
nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/21/n...
Nebraskans lament Tyson decision to close Lexington plant with 3,200 workers • Nebraska Examiner
Nebraskans and elected leaders lament Tyson Foods' decision to close its Lexington beef plant, eliminating about 3,200 jobs.
nebraskaexaminer.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Seems bad