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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 1h

Because they want a world where only the wealthy elite can afford to buy health--and where, for everyone else, it's survival of the fittest.

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Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 2h

I’m a mom.
I’m a scientist.
I’m an activist.

I’m not going to stand by while unqualified, Quack, fringe-ass conspiracy theorists make decisions about my family’s health that is going to kill people.

Join me outside of HHS on 10/16 at 3pm.
@standupforscience.bsky.social

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Sarah Posner @sarahposner.bsky.social · 2h

They think everyone else is as incompetent as they are at building things. They only know how to break things.

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

They know they won't be in power forever. So, they're breaking as much as they can right now, in the hope that whoever follows them won't be able to put it all back together.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 4h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

It's what we saw with Covid. We enacted new policies that really helped people, and we got very close to passing Build Back Better. But when the GOP, Manchin, Sinema, and their billionaire buddies got in the way, many Dems pulled back to protect the status quo rather than keep pushing big change.

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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 2h

I've been saying this exact thing in talks. They are breaking things that aren't easy to fix. And in some cases, like civil rights, destroying a legacy that took a couple of centuries to build, and don't have a ton of buy-in from dems, even if they get power back.

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

Exactly. It's the Humpty Dumpty plan for the permanent destruction of democracy.

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

You could call it the Humpty Dumpty playbook for the permanent destruction of democracy.

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

They know they won't be in power forever. So, they're breaking as much as they can right now, in the hope that whoever follows them won't be able to put it all back together.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 4h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 3h

Including a petition: www.standupforscience.net/rfk-impeachm...

Sign the IMPEACH RFK Citizens' Petition to Congress — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE

Join with us to sign our Citizens' Petition to the US Congress to choose the people over Trump and Impeach RFK Jr Now!

www.standupforscience.net

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · 4h

We will NOT stand for Trump and Vought decimating our health sciences with RFK Jr's permission.

JOIN US FOR A RALLY AT HHS ON FRIDAY 10/17!

WE ARE TAKING BACK SCIENCE.

#ImpeachTheQuack
#GetOutTheVought
#TakeBackScience

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · 3d

FIGHT FOR SCIENCE RALLY ✊🌏
⏰ WHEN: October 17th, 2025
📍WHERE: 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC!
RSVP to JOIN THE FIGHT IRL: zurl.co/LayiM ‼️

📲 Join us Virtually!: zurl.co/Um47l

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 2h

They know they won't be in power forever. So, they're breaking as much as they can right now, in the hope that whoever follows them won't be able to put it all back together.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 4h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 4h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 18h

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 21h

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15h

My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.

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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 22h

Unknown layoffs are happening at HHS. Unknown in terms of who and which agencies.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/h...

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HHS employees to be fired as White House enacts mass terminations it blames on shutdown

Federal health employees are being fired as the White House makes good on a promise to terminate federal employees en masse because of the shutdown.

www.statnews.com

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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 22h

As it happens, my next free essay coming out is actually on this *exact passage* (deut 21) & how rabbis 2000 years ago engaged in radical textual activism towards justice to legislate it out of existence, and what that means for us today--subscribe to get it when it comes out if you want---

Life is a Sacred Text

Truth, transformation, & collective liberation; ancient stories serve as mirrors & lights.

www.lifeisasacredtext.com

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 23h

I know this is an tired question but, can you IMAGINE if Obama did this?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 1d

"After a few moments of laughter..."

The No Kings organizers with a fun, tidy response to Mike Johnson's shenanigans.

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Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 1d

"People are _losing_ their jobs for _doing_ their jobs." WHEW. @lisalmoore.bsky.social on the current attacks on Texas higher ed #SaveUT

Tita Chico @titachico.bsky.social · 1d

www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

After 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | Opinion

What was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes.

www.statesman.com

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 23h

Thanks! This is helpful. I'll take the post down to avoid spreading any misinformation.

Reposted by Jess Calarco

Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · 1d

THANK YOU. THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY EVERY BILLIONAIRE IS A POLICY FAILURE. IT'S THE INSTABILITY LARGE CONCENTRATIONS OF POWER CREATE. NOT THE LOST REVENUE.

Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 1d

“The problem with billionaires isn’t that they’re hoarding money that would otherwise pay for a Scandinavian social utopia. It’s that their money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.”

Billionaires Are Hoarding Power, Not Money

Billionaire money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.

www.liberalcurrents.com

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 1d

Most of this laundry list of "overwhelming evidence" is tendentious. Let's go through them.
1) A big driver of high costs at public universities has been a decrease in state appropriations. Many public schools have been forced to act on a public/private model as a result..../1

The evidence is overwhelming: outrageous costs and prolonged indebtedness for students; poor outcomes, with too many students left unable to find meaningful work after graduating; some talented domestic students and scholars have been crowded out of enrollment and employment opportunities by international students; and a high degree of uniformity of thought among faculty members and administrators, which can result in a hostile environment for students with different ideas.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 1d

And the not-yet-targeted ones should also be doing this, because loud, public, collective action is the only way to oppose this lawless authoritarian assault on higher education

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

Every targeted institution (my own very much included) should cut and paste this letter onto their letterhead.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 1d

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

Every targeted institution (my own very much included) should cut and paste this letter onto their letterhead.

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 1d

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 1d

Personally (and having been raised Catholic), I agree. My comment above was simply aimed to clarify, based on research I've done, that Evangelicals may operate based on others' interpretations of texts, rather than on direct knowledge of/personal engagement with texts themselves.

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April Glick Pulito @aprilglick.bsky.social · 1d

Nobel committee subtweeting Trump

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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