rotach.bsky.social
banner
rotach.bsky.social
rotach.bsky.social
@rotach.bsky.social
a woman of conviction and contradiction 💫
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...
December 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
December 6, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service
December 5, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Many say that AI tools are saving them time and money, but others have seen the negative effects that such tools can have on research

go.nature.com/4oFomNQ
AI is saving time and money in research — but at what cost?
Artificial intelligence tools are boosting researchers’ productivity, but some worry about the effect of a growing reliance on them.
go.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
reminder that as activity picks up in places like Twin Cities, Louisiana, Alabama etc, my @propublica.org colleagues & I are still investigating immigration enforcement

I'm particularly interested in use-of-force & am still tracking the detention of citizens

Reach out ⬇️ if you have info to share
December 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
It's hard to explain to normies how much effort Trump is putting into anti-trans policies.

This is like the 12th thing just this week. And there were 12 things the week before, and 12 things the week before that. There will be 12 things next week.

This is almost everything the government is doing.
BREAKING: Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans & intersex people, memo says. A DOJ memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) do not align with Trump’s Jan. 20 anti-trans executive order, @byadamrhodes.bsky.social reports.
Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people
A Department of Justice memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act do not align with Trump’s executive order
prismreports.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Rand Paul tells me that he wants the full video of the Venezuelan boat strike released.

“And I think if the public sees images of people clinging to boat debris and being blown up, I think that there is a chance that finally, the public will get interested enough in this to stop this.”
December 4, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces another boat strike in response to a request/wish from Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet.
December 5, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
One thing I always want to ask these masculinity entrepreneurs is why men can’t look to women as role models, and can’t see in women models of human virtue and thriving that are worth emulating. After all, women look to men for these all the time.
December 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
OK I’ve put together the list. Shame on all of them:

Ford CEO Jim Farley
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa
General Motors plant manager John Urbanic
National Auto Dealers Association Chairman Tom Castriota
Transportation Sec Sean Duffy
Deputy transportation Sec Steven Bradbury
1/2
December 3, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
i spent a little while going through the AIDS quilt and picked out a few panels that stuck out to me for one reason or another. may the memories of all these beautiful, far too young souls be a blessing.
December 2, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
My wife has been HIV+ for 34 years. She’s alive today b/c work of activists who destigmatized the virus, pushed medical science to adapt & find ways to treat it, & advocated for gov health programs that helped fund her care. The current U.S. regime may want to go back in time, but we won’t let them.
December 2, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Obituary: David Baltimore (1938-2025) virologist whose enzyme discovery transformed understanding of cancer and HIV/AIDS

go.nature.com/443Vojo
David Baltimore obituary: virologist whose enzyme discovery transformed understanding of cancer and HIV/AIDS
The protein, reverse transcriptase, has become an essential tool for making DNA copies of RNA.
go.nature.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
US aid cutoff is gutting Kenya's HIV battle, with antiretroviral shortages forcing families to beg for pills and risking a deadly resurgence after slashing prevalence by half in 20 years. #Kenya
December 1, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
So, an OU student a shitty reaction paper in a psych course, got failed by a grad student TA for not following directions and threatened legal action, while also getting her uni TPUSA chapter to post the essay. Her mother is on X saying trans people must not be allowed to be professors.

This is…
OU puts graduate instructor on leave after student claims discrimination on Bible-based essay grade
OU placed a graduate student instructor on leave after a student publicly contested a grade and filed an illegal discrimination claim after she received a failing grade on an essay
www.oudaily.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
The erasure of #WorldAidsDay raises questions about the impact of those funding cuts.

"PEPFAR, which operates in more than 50 countries, has been credited with saving some 26 million lives since its creation in 2003 under then-President George W. Bush." www.science.org/content/arti...
December 1, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
This is what public leadership looked like.

What a gorgeous obituary of a humble, brilliant, and principled man.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u... 🛟🧪🩺
Walter Dowdle, Public Health Leader in Times of Crises, Dies at 94
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Remember in 2000 when Al Gore was repeatedly misquoted as having said he invented the internet and that was seen the eyes of many as disqualifying him from office? Simpler times. Today, Trump makes up lies equivalent to "I invented the internet" 30 times a week and no one bats an eye. Good job media
November 30, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
Science for the win.
“Since SCID is caused by a faulty gene, scientists collect babies’ stem cells and, in the lab, introduce a healthy copy, using a harmless, disabled form of H.I.V. as the courier. (While the virus can’t replicate, it is still excellent at integrating its genetic cargo into cells’ D.N.A.)”
She Was Born Without an Immune System. Gene Therapy Saved Her Life.
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.

This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
3 infant #pertussis deaths this year in Kentucky. "Of the three infant deaths reported over the past 12 months, all three were not vaccinated, nor were their mothers."

We first tested maternal vaccination for whooping cough over 80 years ago. It's safe & effective & might have saved these babies.
www.wowktv.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
What everyone knows, but the Ivy Leagues won't admit: The SAT is great if you want to perpetuate inequality by giving opportunity to the students who have the most opportunity, but a weak tool to predict freshman GPA.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Why the SAT Is a Poor Fit for Public Universities (opinion)
The SAT may suit the Ivies, but it undermines the mission of America’s public institutions.
www.insidehighered.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Another big loss for science #medsky #academicsky
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."

Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.

🧪 1/
November 24, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by rotach.bsky.social
As someone who has worked in HIV for 35+ years, I can tell you Carl is a consummate scientific leader. We’ve been lucky to have him at head of DAIDS. The only thing that wins here is the virus.
Unfortunately, I can confirm that this is true.

I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.

Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."

Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.

🧪 1/
November 24, 2025 at 10:21 AM