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Scott L Greer

@scottlgreer.bsky.social

3K followers 3.8K following 3.8K posts

Political scientist in a public health school. Health policy and politics, especially in Europe. Recent books on EU health policy, federalism and social policy, co-benefits. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Opinions personal. 🚲. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5288-0471 .. more

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · May 19

I’ve been writing about the politics and impact of Donald Trump on the US and world, with special attention to Europe and the University of Michigan, and most of it is free to read. This thread, in order, brings it all together. I hope it’s useful as a resource on the different issues.

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 7h

Glass houses

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 11h

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 7h

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, has implemented a Reduction in Force (RIF) affecting approximately 1,300 CDC employees.

apnews.com/article/gove...

Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown

Mass firings of federal workers have begun. That was the announcement Friday from the White House as Republicans worked to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown.

apnews.com

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 8h

Some original resistance to CDC’s creation came from northern states/cities that had built their own public health systems and didn’t see why the federal government should subsidize conservative/ rural/ southern governments to do the same.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 8h

This isn’t weakening public health infrastructure, it’s fully decommissioning it. There will be a CDC in name only on Monday.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 9h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 8h

Here’s a list circulating inside the agency—unconfirmed but shared by multiple sources—showing the offices believed to be hit hardest. 👇 (NOT CONFIRMED)...

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 8h

This isn’t weakening public health infrastructure, it’s fully decommissioning it. There will be a CDC in name only on Monday.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 9h

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH @rmcarpiano.medsky.social · 8h

👇👇 "...all current (civilian) Epidemic Intelligence Service, and several people working on the Ebola response." 🛟

Staff at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention across multiple programs being fired tonight, including all current (civilian) Epidemic Intelligence Service, and several people working on the… | J...

www.linkedin.com

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Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Nandita Sharma, Jonathan A. Eisen , and 23 more Lisa W. Fazio, Nandita Sharma, Jonathan A. Eisen, Jocalyn Clark, Jennifer A. Richeson, Karen R. Lips, Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Benjamin Mason Meier, Philip N. Cohen, Philip Nel, Daniel W. Drezner, Alan Richardson, Silvia Secchi, Aaron Sojourner, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Jason Lyall, Mark Rice, Brian Weatherson, Larry W. Hunter, Richard M. Carpiano, David S. Tanenhaus, Aviel Roshwald, Jae-Young Son, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 9h

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Robert Black, Jason Lyall

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 11h

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 12h

Uh, slow walk the case, stop injunctions on shadow docket, eventually rule it’s moot and maybe employees can ask for individual damages years later?

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

ProPublica @propublica.org · 13h

“This is very much connected to the rise of authoritarianism that we’ve seen across the country,” said the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “They can’t win fairly, so they’re trying to rewrite the rules to get their way.”

(Published May)
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social

Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.

In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power t...

www.propublica.org

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NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 14h

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Carl Henrik Knutsen

Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 14h

How do different forms of state capacity protect democracy? D Andersen, @chknutsen.bsky.social & @skaaning.bsky.social argue coercive & administrative capacity affect stability in distinct ways depending on threat: buff.ly/2yUrCqu

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Christian E. Weller, Daniel W. Drezner , and 7 more Scott L. Greer, Christian E. Weller, Daniel W. Drezner, Rosanna E. Guadagno, David R. Miller, Silvia Secchi, Erol Akçay, Patrice M. Dabrowski, Manisha Sinha, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 19h

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Jacob Montgomery, Daniel W. Drezner , and 2 more Scott L. Greer, Jacob Montgomery, Daniel W. Drezner, David R. Miller, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

Q: Rescission are something Dems have said is a reason for a lack of trust. What rescissions are you discussing?

JOHNSON: We have more than $37t in debt. We're doing everything we can to get us back to sound fiscal responsibility. What does that include? A rescission package is part of our process

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

This makes sense and is one reason I don’t do bumper stickers (the main one is that I think police might discriminate against my politics). But I do wonder if this creates partisan asymmetry, and also whether stickers do some good in normalizing minority political options in places.

Frontiers | How do drivers react to partisan bumper stickers? Understanding polarization in apolitical settings

IntroductionThe impact of political polarization is no longer confined to the voting booth, and partisan identity can shape behavior even in seemingly apolit...

www.frontiersin.org

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

I do suspect that they oligarchs have a specific interest in wrecking the infrastructure, built mostly to sanction Russian oligarchs but more widely applicable, that makes their dealings transparent and could be used to make them legally and financially
accountable for their deeds

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 1d

Conservative tech lord Thiel said tighter financial regulations “were a sign that a singular world government has begun to emerge that could be taken over by an Antichrist figure who could then use it to exert control over people.” Via WashPost

Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction

In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.

www.washingtonpost.com

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

Just straightforwardly calling out the fact that installing political commissars, debate-me bros, and ideological hacks is not merit - unless by merit you actually mean skin color, partisanship, and social class.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

This is excellent: “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.”

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

This is so Spanish 🇪🇸

American Association of Wine Economists AAWE @wineecon.bsky.social · 21h

In Spain, in the middle of the 20th century, it was common to give traffic policemen wine and cava for the holidays. The custom petered out in the 1970s.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 20h

So basically Trump had a tiny public honeymoon, less than a month, and now we are back to his usual unpopularity. But this time, the autocratic consolidation and terrible policies, which we will experience over years, might shake his coalition.

FiftyPlusOne.news @fiftyplusone.news · 1d

new polls website just dropped fiftyplusone.news

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

American Association of Wine Economists AAWE @wineecon.bsky.social · 21h

In Spain, in the middle of the 20th century, it was common to give traffic policemen wine and cava for the holidays. The custom petered out in the 1970s.

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 21h

“Democrats (59%) are much more likely than Republicans (12%) to say this claim is “definitely false”… most Republicans (56%)…say they think it is either definitely true or probably true that taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of children developing autism.”

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 21h

From a public health perspective, these Tylenol & other distrust numbers are bad. From a political perspective, it’s part of a pattern: MAHA is a wedge issue against Republicans; it splits them while uniting Democrats.

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Tylenol-Autism Link and Vaccine Policies | KFF

Following the Trump administration’s warning last month that using acetaminophen – the active ingredient in Tylenol – during pregnancy can increase the risk of autism in children, very few adults say ...

www.kff.org

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Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Juan Cole, Robert L. Tsai

NPR @npr.org · 22h

ICE claims assaults on its officers are up sharply since June. There's no public evidence that number is true.

White House claims "more than 1,000%" rise in assaults on ICE agents, data says otherwise

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers claim assaults on their officers are up sharply since June. There's no public evidence that number is true.

n.pr

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Reposted by Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Paul Davies , and 3 more Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Paul Davies, James Scott, Margot C. Finn, Aleksandra Urman

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 1d

Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction

In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

I’ll go for: other countries with more democratic political institutions (eg no unrepresentative Senate, better Supreme Court) regulated guns before the internet turned mass shooting into a severely contagious phenomenon

Rob Arnol @robertarnol.bsky.social · 2d

Mass shootings by year and country.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

To what extent can you say Biden was correctly and effectively focused on avoiding great power conflict at first, after which there is an inflection?

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

There is a great deal of ruin in a university

Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 1d

Hey, this sucks. Like... a lot. 📚

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UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’

www.dailytarheel.com/article/univ...

UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’

SDSS Dean Stanley Ahalt will be made dean of the new school while SILS Dean Jeffrey Bardzell will stand as the University’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Vice Provost for AI.

www.dailytarheel.com

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

Sam Houston, man. I don’t know. No moral reason whatsoever to admire him, but reading his life story reminds us just how strange as well as familiar a historic figure can be (governor- alcoholic drifter “living with Cherokee”- general- Texan secessionist- senator? In 20 years? Try that today)

Sam Houston - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

For all the noise I made about the problems of rational choice theory, I clearly never plumbed just how strange the means and ends could be. Hard to believe grad school me was *insufficiently* critical of the Americanists.