StatsJew
@statsjew.bsky.social
Progressive Masorti/Conservative Jew. Statistician and US policy wonk recently laid off from the US government workforce. Married aroace with kids.
Reposted by StatsJew
(RACHEL walks past children playing. Her biological clock ticks. She’s thirty, almost dead.)
LITTLE GIRL: Are you excited for the County Hanukkah Fair?
RACHEL: Not really. I’m not super into Hanukkah.
LITTLE GIRL: Are you excited for the County Hanukkah Fair?
RACHEL: Not really. I’m not super into Hanukkah.
Scenes from a Hallmark Hanukkah Movie Written by Someone Who Has Definitely Met a Jew
EXT. SMALL TOWN BUS STOP – DAY (A beautiful woman with slightly wavy brown hair steps off a bus. She’s RACHEL, a corporate lawyer from The Big Cit...
buff.ly
December 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
(RACHEL walks past children playing. Her biological clock ticks. She’s thirty, almost dead.)
LITTLE GIRL: Are you excited for the County Hanukkah Fair?
RACHEL: Not really. I’m not super into Hanukkah.
LITTLE GIRL: Are you excited for the County Hanukkah Fair?
RACHEL: Not really. I’m not super into Hanukkah.
Reposted by StatsJew
this is really it — this case isn't about the legitimacy of birthright citizenship or the 14th amendment, it's about the legitimacy of the court, and any ruling that doesn't uphold the former decides the latter
Counterpoint:
The Supreme Court lacks the authority to change the text of the Constitution.
So either it affirms the text or (further, and more completely) nukes its authority as Constitutional arbiter.
There’s no third option. Art III (courts) can’t just usurp Art V (amendments).
The Supreme Court lacks the authority to change the text of the Constitution.
So either it affirms the text or (further, and more completely) nukes its authority as Constitutional arbiter.
There’s no third option. Art III (courts) can’t just usurp Art V (amendments).
The Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether to uphold the longstanding principle that grants citizenship to the children of non-citizens born in the U.S., following a legal challenge by the Trump administration. n.pr/48E1oko
December 5, 2025 at 8:22 PM
this is really it — this case isn't about the legitimacy of birthright citizenship or the 14th amendment, it's about the legitimacy of the court, and any ruling that doesn't uphold the former decides the latter
Reposted by StatsJew
Indiana state house Republicans just approved a new 9-0 gerrymandered map ousting two US House Democrats, giving Republicans 100% of seats in state where Trump got 58% of vote
December 5, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Indiana state house Republicans just approved a new 9-0 gerrymandered map ousting two US House Democrats, giving Republicans 100% of seats in state where Trump got 58% of vote
The fact that people weaponize accusations of misogyny in order to hurt trans people in no way means that misogyny is gone.
I hate that having to fight off weaponized antisemitism-accusations makes people effectively argue that antisemitism is the one form of historical oppression that's so shallow as to disappear overnight from mainstream and leave no unconscious or structural discursive traces
December 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The fact that people weaponize accusations of misogyny in order to hurt trans people in no way means that misogyny is gone.
Reposted by StatsJew
The sandwich newsletter is back!!! Prepare to learn more than you ever thought you would about pastrami! Origin myths! Disputes! An outstanding historical mystery! Yiddish ballads! Unlikely lyricism! The Armenian Church takes a stand! buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Notable Sandwiches #132: Pastrami
Hello, and welcome back to the Sword and the Sandwich! I’ve been struggling with a particularly pernicious case of writer’s block, for months now. Not being...
buttondown.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The sandwich newsletter is back!!! Prepare to learn more than you ever thought you would about pastrami! Origin myths! Disputes! An outstanding historical mystery! Yiddish ballads! Unlikely lyricism! The Armenian Church takes a stand! buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Reposted by StatsJew
A respected CDC scientist and expert on hep B noted that the US has no peer countries. Other wealthy countries have universal health programs. But we are much larger and more diverse. I’d note we have more income inequality and are generally sicker
Tracy Hoeg: Voting to stop universally vaccinating newborns against hep B vaccine would "put us in line with peer countries."
Note: Which peer countries is she talking about? Taiwan began immunizing all babies on first day of life 6 years before the U.S., with huge success.
#ACIP
Note: Which peer countries is she talking about? Taiwan began immunizing all babies on first day of life 6 years before the U.S., with huge success.
#ACIP
December 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM
A respected CDC scientist and expert on hep B noted that the US has no peer countries. Other wealthy countries have universal health programs. But we are much larger and more diverse. I’d note we have more income inequality and are generally sicker
Reposted by StatsJew
The hepatitis B vaccine had been recommended for all newborns since 1991.
From 1990-2019, acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and teens fell 99 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
From 1990-2019, acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and teens fell 99 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
Breaking: After contentious debates and three failed attempts at a vote, a federal vaccine committee decided on Friday to end the decades-long recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...
An End to Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The hepatitis B vaccine had been recommended for all newborns since 1991.
From 1990-2019, acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and teens fell 99 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
From 1990-2019, acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and teens fell 99 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
Yes, and... even when it is about drugs, that person deserves help, not a lecture.
Working with the homeless community taught me that every person has a story—abandoned family members with mental illness, kids fleeing hard lives, veterans returning to nothing, and abused elders. The list is endless.
Homelessness is not just about drugs. Far from it.
Homelessness is not just about drugs. Far from it.
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Yes, and... even when it is about drugs, that person deserves help, not a lecture.
Reposted by StatsJew
If you show regularly to transportation planning or zoning meetings you will have outsized influence but it will also turn you into Col Kurtz
December 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
If you show regularly to transportation planning or zoning meetings you will have outsized influence but it will also turn you into Col Kurtz
Reposted by StatsJew
I ate a bowl of Froot Loops when I had COVID, and I got better. But are they allowed to put "Cures COVID!" on boxes of Froot Loops? No.
Because woke.
Because woke.
December 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM
I ate a bowl of Froot Loops when I had COVID, and I got better. But are they allowed to put "Cures COVID!" on boxes of Froot Loops? No.
Because woke.
Because woke.
Monday: no snow, rain, maybe a bit of ice up County - 2 hour delay.
Friday: half an inch so far and still going strong - no delay.
(I am happy about this, as a New Englander it always feels ridiculous to cancel over less than an inch, but it mostly just feels like the county is too big)
Friday: half an inch so far and still going strong - no delay.
(I am happy about this, as a New Englander it always feels ridiculous to cancel over less than an inch, but it mostly just feels like the county is too big)
December 5, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Monday: no snow, rain, maybe a bit of ice up County - 2 hour delay.
Friday: half an inch so far and still going strong - no delay.
(I am happy about this, as a New Englander it always feels ridiculous to cancel over less than an inch, but it mostly just feels like the county is too big)
Friday: half an inch so far and still going strong - no delay.
(I am happy about this, as a New Englander it always feels ridiculous to cancel over less than an inch, but it mostly just feels like the county is too big)
Reposted by StatsJew
The constitutional right for Republicans to win elections no matter how hostile the electorate is against them
December 5, 2025 at 1:18 AM
The constitutional right for Republicans to win elections no matter how hostile the electorate is against them
Reposted by StatsJew
just to drive home the point. Texas created this map in August. the lower court rendered its decision November. So three months later, a year before the election in question.
The word "eve" is doing a lot of work here in the Court's 'decision'
December 4, 2025 at 11:39 PM
just to drive home the point. Texas created this map in August. the lower court rendered its decision November. So three months later, a year before the election in question.
Reposted by StatsJew
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
December 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The fact that a second strike like that in an armed conflict is definitely a war crime should not completely negate the fact that *there is no war* and ALL the strikes are cold-blooded murder. The whole chain of command are murderers.
Reposted by StatsJew
The Supreme Court deciding it's entitled to its own facts is every bit as corrosive to democratic society as the breakdown of shared facts/reality caused by media fragmentation and negative partisanship
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
December 5, 2025 at 1:31 AM
The Supreme Court deciding it's entitled to its own facts is every bit as corrosive to democratic society as the breakdown of shared facts/reality caused by media fragmentation and negative partisanship
Reposted by StatsJew
What we know is that table stakes for EVERY Democrat running for office is SCOTUS reform that includes expansion, term limits, and mandatory retirement.
Whether to impeach any of corrupt 6 should be a conversation
Whether to impeach any of corrupt 6 should be a conversation
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Texas Republicans in fight over congressional map. The new gerrymandered map will be used in the 2026 midterms. The vote is 6–3, with the Republican appointees siding with Texas.
December 4, 2025 at 11:33 PM
What we know is that table stakes for EVERY Democrat running for office is SCOTUS reform that includes expansion, term limits, and mandatory retirement.
Whether to impeach any of corrupt 6 should be a conversation
Whether to impeach any of corrupt 6 should be a conversation
Reposted by StatsJew
what's telling at this point is that this is also the consensus outlook of any serious legal observer
even people who spent years arguing about how there was a consistent legal philosophy, even if we disagreed with it, have now come around to "yeah they're just partisan hacks"
even people who spent years arguing about how there was a consistent legal philosophy, even if we disagreed with it, have now come around to "yeah they're just partisan hacks"
December 4, 2025 at 11:37 PM
what's telling at this point is that this is also the consensus outlook of any serious legal observer
even people who spent years arguing about how there was a consistent legal philosophy, even if we disagreed with it, have now come around to "yeah they're just partisan hacks"
even people who spent years arguing about how there was a consistent legal philosophy, even if we disagreed with it, have now come around to "yeah they're just partisan hacks"
Reposted by StatsJew
once again, "the supreme court will act as a bunch of partisan republican hacks" is the single most accurate heuristic for predicting its behavior, putting any coherent legal theory to shame
because fuck you, that's why
because fuck you, that's why
December 4, 2025 at 11:19 PM
once again, "the supreme court will act as a bunch of partisan republican hacks" is the single most accurate heuristic for predicting its behavior, putting any coherent legal theory to shame
because fuck you, that's why
because fuck you, that's why
Reposted by StatsJew
also, Spotify doesn't pay royalties at all for tracks with less than a thousand streams.
and sometimes if an album gets a sudden surge of fan interest, Spotify deems it "unusual listening activity" and just removes the album, as happened to my last EP.
and sometimes if an album gets a sudden surge of fan interest, Spotify deems it "unusual listening activity" and just removes the album, as happened to my last EP.
Spotify has laid off thousands in recent years, while reportedly paying artists $0.003 per stream.
Spotify profits rose 28% in Q3. Its CEO is worth $9.8 billion. It's making money off ICE recruitment ads.
Don't you think it's time put a wrap on corporate greed and exploitation?
Spotify profits rose 28% in Q3. Its CEO is worth $9.8 billion. It's making money off ICE recruitment ads.
Don't you think it's time put a wrap on corporate greed and exploitation?
December 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
also, Spotify doesn't pay royalties at all for tracks with less than a thousand streams.
and sometimes if an album gets a sudden surge of fan interest, Spotify deems it "unusual listening activity" and just removes the album, as happened to my last EP.
and sometimes if an album gets a sudden surge of fan interest, Spotify deems it "unusual listening activity" and just removes the album, as happened to my last EP.
Reposted by StatsJew
The only frog boiling scenario that turned out to be true was the media's obscene obsession with the novel over the true
You'd think the President repeatedly spewing increasingly more racist shit daily would be newsworthy. Maybe one could even call it a trend. Perhaps it can tell us something about the Republican party broadly.
Or maybe journalists can keep grading Trump on a curve because this is "normal" for him.
Or maybe journalists can keep grading Trump on a curve because this is "normal" for him.
December 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The only frog boiling scenario that turned out to be true was the media's obscene obsession with the novel over the true
Reposted by StatsJew
My experience as well. So far we're 2-for-2 on kids having a largely bullying/abuse-free middle school experience. Not without bumpy spots of course, but light years away from what I endured.
My hot take: the anti-bullying stuff has really worked, which is why conservatives are pushing back at it.
My hot take: the anti-bullying stuff has really worked, which is why conservatives are pushing back at it.
for what it’s worth I got roped into helping out with my sixth grader’s extracurricular thing so I’ve had more recent contact with middle schoolers who aren’t mine than I usually do, and biased sample/biased reviewer/etc but my verdict is that the kids are all right
December 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
My experience as well. So far we're 2-for-2 on kids having a largely bullying/abuse-free middle school experience. Not without bumpy spots of course, but light years away from what I endured.
My hot take: the anti-bullying stuff has really worked, which is why conservatives are pushing back at it.
My hot take: the anti-bullying stuff has really worked, which is why conservatives are pushing back at it.
Reposted by StatsJew
Here in Boston, we’ve made it more costly for Fenway to abandon trans youth and trans adults by protesting in front of their clinic, by severing ties with them, and by disrupting their gala and public events.
I suggest local activists elsewhere investigate similar potentials for disruption.
I suggest local activists elsewhere investigate similar potentials for disruption.
As a matter of survival, our response must be to make it as costly as we can, as ugly and as reputationally damaging and as expensive as we are able to - to abandon and sacrifice trans people.
To keep it from being an easy, simple bottom line decision to drive us out of public life.
To keep it from being an easy, simple bottom line decision to drive us out of public life.
December 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Here in Boston, we’ve made it more costly for Fenway to abandon trans youth and trans adults by protesting in front of their clinic, by severing ties with them, and by disrupting their gala and public events.
I suggest local activists elsewhere investigate similar potentials for disruption.
I suggest local activists elsewhere investigate similar potentials for disruption.
Reposted by StatsJew
The one year anniversary of Yoon's failed martial law takeover just passed and lots of untold stories came out proving that THE ONLY REASON KOREA IS STILL A FREE COUNTRY IS BECAUSE PEOPLE DISOBEYED ILLEGAL ORDERS.
The coup was over in hours because people said no.
The coup was over in hours because people said no.
December 4, 2025 at 8:58 AM
The one year anniversary of Yoon's failed martial law takeover just passed and lots of untold stories came out proving that THE ONLY REASON KOREA IS STILL A FREE COUNTRY IS BECAUSE PEOPLE DISOBEYED ILLEGAL ORDERS.
The coup was over in hours because people said no.
The coup was over in hours because people said no.
Reposted by StatsJew
One of the most striking things about these ICE/BP raids is not that they’re all kitted out for war while going after people who didn’t do anything wrong and don’t pose a threat, but that they always bring a camera crew.
Commander Greg Bovino led a group of Border Patrol agents on walk around the French Quarter in New Orleans this afternoon.
December 4, 2025 at 2:32 AM
One of the most striking things about these ICE/BP raids is not that they’re all kitted out for war while going after people who didn’t do anything wrong and don’t pose a threat, but that they always bring a camera crew.