Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
@healthywv.bsky.social
Academic, counselor, mom 😷💉physical activity advocate 🏃♀️ opinions and views are my own. Here to say nice things to strangers.
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
Jan. 1 #tdih 🧵
#1 Haitian Independence #tdih 1804 "We owe much to Walker for his appeal; to John Brown. . . but we owe incomparably more to Haiti . . . I regard her as original pioneer emancipator of 19th cent. — F. Douglass ⬇️ Art by @rlmartstudio.bsky.social
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ha...
#1 Haitian Independence #tdih 1804 "We owe much to Walker for his appeal; to John Brown. . . but we owe incomparably more to Haiti . . . I regard her as original pioneer emancipator of 19th cent. — F. Douglass ⬇️ Art by @rlmartstudio.bsky.social
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ha...
Jan. 1, 1804: Haitian Independence
Haiti became a free republic after a revolution, declaring independence for ALL people.
www.zinnedproject.org
January 1, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Jan. 1 #tdih 🧵
#1 Haitian Independence #tdih 1804 "We owe much to Walker for his appeal; to John Brown. . . but we owe incomparably more to Haiti . . . I regard her as original pioneer emancipator of 19th cent. — F. Douglass ⬇️ Art by @rlmartstudio.bsky.social
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ha...
#1 Haitian Independence #tdih 1804 "We owe much to Walker for his appeal; to John Brown. . . but we owe incomparably more to Haiti . . . I regard her as original pioneer emancipator of 19th cent. — F. Douglass ⬇️ Art by @rlmartstudio.bsky.social
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ha...
My first 😭 of 2026.
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrat Zohran Mamdani sworn in as mayor of New York City.
January 1, 2026 at 3:14 PM
My first 😭 of 2026.
My final two reads of 2025:
Heartwood by Amity Gaige and The Butterfly Effect by Marcus J. Moore.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige and The Butterfly Effect by Marcus J. Moore.
December 31, 2025 at 10:59 PM
My final two reads of 2025:
Heartwood by Amity Gaige and The Butterfly Effect by Marcus J. Moore.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige and The Butterfly Effect by Marcus J. Moore.
Wow, I’m in the top 4%, having read ~75 books this year. That’s down quite a bit from the more than 100 I read in 2024. I think I should be able to count Baldwin as 4-5 books though given its length 😆
Also I read with my kids each night, so if I include those YA novels it adds another 14-15.
Also I read with my kids each night, so if I include those YA novels it adds another 14-15.
5/ So let's talk about that minority of heavy readers. We know how many books Americans said they read in 2025 — which lets us calculate a distribution. And it turns out we've got some substantial Reading Inequality. (Three cheers for the Power Law!)
December 31, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Wow, I’m in the top 4%, having read ~75 books this year. That’s down quite a bit from the more than 100 I read in 2024. I think I should be able to count Baldwin as 4-5 books though given its length 😆
Also I read with my kids each night, so if I include those YA novels it adds another 14-15.
Also I read with my kids each night, so if I include those YA novels it adds another 14-15.
This book sounds so good - just added it to my 2026 reading list!
Uggi bit two more books so now we have FOUR BITTEN COPIES TO GIVE AWAY!
I took pictures, of course. I’ll select the four winners tonight (Iceland time).
Also, happy pub day to paperback Night Guest!
I took pictures, of course. I’ll select the four winners tonight (Iceland time).
Also, happy pub day to paperback Night Guest!
December 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This book sounds so good - just added it to my 2026 reading list!
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
On Christmas Eve 1855 enslaved teenagers from Loudon County, Virginia fended off slave patrollers as they made their escape to freedom in Philadelphia. This image, “A Bold Stroke for Freedom,” is housed in the Library of Congress.
December 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
On Christmas Eve 1855 enslaved teenagers from Loudon County, Virginia fended off slave patrollers as they made their escape to freedom in Philadelphia. This image, “A Bold Stroke for Freedom,” is housed in the Library of Congress.
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
I am convinced in the future we will look back and realise the sheer unimaginable folly of letting a virus that can cause immune dysregulation and cognitive dysfunction in humans infect and re-infect the global population over and over again. Worse still, that we encouraged it.
December 18, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I am convinced in the future we will look back and realise the sheer unimaginable folly of letting a virus that can cause immune dysregulation and cognitive dysfunction in humans infect and re-infect the global population over and over again. Worse still, that we encouraged it.
How can anyone see this and continue to demonize immigrants.
I want to send him all the good vibes for full recovery!
I want to send him all the good vibes for full recovery!
Ahmed al Ahmed, the man who tackled one of the Bondi killers, became an Australian citizen 3 years ago.
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
December 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
How can anyone see this and continue to demonize immigrants.
I want to send him all the good vibes for full recovery!
I want to send him all the good vibes for full recovery!
The shooting at Brown is hitting me really hard. Not because I am a professor working in higher education or a VT alum.
It’s because my own parents vote for this, election after election. They vote for people who call me “the enemy.” For people who continue to make access to guns easier.
It’s because my own parents vote for this, election after election. They vote for people who call me “the enemy.” For people who continue to make access to guns easier.
December 14, 2025 at 12:56 AM
The shooting at Brown is hitting me really hard. Not because I am a professor working in higher education or a VT alum.
It’s because my own parents vote for this, election after election. They vote for people who call me “the enemy.” For people who continue to make access to guns easier.
It’s because my own parents vote for this, election after election. They vote for people who call me “the enemy.” For people who continue to make access to guns easier.
Evergreen
never vote for a republican
December 14, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Evergreen
We are a deeply unwell society.
1. CNN and CNBC recently announced partnerships with Kalshi, a prediction market that lets you place bets on the news.
Now, every story is a casino game.
Although Kalshi's popularity has exploded, it remains relatively small and vulnerable to political manipulation.
Now, every story is a casino game.
Although Kalshi's popularity has exploded, it remains relatively small and vulnerable to political manipulation.
The casino-fication of news
New partnerships between the prediction market Kalshi and cable TV networks will transform every news event into a betting opportunity.
popular.info
December 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
We are a deeply unwell society.
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
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 Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
Hey I wrote this and got a lot of hate mail so maybe you can share it
Hitler was bad.
An essay that, you know, I didn’t think I’d need to write.
An essay that, you know, I didn’t think I’d need to write.
Perry: The pro-Hitler problem with the American right
"We need to get back to the basics: Hitler was bad. The people who suggest otherwise are also bad," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Hey I wrote this and got a lot of hate mail so maybe you can share it
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
November 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
My starting salary in higher Ed in 2012 was $50k. Thirteen years and everything costs exponentially more but salaries have NOT grown. Wtf.
To put this in context, I was offered a teaching track job in 2023 that had a salary of $55,000.
November 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM
My starting salary in higher Ed in 2012 was $50k. Thirteen years and everything costs exponentially more but salaries have NOT grown. Wtf.
It’s all about finding your “why” 🤣
Funny how personal health and well-being never seemed like motivation enough for me.
But when you put it like this…
But when you put it like this…
Good morning.
This is your reminder to get to the gym so that you can beat up racists if you have to.
This is your reminder to get to the gym so that you can beat up racists if you have to.
November 15, 2025 at 11:22 PM
It’s all about finding your “why” 🤣
Another study, currently posted as a pre-print, linking long COVID and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/connective tissue disorders.
People with EDS are 4x as likely to develop LC. COVID is not good for connective tissue, and connective tissue is found throughout the body!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
People with EDS are 4x as likely to develop LC. COVID is not good for connective tissue, and connective tissue is found throughout the body!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Understanding Comorbidities in Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Could a Viral Infection Lead to a Diagnosis?
Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is a complex, underdiagnosed connective tissue disorder characterized by widespread symptoms affecting multiple organ systems. Recent clinical observations su...
www.medrxiv.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Another study, currently posted as a pre-print, linking long COVID and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/connective tissue disorders.
People with EDS are 4x as likely to develop LC. COVID is not good for connective tissue, and connective tissue is found throughout the body!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
People with EDS are 4x as likely to develop LC. COVID is not good for connective tissue, and connective tissue is found throughout the body!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
Everything about SARS-CoV-2 weakens us as a species. Population-level immune dysregulation leading to both reactivation of latent pathogens and creating niches for new ones; the politicisation of our response regressing public health and massively amplifying anti-vax ideology.
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Everything about SARS-CoV-2 weakens us as a species. Population-level immune dysregulation leading to both reactivation of latent pathogens and creating niches for new ones; the politicisation of our response regressing public health and massively amplifying anti-vax ideology.
She should be shamed so spectacularly for this that she is never able to show her face in public ever again.
In the wake of newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein where Trump was a regular topic, Megyn Kelly is trying to downplay Epstein's sex crimes by arguing that “there’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old."
Megyn Kelly suddenly finds pedophilia very hard to define
When a 16-year-old accused Russell Brand of rape, Kelly begged conservatives to condemn him. Now she's splitting hairs about men "into the barely legal type."
www.motherjones.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:49 PM
She should be shamed so spectacularly for this that she is never able to show her face in public ever again.
They relish being able to kill with impunity. This is only going to get worse.
Trump has executed six more civilians in a small boat. The death toll now stands at 76.
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
They relish being able to kill with impunity. This is only going to get worse.
“Left unchecked their mandate will grow; the boundaries of acceptable identity and speech will shrink. I want you to think about elections in this future. I want you to understand that every issue you care about—any hope of participatory democracy—is downstream of this.”
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:19 PM
“Left unchecked their mandate will grow; the boundaries of acceptable identity and speech will shrink. I want you to think about elections in this future. I want you to understand that every issue you care about—any hope of participatory democracy—is downstream of this.”
The Democratic party needs to clean house. More Kats and Zohrans, fewer Abigails please!
November 4, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The Democratic party needs to clean house. More Kats and Zohrans, fewer Abigails please!
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
Today we are mailing out our Annual Appeal. It is the ONLY time of the year we ask for donations. Please consider helping us reach even more kids. To make an online donation, use the DONATE button at aliceskids.org To pay by check, mail it to PO Box 60, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.
Alice's Kids
Alice’s Kids provides targeted financial assistance to children in need in the hopes of boosting their self-esteem.
aliceskids.org
November 3, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Today we are mailing out our Annual Appeal. It is the ONLY time of the year we ask for donations. Please consider helping us reach even more kids. To make an online donation, use the DONATE button at aliceskids.org To pay by check, mail it to PO Box 60, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.
Reposted by Birdie, PhD, MA 🦚
On this day in 1920, a white mob in Ocoee, Florida, lynched as many as 30 Black Americans and razed the Black community because a Black man attempted to vote.
Nov. 2, 1920 | White Mobs Destroy Black Community of Ocoee, Florida
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:05 PM
On this day in 1920, a white mob in Ocoee, Florida, lynched as many as 30 Black Americans and razed the Black community because a Black man attempted to vote.
It's been a long week, we all deserve dogs in costumes today!
🧙🏻Hope your Halloween is a skele-TON of fun🧛🏻
Eat to your heart’s content, scream in the streets & dance till you drop 💃🏻🍭🕺🏻
Have a fa-BOO-lous Halloween 👻 🎃 🐾 😄 🧟
HAPPY HALLOWEEN #BlueSkyFriends
1/2🧵
Eat to your heart’s content, scream in the streets & dance till you drop 💃🏻🍭🕺🏻
Have a fa-BOO-lous Halloween 👻 🎃 🐾 😄 🧟
HAPPY HALLOWEEN #BlueSkyFriends
1/2🧵
October 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
It's been a long week, we all deserve dogs in costumes today!