Neil Lewis, Jr.
@neillewisjr.bsky.social
29K followers 1.2K following 2.9K posts
Behavioral Scientist & Science Communicator. Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences and Associate Professor of Communication, Medicine, and Public Policy at Cornell University. More here: neillewisjr.com Personal account
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neillewisjr.bsky.social
2/6. In a set of experiments just published in Social Science & Medicine, we found that Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans were consistently more willing to engage in individual and collective efforts to address health disparities than their White counterparts. news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Those most willing to address health disparities tend to be overlooked | Cornell Chronicle
Cornell researchers found that by prioritizing the perspectives of white Americans instead of those from underrepresented groups, studies of pandemic disparities likely missed important insights from ...
news.cornell.edu
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
jackjenkins.me
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
raxkingisdead.bsky.social
listen. when dolly parton’s sister says it’s time for us all to be prayer warriors for dolly. you fucking pray for dolly
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
mjsdc.bsky.social
KBJ’s blunt question today about the Supreme Court’s culture war hypocrisy kind of floored me, because it’s the kind of meta-criticism that we aren’t used to hearing from the justices.

It’s the second day of the term, and things are that dire already. slate.com/news-and-pol...
With One Damning Question, Ketanji Brown Jackson Defined the Supreme Court’s New Term
The justice stripped the veneer of constitutional principle from the court’s latest blatant culture war.
slate.com
neillewisjr.bsky.social
"Controllers are considered essential workers, so they must work during the shutdown, but are not being paid"

...

"The number of controllers calling out sick has increased since the start of the shutdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news conference"

www.cnn.com/2025/10/07/u...
Government shutdown hits air travel, closing a control tower and causing delays across the country | CNN
The impact of the government shutdown hit travelers across the United States Monday, as air traffic controllers called out sick, closing a control tower and leading to delays at major airports.
www.cnn.com
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
publichealthguy1.bsky.social
they just slapped a surgeons general warning on RFK like he’s a pack of cigarettes
neillewisjr.bsky.social
"The reason it is important to correct the record here is that misperceptions about support for violence could actually raise support for violence...political violence is a psychological arms race...No side wants to be caught flat-footed against an opponent [they perceive] wants to murder them."
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
gelliottmorris.com
at this point you have to acknowledge that there is no way that these guys don't try to mess with the 2026 midterms. there is absolutely no respect for the legitimacy of the opposition
bluegeorgia.bsky.social
Stephen Miller: "Eventually elections don’t carry the day because violence beats votes… When we see a muscular response from the federal government, it’s because we’re not going to let violence beat votes."

Is he implying federal intervention determines political legitimacy, not ballots or courts?
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
pwhickey.bsky.social
“Trump tells sailors not to ‘worry about’ paychecks as shutdown continues”

There isn’t a failsafe for military pay this time

1 in 3 “military families has less than $3,000 in savings,
[and]… nearly 1 in 4 service members has trouble putting food on the table.”

www.stripes.com/theaters/us/...
Trump tells sailors not to ‘worry about’ paychecks as shutdown continues
All troops will miss a paycheck if Congress does not agree on a deal to reopen the government before Oct. 15, the next pay date for the military.
www.stripes.com
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
brendannyhan.bsky.social
My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
bradmossesq.bsky.social
Texas proudly invading Illinois.

It’s hard to describe the level of potential constitutional crisis here.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
timothysnyder.bsky.social
Fascism occurs twice: first as the tragedy of a Second World War started by men who fought the First and knowingly chose slaughter, then as the farce of an ignorant draft dodger trying to provoke a war against his own people.
atrupar.com
Trump: "The problem with Vietnam, we, you know, we stopped fighting to win. We would've won easy. We would've won Afghanistan easy. We would've won every war easy. But we got politically correct. 'Oh, let's take it easy.' We're not politically correct anymore, just so you understand."
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
kojamf.bsky.social
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
rezekjoe.bsky.social
Just posting this. Everyone knows why.
Text of the fourth amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
akalhan.bsky.social
A federal judge appointed by Dear Leader himself, no less
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: A federal judge has granted a restraining order blocking President Trump's call-up of the National Guard in Portland.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
qasimrashid.com
This is how every elected official in America should be leading by example. This is the courage we need. If you care about our constitutional rights, then show up for us. Otherwise, step aside and let leaders lead. Let’s go. #Courage2025
neillewisjr.bsky.social
"If you’ve figured out your core principles, then they will guide you about what to do. Remember, you’re not just performing an idea, it’s your life. It’s who you are."
andyperfors.bsky.social
I'm a bit late to the game on this, but I finally read it and if you haven't done so, do check it out. It is a very thoughtfully kind (yet incisive) examination of where a lot of people on the left are right now, with Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates serving as rhetorical poles of sorts.
You don't have to swallow frogs
Klein and Coates show that if you don't know what your core beliefs are, you're going to get played.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
paultlevin.bsky.social
““They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.”+
Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags
Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water
www.theguardian.com
neillewisjr.bsky.social
I had the same thought when I read it earlier. It's a trial balloon.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
sifill.bsky.social
They didn’t infiltrate. They were invited in by the Admin. And the mainstream WH press corps didn’t stand up for their own (Yamiche Alcindor, AP).
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
important for us in the US to note: even a solidly right wing government can't ignore this.
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
neillewisjr.bsky.social
"The scope of information contractors are expected to collect is broad...public posts, photos, and messages on platforms from Facebook to Reddit to TikTok...[and] commercial databases...which knit together property records, phone bills, utilities, vehicle registrations, and other personal details"
Reposted by Neil Lewis, Jr.
prisonculture.bsky.social
Pick one or two lanes and keep at it. You are one person and cannot do everything or take 10 actions a day.