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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · 11d

But in Chotiner’s recent interview with Cass Sunstein in New Yorker, Sunstein claims that ”Alito is an extremely careful lawyer and a very precise judge” so I am sure this ruling must be respecting liberal principles.

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 11d

NEW: The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling injects new uncertainty into shutdown talks and gives Trump the upper hand in a generational battle over the power of the purse.

w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · 15d

Varför avgår du inte Romina?
Var så snäll nu och hör på vår bön
Det är dags att du lämnar, Romina
Så du kan sluta att svika miljön

(Melodi Är du kär i mig ännu Klas-Göran, Stikkan Andersson; textidé Gun Zetterström) Favorit i repris

Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · 15d

www.dn.se/ledare/grans...

Ledare: Gränsen är nådd – Romina Pourmokhtari måste avgå

I Tidöpartiernas fjärde höstbudget står det att Sverige ser ut att missa både de nationella klimatmålen och EU:s klimatkrav till 2030 med bred marginal.

www.dn.se

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · 27d

Om regeringen stryper folkhögskolornas finansiering, skjuter den då sönder sin egen kanon?

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · 27d

Så Brunnsvik får vara med i Kanon *i stället för* finansiering? En gravsten över en tid som flytt?

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Sep 2

Prediction: Guehi’s performance will now drop until he moves elsewhere.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Marc Guéhi angry with Crystal Palace’s decision to block move to Liverpool

Marc Guéhi is extremely unhappy with Crystal Palace’s decision to pull the plug on his £35m transfer to Liverpool

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Tore Ellingsen

Dan Nexon @dhnexon.bsky.social · Aug 30

🧵 Authoritarianism, Democratization, and Coalition Politics.

The consensus around here is, more or less, that the United States is currently a consolidating authoritarian regime controlled by a mix of reactionary populists and fascists.

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 29

Tad, Nirvana, and Mudhoney at the Astoria Theatre in London on December 3, 1989.

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Reposted by Tore Ellingsen

Roberto Weber @robertoweber.bsky.social · Aug 28

A brave and powerful statement. More people need to speak up about what they are seeing, rather than keeping their heads down and hoping that the administration's ill-informed and spiteful destruction of American institutions will somehow stop when confronted only with silence.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Aug 28

Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back.
"The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."

My resignation letter from CDC.

Dear Dr. Houry,

I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business. I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested.

This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.

The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people. The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership. This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors. Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC. The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense. Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function. Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC.

Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc.

I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again. I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season. Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.” We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary. I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us. Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources. At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him. To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information.

The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer. I believe in nutrition and exercise. I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability. Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud. I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur. I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics. I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision.

Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically.

Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution. If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 27

Ah, the Martin Sandbu FT article with that title didn’t copy.

“Mark Rutte’s and Ursula von der Leyen’s ingratiation with Trump matters, because it means foreign leaders now freely grant him what he has already imposed at home: the acceptance that achieving anything requires not speaking the truth.”

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 27

Europe is selling its soul to Trump

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 20

The Draghi-report’s proposals about joint borrowing to fund EU-wide investments are more relevant than ever. An under-appreciated benefit is that joint debt would create a deeper euro currency market, potentially breaking the dollar’s dominance (a major source of US political power).

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 11

Also pushed by Heritage, to whom Robert Barro still lends his legitimacy.

This text summarizes the contributions of Harvard economics professor Robert Barro to far-right think-tank Heritage Foundation.

Reposted by Tore Ellingsen

Alan Jagolinzer @jagolinzer.bsky.social · Aug 5

Kasparov & Landsbergis with a similar assessment to what I testified to in EU Parliament:

Collaborating mafia state actors are already engaging hybrid warfare against democratic & accountability institutions.

“war is already here. …These threats are existential.”

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Opinion | Kasparov and Landsbergis: Europe’s Future Depends on Confrontation, Not Compromise

To survive, the European Union needs to change.

www.politico.com

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 4

Could someone please teach this massively influential Nobel laureate some game theory and political economy?

”Of course, we’ve got to make sure it gets distributed fairly, but that’s more of a political question”

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Demis Hassabis on our AI future: ‘It’ll be 10 times bigger than the Industrial Revolution – and maybe 10 times faster’

The head of Google’s DeepMind says artificial intelligence could usher in an era of ‘incredible productivity’ and ‘radical abundance’. But who will it benefit? And why does he wish the tech giants had...

www.theguardian.com

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Aug 3

Agree.

Steven Durlauf @durlauf.bsky.social · Aug 3

1/Kevin Hassett had long ago discredited himself as a scholar by parroting claims about the economy he knew to be false. Even so, parroting the lie about rigged statistics, is a new low. The academy should ostracize him the same way a fabricator of research should be ostracized.

NBC News @nbcnews.com · Aug 3

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett defends President Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as the president’s claim that weaker-than-expected jobs reports were “rigged,” but failed to produce any evidence to support Trump’s claim.

Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 31

Pleased to see organizational/institutional economists Hart, Henderson and Maskin join the political scientists (and the political economist, Rodrik) in this fight for academic freedom.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · Jul 31

Wow. A group of top scholars at Harvard just sent a letter to its president, Alan Garber, warning against surrendering to Trump.

Signatories include Steven Levitsky, Dani Rodrik, Ryan Enos, Theda Skocpol, and Steven Walt.

Someone forwarded it to me. Read it here:

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Reposted by Tore Ellingsen

Derek Miller @visualizingbroadway.com · Jul 29

This is brave and correct. Like my colleague, I wrote to President Garber. The crux of my message:

Rebuilding a culture of tolerance while under assault by those who reject tolerance is probably an impossible task, but undoubtedly worth the attempt. But if we grant the Trump Administration the authority to determine when we are sufficiently tolerant, we will quickly find that we tolerate nothing at all.

The folks on the other side of the table are not acting in good faith. They are either fascists or carrying water for fascists, which is the same thing. You can not negotiate with them. There is nothing to negotiate other than their complete surrender. They are opposed to everything a university represents.

Please, Alan. Tell them: NO.

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 28

No, not unless there is a promise to give decisive help to Ukraine in the background (and I’m not holding my breath).

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

Consumers are also tax payers. Raising taxes from imports allows tax reductions elsewhere. (Of course, the average Maga-voter won’t get any of those, I know.)

Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

How about "A Note on Tariffs and the Terms of Trade"
by Nicholas Kaldor, Economica , Vol. 7, No. 28 (Nov., 1940), pp. 377-380?

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

No. European producers are the main losers. (US consumers are also tax payers, and tariff revenues replace US taxes.) We are letting our producers down when we give in to the bully.

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

Stikkan!

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

Varför avgår du inte Romina?
Var så snäll nu och hör på vår bön
Det är dags att du lämnar, Romina
Så du kan sluta att svika miljön

(Melodi Är du kär i mig ännu Klas-Göran, Stickan Andersson; textidé Gun Zetterström)

Anna Ekström @annaekstrom.bsky.social · Jul 27

Skamligt! Skamligt!

www.svt.se/nyheter/inri...

Miljödata går förlorad – 30 år av mätningar i Östersjön stoppade

Marinekologen: ”Har vi inte bra data så riskerar vi att dra fel slutsatser”

www.svt.se

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Tore Ellingsen @toreellingsen.bsky.social · Jul 27

Self-own?

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