Political scientist. Health policy prof at University of Pittsburgh. Roosevelt Institute Author-in-Residence. Cal bear/Columbia PhD. Bylines: NYT, WaPo, Guardian, MSNBC. Writing on health insurance woes & administrative burden. Coverage Denied (CUP 2026)
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KASIE HUNT: Over the summer you said, āThereās no vaccine thatās safe and effectiveā. Do you still believe that? RFK JR: āI never said that.ā KASIE HUNT: āPlay the clip.ā RFK JR (clip): āThereās no vaccine that is safe and effective.ā (March 2024) ht: @cwebbonline.com
Itās been said before, but it would be willfully blind not to consider the likelihood that these military deployments to cities are a test run for an actual coup
In my 10 years of teaching, I have yet to update my beliefs about what Iāll get through in a 75-minute lecture.
šÆ
Again, the key divide within the Democratic party does not map onto a left/right axis: It is between those who want to fight back forcefully, like Pritzker, and those who canāt/wonāt shake the impulse to accommodate, appease, and uphold ānormalcy.ā
"Be loud for America."
Pritzker shows the rest of the Democrats how itās done.
OMG Nora I love this so much.
Hakeem Jeffries is not made for this moment.
Oof. The Dems need to stop pretending, based on some imaginary focus group, that thereās some common ground with Trump. The key is to fight everywhere. You should go study Neville Chamberlainās attempt at ācommon ground.ā It didnāt end well for his historical reputation. Or the world.
The Trump admin is now moving to effectively double the number of immigration judges by citing flimsy legal authority to deputize hundreds of totally inexperienced military lawyers to take these jobs. Notably, immigration law is infamously complex, often described as second only to tax law.
Asking how much caffeine I've had today is a HIPAA violation.
I too am willing to reside in my home state of California and travel east periodically on someone else's dime. Just putting this out there.
This is government waste.
@sbagen.bsky.social has a somber but timely warning about various 2029 rebuilding efforts. This to me is the key. If future leaders bake imagined political constraints into their planning, there just wonāt be much ārebuildingā per se. www.offmessage.net/p/project-20...
That's wonderful news, Julia! Congrats!
#BREAKING: Judge Breyer has held that the Trump admin. *violated* the Posse Comitatus Act in its military deployments in and around Los Angeles, and has enjoined further use of those troops for law enforcement tasks. The order is stayed through 12 PDT on 9/12: georgetown.app.box.com/file/1973361...
For my forthcoming book, I interviewed countless patients caught in the middle between their insurer and their hospital -- whether due to miscommunication, ins or billing errors, or other factors that led to immense patient burden to rectify in order to access care and avoid hits to credit reports.
I applied!
"We are retaining some features for premium users. Want rule of law? Thatās premium. The right to run your company without government interference? Thatās a paid feature now. An explanation from the Supreme Court as to why it just ruled against you? Maybe!"
I'm just going to keep noting that the owner and operator of Twitter -- the social media that too many politicians and pundits use to determine what's "normal" -- keeps on pushing the white supremacist Great Replacement Theory that has been the motivation for multiple mass shootings in this country.
How am I supposed to go back to work tomorrow morning when I could be watching Maude be adorable all day?
Awww adorable! My tuxie has been my foot warmer for a lot of the day. While her daughter is the shoes warmer.
Ah, bummer. (Though in 2025/26 what constitutes a political problem can probably be recalibrated.)
I would like to will this into existence.
My husband will be at the LA show at the Rose Bowl.
Shame on the courts for going along with the pernicious fiction that American national security required stripping employees of union protections
Just gonna re-up this Nate Silver book review thread. I cannot begin to imagine what Nate finds so objectionable about bluesky. bsky.app/profile/dave...
This is such a stupid time to be alive.
I have an opinion piece in the New York Times today on how the labor movement has failed to step up to the moment in countering Trump, even as Trump unilaterally strips public sector workers of collective bargaining. Labor will die as a movement if this continues. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
After banning visas for Palestinian children seeking medical care, the Trump administration is now banning any Palestinian passport holders from entering the United States. Extraordinary bigotry being converted into US policy. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/w...
Here's a better response to RFK's destruction of our public health system than what Senator Schatz is offering here, from JB Pritzker (with some additional ideas thrown in from me and public health experts): newrepublic.com/article/1998...
As a non-believer, I really sometimes wish there was a hell.
Someone please kill me right now.
Weird, putting tariffs on construction materials and throwing day laborers in concentration camps should have solved the supply problem by now
I've never seen such a disconnect between Dem elected/staff/consultants and actual Dem voters. The latter understand what's going on. The former are awash in right-wing brainrot, hence @schatz.bsky.social blaming COVID mitigation and BLM marches for the GOP's wanton destruction of public health.
![@EsotericCD It was in this moment that many of us hanging on to a thin sliver of trust in our institutions irrevocably lost faith in them. One of the most poisonous blows to public trust in living memory - worse than the effect of the Iraq War in many ways. RFK Jr is a direct result of this. Quote Steve Guest @SteveGuest Ā· Aug 31 Politico 5 years ago: [screenshot of article falsely claiming public health officials lied about COVID measures then abandoned them for BLM protests] Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddvus7otnqtlh7fdooxm6qat/bafkreihsypwydo5rcis7mc54cwct6h33l5co477nvh7g7hs7na2fz4jl3q@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Itās totally fine. Iāve begun talking w/ a local tattoo artist & I told them what I wanted and found 3 images of tattoos that I liked that were in the ballpark (without the lettering Iād add), and theyāre totally cool with talking about what I liked about option A vs B, whether to copy directly, etc
Yelp reviews for highly reputable places without hardcore vibes. Loved the west village place where I got my 1st/2nd/4th. Sometimes Iād google stalk places in my local walking path. Only 1/7 of my tattoos is color & I always have a design, so Iām not personally as focused on individual artist style.
Agree. @aaup.org is on the front lines fighting for higher education, academic freedom, and solidarity among academic workers, students, and our surrounding communities. Join up!
Wake me up when September ends. youtu.be/NU9JoFKlaZ0?...
They should also ban federal agents wearing masks while interacting with the public, so securing such a list would be for a legitimate legislative purpose
If Democrats retake a chamber of Congress they should use investigatory powers to release the names of ICE officers so the public can shame them properly. At least the ones wearing masks
If you enjoyā¦ Weekends Safe working conditions Retirement benefits Paid vacations Breaks at work Sick leave Paid holidays ā¦ then youāre part of the labor movement. Happy Labor Day.
He didnāt know about the the CDC decision on COVID shots until the announcement, even though he led division on vaccination & respiratory disease He kept asking to see the justifying evidence, or hear from experts who supported the move RFKās team kept saying no www.thebulwark.com/p/kennedy-rf...
Can I add my little comparative review?
As both public health and workersā collective bargaining rights are under threat under this Administration, take this Labor Day as an opportunity to write to your state officials to oppose right-to-work laws, which undercut workersā protections.
Trade unions promote public health by aiding health and safety of working conditions as well as equity and job security. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Unions protect against discrimination and affect other determinants of health. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
I find that labor unions reduce racial disparities in workersā understanding of health insurance options with respect to COBRA, helping workers ā especially from marginalized backgroundsā to make informed decisions about insurance. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Happy Labor Day! As a proud public health professor and member of USW, some articles showing the public health benefits of labor unions. Unions promote safer working conditions and better contract-protected benefits, along with a sense of community. ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nationās public health system "should alarm every American." It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
ā.. with the exception of the pandemic, Black women have never seen such staggering losses in employment.ā @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/u...
Setting aside the enormous consequences to public health, this is all just so sad. And it would have been literally unfathomable when I started studying ACIP ~20 years ago. (Or for that matter, unimaginable even just one year ago.)
Julia Roberts will have some explaining to do.
Who knows what really happened in this extremely eyebrow-raising story, but even if it was in the approximate ballpark of what this says, imagine flagging down a car for help and Rudy Giuliani gets out.
Pure fucking evil. Everyone involved in this shit needs to be held accountable.
As I recently wrote: āMr. Trump may think his word is law, but neither a social media post nor an executive order has the power of a royal edictā www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/o...
Our collection of boxes to recycle is now a tiny house for Maude.
Happy Labor Day!
Congestion pricing is actually the perfect example here. Trump declared that ācongestion pricing is deadā (and that he is the king) Hochul and the MTA told him to fuck off, and now, more than 6 months later, congestion pricing is still alive and working exactly as planned
If this is the case that leads SCOTUS to overturn Sullivan, it will be the final confirmation that we live in the dumbest timeline
Trump/RFK are decapitating our public health system, a pillar of American greatness. So Dem Govs should scour every corner of the law for creative new ways to defend their people from this madness. Dems should polarize this debate to the max. Thoughts on this here: newrepublic.com/article/1998...
Just saw someone refer to Cheryl Hines as The Marvelous Mrs. Measles and šššššš
Iāll be right over
*husband puts on the Cal football game* Me: Oh, you donāt have to do that. Unless theyāre playing USC or Stanford, I rarely watch. *three minutes later, Cal scores a touchdown* Me: GO BEARS!! GO BEARS!! šš š»
hmm seems like widely available vaccines might be a good idea
Pittsburgh has a rather contentious mayoral primary this year and our current mayor was primaried. While Pittsburgh hasnāt been in the crosshairs yet, I am deeply concerned that the incoming mayor will not have the guts or inclination to as fiercely defend our city from authoritarian forces.
For when you feel like lighting $65,000 on fire.
This this 1000x this. Supporting democracy means voting for and vociferously supporting Democratic candidates. No matter how much they suck.
One of the patients I interviewed for my forthcoming book had their ENT surgery denied at the 11th hour ā literally while she was in pre-op, hooked up to an IV. To make matters even more exasperating, her hearing procedure was denied not by another ENT, but by a gynecologist.
Liberals: āWe could try to DO some things to reduce gun violence; āthoughts and prayersā isnāt enough.ā Republicans: āOutrage! Disgrace! Theyāre attacking prayer.ā Thereās no need to be polite or defensive in response to this. Invoking faith as an excuse to shun responsibility deserves no respect.
Wishing everyone a happy and snuggly Caturday.
Right now, your ability to get access to a COVID vaccine this fall is in jeopardy, whether or not you fit the new, restricted eligiblity criteria. Please send a letter to your member of Congress here. And spread the word. @defendpublichealth.bsky.social actionnetwork.org/letters/writ...
Eventually we will get CBO cost estimates of reestablishing essential programs that Trump has butchered. The costs will be staggering. The harm done will be incalculable.
This is true. I have never seen a major American politician with more contempt for American tradition and history - and Americans themselves - than Donald Trump. The fact that Vance can even say this about Mamdani can probably be attributed to simple racism.
This is one hell of a way to make America healthy again š¤Æ Key CDC leadership positionsā¦ #USAnotRFK
Woefully deficient in Kevin Kline.
this should be a scandal. jonathan is one of vinay prasadās most incisive & vocal critics. prasad is actively censoring his non-government scientific critics. and his position of power means youtube will do whatever he says
Chuck Schumer has died and been replaced with ChatGPT, whose training data cutoff is January 2024.
"Your prayers are not helping the victims or their families. Helping potential and actual gun violence victims is a bridge you could have crossed a long time ago, and you chose not to. You pray in order not to feel culpable in horrendous acts of violence."
There may have been some hissing incidents. But you wouldnāt know it now.
How could I forget? š¹
I try, Jill. I try. (This was me last night.) Also, please enjoy the cats trying to deprive us of the opportunity to enjoy our new furniture.
With O'Neill (apparently) taking over CDC (if they ever get around to firing Monarez), I think it's worth looking back to Project 2025 and asking what they actually intend to *do* to CDC. So, I went to remind myself today. Here's what's in store:
Thatās when I say fuck it, Iām having a bowl of cereal for dinner like a grown-up.
Just horrific
Trump Officials Fire EPA Employees for Signing Dissent Letter www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...
Reading this piece, I was struck by how many of us used medical metaphors to describe the state of public health infrastructure in the US right now. Unstable vital signs. On life support. Critically ill. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/h... š @apoorvanyt.bsky.social
Yes, Iāve said that many times, including on stage.
A lot of folks have speculated over the years that John Roberts is concerned about his legacy as Chief Justice. His empowering of Donald Trump and his decimation of our democracy will be his legacy.
BOOM. The federal appeals court rules Trump's tariffs illegal, because they are. There's no national emergency, and so the power to tariff a country rests with Congress. Trump admin has lost at every stage of the process, but stay tuned for the Supremes to chime in.
Something something pro life and family values.
I was obviously livid, critical, and fearful. I hoped that I was overreacting about the dangers he would present to our public health infrastructure. But looking bad, even I lacked imagination about how bad it would get, and how quickly he would destroy this. open.substack.com/pub/miranday...
I learned about RFK Jr.ās nomination when I was on a plane, immediately uttered several of Carlinās dirty words, and wrote a Substack about what a disaster he would be. I was so profane and prolific that I became the subject of a viral thread about sitting next to a public health prof thenā¦
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
My undergrads know substantially more about public health than does RFK Jr.
Something blue states will need to explore: how to create cross-state compacts dedicated to a functioning government as the Trump administration walks away from it's responsibilities.
