The scene,and energy, from Frederick, MD.

Just finished reading "So Very Small" by @tomlevenson.bsky.social . Why was there such a lag between the discovery of microbes and the development of germ theory? It's in the book.🙂 Good description of how science and public health work, and the various important people, and personalities, involved.

The Anti-Deficiency Act. Something in my wheelhouse.

This is a powerful account from a PhD student whose fellowship was terminated by NIH because it was part of a "diversity" program without any other considerations or understanding of what the program or the students were actually doing. undark.org/2025/10/09/o... 1/2

A priest led 1000 Catholics in a Eucharistic Procession from St. Eulalia Church to Broadview - monstrance in hand - to give Holy Communion to detainees. DHS denied them even though prisoners, by law, can't be denied religious rights. Christian Nationalism is phony baloney straight-up evil!

So many times we hear that we should run the federal government like a business. It seems like this group of businesspeople now in charge are acting more like vulture capitalists that loot businesses for personal gain. 1/3

For our #democracy, my wife Tanya @breadfarmer.bsky.social shot this quick video today of people in Portland doing routine shopping at Costco in our ‘war ravaged’ city. #DemocracyMatters #DemocracyInAction #DemocracyNow #PortlandStrong #DonaldTrumpisatotalloser

Proud of my colleagues for speaking out! There is so much power when people come together. Trump knows that, and that’s why everything he does aims to divide us. But we see through that and are growing stronger together! www.npr.org/2025/10/10/n...

Chicago priest Father Michael Pfleger: "The state of emergency is in AMERICA, not Chicago. It's birthed from this president and his admin's reign of terror." ( ht: @mikenellis.bsky.social )

I feel like a broken record, but I have to keep saying it over and over again: a farmer bailout won’t do much of anything because the market is gone. There will be no incentive to plant next year. The bailout will help payoff farmer debt to the banks. That’s all.

You've probably heard how a high percentage of #Nobel laureates are immigrants. The US in particular has benefited from the influx of bright minds. @jennaahart.bsky.social ran the data for this century's Nobel prizewinners — and shows more than 30% immigrated. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"...including while she was praying with her eyes closed and hands lifted, wearing a clerical collar and stole." religionnews.com/2025/10/07/i...

Excellent article. Advances in science and public health have led to longevity and quality of life improvements. Despite this, science and public health, especially science and public health government agencies, are under attack.

Over the weekend ICE abducted an NIH contractor when he showed up to a courthouse for his green card hearing. He is documented. His wife is a citizen. He is also member of the skeleton crew of animal care staff that works through a shutdown, to ensure the health and wellbeing of research animals.

Folks, if ICE shot a pastor in the head with a pepper ball on camera, what do you think they do to people behind closed doors?

I would add that the plan to get approval for three monovalent shots would be a Potemkin trial. A clinical trial would be unethical and not feasible, but would satisfy the Emperor and his court by adding doubt to the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi... In the midst of a measles epidemic that killed 3 people, RFK Jr. reminds us that vaccines don't save lives.

I wrote a thing about how this split the MMR up into monovalents is bullshit that Andrew Wakefield cooked up. It will be used to strip access to the MMR. The MAHA movement continues to destroy public health. open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...

This is an important essay about the attacks on efforts to diversify the scientific workforce, and the capitulation by universities to anti-diversity efforts.

For our #democracy, good opinion @davidfrum.bsky.social originally published @theatlantic.com. Donald Trump is losing his race to be a dictator because he is a weak and failing President, plus a total loser. He is desperate to be a tyrant to hide how weak he is. #DemocracyInAction #DemocracyMatters

This is embarrassing. We used to be a country that welcomed foreign scholars and that did cutting-edge research into health equity. As a multiracial country with economic inequality, it was even more important that we study reasons for health disparities/

One more study showing the benefit of COVID vaccination.

NIH Program staff worked really hard to make sure that the ADSI would fund good science.

There was so much misinformation during that press conference, including on vaccines, and they just stood there.

There is a gulf in America. I submit it is the gulf between good and evil, or at least not-evil and evil. The gulf is not just between people who oppose this and people who are indifferent to it or reluctantly accept it in support of immigration policy or see it as collateral damage. /1

Also disbanded are the intramural labs that some led. www.science.org/content/arti...

Our officials statement on the Compact.

Good morning. The government is shut down because Trump wants to act like a king and steal from you. Democrats have no obligation to support a budget that funds the destruction of our democracy - and DOUBLES health premiums to fund a tax cut for billionaires.

Republicans have the keys to the kingdom. The White House. The Senate. The House. Tonight, they have used their power to shut down the government. The American people, including our patriotic federal workers, will pay the price for Republicans' callousness and incompetence.

Bryan Stevenson is one of my heroes. The way he’s treated is so sad.

"No planning, no consideration, no nothing. It’s not anything that I’ve ever seen in my life before." It's been 7 mos since my coworkers and I were interrogated, insulted, and ultimately fired by DOGE. But I still can't quite believe how senseless it was. 300,000 people have left the government

A great timeline about infectious diseases, plagues, and research.

A lot of the early 19th century migrations I’ve been able to follow are from New England, New York, or Pennsylvania, but there seems to have been a cluster of ancestors who came from NC to SE MO. #genealogy cassattrec.blogspot.com/2025/09/52-a...

So many obstacles, including RIFs, and so many New Rules, but bureaucrats who know the system can get things done AND in a way that will pass scrutiny.

Pretty remarkable analysis. The authors admit that the effect of vast cuts may be an underestimate. Grant funding also supports graduate and post-doctoral research careers. I’ve worked in biotech and all of our projects came from NIH-funded research.

Thought I would catch up with my #genealogy blog posts. Schools started recently, and this is about my ancestors, some of whom were teachers in rural Missouri. cassattrec.blogspot.com/2025/08/52-a...

This MAGA/MAHA/Trump/RFK Jr/Dr Oz/Dr Bhattacharya press conference right now is quite possibly the worst press conference—from the viewpoints of medicine, public health, & medical ethics—that I’ve ever seen. These men are so shameless & deeply irresponsible. Wherever happened to science & evidence?

Medical ethicist Arthur Kaplan, quoted in the NYT: “The announcement on autism was the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recyling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies & dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority in the world claiming to know anything about science”

Trump again just implied that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Many studies have shown that there is no relationship between MMR vaccine and the development of autism. This one followed every single child born in Denmark from 1991 through 1998 (n=537,303). There was no association.

I second the motion!

It seems that advocating for public health and providing guidance are political acts, but getting money from right-wing think tanks to undermine science, whether it is basic biology or climate science, and telling lies and half truths is not. 🤔

Now here is my summary of the ACIP meeting itself. 1. The chair permitted people to present harmful misinformation about vaccines throughout the entire meeting. 2. Retsef Levi and several other members appear to have no understanding of basic public health principles and IMO should be removed.

The chair of the #ACIP is a #COVID-contrarian, Martin Kulldorff, as are others on the committee (i.e., Robert Malone). COVID-contrarians also have hands on the lever of vaccine policy at #FDA (i.e., Vinay Prasad, Tracy Beth Hoeg), at #NIH (i.e., Jay Bhattacharya). 1/

This is about cancer research, but it can apply to all biomedical research.

So... I did some analysis of grants that did receive noncompetitive renewals. In particular, I looked a those award where the title of the grant changed. Warning: The results are just what I expected, but oooph... 1/4

Vaccines save lives.

Aaah! I love this but it's making me cry a little bit. 🥰😭 @ellecordova.bsky.social you are incredible. Thanks for lending your voice to support science. youtube.com/shorts/AYm9w...

Besides science, I have a genealogy blog. Even though I’m from Buffalo, I come from a long line of farmers and various families settled in SW Missouri after the Civil War. cassattrec.blogspot.com/2025/08/52-a...

The blueprint has been there all along.