Except, of course, it’s *not* all he can say. Cassidy could concede publicly that confirming Kennedy was a tragic mistake. He could call for RFK Jr's resignation. He could schedule hearings, haul the secretary to Capitol Hill, and demand the CDC’s public resources reflect the scientific cannon.

My spouse made a great point last night, which is that Mamdani should just schedule a weekly call with Trump where they bullshit about miscellaneous things that amuse the President until at the end, Mamdani pulls a Columbo and goes "Oh, ah, one more thing — about that Medicare expansion..."

This man, Rev. Michael Woolf, wrote this for us earlier this month: "It is up to us to keep our communities safe from this terror, and scripture tells us that God will meet us there—at the picket line, amid the tear gas." sojo.net/articles/opi...

Also: bsky.app/profile/jack...

NEWS: The Trump admin's decision to suspend SNAP benefits due to the shutdown has been blocked. In two cases, both judges found the government action is likely illegal. Although a judge in Mass gave the admin until Monday to reverse course, a judge in Rhode Island issued a TRO from the bench today.

Either this ends with some sort of truth and reconciliation process where a very large number of people go to prison for a very long time or we will take a short pause and then start doing it again, but worse.

The docs and staff at Erie have an impossible job on the best of days. They and the community they serve shouldn’t have to suffer this. What a f-ing nightmare.

SNAP benefits expire in one week.

Oak Park resident Scott Sakiyama reports feds pointed weapons at him across from an elementary school today. They then arrested him and took him to Broadview. While in custody, he saw agents texting in a group chat called "Chiraq Team 2." Full testimony: www.facebook.com/share/p/1GqB...

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

This arrest appears to be in direct violation of a temporary restraining order prohibiting DHS officers from arresting journalists. The officers here may well be subject to contempt of court. protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...

“One of the chants that has become ubiquitous at these protests at Broadview is, ‘Love your neighbor, love your God, save your soul and quit your job’”

Unless Governor Pritzker and mayor Johnson are being detained by ICE somewhere they should be out in the street with the people.

We need a bigger national spotlight on this building raid, fam. Agents dropped from helicopters onto the roof. Citizens and non-citizens alike were dragged from their homes in the night. People who weren't kidnapped during the raid had their belongings seized after the fact. This is madness.

BEGGING Democrats to not engage with this insanity as part of their strange synchronized healthcare messaging weekend

I keep thinking about how fascism requires an existential threat to justify seizing the reins of power. We've seen him demonize immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, DEI, etc. The 'MAHA' thing is just a way to demonize medical research to justify cutting every public health measure for illogical reasons.

I've said this before, but I feel pretty strongly that the building of concentration camps - and now, the inevitable disappearance of 1,800 people from those camps - is the biggest story in American public health right now that isn't being treated like one

Solid advice for everyone everywhere, in fact.

ACIP meets tomorrow. Looks like they're going to spotlight a study (Garly 2004) from Guinea-Bissau to question hepatitis B birth dose. This study is irrelevant to US policy. Classic cherry-picking to doubt a vaccine that reduced childhood HBV from ~18,000/year to near-zero. 🧵

MAGA 3 days ago: Chicago is about to find out the meaning of WAR MAGA today: the left needs to stop condoning violence

When these frustrating, asymmetric rhetorical wars flare up, it’s probably helpful to remember that MAGA will never believe their opponents truly denounce violence because they don’t actually believe violence is wrong.

I, for one, don’t think that fearmongering and willfully spreading misinformation is the right way to engage in politics, setting aside the targets of that engagement.

"Political violence" is a term that exists to suggest a moral distinction between "violence against politicians" and "violence by politicians" - so that one can be condemned while the other can be normalized. Obviously, no such distinction exists in reality: violence is violence.

“They just kept on coming to try and take these bodies,” Daniel Raab said. Daniel Raab lives in Chicago. This serial killer is in pre-med at the U of I, and could be your doctor in future.

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

It’s a purity death cult

#USAnotRFK!

This is insanity. This is the sign of a government that has lost its mind.

Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:

Biomedical research isn't a YouTube video, you cannot hit pause for an indefinite period of time and then hit play whenever the regime wants. Samples are destroyed, labs dismantled, scientists leave...

*coughs, taps sign* Dear Andrew,

Donald Trump is trying to cheat the system in Texas, but these Democratic legislators refuse to let it happen without a fight.  Their fight is our fight. I’m proud to stand side-by-side with them as they protect their constituents.

When everything is on fire, it’s hard for stories like this to break through. But these kind—of Kennedy circumnavigating even Trump’s effort to moderate his extremism, that name and explain the motivations behind the bureaucrats enacting Kennedy’s anti-vaccine policies—are I think, so important.

After a five-day halt due to a lack of supplies, our team at WCK’s Deir al-Balah Field Kitchen has resumed limited hot meal service in Gaza. #ChefsForGaza (1/3)

Heard from #AHRQ that the entire grants staff has been let go! They are unable to issue funds for grants already funded, let alone fund new grants. This is outrageous and will make Americans poorer and sicker. Why? A brief thread about just some recent AHRQ-funded research: #MedSky #HealthPolicy

HHS announced today they will consider Head Start a welfare program, not an education program, and will subject it to new citizenship requirements. This goes against decades of legal precedence that all children in America have a right to education. Announcement here. www.hhs.gov/press-room/p...

I really really do not think most Democratic politicians understand how many normie democrats think we will need Nuremberg-esque truth & reconciliation investigations and trials of leading Republican officials the next time we are in power

Georgia O'Keeffe, Oriental Poppies, 1928 #WomensArt

🎵This is America…

It’s the only thing that matters if we ever see the other side of this. Otherwise it’s just going to happen again.

Which also means Bill Cassidy is personally responsible

Republicans are too ashamed to even look Charlie in the eyes. Full clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS6I...

It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this

I want to emphasize that this is 18,000 avoidable deaths per year *of Medicare enrollees.* They aren't in CBO's "uninsured" count — they're older people and folks with disabilities on Medicare who won't get extra financial help because of a proposed moratorium on a regulation.

if dems want messaging help, stop telling people you're "fighting back." it sounds like you're being mugged. call off the podcaster search, take your ridiculous money pile and try opening some food banks and free clinics. hurricanes are coming and the feds have no plan. looks like an opening to me.

Democrats ran three older people with cancer knowing they had cancer, they died within months of being sworn in, and that helped clear the way for Republicans to starve kids across the country. I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate it here.

They wanted to pass this evil budget to take away healthcare from millions earlier today. It’s still stuck in the rules committee cause House Dems introduced over 500 amendments and we are lined up to debate on them. Delaying is important. Keep up the pressure on these Congressional Republicans.

I said it would get worse very quickly. By tomorrow we will have completed the most dangerous & frightening 24 hours thus far of Trump 2.0. Just to name a few: 1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.