New from me at Cato: I go through the numerous and massive First Amendment and academic-freedom violations of Trump's proffered "compact" with universities and then talk about the mechanism by which it would be enforced, by way of what I describe as a "retroactive push-button guillotine."

This Is Fascism

Three key points: 1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February 2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty 3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

New reporting: many apparently fired at CDC in 'error'. This is a failure by design given that the admin does not care about fulfilling agency missions. This is the kind of error that should have political consequences. Unserious people cause real-world harm. 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

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.

6 former Surgeons General all say RFK Jr must go.

We need more Republicans like Bill Frist: time.com/collections/...

MAGA hero Jay Bhattacharya says that “political priorities may override the scoring system provided by outside experts appointed to hundreds of review panels” This is absolutely disgusting & utterly scandalous. If your study doesn’t fit with Trump & Bhattacharya’s right wing ideology, it’s toast 👀

A year ago, I warned university leadership to not help Jay Bhattacharya fashion himself a champion of open debate while he actively worked to undermine academic freedom. Now, as NIH Director, he's waging a campaign of censorship to advance a political agenda. stanforddaily.com/2024/10/03/f...

“It is rich that the NIH and Big Pharma want to take over leucovorin when they and the universities have fought my research for 20 years,” says Richard Frye. By Brendan Borrell www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/exc...

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥 We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪 Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇 open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

I asked Trump's former OMB director Mick Mulvaney to acknowledge it's a lie that undocumented immigrants get ACA subsidies (they don't), and he ended the interview. "Would you agree that not a single dime of ACA subsidies goes toward undocumented immigrants?" "I'm not gonna do this anymore."

Another excellent article by Tara Haelle. I’ve spoken to her a number of times for previous articles and she is one of the best journalists out there covering pediatric medicine. This is a complex issue and she deftly handles the controversial aspects of abusive head trauma.

A follow-up email to Director Bhattacharya 1/4

A new email to Director Bhattacharya this morning. 1/n

An important analysis here finds serious data flaws in a study claiming that folinic acid (leucovorin) improves autism symptoms...

New PubPeer comment on "Efficacy of oral folinic acid supplementation in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial" (Panda et al, 2024). Concerns about significant errors. #folinicacid #leucovorin, #autism pubpeer.com/publications...

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”

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?

This is quite the post. 1. He unambiguously directs his AG to go after those who investigated him for his crimes 2. He admits being influenced by online chatter He is mob bossing out in the open, because he knows he has corrupted every federal law enforcement agency into submission.

Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion. Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.

Brian Kilmeade endorses euthanizing homeless people: "Involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill them."

“… just days after a gunman sprayed over 500 bullets across the CDC campus, the government fired over 150 violence and injury prevention specialists”

like this is the most irresponsible level of hysteria i’ve ever seen. most of these people are either paid by the republican party, or are high level advisors and allies. this is insane

I would watch the hell out of a straight to Netflix ”Kash and Dan investigate” starring, let’s say, Kal Penn and Jesse Plemons portraying the hijinks of two totally unprepared meatheads running an investigation in Utah and getting into zany adventures

A threat to authoritarianism anywhere is a threat to authoritarianism everywhere

Here's a link to the paper: Beyond Mechanism—Extending Our Concepts of Causation in Neuroscience onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I have a couple of comments about the "free speech hero" narrative about Charlie Kirk. First, was Charlie Kirk really notable for supporting the free speech of people he disagreed with? I haven't noticed that, though I could have missed it. /1

I know Charlie Kirk valued debate and free speech because he blocked me for fact-checking his lies on Twitter and then put me on his organization's Professor Watchlist for writing a book he didn't like.

Just last month the FBI forced out its top agent in Salt Lake City, a Pakistani American woman whom a former FBI agent describes as a “legendary case agent who was involved in some of the most significant national security cases of the last two decades.” www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rc...

Political violence disproportionately hurts people with less power, not people with more power. Political violence will disproportionately hurt people of color and women and LGBTQ people. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it works. Celebrating political violence means at best indifference to that.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, forced a politically awkward vote for GOP senators on releasing more information about Jeffrey Epstein.

Here is a word cloud of the words that were missing from the noncompetitive renewal awards but had been present in the parent award. 3/4

The Kasie Hunt interview with Kennedy was in December 2023- it’s a remarkable effort with real time fact checking using video clips. We need more of that. m.youtube.com/watch?v=G4vP...

That’s 2,000 dead little Sunshine Staters and many thousands more who would live but require hospitalization for pneumonia or encephalitis. And a few hundred older kids/teens who would, years after recovery, develop SSPE. Their brains would slowly shut down over many months and they would die.

Best glory I’ve ever seen from a plane! It’s an optical phenomenon that occurs when light interacts in and around tiny droplets of water in the clouds, in the direction opposite the sun. More complex than a rainbow. Here’s a link to some more info: www.zmescience.com/science/phys... #optics #physics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family calls for his resignation www.axios.com/2025/09/05/r...

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:

Everyone in public health, healthcare and biomedical research has been screaming this for months. It’s time for RFK Jr to go. Everyone, please, please get on the phone to your members of Congress. Call them every day. This man is that dangerous.

On the new acting CDC director. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It’s outrageous that Sec. Kennedy is trying to fire the CDC Director — after only a few weeks on the job — for her commitment to public health & vaccines. The Sen. HELP Committee must hold a hearing with Kennedy & the CDC Director as soon as possible. Vaccines save lives. Period.

Not an exaggeration. If anything, this understates how unhinged the video is. It is, quite literally, five white guys talking about how to free the states from the burdens of the 14th Amendment so churches can effectively be given ownership over "gangbangers in Baltimore."

#NIH is hanging by a thread. The #CDC has been decimated. #RFK Jr. and Russell #Vought are psychopaths--I don't say this frivolously--they are cold, calculating, inflicting violence on millions through public policy. It is where we are right now. These men are not normal. 1/

The Minneapolis shooter was apparently a fan of several mass murderers who were motivated by the same "Great Replacement Theory" that has pretty much taken over the Republican Party.

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:

The Wednesday Night Massacre at #CDC. Key leaders depart after firing of Director. #RFKJr #Vought & #Trump have now destroyed the agency. Their acts will kill people. They have blood on their hands. www.statnews.com/2025/08/27/c...

You can’t talk about pediatric drowning prevention without addressing societal disparities in communities of color. Many more black kids drown than white kids, which is likely a large part of why the current administration doesn’t care.

J.B. Pritzker smashing through the fascism wall like he's the Kool Aid Man