I have this conversation with my students on the regular!!

I’ve spent much of the day begging my members of Congress to find their spines, do their jobs, & rein in an out-of-control President.

IMHO, you win.

Every award show could be making up celebrities, and I would never know.

Welcome, Chip! XO, Maisie

In light of a “top” CDC vaccine advisor questioning the need for a polio vaccination, I’m re-upping my grandfather’s polio survival story. Brutal is an understatement. His mother would have given *anything* for a vaccine.

In light of a “top” CDC vaccine advisor questioning the need for a polio vaccination, I’m re-upping my grandfather’s polio survival story. Brutal is an understatement. His mother would have given *anything* for a vaccine.

‘Hidden Figure’ Gladys West, GPS pioneer and Navy civilian, dies at 95 West’s genius secured her a position in 1956 at the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, then called Naval Proving Ground, where she worked for over 40 years.

I thank Dr. West every time I use GPS, so that’s multiple times a day. I’m so grateful that my car is named Gladys.
I will not curse in my tribute post to her, but 2026 knows where it can go. Rest in power, Dr. West.
www.militarytimes.com/veterans/mil...

Y’all, when I tell you I idolize Dr. West, it’s not hyperbole. This brilliant Black woman fought her way through OCEANS of misogynoir to give the world the foundations of GPS. W/o her work, many of us would be lost most of the time! And then, age 70, she got a PhD in public administration (VA Tech)!

I’m so sorry, Mark.

@vasabjit.bsky.social has been posting about this.
One example post:
bsky.app/profile/vasa...

Additional takes/ perspectives in this post & responses. bsky.app/profile/dhne...

From Paul Poast on LinkedIn, sent to me by @jon-dicicco.bsky.social

I was just about to try to go down that research rabbit hole. Inquiring minds want to know.

Opinion | US can end HIV, but we're failing those who need care most | Opinion — USA TODAY The U.S. commitment to ending HIV is shaken. For the first time, we didn't formally mark World AIDS Day. And Trump has cut funding for HIV prevention.

“The HIV epidemic can end. The science is already there. What remains is the harder part, the moral obligation to ensure that the most marginalized have the same access to that science as everyone else.”
apple.news/A2pxLDWjXS5y...

National parks cut free entry for MLK Day, add Trump's birthday — USA TODAY NPS changed its free admission days in 2026, removing MLK Day and Juneteenth while adding Trump's birthday.

This is not The Onion. apple.news/A4OARpVr8Q3e...

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

As a reminder, in addition to not commemorating World AIDS day, this administration also gutted PEPFAR. Here’s KFF’s most recent analysis of PEPFAR’s status:

www.kff.org/global-healt...

In a new book, Rep. Jim Clyburn highlights the Black politicians who paved the way for him Jim Clyburn's new book, The First Eight, restores the lives of South Carolina's early Black congressmen and shows how their battles during Reconstruction offer lessons, and warnings, for politics today.

Jim Clyburn's new book, The First Eight, restores the lives of South Carolina's early Black congressmen and shows how their battles during Reconstruction offer lessons, and warnings, for politics today. n.pr/4ohnG12

#Evergreen

If you don’t want to open the news article, here’s the link to the notice

www.regulations.gov/docket/FS-20...

The Trump Administration Is Trying to Revoke the ‘Roadless Rule.’ The Public Won’t Have Much Time to Weigh In — Inside Climate News The rule protecting remote wilderness areas received 1.6 million public comments when it was developed. People will have just 14 business days to comment on a key part of its rescission.

Y’all know what to do.

apple.news/Am9IoJ9xKQ1W...

AARP has historically had considerable political influence (relative, of course) in the US context. Do advocacy orgs for older adults have similar pull elsewhere? Age UK? BAGSO in Germany? National Seniors Australia?

Screenshot of the article that reads: It’s not just children. In addition to bolstering underfunded K-12 schools and protecting the rights of kids with disabilities, the department also manages the federal financial aid process for college students. “I am not certain whether or not students will be able to get financial aid next year,” Dominique Baker, a professor of education and public policy at the University of Delaware, told Vox.

Screenshot of the article that reads: While students and families are the most directly impacted by changes at the Education Department, those changes have also inspired a broader concern. Some of the programs terminated by DOGE are congressionally mandated, and if the president or Musk can simply stop them, “that means that Congress no longer actually functions,” Baker said. “There are no longer checks and balances for the executive branch,” Baker said. “A significant part of this goes beyond education and speaks to a constitutional crisis that shapes the future of our country.”

Here Vox's explainer for just what is going on at the Department of Education which includes me saying I don't have faith in financial aid disbursement next year and, oh yea, I think we're in a constitutional crisis

www.vox.com/policy/40233...

Screenshot of a tweet from October 2022 by @Arial_Comedy. “Tomatoes are the most patriotic plant. Because botanically, tomatoes are a fruit. But according to an 1893 Supreme Court ruling, they’re a vegetable. And there’s nothing more American than a court ruling that disagrees with science.

I googled so you don’t have to: Nix v. Hedden. (A tariff case.)

Promise of Victory Over H.I.V. Fades as U.S. Withdraws Support

A recent Lancet article calls PEPFAR “one of the most successful global health initiatives ever undertaken.” It had to be a huge success to have ANY hope of redressing the many injustices done to the Global South wrt HIV/AIDS. And now PEPFAR is being abandoned b/c of racism & xenophobia.