Orange book cover for From Gridlock to Governance by Alex P. Smith
My book From Gridlock to Governance is now available for pre-order in hardcover! If you are interested in how and why policy change occurs or the strategies legislators use in negotiations, you’ll enjoy this book! Use code PALAUT for 20% off.
link.springer.com/book/9783032...
My quote of the day
When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable.
Madeleine L'Engle
Dolly Parton is an amazing human 🥹 If you’ve got kiddos under age 5 in your life, make sure to check out her Imagination Library- they send one book a month 🤩📕📗📘📙
BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide.
This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.
NEJM Clinician March 10, 2026 - Free Virtual Event Judgment Calls: Navigating Uncertainty in Clinical Practice Register Now
In clinical practice, medicine rarely follows a script.
Join your peers for Judgment Calls: Navigating Uncertainty in Clinical Practice, a panel discussion on real-world decision-making in medicine’s gray zones hosted by NEJM Clinician.
🗓️ March 10, 2026 | 12–1 PM ET
Save your spot: nej.md/4jM2Vdm
smiling, good looking couple seated on a porch (soft focus garden behind them) elegantly dressed, the lady in a sleeveless dress, patterned top, banded at the waist with a softly pleated long white skirt, the man wearing a light colored suit with white shirt and striped tie - body language relaxed and intimate
Portrait of Michelle
and Barack Obama
former First Lady and
President of the US
📷 Pete Souza
One of the best organizers I know in the Twin Cities has a great line, "We can't always take away the hurt, but we can take away the alone."
Tell me your pets name with a gif
The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization is a shortsighted and misguided abandonment of our global health commitments.
Our statement: https://bit.ly/4jWGJgy
it is -10 here today. I was supposed to go do a volunteer shift standing outside loading groceries into people’s cars to deliver to families stuck at home. just got a call not to come in because they have too many volunteers already. if you were wondering if the cold would stop us.
To the kids with disabilities deprived of a teacher's aide—Trump thinks it's not a problem.
To the parents fighting for their kid to be treated equally in the classroom—Trump thinks it's not a problem.
To the teachers in need of resources—Trump thinks it's not a problem.
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s 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...
Painting featuring a grey building with reddish roof next to a tree on orange brown grasslands
'August Farm' by contemporary UK painter Kate-Evans #WomensArt
Colorful quilt of a nighttime scene with Harriet Tubman in an orange jacket and purple dress carrying a rifle. She is leading other figures who walk behind her.
Harriet Tubman #quilt by my Mom, Vera P. Hall, who makes quilts celebrating Black people who fought for their own freedom. This seems to be the crowd favorite of the “We Didn’t Wait for Freedom” series. Happy #Juneteenth #quilting
Painting of stylised pink poppies and seedheads on stems
Colleen Parker, contemporary artist and illustrator #womensart
“Contrary to what we may think, simply giving feedback doesn't initiate change. It has to be accepted as valid and actionable by the learner. He then has to commit to using that information to do something different.”
“Contrary to what we may think, simply giving feedback doesn't initiate change. It has to be accepted as valid and actionable by the learner. He then has to commit to using that information to do something different.” Zaretta Hammond
Chidi saying, “Why choose to be good every day if there is no guaranteed reward we can count on, now or in the afterlife? l argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people and our innate desire to treat them with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone.”
The line that keeps running through my head this morning is from The Good Place:
“The real question is what do we owe to each other?”
Friends, a bit of good news! 🎉 (We take it whenever we can!)
The Trump admin reversed their decision to cut funding for the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a landmark study that’s essential in advancing our understanding of women’s health. 🙌
A very small (real) flower arrangement in a thimble including forget me nots , lily of the valley, buttercup, geum, chive flower bud, snowberry, green alkanet…
The first posy in a thimble I made, to lift my mood during the pandemic. The flowers are all real.
When humans look at plants (even on a screen as here) we recover from stress 60% more quickly & the relaxation response is triggered in our brains.
Zoom in if you're strung out🌿
An adult dachshund wearing glasses helps grab a book from a "tall" shelf for a dachshund puppy in a library. The are two big arched windows in the bg, and big wood bookshelves framing the scene.
It was national library workers day yesterday! Thank you for your work!! 📚
#art #nationallibraryweek
"Doing work in meaningful ways here is a recipe for burnout." #academia #PharmEd I'm feeling the burn these days!
Gutting the Department of Education will impact everything from internet access to school buses.
Let’s not make it harder to learn.
Thrilled to help get #Pharmacists recognized in @jama.com! 🎉 A recent JAMA algorithm on prescription cost management overlooked pharmacists. We spoke up, highlighting our essential role. Our letter proudly advocating our value, published today in JAMA!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
#PharmSKy
Pharmacy Education #PharmEd needs #leaders who can balance the feasibility & value, persevere through initial challenges, and take the long view of success to bring these types of learning experiences to life.
What types of experiences have the most significant educational benefits for students? @aacu.org recommends first-year seminars, service-learnings, capstones, and more. www.aacu.org/trending-top...
This Pharmacy Fika episode highlights the need for curricular leadership- the ability to see beyond traditional topics, disciplines, and silos in Pharmacy Education- to infuse our curricula with high-impact educational practices. pharmacyfika.podbean.com/e/high-impac...
A large pan of homemade cinnamon rolls
Snow day calls for #glutenfree cinnamon rolls #baking #stressbaking
The Iowa GOP advanced a bill making it a misdemeanor for a healthcare provider to administer a Covid vaccine.
Even when a person has requested a Covid vaccine.
mRNA vaccines are the biggest recent/current medical breakthrough/moonshot for ALL diseases, not just viral infections. There could very well be (more) vaccines to prevent & treat cancer (eg pancreatic & melanoma!), malaria, HIV, genetic conditions, & things like CMV that cause untold disease burden