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Posts by Maria Town

You can condemn Trump without making the incorrect insinuation that evilness is associated with aging/mental illness.

2 weeks ago 114 34 3 3
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DOJ admits ICE courthouse arrests relied on erroneous information Hundreds of immigrants have been arrested at immigration courthouses. It is unclear whether the federal government's admission could lead to some of those arrests being overturned.

Hundreds of immigrants have been arrested at immigration courthouses. It is unclear whether the federal government's admission could lead to some of those arrests being overturned. n.pr/4t3NCzU

3 weeks ago 329 117 13 11
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Celebration of Life Welcome & Introduction On November 14, 2025, our beloved Alice Wong became an ancestor. In her own words, she told us: “Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that …

"Many disabled people in media, myself included, owe a
debt of thanks to Alice, whether she helped us personally
or indirectly by fundamentally reshaping the culture around
us."

Very much agree with these words by @sesmith.lol on Alice Wong.

disabilityvisibilityproject.com/celebration-...

3 weeks ago 145 68 1 1

In case anyone is wondering, many US Presidents likely had dyslexia and other learning disabilities. I’m not saying that having these conditions makes someone a better or worse leader, but it certainly does not preclude someone from seeking and ultimately being successful in the office. #Disability

1 month ago 3 0 0 1
Lung disease becomes more frequent among engineered stone workers
Lung disease becomes more frequent among engineered stone workers YouTube video by CBS News

If you purchase a countertop with little or no silica, you can save a life.

Hundreds of young men are developing silicosis, exposed as the cut, grind and polish artificial stone slabs to make your kitchen countertops.

@celinegounder.com explains the way to prevent it - buy the safer product.

1 month ago 11 8 0 1

it is snowing in DC

yesterday was 80

1 month ago 156 24 14 8
Dark blue gradient background. There are two illustrated white candles. Text reads: Today, March 1st, is Disability Day of Mourning. Today our community remembers disabled people lost to filicide. Join ASAN for our virtual vigil tonight on our YouTube channel.  The ASAN logo is at the bottom.

Dark blue gradient background. There are two illustrated white candles. Text reads: Today, March 1st, is Disability Day of Mourning. Today our community remembers disabled people lost to filicide. Join ASAN for our virtual vigil tonight on our YouTube channel. The ASAN logo is at the bottom.

🕯️Today is Disability Day of Mourning, when our community remembers disabled people lost to filicide. Join us tonight 6pm ET for ASAN’s virtual vigil: youtu.be/HeF3LrHTuBM

#DDoM2026

1 month ago 109 54 1 1

Thank you for coming!!!

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
Photo of (L to R) Maria, me, and Lachi with her sparkly Glam Cane; we are all smiling at the camera and looking gorgeous AF. I am holding a copy of Lachi's book "I identify as blind" in my hand.

Photo of (L to R) Maria, me, and Lachi with her sparkly Glam Cane; we are all smiling at the camera and looking gorgeous AF. I am holding a copy of Lachi's book "I identify as blind" in my hand.

Very few people will get me to leave my warm, comfy bed and go outside in this icy snow; @mariatown.bsky.social & @lachimusic.bsky.social did! Thrilled I got to spend the evening listening to their conversation on all things disability, including Lachi's new book "I identify as blind."

2 months ago 9 2 1 0

Today, from my apartment window, I watched an older woman using a rollator go into the middle of traffic to cross diagonally because that path was the only accessible option to her. I submitted a service request to the appropriate local agency today. Fingers crossed they act fast.

2 months ago 5 0 0 0
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I have not been able to leave my apartment since Friday, January 23rd. While the sidewalk next to me has been cleared, the curb cut is an extreme winter sports event course, as are the three other curb cuts at the intersection.

2 months ago 5 0 1 0
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Unhoused women on Skid Row face dire health outcomes. This doctor wants to change that Homeless women face unique health challenges with few dedicated resources. And as the number of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles continues to grow, Dr. Mary Marfisee hopes to bring them lifesaving resources.

Homeless women face unique health challenges with few dedicated resources. And as the number of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles continues to grow, Dr. Mary Marfisee hopes to bring them lifesaving resources.

3 months ago 267 58 8 4
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FDA deletes warning on bogus autism therapies touted by RFK Jr.‘s allies The agency used to warn of chelation, used by RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally David Geier.

This was my big concern with RFK Jr.'s fearmongering about autism: That it would lead to the rationalization of draconian quack "treatments" for autism. arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

3 months ago 149 56 3 8
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Perry: Trusted providers are being unfairly swept up in Minnesota’s fraud crackdown As the state's new anti-fraud screening system went into effect, the Holland Center expected to receive $212,000 in payments. It instead received $22,000, David M. Perry writes. If nothing changes soo...

You've probably been following the story about fraud in MN. I wrote about the people who provide services who are being driven into bankruptcy, thanks to the Walz' administration decision to hire Optum AI to screen all payments. It's a disaster.

3 months ago 1071 377 18 31

... that’s Step Three in the autocrat's playbook.

In our democracy, actions of this magnitude and decisions about what happens next, must go through Congress - not be dictated by a president who admires authoritarians and rules like one.

3 months ago 57 11 0 0

Foreign policy is not the personal domain of a president. Congress has a constitutional role to serve as the voice of the people and a restraint on power. One of the oldest moves in the authoritarian playbook is to sideline the legislature and strip away checks and balances...

3 months ago 72 18 1 0

Nicolás Maduro is a brutal dictator who has caused immense suffering. However, the way to fight authoritarianism abroad is not to embrace it at home.

3 months ago 125 29 4 1
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Hero of 2025: Alice Wong The disability justice icon's last message: "Don’t let the bastards grind you down."

“I’m honored to be your ancestor and believe that disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

3 months ago 497 186 3 7
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Hero of 2025: Alice Wong The disability justice icon's last message: "Don’t let the bastards grind you down."

For my hero of 2025 at @motherjones.com, I wrote about the late great disabled disability justice oracle Alice Wong, including her work with Disability Visibility Project, Crips for eSims for Gaza, and #CripTheVote. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

3 months ago 244 97 3 7
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Homeless and Burning in America’s Hottest City

Some work I’m proud of from this year (all of the links are gift links)…

I joined street-medicine teams in Phoenix in July as they tried to help unhoused people cope with increasingly extreme heat:

3 months ago 92 21 3 0
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Disability rights advocate Bob Kafka dead at 79 Bob Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a group which advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities.

Bob Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a group which advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities. n.pr/4pWshr5

3 months ago 392 93 6 9
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‘A Demographic Ticking Time Bomb’: Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Comes for Seniors’ Caretakers Thirteen percent of immigrants providing long-term care in people’s homes are noncitizens.

The caregiving industry could not survive without immigrants. But a third of the staff at one Miami nursing home lost their jobs after the Trump administration ended the programs letting them work legally.
www.notus.org/immigration/...

3 months ago 271 122 15 29

Also worth noting that it doesn't seem to account for family caregivers, e.g. a parent who may have left the workforce, and is not at school, in order to care for another family member!

3 months ago 30 4 0 0

Critiquing social programs and thinking about how they can do better is good, actually. NM is clearly moving toward making this program more inclusive and easier to access over time. I hope that those involved in implementation are thinking about how to incorporate disablity into the future.

3 months ago 62 10 1 0

I want to be clear that I'm not saying this program is bad, or that the state is acting in bad faith, or that other states shouldn't take this example and run with it. I AM saying that anyone advocating for universal childcare needs to be thinking about how it connects with disablity.

3 months ago 84 10 1 0

The other is the work/school requirements. This kind of means testing in general isn't great. NM waives in some settings (such as grandparents or housing unstable families), but there does not appear to be a carveout for disabled parents, who I guess don't exist or matter.

3 months ago 74 8 2 0

One is the fact that some disabled children need medical daycare, which is a really scarce resource. Some childcare facilities will also exclude disabled children even when they don't need specialized care because they're worried about liablity. I'm not seeing much discussion on addressing this!

3 months ago 91 8 2 0

Not to be That Person but watching the discourse around New Mexico's universal free childcare program, which, to be clear, is a really good start, I don't see a lot of engagement with two pretty significant disablity issues...

3 months ago 117 24 3 0
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All of these are correct takes.

4 months ago 0 0 0 0
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
V.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ET AL.,
Defendants.

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Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-13165-IT
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
October 31, 2025
TALWANI, D.J.
Pending before the court is Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order [Doc.
No. 3] seeking to enjoin, on an emergency basis, Defendants' November 1, 2025 suspension of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP"). For the reasons stated
below, Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that
Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful. Where that suspension of benefits rested
on an erroneous construction of the relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow Defendants
to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report
back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ET AL., Plaintiffs, V. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ET AL., Defendants. * * * * * * * * * * * Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-13165-IT MEMORANDUM AND ORDER October 31, 2025 TALWANI, D.J. Pending before the court is Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order [Doc. No. 3] seeking to enjoin, on an emergency basis, Defendants' November 1, 2025 suspension of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP"). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and are likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful. Where that suspension of benefits rested on an erroneous construction of the relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow Defendants to consider whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November, and report back to the court no later than Monday, November 3, 2025.

A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits
Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claim under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), (C), that Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is contrary to law. At core, Defendants' conclusion that USDA is statutorily prohibited from funding SNAP because Congress has not enacted new appropriations for the
current fiscal year is erroneous. To the contrary, Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the
previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to
use other previously appropriated funds as detailed below.

A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claim under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), (C), that Defendants' suspension of SNAP benefits is contrary to law. At core, Defendants' conclusion that USDA is statutorily prohibited from funding SNAP because Congress has not enacted new appropriations for the current fiscal year is erroneous. To the contrary, Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds as detailed below.

As both parties acknowledge, Congress has not yet appropriated any new funds for SNAP
benefits for Fiscal Year 2026, which began on October 1, 2025. Pls.' Mem. 6 [Doc. No. 4];
Defs.' Opp'n 7 [Doc. No. 18]. But Congress took steps to protect against the deprivation of
SNAP assistance. In the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 118-42, § 6, 138
Stat. 25, 93-94, Congress separately appropriated $6 billion to the SNAP program "to remain available through September 30, 2026" and "be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations." See also Pub. L.
No. 119-4, § 1101(a), 139 Stat. 9, 10 (2025). As Plaintiffs point out, given the mandatory nature
of SNAP benefits under 7 U.S.C. § 2014(a) and the appropriation of these funds to be available
10
Case 1:25-cv-13165-IT
Document 26 Filed 10/31/25
Page 11 of 15
through this current fiscal year, the government is obligated to use this contingent reserve
account to fund SNAP "as may become necessary to carry out program operations." 138 Stat. at
93-94; Pls.' Mem. 11 [Doc. No. 4].

As both parties acknowledge, Congress has not yet appropriated any new funds for SNAP benefits for Fiscal Year 2026, which began on October 1, 2025. Pls.' Mem. 6 [Doc. No. 4]; Defs.' Opp'n 7 [Doc. No. 18]. But Congress took steps to protect against the deprivation of SNAP assistance. In the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 118-42, § 6, 138 Stat. 25, 93-94, Congress separately appropriated $6 billion to the SNAP program "to remain available through September 30, 2026" and "be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations." See also Pub. L. No. 119-4, § 1101(a), 139 Stat. 9, 10 (2025). As Plaintiffs point out, given the mandatory nature of SNAP benefits under 7 U.S.C. § 2014(a) and the appropriation of these funds to be available 10 Case 1:25-cv-13165-IT Document 26 Filed 10/31/25 Page 11 of 15 through this current fiscal year, the government is obligated to use this contingent reserve account to fund SNAP "as may become necessary to carry out program operations." 138 Stat. at 93-94; Pls.' Mem. 11 [Doc. No. 4].

Defendants argue out that a "suspension" is permitted under USDA's regulations, and that USDA "has consistently interpreted its authority to allow for the suspension or cancellation of benefits when necessary." Defs. Opp'n 6 [Doc. No. 18). The regulation at issue, 7 C.F.R. $ 271.7(a), sets forth procedures to be followed if monthly SNAP allowances "must be reduced, suspended, or cancelled to comply with section 18 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008"
(emphasis added). But that the regulation allows for a suspension when there are no funds does
not mean that Defendants may choose a suspension over a reduction while funds do remain. If
the regulation did authorize such discretion, it would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate that benefits "shall" be paid unless funding is no longer available.

Defendants argue out that a "suspension" is permitted under USDA's regulations, and that USDA "has consistently interpreted its authority to allow for the suspension or cancellation of benefits when necessary." Defs. Opp'n 6 [Doc. No. 18). The regulation at issue, 7 C.F.R. $ 271.7(a), sets forth procedures to be followed if monthly SNAP allowances "must be reduced, suspended, or cancelled to comply with section 18 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008" (emphasis added). But that the regulation allows for a suspension when there are no funds does not mean that Defendants may choose a suspension over a reduction while funds do remain. If the regulation did authorize such discretion, it would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate that benefits "shall" be paid unless funding is no longer available.

BREAKING: Federal judge rules that the Trump administration likely illegally suspended SNAP benefits, ruling that at least reduced distribution is required to go forward under law using the $6 billion reserve fund.

Judge gives the Trump admin until Monday to respond as to whether it will act.

5 months ago 2732 1055 22 97