Kathleen Ethier

But all of our neighbors were out in full force for Halloween last night, so happy to see each other and have some joy and it felt exactly like what we did through that first pandemic spring/summer when we could only gather outside and felt so grateful for connection.

A friend who is currently furloughed said “pandemic” instead of “shutdown” the other day, and I realized how similar it feels in many ways - otherworldly, chaotic, disruptive, scary for people not getting paid or RIFed.

So, we know that Tylenol doesn’t cause autism. But do you know what is consistently found to be a risk factor? Older fathers. So why aren’t RFK Jr (age 71) and Trump (age 79) holding WH press conferences telling old men not to have babies?

Here are Doris and Gigi in their stylish winter coats.

No, CDC did not close schools Setting the record hopefully a little straighter.

open.substack.com/pub/kathleen...

This is incredibly performative. California and New York have the highest starting teacher pay ($90K+) of any states with union protections, while Oklahoma is one of the lowest (under $60K) with no protections. Teachers aren’t flocking to Oklahoma especially from states like NY and CA.

I bet sandwich guy is going to get a really cool prison yard nickname like “Cold Cut Combo” or “Ultimate BMT” and maybe a tiny prison tat under his eye that looks like a fresh baked cookie.

Robert Malone, an anti-vaxer who RFK Jr appointed to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, posted these memes in his Substack on Sunday after the terror attack on CDC. He must be fired from the ACIP.

Image of bullet holes at the CDC with Russell Vought's quote on traumatizing federal workers.

He meant what he said and he said what he meant #CDC

A former CDC colleague sent this to me this morning. A year ago, I was on CNN talking about the youth mental health crisis and how we were working toward progress. Today I’m writing about my CDC colleagues being shot at and Republicans making it easier for adult men to avoid child rape charges.

After Years of Anger Directed at C.D.C., Shooting Manifests Worst Fears

"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the CDC, did not make a statement the day of the shooting.

Late the following morning, more than 30 minutes after posting photos of fishing with his family, Kennedy posted condolences on his official X account..."

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...

A deadly shooting at the CDC shook its scientists. Now they want answers from RFK Jr. CDC Director Susan Monarez convened an online all-hands meeting of the agency division that focuses on vaccines, and employees called out Kennedy’s rhetoric specifically.

Kennedy lies.
People die.

“For years, Kennedy attacked the CDC. In videos from anti-vaccine conferences between 2013 & 2019, he likened the agency’s vaccine work to “fascism” & “child abuse,” called it a “cesspool of corruption” & said it was filled with profiteers.“

www.msnbc.com/opinion/anal...

j'ai besoin de fromage

And they are absolutely correct.

NEW: shooter at Emory was reportedly targeting the CDC because he believed he was sick from the Covid vaccine.
Kennedy and the GOP have done so much damage!

“The shooter was either sick or believed he was sick, and blamed his illness on COVID vaccine — which is why he was targeting the CDC.”

Per CNN, police believe the Emory shooter targeted the CDC because he was sick or thought he was sick “and blamed the illness on the Covid-19 vaccine.”

And this is why we keep telling you that anti-vax conspiracy theories are dangerous.
www.cnn.com/us/live-news...

Four CDC buildings shot up. Employees under lockdown and in fear for hours. Public health is physically under attack, and the silence from the administration is deafening.

It’s not an Emory CVS. It’s a CVS at a complex called Emory point because it’s near the campus. It’s actually directly across the street from the CDC, not the university. Four building on the CDC campus were hit with gunfire. CDC was absolutely the target.

Here in Georgia, August and September don’t exist and July is 432 days long. I’d be happy to banish the whole thing at your discretion, Your Grace.

But now OMB is freezing millions of already appropriated public health dollars from HHS and CDC for chronic disease prevention, injury prevention, and family planning. This must be stopped.

Just all the old ladies hanging out under the bushes yakking to each other.

He’s going to escalate trying to distract from Epstein.

It is fig season and I just made my second batch of Newtons. Preserves are next.

I worked at Planned Parenthood.

They diagnose cancers while still treatable. They help women decide what birth control works for them. They help those working through mental health challenges.
 
Defunding them just harms people who already struggle to find places to get care.

'Where's our money?' CDC grant funding is moving so slowly layoffs are happening The state and local health departments that rely on CDC funding say the money is not coming in on time and no one can tell them why. Some are laying off staff.

1/4 📢 CDC funding for 2025 is months late, leaving health depts stranded. CDC leaders told NPR the delay appears intentional - “a deliberate effort to grind us to a halt.” We are not surprised 😡. This is a public health emergency manufactured by HHS.

Except that the division that collected the data and issued the abortion surveillance report was eliminated in the April 1 massacre and it isn’t clear the data is still being collected or will be reported on.

And no one followed up to point out that funding for all of that work is eliminated in the ‘26 proposed budget and are not included in the proposed AHA reorganization. All of the smoking prevention work was already eliminated and the staff fired.

And no one is following up to point out that CDC funding for chronic disease is eliminated in the ‘26 budget wi the no plan to move the work to AHA.