Laura Halvorson (@lhalvo) — Bluesky Profile

4 months ago

These are the Senators who voted to end the Shutdown in exchange for…. um… an empty promise? (Hint: Rs haven’t been great at pinky promises lately)

👏 BUT to all the Democratic senators who held the line - call them tomorrow to thank them!

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4 months ago

Pretty sure there is going to be some McDonald's ketchup thrown on the walls of the White House with these election results tonight.

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5 months ago

Have you or anyone you know of reached out to his campaign about a disability platform and campaign accessibility?

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7 months ago

Pfizer Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by FDA Email obtained by Guardian says Pfizer was told approval may not be granted, meaning Moderna may have to fill gap

NEW: The FDA may yank Pfizer's under-5 Covid vaccine this fall. Pfizer has the only pediatric vaccines for all kids over six months, not just those with health conditions. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

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8 months ago

Helping Communities with Better Support (HCBS) Act... Whoo Boy YouTube video by Lois Curtis Center

Is Easterseals about to help create the newest stop on the preschool to prison pipeline? We ponder further about the "Helping Communities with Better Support (HCBS) Act", which was signed into law underneath the umbrella of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" on 7/4:

www.youtube.com/live/SwMsoZQ...

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8 months ago

Anyone with a vested interest in disability rights, criminal justice, labor exploitation, systemic racism, the preschool to prison pipeline, and/or “at-risk” youth should, at least, have a passing curiosity about “wellness farms”, about which RFK Jr proudly stated:

“Wellness farms are my ‘Peace Corps’… they are going to be my major program.”

The prospect of developing a community-based wellness farm system as a Home and Community Based "alternative" for children should be incredibly alarming to advocates who for years have pushed for de-institutionalization and control over decision-making for disabled people.

Unless, of course, #FreeOurPeople doesn’t apply to these people.

Read- and share!- this week's blog, "The HCBS provision #BigDisCo isn’t talking about, or, did the federal government just create a funding stream for the newest stop on the preschool to prison pipeline while nobody was looking?":

www.loiscurtis.org/post/the-hcb...

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10 months ago

DO YOU USE IN-HOME SERVICES FOR SUPPORT WITH DAILY LIVING?
If you use a program where you select your worker, schedule their shifts, tell them their tasks, and have the ability to fire them, you are an employer and your home is a workplace.
If the person or people who provide services in your home immigrated to the US, they may be at risk for detainment/deportation. It does not matter if the person is in the United States “legally” or not. It does not matter if the person has all necessary work permits or has been naturalized. Any person who was born in another country, especially if that person has brown or black skin, may be impacted by immigration enforcement activities.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
It means that immigration enforcement can come to your home and try to take action against your worker.
It may mean that you or your worker may be questioned or detained by immigration enforcement officers.
It may mean that the friends or family members of your worker may be questioned or detained by immigration enforcement officers.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOUR HOME IS THEIR WORKPLACE
Your home is a private space, not a public space. Immigration enforcement officers can only come into private spaces if they have a warrant.
- Keep exterior doors locked at all times
- Do not open a door to speak with any officers
- Do not allow any officer into the home without a court warrant signed by a state or federal court judge, NOT an immigration officer.
- If they have a warrant, have them slip it under the door, or leave it in the door while they move far away from the door so you can retrieve it and review it behind your locked door
- You and your worker do not have to answer any questions from the enforcement officers
- You and your worker have the right to an attorney and can refuse to talk to officers without one present
- Video or audio record the encounter if possible
If a worker leaves the home (tries to run or escape), they can be immediately arrested.
RESOURCES TO …

HCBS is an immigration issue.

Download "Self Direction and Immigration Enforcement Guide" here:

www.loiscurtis.org/resources/48...

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10 months ago

FDA chose not to warn the public about E. coli. That's dangerous and illogical.

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10 months ago

HHS cuts eliminate NIOSH respirator certification staff
The NIOSH layoffs impact nearly 200 (crossed out) employees, including mining safety and protective equipment programs as part of a broader federal workforce reduction under a Trump-era executive order. (We added >1000 to the subhead to reflect the nationwide NIOSH job cuts as reported by AIHA.org)
Anya Litvak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | https://bit.ly/3ElGgUH (ems1.com)

Quote: HHS Cuts decimated NIOSH’s Mining Safety Research Division and National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.

Image shows part of a Press release from AIHA.org, headlined “NIOSH Decimated by Staffing Cuts.” We highlight the sentence showing that staff at NIOSH will drop from about 1400 full- and part-time workers to about 150. Source: https://www.aiha.org/news/240401-sources-significant-niosh-reductions

HHS Cuts decimate NIOSH, including its Mining Safety Research Division & the National Personal Protective Technology Lab. bit.ly/3ElGgUH
In HHS overall, losing 20K skilled workers + $40 billion will have a devastating impact on America's health. #MaskTogetherAmerica

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10 months ago

Worst Autism Awarenesss/Acceptance Month EVER YouTube video by Lois Curtis Center

Worst Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month EVER:

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10 months ago

Black and Brown people are twice as likely to die as the result of police violence as white people.

Half of the people killed by police have one or more disabilities.

And, despite commitments to law enforcement reform made at the federal, state, and

municipal level coast to coast after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, more people are dying as the result of police violence than ever.

Connect the dots and see the picture: police violence is not only a public health issue- it's a crisis.

But, unfortunately, to say that the public’s interest in this crisis has waned since 2020 would be one of the greatest understatements in US history.

RIP Victor Perez.

Our latest blog on the public health crisis everyone "forgot" about:

www.loiscurtis.org/post/from-ge...

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10 months ago

Texas’ AI-Powered Surveillance Arsenal Has Ballooned. Proposed Laws Provide Few Guardrails. Operation Lone Star has turbocharged DPS’ surveillance capabilities. Lawmakers say they want to prevent Texas from becoming a police state but have filed only modest legislation to regulate use of AI.

Over the past several years, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has quietly built out an expansive surveillance apparatus—one that’s increasingly powered by #AI. Experts say legislative efforts to safeguard privacy don't go nearly far enough.

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11 months ago

Our gov't wants to take away our freedom. Mask bans mean they don't care about people with disabilities getting discriminated! It took huge HUGE efforts for Lindsey and Amy to make it to the Capitol! They are my heroes!
Watch: senate.texas.gov/videoplayer.... (22:33)

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11 months ago

Texas ‘Mask Blocs’ Struggle to Fill COVID-19 Health Gaps as Federal and State Attacks Ramp Up
Volunteer- and anarchist-led groups are working overtime to keep their communities safe from COVlD-19 even as Texas lawmakers debate a ban on masks and a warming planet promises more pandemics on the way. BY Kit O’Connell, deceleration news, April 9, 2025
https://bit.ly/Deceleration_TXmaskblocs

Image: A photo of 3 people masked and holding a banner over the side of an overpass on a highway. The banner has bold red and black text that reads, "Long COVlD is a public health emergency!!" Members of Clear the Air ATX took action to raise awareness on Long COVID Awareness Day

Quote: Hearing for Anti-mask bills SB 2876 & SB 2595: April 14th, 9:00AM Testify in Austin (The Texas Senate Chamber)

Notice of the hearing: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/schedules/pdf/C5702025041409001.PDF

Instead of banning masks, shouldn’t our government be concerned about public health being defunded and under threat from airborne COVlD, measles and flu?
Read bit.ly/Deceleration... article by Kit O'Connell and an annotation by @msjulieslam.bsky.social on Instagram + Facebook. Take action. 🧵

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11 months ago

Honored to be included in this interview supporting CCBSA alongside other Mask Bloc/Clean Air mutual aid groups in Texas.

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11 months ago

A much-needed moment of calm 🐺

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11 months ago

Hah! I wore a green shirt yesterday not even knowing about that. Must be my newfound ESP from all these 5G vaccines making me in tune with stuff 😂😷 or I just really like the color green.

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11 months ago

PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST:
Do you know of any schools that ban masks or force mask removal for "ID checks" or any other reason?

Take 5 minutes to report any campus mask restrictions/bans: tinyurl.com/ReportCampus...

Every submission helps advocates track and oppose these policies!

More info below.

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11 months ago

U.S. population at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 - PubMed As vaccination strategies are being explored, these results demonstrate that >75% of adults in the U.S. would be considered at increased-risk for severe COVID-19 infection by CDC criteria. Risk factor...

Over 75% of US adults have health issue that puts them at higher-risk for severe COVID-19!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33615285/

EVERYONE is at risk of #LongCOVID and other serious health issues from COVID.

EVERYONE has a right to wear a mask.

#NoNYMaskBans

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11 months ago

Take Action in Ways That Work For You This week at the Lois Curtis Center

This week at the Lois Curtis Center:

Activism that's inclusive of YOU, the violence of "nonviolence", and opportunities to support our mission:

Image is of a variety of hands of varied hues clasped together.

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11 months ago

All the barriers experienced by disabled, Black and brown, and multiply marginalized people wanting to participate in direct action activism in 2020 remain in 2025.

Physical, environmental, and communication access barriers, as well as continued concerns about exposure to COVID and other highly transmissible diseases, may limit the ability of disabled people to participate in direct action protest.

In the midst of all this, Big #DisCo continues to prioritize white, middle class cis people with disabilities- to the point of actively engaging in racism and transphobia under the guise of “advocating” for its target population.

Yet the threats to programs, services, protections that are saturating the very thin social safety net are more present and more pervasive than ever. Ultimately, even white, middle class cis disabled people will not be able to be “carved out” of what’s to come.

What can be done? More importantly, what can be done by the people who will be most impacted by current political, economic, and social threats? Most of whom are just trying to get by in the crappy systems we have now…

At the Lois Curtis Center, we honor all modes of advocacy, and we remind folks that every act of resistance disrupts.
Wanting to think about accessible ways to take up resistance? View our resource, "LCC Activism Guide", here:

www.loiscurtis.org/resources/1f...

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11 months ago

If you’re still masking…thank you

If you’re trying to educate others on the benefits of masks…thank you

If you’re standing in solidarity with disabled & vulnerable people who’ve been cast aside for the last 5 years…thank you

Its not easy being the lone masker in 2025, but we see & appreciate you

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11 months ago

When you're out protesting please consider masking – those of us that are the most marginalized who want to come out and protest are not safe if others don't mask. It's not a protest if certain people are prohibited from joining.

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1 year ago

Graphic with a light pink background with a slice of watermelon on top. Text reads “Crips for eSims for Gaza Update 1/7/25, $2.16 million CAD raised ($1.50 US) 18,434 eSims purchased and sent, 4316 eSims activated” On the lower left corner, “Thank you! Jane, Leah, and Alice.” On the lower right corner is a QR code

🍉 Please help us continue to keep the thousands of eSIMs we bought active so Gazans can connect with the outside world

For more: chuffed.org/project/crip...

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11 months ago

A medieval plague doctor spin off the Drake meme. Two pictures of a medieval plague doctor wearing a black hat, metal mask with long beak, and a black scarf, black cloak, and black gloves. In the top picture the plague doctor has their head turned away and their hand held up palm-open in a "stop" signal towards a caption reading "Develop H5N1 mRNA vaccine". In the bottom picture the plague doctor is turned towards the caption and is pointing towards the words "Let the chickens figure it out"

Perhaps this is a paltry matter

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11 months ago

Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning. Diplomats in Vietnam warned Washington that halting USAID’s efforts to clean up the massive deposit of postwar pesticides would be a catastrophe for public health and relations with a key strategic pa...

New from PP:

The Trump admin abandoned cleanup of an Agent Orange site in Vietnam.

A place we poisoned.

Trump admin won't pay the bills .

“Halting a project like that in the middle of the work, that’s an environmental crime,” said one expert.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

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1 year ago

The Bastardization of "Liberation" Language YouTube video by Lois Curtis Center

On how the words we use to articulate how we become free- like "disability justice", "anti-racism", and "intersectionality", for instance- are quickly co-opted, neutralized, and rendered meaningless:

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1 year ago

Don't overestimate how much they care about disabled Americans - also tell them that Social Security is going to fire 50% of its workforce and close the field office in your town, directly impacting whoever it is you're talking to

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1 year ago

RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment in HHS decisions HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved to rescind the longtime practice of giving the public a chance to comment on the health agency’s plans.

Breaking: RFK Jr. moves to quietly eliminate public comment from HHS's decision making: www.statnews.com/2025/02/28/r...

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