Stand Up for Science!

A screenshot from the movie Mean Girls (2004) with Regina George in a Santa hat. Closed Captions read: Stop trying to make MAHA happen. It’s not going to happen!

It's not gonna happen!

Page which has the handwritten red text: “This guy is the worst, most useless and unqualified HHS Secretary I have ever met. DO NOT TRUST HIM. He is an incompetent QUACK!” A picture of RFK Jr. with “Robert F Kennedy Jr.” written underneath it.

Today is October 3rd, another day where we are calling to #ImpeachtheQuack!

GOP senators signal to Trump that Kennedy is on thin ice Republican senators are sending clear signs of disapproval and unhappiness with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., making it plain to President Trump that they want the a…

Steadily ticking up, if we have our way with it!

thehill.com/homenews/sen...

White House Senses Political Risk on Healthcare Despite Shutdown Bravado Aides to President Trump are discussing proposals to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies on which millions of Americans rely.

> 83% of US favor Medicaid (KFF 2025)
> 62% of US favor gov't ensuring healthcare for all (Gallup 2024)
> 54% of US disapprove of RFK Jr (Quinnipiac 2025)
> 44% of US struggle to afford healthcare (KFF 2025)

The Republican fight over healthcare is misleading. It's not a partisan political issue.

RFK Jr fires top NIH scientist weeks after she files whistleblower complaint Jeanne Marrazzo’s complaint reportedly involved the Trump administration’s hostility toward vaccines

The Trump admin has been targeting whistleblowers, from the #FEMA36 to the countless other patriotic public servants and scientists across NIH, CDC, NASA, and more who spoke out about the danger posed by the chaos in our federal agencies. This is an concerted, autocratic effort to silence dissent.

Book Talk: Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez — Science Under Siege YouTube video by Politics and Prose

Book Talk: Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social and Peter J. Hotez @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social — Science Under Siege #ClimateCrisis www.youtube.com/live/-foS1FI...

A gathering of people in the early evening alongside Dr. Michael E Mann and Dr. Peter J Hotez, they are dressed casually and standing on a sidewalk terrace hung with string lights. Behind, a green awning says "Rosemary Bistro Cafe."

We had an amazing time last night with @michaelemann.bsky.social and @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social as they discussed their new book #ScienceUnderSiege!

One poignant quote: “Anti-science is a lethal force.” Standing up for science saves lives! ✊

Trump administration cancels nearly $8 billion in climate funding to blue states: Vought The announcement came on the first day of the federal government shutdown.

Playing petty political tit-for-tat with critical funds, with the livelihoods of patriotic civil servants, and with the future of our PLANET makes us all vulnerable.

Republicans need to start putting science and the American people over ugly partisan politics.

Poster with text: Conversation with Dr. Michael E Mann, Dr. Peter J Hotez. Image of a book cover: Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten our World by Michael E Mann and Peter J Hotez, with a picture of a microscope on fire. Brief blurb of the book: In this powerful manifesto, they reveal the 5 maan forces threatening science: plutocrats, pros, petrostates, phonies, and the press. It's a call to arms and a road map for dismantling the forces of antiscience. Red banner at base of page with text: Today, 10/2 @7pm, Also Livestreamed! At Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW

DC folks! Stand Up for Science will be at Politics and Prose this evening in support of @michaelemann.bsky.social and @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social's new book: #ScienceUnderSiege!

Come join us, in person or virtually!
Livestream: youtube.com/live/-foS1FI...

10/2/2025: Stand Up For Science Statement on Compact Corrupting Higher Education. Washington, D.C. — Today, the administration has unveiled their proposed "compact" for higher education. This document is antithetical to the free academic inquiry that forms the foundation of American excellence in higher education. Further, while the compact is framed as a way to promote fairness in higher education, this compact runs counter to the scientific method by prioritizing federal grant funding to go to universities who have signed, rather than proposals that have been selected by experts. We call on university leaders to unite and reject this overreach of executive power by the White House.

The compact lies in the context of an ongoing and multi-pronged attack on the integrity of the American scientific ecosystem, but this also tangibly represents the President seizing control of public spaces and higher education. Each university represents a beacon of free thought, vibrant educational empowerment, and public enrichment, and we must demand President Trump stay out of dictating universities.

"Trump's compact is yet another form of attack on the American institutions that provide evidence that counter's the core belief of MAGA — racism, misogyny, and regression of the human race to name a few. If universities agree to these terms, academic freedom in America will be over," says Colette Delawalla Founder and Director of Stand Up For Science. She continues "when the White House takes over what is defined as 'truth' regardless of scientific evidence, we are no longer in a free nation. Universities must understanding the seriousness of this moment and respond accordingly."

Stand Up For Science will reliably sound the alarm when science and scientists are under attack, and our platform empowers scientists to speak out and organize against corruption of American science. The proposing of this document represents an extreme authoritarian escalation for American higher education. It is crucial that university leaders, congress and the public stand together to protect higher education from this attack.

READ ⬇️ Stand Up For Science Statement on Compact Corrupting Higher Education.

Pressure to reject the compact should come from all sides:

Alumni, students, current employees, AND anyone who engages with people or work from the institution, high school students looking to attend, etc.

We say NO.

@standupforscience.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

If Vought tries to RIF federal workers, using the shutdown as an excuse, be ready to rally at OMB, his Fortress of Evil. We’ll announce it here. @fedsagainstdoge.bsky.social @fedworkersunited.bsky.social @safa-science.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

CORRECTION: NIH funding is impacted by Trump's proposed appropriations bill, not the OBBB.

Poster image with an upside-down image of the US capitol in red. Text reads: What does a government shutdown mean for science?

2/ Poster image with heading: The shutdown fight is over healthcare. Bubble 1: The government shutdown is driven by Republicans in Congress and the White House refusing to extend funding for Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, and restore Medicaid funding slashed in the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Bubble 2: The “Big Beautiful Bill” is set to strip Americans of $880 billion in Medicaid funding — driving up our healthcare premiums, lowering healthcare access and quality, and making us sicker and weaker. Bottom title: This would be a crisis for public health.

3/ Poster image with heading: The shutdown fight is over staff cuts. Bubble 1: A shutdown will force critical agencies responsible for our nation’s health, safety, and environment to suspend or reduce essential services. OMB Director Russel Vought has openly threatened mass firings of career civil servants. Bubble 2: The administration has already cut or retaliated against agency staff, from the CDC and NIH to FEMA and the EPA. This represents dire losses in scientific expertise and manpower for daily and emergency work. Bottom title: This would be a crisis for public safety

4/ Poster image with heading: The shutdown fight is over research. Bubble 1: Republicans in Congress are also refusing to restore funding cuts to research across our scientific agencies. Pending the shutdown, research will also be stalled and scientific facilities and instruments might be suspended or shut down. Bubble 2: Right now, the Big Beautiful Bill aims to slash grant funding for the NIH by nearly 40%, and the CDC by half. This stalls critical medical and health research, shuts down labs and projects, and kills scientific progress. Bottom text: This would be a crisis for innovation

With a shutdown looming, one thing is clear: this is a standoff over the future of science. Everything from science funding and research, to public health and wellness, to managing emergency situations will be affected by what our leaders decide to put first: people or politics.

#Standupforscience

NIH races to spend its 2025 grant money — but fewer projects win funding Despite political obstacles, officials are on track to disburse all of the research funds allocated to US biomedical behemoth.

Staff members at the NIH seem to have done the impossible: spend the agency's $48 billion budget.

“Everyone has been rallying together to clean up the mess, but it’s a mess that did not need to be made,” an NIH program officer told me.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Screenshot of article text which reads: "So Mpox is a syndemic—that means interacting epidemics that when they touch each other make themselves much worse. And so Mpox is an epidemic, HIV is an epidemic, homelessness is an epidemic, drug use is an epidemic, so all of those things converged to actually create a really bad Mpox outbreak. So what I was able to do in Mpox was bring together mental health providers, housing providers, HIV prevention, HIV treatment in a way that generated an effective response. So these people who are pulling CDC and the federal government apart don’t understand that. What you’re doing is taking away, like, the limbs of a response. So maybe the infectious disease sort of work is, like, the heart or the brain, but it’s not the arms and legs. The arms and legs means you need all of those things to work together. And so as you see CDC being torn apart, 2,000 people who are no longer there, years of experience, centers that are being demolished, we are sorely unprepared for the next thing, even if it’s not so big. And I’m sitting here as an expert not only in infectious diseases but in outbreak and emergency response, I’m looking at this saying, like, “The people who are tearing apart your public health endeavor have no idea how to do this.”

@drdemetre.bsky.social, former director of the CDC Nat'l Cen. for Immunization and Respiratory Disease for @sciam.bsky.social.

ALL our agencies are facing death by a thousand funding and staff cuts. It costs us expertise and manpower. In an emergency, we will feel this loss — from CDC to FEMA.

Tired of the corruption and anti-science in our government? You're not alone—and you don't have to do it alone!

Meet like-minded scientists, activists, and allies in Stand Up for Science at our two Action Hours coming up this month — Join us in the fight to protect science!

zurl.co/viaW8

Jay Bhattacharya is just as complicit in this administration's authoritarian purge of science and academia as RFK Jr. Those who excuse and enable MAHA's deadly dogma are just as bad as those who spout it. #ImpeachtheQuack

Great question! We are sensitive to the environmental impact of this action. We are working with several groups to repurpose ducks to use for this campaign, we will recycle ducks to supportive Congress members, and we are planning more actions with these! Rest assured, we are getting creative. 🦆 ♻️

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

Censoring words, suppressing research, and silencing scientists doesn't change reality. Climate change will affect everything from intensifying weather patterns to disrupting our global supply chains.

Treating it as "That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named" will only make us woefully unprepared.

SUFS will be on the ground!

We'll see you at #ScienceUnderSiege on Thursday 10/2 with the inimitable @michaelemann.bsky.social and @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social 👏

Read more ↘️
NASA scientists have spoken out about how cuts to NASA funding and staff costs irreplaceable personnel, and dismantles their vital research.

Read their Voyager Declaration here: www.standupforscience.net/nasa-voyager...

An image of a bulletin board with the heading: New Microflyers for the Fall. Sample microflyers are tacked up on the board, with a post-it that reads: Print at home and stick 'em up for people to see!

A map of the United States colored in a scale of blue and yellow, where blue represents a lack of quack-o-grams sent, and yellow represents a high concentration of quack-o-grams sent per congressional district. A blue bubble reads: Top Quackers, and lists the 8 top districts for quack-o-grams sent: GA-5 33, MD-8 31, NC-4 29, WA-7 29, CA-12 27, MA-5 23, PA-3 23, CA-11 22

Poster image with a group of protestors. Text reads from top to bottom: "Stand with Science, Take Action! October 18th" with a large red arrow pointing at more text, reading "Speak at your local No Kings Day Rally!" At the bottom of the image is a dark red banner reading "Step-By-Step Guide"

Poster image of a crowd of protestors overlaid with red. Blue bubbles contain text which reads from top to bottom: Step One: Find your local indivisible chapter. Go to www.individisble.org and use the "Find Your Group" map to find their contact details. Alternatively, many groups use social media, and you can find your local chapter on Instagram or Facebook. You can also search for a local event on Mobilize: mobilize.us/indivisible or mobilize.us/nokings/

An image of a crowd of people overlaid in dark blue. Red bubbles contain text, which read as follows: Step Two: Send them an email: Contact the group leader or inquiry line directly via email and offer to be a guest speaker. Chapter sites may also offer Contact forms to get in touch. You can also attend a local chapter meeting and take the opportunity to introduce yourself!

Poster image of a crowd of protestors overlaid with red. Blue bubbles contain text which reads from top to bottom: Step Three, Tailor your message: Why should this chapter hear from YOU about funding science, and impeaching RFK Jr? How does the fight for science impact you locally? What do people stand to lose if RFK Jr. remains in power? What is your clear call to action? What should people walk away with?

Hello Cheshire Cat, sharing on this thread Alt-Text images for reskeeting! We will be more diligent in the future.

Take action with us, and speak at your local No Kings Rally on October 18th! Follow our step-by step guide to reach out to your local chapter:

Microflyers? For the Fall? Groundbreaking...

We've updated our website with some brand new microflyers for you to stick up on bulletin boards, church pews, bathroom stall doors, hallways, lampposts... you name it! Each downloadable PDF has 4 flyers per page to spread the word!

zurl.co/DAtG0

"I would like to see the data" (Werner Herzog in the Mandalorian voice)

We wouldn't be scientists if our team didn't use R to make a visualization to share with the class. The yellower the district, the more Quack-O-Grams were sent! Will GA-05 keep the crown?

Send your own here! zurl.co/bLwwE

Frustrated about our health agencies? Worried about research funding? Concerned about RFK Jr's Quack cures?

✊TAKE ACTION! Speak at your local No Kings Rally on 10/18 about the fight for science. Follow our step-by-step guide to engage in democracy at the local level, and make allies along the way!

Ira has been a Day 1 SUFS supporter and his thread is worth reading for many reasons.
While we fight for science and truth, we draw from a well of courage that has been filled by many brave people over many years. By continuing the fight, we fill that well for the next generation. Let's keep going.