El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.

Btw if y’all wanna know how invisible Disabled people are made, it’s not called DEI it’s called DEIA. The A stands for Accessibility. And it was left out before DEI was even removed.

Disabled people are the experts in our bodies. We know what we can and can’t handle, and often understand our conditions better than most healthcare workers.

Respect our autonomy & don’t force us to put our baseline at risk. Let us be partners in our care.

HHS has ordered CDC to stop its influenza vaccine “Wild to Mild” media campaign. This is an award-winning campaign that effectively explains how influenza vaccine may not prevent infection but does decrease illness severity. We are currently having one of the worst influenza seasons in 15 years.

👀

A couple of other things about the TX measles outbreak: There were 48 cases reported Feb 14 and as of Feb 18 that has only increased to 58. With an R0 of 12-18, we could have seen a massive bump and we haven’t yet. Now for the bad news: measles has a latency period of 10-14 days…

I cannot emphasize enough how we are in an era where everyone is to be treated like disabled people have always been treated.

West Texas measles outbreak grows to 58 cases, including some vaccinated people | CNN The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak in West Texas has grown to 58, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

This story highlights why herd immunity is so important. Of the 58 measles cases, 4 have now been reported in people who were vaccinated. The absolute last thing we want is a huge outbreak that could result in mutations that evade the vaccines. amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/02/...

A square canvas. Only the top corner is filled with Harings distinctive figures, rendered in Lavender, the rest is blank.

Keith Haring died of AIDS aged 31 on 16 Feb 1990.
One of his last works, Unfinished Painting, was deliberately incomplete, reflecting the devastating, unquantifiable loss to the arts due to AIDS.
#LGBTplusHistoryMonth

On Feb. 14th I try always to give honor to one of the greatest contributors to American democracy in our nation’s history, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, Douglass never knew his actual birthdate, and adopted Feb. 14th as the day. His penetrating insights about our country inspire me daily.

In 3 days, the number of measles cases in a highly unvaccinated area of Texas has doubled. There are now 48 cases, all of whom are unvaccinated, and 13 of whom have been hospitalized so far, for a hospitalization rate of 27%. This is huge figure in epidemiology. This outbreak will keep spreading.

i am going to put a finer point on this: executive orders are not laws. and they certainly are not royal decrees. they are interpretations of existing law for the purposes of enforcement. the fact that so many people are treating them as laws is actually driving me a bit insane.

my view is that as soon as the administration froze disbursement of congressional appropriations we entered constitutional crisis territory

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.

I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Today in US History: On Feb. 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granted black men the right to vote. It was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869. Black Americans were set free by the 13th amendment. The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship.

#BlackHistoryMonth

A piece of embroidery artwork depicting a brown Irish Terrier dog, wearing a collar and bandana with deep blue fabric and gold moon phase shapes. The art is in a circular black frame and a hand thumb and palm are holding the frame in the lower left quadrant of the circular frame.

My incredible artisan friend @clevrcat.bsky.social made this memorial embroidery portrait of my soul dog, Atticus. My heart is so very full every time I look at it. The detail! The shaggy wisps of hair! She matched his favorite bandana material!!

13th amendment

Today in US History: On January 31, 1865, "Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment which, on ratification, abolished slavery in America. The vote in the House was 121 to 24."

www.archives.gov/milestone-do...

🧵 On this day in 1938, 12,000 — mostly Latina — pecan shellers walked off the job in San Antonio, protesting low wages & dangerous working conditions.

Over the next 3 months, the workers took on the powerful pecan shelling companies & the local political machine backing them.

Person’s arm in the foreground in front of their body. A white Pitt bull mix dog with black spots looks up at the person to the left of the image.

I have felt v cruddy all week beyond the existential horrors and this girl has been so lovey the whole time.

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.

“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

@indiaholton.bsky.social yesterday my partner and I were listening to the Ornithologist’s guide outside on vacation and the local birds contributed peeps and squawks at delightful times that left us in giggles. It was a perfect moment with such a great story.