Brendan Harley

Great thread on why hepatitis B is such an issue and why the vaccine at birth was SO important.

I see reactions calling this “petty and cruel.” Cruel it is. But this is just one facet of the ongoing administrative eradication of trans people being perpetrated by this federal government, alongside NIH censorship, the vandalism of public datasets, State invalidating our passports, and so on.

They are such petty people.

"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice's (ACIP) vote to weaken the birth-dose recommendation for the Hepatitis B vaccine is reckless and undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine. Today's action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns. "Administering the birth dose is crucial for protecting children from both perinatal and early postnatal transmission of Hepatitis B virus - and preventing a lifelong condition that can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. "The AMA calls on ACIP to make good on the Administration's promise to use gold standard science. Families should be able to rely on the CDC for clear, evidence-based guidance when making important vaccination decisions for their children. We urge the CDC to reject this recommendation and uphold its commitment to science and public health. The consequences of failing to do so are too severe and the potential harm too great."

AMA @ama-assn.org: “The ACIP vote…is reckless & undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine. Today's action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the HepB vaccine, and creates confusion for parents….”

This is what government censorship actually looks like: defunding entire fields, deporting researchers, and quite effectively chilling speech that helps people understand how our information systems are being exploited and calls out powerful people and platforms for their bullshit.

Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.

Immigrants who worked in fact-checking, dis-information or content moderation will be INELIGIBLE for H-1B visas under Trump, per Reuters www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

That last point. Cassidy really has enormous leverage if he wants to use it. He would win this fight. Worst case is he winds up losing a primary and spends his 70s (he's 68 now) as a hero to millions. He'll likely never have as much influence over anything again as he has over this right now.

A picture is worth a 1000 words. The birth dose of hepatitis B vaccines in the USA eliminated perinatally acquired hepatitis B infection from over 20,000 cases a year before the vaccine was introduced to <20 cases a year. The gaslighting by the current members ACIP is obscene, unethical and cruel.

“Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Prohibition:

Effective January 25, 2026, individuals who are a current party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NIH grant or cooperative agreement.”
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

I have to enroll in my university's international insurance program to be allowed to travel to a conference being held in ... Puerto Rico

#headdesk

That Viral Essay Scandal is (SURPRISE!) Actually About Trans People A shoddy Oklahoma University essay went viral. Cis people think this is about conservatives whining for better grades. Trans people see a planned attack on a trans academic. (Note for free subscriber...

For my newsletter, I wrote about that college essay scandal that's gone viral and what everyone is seeming to miss:

It's about ATTACKING TRANS PEOPLE!!!

www.burnsnotice.com/that-viral-e...

I wrote a story about how easy it is to make accessibility accommodations happen, and yet, how somehow impossible? for people? to offer???

If you're in full fury over the discourse, come and get some catharsis at:

www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-1...

This this this

The major AI companies are just a series of Enrons stacked in trench coats.

The nation’s top diplomat speaks to the sleeping destroyer of the free world.

Professors have launched a Political Action Committee!

We are going to fight for the legislation that all faculty, students, staff, and higher ed workers deserve.

A new future for higher education is possible. Join us in the fight!

Every dollar JK Rowling makes from Harry Potter is going into bankrolling an extortion racket issuing legal threats to organizations across the UK to purge themselves of trans people or face ruinous lawfare.

Read the topic areas. These diseases affect everyone. Basic research provides the key we need to unlock the next generation of transformative cures.

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article) A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

This is just so dumb.

Demographic trends and disparities among NIH-funded medical school faculty in the US, 1970–2022 Background Although gender and racial/ethnic trends and disparities are well documented among recipients of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant funding, little is known about the demogr...

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

There is a part of me that is really really bitter that people are only now noticing how bad things are at large red state public universities like OU. It’s been this way for a long time.
Minority faculty targeted and abandoned.
Deeply conservative admins and vicious politicians.

OU placed a graduate student instructor on leave after a student publicly contested a grade and filed an illegal discrimination claim after she received a failing grade on an essay that cited the Bible. According to a statement released Sunday, the university wrote it is taking these concerns seriously and has begun a full review of the situation. “The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms. Upon receiving notice from the student on the grading of an assignment, the University immediately began a full review of the situation and has acted swiftly to address the matter,” the statement read.

Oklahoma University has placed a grad student instructor on admin leave for failing a psychology paper on gender for citing *the Bible* as a source of empirical evidence.

In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.

Universities are cooked.

'F*** Off And Let People Be': David Tennant Doubles Down On Support For Trans People "People are trying to create division... and it's so f***ing unnecessary."

Always love to see great talent using their platform for unabashed good.

Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?

We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.

Here we go. Its ALL #NIHGrant applications. Dec 8 is the new deadline. And a one page prelim data update will be accepted for all May Council submissions. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

An internal document from NIH which states that documentation must be provide for each funded grant but that no documentation need be provided for applications that are not selected for funding including those that are skipped back on overall impact scores.

This is concerning.

NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).

1/2

The satisfaction of being the first car to drive away from the parking lot pay station at my local airport after our flight gets in...

It's time for those left at CDC to reevaluate whether staying at the agency is in the public interest.

Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad

Church members flee as federal agents arrive at east Charlotte place of worship Witnesses say one man was detained while doing yard work while his wife and child were inside.

ICE raided a church in Charlotte, showed no ID, chased congregants into the woods, and left children sobbing.

The Trump administration is beyond inhumanity. This must end.
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...