Melanie Benesh

Chat is it good when a lawyer for DOJ says this

Opinion | Relax, America, There Is Life After Nonstick Pans

Relax, America, There Is Life After Nonstick Pans. Great piece this morning from Chef Andrew Zimmern www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Maybe not the most important thing right now, but it is utterly bizarre that the already very delayed Spring 2025 agenda was up for a couple hours nearly 3 weeks ago and still hasn't restored

Overflowing with love for this city

A bunch of feds lined up before Trump and Bondi and these other White House freaks. Bove visible at upper right, as identified by the NYT

The only reason for Emil Bove to be still showing up for Trump administration photo opps (in this photo from Trump’s D.C. takeover, peeking out at top right) is that Emil Bove understands himself to be part of the Trump administration on an ongoing basis www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

Alarming levels of Pfas in blood of those living near US air force base, study finds Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ were found at a level 10 times higher than people who did not work in contaminated zone

And yet the EPA will likely kneecap its own ability to clean up those very bases by repealing PFAS Superfund designation

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The article says that the EPA now thinks the cons outweigh the pros of adding PFOA and PFOS to the Superfund hazardous substance list. To be clear, those pros and cons are:

Pro: cleaning up extremely polluted communities

Con: hurting industry profits

An Industry Insider’s Changes at the E.P.A. Could Cost Taxpayers Billions

There is no scientific or legal basis for arguing that PFOA and PFOS are not extremely hazardous substances. They are toxic at levels much lower, in some cases orders of magnitude lower, than many (most?) other CERCLA hazardous substances.

This is about protecting industry profits full stop.

"Cockroaches" the exact literal term most used in Rwanda by Hutu ultranationalists against Tutsis in the lead up to when they killed hundreds of thousands of them in a matter of weeks. Also used by Begin to describe Palestinians, "drugged cockroaches in a bottle."

We are getting closer and closer to confirming @dqasci.bsky.social's estimate of 200 million Americans with PFAS in their water

Did OMB already take down the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda?

reposting with alt text bc yknow what that's a good catch

YouTube video by Environmental Working Group (EWG) America Deserves Better Sunscreen

Outdated #sunscreen rules = outdated protection

Americans deserve better than questionable ingredients and blocked innovation.

My colleague @melaniebenesh.bsky.social explains how FDA and industry delays are leaving Americans in the sun - unprotected.

#SunBurn #SkinCancer
youtu.be/QTLms4ZGi0A?...

There is one place, however, where Musk, with the help of his minions, achieved his goals. He did indeed shred U.S.A.I.D. Though a rump operation is now operating inside the State Department, the administration says that it has terminated more than 80 percent of U.S.A.I.D. grants. Brooke Nichols, an associate professor of global health at Boston University, has estimated that these cuts have already resulted in about 300,000 deaths, most of them of children, and will most likely lead to significantly more by the end of the year. That is what Musk’s foray into politics accomplished.

Musk should be asked about this in every interview he does now and forever. To ignore it is a dereliction of duty.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...

Important new analysis from EWG showing how many counties lose if Congress cuts SNAP benefits www.ewg.org/news-insight...

Happy pub day Mariah!! Congrats on getting this important book out into the world!

"do you have food safety tips" yes as a matter of fact I do I think the people should elect representatives who appoint experts to keep food safe theres a tip for you

'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …

Please highlight this story.

ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.

kfor.com/news/local/w...

Detained on verge of U.S. citizenship, Mohsen Mahdawi speaks from Vermont prison Speaking to NPR in his first media interview since his detention, lawful permanent U.S. resident Mohsen Mahdawi finds peace in meditation and hopes "America will fulfill its promise."

Speaking to NPR in his first media interview since his detention, lawful permanent U.S. resident Mohsen Mahdawi finds peace in meditation and hopes "America will fulfill its promise."

The toxins around us threaten our fertility. Black families face an outsize risk | Reniqua Allen-Lamphere My fear growing up was gun violence. But a bigger threat to my body may have come from an invisible villain

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

BREAKING: The #EPA announced plans to tackle #PFAS contamination.

But instead of stronger action, it’s delaying drinking water protections and letting some polluters off the hook.

From @melaniebenesh.bsky.social
www.ewg.org/news-insight...

Cockatoo removes anti-nesting spikes and throws them away

Again, birds have a lot to teach us.

#birds

There’s a new form of environmentalism. It’s called ‘Make America Healthy Again.’ How a group of moms wary of food additives and vaccines is changing the conversation on chemical risks.

“People regardless of party are right to demand healthier #food,” said Scott Faber (@faberfamilyfarm.bsky.social).

Faber sees the move toward removing #fooddyes as mostly talk.

“An agreement requires two parties. This is more like a marriage proposal that has not been accepted.”
wapo.st/42KUPJA

Food Industry Says There’s No Agreement With US Health Agency to Cut Dyes The US Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it plans to work with food companies to phase out use of many artificial food colorings by 2026, but industry lobbyists say there’s no agree...

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

related, as I pointed out in @ballsandstrikes.org, that's just not how due process works

"people shouldn't get due process if they broke the law" ok but it's *through* due process that a judge determines whether anyone actually broke the law so where are we now

ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...

tl;dr DOGE operatives stalked a federal employee with a drone

This is obscene

If you wanted to make Americans less healthy, this is how you'd do it

*underscores threat to legal profession's independence*

One of the things that jumped out at me was Trump isn't *just trying to neutralize legal resistance

He's *also conscripting law firms to implement his priorities, using private attorneys as fascist tools

ballsandstrikes.org/fedsoc-twelv...

How many years of “before normal” until what’s considered “normal” shifts?