Kyrie Nelder

America Tips Into Fascism Today is different than before.

The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...

The Invention of “Sesame Street” Renata Adler’s 1972 review of the program that revolutionized children’s television.

“Small children from poor or middle-class families who watch ‘Sesame Street’ do better on cognitive tests and in first grade than children who do not watch it,” Renata Adler wrote, in 1972.

It’s true. This is the largest transfer of wealth from the poorest to the richest in our nation's history.

@alt-dea.altgov.info
SIT-IN. Protest trump everywhere.
Sit-ins worked in the 60s. It's hard to claim that people are dangerous insurrectionists if they are sitting on their asses. Trump is attempting his version of Tiananmen Sq. while claiming that public free-speech protest caused it.

NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings

Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history

It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women

Unreal

www.science.org/content/arti...

Be like Rosemary

#HandsOff

#April5

I don’t do this often and promise not to make a habit of it, but just this once: WE TRIED TO WARN YOU!!!!!

YouTube video by MSNBC ‘Flatly authoritarian’: New video shows masked agents arresting Tufts student

"A terrified young student, snatched off the street by a masked police force taken thousands of miles across the country without anyone knowing. It is as flatly authoritarian as anything we have ever seen in this country," says Chris Hayes on Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk's detention.

(Image of a google doc; first line is title & in larger font) Speaking Out for Democracy and US Higher Education To add your name to this statement, go to https://bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEdSign We publicly affirm our commitment to the enterprise of higher education in a democratic and free society, and to the values and practices that facilitate the production, advancement, and sharing of knowledge. Given the continuous and escalating attacks on higher education along with many other pillars of American democracy by the Trump administration and its allies, we call on colleges and universities to protect these values. We affirm that: The democratic ideals of free thought, free speech, free association, freedom of assembly and the right to dissent are worth fighting for. Democracy both honors our dignity as individuals and enables collective action on behalf of the common good.

2. Education is a fundamental pillar of a democratic society. People come from all over the world to take part in the free exchange of ideas and the depth of knowledge and expertise found in US colleges and universities. The capacity and tools these institutions provide to think carefully and deeply about politics, society, and the built and natural worlds produce scholars and world citizens whose contributions benefit us all. The value of American education has long been a consensus position across parties and ideologies; both Democratic and Republican administrations have supported our system of higher education. 3. Diversity is essential. Democracy requires that we invest fully in the rich array of our differences. We affirm the fundamental dignity and value of each person of every race, ethnicity, national origin, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, legal status, religion, identity, ideology and viewpoint. Bringing together people with different experiences, talents, and perspectives is critical to a successful learning environment and ultimately benefits society as a whole. 4. Education, knowledge, and science are intrinsically worthwhile. They improve both individual lives and the collective well-being of a democratic society. Cutting funding risks inflicting lasting damage on scholarly inquiry, from work in the arts to social policy to life-saving medical research and care.

5. Academic freedom is necessary to the pursuit of knowledge. Research must be conducted free from political threat if it is to identify and develop ideas serving the human race. These ideas, turned into action, are critical elements of any functioning society, including the rule of law, medical care, and scientific advancement. 6. No amount of accommodation or compliance will protect us. The current attacks on higher education amount to an assault on the foundational principles of democracy. If we abandon our commitments to equality, pluralism, and free scholarly inquiry we turn our backs on the most essential ingredients to our democracy: reflecting on our past, pooling our present talents, and investing in our future. As scholars, educators, and people who care about our students and our democracy, we believe it is our duty to speak out against the attacks on diversity and pluralism, on scholarship and learning, on academic freedom, and on democracy itself. We are doing so through this statement, and will continue to do so on our campuses and beyond. We urge the leaders of America’s colleges and universities, and every American who believes in democracy and education, to stand up for the values we share. We call on college and university leadership to refuse to comply with the unethical, irresponsible and frequently illegal demands of the Trump administration; to join together to speak out in defense of the values of academic freedom, scholarship and research; to protect their students and faculty from government reprisals; and to fight attacks on our institutions in the public sphere and the legal arena.

A key step in fighting the Trump admin's attacks on higher education specifically and democracy more broadly is to say as clearly as we can that we share values that are meaningful and that we will not stand by while our institutions are destroyed.

You can do that here:
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd

KEEP CALLING. PEEL OFF ALL DEM SENATORS YOU CAN.

☎️: (202) 224-3121

Tell them to vote NO on Cloture and NO on CR. Vote is pushed to after 1:15ish for now. Situation is fluid.

The only public YES votes are Schumer and Fetterman. They need 7-8 total. KEEP CALLING.

Call retiring Senators too!

🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave.

Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.

Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.

TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121

About half of all births are covered by Medicaid.

Over a third of all children are covered by Medicaid.

More than half of all nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid.

Republicans in Congress are making a big mistake targeting these families’ health care to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

Trump and Musk are going after Social Security, Medicaid, the VA, and public education.

In what universe, in what world, in what religion is it morally acceptable to cut programs for hungry children in order to reward the wealthy?

The idea of outsourcing any SSA function should scare the hell out of people. There's a reason why SSA employees must pass multiple background checks before having access to your Social Security record. There's also a reason why SSA data has never been compromised until DOGE came along.

DOGE has seized access to huge troves of sensitive personal and national security information – and can’t even set up its own website securely.

When DOGE fails to protect that data, it puts us all in danger.

@repstansbury.bsky.social, @connolly.house.gov and I are pushing back.

Anybody else planning on being there?

Medicaid covers...

-40% of births nationwide
-50% of kids with special needs
-72 million people in total

Remember this as Republicans move to gut the program to finance tax cuts that will overwhelmingly go to the richest 1% of Americans. 

"Party of family values."

As the Texas outbreak grows, how contagious is measles, really? Vaccination eliminated measles from the U.S. 25 years ago. But it can still spread in pockets where vaccination rates are low, like the west Texas county with a current outbreak. Here's how fast.

One consequence of the resistance to established science is the way it forces scientists and journalists to re-prove and remind people of what is true. NPR has a story noting why measles are a big deal: It's one of the most contagious diseases on Earth. loom.ly/WMZO9pw

Many folks are on Medicaid but don’t know it because their state calls it something else. Hoosiercare in IN. Peach care in GA. Badgercare in WI.

They don’t realize their medical care is on the chopping block. What does your state call it? Let’s get replies going and the word out!

This vote was to start the process of the cuts. It WILL come back for a final vote.

There are some chances to slow or potentially stop it. Need constant pressure on GOP

Focus on GOP swing seats & key committees. Energy & Commerce is where the Medicaid fight will go down. Ways&Means for tax fight.

Cutting $880 billion from Medicaid is going to have a lot of devastating consequences for a lot of people

Incompetence in Washington puts every American at risk, no matter how you voted. No one should be happy that the DOGE team - the same folks who randomly published classified U.S. security information online today - wants access to your bank account & Social Security numbers.

Anger, despair, and defiance from a voice within the US federal research system People around the world are watching with disbelief as the new US government closes down its aid programme, withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris agreement on climate change...

What the health & scientific world "have experienced in the past few weeks is like a death in the family. We are angry, shocked, & saddened, but we must not despair". This a telling account of what is happening in the #US, but I am saddened that the author felt it had to be written anonymously.

🦬 Our hearts are breaking for all of the civil servants being forced out of the service. They are firefighters, tribal liaisons, wildlife biologists, park interpreters, archaeologists, and many others. They are not "low productivity employees" — they are defenders of YOUR public lands.

At a time of massive income & wealth inequality, Republicans in Congress just introduced a budget to provide trillions in tax breaks to the wealthy, paid for by massive cuts to Medicaid that will throw millions of kids off health care & seniors out of nursing homes.

Unacceptable.

"Each year, NIH awards over 60,000 grants that directly support more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 different institutions. In fiscal year 2023, every $1 of NIH funding generated approximately $2.46 of economic activity" www.nih.gov/about-nih/wh...

YouTube video by Congressman Don Beyer Don Beyer Speaks About Trump's NSF Censorship on the House Floor

The Trump Administration's list of censored scientific terms that get NSF grant proposals flagged contains "women” and “female”, but no mention of “men” or “male.” There is “black” and “indigenous” on this list, but no “white.” The only identity not censored is mine.
youtu.be/dHXbpj1Z3UU

Shameful