Deborah Blum

Unfit to Serve: Jeanine Pirro Made Excuses for Jan. 6th Senators weighing her nomination for U.S. attorney should revisit her remarks denigrating prosecutors and calling defendants “hostages.”

The Senate just confirmed former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. If you want some examples of how ridiculous that is, see this piece I wrote with @normeisen.bsky.social:

www.thebulwark.com/p/unfit-to-s...

Trump And Miller Compel Colleges Not To Enroll International Students Trump officials are using rules, policies and agreements to compel and discourage U.S. universities from enrolling international students.

Wow. Had not realized that Columbia’s settlement with Trump admin included a commitment to decrease international student enrollment. In what way does this help “combat antisemitism,” which is supposedly the administration’s objective?
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...

Spot on. Unfortunately.

Science Stopped Believing in Porn Addiction. You Should, Too Research finds that porn-related problems are predominantly caused by religious conflict. Clinically, this means people need help, but not necessarily with the porn.

Here's another thing you can't blame on internet/porn accessibility: A major new "meta-analysis of research on pornography concluded that porn use does not predict problems with porn, but that religiosity does." www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wome...

Wall Street Journal headline and deck: "New York Shooting Puts Mamdani on the Spot Over Policing Views: The killing of four people in a Midtown office building rattled a city where mass attacks are rare and violent crime has declined."

It's really weird to demand accountability from a NYC mayoral candidate for a deadly NYC shooting rather than the current NYC mayor, an ex-cop who campaigned on a "tough on crime" platform and promptly got indicted for crimes

A newspaper wrecked on purpose.

The police insist they need astronomical sums of money and complete immunity from any harm they cause in order to be ready to protect us and then half the time they just decide they’d prefer not to?

Sigh.

Hundreds of NASA Employees Condemn Trump Administration Cuts in Public Letter The signatories of the “Voyager Declaration” warned the space agency’s leadership about the consequences of major budget cuts that would halt many science missions.

“I’m already at risk of losing my job, and I’d rather speak out and try to save something at NASA, rather than just hide under my desk until I get laid off." NASA employees sign public letter protesting cuts. Story by @kchang.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/45fBYca

Epstein crisis forces House GOP to scrap votes Republicans will not to tee up a series of bills this week because Democrats are continuing to force votes over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.

House Republicans are so afraid of Democrats forcing votes on the Epstein files that they're expected to shut down the Rules Committee until after the August recess, putting off other issues they had planned to address.

FDA panel promotes misinformation about antidepressants during pregnancy, psychiatrists say Nearly all of the 10 panelists emphasized what they said were risks of the drugs. Some claimed, without evidence, that antidepressants don't work at all.

FDA panel promotes #misinformation about antidepressants during pregnancy www.nbcnews.com/health/menta...

"...rousing concerns about safety that are not evidence-based or established..."

Reality: "no convincing evidence to suggest that SSRIs are linked to autism or birth defects."

White House Bans Wall Street Journal From Press Pool on Trump’s Scotland Trip

That'll teach them. (gift article)

Senior FBI & Justice Department Reporter, News Digital Company Description: NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and stre...

Big job open here at @nbcnews.com: Senior DOJ and FBI Reporter. We're looking for someone seasoned: Strong sources, knows the intricacies of the beat, able to publish revelatory reporting on major cases and the priorities of the leaders at HQ.

Apply here:

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/NBCUniversal...

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

So true. And so funny.

That made me laugh.

As I sit here drinking H2O and about to move onto drinking C2H6O I've gotta agree.

The Voyager Declaration Dear Interim Administrator Duffy, In light of your recent appointment as Interim NASA Administrator, we bring to your attention recent policies that have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission. We, the signatories of this letter, dissent from these policies, and raise these concerns because we believe strongly in the importance of NASA's mission, which we are dedicated to uphold. Major programmatic shifts at NASA must be implemented strategically so that risks are managed carefully. Instead, the last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA's workforce. We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources. These cuts are arbitrary and have been enacted in defiance of congressional appropriations law The consequences for the agency and the country alike are dire. Our Shared Commitment to Dissentin� Opinions We share a commitment to dissenting views in accordance with NASA Policy Directive 1000.0C, NASA supports full and open discussion of issues of any nature (e.g., programmatic, institutional), including alternative and divergent views. Diverse views are to be fostered and respected in an environment of integrity and trust with no suppression or retribution. (NPD 1000.0C, Section 3.5.5) Employees across the agency have raised concerns about recent actions to NASA leadership, yet we remain pressured to implement harmful measures. We choose to write to you directly because: (I) as Interim Administrator, you are the final step in the chain of Technical Authority, and (2) the issues we raise are agency-wide, rather than project-specific. As defined in NASA Procedural Requirement 7120 5F, Formal Dissent is "a substantive disagreement with a decision or action that an indiv…

• We dissent to changes to NASA's Technical Authority capacities that are driven by anything other than safety and mission assurance. The culture of organizational silence promoted at NASA over the last six months already represents a dangerous tum away from the lessons learned following the Columbia disaster. Changes to the system of Technical Authority, as suggested would be made in the June 25th NASA Town Hall, should be made only in the interests of improving safety, not in anticipation of future budget cuts. • We dissent to the closing out of missions for which Congress has appropriated funding because it represents a permanent loss of capability to the United States both in space and on Eatlh. Once operational spacecraft are decommissioned, they cannot be turned back on. Additionally, cancelling missions in development threatens to end the next generation of crucial observations. • We dissent to implementing indiscriminate cuts to NASA science and aeronautics research because this will leave the American people without the unique public good that NASA provides. Basic research in space science, aeronautics, and the stewardship of the Earth are inherently governmental functions that cannot and will not be taken up by the private sector. Furthermore, NASA has a nearly threefold return on investment in economic activity, and supports national security by ensuring the United States maintains its lead in science and technology. • We dissent to NASA's non-strategic staffing reductions because they will jeopardize NASA's core mission. Thousands of NASA civil servant employees have already been terminated, resigned or retired early, taking with them highly specialized, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out NASA's mission. • We dissent to canceling NASA participation in international missions because in doing so, NASA is abandoning America's allies. To date, 55 nations have signed on to the Artemis Accords, and withdrawing support from missions with our long-s…

We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the NIH and EPA who have released similar statements concerning the administration's actions at their respective agencies. We dedicate this letter to Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee, Dick Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe, Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon. Their legacies underpin every conversation about our shared commitment to safety and dissenting opinions at NASA.

NEW: Hundreds of NASA employees have filed a letter of formal dissent.

"We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources. The consequences for the agency and the country alike are dire."

How Canada became the centre of a measles outbreak in North America Confirmed cases of measles in Canada are nearly three times higher than in the US, despite Canada's far smaller population.

How Canada became the centre of a measles outbreak bbc.com/news/article...

Alberta "has the highest per capita measles spread rate in North America."

"What's changed is the rapid spread of anti-vaccine misinformation both in her community & beyond after the Covid-19 pandemic."

Ha. True!

Made me laugh. In, you know, a bitter kind of way.

This is wonderful and important work.

I became fascinated by witches because one of female poisoners in my upcoming book mixed arsenic & black magic in her murders. She didn't use poppets (also called voodoo dolls) but she did use black candles & curses. I now have a whole chapter about women and witchcraft. And I now follow Tad Baker.

ChatGPT advises women to ask for lower salaries, study finds A new study has found that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT consistently advise women to ask for lower salaries than men.

It's a bias amplification engine thenextweb.com/news/chatgpt...

The Headache \"Required reading for anyone with a head.\"—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff and Fuzz For the many millions of headache suf...

A shout out to my colleague @tomzellerjr.com on the launch of his smart, funny, surprising, entirely readable book about headaches. As @maryroach.bsky.social says, "required reading for anyone with a head."

Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

By Joe Hernandez, @danielestrin.bsky.social and Anas Baba

“Medical Properties Trust” owns 400 health care facilities & rents them back to hospital groups. 9 companies that leased hospitals from MPT have gone bankrupt. And while dozens of hospitals have been sold, entangled in bankruptcy proceedings, or become depleted shells, MPT’s execs earned millions.

Sen. Murkowski, feeling ‘cheated’ by Trump actions against wind and solar, says she’ll go to bat for Alaska projects Murkowski won a concession in the Big, Beautiful Bill to protect tax credits for 12 months for wind and solar. But she said a recent presidential order and Interior directive undercut those plans.

Lisa Murkowski (R, invertebrate) feels “cheated” by Trump after he overturned, with the stroke of a pen, the concessions she thought she had secured for Alaska in the big ugly bill.

She betrayed every single American with her vote to pass the bill, yet now she’s the victim. Of course.

Inside the Long Friendship Between Trump and Epstein

Whooo boy. Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/u...