Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Scott L Greer

@scottlgreer.bsky.social

3.1K followers 3.8K following 3.9K posts

Political scientist in a public health school. Health policy and politics, especially in Europe. Recent books on EU health policy, federalism and social policy, co-benefits. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Opinions personal. 🚲. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5288-0471 .. more

Videos

Political science 31%

Public Health 25%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · May 19

I’ve been writing about the politics and impact of Donald Trump on the US and world, with special attention to Europe and the University of Michigan, and most of it is free to read. This thread, in order, brings it all together. I hope it’s useful as a resource on the different issues.

2 17 47

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 5h

Seems to me that London’s loss of status is simply another case of Brexit’s negative sum outcomes. There is no requirement that a cool, global, thriving city should exist. Lose London, nothing ensures Paris or Berlin (let alone some gulf monarchy) changes to replace it.

Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 16h

Well. Quite. Also worth noting the article is intrinsically defensive. London is a great city but its pre 2016 era of being (imv) the best city in Europe are long gone.

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 16h

I adore London&fully agree on Dubai, but the author‘s criticism of Paris& Berlin is a joke. French political turmoil is bad is it? Have you watched UK news since 2014? German trains are slow? Thank God for the sound state of UK Infrastructure.
Love you 🇬🇧. But ditch the superiority complex. Please.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 5h

Almost guaranteed in human societies that minority groups know majority groups better than majority groups know minority groups or themselves.

andré carrington @andrecarrington.bsky.social · 5h

Saw a thing from the Atlantic titled "Why is Joe Rogan so popular?" The lede is "He understands men better than most," and that is not it AT ALL. People who struggle against patriarchy & cissexism understand cis men better than most, because they *have* to.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

andré carrington @andrecarrington.bsky.social · 5h

3 16 60

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 5h

I’m old enough to remember Fox and Republicans losing their minds about the threat of Ebola… in fact old enough to have written about their totally unserious response, which prefigures Trump’s COVID response, or MAHA

2 3

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Daniel W. Drezner, Jussi T. Eronen , and 6 more Scott L. Greer, Daniel W. Drezner, Jussi T. Eronen, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, Erol Akçay, Simon Lester, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 5h

Per CDC source: At internal leadership meeting this afternoon, it was shared that 1,257 people were RIF'd at CDC. Number may not be final. Apparently, chief of staff was unaware that RIFs were going to occur so not clear who is making decisions. (Short 🧵)

75 1.2K 2.5K

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 6h

Further implication is that a lot of crises in organizations as loyal employees/ members/ fans lose trust and mobilize. Sometimes the solution is exit (cancel subscriptions to Washington Post or NYT or LAT); sometimes it’s voice (make life hard for the managers). Either way, watch it.

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 9h

"what costs people like us sleep at night isn’t that we aren’t doing enough. It’s that we’ve lost confidence in the people who are in positions to do more. [Don't] let people in power—people who sought power, and people who have power by dint of wealth—off the hook too easily."

How To Reverse The Tide

It's the gap between what's needed and what we have that keeps us up at night.

www.offmessage.net

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 9h

How To Reverse The Tide

It's the gap between what's needed and what we have that keeps us up at night.

www.offmessage.net

7 22

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 9h

"Join organized marches—if you’re a U.S. citizen, the incremental risk of protesting is minimal. You’re likelier to be hit by a falling object or trampled to death at a concert than you are to be targeted for carrying a sign, or being an Indivisible volunteer or anything else."

How To Reverse The Tide

It's the gap between what's needed and what we have that keeps us up at night.

www.offmessage.net

1 2

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 10h

"The president is viewed less favorably on net than any league, including Major League Soccer (which fares awfully poorly). The only leagues with lower numbers? WWE and UFC, which are providing Trump his Education Secretary and 2026 birthday entertainment, respectively"

The glorious return of How To Read This Chart

Chapter 1 So, uh, what have you been up to? The last time anyone received an issue of "How To Read This Chart," President Trump hadn't yet deployed the military to D.C., the Mets were only a game-and...

www.howtoreadthisch.art

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 10h

Trump is shocked at how easy it was to turn the US into a personalist dictatorship (we're squarely on the way but not quite there) & claims to be having a lot of fun

All these actions reflect a buoyed commander-in-chief who feels emboldened to go further after feeling as though he has faced surprisingly little resistance to his ambitious agenda in the first 9 months. He has even remarked to aides that he is shocked how easy it is all proven to be.

While the war in Ukraine continues to bedevil Trump, causing him the most frustrations, he doesn't face the discontent, sniping and disagreements that characterized his first term, said David Urban, a long time ally. " This time, he's having way more fun," Urban said.

5 29 94

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Mark Rice

Ed Belongia MD @belongia.bsky.social · 11h

CDC has been a global leader in public health & played a key role in smallpox eradication. Health depts in red states & blue states rely on CDC expertise & support. The CDC EIS program trains the next generation of public health leaders & disease detectives.

They are burning it to the ground.

JAMA Health Forum Oct 9, 2025 by LO Gostin and P Lurie.
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has long served as the cornerstone of the US
public health system, combining technical expertise, evidence-based policy recommendations, and high-quality health information. Yet, it is undergoing profound weakening by the Trump administration, including major funding cuts, the dismissal and resignation of experienced senior staff, and the erosion of its scientific independence. With tightening political control, public trust in
the CDC is diminishing. Undermining the agency’s reputation and capacities will reverberate for generations, making the nation less prepared for future health emergencies, including diseases of
pandemic potential. At this perilous moment, we document the current assault on the CDC that will inevitably have serious repercussion

9 110 230

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 11h

De Leeuw, Evelyne. "Global and local (glocal) health: the WHO healthy cities programme." Global Change and Human Health 2, no. 1 (2001): 34-45.

Reposted by Evelyne de Leeuw

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 11h

This article on Healthy Cities by @evdle.bsky.social might seem like ancient history but I really like it because it's so rare to find a clear articulation of the program theory, process, and outcomes of an agenda like Healthy Cities. I wish more people would do exactly this. We'd learn a lot.

d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net

1 3 5

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12h

Good piece: DOGE was the battering ram, but Russ Vought was the one enabling it, and then hiding it's impacts.

During the months when DOGE was most aggressively canceling contracts, O.M.B. was concealing how it was moving money through to agencies. Mr. Vought removed a legally required public database tracking those records. When a court forced the administration to restore it in August, the spending logs showed O.M.B. exerting unusual control over agency spending, using other documents the public can’t see.

Under a 1974 law, it’s illegal for the administration to “impound” or block money appropriated by Congress (to not spend the funds on those credit cards). But Mr. Vought has made clear he believes that law is unconstitutional and wants to test it in court.

10 130 310

Reposted by Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 7 more Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, Juan Cole, Erika Franklin Fowler, Daniel Aaron, Robert C. Richards, Alan Richardson, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Timothy D. McBride

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 12h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

66 1.1K 2K

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Patrick Dunleavy, Scott L. Greer , and 6 more Brendan Nyhan, Patrick Dunleavy, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel Aaron, David R. Miller, Ann Bartow, Nicole Guenther Discenza

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 14h

More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

110 1.7K 4.7K

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 16h

Well. Quite. Also worth noting the article is intrinsically defensive. London is a great city but its pre 2016 era of being (imv) the best city in Europe are long gone.

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 16h

Janine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 18h

You definitely shouldn't move to Dubai, writes V&A director Tristram Hunt on.ft.com/46MfW1t

10 8 95

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 21h

Glass houses

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 21h

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, has implemented a Reduction in Force (RIF) affecting approximately 1,300 CDC employees.

apnews.com/article/gove...

Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown

Mass firings of federal workers have begun. That was the announcement Friday from the White House as Republicans worked to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown.

apnews.com

4 2

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 22h

Some original resistance to CDC’s creation came from northern states/cities that had built their own public health systems and didn’t see why the federal government should subsidize conservative/ rural/ southern governments to do the same.

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 22h

This isn’t weakening public health infrastructure, it’s fully decommissioning it. There will be a CDC in name only on Monday.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 23h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 22h

Here’s a list circulating inside the agency—unconfirmed but shared by multiple sources—showing the offices believed to be hit hardest. 👇 (NOT CONFIRMED)...

2 18 36

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 22h

This isn’t weakening public health infrastructure, it’s fully decommissioning it. There will be a CDC in name only on Monday.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 23h

4 8

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH @rmcarpiano.medsky.social · 22h

👇👇 "...all current (civilian) Epidemic Intelligence Service, and several people working on the Ebola response." 🛟

Staff at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention across multiple programs being fired tonight, including all current (civilian) Epidemic Intelligence Service, and several people working on the… | J...

www.linkedin.com

4 30 43

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Lisa W. Fazio, Nandita Sharma , and 35 more Shannon Vallor, Lisa W. Fazio, Nandita Sharma, Jonathan A. Eisen, Jocalyn Clark, Will Jennings, Jennifer A. Richeson, Julie L. Lockwood, Karen R. Lips, Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Benjamin Mason Meier, Philip N. Cohen, Philip Nel, Daniel W. Drezner, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, Alan Richardson, Silvia Secchi, Aaron Sojourner, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Margot C. Finn, Jason Lyall, Mark Rice, Kent Johnson, Brian Weatherson, Mary Jane Curry, Claire L. Adida, Larry W. Hunter, Richard M. Carpiano, David S. Tanenhaus, Aviel Roshwald, Jae-Young Son, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Timothy D. McBride, Melinda Baldwin, David Darmofal

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 23h

840 8.4K 15K

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott , and 2 more Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott, Robert Black, Jason Lyall

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

3K 420 3K

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 1d

Uh, slow walk the case, stop injunctions on shadow docket, eventually rule it’s moot and maybe employees can ask for individual damages years later?

Reposted by Scott L. Greer

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

“This is very much connected to the rise of authoritarianism that we’ve seen across the country,” said the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “They can’t win fairly, so they’re trying to rewrite the rules to get their way.”

(Published May)
By @jeremykohler.bsky.social

Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.

In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power t...

www.propublica.org

5 170 440

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Scott L. Greer , and 25 more Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Scott L. Greer, Michael A. Clemens, Rosemary A. Joyce, Martin Paul Eve, Juan Cole, Shelly Lundberg, Michael Kevane, Janet Murray, Alan Richardson, Aaron Sojourner, W. Andy Knight, Julia Lynch, Adrian Daub, Andrew Jacobs, Margot C. Finn, Scott A. Imberman, Bessma Momani, Michael Jones‐Correa, David Murakami Wood, Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Lester, Aviel Roshwald, David Waldstreicher, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 1d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

39 1K 3.7K

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Carl Henrik Knutsen

Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 1d

How do different forms of state capacity protect democracy? D Andersen, @chknutsen.bsky.social & @skaaning.bsky.social argue coercive & administrative capacity affect stability in distinct ways depending on threat: buff.ly/2yUrCqu

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com

5 14

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Christian E. Weller, Daniel W. Drezner , and 7 more Scott L. Greer, Christian E. Weller, Daniel W. Drezner, Rosanna E. Guadagno, David R. Miller, Silvia Secchi, Erol Akçay, Patrice M. Dabrowski, Manisha Sinha, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1d

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

230 2.4K 6.1K