Daniel Thiel
@dbthiel.bsky.social
Prof., Drummer, Papa, Dog owner, Michigan transplant seeking to be of service.
The title reads: the most powerful man “in” science (as though he’s a scientist)
Should be read: the most powerful man in “science”
Giving oxygen to this hack isn’t helping anyone get healthier.
Should be read: the most powerful man in “science”
Giving oxygen to this hack isn’t helping anyone get healthier.
CC @theatlantic.com. Seriously, WTF? ☝️ We are in the middle of knowledge crisis... and you print this? Deeply disappointing.
November 24, 2025 at 7:59 PM
The title reads: the most powerful man “in” science (as though he’s a scientist)
Should be read: the most powerful man in “science”
Giving oxygen to this hack isn’t helping anyone get healthier.
Should be read: the most powerful man in “science”
Giving oxygen to this hack isn’t helping anyone get healthier.
Agreed!
CC @theatlantic.com. Seriously, WTF? ☝️ We are in the middle of knowledge crisis... and you print this? Deeply disappointing.
November 24, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Agreed!
"If it’s a jet set, it’s a carbon-offset-private-jet set. After all, flying commercial won’t get you from your Davos breakfast on empowering African girls with credit cards to your crypto-for-good dinner in Aspen." Excellent piece!
Well-written essay from Anand Giridharadas, showing how power and influence corrupt completely, regardless of party or affiliation.
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"If it’s a jet set, it’s a carbon-offset-private-jet set. After all, flying commercial won’t get you from your Davos breakfast on empowering African girls with credit cards to your crypto-for-good dinner in Aspen." Excellent piece!
Qui bono?
The EPA is moving forward with approvals for pesticides containing “forever chemicals” as an active ingredient, dismissing concerns about health and environmental impacts raised by some scientists and activists.
Here’s what to look out for:
Here’s what to look out for:
EPA just approved new ‘forever chemical’ pesticides for use on food
Critics warn the EPA’s approvals of new PFAS pesticides could expose more Americans to “forever chemicals” through their food.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Qui bono?
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like:
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“Embarrassing” and “horrifying”: CDC workers describe the new vaccines and autism page
"The best way I can put it is it feels like we're on a hijacked airplane."
www.motherjones.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:41 PM
New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like:
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
The White House doesn’t offer a plausible legal rationale because the orders are illegal.
Various lawyers wouldn’t sign off on it because the orders are illegal.
Trump flipped out at veterans saying don’t follow illegal orders because he’s giving illegal orders.
Real Occam’s razor situation here.
Various lawyers wouldn’t sign off on it because the orders are illegal.
Trump flipped out at veterans saying don’t follow illegal orders because he’s giving illegal orders.
Real Occam’s razor situation here.
On the patently unlawful boat strikes
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.
WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:
1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:29 PM
The White House doesn’t offer a plausible legal rationale because the orders are illegal.
Various lawyers wouldn’t sign off on it because the orders are illegal.
Trump flipped out at veterans saying don’t follow illegal orders because he’s giving illegal orders.
Real Occam’s razor situation here.
Various lawyers wouldn’t sign off on it because the orders are illegal.
Trump flipped out at veterans saying don’t follow illegal orders because he’s giving illegal orders.
Real Occam’s razor situation here.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
There’s a moment in the classic film “Paths of Glory” in which an artillery officer, told to commit a war crime, asks for the order in writing.
That is happening right now, in real life, among US troops in the Carribbean.
Except in the movie, the demand kept the crime from happening.
That is happening right now, in real life, among US troops in the Carribbean.
Except in the movie, the demand kept the crime from happening.
Gift link: wapo.st/43FXQfO
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 22, 2025 at 2:46 PM
There’s a moment in the classic film “Paths of Glory” in which an artillery officer, told to commit a war crime, asks for the order in writing.
That is happening right now, in real life, among US troops in the Carribbean.
Except in the movie, the demand kept the crime from happening.
That is happening right now, in real life, among US troops in the Carribbean.
Except in the movie, the demand kept the crime from happening.
Yeah. I’ll say it. Billionaires are a policy failure.
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Yeah. I’ll say it. Billionaires are a policy failure.
Overplaying their hand. Watch for the backfire.
Seriously, fuck all the way off. 🤬 #USAdministrationIsPureEvil
New US rules say countries with diversity policies are infringing human rights
The new instructions also deem countries that subsidise abortion or facilitate mass migration as infringing on human rights.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
New US rules say countries with diversity policies are infringing human rights
The new instructions also deem countries that subsidise abortion or facilitate mass migration as infringing on human rights.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
US says countries with DEI policies as infringing human rights
US officials say the rules will stop "destructive ideologies" but others argue it is redefining human rights principles for Trump's goals.
www.bbc.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Overplaying their hand. Watch for the backfire.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Kelly: "I never expected after serving 25 years in the Navy flying combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait, flying the Space Shuttle, that now I've got to worry about my personal safety and that of my wife, Gabby Giffords, who was already nearly assassinated, because of something the president said."
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Kelly: "I never expected after serving 25 years in the Navy flying combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait, flying the Space Shuttle, that now I've got to worry about my personal safety and that of my wife, Gabby Giffords, who was already nearly assassinated, because of something the president said."
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
RFK Jr is NOT a "vaccine skeptic."
He is an antivaxx grifter & zealot, as his actions in government now prove. He is a menace.
Dark sh*t...👇
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c... via @helenbranswell.bsky.social et al.
He is an antivaxx grifter & zealot, as his actions in government now prove. He is a menace.
Dark sh*t...👇
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c... via @helenbranswell.bsky.social et al.
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism
A CDC website now promotes the debunked idea of a link between vaccines and autism.
www.statnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
RFK Jr is NOT a "vaccine skeptic."
He is an antivaxx grifter & zealot, as his actions in government now prove. He is a menace.
Dark sh*t...👇
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c... via @helenbranswell.bsky.social et al.
He is an antivaxx grifter & zealot, as his actions in government now prove. He is a menace.
Dark sh*t...👇
Under RFK Jr., CDC reverses course on stance that vaccines don’t cause autism www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/c... via @helenbranswell.bsky.social et al.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
If you receive an illegal order, you have a duty to disobey.
This isn’t controversial.
A President calling for the execution of anyone who reminds service members of this oath is showing us why the duty to disobey illegal orders is so important in the first place.
This isn’t controversial.
A President calling for the execution of anyone who reminds service members of this oath is showing us why the duty to disobey illegal orders is so important in the first place.
November 21, 2025 at 12:14 AM
If you receive an illegal order, you have a duty to disobey.
This isn’t controversial.
A President calling for the execution of anyone who reminds service members of this oath is showing us why the duty to disobey illegal orders is so important in the first place.
This isn’t controversial.
A President calling for the execution of anyone who reminds service members of this oath is showing us why the duty to disobey illegal orders is so important in the first place.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Scientists tell Americans not to trust the CDC.
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy
www.cidrap.umn.edu
November 20, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Scientists tell Americans not to trust the CDC.
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Personalized gold bars from the Swiss.
Used jumbo jet from Qatar.
Huge amounts of $$$ from crypto.
The amount of corruption in the White House is at unconscionable levels. We need some real serious ethics across the federal government.
Used jumbo jet from Qatar.
Huge amounts of $$$ from crypto.
The amount of corruption in the White House is at unconscionable levels. We need some real serious ethics across the federal government.
November 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Personalized gold bars from the Swiss.
Used jumbo jet from Qatar.
Huge amounts of $$$ from crypto.
The amount of corruption in the White House is at unconscionable levels. We need some real serious ethics across the federal government.
Used jumbo jet from Qatar.
Huge amounts of $$$ from crypto.
The amount of corruption in the White House is at unconscionable levels. We need some real serious ethics across the federal government.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
“The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika — an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S. troops who died fighting in World War II — as a hate symbol”
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
“The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika — an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S. troops who died fighting in World War II — as a hate symbol”
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work.
Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Submit a Claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work.
Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Getting ready for the upcoming ACIP meeting, I see. If your kids haven’t had their first MMR dose, get it as soon as you can.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Getting ready for the upcoming ACIP meeting, I see. If your kids haven’t had their first MMR dose, get it as soon as you can.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:26 AM
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Of course the White House is leaning into this. Because apparently they don't realize we exported more higher ed last year than natural gas & coal *combined*
November 17, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Of course the White House is leaning into this. Because apparently they don't realize we exported more higher ed last year than natural gas & coal *combined*
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
Threats against members of Congress jumped from 902 in 2016 to an estimated 14,000 by the end of 2025.
Survey researchers found white nationalism is the strongest predictor of support for political violence in America. buff.ly/xDfMIH7
Survey researchers found white nationalism is the strongest predictor of support for political violence in America. buff.ly/xDfMIH7
White nationalism fuels tolerance for political violence nationwide
Active white nationalist groups operate in all but two U.S. states. Researchers have found that there’s a strong association between holding white nationalist views and supporting political violence.
theconversation.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Threats against members of Congress jumped from 902 in 2016 to an estimated 14,000 by the end of 2025.
Survey researchers found white nationalism is the strongest predictor of support for political violence in America. buff.ly/xDfMIH7
Survey researchers found white nationalism is the strongest predictor of support for political violence in America. buff.ly/xDfMIH7
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
They asked a Google AI for Ed engineer “how he planned to enact his vision of the future, one where AI filled classrooms rather than emptied them. ‘The professors themselves,’ he said, would be responsible for figuring that out.”
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
This may be the best thing ive read yet on AI in higher ed, and its written by a Yale undergrad. Highly recommend.
Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI | The New Journal
Amid ChatGPT's rising popularity and a computer science cheating scandal, Yale students, professors, and administrators wrestle privately with the proper role of AI in education. What happens when eve...
thenewjournalatyale.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
They asked a Google AI for Ed engineer “how he planned to enact his vision of the future, one where AI filled classrooms rather than emptied them. ‘The professors themselves,’ he said, would be responsible for figuring that out.”
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
Reposted by Daniel Thiel
The ACA did 3 big things in the insurance market:
1. Guaranteed access irrespective of pre-existing conditions.
2. Required benefits like maternity and mental health, and prohibited lifetime and annual limits.
3. Provided tax credits to help people afford insurance.
1. Guaranteed access irrespective of pre-existing conditions.
2. Required benefits like maternity and mental health, and prohibited lifetime and annual limits.
3. Provided tax credits to help people afford insurance.
November 15, 2025 at 8:09 PM
The ACA did 3 big things in the insurance market:
1. Guaranteed access irrespective of pre-existing conditions.
2. Required benefits like maternity and mental health, and prohibited lifetime and annual limits.
3. Provided tax credits to help people afford insurance.
1. Guaranteed access irrespective of pre-existing conditions.
2. Required benefits like maternity and mental health, and prohibited lifetime and annual limits.
3. Provided tax credits to help people afford insurance.