Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kevin Green PHA, MPP @bucksco.bsky.social · 9h

As a former federal public health advisor in the old Division of STD/HIV/TB the MMWR de rigor reading…..

Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 10h

For those of us who study HIV/AIDS, this report in MMWR on 6/5/81 is significant. We may look back on the framing of this early reporting & criticize it, but that's all part of study & knowledge-making. Eliminating such reporting, as the GOP is doing, will be devastating.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview...

Pneumocystis Pneumonia --- Los Angeles

www.cdc.gov

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 10h

"The firings are part of broader mass terminations on Friday by the Trump admin, which said it would lay off federal workers from “Democrat” programs, in [Trump's] words, as the shutdown, which Trump has blamed on party members, drags on." Trump & Republicans own this shutdown & its repercussions.

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 11h

Richard Besser, pres & CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & former acting dir of the CDC, said in a statement Sat that the firings “will leave health officials & communities in the dark on infectious disease threats & developments on issues ranging from vaccination to maternal mortality.”

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 11h

Charlotte Kent, former MMWR editor-in-chief, on axing of MMWR by Trump: “What it really means is it is impossible to rapidly disseminate public health science for action...That would be critical if there’s a public health emergency.” #IllnessPolitics
www.statnews.com/2025/10/11/c...

Deep cuts made to CDC's flagship MMWR publication reversed hours later

Deep cuts made to CDC's flagship MMWR publication have been reversed hours later.

www.statnews.com

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 1d

This is the way.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 1d

The sadism is the point: Some CDC employees "noticed a pattern: This latest round of layoffs came on the eve of the Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday weekend, while previous cuts to federal health agencies were announced on Valentine’s Day & April Fools’ Day."

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 1d

This detail is telling: "Earlier on Friday, as part of a medical checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Mr. Trump received a Covid booster shot & a flu vaccine, according to the White House."

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 1d

This is beyond bad. All of our disease defenses are down now. We are sitting ducks. This is #RussellVought #DonaldTrump #RFKJr. They are endangering American lives with their insane crusade. These men are hazardous to your health and dangerous to the republic. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 1d

This is beyond bad. All of our disease defenses are down now. We are sitting ducks. This is #RussellVought #DonaldTrump #RFKJr. They are endangering American lives with their insane crusade. These men are hazardous to your health and dangerous to the republic. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

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Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 2d

🚨🚨 @utaustin.bsky.social is working to eliminate its Black studies, Latin studies, and gender studies depts -- utterly reneging on its mission and depriving students of the full educational opportunities they deserve. Please--scholars AND publishers--share & write to UT leaders. #SaveUT

UT Austin wants to eliminate its Black studies, Latino Studies, and gender studies departments. Tell them you won't stand for it.
UT President, Jim Davis, president@utexas.edu
UT Executive Vice President and Provost, William Inboden, provost@utexas.edu
College of Liberal Arts Interim Dean, David Sosa, david_sosa@austin.utexas.edu
#EducationalLiberty #SaveUT

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

Or not...

bsky.app/profile/gabr...

Gabrielle Hecht has no more spoons @gabriellehecht.bsky.social · 2d

hmm not so sure

H/t @rheinze.bsky.social

The Making of María Corina Machado | Caracas Chronicles

She moderated her tone in the lead-up to July 28, but Machado is now engaging with the MAGA camp. How did she get here after 25 years?

www.caracaschronicles.com

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Gabrielle Hecht has no more spoons @gabriellehecht.bsky.social · 2d

hmm not so sure

H/t @rheinze.bsky.social

The Making of María Corina Machado | Caracas Chronicles

She moderated her tone in the lead-up to July 28, but Machado is now engaging with the MAGA camp. How did she get here after 25 years?

www.caracaschronicles.com

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

“The committee commended Machado as a ‘brave and committed champion of peace’ who ‘keeps the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness.’” An inspired choice for Venezuela & the world.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

Leader of country’s opposition receives award after scrutiny surrounding committee and comments by Donald Trump * Nobel peace prize – latest Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado has won the Nobel peace prize. The committee commended Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who “keeps the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness”. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

Leader of country’s opposition receives award after scrutiny surrounding committee and comments by Donald Trump * Nobel peace prize – latest Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado has won the Nobel peace prize. The committee commended Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who “keeps the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness”. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

Did not know that. Where was he from? Yugoslavia?!

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

Politics as a theater of the absurd.

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 2d

I donated some copies of Let This Radicalize You for distribution at an ICE watch training for folks who want to join school patrols in a nearby neighborhood. Not everyone got a copy, because 120 people showed up for that training tonight. I am endlessly proud of Chicago.

A display of copies of Let This Radicalize You on a table in front of a sign that reads: "Let This Radicalize You offers stories, strategy and heart for the kind of collective care and resistance we're building together today. It helps us move from reacting to organizing. Showing how ordinary people protect each other, build power, and keep hope alive. Take a copy. Read it. Stay connected."

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

That’s some power! Use it wisely.
I was not watching but saw the clip &, wow, that’s Bill-Buckner-between-the-legs bad.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

Found it...

bsky.app/profile/yash...

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 2d

Andrew Cuomo keeps saying he’s the only candidate who can take on Trump once he’s in office.

Yet in his statement about the indictment of Letitia James, the highest-ranking Black elected official in the state, he doesn’t even mention Trump by name….and, more importantly, he doesn’t mention James.

Andrew Cuomo * @andrewcuomo
X.com
In a democracy, the rule of law must be sacred - impartial, objective, and above politics. When the law is weaponized or manipulated to advance political agendas, it erodes public trust and weakens the very foundation of justice. Whether it comes from the right or the left, from prosecutors or politicians, the politicization of law enforcement is dangerous and corrosive.
We must restore faith in fairness, facts, and due process - because once justice becomes partisan, everyone loses.
3:56 PM • 10/9/25 • 41K Views

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

I saw Mamdani's strong statement in support of AG James. Has Cuomo said anything about the weaponization of DOJ or the spurious indictment against James?

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 2d

Our plane to Spain is in the air!

🙌🙌

Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

NY Attorney General Letitia James: “I am a proud woman of faith, & I know that faith & fear cannot share the same space. And so today I am not fearful, I am fearless, and as my faith teaches me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper.”

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

AG James's statement is, as expected, 🔥🔥🔥: “This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the NY Attorney General." ag.ny.gov/press-releas...

Attorney General Letitia James Issues Statement on Donald Trump’s Weaponization of the Department of Justice

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued the following statement after she was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Eastern

ag.ny.gov

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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 2d

"Assault" captures the impact of Trump & RFK Jr's aggressively regressive public health policies. I've been calling this "illness as policy," which makes people sick thru reversals of policies that protect health & also thru malevolent treatment of federal workers. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Assault on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Budget Cuts, Political Control, and the Erosion of Trust

This JAMA Forum discusses measures the Trump administration has taken against the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that include budget cuts and program eliminations, workforce reductions ...

jamanetwork.com

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 2d

None of us can do everything but each of us can do SOMETHING.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 2d

New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption.

My full statement:

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 2d

Andrew Cuomo keeps saying he’s the only candidate who can take on Trump once he’s in office.

Yet in his statement about the indictment of Letitia James, the highest-ranking Black elected official in the state, he doesn’t even mention Trump by name….and, more importantly, he doesn’t mention James.

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Sami Schalk @drsamischalk.bsky.social · 3d

Job Alert! @uwmadisongws.bsky.social is hiring an assistant professor or recently tenured associate professor who works on gender or sexuality and aging. If this sounds like you, please apply! If it’s not you, please share with your networks.

jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...

Assistant/Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies (RISE - THRIVE) - Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...

jobs.wisc.edu

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