@grumpyoldscientist.bsky.social
Recovering federal regulator, molecular biologist, serious dog person
“ any other course of action might be construed as securities fraud, because the public statements of corporations in support of progressive causes tended to conflict with the actions and interests of the businesses making them.”
Because businesses have more rights than people in our world.
Because businesses have more rights than people in our world.
I wrote about the cowardly lions of corporate America under Trump and their decades-long push to shape the country’s political life and democracy, no matter their protestations to the contrary now. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
America’s Most Powerful CEOs Are Awfully Quiet Lately
Trump has exposed an ugly truth about corporations: They’re no longer even pretending to be good citizens.
www.bloomberg.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:04 PM
“ any other course of action might be construed as securities fraud, because the public statements of corporations in support of progressive causes tended to conflict with the actions and interests of the businesses making them.”
Because businesses have more rights than people in our world.
Because businesses have more rights than people in our world.
They are dredging Eliot Cohen back up again. A failed prophet who is not reading the European news if he thinks that speech ( followed by a trip to Hungary) reassured anyone in Europe.
The Atlantic continues to cover itself in glory. This guy is treated as an elder statesman for a career that peaked with—drumroll—being one of the earliest and loudest proponents for invading Iraq after 9/11. I suppose it's good he's now a fan of white nationalism, that means it too will fail.
February 17, 2026 at 3:52 PM
They are dredging Eliot Cohen back up again. A failed prophet who is not reading the European news if he thinks that speech ( followed by a trip to Hungary) reassured anyone in Europe.
Figuring out how to keep your thymus functioning past the neonatal period could be very useful.
Axolotls can completely rebuild their thymus, a key immune organ
Axolotls wow scientists by regenerating this complex organ
Axolotls can completely rebuild their thymus, a key immune organ
www.scientificamerican.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Figuring out how to keep your thymus functioning past the neonatal period could be very useful.
Reposted
There’s going to be Covid style shortages of cars, TVs and even washing machines and fridges, then job losses because assembly lines can’t source solid state memory, just so the stupidest person you know can state with 100% confidence a chatbot confirmed dinosaurs coexisted with humans.
I understand framing the AI bubble RAM supply crisis in terms of stuff like video game consoles because nerds can conceptualize that but the framing does really undersell the sheer magnitude of how it's going to fuck up everything that even touches a computer.
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
There’s going to be Covid style shortages of cars, TVs and even washing machines and fridges, then job losses because assembly lines can’t source solid state memory, just so the stupidest person you know can state with 100% confidence a chatbot confirmed dinosaurs coexisted with humans.
The “Clinton legacy” is not what it’s cracked up to be. If Epstein brings them ( the rest of the way) down, it will be only justice.
Someone tell Hillary that this is her husband’s legacy too
February 17, 2026 at 3:40 PM
The “Clinton legacy” is not what it’s cracked up to be. If Epstein brings them ( the rest of the way) down, it will be only justice.
Reposted
Marco Rubio has arrived in Hungary for talks with Viktor Orban ahead of elections where the nationalist leader faces a significant challenge from the opposition.
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
Marco Rubio visits Viktor Orban as Hungarian leader trails in polls ahead of election
Orban has a fight on his hands for the 12 April elections in Hungary, as polls suggest his party is trailing the opposition.
jrnl.ie
February 16, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Marco Rubio has arrived in Hungary for talks with Viktor Orban ahead of elections where the nationalist leader faces a significant challenge from the opposition.
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying that Orban had produced "phenomenal" results in Hungary.
jrnl.ie/6958301
“To see the U.S. military completely divorced as an institution from the broader American community.” We went from soldiers to warfighters, which sounds like a videogame. But the citizenry are not NPCs, without their support war cannot be sustained.
“He wants the military to be hyperpolitical; he just wants it to be his politics. He doesn’t want officers who are apolitical and focus only on their specific professional tasks; he wants officers who will assert his own conservative political views”
Seems obvious to me. Amazed anyone falls for it.
Seems obvious to me. Amazed anyone falls for it.
The Myth of the Warfighter
The Soldier and the Educational Institutions
othermeans.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:36 AM
“To see the U.S. military completely divorced as an institution from the broader American community.” We went from soldiers to warfighters, which sounds like a videogame. But the citizenry are not NPCs, without their support war cannot be sustained.
Reposted
Today Marco Rubio told Orban that "President Trump is deeply committed to your success."
That tells you all you need to know. Orban is a corrupt autocrat who the Trump regime sees as a tool to divide and weaken Europe.
We hope the voters of Hungary throw Orban out in April!
That tells you all you need to know. Orban is a corrupt autocrat who the Trump regime sees as a tool to divide and weaken Europe.
We hope the voters of Hungary throw Orban out in April!
February 16, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Today Marco Rubio told Orban that "President Trump is deeply committed to your success."
That tells you all you need to know. Orban is a corrupt autocrat who the Trump regime sees as a tool to divide and weaken Europe.
We hope the voters of Hungary throw Orban out in April!
That tells you all you need to know. Orban is a corrupt autocrat who the Trump regime sees as a tool to divide and weaken Europe.
We hope the voters of Hungary throw Orban out in April!
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said the issue of Greenland had “distracted in ways that I don’t think that any of us could have anticipated,”
Is she really that dim and out of touch?
Explore this gift article from The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/u...
Is she really that dim and out of touch?
Explore this gift article from The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/u...
In Munich, Lawmakers Concede Scars Remain After Trump’s Greenland Threat
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said the issue of Greenland had “distracted in ways that I don’t think that any of us could have anticipated,”
Is she really that dim and out of touch?
Explore this gift article from The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/u...
Is she really that dim and out of touch?
Explore this gift article from The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/u...
Reposted
medical miracle: this 75 year old man was born yesterday
Schumer on DHS reforms: "I believe Republicans will have no choice but to go along with us because it's so common sense"
February 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM
medical miracle: this 75 year old man was born yesterday
And this doesn’t include biotech, but I assure you, the trend is the same. Rubio can harp on Western culture all he wants, but tech wise, it is becoming the lagging strand.
“For the first time in two centuries, the West is no longer the leader in future technology, but the follower"
NEW: @katemac.bsky.social and I @phenomenalworld.bsky.social write about what China's tech acceleration means for the world. Subscribe & read here: www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
NEW: @katemac.bsky.social and I @phenomenalworld.bsky.social write about what China's tech acceleration means for the world. Subscribe & read here: www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
February 15, 2026 at 4:46 PM
And this doesn’t include biotech, but I assure you, the trend is the same. Rubio can harp on Western culture all he wants, but tech wise, it is becoming the lagging strand.
We all “ sort of” know the arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, but here is a nice illustration.
Updated yearly zonal mean temperature anomalies since 1900 (by latitude) - regional trends, greater year-to-year variability in the N. Hemisphere, & pronounced #Arctic warming
Note: uncertainties in Southern Ocean data & latitude is not scaled by distance. Graphic from zacklabe.com/climate-chan...
Note: uncertainties in Southern Ocean data & latitude is not scaled by distance. Graphic from zacklabe.com/climate-chan...
February 15, 2026 at 4:43 PM
We all “ sort of” know the arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, but here is a nice illustration.
A thought to share with your Valentine.
February 14, 2026 at 10:06 PM
A thought to share with your Valentine.
Because no one knows more than him about … everything. Ask him about his HS science fair project.
Moderna is at least the ninth company to have received a surprise rejection from Vinay Prasad and his team.
Trump official overruled FDA scientists to reject Moderna's flu shot
FDA's top vaccine regulator, Vinay Prasad, is known for overruling scientists.
arstechnica.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Because no one knows more than him about … everything. Ask him about his HS science fair project.
Go look up the whole thread. Here is someone who actually deconstructed what Rubio said. As opposed to hearing what they wanted to hear ( European leaders at the speech)
There will be people who are understandably desperate to hear this, but it's important to be clear-eyed about Rubio himself and what the Trump administration is doing. 🧵
February 14, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Go look up the whole thread. Here is someone who actually deconstructed what Rubio said. As opposed to hearing what they wanted to hear ( European leaders at the speech)
Reposted
Happy Valentine’s Day I made you this
February 14, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Happy Valentine’s Day I made you this
One might say that Moderna didn’t heed FDA advice on a comparator. But conveying this information in a Refuse to File signed by Prasad suggests animus. And communicating FDA rationale anonymously to journalists is totally outside agency practice.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
FDA refuses to consider Moderna flu shot in move experts claim is part of ‘anti-vaccine agenda’
Experts say ‘they’re just coming up with reasons’ as agency says application lacked ‘adequate and well controlled’ trial
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:01 PM
One might say that Moderna didn’t heed FDA advice on a comparator. But conveying this information in a Refuse to File signed by Prasad suggests animus. And communicating FDA rationale anonymously to journalists is totally outside agency practice.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Forbes gets the picture…we are casting suspicion on proven medicines, adjuvants, and a Nobel winning technology so we can study horse dewormer for cancer. And the big leucovorin paper was just retracted, that gets 0 mentions.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...
HHS Casts Doubts On mRNA Products, But Funds Studies On Debunked Ideas
It's conspicuous that HHS refuses to review Moderna's application for regulatory approval of an mRNA-based flu vaccine while it prioritizes research on debunked theories.
www.forbes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Forbes gets the picture…we are casting suspicion on proven medicines, adjuvants, and a Nobel winning technology so we can study horse dewormer for cancer. And the big leucovorin paper was just retracted, that gets 0 mentions.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...
Reposted
Everyone who believed him should resign in disgrace to spend more time washing the blood off their hands. There are no excuses for that level of willful ignorance.
In his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators that he would not cut funding for vaccine research or change the nation's official vaccine recommendations. He did both. n.pr/46QDn9p
RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He's broken many of them
In his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators that he would not cut funding for vaccine research or change the nation's official vaccine recommendations. He did both.
n.pr
February 13, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Everyone who believed him should resign in disgrace to spend more time washing the blood off their hands. There are no excuses for that level of willful ignorance.
God himself must blink at the stunning cynicism here…
“.. using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought ..”
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
February 13, 2026 at 3:13 PM
God himself must blink at the stunning cynicism here…
“Epstein received (Charles) Murray’s email address from his ideological fellow traveler James Watson”
Now there is no big surprise…
Great article
Now there is no big surprise…
Great article
A great piece from @alibreland.bsky.social on Epstein's race science obsession—one he shares with much of the contemporary right wing elite www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race
The files reveal the disgraced financier’s interest in “race science.”
www.theatlantic.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:42 PM
“Epstein received (Charles) Murray’s email address from his ideological fellow traveler James Watson”
Now there is no big surprise…
Great article
Now there is no big surprise…
Great article
You are known by the company you keep. Sudanese Armed Forces, Taliban, Duterte, Venezuelan FAES. ICE
Minneapolis: fatal shootings may amount to extrajudicial killing, warn UN experts
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Minneapolis: Fatal shootings may amount to extrajudicial killing, warn UN experts
GENEVA - The use of lethal force by U.S. immigration enforcement in Minneapolis may amount to arbitrary deprivation of life and other gross violations of international human rights law, and could cons...
www.ohchr.org
February 12, 2026 at 10:33 PM
You are known by the company you keep. Sudanese Armed Forces, Taliban, Duterte, Venezuelan FAES. ICE
Reposted
Late-stage capitalism in an era of mass surveillance means a competing doorbell-camera company ALREADY has a parody ad up of that wretched Ring Super Bowl ad -- and, ngl, it's pretty good: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROFb... (h/t @melanie-ensign.bsky.social)
Definitely Only for Dogs: Ring's Superbowl Commercial (Parody)
YouTube video by Wyze
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Late-stage capitalism in an era of mass surveillance means a competing doorbell-camera company ALREADY has a parody ad up of that wretched Ring Super Bowl ad -- and, ngl, it's pretty good: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROFb... (h/t @melanie-ensign.bsky.social)