John Kubale
@johnkubale.bsky.social
Infectious disease epidemiologist and research assistant professor at the University of Michigan @icpsr.bsky.social. Cat dad, data nerd, and Cincinnati sports fan. he/him
Reposted by John Kubale
to be clear these are not meaningful guard rails because there is no such thing except for sending people to jail and dismantling the whole enterprise
Minibus is out. Democrats were able to include some guardrails in about ICE:
-restricts ICE to spending $3.8 billion of its annual budget
on detention as opposed to being able to spend $10 billion
-$20 million that must be used for body cameras 1/
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
-restricts ICE to spending $3.8 billion of its annual budget
on detention as opposed to being able to spend $10 billion
-$20 million that must be used for body cameras 1/
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov
January 20, 2026 at 2:01 PM
to be clear these are not meaningful guard rails because there is no such thing except for sending people to jail and dismantling the whole enterprise
Reposted by John Kubale
At halftime, I decided to boot up my computer just so I could do this. You're welcome. #NCAAFB #CFP #Doink @sarahspain.com @cjzero.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 2:55 AM
At halftime, I decided to boot up my computer just so I could do this. You're welcome. #NCAAFB #CFP #Doink @sarahspain.com @cjzero.bsky.social
Pathetic with a capital P.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin is not giving up on working across the aisle, but she has also drawn some lines in the sand — including voting for any increases to funding for federal law enforcement, specifically ICE, without significant reforms to their behavior.
Story from @kdailey.bsky.social
Story from @kdailey.bsky.social
Elissa Slotkin isn’t giving up on bipartisanship, but there are some lines she won’t cross • Michigan Advance
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin is not giving up on working across the aisle, despite becoming the target of federal investigations and the ire of President Donald Trump in the last two months. But she has a...
michiganadvance.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Pathetic with a capital P.
Reposted by John Kubale
The person who is actually executing all this stuff, Marco Rubio, was confirmed by every single Democrat in the U.S. Senate.
![NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials:
Dear Ambassador:
President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state]
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hbpefio3f5csc44msmbgioxz/bafkreie7itpptx3xbxhpsnlaqmwk752h7pcrion5ija2apksljtax2adx4@jpeg)
January 19, 2026 at 5:16 AM
The person who is actually executing all this stuff, Marco Rubio, was confirmed by every single Democrat in the U.S. Senate.
Reposted by John Kubale
Obviously these issues matter. I am deeply concerned about the economy collapsing, and the fact that I’m paying TWICE as much for health insurance as I was last year. But the president attempting to wage war on his own people and our allies simultaneously should be the first thing out of your mouth.
January 19, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Obviously these issues matter. I am deeply concerned about the economy collapsing, and the fact that I’m paying TWICE as much for health insurance as I was last year. But the president attempting to wage war on his own people and our allies simultaneously should be the first thing out of your mouth.
Reposted by John Kubale
We’re not being hysterical when we say Chuck Schumer is extremely bad for America.
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
But Americans who want to save the alliance with Europe must have no illusions about how bad a condition this transatlantic partnership is in.
January 18, 2026 at 11:16 PM
We’re not being hysterical when we say Chuck Schumer is extremely bad for America.
Reposted by John Kubale
So on this fundraising campaign the DFL launched yesterday and is receiving critiques for today, I want to say a couple of things. 1. I work in fundraising and Simon is creating a PR crisis. That should be simple enough to understand. And 2. The delineation of funds needs to be clarified.
January 18, 2026 at 3:59 AM
So on this fundraising campaign the DFL launched yesterday and is receiving critiques for today, I want to say a couple of things. 1. I work in fundraising and Simon is creating a PR crisis. That should be simple enough to understand. And 2. The delineation of funds needs to be clarified.
Reposted by John Kubale
These elected Dems still don’t get it. @booker.senate.gov
January 17, 2026 at 11:34 PM
These elected Dems still don’t get it. @booker.senate.gov
Reposted by John Kubale
"Strangest of all is the liberal pipe dream that local police will stand up against ICE and CBP, when police have collaborated with ICE and been deployed to protect agents from protesters, even in so-called sanctuary cities."
An interview with Robin D.G. Kelley
www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
An interview with Robin D.G. Kelley
www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
Renee Good's Murder and Other Acts of Terror
An interview with Robin D. G. Kelley on how to think about ICE—and the broader history of police violence.
www.bostonreview.net
January 17, 2026 at 4:30 PM
"Strangest of all is the liberal pipe dream that local police will stand up against ICE and CBP, when police have collaborated with ICE and been deployed to protect agents from protesters, even in so-called sanctuary cities."
An interview with Robin D.G. Kelley
www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
An interview with Robin D.G. Kelley
www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
Reposted by John Kubale
Good summary of “don’t give him what he wants” from relatively comfortable white liberals.
January 17, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Good summary of “don’t give him what he wants” from relatively comfortable white liberals.
Reposted by John Kubale
Darkly funny because despite their talk Frey and Walz haven't actually done anything to stop DHS rampaging through the state. Good's killer remains free, for instance.
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Darkly funny because despite their talk Frey and Walz haven't actually done anything to stop DHS rampaging through the state. Good's killer remains free, for instance.
Reposted by John Kubale
Democrats are going to fund their own prosecutions.
January 16, 2026 at 11:49 PM
Democrats are going to fund their own prosecutions.
Reposted by John Kubale
The bar is underground and they still can’t meet it.
🚨NEWS: Senate Dems are reportedly offering ICE funding increases in exchange for body cams and de-escalation training for agents.
Body cams can be turned off. De-escalation training can be ignored.
Unclear if no masks, requiring ID badges, and no immunity is on the table.
Body cams can be turned off. De-escalation training can be ignored.
Unclear if no masks, requiring ID badges, and no immunity is on the table.
January 16, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The bar is underground and they still can’t meet it.
Some important context as the administration tries to position itself as a champion of rural health (it’s anything but). #episky
My colleague @adamsearing.bsky.social notes how Trump Admin will allow only 15% of the $50B in rural health funds in H.R. 1 to be used to reimburse rural hospitals despite being framed as a way to mitigate the draconian #Medicaid cuts harming rural hospitals: ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/10/21/t...
Trump Administration Severely Limits Rural Health Transformation Funds for Rural Hospitals and Clinics – Capped at 15%
Passage of the budget reconciliation law signed into law by President Trump (HR1) will result in a gross reduction of $990 billion in federal Medicaid and CHIP spending over 10 years and an increas…
ccf.georgetown.edu
January 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Some important context as the administration tries to position itself as a champion of rural health (it’s anything but). #episky
Reposted by John Kubale
Holy shit.
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Live Updates: Newly Released Records Detail Chaos During Fatal ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Holy shit.
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
My wife and I just donated. We can still take meaningful action even when our elected “reps” won’t.
you got it, Bill, thanks for the heads up. you can help people in Minneapolis like this
Just donated! If you have some money to spare please consider doing likewise? If not, just spread the word. Thank you!
January 16, 2026 at 1:54 AM
My wife and I just donated. We can still take meaningful action even when our elected “reps” won’t.
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car. I got six kids in the car"
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
January 15, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Some much needed good news! Also, if you’re not already following @amymaxmen.bsky.social, you really should. #episky
✨Africa CDC shuts down RFK's attempt to conduct a Tuskegee-like vaccine trial on children in Guinea-Bissau.
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Some much needed good news! Also, if you’re not already following @amymaxmen.bsky.social, you really should. #episky
Reposted by John Kubale
Yup—it is absolutely unconscionable that these researchers would knowingly and deliberately do this:
“To consign 1,425 infants to almost certain (70%-90%) Hepatitis B infection (and the chronic liver disease that eventually follows) is unthinkable.”
Knowingly do this to vulnerable kids? Grotesque
“To consign 1,425 infants to almost certain (70%-90%) Hepatitis B infection (and the chronic liver disease that eventually follows) is unthinkable.”
Knowingly do this to vulnerable kids? Grotesque
Future ethics in medical research students- get a head start on your syllabus and read it now. Because this will be taught as an example of unethical research 👇🏻
Thank you, @jeremyfaust.bsky.social, for this public service; we have all wanted to see the protocol of this deeply unethical trial being funded by RFK Jr in Guinea-Bissau, I’m grateful you obtained it and have published it
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
January 15, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Yup—it is absolutely unconscionable that these researchers would knowingly and deliberately do this:
“To consign 1,425 infants to almost certain (70%-90%) Hepatitis B infection (and the chronic liver disease that eventually follows) is unthinkable.”
Knowingly do this to vulnerable kids? Grotesque
“To consign 1,425 infants to almost certain (70%-90%) Hepatitis B infection (and the chronic liver disease that eventually follows) is unthinkable.”
Knowingly do this to vulnerable kids? Grotesque
Reposted by John Kubale
boy I dunno I think if the president of France just announced he was sending troops at the behest of Denmark to Greenland to protect against an American incursion I would not be among the 153 (!) Democrats vote to approve State Department/“national security” appropriations!
The House voted 341 to 79 to fund Trump's war-mongering foreign policy agenda.
Only 57 Democrats voted NO.
clerk.house.gov/evs/2026/rol...
Only 57 Democrats voted NO.
clerk.house.gov/evs/2026/rol...
January 14, 2026 at 11:53 PM
boy I dunno I think if the president of France just announced he was sending troops at the behest of Denmark to Greenland to protect against an American incursion I would not be among the 153 (!) Democrats vote to approve State Department/“national security” appropriations!
Reposted by John Kubale
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
January 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
Reposted by John Kubale
This administration excels at finding different ways to harm our children.
Assaulting and kidnapping them joins a long list -- bringing back deadly diseases like measles, slashing education funding, supporting Twitter's CSAM, and, of course, protecting the president's pedophile sex trafficker pals.
Assaulting and kidnapping them joins a long list -- bringing back deadly diseases like measles, slashing education funding, supporting Twitter's CSAM, and, of course, protecting the president's pedophile sex trafficker pals.
This is 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
January 14, 2026 at 1:31 AM
This administration excels at finding different ways to harm our children.
Assaulting and kidnapping them joins a long list -- bringing back deadly diseases like measles, slashing education funding, supporting Twitter's CSAM, and, of course, protecting the president's pedophile sex trafficker pals.
Assaulting and kidnapping them joins a long list -- bringing back deadly diseases like measles, slashing education funding, supporting Twitter's CSAM, and, of course, protecting the president's pedophile sex trafficker pals.
BREAKING: James Rodden, an ICE prosecutor who the Observer identified last year as the operator of an X account that posted “America is a White nation," “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and apparent praise of Adolf Hitler, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
ICE Prosecutor Who Runs Racist X Account Returns to Dallas Immigration Court
James Rodden, who the Observer identified last year as the operator of the account that routinely posted hateful statements, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.
www.texasobserver.org
January 14, 2026 at 1:19 AM