BenDeBruyn
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bendebruyn.bsky.social
BenDeBruyn
@bendebruyn.bsky.social
58 followers 180 following 0 posts
Teaches English Literature at UCLouvain. Author of “The Novel and the Multispecies Soundscape” (2020) and other publications
Posts Replies Media Videos
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peterjukes.bsky.social
How on earth did JD Vance have the gall to lecture Europe about ‘free speech’
June 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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santiagomayer.com
At this point abolishing ICE and reforming the Supreme Court have to be non-negotiables for every 2028 Dem.
September 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
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mjsdc.bsky.social
The next Democratic president should declare that the National Emergencies Act and Article II of the Constitution allow him to:

•admit D.C. and Puerto Rico as states
•abolish ICE
•grant citizenship to any immigrant
•disband the 5th Circuit
•expand the Supreme Court

Seriously: Why the hell not?
September 2, 2025 at 3:31 PM
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melodyschreiber.com
Demetre Daskalakis was a key figure in the Covid, mpox, and bird flu responses. This is a huge loss.
donmoyn.bsky.social Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Aug 28
Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back.
"The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."
My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business. I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people. The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership. This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors. Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people. It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC. The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense. Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function. Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC. Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc. I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again. I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season. Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.” We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary. I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us. Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources. At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him. To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information. The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer. I believe in nutrition and exercise. I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability. Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun. The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud. I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur. I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics. I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision. Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically. Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution. If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.
August 28, 2025 at 1:45 AM
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zackbeauchamp.bsky.social
Reading an article titled "Why didn't Brazilian democracy die?" and a key part of the story is a Supreme Court that actually did its job
August 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
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manshel.bsky.social
The University of Chicago will not be admitting new PhD students in English, nor in almost any humanities field, this year. What a loss to our discipline! What a disservice to talented students everywhere!
More UChicago Ph.D. Programs Will Pause Admissions
The arts and humanities dean said “nearly all” faculty leaders preferred “a broader pause for the division.” Some social sciences programs also aren’t accepting new students.
www.insidehighered.com
August 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM
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norock.bsky.social
Buried in The Observer yesterday was this: UK police knocking on doors demanding details of social media accounts of people, to pass to a foreign government, simply because they happen to live near where a US politician wanted to have a holiday observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
“We have had the police knocking on every door,” said a dog walker and resident of Dean, as a helicopter buzzed overhead. “They wanted the names of everybody living there and details of their social media. I know several people refused. We asked them if they were protecting us, or Vance. At least they were honest and said it is for him and that it will all be passed on to the American security people.”
August 11, 2025 at 6:59 AM
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rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
I remember the worst day for crime in Washington D.C.'s history and whose fault it was.
August 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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humanimalia.bsky.social
Out Now: Humanimalia 15.2!
Featuring timely essays on human–animal entanglements, including 🐴 a taxidermied horse in London, 🐗 a feral pig in Australia, 🐐 “happy” goats in Italy, 🐾 robot dogs in Gaza, 🐦 pheasants in NL, and 🐑 sheepdogs in the UK.
🔓 OA here: humanimalia.org/issue/view/1...
July 30, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by BenDeBruyn
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant.

This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.
gwynnefitz.bsky.social Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · Jun 17
Here's a longer video of Brad Lander's detention just now inside 26 Federal Plaza as he tried to walk a man out of immigration court, by masked federal agents.
June 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
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pkrugman.bsky.social
So let me get this straight: masks are bad and un-American if worn to fight a pandemic, but good if worn by people claiming to be government agents when they kidnap people off the street
May 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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mcsweeneys.net
ICYMI: As of yesterday, this list was up to 215 entries. It's hard keeping up with him, though.
Lest We Forget the Horrors: An Unending Catalog of Trump’s Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes
Early in President Trump’s first term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We...
buff.ly
May 7, 2025 at 1:00 AM
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nellucnhoj.bsky.social
Sorry to be sharing more of this stuff, but it bears repeating: do not travel to the U.S.
March 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
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timothysnyder.bsky.social
The premise of American foreign policy to Ukraine, today, is one of grievance. It is worth patiently considering the proposals. They reveal little about Ukraine, but much about America in February 2025.
snyder.substack.com/p/recoup-the...
"Recoup the costs"
The sadism of American policy to war-torn Ukraine
snyder.substack.com
February 21, 2025 at 8:52 PM
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nikkihessell.bsky.social
I've extended the deadline & adjusted the wording on this scholarship after queries from prospective students.

Please encourage students interested in a funded PhD on poetry in either 18c/Romantic and/or settler colonialism & Indigenous sovereignty to get in touch!
www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
The image shows a screenshot of the same text that is in the link in the original post
February 14, 2025 at 7:12 PM
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jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
Please stop with the generative AI. It's garbage, theft, making us less capable. Image by www.nobodyssweetheart.com
"Stop forcing AI into fucking everything. Nobody asked for it. Everybody hates it."
February 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
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davidhiggins.bsky.social
Sometimes I feel uneasy with my silly little posts about birdwatching or my kids, given the state of things.

But I’m not sure that me posting “everything is fucking fucked, isn’t it?” every day would be helpful either.

Holding on to joy while facing up to reality is a tricky balance…
February 2, 2025 at 8:36 PM