Garrett McPheron
@gmcp19.bsky.social
PhD student @uwbioe | SynBio, immunoengineering, data science
Illinois ‘23 | MI fossil
Illinois ‘23 | MI fossil
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
papers like the New York Times actively help right wing propagandists by introducing false claims as something that's open to debate and interpretation, instead of clearly framing them up front as lies pushed by unreliable operators
Turning Point USA is a right wing propaganda op aimed at kids
Turning Point USA is a right wing propaganda op aimed at kids
October 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
papers like the New York Times actively help right wing propagandists by introducing false claims as something that's open to debate and interpretation, instead of clearly framing them up front as lies pushed by unreliable operators
Turning Point USA is a right wing propaganda op aimed at kids
Turning Point USA is a right wing propaganda op aimed at kids
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
UPDATE:
At the Small Business Administration, employees were given "suggested" language for OOO email replies: blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown and praising the "record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump administration":
www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
At the Small Business Administration, employees were given "suggested" language for OOO email replies: blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown and praising the "record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump administration":
www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
Trump administration uses taxpayer dollars to blame Democrats for government shutdown
Federal employees across the government reported seeing similar messages. Experts say the messages may violate ethics laws meant to keep partisan politics out of day-to-day governing.
www.npr.org
October 1, 2025 at 4:02 PM
UPDATE:
At the Small Business Administration, employees were given "suggested" language for OOO email replies: blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown and praising the "record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump administration":
www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
At the Small Business Administration, employees were given "suggested" language for OOO email replies: blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown and praising the "record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump administration":
www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Now with comments... Lots of comments
(A long thread)
1/n
(A long thread)
1/n
September 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Now with comments... Lots of comments
(A long thread)
1/n
(A long thread)
1/n
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
BREAKING: Cascade PBS, which operates the website Crosscut, is laying off 19 people, reportedly including its entire news staff. In an email to staff, CEO Rob Dunlop blamed federal cuts, saying the nonprofit is "winding down our longform, written journalism."
September 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
BREAKING: Cascade PBS, which operates the website Crosscut, is laying off 19 people, reportedly including its entire news staff. In an email to staff, CEO Rob Dunlop blamed federal cuts, saying the nonprofit is "winding down our longform, written journalism."
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Charlie Kirk fans threaten HBCUs because they want to lash out at Charlie’s enemies, and theirs, and they’re conceding that means black people. Not ONLY, but definitely.
Multiple Historically Black Universities and Colleges in the South were on lockdown or have cancelled classes on Thursday over a potential threat.
Potential threats trigger lockdowns at several HBCUs across the South | CNN
Multiple historically Black colleges and universities in the South were on lockdown or cancelled classes on Thursday over potential threats.
www.cnn.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Charlie Kirk fans threaten HBCUs because they want to lash out at Charlie’s enemies, and theirs, and they’re conceding that means black people. Not ONLY, but definitely.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
For those unaware:
RFK Jr has been spreading anti-vaccine lies for over 20 years.
This is not new. This is not “since COVID.”
He wrote a 2005 article in Rolling Stone blaming vaccine ingredients for autism.
Be aware of this history.
He is a millionaire because of the disinformation HE created.
RFK Jr has been spreading anti-vaccine lies for over 20 years.
This is not new. This is not “since COVID.”
He wrote a 2005 article in Rolling Stone blaming vaccine ingredients for autism.
Be aware of this history.
He is a millionaire because of the disinformation HE created.
August 29, 2025 at 11:36 PM
For those unaware:
RFK Jr has been spreading anti-vaccine lies for over 20 years.
This is not new. This is not “since COVID.”
He wrote a 2005 article in Rolling Stone blaming vaccine ingredients for autism.
Be aware of this history.
He is a millionaire because of the disinformation HE created.
RFK Jr has been spreading anti-vaccine lies for over 20 years.
This is not new. This is not “since COVID.”
He wrote a 2005 article in Rolling Stone blaming vaccine ingredients for autism.
Be aware of this history.
He is a millionaire because of the disinformation HE created.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Ah yes, political oversight and apparatchik approval for science funding. Worked great for the USSR!!
Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the process of Federal
www.whitehouse.gov
August 8, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Ah yes, political oversight and apparatchik approval for science funding. Worked great for the USSR!!
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
As Zeldin speaks, the heat index at the bottom of the screen is showing parts of the country hitting feels-like temperatures of 121 degrees. Extreme heat is a leading cause of death from climate change, a toll that will increase as CO2 levels rise.
Zeldin: "EPA is proposing to rescind the 2009 Obama EPA endangerment finding to eliminate all of the greenhouse gas emissions regulations that followed."
July 29, 2025 at 6:29 PM
As Zeldin speaks, the heat index at the bottom of the screen is showing parts of the country hitting feels-like temperatures of 121 degrees. Extreme heat is a leading cause of death from climate change, a toll that will increase as CO2 levels rise.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Please comment on this! The complexity of living systems cannot be fully recapitulated by in vitro or computational approaches alone. While advances in non-animal model technologies offer complementary tools, they lack the full physiological and developmental context of a living organism.
🧪 After the workshop on 7/7, the FDA and NIH are asking for public comments on implementing novel methodologies and other strategies to reduce the use of animal testing by 7/14:
www.fda.gov/news-events/...
www.fda.gov/news-events/...
FDA-NIH Workshop: Reducing Animal Testing
The FDA is hosting a workshop on reducing animal testing. The workshop is open to current FDA and NIH employees.
www.fda.gov
July 10, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Please comment on this! The complexity of living systems cannot be fully recapitulated by in vitro or computational approaches alone. While advances in non-animal model technologies offer complementary tools, they lack the full physiological and developmental context of a living organism.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
I know there’s a lot going on but it really seems like the escalating climate emergency should be getting more attention
July 6, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I know there’s a lot going on but it really seems like the escalating climate emergency should be getting more attention
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
One of my most pointless activities is speculating about what the fuck is going on the minds of people like this. It is very, very easy to learn that this is false. Does he really believe it? Is he just flat lying? What is the mental state?
Markwayne Mullin: "When we start talking about we are reforming Medicaid, not cutting Medicaid, meaning we're gonna kick people off that are just lazy."
July 3, 2025 at 8:43 PM
One of my most pointless activities is speculating about what the fuck is going on the minds of people like this. It is very, very easy to learn that this is false. Does he really believe it? Is he just flat lying? What is the mental state?
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
It’s not just punishing employees for writing an open letter. They are also pursuing leakers. They have stopped cooperating with congressional investigators like GAO and see to defund them. They want to keep the public in the dark, and fear is a key mechanism.
Illegal, vindictive & abusive thuggery:
EPA puts 139 employees on leave who criticized administration.
The staff were put on administrative leave after signing a “declaration of dissent.” subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene... ($) 1/
EPA puts 139 employees on leave who criticized administration.
The staff were put on administrative leave after signing a “declaration of dissent.” subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene... ($) 1/
E&E News: EPA puts 139 employees on leave who criticized administration
The staff were put on administrative leave after signing a “declaration of dissent.”
subscriber.politicopro.com
July 3, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It’s not just punishing employees for writing an open letter. They are also pursuing leakers. They have stopped cooperating with congressional investigators like GAO and see to defund them. They want to keep the public in the dark, and fear is a key mechanism.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
donald trumps OBBB gives ICE a billion dollar budget which makes ICE the 3rd largest military in the world, only behind china and the united states military budget. this is the modern day gestapo
July 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
donald trumps OBBB gives ICE a billion dollar budget which makes ICE the 3rd largest military in the world, only behind china and the united states military budget. this is the modern day gestapo
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
I am grieving the barbarism that is going to unfurl from all this. People are going to die. Livelihoods gone. All to feed a corrupt kleptocracy.
I see every day up close how different it is from the first time around. There are no guardrails. A disaster. I’m sorry we have to live through this.
I see every day up close how different it is from the first time around. There are no guardrails. A disaster. I’m sorry we have to live through this.
July 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I am grieving the barbarism that is going to unfurl from all this. People are going to die. Livelihoods gone. All to feed a corrupt kleptocracy.
I see every day up close how different it is from the first time around. There are no guardrails. A disaster. I’m sorry we have to live through this.
I see every day up close how different it is from the first time around. There are no guardrails. A disaster. I’m sorry we have to live through this.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
July 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Anyone still quibbling that this isn't fascism?
The White House has ordered the US Dept. of Justice to prioritize denaturalization: voiding the citizenship of US citizens.
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
June 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Anyone still quibbling that this isn't fascism?
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Also, "why don't we just get members of the public to chip in a few bucks" is literally taxes.
That's taxes.
You are talking about taking a small amount from everyone to fund important, societal needs.
Taxes.
And it has to be done at the scale of... taxes.
That's taxes.
You are talking about taking a small amount from everyone to fund important, societal needs.
Taxes.
And it has to be done at the scale of... taxes.
Folks, “why don’t we just get the members of the public who care to chip in a few bucks” is not a serious or thoughtful suggestion to drastic cuts at the national science foundation.
Stop saying unhelpful nonsense and I won’t have to block you.
Stop saying unhelpful nonsense and I won’t have to block you.
June 18, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Also, "why don't we just get members of the public to chip in a few bucks" is literally taxes.
That's taxes.
You are talking about taking a small amount from everyone to fund important, societal needs.
Taxes.
And it has to be done at the scale of... taxes.
That's taxes.
You are talking about taking a small amount from everyone to fund important, societal needs.
Taxes.
And it has to be done at the scale of... taxes.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
This isn't conventional political capture. It’s structural privatization of government. Where the civil service isn't politicized directly; kneecap it so that it's outcompeted, then replaced by ideologically aligned private contractors.
They’re co-opting the state via rentier privatization.
They’re co-opting the state via rentier privatization.
They are trying to establish a parallel state controlled by select privateers. Public goods are extremely ripe for rent extraction when you disincentivize participation in the civil service labor market. Then, you needn't politicize the civil service. You simply leverage patronage through contracts.
Senate strips most retirement cuts from reconciliation, but anti-civil service provisions remain
Under language released by a Senate panel Thursday night, new federal workers who decline to serve as at-will employees will pay nearly 15% of their paycheck toward their pension benefit.
www.govexec.com
June 17, 2025 at 4:18 AM
This isn't conventional political capture. It’s structural privatization of government. Where the civil service isn't politicized directly; kneecap it so that it's outcompeted, then replaced by ideologically aligned private contractors.
They’re co-opting the state via rentier privatization.
They’re co-opting the state via rentier privatization.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Academic freedom in the United States has found itself periodically under siege, but the current attacks from the federal government raise a new level of alarm. nyer.cm/u405qvQ
May 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Academic freedom in the United States has found itself periodically under siege, but the current attacks from the federal government raise a new level of alarm. nyer.cm/u405qvQ
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Ansari: I sit on the Natural Resources Committee, where we witnessed the most anti-environment legislation go through. It includes massive giveaways to the oil and gas industry. I discovered that the chairman had purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of oil and gas stocks.
May 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Ansari: I sit on the Natural Resources Committee, where we witnessed the most anti-environment legislation go through. It includes massive giveaways to the oil and gas industry. I discovered that the chairman had purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of oil and gas stocks.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Everyone 6 months and older is eligible to get a flu vaccine.
It makes no sense to restrict Covid vaccines to only people who have specific medical conditions.
The FDA is basing its decisions on politics, not science.
It makes no sense to restrict Covid vaccines to only people who have specific medical conditions.
The FDA is basing its decisions on politics, not science.
May 21, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Everyone 6 months and older is eligible to get a flu vaccine.
It makes no sense to restrict Covid vaccines to only people who have specific medical conditions.
The FDA is basing its decisions on politics, not science.
It makes no sense to restrict Covid vaccines to only people who have specific medical conditions.
The FDA is basing its decisions on politics, not science.
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
Bottom trawling is horribly destructive to coastal ocean ecosystems, and deep-sea mining will do the same to the open ocean. #OceanFilm 🌊
May 10, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Bottom trawling is horribly destructive to coastal ocean ecosystems, and deep-sea mining will do the same to the open ocean. #OceanFilm 🌊
Reposted by Garrett McPheron
EXCLUSIVE: Two DOGE employees have access to a network used to transmit classified nuclear weapons data and a separate network used by the Department of Defense, sources tell NPR.
DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets
Two DOGE employees have access to a network used to transmit classified nuclear weapons data and a separate network used by the Department of Defense, sources tell NPR.
www.npr.org
April 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
EXCLUSIVE: Two DOGE employees have access to a network used to transmit classified nuclear weapons data and a separate network used by the Department of Defense, sources tell NPR.