Joan Allen
@jallensf.bsky.social
I'm here for health policy, health data, unions, California politics, and Giants baseball. There will also be cat pictures.
Remember friends: wrap duct tape around the handles of your picket signs.
Promoting my book! Optimism in troubled times. Labor is fighting, and it’s fun to read about!
thenewpress.org/books/whos-g...
thenewpress.org/books/whos-g...
November 28, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Remember friends: wrap duct tape around the handles of your picket signs.
Reposted by Joan Allen
“Google Gemini was by far the worst. It would make up an authoritative-sounding summary with completely fake and wrong references — much more than the other chatbots. It also used a satire source as a news source.”
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/05/a...
This company doesn’t get nearly enough blame imo
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/05/a...
This company doesn’t get nearly enough blame imo
AI gets 45% of news wrong — but readers still trust it
The BBC and the European Broadcasting Union have produced a large study of how well AI chatbots handle summarising the news. In short: badly. [BBC; EBU] The researchers asked ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemi…
pivot-to-ai.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:38 PM
“Google Gemini was by far the worst. It would make up an authoritative-sounding summary with completely fake and wrong references — much more than the other chatbots. It also used a satire source as a news source.”
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/05/a...
This company doesn’t get nearly enough blame imo
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/05/a...
This company doesn’t get nearly enough blame imo
Reposted by Joan Allen
It’s amazing that after 15 years, the GOP is FINALLY coalescing around a healthcare plan of sorts and it essentially amounts to “fuck it, you do it.”
Trump: "THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I'LL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE W/ NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH. THE PEOPLE WILL BE ALLOWED TO NEGOTIATE & BUY THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, INSURANCE. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!"
November 18, 2025 at 1:12 PM
It’s amazing that after 15 years, the GOP is FINALLY coalescing around a healthcare plan of sorts and it essentially amounts to “fuck it, you do it.”
Reposted by Joan Allen
A record number of Americans are anxious about health care costs going into next year www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
A record number of Americans are anxious about health care costs going into next year
The West Health-Gallup survey finds almost half of adults say they’re worried they won’t be able to afford health care in 2026.
www.nbcnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
A record number of Americans are anxious about health care costs going into next year www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Reposted by Joan Allen
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
Reposted by Joan Allen
you could fact check this — there aren’t 30 million illegal immigrants and there is no evidence that the presence of an immigrant in say houston has any impact on housing in madison, wisconsin — or you could note straightforwardly that this is just nazi rhetoric
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 PM
you could fact check this — there aren’t 30 million illegal immigrants and there is no evidence that the presence of an immigrant in say houston has any impact on housing in madison, wisconsin — or you could note straightforwardly that this is just nazi rhetoric
I’m going to need a journalist who *actually understands health care* to be the one to interview him about this.
Because this is moronic on too many levels for a generalist reporter to unpack
Because this is moronic on too many levels for a generalist reporter to unpack
November 8, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I’m going to need a journalist who *actually understands health care* to be the one to interview him about this.
Because this is moronic on too many levels for a generalist reporter to unpack
Because this is moronic on too many levels for a generalist reporter to unpack
Reposted by Joan Allen
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
November 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
"When I picked up my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, and was developing a rash. She was exhausted and cried… My heart aches knowing this could happen to others, to my kids, or even me, despite being U.S. citizens.”
Reposted by Joan Allen
The Trump Administration will go to any length — including appeal to the highest court in the land — if it means they can cut off food for hungry people.
What is wrong with them?
What is wrong with them?
November 8, 2025 at 1:29 AM
The Trump Administration will go to any length — including appeal to the highest court in the land — if it means they can cut off food for hungry people.
What is wrong with them?
What is wrong with them?
Reposted by Joan Allen
I’ve never seen someone try as hard as Trump to not feed hungry people.
JUST IN: Trump administration files emergency stay motion at 1st Circuit, seeking to block judge's order to pay full SNAP benefits for November. DOJ says the ruling 'makes a mockery of the separation of powers.' Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26... Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
SNAPStayMotCA1110725.PDF
www.documentcloud.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
I’ve never seen someone try as hard as Trump to not feed hungry people.
Reposted by Joan Allen
Trump can’t even check on someone collapsing in the Oval Office right in front of him.
What makes you think he would give a damn about your health care?
What makes you think he would give a damn about your health care?
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Trump can’t even check on someone collapsing in the Oval Office right in front of him.
What makes you think he would give a damn about your health care?
What makes you think he would give a damn about your health care?
Tax the rich
November 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Tax the rich
Reposted by Joan Allen
Conservatives 2016-2024: dumb libs think words are violence
Conservatives in 2025: mean words are literally violence bsky.app/profile/robe...
Conservatives in 2025: mean words are literally violence bsky.app/profile/robe...
From Bovino's deposition: (1) he calls protestors "violent" if they articulate views hostile to ICE, even if no violence is manifested; (2) he instructs his forces to attack and arrest protestors who express "hyperbolic comments," which is to say, criticism of ICE and Bovino.
November 4, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Conservatives 2016-2024: dumb libs think words are violence
Conservatives in 2025: mean words are literally violence bsky.app/profile/robe...
Conservatives in 2025: mean words are literally violence bsky.app/profile/robe...
We are going to have to have so many consequences in the future.
This is deeply unacceptable
This is deeply unacceptable
This is quite a story: the US employed every strongarm tactic available, including personal threats against delegates and their families, to derail an agreement on reducing shipping emissions that was almost finalized. on.ft.com/47lq3dZ
November 3, 2025 at 3:32 PM
We are going to have to have so many consequences in the future.
This is deeply unacceptable
This is deeply unacceptable
Reposted by Joan Allen
Storm troopers. There must and will ultimately be accountability for this brutality.
The Oregon Department of Justice submitted multiple video exhibits showing federal officers using extreme force against nonviolent protesters outside the U.S. Immigration & Customs Building. This is part of its effort to block the federal deployment of National Guard troops to Portland.
November 2, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Storm troopers. There must and will ultimately be accountability for this brutality.
Reposted by Joan Allen
If you thought masked, unidentified federal agents grabbing people off the street were a frightening step toward dystopia, wait until it's private contractors chasing cash bonuses for rounding up human beings at scale
ICE is planning to offer private sector bounty hunters cash bonuses for quickly tracking down the home addresses of immigrants across the US, according to a DHS document I reviewed. ICE encourages potential contractors to use "all technology systems available.” theintercept.com/2025/10/31/i...
ICE Plans Cash Rewards for Private Bounty Hunters to Locate and Track Immigrants
Companies hired by ICE would be given bundles of information on 10,000 immigrants at a time to locate.
theintercept.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
If you thought masked, unidentified federal agents grabbing people off the street were a frightening step toward dystopia, wait until it's private contractors chasing cash bonuses for rounding up human beings at scale
Reposted by Joan Allen
tired: great gatsby parties
wired: bastille day parties
wired: bastille day parties
Apparently there was a Gatsby party at Mar a Lago, while Trump is trying to kick 42 million off SNAP
November 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM
tired: great gatsby parties
wired: bastille day parties
wired: bastille day parties
Don’t you think he looks tired?
Trump is holding a Great Gatsby/Roaring 20s-themed party at his private club in Palm Beach tonight as he tries to withhold SNAP and health care subsidies from millions of Americans. (via Kellie Meyer)
November 1, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Don’t you think he looks tired?
Tax the damn rich. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Ever heard of a water sommelier? It's a thing
Some restaurants are pitching water as part of the fine dining experience, recommending different bottles to pair with a meal.
www.marketplace.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Tax the damn rich. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
Reposted by Joan Allen
Shouldn’t take a court order to tell you to feed the hungry.
October 31, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Shouldn’t take a court order to tell you to feed the hungry.
The walking (hopping?) on water is just so cool
October 31, 2025 at 4:10 AM
The walking (hopping?) on water is just so cool
Reposted by Joan Allen
The brazenness with which they lie is something that is hard to metabolize, even now
Kristi Noem: "No American citizens have been arrested or detained. We focus on those who are here illegally. And anything you would hear or report that would be different than that is simply not true and false reporting."
October 30, 2025 at 11:44 PM
The brazenness with which they lie is something that is hard to metabolize, even now
Reposted by Joan Allen
Trump Says He Won’t Rule Out Third Reich
October 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Trump Says He Won’t Rule Out Third Reich
Jesus Christ would never
May I present a former clerk to Justice Gorsuch.
October 26, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Jesus Christ would never
Reposted by Joan Allen
As a UCLA alumnus, I would rather see the school close its doors than agree to this extortion
Under court order, UC publicly releases Trump administration's $1.2-billion settlement proposal
The California Supreme Court on Friday declined a request from the University of California to block the release of a roughly $1.2-billion Trump UCLA settlement, leading UCLA to publish the document o...
www.latimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:23 AM
As a UCLA alumnus, I would rather see the school close its doors than agree to this extortion