James Ellison
@jamesellison.bsky.social
Anthropologist drawn to politics and life in Anthropocene conditions, professor, spouse, dad, spending too much time cooking
Reposted by James Ellison
Defend public health now has a website. It's packed with resources and ways to get involved. If you care about public health and are appalled by the efforts to dismantle it, there's always something you can do to raise awareness and support the cause. Check it out.
www.defendpublichealth.org
www.defendpublichealth.org
Home | Defend Public Health
Defend Public Health is an all-volunteer network of public health researchers, healthcare workers, advocates and allies fighting to protect the health of all.
www.defendpublichealth.org
May 12, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Defend public health now has a website. It's packed with resources and ways to get involved. If you care about public health and are appalled by the efforts to dismantle it, there's always something you can do to raise awareness and support the cause. Check it out.
www.defendpublichealth.org
www.defendpublichealth.org
Reposted by James Ellison
The president has covered the Oval Office in gold, is planning a massive military parade for his birthday, and is now accepting $400,000,000 luxury planes from foreign powers as personal presents.
What the fuck are we doing here?
What the fuck are we doing here?
May 12, 2025 at 12:31 AM
The president has covered the Oval Office in gold, is planning a massive military parade for his birthday, and is now accepting $400,000,000 luxury planes from foreign powers as personal presents.
What the fuck are we doing here?
What the fuck are we doing here?
Reposted by James Ellison
If you are a Black person, a member of the LGBT community or any other minority group in America right now, please know that you belong, you matter and you are where you are supposed to be. No matter the prevailing attempts at cancelation, keep occupying space unapologetically. YOU HAVE VALUE.
May 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
If you are a Black person, a member of the LGBT community or any other minority group in America right now, please know that you belong, you matter and you are where you are supposed to be. No matter the prevailing attempts at cancelation, keep occupying space unapologetically. YOU HAVE VALUE.
Reposted by James Ellison
1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring
Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff
www.science.org
May 10, 2025 at 1:58 AM
1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.
Reposted by James Ellison
“NSF watchers fear that a smaller, restructured agency could be more vulnerable to pressure from the White House to fund research that suits its ideological bent.” www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions
Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund
www.science.org
May 9, 2025 at 11:58 AM
“NSF watchers fear that a smaller, restructured agency could be more vulnerable to pressure from the White House to fund research that suits its ideological bent.” www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by James Ellison
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
RFK Jr. says autism database will use Medicare and Medicaid info
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
www.npr.org
May 8, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
Reposted by James Ellison
NY17 Constituent and local social worker Emily Feiner was singled out and forcibly removed during Rep. Mike Lawler's town hall.
May 5, 2025 at 10:33 AM
NY17 Constituent and local social worker Emily Feiner was singled out and forcibly removed during Rep. Mike Lawler's town hall.
Reposted by James Ellison
We got tariffs, Canadians got dental care
May 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
We got tariffs, Canadians got dental care
Reposted by James Ellison
MMR vaccine is 97% effective for preventing measles.
There are no magic mushrooms that treat measles. Steroids and antibiotics don't work either.
How many more people must die before the insanity stops?
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
There are no magic mushrooms that treat measles. Steroids and antibiotics don't work either.
How many more people must die before the insanity stops?
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination
Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 8:23 PM
MMR vaccine is 97% effective for preventing measles.
There are no magic mushrooms that treat measles. Steroids and antibiotics don't work either.
How many more people must die before the insanity stops?
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
There are no magic mushrooms that treat measles. Steroids and antibiotics don't work either.
How many more people must die before the insanity stops?
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
Reposted by James Ellison
If you’re attending the White House Correspondents Association dinner tonight, be sure to come prepared with a joke about the toddler cancer patient they just disappeared despite her being a citizen.
Otherwise it’s going to be awkward when you’re mugging for photos with Stephen Miller.
Otherwise it’s going to be awkward when you’re mugging for photos with Stephen Miller.
April 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
If you’re attending the White House Correspondents Association dinner tonight, be sure to come prepared with a joke about the toddler cancer patient they just disappeared despite her being a citizen.
Otherwise it’s going to be awkward when you’re mugging for photos with Stephen Miller.
Otherwise it’s going to be awkward when you’re mugging for photos with Stephen Miller.
Reposted by James Ellison
Reposted by James Ellison
They have limited use cases, but AI fetishists are pushing LLMs into everything, even where it does harm, like education. They do not care whether it harms students, they just care about the money.
They DO suck in the classroom.
They leach the life out of teaching.
They make learning impossible.
They DO suck in the classroom.
They leach the life out of teaching.
They make learning impossible.
There are a lot of critiques of LLMs that I agree with but "they suck and aren't useful" doesn't really hold water.
I understand people not using them because of social, economic, and environmental concerns. And I also understand people using them because they can be very useful.
Thoughts?
I understand people not using them because of social, economic, and environmental concerns. And I also understand people using them because they can be very useful.
Thoughts?
April 24, 2025 at 3:20 AM
They have limited use cases, but AI fetishists are pushing LLMs into everything, even where it does harm, like education. They do not care whether it harms students, they just care about the money.
They DO suck in the classroom.
They leach the life out of teaching.
They make learning impossible.
They DO suck in the classroom.
They leach the life out of teaching.
They make learning impossible.
Reposted by James Ellison
Trump’s halting of data collection could have effects that last far beyond his time in office.
Even if a future administration seeks to resurrect some of the curtailed efforts, the 2025-29 hiatus will make trends harder to identify and understand.
Even if a future administration seeks to resurrect some of the curtailed efforts, the 2025-29 hiatus will make trends harder to identify and understand.
Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More
By slashing teams that gather critical data, the administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose…
www.propublica.org
April 24, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Trump’s halting of data collection could have effects that last far beyond his time in office.
Even if a future administration seeks to resurrect some of the curtailed efforts, the 2025-29 hiatus will make trends harder to identify and understand.
Even if a future administration seeks to resurrect some of the curtailed efforts, the 2025-29 hiatus will make trends harder to identify and understand.
Reposted by James Ellison
But we will also need 99% of all electricity to power CO₂ removal. Impass!
Former Google CEO Tells Congress That 99 Percent of All Electricity Will Be Used to Power Superintelligent AI
Billionaire tech tycoon Eric Schmidt told Congress that 99 percent of electricity will soon be used to power AI.
futurism.com
April 20, 2025 at 7:52 PM
But we will also need 99% of all electricity to power CO₂ removal. Impass!
Reposted by James Ellison
As you read about a proposed EO eliminating most African diplomacy, replacing the foreign service exam w/loyalty oaths, and mandating that AI do the hard thinking, make sure you read the final ¶, which notes there are several proposals.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...
April 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
As you read about a proposed EO eliminating most African diplomacy, replacing the foreign service exam w/loyalty oaths, and mandating that AI do the hard thinking, make sure you read the final ¶, which notes there are several proposals.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...
Reposted by James Ellison
Personally, I think it should be front page news for at least a month if a sitting US President is using falsified evidence to try and deny due process to a man who has committed no crime, but that’s just me
April 19, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Personally, I think it should be front page news for at least a month if a sitting US President is using falsified evidence to try and deny due process to a man who has committed no crime, but that’s just me
Reposted by James Ellison
For users of the new and increasingly popular AI tools, it might seem like the changes have been all online, without a physical footprint.
But the rise has tangible effects — data centers and the physical infrastructure needed to run them use large amounts of energy, water and other resources.
But the rise has tangible effects — data centers and the physical infrastructure needed to run them use large amounts of energy, water and other resources.
As demand for AI rises, so do power thirsty data centers • Pennsylvania Capital-Star
As demand for AI rises, so do power thirsty data centers.
penncapital-star.com
April 18, 2025 at 4:18 PM
For users of the new and increasingly popular AI tools, it might seem like the changes have been all online, without a physical footprint.
But the rise has tangible effects — data centers and the physical infrastructure needed to run them use large amounts of energy, water and other resources.
But the rise has tangible effects — data centers and the physical infrastructure needed to run them use large amounts of energy, water and other resources.
“her team would have had part of the agency’s oversight responsibility should Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Trump overseeing the efforts to drastically cut the federal work force, follow through with his plans to add a payment system to X.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
Mass Layoffs Hit Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The agency, which has returned $21 billion to consumers since its inception, could lose 1,500 of its 1,700 employees, a union warned.
www.nytimes.com
April 18, 2025 at 10:33 AM
“her team would have had part of the agency’s oversight responsibility should Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Trump overseeing the efforts to drastically cut the federal work force, follow through with his plans to add a payment system to X.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...
Reposted by James Ellison
One of the coal plants just granted an exemption to various emissions regulations for two years also burns tires to run a crypto mining operation. So that’s fun.
47 Coal Companies Granted Permission to Keep Poisoning People
Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.
www.splinter.com
April 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
One of the coal plants just granted an exemption to various emissions regulations for two years also burns tires to run a crypto mining operation. So that’s fun.
Reposted by James Ellison
Where are the US power plants that just got exemptions from mercury pollution rules? We mapped them, and talked to local enviro advocates: insideclimatenews.org/news/1604202...
More Than 60 Power Plants Exempted From Federal Mercury Limits - Inside Climate News
More stringent rules were scheduled to be enforced in 2027. Selected plants will now have two more years to comply.
insideclimatenews.org
April 17, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Where are the US power plants that just got exemptions from mercury pollution rules? We mapped them, and talked to local enviro advocates: insideclimatenews.org/news/1604202...
Reposted by James Ellison
"One of the darkest days in American history" is absolutely right.
April 14, 2025 at 9:22 PM
"One of the darkest days in American history" is absolutely right.
Reposted by James Ellison
Most chode in a sea of them.
April 14, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Most chode in a sea of them.
Reposted by James Ellison
We really are in a deeply dark place when politicians are trying to frame accessing healthcare as fraud.
Medicaid and Medicare give people access to healthcare coverage that they need, it doesn't make direct deposits of money into the accounts of people who use it.
Medicaid and Medicare give people access to healthcare coverage that they need, it doesn't make direct deposits of money into the accounts of people who use it.
April 13, 2025 at 6:25 PM
We really are in a deeply dark place when politicians are trying to frame accessing healthcare as fraud.
Medicaid and Medicare give people access to healthcare coverage that they need, it doesn't make direct deposits of money into the accounts of people who use it.
Medicaid and Medicare give people access to healthcare coverage that they need, it doesn't make direct deposits of money into the accounts of people who use it.
Reposted by James Ellison
Everyone fire your consultants. My god
People are very eager to let Whitmer off the hook for getting caught in an Oval Office photo op, so let’s take a quick look at the reason she was there
April 12, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Everyone fire your consultants. My god
Reposted by James Ellison
I would like to point out that the executive branch claiming the power to mete out life/death sentences seems like a separation of powers issue as well
This is basically conceding that the executive branch is sentencing random people to death with no due process or ability to reverse an error
UPDATE: Trump seems to say for the first time that U.S. lacks ability to recover those sent to El Salvador if government deports someone erroneously. Says it’s totally up to Bukele. Seems to leave out that he could … ask Bukele to help fix an error. www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
April 12, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I would like to point out that the executive branch claiming the power to mete out life/death sentences seems like a separation of powers issue as well