John Biemer
@johnbiemer.bsky.social
Chicago-area pathologist, former reporter (@chicagotribune & @AP), dad of 3. Tweeting a motley mix of science, medicine, music, hoops (go Hoyas!) and dad jokes.
It's a wonderfully Chicago thing that one of the city's most beloved public figures was a nun.
October 10, 2025 at 5:33 PM
It's a wonderfully Chicago thing that one of the city's most beloved public figures was a nun.
The Dropkick Murphys absolutely brought the 🔥 at Riot Fest in Chicago last night. Phenomenal set, so much energy. See them live if you can! ☘️@dropkickmurphys.com @riotfest.bsky.social
September 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
The Dropkick Murphys absolutely brought the 🔥 at Riot Fest in Chicago last night. Phenomenal set, so much energy. See them live if you can! ☘️@dropkickmurphys.com @riotfest.bsky.social
Going to DC this weekend for my, gulp, 30-year college reunion and it’s crazy to think that many of us now have kids who are exactly the age my classmates and I were when we first met.
Life moves pretty fast.
Life moves pretty fast.
May 29, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Going to DC this weekend for my, gulp, 30-year college reunion and it’s crazy to think that many of us now have kids who are exactly the age my classmates and I were when we first met.
Life moves pretty fast.
Life moves pretty fast.
We can ask what if Biden had done that but of course he never would’ve done that. He’s Catholic and has respect for the Catholic Church and the Papacy. He also, for that matter, has respect for the office of President of the United States.
May 3, 2025 at 1:13 PM
We can ask what if Biden had done that but of course he never would’ve done that. He’s Catholic and has respect for the Catholic Church and the Papacy. He also, for that matter, has respect for the office of President of the United States.
The world just lost its strongest voice for the marginalized and the poor at a time when it needs it badly.
A Jesuit who took the name of St. Francis as Pope, combining the traditions of the academic, intellectual Jesuits and the Franciscans, who serve the poor.
RIP, Pope Francis
A Jesuit who took the name of St. Francis as Pope, combining the traditions of the academic, intellectual Jesuits and the Franciscans, who serve the poor.
RIP, Pope Francis
the pope is giving a speech in front of a microphone
ALT: the pope is giving a speech in front of a microphone
media.tenor.com
April 21, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The world just lost its strongest voice for the marginalized and the poor at a time when it needs it badly.
A Jesuit who took the name of St. Francis as Pope, combining the traditions of the academic, intellectual Jesuits and the Franciscans, who serve the poor.
RIP, Pope Francis
A Jesuit who took the name of St. Francis as Pope, combining the traditions of the academic, intellectual Jesuits and the Franciscans, who serve the poor.
RIP, Pope Francis
Jack White and his band performing last night at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social. A tour de force. It was incredible to watch. A seven nation army couldn’t hold him back!
April 11, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Jack White and his band performing last night at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social. A tour de force. It was incredible to watch. A seven nation army couldn’t hold him back!
Hooray, it’s the first day of spring!
March 20, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Hooray, it’s the first day of spring!
St. Patrick’s Day is perfectly timed for Guinness weather. Chilly, often rainy. The crossroads of winter and spring. ☘️
March 17, 2025 at 11:16 PM
St. Patrick’s Day is perfectly timed for Guinness weather. Chilly, often rainy. The crossroads of winter and spring. ☘️
John Feinstein's "A Season on the Brink" is on my short list of best books ever written about basketball, along with "My Losing Season" by Pat Conroy and "The Breaks of the Game," by David Halberstam.
RIP, John Feinstein
RIP, John Feinstein
March 13, 2025 at 11:51 PM
John Feinstein's "A Season on the Brink" is on my short list of best books ever written about basketball, along with "My Losing Season" by Pat Conroy and "The Breaks of the Game," by David Halberstam.
RIP, John Feinstein
RIP, John Feinstein
So, apparently, dropping your kid off at the airport to send him back to college doesn’t get any easier over time.
March 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
So, apparently, dropping your kid off at the airport to send him back to college doesn’t get any easier over time.
Reposted by John Biemer
If Democratic lawmakers were smart ‒ something that seems debatable lately ‒ they’d pay attention to the way the dean of Georgetown University's law school just took a Trump-loving U.S. attorney to the legal woodshed.
My column on a smart dean defending DEI:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a smart dean defending DEI:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Georgetown law school dean clobbers Trump-loving US attorney's DEI griping | Opinion
If Democratic lawmakers were smart, they’d pay attention to the way the dean of Georgetown's law school just handled a Trump-loving U.S. attorney.
www.usatoday.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:39 PM
If Democratic lawmakers were smart ‒ something that seems debatable lately ‒ they’d pay attention to the way the dean of Georgetown University's law school just took a Trump-loving U.S. attorney to the legal woodshed.
My column on a smart dean defending DEI:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a smart dean defending DEI:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
The days of my kids excitedly rushing to greet me at the door when I get home from work are long gone but our dog did the zoomies when I got home today and frankly I appreciate that.
March 7, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The days of my kids excitedly rushing to greet me at the door when I get home from work are long gone but our dog did the zoomies when I got home today and frankly I appreciate that.
If you are going to serve pancakes at the church pancake breakfast, you have to wear a flannel shirt. I don’t make the rules.
February 23, 2025 at 5:27 PM
If you are going to serve pancakes at the church pancake breakfast, you have to wear a flannel shirt. I don’t make the rules.
Reposted by John Biemer
I was just an Education Department guy under Reagan and the most junior WH senior staffer under G.H.W. Bush, so what do I know? But if I were an ex-president, and the current president were executing the most disastrous turn in American foreign policy in 80 years, I think I might say something?
February 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I was just an Education Department guy under Reagan and the most junior WH senior staffer under G.H.W. Bush, so what do I know? But if I were an ex-president, and the current president were executing the most disastrous turn in American foreign policy in 80 years, I think I might say something?
The two Pauls. Simon and McCartney. They are the best of the best.
February 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The two Pauls. Simon and McCartney. They are the best of the best.
From Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opening, to the Steve Martin monologue, to the Sandler song, to Eddie Murphy stealing the show, to the Mulaney broadway medley, to McCartney closing with songs from Abbey Road. The SNL special felt like it was my life passing before my eyes. In a good way.
February 17, 2025 at 12:35 PM
From Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opening, to the Steve Martin monologue, to the Sandler song, to Eddie Murphy stealing the show, to the Mulaney broadway medley, to McCartney closing with songs from Abbey Road. The SNL special felt like it was my life passing before my eyes. In a good way.
More hyped for the SNL 50th anniversary special than I was for the Super Bowl, tbh.
February 17, 2025 at 12:59 AM
More hyped for the SNL 50th anniversary special than I was for the Super Bowl, tbh.
Reposted by John Biemer
It’s remarkable how quickly the Trump team has sabotaged all the things that actually made the U.S. influential on the global stage.
Free trade economics, strong diplomatic networks and alliances, the soft power of democratic culture and values, the hard power of a competent military …
Free trade economics, strong diplomatic networks and alliances, the soft power of democratic culture and values, the hard power of a competent military …
February 16, 2025 at 9:23 PM
It’s remarkable how quickly the Trump team has sabotaged all the things that actually made the U.S. influential on the global stage.
Free trade economics, strong diplomatic networks and alliances, the soft power of democratic culture and values, the hard power of a competent military …
Free trade economics, strong diplomatic networks and alliances, the soft power of democratic culture and values, the hard power of a competent military …
I still remember the very first time I stayed up and watched SNL. It was on a sleepover, must’ve been around 1983. I would’ve been 10. And I distinctly recall the bit that put us in hysterics was an appearance on Weekend Update by Tim Kazurinsky. Laughed till we cried. From there I was hooked.
February 16, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I still remember the very first time I stayed up and watched SNL. It was on a sleepover, must’ve been around 1983. I would’ve been 10. And I distinctly recall the bit that put us in hysterics was an appearance on Weekend Update by Tim Kazurinsky. Laughed till we cried. From there I was hooked.
Junior high sports is so crazy because kids are all over the board in their growth rates. Our 8th grade son is still losing his baby teeth. Last weekend, his club soccer team played against another team that had a player who literally had a beard.
February 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Junior high sports is so crazy because kids are all over the board in their growth rates. Our 8th grade son is still losing his baby teeth. Last weekend, his club soccer team played against another team that had a player who literally had a beard.
Reposted by John Biemer
At a talk at the Economic Club of Chicago during the campaign, Trump referred to “Gavin New-scum” and the moderator protested, saying, “Nobody here would tolerate that kind of infantile name calling in a CEO” and Trump just shrugged and said, “That’s what I call him.”
February 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
At a talk at the Economic Club of Chicago during the campaign, Trump referred to “Gavin New-scum” and the moderator protested, saying, “Nobody here would tolerate that kind of infantile name calling in a CEO” and Trump just shrugged and said, “That’s what I call him.”
Reposted by John Biemer
'Honestly terrifying': Yosemite National Park is in chaos
California's beloved national park is on the brink of disaster
www.sfgate.com/california-p...
California's beloved national park is on the brink of disaster
www.sfgate.com/california-p...
February 13, 2025 at 11:03 PM
'Honestly terrifying': Yosemite National Park is in chaos
California's beloved national park is on the brink of disaster
www.sfgate.com/california-p...
California's beloved national park is on the brink of disaster
www.sfgate.com/california-p...
Reposted by John Biemer
Today it's over "the Gulf of America." What state-mandated language or positions will the White House require reporters to parrot to retain access to events in the future?
Breaking: For the second day in a row, the AP reporter on pool duty who tried to attend a POTUS event was blocked from entering the Oval Office. The reporter was there to cover the swearing-in ceremony for Tulsi Gabbard.
February 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Today it's over "the Gulf of America." What state-mandated language or positions will the White House require reporters to parrot to retain access to events in the future?
Reposted by John Biemer
If this is a direct quote, it's one of the most irresponsible and reckless things a SECDEF has ever said
“I’m here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States from being the primary guarantor of security in Europe.”
US Secretary of Defence, February 12, 2025.
Everything changed today.
US Secretary of Defence, February 12, 2025.
Everything changed today.
February 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
If this is a direct quote, it's one of the most irresponsible and reckless things a SECDEF has ever said
Reposted by John Biemer
Breaking: Pope sends letter to US bishops decrying mass deportation and rejecting "any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality." The true "ordo amoris," he says, is the ethos of the Good Samaritan.
www.vatican.va/content/fran...
www.vatican.va/content/fran...
February 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Breaking: Pope sends letter to US bishops decrying mass deportation and rejecting "any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality." The true "ordo amoris," he says, is the ethos of the Good Samaritan.
www.vatican.va/content/fran...
www.vatican.va/content/fran...