JS
@jsplaceholder.bsky.social
US foreign assistance, infectious disease epidemiology, & a more perfect union 🫠 Bonus Texas/books/backpacking
Pinned
JS
@jsplaceholder.bsky.social
· Feb 6
How much money will Americans lose if USAID is cut? Quite a lot, it turns out. I've made shareable graphics showing the ties betwen AID agriculture funding and each state. A public Google Drive repository is here: drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Looking into what megachurch in Houston is egging Ted Cruz on re: his severe misconceptions about conflict in Nigeria would be a great investigative journalism project
November 12, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Looking into what megachurch in Houston is egging Ted Cruz on re: his severe misconceptions about conflict in Nigeria would be a great investigative journalism project
If I had an ego this fragile I would simply never leave the house www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
November 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
If I had an ego this fragile I would simply never leave the house www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Just learned my bottom-tier marketplace insurance - which would increase to $800/mo in January - won't cover a flu shot, in case anyone has any doubt as to whether anyone healthy under 40 is going to willingly remain insured
November 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Just learned my bottom-tier marketplace insurance - which would increase to $800/mo in January - won't cover a flu shot, in case anyone has any doubt as to whether anyone healthy under 40 is going to willingly remain insured
Reposted by JS
“The filings for the proposed campaign explain that the messages will reach their audience through ‘the largest geofencing campaign in U.S. history’—a pitch to map the physical perimeters of every major church and Christian college in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado during worship hours”
Losing the Republican base, Israel pours millions to target Evangelicals and churchgoers
Contracts Between Israel and Trump-linked Firms Reveal Campaigns and Plans to Target Millions of U.S. Churchgoers, Deploy Bots, Hire Influencers and Try to Make ChatGPT More pro-Israel
www.haaretz.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:59 PM
“The filings for the proposed campaign explain that the messages will reach their audience through ‘the largest geofencing campaign in U.S. history’—a pitch to map the physical perimeters of every major church and Christian college in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado during worship hours”
Reposted by JS
As expected, Canada has lost its measles-free status because of the long-running outbreak there. With it goes the #measles elimination status of the entire zone of the Americas, the only division of the #WHO to ever have achieved measles elimination. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/m...
Canada loses measles elimination status — as does the entire Americas region
Canada has formally lost its measles elimination status, the country’s public health agency announced, triggering the loss of that status throughout all of the Americas.
www.statnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
As expected, Canada has lost its measles-free status because of the long-running outbreak there. With it goes the #measles elimination status of the entire zone of the Americas, the only division of the #WHO to ever have achieved measles elimination. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/m...
Reposted by JS
i don’t play pundit and try to guess how stuff will play to voters whose politics generally make no sense to me, but if ending the shutdown was about the important business of getting SNAP benefits and air travel back online, it also rewards hostage taking in a way that seems pretty ominous to me
November 10, 2025 at 4:12 AM
i don’t play pundit and try to guess how stuff will play to voters whose politics generally make no sense to me, but if ending the shutdown was about the important business of getting SNAP benefits and air travel back online, it also rewards hostage taking in a way that seems pretty ominous to me
Reposted by JS
Also, mass layoffs are happening across a growing number of industries, and the job market is BRUTAL. Anyone who thinks they won't need a marketplace plan in 2026 just because they have employer-sponsored healthcare right now needs a serious reality check
November 10, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Also, mass layoffs are happening across a growing number of industries, and the job market is BRUTAL. Anyone who thinks they won't need a marketplace plan in 2026 just because they have employer-sponsored healthcare right now needs a serious reality check
Reposted by JS
I'm sympathetic to arguments about pay for federal employees but thousands of RIF'd feds & laid off contractors on the ACA Marketplace are about to get doubly fucked over. If I hadn't finally been offered a random job, my monthly premium would have shot up 981% just as unemployment ran out.
My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard.
We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.
We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.
We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 AM
I'm sympathetic to arguments about pay for federal employees but thousands of RIF'd feds & laid off contractors on the ACA Marketplace are about to get doubly fucked over. If I hadn't finally been offered a random job, my monthly premium would have shot up 981% just as unemployment ran out.
Reposted by JS
Much like 2024, Democrats seem to think there’s a binary choice in the 2026 election between voting for Republicans (evil) and voting for Democrats (feckless).
They rarely acknowledge the third option which inevitably harms them the most: staying home.
They rarely acknowledge the third option which inevitably harms them the most: staying home.
November 10, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Much like 2024, Democrats seem to think there’s a binary choice in the 2026 election between voting for Republicans (evil) and voting for Democrats (feckless).
They rarely acknowledge the third option which inevitably harms them the most: staying home.
They rarely acknowledge the third option which inevitably harms them the most: staying home.
I'm sympathetic to arguments about pay for federal employees but thousands of RIF'd feds & laid off contractors on the ACA Marketplace are about to get doubly fucked over. If I hadn't finally been offered a random job, my monthly premium would have shot up 981% just as unemployment ran out.
My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard.
We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.
We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.
We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 AM
I'm sympathetic to arguments about pay for federal employees but thousands of RIF'd feds & laid off contractors on the ACA Marketplace are about to get doubly fucked over. If I hadn't finally been offered a random job, my monthly premium would have shot up 981% just as unemployment ran out.
Reposted by JS
"Dems cannot successfully cave because John Cornyn got trapped in a broom closet" would be easily the funniest way for tonight to end
Update: They can't find Cornyn.
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 AM
"Dems cannot successfully cave because John Cornyn got trapped in a broom closet" would be easily the funniest way for tonight to end
"Austin isn't weird anymore" they said
November 9, 2025 at 2:42 AM
"Austin isn't weird anymore" they said
Reposted by JS
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by JS
Haven’t seen a block this smooth since Dkembe Motumbo was active
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
November 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Haven’t seen a block this smooth since Dkembe Motumbo was active
Reposted by JS
Failed country.
Supreme Court issues emergency order to block full SNAP food aid payments
The Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown.
apnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Failed country.
Reposted by JS
congrats to everyone for thinking this through before signing very big contracts to put it on every student’s device at the school or university you run
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
November 7, 2025 at 11:24 PM
congrats to everyone for thinking this through before signing very big contracts to put it on every student’s device at the school or university you run
Very much enjoying www.trumpcancelledmyflight.com
The FAA, under the Trump administration, is limiting the number of flights that can be made to and from the nation's largest airports, in order to pressure Democratic congresspeople to capitulate to the Republican demands to end the government shutdown. The goal is not safety, it is suffering.
www.trumpcancelledmyflight.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Very much enjoying www.trumpcancelledmyflight.com
Reposted by JS
For months, I’ve been following a Canadian ostrich farm ordered to cull its flock after a bird flu outbreak. It was a cause célèbre for MAHA activists, a MAGA billionaire, and, of course, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The trucker convoy with birds ended last night. They lost. www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Why the conspiratorial right rallied around a flock of ostriches
The anti-vaccine, anti-government crusade to save "the miracle cure birds" is over — and the fringe activists lost.
www.msnbc.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:28 PM
For months, I’ve been following a Canadian ostrich farm ordered to cull its flock after a bird flu outbreak. It was a cause célèbre for MAHA activists, a MAGA billionaire, and, of course, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The trucker convoy with birds ended last night. They lost. www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Reposted by JS
NEW: Talarico leads Allred by 6 points, 48% to 42%, despite facing a 28 point name ID deficit.
Without going up on air, Talarico was still able to surge 36 points in just 2 months, a feat attributable to a massive earned and social media presence.
Without going up on air, Talarico was still able to surge 36 points in just 2 months, a feat attributable to a massive earned and social media presence.
November 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
NEW: Talarico leads Allred by 6 points, 48% to 42%, despite facing a 28 point name ID deficit.
Without going up on air, Talarico was still able to surge 36 points in just 2 months, a feat attributable to a massive earned and social media presence.
Without going up on air, Talarico was still able to surge 36 points in just 2 months, a feat attributable to a massive earned and social media presence.
Reposted by JS
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
November 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
Reposted by JS
Today @TheNewYorker released our short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” online.
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
www.newyorker.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Today @TheNewYorker released our short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” online.
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by JS
great day for the legal theory of "not guilty if it's funny enough"
November 6, 2025 at 7:55 PM
great day for the legal theory of "not guilty if it's funny enough"
Peak millennial anecdata: my friends w generational wealth enough for a down payment (gift from parents or inheritance from grandparents) *all* received it a) when they were 30 and done with grad school, which happened to coincide with b) when interests rates bottomed out.
Reporter: This is really crazy. The median age of first-time home buyers is 40 years old. That's a shocking number. That's a record high. And by the way, in 2021, that number was 33 years old. It's a huge problem
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Peak millennial anecdata: my friends w generational wealth enough for a down payment (gift from parents or inheritance from grandparents) *all* received it a) when they were 30 and done with grad school, which happened to coincide with b) when interests rates bottomed out.
The other dude has been county judge since I was in high school, and that's too long so I don't care about a challenge, however: Mayor Ron should run for Swole Governor
A reader who respects former Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai calls on Nirenberg to run for a different elected office. | Opinion
Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg shouldn’t challenge Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai
A reader who respects former Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai calls on Nirenberg to run for a different elected office.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM
The other dude has been county judge since I was in high school, and that's too long so I don't care about a challenge, however: Mayor Ron should run for Swole Governor
Reposted by JS
each of them represents one of the five elements: Fire, Metal, Air, Water, and Anti-Trust.
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, will turn to veterans of City Hall, nonprofit executives and a former chair of the Federal Trade Commission — all of them women — to lead his official transition effort, he said on Wednesday. nyti.ms/4nHdyOP
November 5, 2025 at 8:40 PM
each of them represents one of the five elements: Fire, Metal, Air, Water, and Anti-Trust.