Kerry Dobransky
@kaeemdee.bsky.social
Sociologist: mental illness, health care, disability, digital inequality. Dad: human, cat. Husband. Into: punky/funky/folky/indie music, poker, bourbon, Da Bears. Hilarity ensues
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
The richest man on earth owns X.
The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.
The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.
See the problem here?
The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.
The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.
See the problem here?
September 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The richest man on earth owns X.
The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.
The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.
See the problem here?
The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.
The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.
See the problem here?
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
The NCA5 Atlas, an incredible resource introduced for the fifth assessment, is available here: nca-atlas-nationalclimate.hub.arcgis.com
National Climate Assessment Interactive Atlas
The Interactive Atlas of the 5th National Climate Assessment of the United States provides maps, data, and stories from the 5th Assessment.
nca-atlas-nationalclimate.hub.arcgis.com
June 30, 2025 at 9:42 PM
The NCA5 Atlas, an incredible resource introduced for the fifth assessment, is available here: nca-atlas-nationalclimate.hub.arcgis.com
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
An archived version of NCA5 is available here: nca2023-globalchange.govarchive.us and the USGCRP website is here: globalchange.govarchive.us. Thank you @webrecorder.net!!!
nca2023-globalchange.govarchive.us
June 30, 2025 at 9:38 PM
An archived version of NCA5 is available here: nca2023-globalchange.govarchive.us and the USGCRP website is here: globalchange.govarchive.us. Thank you @webrecorder.net!!!
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
For a split second, I thought she was wearing an Iggy Pop suit.
June 20, 2025 at 9:17 AM
For a split second, I thought she was wearing an Iggy Pop suit.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
It also tries to distinguish between "patient care" and "psychosocial support", as though those are different things, and treats the latter as "munchable" This is insane, particularly given the trauma veterans experience and the hard work that has been done to expand VA's work in this area.
June 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM
It also tries to distinguish between "patient care" and "psychosocial support", as though those are different things, and treats the latter as "munchable" This is insane, particularly given the trauma veterans experience and the hard work that has been done to expand VA's work in this area.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Erin McDonnell's (@profmcdonnell.bsky.social) amazing new paper "Bureaucracy in Action: The Sociology of Public Administration" is online now at the Annual Review of Sociology. Check it out!!! @ndsociology.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Bureaucracy in Action: The Sociology of Public Administration | Annual Reviews
This review articulates sociology's emerging approach to public administration, building on long-standing interest in bureaucracy. The sociology of public administration aims to understand how pu...
doi.org
June 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Erin McDonnell's (@profmcdonnell.bsky.social) amazing new paper "Bureaucracy in Action: The Sociology of Public Administration" is online now at the Annual Review of Sociology. Check it out!!! @ndsociology.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
In light of the new article on AI and higher education, here are my 6 pedagogically-defensible ways to assess in the era of generative artificial intelligence.
May 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
In light of the new article on AI and higher education, here are my 6 pedagogically-defensible ways to assess in the era of generative artificial intelligence.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
UnitedHealth secretly pressured nurses to change patients' records to include DNRs (Do Not Resuscitate) without their consent, so those patients would die instead of being saved with medical interventions that could cost UnitedHealth money.
This is murder.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
This is murder.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
May 21, 2025 at 5:39 PM
UnitedHealth secretly pressured nurses to change patients' records to include DNRs (Do Not Resuscitate) without their consent, so those patients would die instead of being saved with medical interventions that could cost UnitedHealth money.
This is murder.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
This is murder.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Please highlight this story.
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects
A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …
kfor.com
April 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Federal workers: We understand you may be taking a risk in contacting us, and we take your confidentiality extremely seriously.
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➡️ Reach out here: propublica.org/tips
To collect tips, we use encrypted forms and apps, so messages cannot be read by anybody other than you and ProPublica.
➡️ Reach out here: propublica.org/tips
How to Contact ProPublica or Send a Tip Securely — ProPublica
Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. To do that, we need evidence.
propublica.org
April 12, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Federal workers: We understand you may be taking a risk in contacting us, and we take your confidentiality extremely seriously.
To collect tips, we use encrypted forms and apps, so messages cannot be read by anybody other than you and ProPublica.
➡️ Reach out here: propublica.org/tips
To collect tips, we use encrypted forms and apps, so messages cannot be read by anybody other than you and ProPublica.
➡️ Reach out here: propublica.org/tips
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Whatever fraud there is in Medicaid is largely on the provider side, not beneficiaries. It's health insurance, its not cash.
"Fraud" here means going to a doctor if you are unemployed.
"Fraud" here means going to a doctor if you are unemployed.
Mike Johnson on Medicaid: "What we've talked about is returning work requirements ... you return the dignity of work to young men who need to be out working instead of playing video games all day. We have a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid."
April 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Whatever fraud there is in Medicaid is largely on the provider side, not beneficiaries. It's health insurance, its not cash.
"Fraud" here means going to a doctor if you are unemployed.
"Fraud" here means going to a doctor if you are unemployed.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
RFK and Bhattacharya are misleadingly invoking the lessons of social medicine (eg, most disease is preventable via non-medical social care) to justify dismantling essential medical systems while doing nothing to build public infrastructure for economic and social care.
April 6, 2025 at 12:34 AM
RFK and Bhattacharya are misleadingly invoking the lessons of social medicine (eg, most disease is preventable via non-medical social care) to justify dismantling essential medical systems while doing nothing to build public infrastructure for economic and social care.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
The entire staff.
“Also terminated was the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.” An expert said “he doesn’t see how the agency can ‘allocate the remaining $387 million in funds for this year without federal staff.”
And that’s not to mention next year!
“Also terminated was the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.” An expert said “he doesn’t see how the agency can ‘allocate the remaining $387 million in funds for this year without federal staff.”
And that’s not to mention next year!
April 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The entire staff.
“Also terminated was the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.” An expert said “he doesn’t see how the agency can ‘allocate the remaining $387 million in funds for this year without federal staff.”
And that’s not to mention next year!
“Also terminated was the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.” An expert said “he doesn’t see how the agency can ‘allocate the remaining $387 million in funds for this year without federal staff.”
And that’s not to mention next year!
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
Disability experts I spoke to expressed that the decision reflected a lack of awareness of the Administration for Community Living’s crucial role for disabled and aging Americans.
RFK Jr. moves to close Administration for Community Living
The shutdown will mean "more people forced into institutional settings."
www.motherjones.com
March 28, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Disability experts I spoke to expressed that the decision reflected a lack of awareness of the Administration for Community Living’s crucial role for disabled and aging Americans.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
A broad conclusion is that if you study anything related to the US government, join with colleagues to make a credible and accessible second home for the data you use, now.
"Some unfortunate news from the USPTO - it looks like the agency will be forced to terminate the PatentsView contract, so all the datasets and disambiguation currently available at patentsview.org will likely go offline on March 28."
PatentsView
patentsview.org
March 19, 2025 at 9:47 AM
A broad conclusion is that if you study anything related to the US government, join with colleagues to make a credible and accessible second home for the data you use, now.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
I love Bill Burr. Beautiful, flawed, brilliant mess of a man. He’s fantastic.
Comic Bill Burr [Extended Version]
Fresh Air · Episode
open.spotify.com
March 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I love Bill Burr. Beautiful, flawed, brilliant mess of a man. He’s fantastic.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
In 2023, an SSI client told me if she didn’t call Social Security early in the morning, she faced absurd waits.
“I actually ended up hanging up a couple of times simply because I was exhausted, or hungry, or had to go to the bathroom.”
DOGE’s changes (incl firing thousands) would make this worse.
“I actually ended up hanging up a couple of times simply because I was exhausted, or hungry, or had to go to the bathroom.”
DOGE’s changes (incl firing thousands) would make this worse.
Under pressure from DOGE, Social Security may sharply cut back on phone service options for processing claims and direct-deposit changes, forcing millions to go in person to field offices or make changes online www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service
Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions of elderly and disabled Americans.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 12, 2025 at 9:20 PM
In 2023, an SSI client told me if she didn’t call Social Security early in the morning, she faced absurd waits.
“I actually ended up hanging up a couple of times simply because I was exhausted, or hungry, or had to go to the bathroom.”
DOGE’s changes (incl firing thousands) would make this worse.
“I actually ended up hanging up a couple of times simply because I was exhausted, or hungry, or had to go to the bathroom.”
DOGE’s changes (incl firing thousands) would make this worse.
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
"Anti-psychiatry"––whether left or libertarian––has historically agreed on opposing coercion. Under RFK+Trump, they're using anti-medicalization not to protect individual rights and freedoms but to destroy public care systems and call for mass coercion in their place.
newrepublic.com/article/1918...
newrepublic.com/article/1918...
RFK Jr.’s Mental Health Bait and Switch
The newly anointed HHS secretary is weaponizing legitimate anger at the failures of current psychiatric care to gut public services, abandon poor and disabled people, and expand the police state.
newrepublic.com
March 13, 2025 at 2:31 PM
"Anti-psychiatry"––whether left or libertarian––has historically agreed on opposing coercion. Under RFK+Trump, they're using anti-medicalization not to protect individual rights and freedoms but to destroy public care systems and call for mass coercion in their place.
newrepublic.com/article/1918...
newrepublic.com/article/1918...
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
"When you hear about patients surviving stage 4 cancer because of immunotherapy, that was based on NIH research over many decades. When you hear about sickle cell disease being cured because of CRISPR gene editing, that was built on years of research supported by NIH"
apnews.com/article/nih-...
apnews.com/article/nih-...
Renowned geneticist Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging 'respect' for embattled workers
Dr. Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist, and former longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, is retiring from the government agency and urging “respect” for its embattled workers.
apnews.com
March 1, 2025 at 9:44 PM
"When you hear about patients surviving stage 4 cancer because of immunotherapy, that was based on NIH research over many decades. When you hear about sickle cell disease being cured because of CRISPR gene editing, that was built on years of research supported by NIH"
apnews.com/article/nih-...
apnews.com/article/nih-...
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
First, they said postponed; now the meeting is canceled. That means no flu shots next year.
“'It’s a six-month production cycle,' Dr. Offit said. 'So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year.'"
Fundamentally, that's a form of mass murder.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/u...
“'It’s a six-month production cycle,' Dr. Offit said. 'So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year.'"
Fundamentally, that's a form of mass murder.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/u...
F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots
The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines.
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2025 at 8:14 PM
First, they said postponed; now the meeting is canceled. That means no flu shots next year.
“'It’s a six-month production cycle,' Dr. Offit said. 'So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year.'"
Fundamentally, that's a form of mass murder.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/u...
“'It’s a six-month production cycle,' Dr. Offit said. 'So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year.'"
Fundamentally, that's a form of mass murder.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/u...
Reposted by Kerry Dobransky
RFK doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks, & he doesn't want you to have a say.
HHS "is reversing a decades-old policy [from 1971] of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding."
www.axios.com/2025/02/28/r...
HHS "is reversing a decades-old policy [from 1971] of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding."
www.axios.com/2025/02/28/r...
RFK Jr. kills policy on public comment for health regulations
HHS is reversing a decades-old policy of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants.
www.axios.com
March 1, 2025 at 3:10 AM
RFK doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks, & he doesn't want you to have a say.
HHS "is reversing a decades-old policy [from 1971] of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding."
www.axios.com/2025/02/28/r...
HHS "is reversing a decades-old policy [from 1971] of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding."
www.axios.com/2025/02/28/r...