Patti Markham Risica
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pmrisica.bsky.social
Patti Markham Risica
@pmrisica.bsky.social
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Faculty who wrote to defend their president and object to a DOJ investigation of their university...are now being investigated by the DOJ.
The most banal defense of free speech and academic freedom will trigger the full wrath of the US government now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...
Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation
www.nytimes.com
July 29, 2025 at 12:23 AM
THIS IS NOT OK! Don’t care how many undocumented people live in this country. We CANNOT allow this abusive behavior- abuse of anyone, citizen or not.
ICE detained a veteran and U.S. citizen for three days.

They didn’t let him contact his family or a lawyer. They didn’t let him change or shower. They didn’t give him a reason for his detention.

Under this regime, no one is safe. apnews.com/article/us-a...
Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone
A U.S. Army veteran arrested during an immigration raid at a California marijuana farm says he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle on his way to work.
apnews.com
July 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
This people, THIS!!!

We've heard RFKJ spew on about increasing rates of childhood autism and how the cause MUST BE vaccines or toxins. But he failed to acknowledge or investigate the simplest answer: we expanded the definition of autism, leading to more diagnoses.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/o...
Opinion | Autism Rates Have Increased 60-Fold. I Played a Role in That.
www.nytimes.com
June 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
I know it's been said but I keep getting re-infuriated about RFK Jr doing his thing, like we had this vaccines thing *settled*, they rule and they were working and all we had to do was NOT put the worst possible person in charge of the country's public health apparatus.
June 13, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Northwestern has not received any NIH funds since March. No written communication about why or what can be done. Thank you Ben Singer for raising awareness at #ATS2025
May 18, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Right. And how is serum Vit D representative of overall Vit D status, especially when it’s fat soluble?
Vitamin D has been in the news recently. Apparently it can slow aging!

Except, the results are spurious. There's still no reason to take a vitamin D supplement in most situations.

My new piece:
gidmk.substack.com/p/vitamin-d-...
Vitamin D Probably Can't Slow Aging
How endless headlines are coming from the same tired dataset.
gidmk.substack.com
May 27, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
"All too often, the other side of the aisle refers to Social Security as an 'entitlement.' That is simply wrong--it's the insurance Americans have paid for to fund retirement, disability, and survivor benefits through a lifetime of work." - John B. Larson

larson.house.gov/social-secur....
Social Security Isn’t an Entitlement
Social Security is our nation’s most successful insurance program. For 80+ years, Social Security has been a promise to all Americans that they would have a chance to retire with dignity after a lifet...
larson.house.gov
February 19, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Who is in charge is the definitive question this year.
wtf

I mean, good. But who’s in charge?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the nearly 400 books pulled from US Naval Academy library in DEI purge are back on shelves in latest shift.
May 21, 2025 at 10:42 PM
No diversity. No equity. No inclusion. It’s clear.
May 18, 2025 at 3:37 AM
So embarrassing. You can’t get less prepared. (PS NICHD is named for his aunt, a champion of child health.)
Senator Alsobrooks: You’ve been unable to address specific questions about your agency. Can you name which office the Safe to Sleep program operates out of?

RFK Jr.: Guesses wrong 5 times

Alsobrooks: It is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD.
May 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Your School House Rock moment.....🤔
May 12, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Hmmm. Who was president at that time? Think, think, think. 🤔
Duffy: "By the way, during covid, when people weren't flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems."

(Who wants to tell him ... )
May 13, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
April 22, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Breast cancer diagnoses rose by over 300% between 1973 and 1992.

Was there a breast cancer epidemic?!

NO.

Mammograms were implemented for screening in 1976.

PREVALENCE is a function of being able to correctly diagnose something.

This is also about autism.
April 21, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Well, this is wild.
The wording here is incredibly broad: it does not say that recipients can't use funds for DEI, but that they can't do DEI in any capacity. They cannot engage in any discriminatory boycott (i.e. BDS). This seems to extend NIH conditions well into the domain of personal speech.
April 22, 2025 at 1:23 AM
I haven’t seen a word from the Bidens about Pope Francis’s passing. Very odd from a devout Catholic. I hope he’s ok.
April 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Is the idea to increase manufacturing in America popular?

For thee, but not for me.
More in No, Other People:

New poll:

“America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing.”

• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree

“I would be better off if I worked in a factory.”

• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory
April 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Is it legal to shave their heads? Why was that done (besides humiliation)?
April 8, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Patti Markham Risica
Right on to this man for speaking truth to power. I was just talking to my buddy about this.

Let me just add: the reason Black folks need to sit this one out (for now). In large numbers, cops see us as a threat and escalate. Trust me—you don’t want to give Trump a reason to declare martial law.
April 6, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Or a small garden tea. We are in no position to have company.
There is absolutely no way the US can host the World Cup or the Olympics
cnn.com CNN @cnn.com · Apr 6
FKA Twigs has announced she is canceling a series of live shows she was scheduled to perform after experiencing what she described as “ongoing visa issues": cnn.it/44hJdjJ
April 7, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I disagree. Many, many people could have stopped him. This is failure of the entire Republican Party. Mitch McConnell gets the most votes.
As the economic news keeps coming out over the coming weeks keep one thing in mind: this is the fault of one man and didn’t need to happen.
April 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Over half of all gun deaths in the US are suicide.
There is gun violence in rural America, but much of it looks different.

Rural folks often don’t have access to healthcare or a good paying job, but they do have access to a gun — suicide rates are consistently higher in rural spaces than urban spaces.
April 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Crypto-dudes. Of course.
The gangster state breaks new ground. Trump’s not just pardoning corporate criminals. Now he’s pardoning criminal corporations.
thehill.com
April 4, 2025 at 1:43 PM