ChicagoMan

BREAKING After teaching Republicans how to request a REFUND for donations to WinRed, I’m receiving messages from voters across the country: “I donated $100 [b/c I thought Thune was going to listen on the voters]. I just called Win Red and secured my refund. Thank you.” 🦇

A new residency program in Texas is being promoted to foreign medical students. ⬇️

🚨 BREAKING: The House just voted to KEEP FUNDING NED, an NGO called "National Endowment for Democracy," defeating an amendment pushed by Elon Musk, Mike Benz, Rep. Eli Crane and others 81 REPUBLICANS joined Democrats. Final vote: 127-291. Trump tried to defund NED, but was stopped Eli Crane describes NED as a "contributor to global censorship campaigns and domestic propaganda" Unreal. Two good measures were defeated in the House today.

I'm getting two vaccines next week: Tdap and shingles. The Tdap because Kate's family has a newborn and we're visiting. Shingles for the potential longevity benefits. Data we're looking at: 1. Lower Alzheimer risk with vaccination in 1.6 million people, 8 year follow up, age 65+ + Tdap/Td: 30% lower relative risk + Shingles: 25% lower + Pneumococcal: 27% lower 2. Slower biological aging from shingles vaccination in 3,884 people, age 70+ Modest but significant improvements in inflammation, epigenetic and transcriptomic aging, and composite biological age. Molecular signals strongest within 3 years; inflammation benefits emerged later. 3. Better outcomes after breakthrough shingles in 38,092 people, age 50+, median 3.6y follow up In adults who developed shingles, prior vaccination was linked to: + 41% lower all-cause mortality + 21% lower MACE (MI, stroke, PE, sudden cardiac death) + 16% lower dementia risk Note: all three studies are observational. They show association, not causation. A randomized controlled trial on longevity outcomes is not feasible here as you can't randomize people to skip vaccines for years. The signal is consistent across independent large cohorts, which strengthens confidence, but the possibility of healthy vaccine bias exists in all three. People who stay current on vaccines tend to have better health behaviors overall. I find the mechanistic case for shingles specifically compelling. VZV reactivation drives neuro inflammation, and vaccination appears to blunt that cascade which is why we weight this evidence more heavily than the numbers alone.

Every American should be enraged by this - but instead of seeing past the politics to the principle, many will ignore the fact that they were robbed blind & their elected officials covered it up.

So is this a lesson plan, or just a free ad for private schools?

Y'all literally designed a political plantation for Black vote cattle in Louisiana. You can go fuck yourself.

Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit “racial bias.” And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach. The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers - not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.

Y'all literally designed a political plantation for Black vote cattle in Louisiana. You can go fuck yourself.

We must call this for what it is: voter suppression that will silence Black and brown voters. The magnitude of this decision cannot be understated — it guts the Voting Rights Act and its very purpose of protecting all voices. Every American deserves an equal vote.