Aoife T. #BodilyAutonomy

“Many of us would love to be taxed for the things we are solely and individually responsible for. But we are American citizens, and thus bound to a collective enterprise that extends beyond our individual and personal reach” Ta-Nahesi Coates’ testimony on #HR40

@dougprior1 @ABC Yes because there was no vaccine

@ABC I'm all for vaccines but didn't we used to have chicken pox parties to make sure all the kids got it over with🤣

JUST IN: The CDC has updated its immunization schedule, dropping the universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation and recommending that toddlers receive the chickenpox shot separately from the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, shot. abcnews.link/X2gWJ4l

@ClydeDonnelly99 @rtenews What machine? He’s autistic.

@rtenews This is a bad decision and will be appealed. Airline cannot allow this guy and his machine to block the emergency exit. It was a mistake to allow him to book that seat and I'm sure they have tweaked the booking system since. They should have offered him a full refund on the day

An airline has been ordered to pay a passenger €7,500 for refusing to let him sit in an exit row seat he had booked specially for extra legroom because he had disclosed that he was autistic rte.ie/news/courts/20…

@WCTharpe Can’t a planet get a little love?

not now, Mars

@RonanFarrow Also there’s that whole sexual harassment of women including his employees thing…

As an investigative reporter, I won't opine on the question of fitness, but Andrew Cuomo has an extensively documented history of taking actions that experts deem illegal to dismantle law enforcement investigations around him and retaliate against those behind such efforts.

@WCTharpe Writing a funder proposal rn where this is the basic premise…

Hot take: government is good

@EastEndJoe I’d start with them actually knowing what a pronoun is and being able to properly parse a sentence.

Since English is now the official language of the US, does this mean MAGA will learn the difference between "your" and "you're?"

@mattyglesias A general disdain of science isn’t enough?

Zelensky has been holding Ukraine together by sheer force of will. Making his resignation a condition for NATO membership is short sighted at best. In related news, you would think the GOPs immunity to irony and raging hypocrisy would be enough to choke every last one of them.

We all eventually have our own version of the first time a young colleague refers to you as Mr. Tharpe, and for me that day was today 😭🥲

@TimHannan Where’s the “I never thought the leopard would eat my face” lady?

Must be some mistake. Only people I hate were supposed to get screwed.

@WCTharpe I guess I moved to the right state 🤗

Tldr: In a time when far too many states have been slashing taxes deeply & seriously harming the public services, people, & local economies they support, Gov. Moore’s proposal goes in the other direction: raising targeted new revenues to invest in a brighter future.

It’s off to the races in state legislatures this year, with a slew of tax & budget proposals likely to impact families & communities nationwide. Here’s one so far that's especially important: MD Gov. Moore’s proactive revenue package (🧵) washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/…

@ChrisCuomo That’s a really interesting take on why Trump won.

Do we know regular people cared abt project 2025? Most I encountered saw it as another partisan bogeyman. Didn't Trump win because more people found him less offensive to norms than the Dems? (which should be staggering to the left).

New out from me today: about 1 dollar out of every 3 in state spending comes from federal funds, & that longstanding support is vital to families, communities, & state economies nationwide. Emerging Republican budget proposals could threaten broad swaths of it very soon.

Federal grant funding in the state budget to Kentucky is $22 billion and includes: --$15 billion for Medicaid --$1.8 billion for education including Title 1, school meals $469M, special ed --$234 million for child care

In its latest brief, @Demos_org explains how communities and workers can leverage public funds to rebalance workplace power dynamics and ensure broader, comprehensive protections for workers: demos.org/policy-briefs/…

@Cloudwatch199 …welcome to the discussion? I mean this with genuine curiosity and respect- what did you think was going to happen?

I’m deeply questioning my decision to support the Republican Party after witnessing the persistent and dehumanizing attacks directed at me and my community by individuals who, despite hiding behind a veneer of respectability, openly harbor and amplify racist ideologies. I’ve tried to hold onto the belief that these voices represent a vocal minority, not the broader values of the party. But time and again, I am disheartened as accounts with massive followings—many of them wielding significant influence—parrot unhinged conspiracy theories and perpetuate overtly racist tropes without consequence. This isn’t just about isolated comments or fringe behavior; it’s about a pattern that reveals an uncomfortable truth about the party’s failure to unequivocally reject bigotry. These attacks aren’t simply offensive—they are alienating to communities whose values, work ethic, and aspirations align with many conservative principles, yet find themselves consistently vilified. The most troubling part is the normalization of this rhetoric by individuals who should be using their platforms to unite, not divide. It forces one to ask: Is this truly the exception, or is it a reflection of an undercurrent that the party is unwilling—or worse, uninterested—to confront? For a movement that claims to champion merit, individual dignity, and opportunity, it’s disheartening to see those ideals betrayed by voices that choose hate over inclusion. If the Republican Party wants to grow, evolve, and truly represent a diverse and forward-thinking electorate, it must take a hard look at its blind spots and the voices it elevates. Without that reckoning, it risks alienating not just me, but countless others who once believed in its promise.

@ravenousreader Yep. This was a thing in my house growing up. At some point my dad persuaded her to switch to terrys chocolate orange 🤣 but the point was the same…

My mom ALWAYS put an orange in our stocking. We always complained about it and she would say “fruit in winter is rare, and you should remember that. That orange is to make you grateful for what abundance we have.” As an adult someone told me this is an Irish tradition, and that many families do it. No one else I know did this outside of my aunts and cousins. Anyone know more about this?

@WCTharpe What was the song?

my submission to the annual office holiday playlist got picked for the opener and this is going on my performance evaluation

@JMDucksworth @AniseNot And it’s also totally normal.

@AniseNot Where to spend holidays *as a couple* is something that should happen after a serious commitment is made, not before. If you still live at home with your parents, running off to spend Christmas with a girl/boy who might not be relevant for very long is shortsighted and unwise.

Are we really out here raising sons for 18 years just to gleefully hand them over for Christmas to the first college girlfriend that comes along without any outlet for grievance airing lest we be subject to critical social media pile-ons??

@AniseNot @Philosophi_Cat And if they are not why is that? I hated going home for Christmas as a young adult. It got more bearable the more control I felt I exercised over my own life. But if they don’t want to I don’t think it’s the new gf’s fault

@Philosophi_Cat MY ADULT SONS SHOULD BE STOPPING BY TO SEE THEIR FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS