Uday

@DianneCallaha16 @dr_demetre They’re not incompetent - they intend to destroy the government, so they can do what they want. It’s wilful, and not an accident at all.

This is so sad. When you have an incompetent person as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States, we start losing some of the most experienced scientists, doctors, and researchers in the world. This is happening at every level of government. We are becoming a country that can’t be trusted because we’re being governed by incompetent people.

My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people. It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC. The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc. I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information. The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun. The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision. Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically. Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States. Sincerely, Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

@techwithshajith Great to read your take - very validating for me. I have long experience with C#, but now in management.

What are your thoughts on C#? Here is my quick, opinion on C# over other languages. techunwindwithshajith.com/why-i-love-c-o…

@Kasparov63 Please, please move to Threads. If you're there I can't find you. I want to follow you there.

Absolutely. Escalation has always come from failing to stand up to dictatorships, not from confronting and deterring them. Even the "but nukes!" cries that weren’t Kremlin propaganda ignore this fact. Putin escalates when he’s confident, not cornered.

Social Security taxes are rigged for the rich — and the program is in danger because of it. A CEO earning $20M/yr pays Social Security taxes on ~1% of their income. Meanwhile, the typical worker pays Social Security taxes on 100% of their income. How does that make sense?

Never forget that Donald Trump's initial reaction to 9/11 was to boast that after the towers fell he suddenly owned the tallest building in downtown Manhattan. A sick man!

Threads.net for Web is here! Twitter slowly slipping away into oblivion...I will be found here less, and delete my account in the next few ...

Your reminder that Jim Jordan ignored a congressional subpoena. I assume DA Willis will follow his example and ignore him. Also, his “investigation” is stupid. DOJ and FBI agents work with local law enforcement all the time. Totally irrelevant if they did that here, or not.

People need to know this: Sen. Tommy Tuberville has now held up 301 military postings. He has even put a hold on the head of the Indo-Pacific command. “This is a gift to China, and it’s a gift that keeps giving day in and day out…” washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

“A security issue” FBI vet ⁦@FrankFigliuzzi1⁩ warns of Trump’s threats to prosecutors on ⁦@DeadlineWH⁩

@AlexWEllis Dude you can sure carry a tune...keep on singing!

On his birthday, here’s my tribute to the great #KishoreKumar

@kavilion @MotherJones Save your breath - no need to channel Twitter toxicity for the millionth time. There won't be a day when I consider "wisdom" from your type.

@udayan @MotherJones If you regard Mother Jones as actual journalism you need to sit this one out. This is hateful race-baiting propaganda just like literally everything these hacks publish.

We are confused about why some people are suddenly pretending that white nationalism is OK. bit.ly/3NLMBti

@horridpoplyrics @RBReich I've seen that happen on one other video yesterday. May be another of new Twitter glitches

Today the SEC filed 13 charges against Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, over allegations that the company misled investors and misused customer funds. Let me remind you: Crypto is a giant Ponzi scheme that urgently needs to be regulated.

Three years in federal prison for willfully retaining top secret national defense information you say? justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/f…

I tried this before and failed… so: Let’s try again! If my Eugene Goodman charcoal drawing gets 1000 retweets I will paint a 6 foot version of this, Timelapse record the process and GIVE THE PAINTING AWAY here on my page. Who wants to help?

#BREAKING: Well-Regulated Militia Opens Fire On Michigan State University In East Lansing; Cheap Thoughts And Useless Prayers Now Being Rushed To The Scene ... more on this soon-to-be-forgotten-and-then-repeated story as it develops ...

@PalmTreeKin @blackpowerpufff Ikr? Just dropping the word brown wouldn’t change anything, yes? We can see in the picture what color they are. It just comes across like their color makes it more likable..

@blackpowerpufff Why do we call them brown? Then call African Americans, & most Africans, Black?

those two little brown kids singing on tiktok always bring me to tears like how do they sound SO GOOD

@BradmanTV @TommyPigott @POTUS @BradmanTV Wow - don't let all your intelligence show at once, mister tv show host and children's book writer - God only knows the level those will be.

When I ran for president, the economy was flat on its back. But we got to work, putting in place a new strategy that would grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. Two years in, more Americans are working than ever before. Our plan is delivering.

@TommyPigott @POTUS So what did Biden do in 4 months of his term that caused inflation. The former guy had something to do with it? The Tariffs for example? The corporate profits windfall due to the tax cuts he gave? Cite your sources for your claims.

@POTUS What Biden's "plan is delivering": Inflation has been at or above 5% for 20 months. Real wages have been negative for 21 months. American families are poorer, with less real disposable income, than when he took office.