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The president of MIT turned down the Compact for Academic Extortion in Higher Education sent by the Department of Education to MIT and eight other universities. MIT is the first. I expect they won’t be the only ones to refuse to cede academic independence to the fascistic Trump administration. My dad was an MIT grad. He would be proud. https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

In his quest to find an environmental “cause” for autism, RFK Jr has honed in on acetaminophen. Initially, it was gestational exposure. Now it’s acetaminophen exposure in newborn boys who were circumcised: “ While Kennedy did not cite specific research, he appeared to be referencing two older studies. “One was likely a  2015 Danish national cohort study  published in the  Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine . Among boys born between 1994 and 2003, those who were circumcised were 46% more likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before age 10, and the risk was particularly elevated for infantile autism diagnosed before age 5, where a twofold risk was observed.   “But the study authors acknowledged numerous weaknesses, most notably that it had no data on whether acetaminophen was actually administered during circumcisions. The investigators acknowledged that while their evidence was "compatible with a possible causal role of circumcision trauma in some cas...

RFK Jr has dishonestly portrayed the increase in autism diagnoses over the past 20 years as an increase in incidence of autism to justify his claim of an environmental cause for autism. Multiple published and refereed reports using twin pair studies show 60-90% heritability for autism, and those are probably underestimates. What changed in the last 20 years is the diagnostic criteria for autism and the systematic application of the new diagnostic criteria. A friend of mine has an autistic son who is in his 30s. Just to underscore the impact of how diagnostic criteria have change, here’s my friend’s experience with his son: “By age [of diagnosis], T__ would fall into the late group (age 19),  but he was actually early in the sense that he could have been diagnosed much sooner (age 2) if physicians were more aware of autism. In the 90s it was all about ADHD and everyone seemed stumped when they couldn't make him fit that diagnosis. I remember a psychiatrist who watched T__ play for l...

If nothing is done, the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted by ca. 2035 and projected retirement benefits will drop by ca. 20%. What are the alternatives? The favorite alternative on the right is to increase the normal retirement age to 70.  “Increase the normal retirement age (NRA) 3 months per year for those age 62 starting in 2026 and ending in 2037 (NRA reaches 70 for those age 62 in 2037). Thereafter, index the NRA to maintain a constant ratio of expected retirement years (life expectancy at NRA) to potential work years (NRA minus 20). We assume the NRA will increase 1 month every 2 years. Also, increase the earliest eligibility age (EEA) from 62 to 64 at the same time the NRA increases from 67 to 69; that is, for those attaining age 62 in 2026 through 2033. Keep EEA at 64 thereafter.” The argument for increasing the retirement age is that when the program started the average life expectancy was 62 and now average life expectancy is in the 70s or 80s. Of course, most o...

“Twenty-five years ago, the FDA made a decision that changed the course of reproductive health in America. By  approving mifepristone  (Mifeprex) for medication abortion, the agency gave people access to one of the safest, most effective, and most studied medications in modern medicine.   “Since then,  more than 7.5 million Americans  have relied on it to end pregnancies safely and with dignity. Its safety record is stronger than many drugs we take without question,  including penicillin .” Now, the Trump Administration is revisiting mifepristone approval. Let’s be very clear. This isn’t about science or health. This is about controlling women. Full stop. “Look no further than abortion access to understand the ways that science-driven innovation matters. As brick-and-mortar clinics across the country (including in states where abortion is still legal) continue to close, communities are left without local providers, forcing people to travel hundreds of miles...

The Chicago police force has over 12,000 sworn officers, the 2 nd  largest police force in the US. Trump plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard, most or all of whom will be sent to Chicago. That’s a 2.5% increase in total law enforcement, a trivial increase. Of course, that assumes they’ll all be doing law enforcement and not raking and spreading mulch, like the national guardsmen stationed in Washington DC. Or patrolling affluent, low-crime neighborhoods. Look, this has nothing to with crime or public safety. This is all about dominating a blue state governor who has said things that hurt Donald’s fee-fees, and the mayor of Chicago, who is Black.  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-plans-deploy-national-guard-illinois-governor-pritzker-says_n_68e1728de4b060c19f1a8b1e?origin=home-latest-news-unit