Sign in

Alina B Baciu

@alinabbaciu.bsky.social
416 followers 856 following 621 posts

she/her; my own views; #publichealth; ❤️ our nation of immigrants; abolish 🧊; ❤️ diversity, equity, inclusion; home is Nacotchtank land, Douglass Commonwealth, future 51st state

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 19h
Damn. What an icon. RIP
news.mit.edu
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
51306317
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 21h
amazing! how would you make this fireproof in fire-vulnerable places?
100
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Zach Israel @zachisrael.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
As DC voters begin automatically receiving their official mail-in ballots this week, a friendly reminder that all 55 official mail-in ballot drop boxes become open and available beginning at *11am on Friday, October 9*! They’ll be accessible 24/7 through 8pm, Tuesday, November 3:
024
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Worried about proposed changes to the US 2030 Census that would harm communities, families, and schools? You now have until Nov. 2 to submit comments. Here’s a template to use as desired and some rules of thumb. handsoffourcens.us/comment-guid...
handsoffourcens.us
Write your comment · Hands Off Our Census
Six rules, a template to adapt, and the anatomy of a strong public comment on the Census Bureau's proposed 2030 Census rule. Comments due November 2, 2026.
000
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Greater Greater Washington @ggwash.org · 05/10/2026
You don't need a huge group to have a bike bus — just ask these parents. Read up ahead of National Walk & Roll to School Day on October 7.
ggwash.org
Small bike bus, big benefits
View this post on ggwash.org
095
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Rabid hatred of all transgender people—including veterans!—is the point. And the Respectable Republicans™️ and Thoughtful Conservatives™️ are all on board with it.
16502125
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Plague
16917
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Bio weapons
621897
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Anti-ICE action for Loudon County (VA) residents (to ensure local law enforcement protects local residents and doesn’t serve the ICE mission to terrorize people) ayuda.com/loudoun-coun...
ayuda.com
Loudoun County Must Commit to Survivor Safety By Ending ICE Collaboration - Ayuda
No one should choose between their safety and the risk of deportation.
000
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Another office of inspector general apparently doing their job … www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/b...
nytimes.com
Fed’s Watchdog Finds No Misconduct or Illegal Activity in Costly Renovations (Gift Article)
A new report by the Federal Reserve’s independent inspector general concluded that a nearly $2.5 billion construction project was poorly managed but made no referrals to the U.S. attorney general.
010
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Kind of amazing that some inspectors general are still in place/doing their job Voice of America Cuts Hurt ‘U.S. National Interests,’ Internal Watchdog Says www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Voice of America Cuts Hurt ‘U.S. National Interests,’ Internal Watchdog Says (Gift Article)
The assessment by the State Department’s inspector general echoes concerns raised by critics of the move to shutter V.O.A., including some Republicans in Congress.
000
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 02/10/2026
"I'm supposed to be tough. What happens if I faint?"- here's fun footage of Curtis Sliwa & Mayor Mamdani getting their flu shots together, including Mamdani offering to hold Sliwa's hand 😆 (Sliwa takes him up on it!) (Flu season is approaching and NYers can find free flu shots at nyc.gov/healthmap)
1524314616
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Things Gavin Newsom has vetoed this week: -A ban on secretly recording people with smart glasses -A ban on ICE agents working for the state government -A ban on websites selling your data -A bill giving native tribes more say over water rights -A bill protecting transgender healthcare providers
297112974103
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
All You Fascists Bound to Lose
in colorful stenciled letters on a poster at the base of streetlight
110
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Four-byline alert: “.. Meta claimed that $4.1 billion of stock options exercised by Mr. Zuckerberg counted as a research expense ..” @nytimes.com $META www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/t...
14826791211
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.
11571792058
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I hope you’ve seen this from @cdelawalla.bsky.social www.standupforscience.net/sufs-compact...
standupforscience.net
Demand your school's leadership publicly endorse America's Compact for Higher Education — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
Email your school's president urgently asking them to publicly endorse America's Compact for Higher Education
051
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
ProPublica @propublica.org · 30/09/2026
NEW: California is teeming with black-market dairies, propped up by consumer demand fueled by misinformation. With evidence against one raw goat milk farm, regulators could have sought punitive action. But that’s not what happened.
propublica.org
A Girl Nearly Died After Drinking Raw Milk. The State Did Little to Punish the Unlicensed Farmer Who Sold It.
California is teeming with black-market dairies, propped up by consumer demand fueled by misinformation. With evidence against one raw goat milk farm, regulators could have sought punitive action. But...
22624811197
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's wild to me that people like Rufo and Salam can promote fascistic framing like this and not imagine that it might come for them or their families. But whatever guys...good luck with all of those debates about "the Indian Question" or "the Jewish Question" or "the Thai Question" or whatever.
640647
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Rufo and his ilk are grotesque racist degenerates. It’s because of them that research and government programs aimed at helping all people and communities thrive have been shut down, universities & academic freedom are under attack, and people are caged in for-profit camps.
000
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 29/09/2026
Side note: *Just this weekend* I was trying to grab some data on liberal arts majors, but the metrics I could easily find were all “how much money does the degree make you” and not “how much do these graduates benefit society in ways that are hard to replicate, specifically” and I feel that was odd.
28616
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.
20752431427
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I don’t get why all the cheerleaders for data center construction jobs don’t acknowledge that those are temporary jobs, kind of like fracking jobs. Once it’s built, that’s it.
100
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Russell Brand, who's awaiting trial in London next month on rape and sexual assault charges, will moderate a panel at DC's MAHA summit tomorrow on reforming a U.S. health agency
22426041067
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Emma Evans @trance.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Also reminder the best help for food pantries, or people struggling or any 'need' is cold hard cash. Always. Always always always. Food pantries can make that money stretch MUCH BETTER THAN YOU CAN, and it'll go to their most urgent needs. I mean, the other stuff is great too but cash is king
611724382
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I appreciate Gov. Pritzker’s frankness. Reminds me of when Gov. Mike Huckabee embarked on a public weight loss journey 2003-4. Pathways to better health & preventing early death should be nonpartisan common ground, but they require access to care, affordable healthy food, places to be active, etc.
000
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Horrifying early salvos of what culminated in the shooting at CDC which killed a police officer and traumatized civil servants protecting the public health. Now “the call is coming from inside the house” as leaders actively disinform & lie about vaccines. www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-healt...
cidrap.umn.edu
Local, state public health officials overwhelmingly faced serious backlash during pandemic, report reveals
010
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’m sorry, what? This piece was not a joint publication/ reporting job (as some are). It was @propublica’s alone and the Times followed with a summary. This is so indicative of NYT. If they don’t ignore proper credit, they just go for stolen valor.
623738732
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I've had fire insurance on my house for decades and never had a fire. Obviously a fraudster.
4247483
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This serves as advertisement for Alex Gibney’s documentary, Musk, opening October 9. Pass it on.
hollywoodreporter.com
The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)
YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.
3024121511
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This was a great activity for a rainy day @momsrising.org Thanks for the lovely postcards reminding moms that our vote can make health care and child care affordable for all families. 100 postcards made their way to moms in Iowa today. #healthcarevoter #momsky #GOTV
postcards to voters
beautiful watercolor of diverse women on the front, two lines frame the picture on the front of the card:
Our grandmothers voted. We won Medicare and Social Security. Our vote can make health care and child care affordable for all!
On the back, text about election day being on Nov 3 and encouraging early voting where possible
032
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Huh, I knew about the wage theft, but was unaware of their spending against Mamdani. In July in DC, a tiny proposed surcharge on 3rd party deliveries (to support anti-hunger programs) so enraged DoorDash that they lobbied hard for HR 9720, a bill to curtail DC Home Rule! #deleteDoorDash #FreeDC
010
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"RKF took money earmarked to provide health care for Black infants and spent it on his personal security detail" is a ludicrous headline. Comic book villainy.
wsj.com
Exclusive | RFK Jr.’s Enhanced Security Was Funded With Money From Minority Health Office
The cost of the health secretary’s security grew from roughly $10 million in fiscal year 2025 to $17 million in fiscal year 2026.
27674943153
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
where’s DOGE when you really need it
000
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Brittany Page @brittanyepage.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NPR is the latest to rush in & give white supremacist Tucker Carlson a mainstream media boost, helping to normalize him as he floats creating a third party and running for president. I listened to the whole thing. Not one single question about his constant promotion of racist conspiracy theories.
Screenshot of NPR's Newsmakers - Tucker Carlson has a new enemy: The politics he helped build

September 24, 2026 - 5:00 AM ET 

Steve Inskeep 

57-minute listen
107221
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"We saw multiple vans & buggies bringing people of all ages to the site. Some attendees...said they came to get vaccinated because they were scared of getting sick. They explained that many people in the Plain community have contracted measles, & they wanted to protect themselves and their children"
wgal.com
Peach Bottom clinic draws families seeking protection from measles
A pop-up vaccination clinic in Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania, hosted by the state health department, provided measles vaccines to members of the Plain community and other people in the area amid rising c...
520165
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As a regular user of the Archives of American Art's online collections in my research & teaching, painful to see the site still down. Hoping this isn't akin to catastrophic 2023 British Library cyberattack. If you're curious to learn more, take a few minutes to watch this video on the AAA's mission:
youtu.be
Archives of American Art — Dig Deep (2025)
YouTube video by Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
1249
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Frankie de la Cretaz @thefrankiedlc.news · 18/09/2026
I'm really glad that Code Switch included this part of my interview, because I think these are the points that so often get lost in the discussion of trans panic and why the WNBA might be an ideal target for those anti-trans groups to latch onto. www.npr.org/2026/09/15/n...
We're talking about actual bigotry and the belief that this group of people shouldn't have, like, the same human rights as another group. It legitimizes them. And so the WNBA is a big platform for them to be able to do that. But I think what's actually really insidious about being the target is that transphobia is rooted in white supremacist ideas of who is allowed to be a woman and what a woman should look like. Those beliefs have, you know, negatively impacted Black and brown and non-Western women throughout history.

So what you have is a league in the WNBA that is full of Black women, 7-foot-tall women, masculine women, women who don't fit kind of the traditional markers of conventional white Western ideas of womanhood. And so I don't think it's surprising that transphobic ideas around the acceptable kind of woman are coming and impacting this league.

And I think the last piece that I will say is, I think, in some ways, the lack of visibility that the league had for a lot of years really protected it. Like, it wasn't as successful as it should have been because of racism and homophobia and misogyny. And once it becomes successful, the flip side of that is it really does become a different kind of victim of those ideas. And the fact that you have a league that is all women, predominantly Black women, largely queer women who have been successful and they don't need men to do it, and their product is not necessarily for men. I think that's a threat to the status quo. And so it's not just about protecting women's sports. It's actually about dismantling them from the inside.
9840327
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"This week, a Superior Court judge upheld what’s already been law in Connecticut: that there are no religious exemptions when it comes to requirements for kids getting vaccinated for school." www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/c...
nbcconnecticut.com
Connecticut court upholds school vaccine law, religious exemptions still not permitted for students
This week, a Superior Court judge upheld what’s already been law in Connecticut: that there are no religious exemptions when it comes to requirements for kids getting vaccinated for school. Connecticu...
25024
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Manisha Sinha @profmsinha.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Just saw Best of Best on @netflix.com last night and it was such good fun. I think that crazy racist in Texas Bo French would lose his mind if he saw it!
1102
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Bethany Albertson @albertsonb2.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Our students don’t deserve this. For those who don’t understand UT Austin admissions, most undergrads get in bc they were top 5% of their graduating class, from a Texas high school. Anyone calling for more white students is advocating for race conscious admissions - to help out white students.
201369341
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Last year, one day after a radicalized anti-vaxxer shot up the CDC campus over mRNA vaccines, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya called to end use of the platform. www.importantcontext.news/nih-director...
importantcontext.news
NIH Director Spreads Vaccine Misinformation One Day After CDC Shooting
Jay Bhattacharya called to end the mRNA platform on Steve Bannon’s War Room.
518770
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 19/09/2026
We cannot let history forget what happens when a federal government uses law enforcement to terrorize innocent people.
 And let me say to any agent or administration official who thinks we've forgotten or that their cruelty will go unchecked: Illinois remembers.
572859606
Alina B Baciu @alinabbaciu.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This is what happens when you don’t have diverse voices in EVERY room where decisions are being made. If you only have one category of human you’ll have massive blind posts that present reputational and other kinds of risk. We need DEI in all messages, products, services. thegrio.com/2026/09/18/c...
thegrio.com
Converse apologizes for ad campaign image that resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood and a hanging body
The unfortunate and uncomfortable optical illusion sparks discourse and reminds us why a picture is worth a thousand words.
121
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 19/09/2026
Exactly! I made this point in my recent piece with Nathaniel Raymond on ever-increasing drone attacks on civilians - it’s people knowingly doing this, not automated systems:
foreignpolicy.com
Civilians Need Better Protections in the Drone Age
Hunting noncombatants from the sky is growing disturbingly common.
17412
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Good to see this national AI conversation get going. But it’s still too much on Silicon Valley’s terms. The rest of us don’t have to act like everything is computer. We can talk real world instead of sci fi. We don’t need to put tech companies’ power and profit first, and societal impacts second.
7712104
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
AI didn’t “go rogue.” People connected a computer system they know can mess with another computer system in unpredictable ways to less advanced computer system and it messed with that computer system in unpredicted ways. As @tressiemcphd.bsky.social argues, don’t lose sight that *people* did that.
nytimes.com
Opinion | Panic Won’t Fix the Looming A.I. Threat. Politics Will.
The threats from A.I. are real — and they’re ones we know how to deal with.
251171310
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We already have an AI kill switch: cut power to servers. Really want to talk existential threat? Fine. We humans have many ways to blow things up. Like data centers. Panicky discourse assumes the first priority is protect tech company investments and expand their businesses. But why should it be?
441632325
Reposted by Alina B Baciu
Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 18/09/2026
We scraped through the data and found that 50% of all clinical trials are at risk of being cancelled. 1,026 cancer trials 273 pediatric trials 115 heart disease trials 184 diabetes trials This is unacceptable and inhumane.
415689