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Ben Bellows

@benbellows.bsky.social
3.6K followers 3K following 2K posts

Cofounder & CBO, Nivi Inc A Michigan farm kid a long time ago. Husband, dad, researcher, neighbor, founder. pubs: orcid.org/0000-0001-9205-6623 #UMich #Econ #PeaceCorps #Ecuador 🇪🇨 #CDC #UCBerkeley #Epi #PopCouncil #Kenya 🇰🇪 #Zambia 🇿🇲 #digitalhealth #AI

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Reposted by Ben Bellows
The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 2h
When we actually listen to experts and advocates, we can accomplish good change. Jennifer Weiss-Wolf writes all about the long overdue course correction in menopause care and awareness in her new book, “When in Menopause”.
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Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 2h
"Latifou's case is one of 40 documented by Reuters where migrants granted US legal protection after being persecuted for their LGBT status were deported to third countries in Africa that either criminalize same-sex relations or have been described by the State Department as hostile to LGBT people.”
reuters.com
Trump's deportation push forces dozens of LGBT migrants onto hostile terrain
Two years ago, a mob assaulted Abdou Latifou and threatened to kill him after he was seen kissing the man he loved.
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Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 10h
Happy 110th anniversary to Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0.
Georgia Tech 222
Cumberland 0
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 3h
It is unacceptable that public officials in charge of our health are not commenting on this. “Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment about the initiative. A spokesman for Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the N.I.H. director, declined comment.”
nytimes.com
RFK Jr. Plans Vaccine Injury Initiative, Drawing Wary Eye From Experts
Vaccine safety experts say more research into the side effects would be welcome yet question whether the health secretary’s effort will be grounded in science.
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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 4h
Re-wetting drained peatlands is a powerful and underappreciated climate solution.
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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 4h
👀 "Jackson still has work to do to educate Maine voters on his accomplishments but he opened the door by showing he understood Mainers’ struggles in a way that Susan Collins, who has not held a town hall for decades, does not." @asfried.bsky.social #mepolitics #mesenate #mesen
amyfried.substack.com
The Empathy Gap in the First Maine Senate Debate
Jackson showed concern for Mainers, Collins for her reputation
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Ben Bellows @benbellows.bsky.social · 4h
that's all I hear. Fun, but I like the original Rage
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h
Trump in Texas: "In this election I'm asking you to pretend, you just have to pretend that I'm on the ballot, because we get a lot more votes when I'm on the ballot. In a way we are on the ballot."
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Ben Bellows @benbellows.bsky.social · 4h
Kansas is really getting interesting
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Adam Hamilton @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social · 7h
🚨 100+ Kansas Republicans just launched Republicans for Hamilton, a statewide coalition backing Adam for U.S. Senate. The list includes former governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden, a former Senate President, a former House Majority Leader, and Roger Marshall’s primary opponent.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 21/08/2026
EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s pardons have cost crime victims a staggering $1.7 billion in restitution while wiping away penalties for wealthy fraudsters and political allies, according to a new congressional review. The full findings are damning:
meidasnews.com
EXCLUSIVE: Committee Review Finds Trump Pardons Have Cost Crime Victims $1.7 Billion and Enriched Trump Allies
A Scathing Report from House Judiciary Committee Finds Cost of Trump Pardons Continues to Soar
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 5h
This is, more generally, a super cool thing I recommend trying when you have a free afternoon. It’s a Dog Library, except you don’t even need a card. Just show up and check out a dog. They’ll give you a bottle of water & some treats, even. bvspca.org/shelter-skip...
bvspca.org
Shelter Skip Day
Help a dog in need by giving it a day out. Brandywine Valley SPCA's Shelter Skip Day program is open to the public.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 5h
Kimberly Guilfoyle was preparing for her congressional hearing to become U.S. ambassador to Greece when she reached out to a Trump donor with an urgent request: She needed $100,000 that she said she owed American Express—in a way that wouldn't leave a paper trail.
wsj.com
Exclusive | ‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account
Text messages with a MAGA ally show Guilfoyle seeking funds and offering access to top administration officials before becoming ambassador to Greece.
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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 5h
The editorial board of the Philadelphia @inquirer.com becomes the first at a major newspaper to endorse (sorta) Trump's impeachment. share.inquirer.com/BnINC5 "A clear and present danger to the republic... the case against Trump is strong... the time has come to again contemplate his impeachment."
share.inquirer.com
The Case for Impeachment: What would the founders do? | Editorial
The list of the president’s high crimes and misdemeanors is breathtaking.
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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 7h
A remarkable tale of survival lies behind these inconspicuous islands of Santi and Rustene, which occupy the seas north of Norway and south of the ‘land of pygmies' on Mercator's 1569 world map. It's a story so powerful that it is still celebrated in Norway and Italy today.
Map: Nova et aucta orbis terrae descriptio ad usum navigantium emendate accomodata (Gerardus Mercator, 1569). Source: BNFMap: Nova et aucta orbis terrae descriptio ad usum navigantium emendate accomodata (Gerardus Mercator, 1569). Source: BNF
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 7h
For over 20 years, civilians in Afghanistan risked their lives to help us. The bipartisan Special Immigrant Visa program was a promise & a recognition of their service.   By dismantling this program, Trump is breaking that promise & sending many of these allies back into harm's way.
ms.now
Democrats accuse Trump of stranding over 155,000 Afghans who aided the U.S.
A spokesperson defended the Trump administration's visa ban for Afghans, saying it’s “long past time to move past” the conflict and “look ahead to the future.”
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 7h
“Delays to medical research spending have become a chronic issue during the second Trump administration… some scientists warned that any delays could jeopardize the safety of participants in clinical trials, derail time-sensitive studies and disrupt staffing and resources.”
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Delays Threaten Funding for HIV Research
The networks also develop treatments and preventions for other infectious diseases and were instrumental in testing the Covid vaccine.
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
After a brief but institution-eroding slop science era, it increasingly looks like we are going to have 2 revolutions from AI: 1) Everything ever published will be re-read and re-judged in ways that human scientists never anticipated 2) Novel discoveries will start to come faster than we can absorb
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David Froomkin @dfroomkin.bsky.social · 11h
This guy—often said to be a sane, sensible, moderate Republican—asserts that “January 6 worked itself out” and that the “abhorrent behavior” of the next Democratic President will be worse than Trump’s. It doesn’t matter whether he is delusional or disingenuous. There are no moderate Republicans.
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Chris Ingraham @cingraham.bsky.social · 8h
A little beside the point but we gotta change the financial disclosure laws so they show actual dollar values rather than these stupid handwavy ranges
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 9h
A constitutional order that cannot remove a chief executive at this point is not worth saving. We need massive, wholesale, fundamental institutional reform.
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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 9h
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Polling USA @usapolling.bsky.social · 8h
"Is it inappropriate for taxpayer funds to pay for election-related television ads featuring the president or members of his cabinet?" All: Inappropriate: 89% Appropriate: 9% GOP: Inappropriate: 80% Appropriate: 17% Ipsos / Oct 5, 2026
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Chris Kluwe @chriswarcraft.bsky.social · 8h
People always ask “where are you going to get the money to pay for stuff like housing and healthcare and public transit” and the answer is the same as it’s always been Make the rich pay their fair share
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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 10h
oh my GOD
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing.
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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 14h
*hotdog guy*
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Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 14h
Air Pollution Elevates the Risks of Incident Hypertension, Subsequent Comorbidities Progression, and Prognosis: A Multistate Analysis - American Journal of Preventive Medicine www.ajpmonline.org/article/S074...
ajpmonline.org
Air Pollution Elevates the Risks of Incident Hypertension, Subsequent Comorbidities Progression, and Prognosis: A Multistate Analysis
Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with incident hypertension; however, its role in the progression and prognosis of subsequent comorbidities remains poorly understood.
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 14h
“Support for Medicare for All is at its highest in at least a decade, according to a new KFF poll. The survey found two-thirds of Americans now favor expanding the government health program that largely covers seniors (about half of whom are enrolled in private plans through Medicare Advantage).”
npr.org
'Medicare for All' message attracts midterm voters buckling under medical bills
Midterm candidates are talking up Medicare for All, and in a poll 2 out of 3 Americans said they support it. The phrase speaks to a desire for radical change, though many don't really know what it is.
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 15h
“It’s killing the whole nation,” said Missouri farmer Marty Richardson Seems problematic for the nation.
bloomberg.com
Diesel Prices Surge Just as Farmers Need Fuel the Most
Harvesting and planting is ramping up, raising risks for global food supplies and inflation.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h
Rep. Greg Murphy describes people who have lived in America for decades and have families here and are brutally deported by ICE as "collateral damage," and says "thank God we're getting rid of the garbage that's in our country:"
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 16h
"Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried much of the extra load and helped keep the lights on." The lies of the oil industry are falling fast
reuters.com
COMMENTARY: Renewables help US power system survive summer stress test
Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried mu...
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Nicolás Lillo @nicolillo.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Hoy en otro de los efectos geopolíticos del cambio climático.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 07/10/2026
Troy Jackson: "Senator Collins is like an arsonist who helps set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out."
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
He said this at the time, as did many, and it remains a bald-faced lie. Not a matter of opinion. It's just completely untrue as an objective factual matter. Civil marriage laws don't work like that and never have. Just like the legality of divorce and remarriage doesn't affect the Catholic Church.
abcnews.com
Alito calls same-sex marriage a 'decisive' turn 'against religious liberty' in new book
A new book by Justice Samuel Alito presents his view of the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the country with a focus on religious freedom.
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Ben Wikler @benwikler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"The Trump Administration is proposing to repeal the Roadless Rule, opening 45 million acres of national forests to road construction, destructive timber harvest and energy development." Today is the last day for public comment. Weigh in: defenders.org/roadless-rule
defenders.org
The Roadless Rule
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Matt Binder @mattbinder.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
the tech industry is about to invent books
Andrew Yeung 
@andruyeung
X.com
We created gyms because modern day work no
longer required physical activity. Without exercise,
our muscles atrophy.
I predict we'll need gyms for our brains too, once Al
starts doing our knowledge work.
10:53 PM • 10/4/26 • 1.3M Views
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The function of modern media is laundering and reformatting this insane man's statements for the public so they don't have to confront reality. The fact that *this person* holds the world's most powerful office and we allow it to continue raises so many hard questions we just choose to ignore it
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Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The 1980s really ended today.
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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 06/10/2026
Yep — or "relational insufficiency," to allude to Carney's complaint, entrenched and enforced by massive resistance to school integration, housing integration, workplace integration, curricula that acknowledge non-white perspectives … etc., etc.
Right-wing pundit Tim Carney, in a post on X. He wrote: 

"I'm a moderate on the 'how American is hustle' question.

"More precisely, I think 'it's complicated.'

"In some ways, nothing is more American than outworking the other guy. See Rocky IV and the American Revolution. 

"On the other hand, I think right now we are too meritocratic, and
insufficiently relational."
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Shipwreck @shipwreck75.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran’s leaders and a second group of leaders were gone and that nobody knows who is running the country. “The biggest problem I have is nobody knows who the hell is running the country,” he said at an Anduril Industries event in Maryland.-Iran Intl
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"The spat quickly grew in intensity and volume. At one point, Mr. Jedlinsky recalled, they were saying, “You shut up!” and “No, you shut up!”" maybe they should've gone to lunch? www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/u...
nytimes.com
They Argued About Trump at a Dog Park. Then They Pulled Their Guns.
What happened between two dog owners one April afternoon in Ohio will soon be scrutinized by a judge and jury as both men grapple with the consequences.
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 06/10/2026
While this hearing didn't proceed, it's clear the Trump admin is continuing what a judge has called a "vindictive prosecution" of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. As I said from day 1, if they can do this to Kilmar, they can do it to anyone. We'll keep fighting this political persecution.
nbcnews.com
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia hearing on his deportation case is suddenly canceled
The government was moving to vacate a preliminary injunction preventing ICE from detaining and deporting him, while his legal team was trying to make the injunction permanent.
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Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Natural Chimneys is such a compelling place: "tower karst" (à la southern Thailand or Guilin, China) in the heart of Augusta County, Virginia. ⚒️
Aerial view of a cluster of multiple limestone turrets, with forest behind and mowed grass (& a fence) in the foreground.
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Standing Together @standing-together.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Three years ago Yonatan Zeigen’s mother, Vivian Silver, was brutally killed by Hamas in her home’s safe room. It was a moment that split his life into a before and an after.
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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Listen to @bloodwork.show www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/w...
nytimes.com
U.S. Sends Reaper Drones to Colombia and Ecuador to Hunt Cartels
MQ-9 Reaper drones — known for high-profile deadly strikes — have been shifted from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador, U.S. officials said.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 06/10/2026
This is excellent. I want to see more Dems going hard on this.
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Ann Telnaes @anntelnaes.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Watching the Hill/Thomas hearings angered me so much that I decided to put together a portfolio of cartoons about women's issues, found a list of U.S. newspapers, and mailed them out. That's why I'm an editorial cartoonist today.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Gasoline prices were briefly sky-high under Biden, in the immediate aftermath of Putin's Ukraine invasion. Then they came down, well before his term ended. Gas is up +39.4% from a year ago. Diesel it at ALL TIME high prices, up +67.0% from a year ago.
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Andrea LaFlamme @andrealaflamme.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s true. I lived it. @dunlap4congress.bsky.social for Maine CD2
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