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Jesse F Ballenger

@jfballenger.bsky.social
1.1K followers 3.3K following 553 posts

History of medicine, health humanities, bioethics, critical dementia studies. Self, Senility and Alzheimer's in Modern America. bit.ly/3fVOrrU. Chilephile 🇨🇱, climate, cycling, Philly, board games, music, & sundry

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Reposted by Jesse F Ballenger
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This is true. In 2016, I got into an argument with a gay man on a menswear forum. I've since made it my mission to make every man dress gay, thereby destroying his ability to tell who is actually gay and, ultimately, his chances of finding love. I built my social media following to achieve that goal
Someone on Twitter writes to me: "People should follow your advise if they want to look gay."
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Reposted by Jesse F Ballenger
Ian Kremer @wolverinebear.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
White House Backtracks on Plan to Exert New Control Over N.I.H. Grants: Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u... #Project2025 #OMB #NIH #science #KeepPoliticsOutOfScience
nytimes.com
Trump Backtracks on Plan for New Controls on N.I.H. Grants (Gift Article)
Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards.
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Ian Kremer @wolverinebear.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Why Your Social Life Matters When You’re Living With MCI or Early Alzheimer’s: Socializing is linked to a healthier and more resilient brain, while loneliness can lead to an increase in dementia symptoms health.clevelandclinic.org/staying-soci... #Alzheimers #dementia #mentalhealth #wellbeing
health.clevelandclinic.org
Why Your Social Life Matters When You’re Living With MCI or Early Alzheimer’s
Socializing is linked to a healthier and more resilient brain. A neuroscientist explains why that’s so critical when you’re living with MCI or early Alzheimer’s.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Maybe the most important political story of our time. People just want the bullshit to stop.
gizmodo.com
71% of Americans Say They're Completely Exhausted
A CDC report shows that people are not feeling relaxed and restful in the United States.
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Robert (Bob) Kubinec @rmkubinec.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This "going rogue" framing is nonsense. These are still just text analysis models. It's openAI that is "going rogue" by giving a computer program complete autonomy to make decisions without human oversight. That's a danger whether it's a fancy new LLM or an old-fashioned SQL database.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
instagram.com
Ana Tijoux on Instagram: "“Un pueblo sin memoria es un pueblo sin futuro” Sacar la voz 🎤"
159K likes, 1,964 comments - anatijoux on September 11, 2026: "“Un pueblo sin memoria es un pueblo sin futuro” Sacar la voz 🎤".
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's long past time to heed Susan Sontag's courageous admonition, published days after the attacks: "Let’s by all means grieve together. But let’s not be stupid together. A few shreds of historical awareness might help us understand what has just happened, and what may continue to happen."
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As we remember the 9/11 attacks, this sobering report from the Brown University Cost of War Project is required reading.
costsofwar.watson.brown.edu
OVERVIEW: The True Costs of the Post-9/11 Wars
The Costs of War Project has created this resource that compiles our past research to provide an overview of the costs of the U.S. post-9/11 wars. The “post-9/11 wars” refers to United States-led mili...
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Reposted by Jesse F Ballenger
Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A Labor Day reminder: having a job is no longer enough to protect millions of Americans from homelessness. For many workers, the greatest threat isn't losing their job. It's that their job will never pay enough, never provide enough hours, never offer enough stability to keep them housed.
nytimes.com
Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness (Gift Article)
The working homeless are casualties of our prosperity.
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Ian Kremer @wolverinebear.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Is it any wonder that the chronic stress inflicted by persistent surveillance, criminalization, and law enforcement presence in communities of color affect depression, cognition, and dementia risk? #Alzheimers #dementia #mentalhealth #SDoH #publichealth #policing #Blues
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Adverse policing as a social exposome pathway: Implications for depression, cognition, and dementia risk
INTRODUCTION The social exposome is increasingly recognized as a key determinant for cognitive health. Adverse policing represents an understudied aspect of the social exposome, reflecting persisten...
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it."
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Among his great prophecies: "Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.”
religionnews.com
Wendell Berry, writer and farmer, was extolled by many as a modern-day prophet
(RNS) — His writings touched on conservation, community and belonging, and he acquired legions of fans beyond environmental studies — including many scholars of religion.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Another great one has passed.... soultracks.com/grammy-winni...
soultracks.com
Grammy Winning singer Cassandra Wilson dies at age 70
(September 2, 2026) She was a singer’s singer, one of those artists who seemed to be as admired by peers as by fans. Today we are sad to pass on the news of the passing of singer Cassandra Wilson at a...
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
In other words, hundreds of federal agents are being diverted away from their normal jobs and instead told to find needles in a haystack — all to find evidence for Trump's predetermined conclusions. It's a great time to be a criminal in Trump's America.
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 31/08/2026
macabre = “muh-KAHB” Worcestershire = “WOOSS-ter-sheer” omnipotent = “ahm-NI-puh-tunt” reticent = “RET-uh-sunt” epitome = “ih-PIT-uh-mee” myriad = "MEER-ee-ud" Never make fun of someone if they mispronounce a word. It means they learned it by reading.
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Ian Kremer @wolverinebear.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
How the Mayo Clinic is using improv to engage dementia patients www.pbs.org/newshour/sho... #Alzheimers #dementia #caregiving
pbs.org
How the Mayo Clinic is using improv to engage dementia patients
The medical community is trying many approaches to help push back against the advance of Alzheimer’s and dementia. One leading institution is taking a different and unconventional approach to suppleme...
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Ian Kremer @wolverinebear.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The Wild Theory That Alzheimer’s Is a Plumbing Issue: We should be skeptical of a new surgery treating Alzheimer’s dementia as if the brain’s sewage system is backed up. www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/... #Alzheimers #dementia #science #neuroscience #NeuroSkyence
mcgill.ca
The Wild Theory That Alzheimer’s Is a Plumbing Issue
The man who developed a surgery to treat Alzheimer’s disease has been detained by Chinese authorities for a year and we don’t know why. According to reporting done by Elie Dolgin for Nature, there are...
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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One way you know Dolly Parton lived life the right way: I don’t think anyone’s going to get fired for accurately quoting Dolly Parton today.
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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 25/08/2026
Texas A&M's Victoria campus swiftly implemented a requirement that faculty be on campus 40 hours per week, while also increasing teaching from 3/3 to 4/4. Now they're struggling to find people to teach classes. Faculty pay is relatively modest in part because of job flexibility.
insidehighered.com
Faculty Quit as Texas University Orders Them Back to Campus
The new policy, announced in June, is a response to a Texas law restricting remote work for public university faculty. The Texas AAUP says it has prompted chaos and tears.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/08/2026
El-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Universities “are increasingly acting like other employers, finding “complicated and sometimes pretextual reasons” to fire employees, even those with tenure. “What we’re seeing at the New School is emblematic of the rising pressures on higher education as a labor market and as an industry”
nytimes.com
He Had Tenure. The New School Laid Him Off Anyway.
The professor, a longtime critic of the university, was among 19 educators who lost their positions as the institution navigated financial woes.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Jordy Rosenberg - Night Night Fawn. Astonishingly powerful satiric novel.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Replace your gas stoves with electric, preferably induction. The Trump regime canceled an $18 million EPA grant to study replacing gas stoves in 1,200 homes of asthma sufferers. Researchers published results from 85 homes, showing significant asthma relief and health impacts of gas stoves.
wapo.st
The EPA halted a study on gas stoves and asthma. But even partial results were striking.
Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after President Donald Trump took of...
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
"So far in 2026, police have killed 703 people, on pace with the worst years on record, according to the tracking site Mapping Police Violence. It has only recorded seven days this year when there was not a police-involved fatality. Victims are 2.8 times more likely to be Black than white."
share.inquirer.com
Corey Ruiz police killing reveals an America numb to violence | Will Bunch
Police killings like the death of Madison, Wis.’s Corey Ruiz, caught on gruesome video, are rising, but public outrage is not.
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Reposted by Jesse F Ballenger
Dr Ellie Murray, ScD @epiellie.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Tapping the sign…
Screenshot of an old tweet of mine from 4/18/25:

Some of y'all forget the reason we have food safety regulations is because companies used to do things like adding chalk to spoiled milk so it looked normal.

Regulations don't exist because governments enjoy them. They exist because pure unadulterated capitalism would kill us.
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 09/02/2024
"In 2022, a study found that an individual’s chance of being added to the liver transplant list varies greatly based on race and ethnicity, gender, geographic location, socioeconomic status (SES), disability status, and immigration status.” Free Link
wapo.st
A death sentence: Native Americans have least access to liver transplant system
Despite being more likely to die of liver disease, Native Americans are far less likely to make the transplant list than Whites.
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Reposted by Jesse F Ballenger
Spooky Back From The Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
You might get sick of hearing this but if he keeps doing it I'm gonna keep saying it: this is an unconstitutional impoundment, violating both Congress' Article I spending authority and the 1974 Impoundment Control act, and immediately impeachable.
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 20/07/2026
NEW INFO HAS REVEALED that the 28-year-old Mexican man killed while running from ICE last week was just visiting on short tourist visa—and already had a plane ticket to go home. newrepublic.com/post/213277/...
newrepublic.com
Man Who Died Running From ICE Was Tourist With a Ticket Home
The man has been identified as Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, who was in the U.S. on a tourist visa and already had a plane ticket to go back to Mexico.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
about the wildfires: water quality can suffer for *years* after wildfires, since ash and contaminants that get left on the surface after a fire can be swept into waterways after big rains or snowmelts. droughts can extend this. spending on water infrastructure not keeping pace with climate crisis
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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 10/07/2026
"But are those older people in office a sign that the U.S. government is turning into a “gerontocracy” that is giving younger generations short shrift? No — many older Americans are becoming worse off," write Nina A. Kohn and Naomi Cahn.
chicago.suntimes.com
Older Americans face cuts to safety net programs under a president who is 80
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
NEW: @katemac.bsky.social & I: "Heat waves tend to attract less attention than the charismatic megafauna of climate disasters—floods, storms, wildfires—in part because they cause less property damage & thus less obviously financially costly" phenomenalworld.org/analysis/glo... Graphic @TheEconomist
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 05/07/2026
In this World Cup ad, football star Luka Modrić is being coached to bet on whether 2026 will be the hottest year ever. Meanwhile, games are being played in extreme heat, putting players and fans at risk. Is there any more perfect symbol of where we are right now? 🤯😵‍💫😱 and a 🧵 on why this matters
A screenshot of a goalie standing behind Luka Modrić holding a phone.A screenshot of the goalie holding the phone which reads "Will 2026 be the hottest year ever?"
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Le Pixel Hunt - Making Games at the End of the World @thepixelhunt.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Today as a bonus on the road to Ithaca, here's a conversation we had with Clara and Luzie from @mucksgames.com about making games that are "different". youtu.be/RF_Gw3k1DJk Like what you see? They have a KS campaign going on. Back their game, it's great! www.kickstarter.com/projects/muc...
youtu.be
Mucks Games on making indie games that matter - Clara&Luzie
YouTube video by The Pixel Hunt
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Katharine Castle @karthupial.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Ithaca is so close to its funding goal, but there are only a few days left for this all or nothing project. If @thepixelhunt.bsky.social's video below resonates with you, please consider backing it.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
patreon.com
Call for papers: SDS 2027 Virtual Conference | Society for Disability Studies
April 23 and 24, 2027 Here and There, Then and Now: Disability Studies at the End of the World Note: A text-only version of the information
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Thomas Faust @someindie.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
People! Go and fund Ithaca: A Narrative Road-Trip RPG About Climate Resistance on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/ith...
kickstarter.com
Ithaca: A Narrative Road-Trip RPG About Climate Resistance
The world is burning. There’s a hostage in your trunk. How far will you go?
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Le Pixel Hunt - Making Games at the End of the World @thepixelhunt.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Today on the road to Ithaca we meet (remotely) with @jumpovertheage.com (Citizen Sleeper, In Other Waters...) for a conversation about games, fantasies, and tempting players with radical choices. The full discussion will be posted soon, but here's a preview! www.kickstarter.com/projects/ith...
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
If you're a gamer, please consider backing this fascinating video RPG project by small indie game studio: "Ithaca is a mature narrative game about environmental resistance, political radicalization, grief, guilt, and hope." This really seems like a game that needs to be made.
kickstarter.com
Ithaca: A Narrative Road-Trip RPG About Climate Resistance
The world is burning. There’s a hostage in your trunk. How far will you go?
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Musk says not a single person has died due to him axing USAID. Sadly, part of my job involves tracking aid spending. So here’s a thread with just some of the people who lost their lives because of USAID cuts
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
This amount would fund the US National Science Foundation for a decade. 🧪
apnews.com
Pentagon seeks $80 billion from Congress for Iran war
The Pentagon has told lawmakers it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the war in Iran.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Students are increasingly using AI to write their emails, resulting in long, bloated messages that take more time to read. And now our email platform has a button I can click to generate an AI summary of these messages....🙃🤷‍♂️🙃
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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I am so so sorry to hear this, @drlmmurillo.bsky.social.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
open.spotify.com
Mannenberg Revisited
Abdullah Ibrahim · A Celebration · Song · 2004
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
RIP, one of the truly great ones. "In search of genuine expressions through music, he became an icon of a counter-world to the apartheid regime, taking sides by being and living up to what he was."
theconversation.com
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim crafted a magnificent new culture for South Africa
He embodied a special brand of multiple identities and belief systems, and took them to the world.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
"I worked with a team of researchers to conduct an anonymous survey of more than 600 CDC workers. We found a CDC workforce concerned by a declining ability to achieve the agency’s public health mission, a shrinking and overworked staff and wide-ranging effects that threaten Americans’ health."
theconversation.com
How cuts to CDC are dismantling its capacity to protect Americans’ health
In a survey of more than 600 CDC workers, 99% said the Trump administration’s cuts to the agency have made it less able to protect the public’s health.
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Jesse F Ballenger @jfballenger.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
"As the United States celebrates its 250th this year, many Americans will be reminded of the stories of popular Revolution-era figures such as Paul Revere or George Washington. But I’ll be thinking of Dina and the countless other Black women who sold pepper pot stew on the streets of Philadelphia."
theconversation.com
Pepper pot stew was survival food for the poor and a path to freedom for Black women in early Philadelphia
Dina escaped from slavery and sold pepper pot stew on the streets of Philadelphia, while her enslaver tried to recapture her.
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The Verge @theverge.com · 12/06/2026
While his mountain of horrible personal conduct could fill multiple books, one fact in particular stands out: A year ago, Musk’s actions directly led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. He did it knowingly. And, worse — gleefully. Read more: www.theverge.com/tech/949259/...
Verge headline: The world's first trillionaire is a killer
by TC Sottek

Image of Elon Musk doing a "fascist salute" in the form of an oil painting on a wall
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Tim Fernholz @timfernholz.com · 13/06/2026
people who work and invest in AI frequently ask me why their work polls so badly
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
A federal judge just ordered the Trump administration to reinstall exhibits and signs relating to slavery ​and climate change that it ⁠had removed from ​parks and monuments nationwide
reuters.com
Trump administration must restore history, science materials at parks, US judge rules
A federal judge ordered the ​Trump administration on ‌Friday to reinstall exhibits and signs touching on ​topics like slavery ​and climate change that it ⁠had removed from ​parks and monuments nationw...
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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Buttigieg: We sit in a in a country that's got the wrong number of people on the Supreme Court, possibly the wrong number of representatives in the House of Representatives. And by the way, when you consider the disenfranchisement of the people of DC, we have the wrong number of states in the US
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