Thanks for all you do Katelyn! Keeping quiet should certainly not be a job requirement. It is unconscionable to be showing the door to some of the best and brightest.
I'd argue that what they're doing isn't even penny wise, but it's definitely pound foolish. And should be called out for being a display of utterly incompetence.
I’m so sorry to hear your contract was terminated!! I hope that circumstance does not unduly harm your family. You are a much needed voice in public health and public health communication. I hope you ate able to keep up your incredibly good work that benefits human beings here and abroad.
While we can all agree that any public institution can *massively* benefit from aggressive review, it is wrong to see DOGE as anything but a means of justifying absurd tax cuts. DOGE is to legitimate policy as professional wrestling is to legitimate sport: DOGE is a form of political theater. Every canceled contract is more money in Trump's and Musk's pockets. Greed begets greed. Our Russia policy now too is based on Trump's real estate interests.
Not only is the claim of efficiency as the impetus for taking a hatchet to our essential public health lifelines a complete farce, there's of course nothing actually efficient about it in the first place. But, we all already knew that.
Thank you for dedicating yourself to the whole picture--you literally cannot talk about viruses and data without talking about the impacts of the extreme, political, and ruthless cuts to public health.
Beyond the retribution aspects of this "let's help the government loose weight", I believe you will find that the personnel involved, not only DOGE actors, but other partisans placed in positions of power and influence, stand to profit financially in the long run. This chaos/fiasco is driven by the basic human trait "enough is not enough", or singularly, greed. Another possibility is simply that those driving this trainwreck simply have little experience and little knowhow. Examples: bleach injections should stop the COVID-19 epidemic in its tracks come springtime; long-term inability to staff enough air traffic controllers to handle the work load solved by firing, not on the basis of performance but on short longevity. Stupid is as stupid does. (attribute--Forrest Gump.)
If you’ve looked at even an overview of the federal budget, you’ll see that it is impossible to balance the budget by cutting spending. If you were to zero out every non-mandatory category, including defense - that is shutting down the complete Armed Forces because you are putting zero dollars in each year - there would still be a deficit. It would be smaller, but there would still be a deficit. You would have to make deep cuts into mandatory spending in addition to completely eliminating the Armed Forces to get a balanced budget without any new source of revenue. There are a number of budget simulators on the web that you can play with if you want to convince yourself of this.
(1) You can't cut two trillion from the budget. (2) your $55 billion can't be right USAID is 42 billion. (3) In posting to your subscribers on substack you are preaching to the choir. You need a good old publicly accessible web page where you display the most important facts about funding issues related to public health, so that Democrats in congress will have facts to use to bolster their arguments. I would do this but I don't have the expertise. If Trump and Musk can't be stopped we are headed for multiple disasters.
Thank you for your service. We can only battle what is going on in the U.S. with the facts. You are helping us to get a clear and accurate view of the facts and the impact of the changes.
When I read how you described yourself as not the quietest person on earth, you triggered a song in the recesses of my brain from 1972 by Helen Reddy. I was 17 at the time : ) I think these is your current mantra & we have your back! Lyrics:
Your contract was terminated? What a loss for the CDC, along with all the indiscriminate cuts.
Yes, but not surprising. It’s not like I’m the quietest person on earth
Thanks for all you do Katelyn! Keeping quiet should certainly not be a job requirement. It is unconscionable to be showing the door to some of the best and brightest.
Thank you for not staying quiet and for your dedication to sharing your knowledge.
I'd argue that what they're doing isn't even penny wise, but it's definitely pound foolish. And should be called out for being a display of utterly incompetence.
I’m so sorry to hear your contract was terminated!! I hope that circumstance does not unduly harm your family. You are a much needed voice in public health and public health communication. I hope you ate able to keep up your incredibly good work that benefits human beings here and abroad.
While we can all agree that any public institution can *massively* benefit from aggressive review, it is wrong to see DOGE as anything but a means of justifying absurd tax cuts. DOGE is to legitimate policy as professional wrestling is to legitimate sport: DOGE is a form of political theater. Every canceled contract is more money in Trump's and Musk's pockets. Greed begets greed. Our Russia policy now too is based on Trump's real estate interests.
Not only is the claim of efficiency as the impetus for taking a hatchet to our essential public health lifelines a complete farce, there's of course nothing actually efficient about it in the first place. But, we all already knew that.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302705/doge-overstates-savings-federal-contracts
Thank you for dedicating yourself to the whole picture--you literally cannot talk about viruses and data without talking about the impacts of the extreme, political, and ruthless cuts to public health.
Beyond the retribution aspects of this "let's help the government loose weight", I believe you will find that the personnel involved, not only DOGE actors, but other partisans placed in positions of power and influence, stand to profit financially in the long run. This chaos/fiasco is driven by the basic human trait "enough is not enough", or singularly, greed. Another possibility is simply that those driving this trainwreck simply have little experience and little knowhow. Examples: bleach injections should stop the COVID-19 epidemic in its tracks come springtime; long-term inability to staff enough air traffic controllers to handle the work load solved by firing, not on the basis of performance but on short longevity. Stupid is as stupid does. (attribute--Forrest Gump.)
No one cares about your unsubstantiated opinion. Either back up your claims or admit you are just guessing.....
If you’ve looked at even an overview of the federal budget, you’ll see that it is impossible to balance the budget by cutting spending. If you were to zero out every non-mandatory category, including defense - that is shutting down the complete Armed Forces because you are putting zero dollars in each year - there would still be a deficit. It would be smaller, but there would still be a deficit. You would have to make deep cuts into mandatory spending in addition to completely eliminating the Armed Forces to get a balanced budget without any new source of revenue. There are a number of budget simulators on the web that you can play with if you want to convince yourself of this.
So, in other words, the US govt. or Uncle Sugar as I like to call it is financially insolvent.
(1) You can't cut two trillion from the budget. (2) your $55 billion can't be right USAID is 42 billion. (3) In posting to your subscribers on substack you are preaching to the choir. You need a good old publicly accessible web page where you display the most important facts about funding issues related to public health, so that Democrats in congress will have facts to use to bolster their arguments. I would do this but I don't have the expertise. If Trump and Musk can't be stopped we are headed for multiple disasters.
Excellent idea!
Thank you for your service. We can only battle what is going on in the U.S. with the facts. You are helping us to get a clear and accurate view of the facts and the impact of the changes.
BTW, happy to see you on The News Hour last evening! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/epidemiologist-analyzes-trump-administrations-strategies-against-bird-flu
Thank you so much for sharing, Ananisapta!
Thank you for your stamina. Your readers are fortunate to still have your clear voice.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I wish you could plaster this cogent argument all over the White House gates (or maybe Tesla headquarters?)
When I read how you described yourself as not the quietest person on earth, you triggered a song in the recesses of my brain from 1972 by Helen Reddy. I was 17 at the time : ) I think these is your current mantra & we have your back! Lyrics:
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
And no one's ever gonna keep me down again
Yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I've gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
FFOTUS (aka Putin's Poodle) is busy doing his master's bidding. Nothing to see here as he prepares to murder our fragile Democratic Republic.