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Category: commentary

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Commentary

Requiem for the Memory of a Teacher.

On June 1st, a high school friend forwarded me a letter to the editor that had recently been published in our local paper. The author criticized the paper’s recent treatment of President Trump, contrasting it to how it treated Joe Biden in the 2024 election. It was a fairly typical opinion piece, nothing especially surprising […]

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Commentary

Vaccine Roll-Outs = 60% Mortality Decline

Recent studies have highlighted the incredible impact of vaccination programs in reducing mortality globally. Specifically, these programs have been shown to cut deaths by 60%. Linger on that for a second. Vaccination is really one of the triumphs of public health. This piece takes a deeper look into how vaccine roll-outs have managed to achieve […]

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Commentary

Why Are American Kids Getting Sicker?

Edit: June 2, 2025. And now we learn that many of the citations in this report are fabricated. That is, they don’t exist. Of course. Why RFK is a Broken Clock. More than 40% of kids in the U.S. now have at least one chronic illness. That’s not a typo. According to the “Make Our […]

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Commentary

How Attacks on Inclusive Science Harm Us All

What happens when politics targets science? A new congressional report lays bare the consequences—and it’s far more than just budget line items or bureaucratic shifts. It’s about silencing entire communities, threatening national security, and stalling our collective progress. In response to a politically motivated document known as the Cruz Report, the House Committee on Science, […]

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Commentary

Dilemma Actions for a Time of Federal Injustice

In 2025, working within the federal system—whether as a researcher, contractor, or civil servant—has never felt more fraught. Programs supporting veterans, mental health, and suicide prevention are being gutted. Equity-focused initiatives are under political siege. The chilling rise of online “watchlists” targeting DEI professionals sends an unmistakable message: dissent will be punished, and even neutrality […]

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Commentary

Navigating DEIA Language Mandates: A Practical Guide for Public Health Policy Professionals

In our previous post, we explored how researchers can adapt to new federal restrictions on using Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) language in grant proposals. Now, we turn to public health practitioners in policy, government, and contracting roles. These professionals are on the front lines of implementing programs and writing policy briefs under evolving […]

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Commentary

Reflections on the Next Week in Public Health

Every day is like some horrible day of roulette. Some outcomes are a loss. Some are neutral. Some seems okay, until you realized that you’re already in the hole and are just trying to get back to neutral. It gets fatiguing. We want to plug the data rescue project, who are doing yeoman’s work trying […]

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Commentary

Trump Speech Recap: Public Health in the Crosshairs

Trump’s address to Congress made it abundantly clear that federal public health efforts are being dismantled under the guise of “efficiency” and “common sense.” The newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is tasked with eliminating waste, but as Trump noted, this includes funding for programs that address structural inequities. He […]

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Commentary

How an NSF Report Set the Stage for Current Anti-DEI Policies

Something slipped by last October when America’s attention was focused on the election. The NSF Politicized Funding report, chaired by Texas’s Ted Cruz and released by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s minority staff, asserted that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has increasingly allocated funding to research projects influenced by diversity, equity, […]

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Commentary

We Got Scammed: A Cautionary Tale About Research Recruitment Fraud

Online research recruitment is a powerful tool—until it backfires. We recently learned this the hard way when we and our colleagues over at Dawn Chorus posted a call for participants on Facebook for parents to share their experiences and perceptions of substance use patterns within a specific community. What happened next left us stunned, frustrated, […]

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Commentary

Data Integrity in a Divided World: The Smart Case for Inclusivity

The current socio-political climate has made it dangerous to engage in equity work. The federal government’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have created an environment where organizations must rethink how they communicate about equity without compromising core values. While the language of fairness and justice is under siege, the principles behind equity—ensuring […]

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