We Are All the CDC

The Social Contract Community Issue

Source: Elijah Nouvelage | Getty Images

Hey everyone,

Way back on July 26, 2023, I tweeted, “Put RFK Jr in charge of the CDC???? What the fuck.” It was in response to Florida Governor and then-presidential candidate Ron DeSantis’ suggestion that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., would be his pick to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It seemed like a joke at the time. Now the joke is on us.

Kennedy ended up in an even larger and more wildly inappropriate role—Secretary of Health and Human Services—and we’re all paying the price for it. Kennedy and his boss, Donald Trump, are directly responsible for the untold numbers of Americans who are going to get sick and die under this utterly incompetent administration. Also responsible is every single senator who chose to confirm him, in particular my former congressional colleague Bill Cassidy—a medical doctor, for crying out loud.

It came to a head this week when CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired because she refused to fire agency leaders or to accept all recommendations from Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisory panel. Gee, maybe because she’s an actual microbiologist and public health official? Monarez did her best by us, as have many other officials who were ousted for not being sufficiently subservient to this administration. And so this week, in solidarity, we are all the CDC staffers who walked out or resigned in protest of these shameful dismissals.

Happy Labor Day,

Joe

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In Today's Issue

• The Social Briefing: Heroes of the Week

• Good Reads for This Week

• The Social Share

• The Social Soundboard

This Past Week

SUBSTACK LIVE: Open to all subscribers, unless noted. Don’t miss it!

• Tuesday with Tim Whitaker (click if you missed it!)

• Friday with Mike Nellis (click if you missed it!)

• Friday with Edwin Eisendrath (click if you missed it!)

Amid all the bad, awful, dumb, stupid, absurd, insane, sickening, despicable, cruel, sad, pathetic, embarrassing, irresponsible, demoralizing, deplorable, infuriating, outrageous, terrible, horrible, Constitution-defying, fascist news of the past week, we have to acknowledge the TOP FIVE HEROES among us. The list is growing, as more and more of us are standing up to the tyrant. Courage is infectious. Be brave!

1. FEDERAL WHISTLEBLOWERS. The CDC isn’t the only federal agency with staff members showing some backbone, About 180 FEMA employees signed a letter to Congress arguing that the agency's leadership has hindered its ability to effectively manage emergencies. In return for looking out for the American people, they were put on leave. About 170 employees of the EPA signed a similar letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and Trump. At least eight of them have been fired as well. And another whistleblower accused DOGE personnel of copying a live set of data for virtually every American, without any independent security or oversight measures in place, and uploading it to a vulnerable cloud server. Thanks to these brave men and women for coming forward when they know it could cost them everything.

2. THE JUDICIARY. Another good week in court. A federal appeals court struck down many of Trump’s tariffs, saying he unlawfully leaned on emergency powers to impose the taxes. Fuck yes. Because his tariffs ARE unconstitutional. Meanwhile, as Kari Lake lays off hundreds at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, U.S Senior District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that she does not have the authority to fire Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz. And lastly, 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that Utah’s current district maps can't be used because they don’t comply with the recommendation of the state’s independent redistricting commission. Naturally, the hypocrite-in-chief has a problem with the ruling.

3. FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS. At least three Fulton County Commissioners have said they’re willing to go to jail to keep Republicans Jason Frazier and Julie Adams off the county’s Board of Registrations and Elections. Frazier and Adams have a history of election denialism and challenging election results and ballots they don’t like. Fulton County was, of course, at the center of Trump’s efforts to overturn the vote in Georgia in 2020. Stay tuned.

4. FIGHTERS EVERYWHERE. Three cheers for this guy, these people, and for the second week in a row, Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook. Trump fired Cook from the Fed and has even lodged a criminal referral against her for a relatively minor mortgage infraction (especially when you consider how many crimes Trump himself has been accused, indicted, and convicted of). Cook has sued the Trump Administration to overturn the firing. “The President’s effort to terminate a Senate-confirmed Federal Reserve Board member is a broadside attack on the century-old independence of the Federal Reserve System,” Cook’s lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, wrote in a court filing. Indeed.

5. MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA. The president of Portugal made an allegation against Trump while speaking at a youth training event this week. “[T]he top leader of the world’s foremost superpower is, objectively, a Soviet or Russian asset. He operates as an asset,” he said. “I am stating that, objectively, the new American leadership has strategically benefited the Russian Federation.” I couldn’t agree more.

Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way!

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Good Reads for This Week

• MAHA, Vaccines, and a Tradition of Authoritarian Hypocrisy —The Next Move

• The Donald Always Gets His Slice —The Dispatch

• Honoring Ashli Babbitt Dishonors the Military —The Bulwark

• Cracker Barrel and the War on American Authenticity —The Next Move

• Facing the Very Real Possibility that Donald Trump is a Madman —Going Deep with Russ Baker

• A Day of Tyranny in America —Democracy Docket

• Decline and Fall of the American Empire —Paul Krugman

• Growing up MAGA: A First-Gen Immigrant’s Story of Turning Away From Trump —Raw Story

• The 1988 Trap: Democrats are in Danger of Repeating a Painful Lesson —The Messina Memo

• Dems Need an Identity, Part I: BE SHERROD BROWN —Blue Amp

• WATCH: How to Stop Trump: Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement —Footnotes by Jemar Tisby

I continue to believe the cruelty of the Trump Administration will ultimately help defeat MAGA. Most Americans are not cruel. Keep spreading the word. And share the stories and videos you find with us.

A man comes to court to renew his documents in order to comply with immigration law.

He showed up to do exactly what the law required.

For this, masked ICE agents grab and detain him—tearing his children away, screaming.

May God have mercy on us. —Joshua Reed Eakle

• Border Patrol Arrests Two Firefighters Battling Washington’s Bear Gulch Fire —Fire Rescue 1

• Shelby Woman Forced to Leave U.S. After Months in ICE Custody —WSOC TV

• Two Women Arrested by ICE Agents in Manchester —VTDigger

• ICE Raids Loom Over Mass U.S. Naturalization Ceremony —Newsweek

• ICE Will ‘Ramp Up’ Immigration Raids in L.A., Other ‘Sanctuary Cities,’ Border Advisor Says —Los Angeles Times

• Navy Gets Request for ICE, National Guard to Operate Out of Chicago-Area Base —Military.com

• Mystery Surrounds $1.2 Billion Army Contract to Build Huge Detention Tent Camp in Texas Desert —Military.com

• ICE's Detained Population Now at Record 61,226 People —Austin Kocher

• U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon Denied Entry to ICE Facility —WHYY

• ICE is Using Taylor Swift’s Loophole to Hide Deportation Flights —The Lever

FIGHTING BACK

• With Cellphone Cameras and Tip Lines, D.C. Residents Find Small Ways to Fight ICE —The 51st

• Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia Seek Gag Order Against Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi —The Hill

• Court Throws Out Lawsuit by Trump Administration Against All Maryland Federal Judges —Associated Press

• Judge Says Trump Effort to Expand Speedy Deportations of Migrants Violates Due Process —CNN

• Chicago Mayor Signs Order Aimed at Resisting Trump’s Planned Immigration Crackdown —CNN

• D.C. Judges and Jurors Push Back on Trump Administration’s Tactics —The Washington Post

Here’s what some of you are thinking about this week…

Joe,

I say this as a white guy. Lisa Cook's race and gender are relevant because Trump routinely attacks non-white women. Beyond that, I have a theory as to why he wants Lisa Cook gone. It's a twofer. He gets rid of a strong, intelligent, black woman, and he can replace her with his next Fed chair who will then already be on the board when it comes time to replace Powell.

Just my two cents. —Keith

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Joe,

I think we shouldn't have ANY parties. Just individuals running for office with ideas on how to meet the needs of all—to build a stable economy; maintain a healthy environment; eliminate poverty, racism, inequality, etc.

We need good-faith actors who critically and comprehensively think about issues or challenges and any anticipated negative consequences of proposed solutions in order to throw out the idea or mitigate the negative consequences when a truly good solution may have them.

We must have people who seek to find common ground and consensus on shared goals. Seating in the House and the Senate should routinely be randomly rotated, so that people have frequent opportunities to engage with a variety of personalities and perspectives.

Campaigns should not be funded by PACs or big corporations. There should be free public air time for all viable candidates and shorter campaign time frames.

We don’t need more identity politics or “they” against “us” sides. We need individuals representing one shared goal, which has to be caring for each other and the planet. That’s basically the ideals of the Constitution: “…in order to create a more perfect union..." for all, as we are all of equal value merely because we exist.

Presently, we are generally in two incompatible camps that cannot coexist because they are complete opposite ideologies.

The U.S. has to choose who we want to be:

A society that cares about the health and welfare of EVERYONE and the sustainability and health of this planet.

OR

A society that is every man for himself, no matter if it harms another or destroys our planet, which, taken to its inevitability, is a recipe for the self-extinction of the human race. We seem to be on track for the latter under the MAGA regime and regimes like it that are building around the world.

I'm trying to be brave!

P.S. I cringe when you say the Democrats are too woke! There is a tiny percentage who may take 'political correctness' to an absurd degree, but being woke—aware of injustice and inequality and advocating for it frequently and loudly—is nothing but good and should not in anyway be criticized. Saying anything negative about being woke is just fodder for MAGA. —Alex O’Brien

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Hey Joe,

I need to express my deep anger regarding the current administration in the White House. The latest move to criminalize burning the flag has struck a nerve that I wasn’t fully aware existed within me.

As a veteran, I have always held the flag in high regard, honoring the ideals, the American people, and the sacrifices it represents. I’ve often felt frustrated by those who fail to adhere to the Flag Code or who exploit its imagery for personal gain. After raising and lowering the flag countless times while in uniform and flying it into war zones, I’ve never once considered displaying it upside down or setting it on fire as a form of protest. The values embodied in the stars and stripes are too significant for me to disrespect, though I have always respected those who choose to protest through such means.

Now, with this executive order, my perspective has shifted dramatically. While I will continue to fly the flag as it embodies the principles this country was built upon, I will no longer remain silent. This administration’s actions compel me to demonstrate my fear and sorrow for the erosion of those great ideals. I will fly the flag in distress and, if absolutely necessary, respectively burn it in protest to symbolize the murder of those principles by the current fascist government, fully aware that the action may lead to an unconstitutional punishment for myself.

Thank you for your continued efforts. Let’s keep pushing for what’s right! —Timothy Hine

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