THREAD. On writing, note-taking, reading, and synthesizing information. This fall, I taught Research Design at the doctoral level, and a Masters' Research (Thesis) Seminar.

Because of the way I like teaching (research design, research methods and mechanics of research), ....

NEW—CDC was truly suffocated by Trump WH at every turn. Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at CDC, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, witnessed WH dismissal of science, WH’s slow suffocation of CDC’s voice, meddling in messages & siphoning of CDC budget.
https://t.co/HeuNbUggiw

2) ““Everyone wants to describe the day that the light switch flipped—It didn’t happen that way—more of like a hand grasping something, and it slowly closes, closes, closes, closes until you realize that, middle of the summer, it has a complete grasp on everything at the CDC”

3) “Mr. McGowan and Ms. Campbell, both 34, say they tried to protect their colleagues against political meddling from WH and HHS but was largely stifled by the Trump administration.

4) “The White House insisted on reviewing — and often softening — the C.D.C.’s closely guarded coronavirus guidance documents, the most prominent public expression of its latest research and scientific consensus on the spread of the virus.”

5) “The documents were vetted not only by the White House’s coronavirus task force but by what felt to the agency’s employees like an endless loop of political appointees across Washington.
Mr. McGowan recalled a White House fixated on the economic implications of public health.

A thread on the latest Sturgeon-Salmond revelations. 👇
1/13

Evidence has emerged of a deliberate cover-up.

A crucial detail was apparently hidden from the public.

According to Sky, the official knew it would potentially end their career if it came to light.

This is important because it may undermine Nicola Sturgeon’s story. 2/13

Throughout the Alex Salmond affair, the First Minister has dodged questions at every turn.

She has tried to hide behind legalities, false narratives, straw men.

Every tactic in the book has been rolled out to stop the truth reaching the public. 3/13

To her utmost shame, the First Minister uses the women who were so badly let down by her government as a shield.

She argues they are being attacked, when nothing could be further from the truth.

We all want to get to the bottom of what happened here - for those women. 4/13

Instead of justice, those women have been caught in this uncivil war - that they never wanted to be part of.

They’ve been failed by basic, unforgivable errors from Nicola Sturgeon’s government.

And failed ever since by the SNP’s obstruction over what went on. 5/13

I entered this conversation thinking that I already knew the story, in a way. Dr Wodarg had succeeded in preventing the WHO from creating a fake pandemic in 2009. He thought the world wasn't silly enough to be fooled twice, but he'd been wrong. 1/9

He'd previously had ready access to mainstream media and found this suddenly cut off when he opened his mouth to voice his concern about the hysterical mania of Covid. The comically corrupt whom he'd vanquished all those years ago had been waiting for him. 2/9

All sorts of web entries about his courageous and humane career in public health and politics had morphed into caricatures that painted him as a freak; a "denier", as the post-modern parlance goes, with no means of redress. 3/9

This much I knew before I even started asking questions. What I hadn't expected was to find political correspondence with him, & we found that all of a sudden towards the end of the interview. He calls himself a socialist, I call myself scale dependent, & stop there. But ... 4/9

... it turned out we'd kindled the same central concept—subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is a principle in social organisation holding that functions which are performed effectively by local organisations belong more properly to them than to a dominant central one. 5/9