Pam Herd

@pamherd.bsky.social

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Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University. @ColbyCollege alum. I ❤️ surveys. I 😖Administrative Burden

Posts Replies Media

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Pam Herd

Most Americans don’t think about measles because vaccination had largely eliminated the scourge from the U.S. in 2000. But many Americans who survived measles as children never forgot how sick they were. These are some of their stories.

Isolation, extreme fatigue, lingering misery: What it’s like to survive measleswww.washingtonpost.com Measles is back, after vaccination largely eliminated it from the United States. Survivors describe having one of the most contagious diseases on Earth.

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Pam Herd

A widely predicted victory for the far right in France has instead turned into a victory for the left *because people turned out in record numbers to vote.* Defeat is not inevitable and more progressive elected officials means more progressive policies.

In France, the left coalition comes in first, Macron second, the far-right third. The best way to defeat fascism is not centrism, it’s a strong left.

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Pam Herd

French wine to celebrate the French not fucking up their election. I’m tasting hints of democracy.

Excellent news! bsky.app/profile/npr....

BREAKING NEWS: Voters turned out in numbers not seen in decades to stop the far-right National Rally from taking power in the French National Assembly. Polls predicted a first-place finish for National Rally, which instead came in third in initial results as polling stations closed.

Projections in France's election show voters rejecting the far rightwww.npr.org Voters turned out in numbers not seen in decades to stop the far-right National Rally from taking power in the French National Assembly. Polls predicted a first-place finish for National Rally, which ...

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Pam Herd

Wow, maybe competence and experience really does matter for public services. Who knew? (Anyone who studies public organizations. Or, really, anyone with an ounce of common sense).

According to research from @jjacobkirksey.bsky.social, in TX "Students with new uncertified teachers lost the equivalent of about four months of learning in reading and three months in math."

Texas kids lose up to 4 months of learning with new uncertified teachers, study findswww.dallasnews.com Students with new uncertified teachers lost the equivalent of about four months of learning in reading and three months in math, the Texas Tech study found.

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Pam Herd

Reply to

Citizen.Coping

A 2017 internal Veterans Affairs report shows Black veterans were more often denied benefits for PTSD than their white counterparts. The analysis crunched claims data from fiscal year 2011 through 2016. And disparate treatment started after WWI when it was still called shell shock. It continues.

Black veterans were denied VA benefits for PTSD more often than whiteswww.nbcnews.com “Ever since I came back from Vietnam, I knew that I had a problem, but I didn’t know what it was," said one Black veteran.

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Pam Herd

Just a reminder that Michelle Wolf nailed it at the White House Correspondents Dinner. NYT, I’m looking in your direction especially.

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Pam Herd

Reply to

Don Moynihan

"I don't know anything about Project 2025" says man recording Project 2025 promotional video in front of Project 2025 publication. More substantively, Project 2025 has embraced Trump and Miller's immigration approach of using power to close both legal and illegal immigration.

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Pam Herd

"The post-debate analysis quickly devolved into a reality-show catfight...it is only exciting for people who won’t lose no matter who wins the White House. As for the rest of America, it has already lost." Another must-read Tressay www.nytimes.com/2024/07/06/o...

Opinion | Whoever the Democratic Candidate Is, Americans Have Already Lostwww.nytimes.com The American Republic feels fragile.

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Pam Herd

"Academics researching online misinformation in the US are learning a hard lesson: Academic freedom cannot be taken for granted." @rcalo.bsky.social & @katestarbird.bsky.social: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

American academic freedom is in perilwww.science.org Academics researching online misinformation in the US are learning a hard lesson: Academic freedom cannot be taken for granted. They face a concerted effort—including by members of Congress—to undermi...

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Pam Herd

"Trump can say seven outrageous things on a Saturday, and by Monday people have forgotten about them. That’s the problem with Trump... he's a firehose of bullshit... as a result, he’s held to a completely different standard than Biden." -- Charlie Sykes

Charlie Sykes on the GOP's Trump cultwww.publicnotice.co "In the minds of MAGA world, he has never lost. There have been no defeats."

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Pam Herd

I wrote about the latest attempt to sell genetic IQ prediction and why it is snake oil. A short 🧵: theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/genomic-pr...

Genomic prediction of IQ is modern snake oiltheinfinitesimal.substack.com Predicting IQ from genetics is inaccurate, confounded, and sows confusion about genetic research.

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Pam Herd

New York Times, July 5, 2025: “Biden’s Stumbles And Gaffes During His Criticism of President Trump’s Internment Camps Vindicate Age Concerns”

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Pam Herd

an entire movement of wicked people who celebrate wickedness

As a side note, this is John McEntee, Trump's Director of White House Personnel and the primary architect of Project 2025. On Tik Tok he said he gives counterfeit bills to homeless people so they will be arrested when they go to spend them.

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Pam Herd

Reply to

Sarah Posner

This is how you do it newrepublic.com/post/183493/...

Trump Tries, Fails to Distance Himself From Project 2025newrepublic.com It’s still his blueprint for governing, no matter what he says.

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Pam Herd

we’re in danger

NEWS --> Mark Robinson, the MAGA extremist GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, appeared to endorse political violence against unnamed foes in a recent speech. "Some folks need killing!" he shouted. "It's a matter of necessity!" Video and story here: newrepublic.com/article/1834...

MAGA Gov Candidate’s Ugly, Hateful Rant: “Some Folks Need Killing!”newrepublic.com Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, has a long history of incendiary comments. But he may have topped himself this time.

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Pam Herd

I have no idea the best path re Biden but I do know a solid week straight of “Biden Old” and “Rich Dems Worried” above-the-fold stories are *obscene* in the face of SCOTUS using the Constitution to wipe their asses purely in the service of reinstating a felon rapist as president. Crazy-making shit.

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Pam Herd

IMO this is a straight-up ageist and ableist image, no?

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Pam Herd

Reply to

Don Moynihan

Lmao they just changed the title of the piece from “Why I don’t vote” to “Why I won’t vote” rather than tell readers that the guy actually does vote

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Pam Herd

How bad is the UK election for the Tories? This guy just lost his seat.

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Pam Herd

Instead, they stealth-edited the title.

Man, if it turns out that the right winger telling NY Times readers that they should follow his example and not vote did in fact vote in the last two elections, the Times should add this to the piece. Better than a retraction, since it illustrates a willful hypocrisy.

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Pam Herd

Fucking unbelievable that the big publications are running with this as the lead story after the Supreme Court just promised to install a convicted felon rapist insurrectionist as Emperor for Life.

IMO this is a straight-up ageist and ableist image, no?

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Pam Herd

Why I Don't Vote (OK, I Do Vote, but I Would Like to Discourage You, NY Times Reader, For Doing So For Some Reason) Via @bubbaprog.ilovecitr.us

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Pam Herd

I came to my 14 year old with a concern about social media. He literally took his glasses off, rubbed his temples, and asked: “what have the moms on the internet said now?” 😯🫤😆

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Pam Herd

Everyone please stop losing your fucking minds.

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Pam Herd

If you every doubt the existence of patriotism in America, go to a citizenship swearing-in ceremony. Mine was in a courthouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

just watched 74 people speaking at least a dozen different languages become american citizens in a ceremony at monticello, where the speakers were themselves children of immigrants. inspiring stuff and a vivid illustration of what reactionaries want to snuff out

It just doesn't matter how well qualified a black woman is, there's always someone (or many) who are certain, despite all evidence to the contrary, that she's unqualified. And yes, this repeatedly happens in "liberal" spaces.

I agree that Harris has significant weaknesses as a politician but this is an incredibly ugly way to put it. Also: A centrist candidate choosing another centrist as his running mate — still not the left's fault! Leftists hate Harris, that's actually one of her weaknesses.

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Pam Herd

One thing that's been very clear this past week is that most of those writing & pontificating about Biden's future as the party's nominee have a little to no experience in state and local Democratic Party activities. A brief 🧵:

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Pam Herd

Giving up hope is also complying with authoritarians in advance. It’s saying that fascism is inevitable, that there is no other way to be. I know it’s hard to keep hope alive, but I hope you find a way. ❤️

Don’t despair — here’s why https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/04/fourth-july-us-trump-biden-politics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

This Fourth of July, it’s hard to feel optimistic about the US. But I have hope | Margaret Sullivanwww.theguardian.com Let’s remember that we’ve come a long way – and the journey isn’t yet complete

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Pam Herd

The descriptions of Trump’s sexual abuse of minors are horrific and quotidian. (It sounds like a regular, unremarkable occurrence for him.) It is enraging that this story is buried under an avalanche of wish-casting discourse.

This story hits a little harder now that the jury documents for Epstein's case have been released (and Trump's name is ALLLLLL over those documents). Again, mainstream media is burying this story for Trump. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Jeffrey Epstein introduced me to Trump at 14, Ghislaine Maxwell accuser sayswww.nbcnews.com Testifying at Maxwell’s trial in New York City, the woman, identified by the pseudonym Jane, said she met the former president in the 1990s at his Mar-a-Lago resort.