Maribeth Darwin

[Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul]

The new @AllSidesNow media bias chart is out. @TangleNews news is on it. Some notes:

1. We're "center" and deservedly so, as we continue to offer people a wide range of viewpoints on every issue.

2. Our "center" rating was confirmed by a second blind bias survey. Interestingly...

3. In Feb 2024, our blind bias survey was on the boundary of "lean left." In July of 2025, it's on the boundary of "lean right."

All told, there are very few places offering trustworthy news like us in this era of polarization. And I'm extremely proud to be leaning into diversity of thought.

Reminder: Our newsletter is free. https://t.co/QKI0RYpfbx

[Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul]

If I were to roughly define the large, middle band of American politics right now in 10 points, I think it'd look something like this:

1. Relentless focus on solving affordability; "Abundance" x "Cut regulation" agenda

2. Moderate social politics that defend weak/disenfranchised and despise cruelty, but refuse to have ultra-progressive cultural/social norms enforced on them

3. Support work of police/military but also want unapologetic accountability for bad actors

4. Policy of soft American power (supports USAID, being beacons of hope across the globe) but as a disposition is isolationist (no more wars, not dragging us into conflicts in Ukraine OR Venezuela)

5. Intense border security and zero tolerance for people here illegally committing crimes, but also makes it easier to come here legally to work/live/immigrate and welcomes newcomers who want to be American & embrace our society/culture as it is

6. Wants govt funding + private sector coordination toward diseases of despair (addiction, suicide, social media addiction)

7. Cares about birth rate and promotes pro-family policies to make having families easier; calls on not just govt but also faith orgs in pursuit of promoting more + bigger families

8. Environmentalism that cares about climate change but also embraces nuclear + technological solves, not focused on limiting/banning energy sources - wants to win on the merits in the capitalist system

9. Believes in expanding ACA+Medicaid at state and federal level to address health insurance funding, but also emphasizes pressures on hospitals/PBMs who drive up cost

10. Non-negotiable reforms to Social Security, Medicare, and military+govt waste to address our insane debt which will one day bring the economy to ruin

This wouldn't be MY 10-point plan exactly, but I'd definitely prefer this rough outline over either major political tribe we have now. It's incredible how under-represented this band of voter is, yet how common they are in my personal and professional life (and among my many thousands of readers).

Where is the politician or party ready to draw these lines? I think in a post-Trump era they'd be incredibly successful.

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

@buitengebieden

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

@krassenstein Feinstein serves on the Judiciary Committee. If she steps down, the committee will have 10 Democrats/10 Republicans, who will deadlock on many decisions. I believe Lindsey Graham has said he will reject any nomination to replace her, making the committee ineffective.

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

@JulieRParker This is so good Julie. I am proud to know you as a writer and a friend.

[Melrose Cultural Council @CouncilMelrose]

We proudly support paying artists for their work, like Melrose artist Sara Gravante. Sara worked on a new brand identity for @MelroseKind, who just became an official nonprofit, spreading kindness and connections throughout out community.

[Anne Lamott Quotes @AnneLamottQuote]

“I have to surrender [hatred] every time I become aware of it. This will not go well, I know. But I don’t want my life’s ending to be that I was toxic and self-righteous, and I don’t know if my last day here will be next Thursday or in twenty years.” ~@ANNELAMOTT

[Joseph Allen @j_g_allen]

Failing to get rapid tests deployed at scale will go down as one of the great failures of the pandemic. We could have had these in every home *last August* (?!?!)

Desperately needed for schools, in particular, last year and NOW.

1/2

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

Excited to share my latest personal essay, published at @Herstryblg. You can read it here: https://t.co/dWrJr79BCJ

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

@eb_bartels OMG there is simply nothing more perfect than that poem. Every. Single. Line.

[Michael Mina @michaelmina_lab]

Rapid Ag tests detect virus when it is viable / infectious.

PCR detects RNA during AND for weeks after someone is infectious.

When used for Asymptomatic screening, PCR+ is more likely to be no-longer infectious than infectious.

~75% of Time PCR positive is post-infectious

[Michael Mina @michaelmina_lab]

As relevant today as it was in August.

PCR is the wrong test to serve as the comparator for rapid antigen tests!

A rapid Ag test is to PCR as a security guard is to a forensics detective

Different uses!

Continuing to require this comparison is causing deadly delays @US_FDA

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

The #SeditiousSix:

@tedcruz
@HawleyMO
@SenHydeSmith
@SenatorMarshall
@SenJohnKennedy
@TTuberville

#RememberTheirNames

[Michael Mina @michaelmina_lab]

Rapid At-Home Testing:

Not only one of the most crucial yet UNUSED tools to combat #COVID19

But also one of the most Bipartisan issues brought to congress.

Knowing if you're contagious before leaving the house is not political.

Congress/Senate - Please make these happen now.

[Kaili Joy Gray @KailiJoy]

When Democrats lost in 2016, they knitted pink hats and donated to Planned Parenthood.

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

Why aren't we doing this?

[Michael Mina @michaelmina_lab]

@Morning_Joe We need these tests to become available - ideally today! In the US, we are making millions of them daily - but we are shipping them overseas! Meanwhile Americans are stuck with long lines and mail in swabs that take days. We need tests that take 5 minutes. They can stop spread.

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

@j_g_allen @HarvardChanSPH Are there any current trials of this methodology occurring in public school districts? In Melrose, our incident rate is very low but we continue in fully virtual learning. It would be so cool if we could trial the rapid tests, even if we did it at just one of our schools. How?

[Joseph Allen @j_g_allen]

1/ Listen to the science and reopen schools

Adding months more to this toll will be an educational disaster that some children may never recover from

A thread...

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

It Isn’t Easy To Say Goodbye To the Little Boy I Raised https://t.co/1PUDzQwNkX via @Her View From Home

[Maribeth Darwin @mbd0620]

Wishing all the moms a Mother's Day filled with kindness.

This is my essay about appreciating being a mom during the strangest of times. :) @EntropyMag

https://t.co/Ywkwv0Yxjn