Trump tries to rewrite research funding rules

 

From Stat on 08/11/25

On Thursday night, President Trump signed a sweeping new executive order that seeks to transform how the federal government awards billions of dollars in research grants by giving political appointees unprecedented power over the projects agencies fund. Instead of experts and career civil servants setting funding decisions and priorities, the order places that authority with presidential appointees who, in coordination with the White House, are directed to use their “independent judgment” and “advance the President’s policy priorities.”

The executive power grab, which experts expect to be challenged in court, is likely to have massive and immediate impacts on the daily operations of American science. Read more about it from STAT’s science team.

I've been re-reading 1984 by George Orwell and how Winston Smith the main character works in the "Ministry of Truth" altering documents to align with the propaganda of Big Brother. It seems surreal to see this actually happening in the United States in 2025 when science research will have to align with political agenda of MAGA to get and/or keep funding.

There are reports of scientists leaving the US to continue their research in other countries.

Book review - It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

 From Gemini AI on 08/10/25

Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel, It Can't Happen Here, offers a powerful and enduring message about the fragility of democracy and the dangers of political complacency. While written in a specific historical context—the rise of fascism in Europe and the political climate of the Great Depression in America—the book's themes have proven to be remarkably prescient and relevant to contemporary society.

Here are some of the key benefits of reading It Can't Happen Here:

• A Warning About the Rise of Authoritarianism: The novel serves as a chilling cautionary tale about how a charismatic demagogue can exploit economic hardship, social unrest, and nationalistic fervor to gain power. The fictional president, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, is a populist leader who promises a return to "traditional" values and prosperity, all while consolidating power, dismantling democratic institutions, and creating a paramilitary force to enforce his will. This provides a clear illustration of how fascism can take root even in an established democracy.

• Exploration of Political Communication and Propaganda: Lewis, a Nobel laureate, was keenly aware of the power of mass media. The protagonist, a small-town newspaper editor named Doremus Jessup, witnesses firsthand how a demagogue can manipulate the media to spread propaganda and control public opinion. The novel highlights the crucial role of a free press and the dangers of media censorship, a theme that remains highly relevant in the age of social media and misinformation.

• The Importance of Individual Resistance: Through the eyes of Doremus Jessup, the novel emphasizes the necessity of individual courage and resistance in the face of tyranny. Jessup's journey from a complacent liberal to a member of an underground resistance movement demonstrates that citizens cannot be silent bystanders when their rights and freedoms are under threat. The book suggests that even small acts of defiance are vital in a struggle against oppression.

• A Call for Vigilance and Critical Thinking: The title itself—It Can't Happen Here—is an ironic statement that challenges the reader's own sense of security. The novel forces a confrontation with the idea that democracy is not an unshakeable given, but a fragile system that requires constant vigilance. It encourages readers to be critical of political rhetoric, to recognize the warning signs of authoritarianism, and to actively participate in their democracy.

Historical and Social Commentary: By reading It Can't Happen Here, readers gain insight into the political and social anxieties of the 1930s. The novel reflects on the appeal of figures like Louisiana politician Huey Long (who inspired the character of Windrip) and the fear of European fascism spreading to the United States. It also explores how economic desperation can make a population more susceptible to radical promises and demagoguery.

My comment - It has happened here in the US in 2025. The US government has transitioned from a democracy to an autocracy. The question for democracy lovers is not how to prevent autocracy, but how to minimize and eliminate it and restore democratic processes. There are many avenues of correction. Perhaps the most important is to get money out of political campaigns.

The first death knell of democracy was when the Supreme Court opined in Citizens United that a corporation is a person and money is free speech so corporations can contribute unlimited amounts of money to pollical campaigns thereby buying politicians. This single ruling gives immense power to oligarchs to control the political processes.

The second death knell is making the criminal justice system for sale to lawyers who can sue and drag out adjudication processes until they bankrupt opposing parties in legal proceedings. The person with the most money wins.

The third death knell was the rise to "alternative facts" promulgated by social media and unaccountable journalists who promote propaganda and disinformation to obtain political power persuading critical illiterate people to support them.

The fourth death knell was the use of fear of the other to promote a savior idolizing dynamic where people's insecurities are enhanced so they will acquiesce to giving up their power and agency to a charismatic leader who promises security and comfort.

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and 1984 by George Orwell are highly recommended to people interested in exploring the dynamics of our current society.

Themes from The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024

 

The themes that have emerged for me from The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024  are:

1. The earth is getting warmer and having negative consequences for the ecological balances which we humans have become accustomed to.
2. This climate warming is having negative consequences up to and ending in death for many living things.
3. A small group of under-supported scientists are studying what's happening and their findings are largely ignored or dismissed by the decision makers except in a few instances.
4. Science journalism is one way of informing and educating people about what is happening to them which is outside their level of awareness because the changes are insidious except when they culminate in catastrophic weather events.

Some observers have noted that because of these four things social anxiety and tension has risen contributing to political polarization and the rise of autocracies exemplified by the "strong man" leader who promises to "fix everything" and make people safe and more secure. This political solution is delusional because it doesn't address the underlying problem which is human caused climate change.

What will help? A correct diagnosis of the problem causing the rise in anxiety and plans that are effective in addressing the creation and maintenance of the problem. This requires cooperation, collaboration, and joint efforts around the planet. Isolation and nationalism will not help, but only maintain and increase the problem. There needs to be a shift from the emphasis on private wealth and profit to a sharing and creation of health giving commons. This is a huge shift in values especially in the richest country in the world, the US. What will bring this shift in values in the US population? The worsening of circumstances until people have to find a better way to live if they are to survive. And then a transformation into cooperative, collaborative, mutually satisfying democratic processes.

PS - The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024 is the August 2024 selected read of the Allnonfiction Book Discussion Group. If you are interested in joining the Allnonfiction Book Discussion Group you can find more about it here.

Extractive cf. regenerative fuels

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the marine biologist and activist, now living in down east Maine, offered the commencement address at my college, Middlebury, in the spring of 2023, and a week later Time magazine reprinted her address in full—a wise choice, I think, as it lays out a serious case for a certain kind of hope. “To address the climate crisis, the all-encompassing challenge that will touch whatever life and work you will go on to, requires that we not just change or adapt, but that we transform society, from extractive to regenerative,” she said. “This is a monumental task. And it requires that we focus not on endless analysis of the problem, but on summoning an expansive sense of possibility, on harnessing our imaginations and our creativity.” 

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xxiv). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Words matter. What we call things matters. Vocabulary becomes expert jargon unique to a specialized discourse. Things can’t be managed if they can’t be named so naming things accurately, validly, meaningful has a tremendous power. So choose your words carefully.

In discussing our choice of fuel to meet our energy needs, Ayana, Elizabeth Johnson suggests that we categorize those fuels into two categories: extractive and regenerative. Extractive fuels would be coal, oil, gas, peat. Regenerative would be wind, solar, hydro.

Extractive fuels contribute CO2 to the atmosphere and contribute to climate warming. Regenerative fuels don’t. 

1. In this age of climate change endangering the health and well being of living things on the planet which should humans use?

2. What kinds of policies would contribute to the transformation of the Earth’s societies from extractive to regenerative fuels? 

3. Which political parties in the US favors which types of fuels? Which kind do you favor and support?

Hottest day on record on July 22, 2024 on planet Earth

In 2023 it got hotter on this earth than it’s gotten in at least 125,000 years, roughly the same time as the first evidence of humans etching symbols onto bone. As 2024 began, the researchers were predicting that this year could quite possibly break last year’s record.

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xviii). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

From Gemini AI on 08/04/25:

Yes, the heat record set in 2023 was beaten in 2024. 2024 was confirmed by multiple climate agencies, including NASA and NOAA, to be the warmest year on record. This makes 2024 the first calendar year to have a global average temperature of more than 1.5∘C above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold established by the Paris Agreement.

Key 2024 Heat Records

• Global Average Temperature: The average global temperature in 2024 was approximately 1.29∘C (2.32∘F) above the 20th-century average. This surpassed the previous record set in 2023 by about 0.10∘C (0.18∘F).

• Consecutive Record-Breaking Months: The period from June 2023 to August 2024 saw an unprecedented streak of 15 consecutive months of monthly temperature records.

• Hottest Day Ever Recorded: On July 22, 2024, the world experienced its hottest day on record, with the global average temperature reaching 17.16∘C (62.9∘F).

• Regional and Ocean Heat: Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America all had their warmest years on record. Additionally, the upper ocean heat content—the amount of heat stored in the top 2,000 meters of the ocean—was the highest ever recorded.

How do you think humans will adapt to the consequences of these record setting hot records? How have you been affected where you live? Why don't these facts get more news coverage? The implications of this climate warming are hugely significant.

Vulture cf. predatory venture capitalism and science.

 As of 2019, Alden was running over a hundred newspapers, and they’d cut two of every three jobs. It’s a model known as “vulture capitalism,” though a former Chicago Tribune reporter who’d seen Alden’s impact firsthand told Coppins the name didn’t quite fit. “A vulture doesn’t hold a wounded animal’s head underwater. This is predatory.”

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xi). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Jamie Green bemoans the fact that science journalism is being cut from periodicals and science writers are being laid off. Given this change in the media business Jaimie encourages people to support science periodicals. I asked in a previous post whether anyone on the list subscribed to any science periodicals?

I subscribe to three: Science News, Scientific American, and Nautilus.

The Republican policies are driving scientists out of the Federal government and have cut grants to Universities and colleges leading to scientists leaving the US for other countries where they can find employment and support for their research. Autocracies are anti-scientific because expert knowledge and skill undermines their power unless the experts can be controlled by the politicians. It’s not only the predatory venture capitalists who are a threat to science and accurate science reporting but the autocratic politicians as well. Trump’s answer to the Covid-19 was that it would just go away in the Spring with nicer weather and people could drink bleach.

The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.

The most important thing I learned in my MSW program at SUNY Albany 1970-1972 was from Dr. Maureen Didier who repeatedly told us "You have to take the client where they're at, not where you think they should be, where they ought to be, where they must be, you have to take the client where they're at."  I always laugh when I share this nugget of wisdom because it was 53 years ago now when she taught me this. Her wisdom has stood me in such good stead both professionally and personally.

Another important moral platitude is "love the sinner, hate the sin." In Narrative Therapy this way of perceiving the situation is called "externalization." The problem is externalized from the person. The platitude about externalization is "the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem" so what's the problem? We give people identifying names, based on the problem that has invaded their life, like "alcoholic" and "diabetic" and "schizophrenia" and "depressive" and "borderline". It is usually much more accurate  to say things like "the person for whom alcohol is creating problems," etc. This small reframe can facilitate an "externalized conversation" which is much more helpful and productive in figuring out ways to manage the problem.

The problem we are facing as a society might be stated as "how is autocracy undermining democratic processes and contributing to increased inequality and injustice?" If you have another word for "autocracy" labeling the problem what might it be? Once we have agreement on what to call this thing that is negatively impacting us we have a better chance of minimizing or eliminating its impact on us.

The Republican America - Cuts at the VA

 NOTES/COMMENTS about this article:

1). According to the VA’s workforce dashboards, since the Trump administration took office in January the VA has recorded a net loss of thousands of health care positions, the only net loss in the last five years. 

2). The losses include, among others:

        *** 688 physicians, 

        *** 1,882 registered nurses, 

        *** 365 licensed practical nurses, 

        *** 316 nurse assistants,

        *** 511 social workers, 

        *** 201 psychologists 

        *** 766 medical support assistants. 

3). In June 2025 alone, VA health system staffing fell by 2,096. 

4). Department-wide job announcements have plummeted by 30 percent and applications by 44 percent since last year, while new employee onboarding has sunk by 52 percent. 

5). These figures paint a stark picture of an agency diminishing its capacity to provide direct health care, while pretending that its  services remain unchanged.

6). The 2024 “Red Team” assessment by independent experts issued a dire warning: The swelling volume of private-sector referrals has created an “existential crisis” for VA health care. 

7). Excessive utilization of private providers threatens to close VA units and facilities nationwide, destabilizing the direct care system and undermining its long-term sustainability.

Peace,

            Doug Stephenson, LCSW, BCD

            Gainesville, Florida

For more click here.