Radiorum

If you think this is what it is about you are sorely mistaken. There has been a war on science from the Right for a long time, and Trump just upped it to a nuclear war.

Well, you can be sure Putin and autocrats around the world are cheering the dissolution of USAID. They are in fact exploiting the chaos Trump overall is creating. One of the biggest cheerleaders of the effort has been Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime Trump ally who has for years waged his own campaign against nongovernmental organizations and independent media, particularly targeting those that receive U.S. funding. On social media and on state radio last week, the Hungarian strongman celebrated Trump’s gutting of USAID and claimed that the agency had backed organizations that wanted to “topple” his government. Putin kicked USAID out of Russia in 2012 for promoting groups that promoted democracy and human rights. The US is giving up its leadership role in the world as the defender of democracy, which seems to coincide with turning its back on democracy at home.

Trump seeks to overturn the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, and long-standing federal law in order that he may abuse presidential power. Abusing federal funding is illegal and it's even more corrupt that he is doing this to bully and coerce.

So, what about those farmers, eh?

You just don't get it. The US is forfeiting their leadership role in the world of science. I wonder who will assume it now. … research funding being slashed, staff being told to quit and key programmes being withdrawn, for example: US science in chaos as impact of Trump’s executive orders sinks in

They lie both about what they are doing and their intention. It's called the "DOGE hoax." Elon Musk is a newbie to government, but I’ll pay him the compliment of assuming that he’s studied the federal ledger in enough detail already to have grasped the truth of Riedl’s points. If so, he must know that DOGE’s work is futile—as a fiscal project, except on a very modest scale. Trying to put a meaningful dent in overspending by gutting outfits like USAID is like trying to pay off one’s student loans by scaling back on lattes at Starbucks. The math won’t math. But DOGE isn’t a fiscal project. It’s an ideological project. And from that standpoint, it’s been pretty successful.

Lol, you quoted the liars!

You're the one who made the claim. Link yours.

the question of scientific autonomy and public oversight is an important one. Restrictions on scientific autonomy should only come into play to make sure the science causes no harm. Restrictions should not be put on science for ideological reasons.

It's not about hate. People who criticize the actions of Trump and Musk and DOGE have a real and valid concern that what we are witnessing is a coup designed to engender regime change in the US. if it was waste they wanted to rout out, why did they first fire all the Inspector-generals whose job it is to find waste? Because that was never their intention. They want to make the Executive branch above the law, as Trump's and Musk's attacks on any judges who rule their actions illegal make clear. Musk's lies are well documented, but the MAGA crowd are so blinded by the propaganda Trump and Musk spew. And yes, DOGE is a hoax, too Elon Musk is a newbie to government, but I’ll pay him the compliment of assuming that he’s studied the federal ledger in enough detail already to have grasped the truth of Riedl’s points. If so, he must know that DOGE’s work is futile—as a fiscal project, except on a very modest scale. Trying to put a meaningful dent in overspending by gutting outfits like USAID is like trying to pay off one’s student loans by scaling back on lattes at Starbucks. The math won’t math. But DOGE isn’t a fiscal project. It’s an ideological project. And from that standpoint, it’s been pretty successful.

The people who told you that lied.

Yeah, I know, Zuckerberg has gone full-on MAGA. But let’s be real here. What Trump and Musk want is the freedom to lie. For example: And it seems Musk has only recently discovered that the US has a Constitution, if his post of “If any judge anywhere can overrule us, we no longer live in a democracy!” is any indication.

@blackbird I don’t want to derail this thread too much, only to state that we can find barbaric behavior amongst all peoples, including at the state-sanctioned level. That the Natives of the long past could be ruthless to their enemies is true, but this inclination is not limited to Indigenous peoples. It is a universal hallmark of humanity.

Trump’s levels of corruption and dishonesty are unprecedented. Even his Executive Orders are dishonest. Consider one example: Executive Order 14149 – Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship (January 20, 2025) which in part states: Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans' speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve. Under the guise of combatting "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation," the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government's preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate… The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of executive departments and agencies, shall investigate the activities of the Federal Government over the last 4 years that are inconsistent with the purposes and policies of this order and prepare a report to be submitted to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, with recommendations for appropriate remedial actions to be taken based on the findings of the report. What these “remedial actions” consist of is not clear, but it sounds like a threat. But what is the truth? Last June - The U.S. Supreme Court handed a major victory for the Biden administration Wednesday, throwing out a lower court ruling that had placed major restrictions on the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. … a stark repudiation of two lower courts in the South, and their eagerness to embrace conspiracy theories about alleged government coercion of social media companies. Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that neither the five individuals nor the two states who sued … presented (any) proof to back up their claims that the government had pressured social media companies like Twitter and Facebook into restricting their speech. "Unfortunately," she said, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals "relied on factual findings that are "clearly erroneous." For instance, she said, the plaintiffs who brought the case maintained that the White House had bombarded Twitter with requests to set up a streamlined process for censorship requests. But in fact, she said, the record showed no such requests. Rather, on one occasion a White House official asked Twitter to remove a fake account pretending to be the account of Biden's granddaughter. Twitter took down the fake account and told the official about a portal that could be used in the future to flag similar issues. "Justice Barrett went out of her way to stress that facts matter and that lower courts in this case embraced a fact-free version of what transpired between officials in the Biden administration and Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies," But we know very well that facts do not matter to Trump.

To say that somehow Trump's actions are the fault of the Democrats is preposterous in the extreme. Trump is a force within himself. His actions are unprecedented. Trying to steal an election with fake electors? Unprecedented. Trying to concentrate all power in the executive branch? Unprecedented. Psychologically manipulating a cult following? Unprecedented. (Unless you count Huey Long.)

In Trump's giddy reach to concentrate all power in the Executive branch, he has paid no attention to the effect of these massive cuts at home in his "slash-first, think-later" approach. And the worst part is, the damn Republicans do not speak up. What will it take for Republican legislators to speak up and say "Don't destroy my state's economy?"

The lack of refutation lies with you. I feel pretty solid in my position. You have a habit of making about the poster instead of the post. Your position is weak.

In my experience, Trump supporters are okay with anything and everything he does. They justify, excuse, and obfuscate. They have chosen a side, and all that matters to them is that their side trumps.

That wasn't it. You spout nonsense about your philosophy of the left, which is not philosophy at all but an attempt at the upper hand without interest in the issues. There, now you owe me five cents.

Just another example of how Trump and Musk don't give a sh*t about the average American USAID oversees projects such as food aid, disaster relief and health programs in over 100 countries with a staff of more than 10,000 and a budget of around $40 billion. Billions of those dollars flowed back into the American economy until President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign-aid spending last month. Now U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo. That includes American farms, which supply about 41 percent of the food aid that the agency, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sends around the world each year, according to a 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service. In 2020, the U.S. government bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers. Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/06/trump-usaid-money-american-farms/

A couple of things - first of all, to me the Bible is just a collection of stories told by ancient peoples. I do not believe it was inspired or narrated by God. I have a different understanding of God than you do. Also - if you imagine the US government is righteous you are sorely mistaken. I have a much greater faith in humanity than you do. I believe organized religion has in many cases in fact moved people away from what was right, in their intolerance. Yes, schools and parents are very important - but teaching blind trust in the Bible is not the way. This is not true. Do not believe the myths the white men have created. I have read extensively about the traditional Indigenous culture, and it was civilized, spiritual, diplomatic and marked by lofty ideals of right and wrong. If you want to learn more about the traditional culture of the Natives, you might like reading a book by missionary John Heckewelder, first published in 1818, History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations Who Once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States. You can read it online for free at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50350/50350-h/50350-h.htm My research leads me to believe they had a better society than we do. It's totally a guide on what is right and what is wrong. Ah, yes, the Book of Genesis, often regarded as the telling of the story of the ascension of consciousness. But the thing is, this consciousness was only reserved for men. The Book of Genesis produced different outcomes for men and women. It was read quite literally when it came to the role of women in the fall. Eve led Adam astray. She is the cause of the fall of the human race. She destroyed God’s image. This fed centuries of misogynistic interpretations. Eve represents the evil that is inherent in all women. This paradigm spread through the western world: subordinate and inferior, women are by nature disobedient, weak-willed, untrustworthy, deceitful, seductive and motivated only by self-interest. 1 Timothy 2:12-14 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 1 Corinthians 11:3 spells out the hierarchy explicitly. But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Thomas Aquinas, influential in the early Christian church, formalized the reduced status of women. In the 13th century, he wrote that women are inferior to men in not just strength but intellect. They are born female because of some defect in the active force or maternal disposition and are important not for any inherent value or virtue, but only for their ability to reproduce. Simply put: Women are defective adjuncts of men. Their only holy role could be in marriage and reproduction. It formed a culture of oppression. It diminished their contributions. It justified the witch trials, as an instance. The Book of Genesis is a man’s story. It did not serve women well. So, why should women subscribe to the Bible? I do not share your fear. I do not believe we have to give up our agency to an ancient text. I believe that everything that is good in us can be realized through our own agency. And I believe that Trump and Musk work against what is the best of humanity.

According to DOGE! It's beyond me why you trust them. Alrighty, then! Let's give him the country!

I don't see what any of these parameters have to do with subjectivity. Anyway, looking at your last point. So, I guess you would say we should stop cancer research because it doesn't help the general population but only those with cancer? (I have no other replies to the rest of your post because it is more blather.)

This is a very interesting question, but I am not sure I accept its premise - that without God/religion there are no absolutes. I think a great many atheists would agree it is wrong to murder another, for example. I am reminded about something I read that an Indian elder said way back in the 18th century. "You whites need a Big Book to tell you what is right and what is wrong. But right and wrong is engraved upon our hearts." To assume that a disbelief in God amounts to not knowing what is right and what is wrong is faulty at best. To know right from wrong what you need is empathy. Empathy does not rely upon religion. Indeed, religion in the US has led to many hateful actions against the vulnerable:

Do you hear yourself? You do not need God to have a society that guarantees respect for life, a fair justice system, law and order, and freedoms.