if you doubt the anger of scientists...read and circulate this piece. eos.org/opinions/sen...

1. Far right federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has just vacated all EEOC protections for gay and trans people in the work place. He says protections from "being fired" do not mean they are protected from harassment by Title VII. I cover this insane ruling here. Subscribe to support my journalism.

What happens to science under autocracy? The rise of the National Socialist Party in 1930s Germany provides an (admittedly extreme) example. Prior to the early 1930s, scientists at German institutions won a third of Nobels. 10 years later, that number was 5%, and has never recovered.

"Imagine the auto industry without 3D printing. NSF funded that. Artificial intelligence? NSF. MRI machines that help doctors diagnose you? NSF. Doppler radar technology that makes aviation safer by conquering wind shear? NSF. Duolingo‘s underlying programming? NSF. The internet itself? NSF."

I am thinking a lot today about how heavy things feel in my world of faculty doing scientific research. There's the immediate chaos and panic about our ability to pay people and continue our research. But there's also a deeper grief at watching everything get bulldozed for no reason

Nearly every higher ed-related provision in the House’s proposed reconciliation bill will make higher ed more expensive for students. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

On a day when all research grants at Harvard were terminated, and in a context where Congress seems to broadly accept the notion that destroying science and health research in the US is fine, it’s worth noting that this is not what the public wants.

I just created a quick map depicting which portions of the United States are now (as of today) or will imminently be (by early June) without 24/7 local National Weather Service coverage (per Washington Post reporting). #CAwx #CAfire #CAwater #ORwx #AKwx #WYwx #KSwx

This report from @sanders.senate.gov didn't get enough attention yesterday. It tracks how much funding from science Trump has killed. www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, two weeks ago: "I have long been concerned about PFAS. We are tackling PFAS from all of EPA's program offices, advancing research and testing, stopping PFAS from getting into drinking water systems, and holding polluters accountable." EPA today:

🧪 National Science Foundation update alert ⚠️⚠️ NSF just made a **lot** of updates to its "priorities" page. It's mixed news. Some good. Some bad. ❌ Not welcome: NSF is now also terminating "environmental justice" awards. The highlighted text here is new: www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p... 1/8... 🧵

BREAKING: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced he has ordered the FDA to consider new nationwide restrictions on medication abortion — and that President Trump, not scientists or doctors, will make the final decision.

we have a secretary of -transportation making it more dangerous to travel -education making kids stupider -defense making us more vulnerable to attacks -homeland security making us feel less secure than ever -health and human services trying to spread illness everything’s fine.

Holy shiitake! Trump fired Shira Perlmutter, the Director of the US Copyrights Office apparently because she refused to let Elon Musk raid the place to steal author’s intellectual property rights democrats-cha.house.gov/media/press-...

The cost of Grok: "I can't breathe at home, it smells like gas outside. How come I can't breathe at home and y'all get to breathe at home?"

Many of my federal scientist friends are unwilling to speak to journalists, even on background, because they fear the consequences of speaking out. We've got a nice constitution here. It would be amazing if someone actually followed it.

“The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — hardly a partisan institution — finds that nondefense government R&D yields long-run economic returns of 150% to 300% …“Our findings therefore point to a misallocation of public capital, and substantial underinvestment in nondefense R&D.”

Listen to this segment. They *entrapped* Mayor Baraka and someone explicitly told ICE to arrest him, an American citizen standing on public ground, in front of sitting members of Congress who tried to stop it. This was already very bad and is now holy shit bad.

“She’s not yours to pity. She’s mine to marvel at.” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-...

“I asked chatGPT-“ ok, and I asked Tinsel, and she said you’re an uninspired, vapid dork who needs a computer to think for them.

…

A victory for the federal scientific workforce! We could not stand by while this irreparable harm continues at NSF, NOAA and all our scientific agencies. TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.

1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.

"Masked security forces captured an opposition leader in the coastal province of New Jersey as regime officials continue their months-long crack-down against pro-democracy elements in the embattled United States. The arrest comes as the regime issued calls for summary detentions without trial."

🧪 Here are some talking points: bsky.app/profile/davi...

Until recently, the US S&T enterprise & higher ed systems were the envy of the world. The way it's being gutted is beyond heartbreaking. The US innovation engine is crumbling before our eyes. This moment in history is not just sad—it is profoundly tragic & represents an incalculable loss. So unreal.

DOGE was never about "efficiency."

Hard to be healthy when you’re binge drinking because your entire field of employment, and large chunk of personal identity, has been set ablaze for absolutely no good reason.

A federal judge in San Francisco appeared ready to temporarily block the Trump administration's sweeping overhaul of the federal government.

A video that says everything about this regime. A Newark Mayor attempting to visit a detention facility opened in his city without permits is handcuffed and detained by agents. Apparently Ras Baraka is now being held at the local ICE field office. Authoritarianism. (🎥 News 12 New Jersey)

NEWS: I just led 112 of my colleagues in demanding answers from the Trump Administration on their funding freeze of the National Science Foundation. Cutting off NSF funding threatens vital research, stalls innovation, and risks ceding global scientific leadership to China.

They’re talking about suspending habeas corpus and you guys are still trying to figure out how to scicomm your way back to normalcy. Absolutely clownish

Fund Elmo not Elon

It's never a question of IF, but WHEN will a pipeline leak. Now with a threat to 95% of the US's surface fresh water!

Dynamic budget scoring should be applied to cuts to public R&D: "The economy tomorrow is going to be smaller because you decided to cut that funding today," he says. "And if your economy tomorrow is smaller, you're going to be raising less in taxes." www.npr.org/2025/05/08/n...

The only winners: water lawyers. One of the lowest runoff totals in the last 35 years is forecast, as April watershed precip was 60% of average. "Hydrological conditions are starting to mirror the frightful years of 2020-22, when meagre runoff sent the reservoirs into a deep plunge to record lows."

Amazing. UHC shareholders are suing because after the CEO shooting, the company was “no longer willing” to use “aggressive, anti-consumer tactics” to generate the profits they were promised. A gift from the content gods.

Things are bad

This is not a science budget. This is a massacre. thebridge.agu.org/2025/05/05/t...

I love these posters so much!

This is important when expecting others to resist. We all experiencing different levels of precarity, and of different kinds. Some of us can retire at this moment, many of us can't. Some have family with identities being targeted, some don't. Some are more mobile than others.

Hey it's almost like we should fight every fucking order this idiot makes, because they're not legal, he's a buffoon, and fuck him

Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of the planet. Now, his boss’ administration is upending the very restoration efforts that Vance once championed.

Losing fundamental data on the state of our planet. Sea ice data isn't just about climate change - its about shipping, national security, ecology, fisheries, energy resource extraction, and more. That's not even accounting for the snow and glacier data listed here.

This is insane. This program saves money, creates jobs, and helps nearly all Americans. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/c...

No one has been returned from CECOT even as we learn more and more about the arbitrary and illegal nature of this operation. The Republicans continue to stonewall the courts. Don’t let this story slip from view.

Not only is there no capacity to absorb huge cuts to US science, these countires are ignoring the excess capacity they already have. If there is one thing there is no shortage of anywhere there is any science funding, it is is scientists.