Writing is thinking.

if you believe in any form of free enterprise at all, the idea that the Pentagon can not only cut off your contract but designate you a supply chain risk and prevent other companies from buying from you just because you won't build killbots for the government should be terrifying

Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers. The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇

Federal science workforce in 2025: NSF down over 30% USGS, NOAA, and NIH down 20% DOE down 17% NIST down 15% NASA down 12% By comparison, the total federal civilian workforce was down approximately 10% last year. www.aip.org/fyi/federal-...

💔 On Valentines Day 2025 the federal government fired recently hired and promoted public servants. A number of probationary employees created a survey to understand the harms to these workers and America broadly. Link to the survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

You may have heard it before, but let me repeat: repetition of statements makes people more likely to rate them as true (even if they are false, and even if you knew they were false initially). Thanks for the talk, @lkfazio.bsky.social !

Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance. And you know why? Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.

pretty stunning chart

“Taken together, these two policies create a structure in which dissent becomes professionally costly, alignment becomes professionally necessary, and the space for honest scientific judgment quietly contracts.” open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

You can help build billionaire-free local news. Repost this -> I give $1 Follow @51st.news -> I give $1 Follow me -> I give $1 Donate -> I match your gift Let's fight misinformation, help good journalists to make a decent living, and stick a big ol' finger in Jeff Bezos' eye.

Of so many things to be infuriated about, this is perhaps my biggest gripe. Pancreatic cancer patients, who face a future without hope, are being denied a potential game-changing therapy www.mskcc.org/news/can-mrn...

Congressional Republicans are going to deprive D.C. of $700 million in revenue and repeal a local program projected to reduce child poverty by 20 percent, solely to spite District residents and make us suffer. They’re also throwing our tax filing into utter chaos. This is a disaster.

It is absolutely outrageous that Moderna’s flu vaccine was met with a “refusal-to-file” even after their approved their protocol with FDA and carried out the trial as agreed. This vaccine works better in older adults than the current flu vaccines. apnews.com/article/mode...

OPM proposes regulations to strip MSPB of jurisdiction over RIFs and suitability determinations. The result would be that no impartial body could ever hear a RIF.

@protectdemocracy.org has launched a really cool Civil Service Archive that tracks documents related to changes of the civil service since January 2025. civilservicearchive.org

Final Schedule F rule published: in defiance of the vast majority of public comments, it commits to further politicizing government, removing anyone the Trump administration dislikes. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf

This moment is bringing out the best in some of us (like this speaker) and bringing out the worst in others of us. This is a time for choosing to live a life that you're proud of, or not. ❤️

OPM releases the text of the final rule for Schedule Policy/Career. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf

And one reason that federal funding agencies became such a huge target in Project 2025 were the evidence-based efforts that were (slowly) shifting policies so that this public good would actually fund scientific research that included and benefitted all Americans, not just white cis men 🧪

the Epstein files make it very clear why the MeToo backlash was so extreme and why so much of elite society preferred Donald Trump ruling us like a king to the barest hint of accountability

In 2025, departures of govt scientists outnumbered new hires by a ratio of 11 to 1. This reduction in STEM PhDs translates to 106k yrs of federal work experience across 10,000 employees. These talents will take their expertise elsewhere. Experience is indispensable. 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

Notice of Temporary Extension of Eligibility for the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00): for Individuals whose final due date was September-November 2025 and January-March 2026. As always, reach out to your PO/IC contact to discuss. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Yeah not only are these terrible, they bear little resemblance to other asks that party caucuses are making. I just got a Hispanic Caucus list of "non-negotiables" that has like 20 other things on it. The Senate Dems are squandering the moment in real time.

Incredible. Millions are newly-mobilized, questioning how their taxes are being used to hurt their neighbors. Republicans are in a terrible position. Democrats have huge leverage. And they may just go ahead and give DHS more money — as long as they slap on a few rules DHS is already not following.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., rolls out his demand for supporting a DHS appropriations bill: fire Stephen Miller

The Bovino demotion is seriously welcome news, but please keep up your calls to your Senators. DO NOT let any of them point at his demotion as a sign of reform/justification to go ahead w/ supporting DHS.

“Abolish ICE” is literally the MODERATE position in America today. Not even the position Schumer’s constituents are demanding. The MODERATE position is “abolish.”

Science: U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social bit.ly/3M8yf9B

it's really a sign of how dire things are that part of being a citizen is having to choose whether to watch amateur footage snuff films to determine how much the state is lying to you.

I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.

Attention folks in the weather, climate, disaster, wildfire, and Earth science communities: NSF has just published a new "Dear Colleague" letter inviting feedback (by Mar 13) on the proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). www.nsf.gov/funding/...

the original language in the Senate appropriations bill kept the MYF policy to 2024 levels ask your congressional representatives for the current language in the funding bill to be replaced with this language: keep MYF at 2024 levels, NOT 2025 levels 🧪

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

NC folks: Call Sen Tillis (202) 224-6342 & Budd 202-224-3154 Simple script: The appropriations bill including NIH is being finalized. Multiyear funding reduced the number of funded labs & hurts research. Support the bipartisan amendment from Sen Capito & Baldwin limiting multi-year funding .

We are collecting information on terminated SAMHSA grants at Grant Witness: grant-witness.us/submit-samhs... If you worked on one of these programs, please let us know at the link! And please share with your colleagues. We need a comprehensive record of these terminations to fight back!

Latest post from Dr. Ginexi on NOFO guidance, "reductions in burden," and subsequent confusion at #NIH.

Likewise, Congressman Cole from Oklahoma is the chair of the overall House Appropriations committee. If you can, reach out to his office as well. It is noteworthy that OMB is willing to veto a bill over a minor-seeming NIH operational issue. This makes me think this is part of a bigger plan...

Congressman Aderholt from Alabama is the chair and he is apparently willing to help OMB here, adding report language (which is toothless) rather than including this in the law. If you are from Alabama, please contact his office and your Senators and share your thoughts. 2/3

In America you drop your kid off at school, get your brains blown out on the ride home, then the Vice President drops everything for a week to call you a terrorist, to slander your family, to protect the circumstances that led to your death so they can do it again. It is government by Alex Jones.

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Director Bhattacharya spending more time on podcasts, this time taking about not renewing grants NIH was forced to restore. Good reporting from @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/12/31/n... 1/3

In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing. You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics. That is all.

Happy New Year folks!! Start the year off with a submission into Black In Neuro’s first ever special issue. 18 days until the deadline, keep an eye out for the release 📝 ✨ @binmanhattan.bsky.social @academic.oup.com

While the administration has said it is cutting “woke programs” that “poison the minds of Americans", it actually funded fewer grants in every area of science and medicine. “They brought everything to a stop,” said Sarah Kobrin, a branch chief at the N.I.H.’s National Cancer Institute

NIH LRP application due date extended to Dec 4th. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Looking for what you can do to make you voice heard? This campaign is gaining traction. The enablers have to feel it. weaintbuyingit.com

Have questions about application submissions and missed peer review meetings due to the shutdown??? Check out this notice. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.

The government has been shut down for 40 days—the longest in history. All Democrats have fought hard for extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that make health care affordable for millions. I’m voting against the bill given it doesn’t extend these valuable tax credits.

Should be pretty clear that without House commitment on a vote on ACA extensions, it is purely symbolic as part of the Senate deal