"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10
Pray for those who ignored the evidence, held your noses and you voted for DONALD JOHN TRUMP, who now appoints thugs to office, who thumb their noses at our Constitution.
Some don't like it when I call them "Dull Republicans." Tough.
President TRUMP's wrecking crew is taking a chainsaw to our government, doing the dirty work of polluters, monopolists, retaliators and corporate criminals.
I shall continue to call them out.
As Dan Quayle said in 1988,"I wear their scorn as a badge of honor.
Let's take back our Nation from the nasty, greedy, self-serving nattering nabobs of negativism who worship power and wealth. "The love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:10.
Be not afraid of corporate crackpots and bullies. It's time for them to go, or get thicker skins.
"In 1948, President Harry S Truman was running for re-election. During a campaign stop in Bremerton, Washington, Truman delivered a rousing speech attacking the Republicans. One of Truman’s supporters called out, 'give ‘em hell Harry!' Truman replied, 'I don’t give them hell. I just tell the truth about them, and they think it’s hell.' https://politicaldictionary.com/words/give-em-hell-harry/
From The New York Times:
E.P.A. Says It Will Eliminate Its Scientific Research Arm
The decision comes after a Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to slash the federal work force and dismantle agencies.
Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow
Reporting from Washington
The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, after denying for months that it intended to do so.
The move underscores how the Trump administration is forging ahead with efforts to slash the federal work force and dismantle federal agencies after the Supreme Court allowed these plans to proceed while legal challenges unfold. Government scientists have been particular targets of the administration’s large-scale layoffs.
The decision to dismantle the E.P.A.’s Office of Research and Development had been widely expected since March, when a leaked document that called for eliminating the office was first reported by The New York Times. But until Friday, the Trump administration maintained that no final decisions had been made.
The E.P.A.’s science office provides the independent research that underpins nearly all of the agency’s policies and regulations. It has analyzed the risks of hazardous chemicals, the impact of wildfire smoke on public health and the contamination of drinking water by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Its research has often justified stricter environmental rules, prompting pushback from chemical manufacturers and other industries.
ee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, has boasted about cutting dozens of environmental regulations, saying he wants to make it cheaper and easier for industries to operate.
When President Trump took office, the science office had roughly 1,155 employees. But more than 325 workers have left since January after accepting “deferred resignation” offers, according to an E.P.A. spokeswoman, Molly Vaseliou.
It was not immediately clear how many of the roughly 830 remaining employees would be fired. Ms. Vaseliou said in an email that the agency had not yet initiated the large-scale layoff, known as a “reduction in force.”
The American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, a union that represents more than 8,000 E.P.A. workers, slammed Friday’s announcement.
The science office “is the heart and brain of the E.P.A.,” said Justin Chen, president of A.F.G.E. Council 238. “Without it, we don’t have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment. Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.”
In a wave of departures in recent weeks, the directors of national research programs under the Office of Research and Development all left the E.P.A. They include career employees who oversaw work on measuring contaminants in the atmosphere, responses to environmental emergencies and exposure to chemicals and particulate matter. Others who left include the deputies of those programs, as well as dozens of senior scientists, according to multiple agency officials.
Are you a federal worker? We want to hear from you.
The Times would like to hear about your experience as a federal worker under the second Trump administration. We may reach out about your submission, but we will not publish any part of your response without contacting you first.
“It is dismantling a world-class organization, and the American people are not going to be well served by this,” said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, who worked at the E.P.A. for 40 years and led the research office under the first Trump administration. “These actions are very shortsighted, and the way they’re going about it is very callous and very cruel.”
When Mr. Trump took office, the E.P.A. had 16,155 employees. But more than 3,700 employees have left the agency or are set to leave through firings, retirements, resignations and other moves, eventually bringing the agency’s work force to 12,448, a level last seen during the Reagan administration.
The Trump administration previously announced that it would move some of the science functions into a new department in the E.P.A. administrator’s office. Dr. Orme-Zavaleta and others said that move threatened to politicize scientific research.
Chris Jahn, president of the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for the chemical industry, said in a statement that the organization “supports E.P.A. evaluating its resources to ensure American dollars are being used efficiently and effectively.”
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization, had criticized the E.P.A.’s science office in Project 2025, a blueprint for overhauling the federal government. The group had accused the office of being “bloated, unaccountable, closed, outcome-driven, hostile to public and legislative input, and inclined to pursue political rather than purely scientific goals.”
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, another conservative research organization, has called for eliminating or overhauling the office’s program for evaluating toxic chemicals, known as the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS.
“IRIS evaluations often rely on worst-case hazard assumptions that fail to consider real-world exposure scenarios,” James Broughel, a former senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, wrote in a recent blog post. Mr. Broughel is now associated with the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank closely aligned with the Trump administration.
The E.P.A. said in a news release on Friday that it had already saved $748.8 million through “organizational improvements” and staff reductions. Mr. Zeldin said in the news release that agency officials were committed to “being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.”
The E.P.A. plans to hold a “town hall” for staff members in the science office on Monday afternoon, according to a Friday evening email from Maureen Gwinn, the acting head of the office, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times.
“I understand that this announcement may bring uncertainty and concern,” Dr. Gwinn wrote. “While I don’t have all the details yet, I am actively working to gather more information.”
She concluded the email with a reminder: “Please remember to take care of yourselves.”
Lisa Friedman is a Times reporter who writes about how governments are addressing climate change and the effects of those policies on communities.
Maxine Joselow reports on climate policy for The Times.
The Latest on the Trump Administration
Firing of F.T.C. Commissioner: A federal court ruled that President Trump’s firing of a Democratic commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission was illegal and that she was a “rightful member” of the agency.
Ceding Spending Power to Trump: In voting for Trump’s cancellation of $9 billion in spending they had already approved, Republicans in Congress showed they were willing to cede their power of the purse.
Inmates Who Aren’t Citizens: The Department of Justice asked sheriffs across California to provide lists of inmates in state jails who are not U.S. citizens. An A.C.L.U. lawyer said it was possible that any sheriff who complied with the request could be in violation of the state’s so-called sanctuary state law.
Chronic Venous Insufficiency: The White House said that Trump had been diagnosed with the condition, which occurs when veins have trouble moving blood back to the heart.
Wind and Solar Projects: The Trump administration said that it would apply new layers of political review to the projects, potentially creating hurdles for renewable energy developments across the country.
Medical Debt on Credit Reports: In another blow to Biden-era financial regulations, a federal judge has blocked a rule intended to make it easier for many Americans to get loans by removing medical debt from credit reports.
Prosecutor’s Firing: Maurene Comey, a career federal prosecutor who worked on the Jeffrey Epstein case and was abruptly fired by the Trump administration, implored her colleagues not to give into fear, calling it “the tool of a tyrant.”
MTV and the Trump-Era Fame Factory: Thirty years ago, “Road Rules” sent camera-friendly kids on a first-of-its-kind road trip, turbocharging the reality TV machine that feeds culture today.
How We Report on the Trump Administration
Hundreds of readers asked about our coverage of the president. Times editors and reporters responded to some of the most common questions.
1 comment:
Cut taxes and government, encourage money hoarding the likes of which humanity has never seen. Keep healthcare and money in the hands of the strong. The weak man will have to pay a price. Go from strength to weakness because of some twist of fate? You're gonna have to pay a price. The right wing is survival of the fittest.
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