Oil and distraction
Trump attacks Venezuela

anntelnaes.substack.com/p/oil-and-di...

The FIFA Peace Prize used to mean something

My take on #venezuela for @nytopinion.nytimes.com

Sen Patty Murray (D-WA):

“If there are any adults left in the White House, it’s well past time they face reality… We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired.”

Attacks on science are attacks on making and keeping America great: op-ed "Our American scientific engine ... is good for the economy, it improves lives, and it’s one of the true wonders of the world."

“Our American scientific engine, the NIH and NSF, built with the future in mind, is good for the economy, it improves lives, and it’s one of the true wonders of the world. And I am heartbroken to say that today it is under attack.” – excellent op-ed by neuroscientist @visscherlab.bsky.social

Another priority, according to Vought, was to “defund” certain independent federal agencies and demonize career civil servants, which include scientists and subject matter experts. Project 2025’s plan to revive Schedule F, an attempt to make it easier to fire a large swath of government workers who currently have civil service protections, aligns with Vought’s vision. “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” he said. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down so that the EPA can't do all of the rules against our energy industry because they have no bandwidth financially to do so. “We want to put them in trauma.”

Who is Russell Vought?

“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” he said. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains....We want to put them in trauma.”

www.propublica.org/article/vide...

Chair Rodgers Unveils Framework for NIH Reform, Requests Stakeholder Input The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing com...

Thanks to @drugmonkey.bsky.social I've now seen this report from 2024 with concrete suggestions for NIH reform - I did not clock it at the time. I did not have time for a deep dive but a few glaring things, um, stuck out. 🧵 (1/6) #NIHgrants

energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chair-...

Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review The agencies are charged with making decisions that touch the lives of every American and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers.

New: Trump officials have paused all external communications at health agencies like CDC, FDA, NIH.

No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts.

And no indication how long the pause will last.

With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.

Why I'm quitting the Washington Post Democracy can't function without a free press

Her full, eloquent explanation here: anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui...

a graphic that says Scientists we need you, then an old school rotary phone that has a speech bubble saying "talk with classrooms across the globe" and a bulleted list Volunteer for 1-5 Q&As per semester Get matched with the right teacher for you via email 35+ categories of scientist, from squid to space It’s free for teachers" and then "sign up at skypeascientist.com"

Scientists!

We are trying to get 1000 of us into the volunteer database by Jan 1.

You'll be volunteering to speak with classrooms over video chat about your work, and answer their questions! You can volunteer for up to 5 sessions per semester.

Sign up here! www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Elon Musk takes aim at Wikipedia The billionaire has become one of the most prominent supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.

If you've never donated to Wikipedia, now's the time. Elon Musk is attacking it because it's one of the only sources of honest, curated information that he can't control.
www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-ta...

Academic Director, The Duke Lemur Center | Office of Interdisciplinary Studies Background and Context The Duke Lemur Center (DLC) in Durham, N.C., is a unique institution dedicated to the study and care of the world’s most endangered and biologicall

📣We are searching for an ~Academic Director~ for the Duke Lemur Center - center w/ largest population of lemurs outside Madagascar-See description at link below. Msg me or @neurocircuits.bsky.social if any Qs. Pls repost!
#lemurs
#primatology

interdisciplinary.duke.edu/opportunitie...

My team has a new opening for a 2025 internship in Redmond. Experience with (binaural) speech perception models is a plus. DM me here or on LinkedIn.