Slashdot Mirror


The White House Now Has Zero Science Advisors (cbsnews.com)

DogDude shares an article from CBS News: The science division of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy was unstaffed as of Friday as the three remaining employees departed this week, sources tell CBS News... On Friday afternoon, Eleanor Celeste, the assistant director for biomedical and forensic sciences at the OSTP, tweeted, "Science division out. Mic drop" before leaving the office for the last time...

Under Mr. Obama, the science division was staffed with nine employees who led the charge on policy issues such as STEM education, biotechnology and crisis response. It's possible that the White House will handle these issues through staff in other divisions within the OSTP.

26 of 405 comments (clear)

  1. The New Formula by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A government of the idiots, by the idiots and for the idiots.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    1. Re: The New Formula by WarJolt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The government is there to serve the people. It's progressively become more about leading the people.

      There are plenty generous scientists in public and private institutions that can do the proper research, so that the government can be accurately informed.

      If DT had science advisors they would simply serve his agenda anyway. The same stuff happens with Democrats.

      Let the thinking happen outside of government. Pubic universities are a exception because they have some amount of autonomy from the government political bull shit. Professors don't have to worry about reelection. There are plenty of private institutions that don't have political agendas as well. Keep the government serving the people. Not leading it.

      That means limiting the power of the President. Democrats and Republicans in all branches of government don't have to represent anyone when you let loose the reins.

    2. Re:The New Formula by RazorSharp · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You [Americans]n (assuming you are), are always proud of your system.

      Your whole post relies on this incorrect generalization. While it may be true for some, it's not true for the whole. While some Americans shed blood attempting to export our political system, others protested both the shedding of blood and the political system itself.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
    3. Re:The New Formula by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      YES.

      --
      Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
    4. Re: The New Formula by gtall · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is no clear line between serving and leading. An example is EPA and the Superfund cleanups. If we were to wait until the "people" figured out what to do, we'd still be waiting. You forget private institutions have their own biases. Care to call the tobacco industry fair minded and interested in the public weal?

    5. Re:The New Formula by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Uh, no. The idiots voted for trump. They are stupid because they still approve of him despite his every attempt to gouge them and take away what he promised they'd be getting more of so that he can get cashback from his presidency as well as all his elitist friends, and despite having populated the whitehouse WITH the swamp rather than draining it.

      So, yes, the idiots DID vote for trump.

    6. Re:The New Formula by crashumbc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You don't believe that? do you? wow....

      FYI, there's so much "charitable" giving in the US because we don't take care of basic needs...

    7. Re: The New Formula by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      I realize that you were trying to be funny / smarmy.

      As a (gay) jew, I felt like an enemy to the Obama administration. They supported and condoned people who want me dead. They constantly blew the "Anti Isreal Not Anti Jew" dog whistle, culminating in the disgusting joinder between his administration and Iran... A country who literally has codified murdering Jews (and gays, and non-believers, and uppity women) into their barbaric laws.

      You try to associate Trump with antisemitism, but he isn't. In fact, I feel more safe and proud of my country under him than any other time in my life.

      Yes, he's a vulgar, bragging asshole... But he's also honest about where he stands. When he says that he stands with the Jews, unlike Obama (who didn't), I know that he does. His actions speak more loudly than your lies.

    8. Re:The New Formula by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A government of the idiots, by the idiots and for the idiots.

      It appears that Trump's mental health may really be in question. Is there no one that can order him to sit a professional exam with a team of non partisan psychiatrists?

      I'm not fan of pence either. He might get all kinds of things I hate done, but he does appear to at least be mentally stable and at this point that is looking like an improvement. We can't have all this crap going on in a rather dangerous world and have someone mentally unfit in charge. This time it may be a hell of a lot worse than 9/11.

      They attacked Obama for everything they could possibly think to do so, real or imagined, and he didn't once loose his cool or act unpresidential. Hell his biggest mistake might have been the red line with no response. His options sucked then and they still do, but responding was required. Beyond that he didn't make the personal relationships required to get some things done, but then half the congress was perfectly fine with whatever shit was being shoveled, including by the chief birther who strangely enough became our president. Trump is still attacking Obama with made up crap left/right and center and Obama doesn't even respond, which I think is a mistake, but it is a hell of a lot better than Trump's actions.

      Trump has gotten around the world something like a 22% approval rating. The only country that likes him is Russia, and that is because Putin is propping up his investment there, most likely in the hope that he can last long enough to do a lot more damage to our country.

      The US is supposed to be the leader of the free world, but right now we are anything but... Not leading on the climate. Not leading in equality (muslim ban), Not leading in opportunity (mexicans are rapists and we must build a wall), Not leading on health care (going backward), Not leading on science (the office in the white house now has 0 staff.), Not leading on Innovation (coal appears to get more support than newer techologies), Not leading on the environment ( rolling back regulations left and right, without even any real analysis if it is a good idea), Not leading on transparency (no tax returns, still taking money at trump properties, no real divestment, tax cuts planned will likely directly benefit Trump and his companies, health care bill created in secret, limiting video and time at daily briefs, saying questions will be answered but never actually answering them.)

      Hell about the only thing the current admin is leading on is bullshit. In that we have made America #1. It is all rather sad.

    9. Re:The New Formula by dunkelfalke · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Stop drinking the KoolAid. USA protects oil supplies for themselves only. And before you blabber about "but but but we don't import oil from the Middle East": oil market is a global commodity market and it matters fuck all whence a country imports its oil. If a country in the Middle East stops pumping it out of the ground, your gas prices will soar. And as for fighting wars in the Middle East: most of them are the ones you have started in first place.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    10. Re: The New Formula by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No one said Trump was a Antisemite. His advisories and appointees however, are well known for blatant examples of it. Personally I don't give a fuck about that part of the world. Ditto on "the gays" and commies, etc. What hitler did was bad, sure, it now much of a direct impact on me.

      I'm white, and I have a couple extra bucks. But I'm young enough that the damage this grifter is doing is negatively impacting even my future. Hes making the world more dangerous, faster. He is a con man who employs many, though not exclusively, other cons. Even his friend Howard Stern is admitting that Trumps psyche is cracking more and more.

      The man is a danger to himself and others.

    11. Re: The New Formula by meglon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So you agree with all the neo-Nazi's in this country that Trump is a great savior for the white man. Think about that.

      --
      Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
    12. Re: The New Formula by CGordy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Iran is (unfairly) vilified in the US press, ever since the overthrow of the Shah. The reality is, Saudi Arabia is far more repressive and brutal towards minorities, but because they are a US ally it is ignored.

      On a personal note, I know plenty of Iranian women. Most of them I would argue are "uppity", but they also happily travel back to Iran every year or two on holidays.

    13. Re: The New Formula by Comen · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The same stuff happens with Democrats.

      Not really, it seems to me Republicans hate Government and want to make it smaller, so that it gets out of the way of the companies making money, so they purposely put people in charge that are bad at the position and want it to fail, sometimes these people are even outspoken about not liking the section of government they manage. There is always and will always be corruption in government because money corrupts. But I do not see both sides the same at all.

  2. Efficiency by Tulsa_Time · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Maybe there are plenty of advisers available in the Tens of Thousands of Government employees at the Dozens of various agencies...

    No need to pay twice.

    --
    5 out of 6 people enjoy Russian Roulette & 6 out of 7 Dwarfs are not Happy
  3. not all utopian cooperativeness on this planet by supernova87a · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know that we would like to view every country on Earth as occupants of this cooperative spaceship that has to sustain humanity, and therefore in a sense it doesn't matter all that much that we get set back by one country slowing its science progress for a few years...

    But in reality...

    It's still a race for competitive advantage between countries, and seriously, the Chinese, Indians, Singaporeans, etc.etc are going to start eating our lunch, guys (even more than they are) -- and every move we make gets us forward or back a step in the race against them.

    I think a lot of people don't want to admit this winner-takes-all reality... especially if they grow up in a highly liberal California environment where everyone is supposed to be nice to each other...

  4. Re:Kind, compassionate idiots by jeremyp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And yet, when it comes to providing healthcare for all US citizens, it's "fuck them, why should I pay for other people's healthcare".

    No, you aren't compassionate and generous.

    --
    All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  5. Re:How many in NASA under Obama? by mean+pun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >

    Look, Trump already has a scientist he can refer to if so be. His name is Ben Carson. And he is as good as anyone Obama had working for him.

    You mean the genius that claimed that the pyramids were there to store grain? See https://www.theguardian.com/us...

  6. Re:Kind, compassionate idiots by gtall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You mean the Republicans have the "fuck them" attitude. The Democrats finally bit the bullet and raised taxes to attempt to cover the proles. Now if they hadn't relied on the insurance companies, they'd have done much better.

  7. Re:Kind, compassionate idiots by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We helped Europe deal with Nazi Germany

    I'm not quite sure how fighting the Axis after being attacked by it counts as generous.

    But anyway, the US has done many good, generous things, many neutral things and many rather awful, self-interested things.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  8. Re:What? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1, Insightful

    FTFA

    All of the work that we have been doing is still being done," a White House official familiar with the matter told CBS News, adding that 35 staffers currently work across the OSTP

    The summary/headline is #FakeNews. There are still 35 employees in the Office of Science and Technology POLICY who can focus on political machinations regarding science and tech. They will keep churning out political position papers related to tech, and sponsoring initiatives that cost lots of money - and do nothing to fund or advance basic science research. But hey, we can have more LGBTQWTFBBQ humans hired in "STEM" roles based upon their non-academic/professional successes but solely on those things we're not supposed to judge people by: race, religion, and gender.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  9. Re:How many in NASA under Obama? by mean+pun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And he's still easily as good as or not better than anyone Obama had.

    Obama was a crappy president running on feel-good SJW bull. His singular accomplishment was ruining the US healthcare system, something we're still trying to recover from. Ben Carson is easily better than literally anyone Obama had working for him.

    This is where any dialog simply breaks down. You either believe this, and you're just bonkers; you're trolling, and I am sorry you don't have anything interesting to do in your life; or you're shilling, and I can only hope you reincarnate as something highly educational.

  10. Why do you think I got OUT of public service? by buss_error · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For more than a decade, I tried to serve the public good by working in the public sector. I finally got fed up with the shit pay, the shit I got when people found out I worked in the government (called a pig at the trough, incompetent, stupid, lazy, a drone, had my car vandalized multiple times, threaten with death on a weekly basis, and assaulted) and got a job in the private sector that pays one hell of a lot better.

    The key here is that there is now a majority of people that think science and engineering are "just someone's opinion." That is true to a limited extent that it is indeed an opinion - but it's an opinion formed from training, intense study, experience, and perseverance. These opinions are not something someone pulls out of their ass.

    The current administration was elected by the sorts of people that deny scientific opinion because it conflicts with their world view. The sorts of folks that think welfare is for the lazy the drug addicted, and cheats. Of course the white house science department has no employees. The people that elected this administration do not value science, compassion, empathy, or Christian Values, despite many of them calling themselves Christians. They are not Christians. At best they mistake their fear and anger for piety, their selfishness, lack of compassion and imagination as "being strong". These attitudes serve no one but the top 1%. The key here is that if you read this, you will never be one of the top 1%.

    "The world isn't fair" is an excuse I hear a lot, which is true, life frequently isn't fair. Evil prospers when good men do nothing. There's nothing like doing nothing to ensure that life will remain unfair, and uncaring.

    --
    Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
  11. Re:Kind, compassionate idiots by StevenMaurer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It was the Republicans and the Dems BOTH who shot down Hillary's Single Payer Health Care Bill

    Wasting time introducing internet kooks to facts is an endless wast of time, but just FYI, "Hillary-care" as it was called, was not exactly single payer. That is part of the reason why the Sanders wing of the Democratic party wasn't all that enchanted with her in 2016.

    It did have the vast majority of Democrats behind it, and Republicans were absolutely terrified that it would prove to the public that the government can solve problems that private markets can't find profit in solving.

    Prominent opposition to the Clinton plan was led by William Kristol and his policy group Project for the Republican Future, which is widely credited with orchestrating the plan's defeat through a series of now legendary "policy memos" faxed to Republican leaders.

    The long-term political effects of a successful... health care bill will be even worse—much worse.... It will revive the reputation of... Democrats as the generous protector of middle-class interests. And it will at the same time strike a punishing blow against Republican claims to defend the middle class by restraining government.

    —William Kristol, "Defeating President Clinton's Healthcare Proposal", December 1993

  12. Re:Is science listed in the constitution? by meglon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The constitution also states we should only have a standing army during an invasion or insurrection.... but never lasting more than 2 years. It says nothing about an Air Force. It does say a standing Navy, but not a separate Marine Corp. So what you're saying is, we need to disband the entire Army (they've been active more than 2 years now), remove all our military members from all other countries, eliminate all of our Air Force, and move the Marines back into the Navy's chain of command.

    OR, are you saying, you don't even know what's in the Constitution, but you just have to bring it up to try to use it's authority to make your ignorance seem useful?

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  13. Re:How many in NASA under Obama? by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Obama really did screw up healthcare royally by creating a system where insurance will pay for healthcare no matter the cost.

    Health care is screwed up because of insurance companies, which manipulate the system and wind up making it more expensive for everyone; and because of politicians' relationship with Big Pharma, which also makes the system more expensive for everyone. Obamacare wrote the insurance companies into the law, but they were already insinuated into the system so he didn't actually put them there. What he did was completely fail to get them out. What we need is a single payer system which doesn't include them at all. It doesn't really matter whether that's Medicare expansion or some other system, but the insurance companies and the deep relationship with big pharma have got to go. Unfortunately, Clinton has lots of big pharma money in her pockets, and she has said that single payer will never happen, so she was not the answer. Sanders supported single payer, but the DNC wouldn't let us vote for him for president, so we got Trump and Trumpcare instead. You can blame the DNC for both of those things, since the polls showed that Sanders could beat Trump, and Clinton couldn't.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"