[continued from previous message]   
      
   of money. Even if seniors, veterans, and others who depend on government   
   aid eventually get what theyve been promised, many will go through long   
   periods of panic and frustration because theyll never know when or if   
   theyll be helped.   
      
   Moreover, the federal government isnt a bloated, pointless bureaucracy. It   
   is, instead, largely staffed by millions of good people who care about   
   their jobs  often working for much lower salaries than they could make in   
   the private sector. Subjecting them to arbitrary firings and treating them   
   with contempt amounts to destroying a valuable public asset.   
      
   As with Trumps tariffs, much of this damage will be irreversible. Even if   
   DOGE is eventually shut down and the tech bros sent home in disgrace, how   
   many of the dedicated civil servants weve lost will come back? How many   
   young people will be willing to enter government service, knowing what   
   happened to their predecessors?   
      
   The pretty good federal government we had just four months ago has been   
   degraded, and it may take decades to restore it.   
   The War on Knowledge   
      
   America leads the world in science and intellectual inquiry of all kinds.   
   Or it did a few months ago. Its hard to overstate the devastation Trump has   
   wrought since then.   
      
   I dont know how many people realize the extent to which the Trump   
   administration has already brought scientific research in America to a   
   screeching halt. The 2026 budget proposal released by the administration   
   would cut funding for the National Institutes of Health by 40 percent and   
   funding for the National Science Foundation by more than half.   
   We may see 15 million or more people losing insurance by the time this   
   budget goes into effect.   
      
   But support for research has already dried up well in advance of the next   
   fiscal year. On April 30, NSF staffers were instructed to stop awarding all   
   funding actions until further notice. This doesnt just mean no new grants,   
   it means no disbursement of increments of money on existing grants. Worse,   
   the NIH appears to be ghosting grantees  not formally canceling their   
   grants but simply failing to send the promised funds.   
      
   Nor is the war on science just about money. Everywhere you look theres a   
   push to shut down any research that MAGA types think is woke or touches on   
   DEI. This doesnt have to mean, say, gender studies. It could mean any study   
   that might provide evidence for climate change or suggest that vaccines   
   work and dont cause autism. This is a frontal assault on intellectual   
   inquiry of any kind.   
      
   Here, too much of the damage is likely to be permanent. Even if a future   
   administration were to restore funding and end the campaign against   
   perceived wokeness, who will want to begin a major research project in a   
   nation that behaves this way? How many leading scientists  or talented   
   foreign students  will want to accept positions at U. S. universities   
   knowing that theyre one election away from persecution, maybe even arrest?   
   As far as science is concerned, the American century may well be over.   
   Cryptos New Gilded Age   
      
   One of the more surprising developments deserves mention: the Trumpian   
   boosting and exploitation of cryptocurrency. It may seem hard to believe,   
   but Bitcoin is an elderly idea as informational technologies go: It was   
   created in 2008, which makes it almost as old as the iPhone. In all the   
   years since, the vast legions of cryptocurrency salesmen have failed to   
   find any real economic role for their products. Most legitimate businesses   
   dont accept payment in crypto, even in countries like El Salvador that have   
   spent large sums trying to promote the digital currency.   
      
   But illegitimate business, where being able to transfer large sums that   
   legal authorities cant track, is another matter. Cryptocurrencies,   
   especially stablecoins like Tether, have come to play a huge role in   
   criminal activity, especially in blackmail and extortion.   
      
   Now, crypto has found an even more remarkable use: bribery, with useless   
   $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins being used to transfer billions to the president   
   and his family, likely in return for influence. The president even threw a   
   party for crypto enthusiasts, charging them $1 million for the pleasure of   
   his company. It all makes the corruption of the Gilded Age look petty and   
   quaint.   
   The Triumph of Resentment   
      
   The obvious question, given this landscape of devastation, is one of   
   motive. Why are Trump and those around him doing this?   
      
   Quite a few people on the U. S. left and even the center-left hold the   
   Bernie Sanders view: What were seeing is government by and for oligarchs.   
   That is, were looking at a cabal of billionaires who want to get even   
   richer. They want to slash government spending, especially spending that   
   helps the vulnerable, to make room for tax cuts. They want to dismantle   
   government so it can be privatized, with contracts going to them and their   
   friends.   
      
   Theres clearly something to that. But I dont think thats the whole story.   
   It doesnt explain the trade war, which hurts almost everyone. It doesnt   
   explain why these people want to make infectious disease great again and   
   destroy American science.   
      
   What I think is happening is the triumph of resentment. Try reading Trumps   
   Truth Social posts, or Musks tweets, or RFK Jr. s speeches, and the   
   overwhelming impression you get is that these are angry, insecure people.   
   Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a   
   Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist   
   inspired/supporting Sickness? Trump said on Truth Social. Does this sound   
   like a rational policymaker? Or like someone with a grudge?   
      
   These men clearly arent suffering from economic anxiety. Theyre wealthy and   
   hold positions of great power, and are likely enriching themselves through   
   epic corruption as we speak. Yet anyone whos spent time around men in   
   privileged positions knows how easy it is for some of them to feel bitter   
   and angry, despite lives 99.9 percent of the population would envy, because   
   privilege isnt as fulfilling as they thought it would be. (Hey, Ive spent   
   much of my life around elite academics, and I see it all the time. )   
      
   The common feature of MAGAs leading figures is that they appear to feel   
   that they have, as Trump would put it, been treated very badly. Trump   
   senses that many people consider him an ignorant boor, and it drives him   
   crazy. Musk is furious that he no longer receives the admiration he did   
   when Tesla was cool. RFK Jr. seems determined to prove that he isnt the   
   crank he is.   
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   I would argue that almost all of the administrations policies have been   
   shaped by this resentment. Trump is going wild on tariffs in large part to   
   get back at economists who think they know how these things work better   
   than a real-estate developer who doesnt read much. Musk wrecked the federal   
   government to prove that he really is a genius who understands everything   
   better than anyone else. RFK is destroying medical research to silence   
   anyone who might contradict his snake oil.   
      
   Obviously theres something deeply wrong with a body politic that could put   
   such people in power. I do, however, have enough faith in America to   
   believe that their reign will eventually end. In the meantime, however,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)