[continued from previous message]   
      
   > data.   
   >   
   > DOGE has, however, created a lot of chaos. Stories keep surfacing of sudden   
   > dismissals of government workers who turn out to fulfill crucial functions,   
   > followed by desperate attempts to hire them back. Agencies the public   
   > depends on, like Social Security, are fraying at the seams, with more and   
   > more tales of beneficiaries missing their checks, then finding it nearly   
   > impossible to get help.   
   >   
   > The monetary hit many Americans are about to take is one thing, but if you   
   > ask me, the psychological damage of this sabotage will go beyond the loss   
   > 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.   
   > TRENDING STORIES   
   > 1.   
   > Trump Spreads Bizarre Conspiracy Theory That Biden Was Executed and   
   > Replaced by a Robot Clone   
   > 2.   
   > How Taylor Won   
   > 3.   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)