Update. Statement from #TheLancet in response to recent US executive orders
https://www.thelancet.com/editorial-policies#anchor10

"The Lancet Group will be making no changes to our editorial policies regarding withdrawal, authorship change, inclusive language, or retraction. Ahead of publication, the withdrawal of submitted papers and authorship changes will only generally be considered if the written agreement of all authors is received. The Lancet Group will continue to recommend the use of inclusive language, accepting authors’ ultimate choice of terminology when it is scientifically accurate and respectful, and will continue to encourage authors to follow the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) reporting guidelines. Published papers will only be corrected or retracted when they contain factual errors or if scientific misconduct has taken place. These policies are in line with recently issued guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [#ICMJE]."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #Medicine #ScholComm #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "Farmers Sue Over Deletion of Climate Data From Government Websites"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/climate/agriculture-farmer-website-data-lawsuit.html

"Organic farmers and environmental groups sued the Agriculture Department on Monday over its scrubbing of references to #climate change from its website…That included websites containing data sets, interactive tools and funding information that farmers and researchers relied on for planning and adaptation projects, according to the lawsuit…Peter Lehner, a lawyer for #Earthjustice, said the pages being purged were crucial for farmers facing risks linked to climate change, including heat waves, droughts, floods, extreme weather and wildfires."

#Agriculture #Censorship #DefendResearch #Litigation #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "On March 7, 2025, we [Stand Up For Science] rally [in Washington DC] to defend science as a public good…We call on policymakers, institutions, and the scientific community to uphold the integrity of science, protect its accessibility, and ensure its benefits serve all people. To achieve this, we seek the following policy actions.
1. Secure and Expand Scientific Funding…
2. End Censorship and Political Interference in Science…
3. Defend Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Science."
https://standupforscience2025.org/our-policy-goals/

#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump."
https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-archives-firings-layoffs-historical-recordkeeping-559027fdd2f634263bea7774a78d66fe

"The president didn’t give a public reason for firing archivist Colleen Shogan, but he has long held a grudge against the agency for notifying the Justice Department of his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office following his first term…A Trump-aligned archivist might also be less inclined to enforce the Presidential Records Act or ask questions if Trump leaves office with troves of classified documents, said Norm Eisen, executive chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #NARA #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "Will They Come for PubMed Next?"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/114383

"PubMed is the backbone of biomedical research in the U.S. That's not an exaggeration…However, there are reasons to be extremely concerned about its continued existence…There are [at least five] ways the administration could interfere with PubMed."

PS: Although the author mixes up #PubMed and #PubMedCentral, her concerns apply to both.

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "The Rise (and Fall?) of the National Science Foundation"
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-national-science-foundation
(#paywalled)

"The #Trump administration’s assault on the #NSF represents precisely the kind of political interference [#VannevarBush] sought to prevent — one that threatens not only scientific progress but also the very foundation of academic freedom."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "Déclaration visant à défendre la recherche contre la censure du gouvernement américain"
https://www.redactionmedicale.fr/2025/02/declaration-visant-a-defendre-la-recherche-contre-la-censure-du-gouvernement-americain

Thanks to Herve Maisonneuve for his French translation of the key recommendations of the Feb 13 Declaration To Defend Research Against U.S. Government Censorship. He adds this good conclusion: "We are free to consider that these initiatives are useless… but [signing them] allows us to support colleagues who cannot express themselves in public."

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Thanks to @georgetown for making this public statement.
https://president.georgetown.edu/messages/what-we-stand-for-feb-2025/

"I know that the rapidly evolving external environment is unsettling to many in the community. Some of us have received directives to stop our research activities; some of our students have had job offerings rescinded; some have read repeated external communications that question the value of their work…We promote scholarship freely based on inquiring minds…We do not conduct these activities alongside our mission; they are the essence of our mission…Be assured that we are actively tracking all developments as they occur, assessing whether they affect our mission’s work, quickly partnering with those community members affected, and supporting them as they navigate change."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Trump #Universities #USPol #USPolitics

Update. A new editorial in Nature: "Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00562-w

"How, then, should those of us who are part of the global enterprise of education, health, science and engineering respond? One priority must be to denounce these actions, to shout about their negative effects, to support researchers and to defend their ability to work and study without fear for their jobs. Understandably, those working at — or even leading — federal agencies might feel that they cannot speak up, but researchers at other organizations, such as universities, scientific societies, businesses, labour unions and campaign groups have more freedom, and must exercise it by showing support for affected colleagues."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Reminder from #Trump's first term (2017): Trump’s budget director pick: “Do we really need government-funded research at all”
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/21/14012552/trump-budget-director-research-science-mulvaney

"President Donald #Trump recently picked Rep. Mick #Mulvaney…to head the White House’s Office of Management and Budget [#OMB]…In a stunning September 9 Facebook post (that’s since been deleted but is still cached), Mulvaney asked, '... what might be the best question: do we really need government funded research at all.'"

#DefendResearch #Funding #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel"
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cdc-who-publication-memo_n_67c1eb34e4b0bf54864084cf

"Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [#CDC] have been prohibited from co-authoring publications with World Health Organization [#WHO] staff, dealing a blow to global research efforts and continuing the #Trump administration’s aggressive attack on government-funded science."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. The #NIH web site is down.
https://www.nih.gov/

It's been up and down, but mostly down, since before noon yesterday.
https://downdetector.com/status/nih/

I don't know what's going on but will post updates as I find them.

#DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "RFK Jr. issues rule barring public comment on #HHS rulemaking"
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5170090-rfk-jr-hhs-public-comment-rulemaking-ends/

"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday released a policy prohibiting public comments during his department’s rulemaking process, ending more than 50 years of the public’s involvement in crafting his department’s rules…After assuming office, Kennedy had vowed to usher in “radical transparency” at the HHS…Lawrence O. Gostin, faculty director of O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center…speculated that Kennedy was rescinding public comments in order to quickly “ram through” radical changes to health care, public health and scientific research in the U.S."

#DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. The #NIH site is back up.
https://www.nih.gov/

The reports of it being down have plummeted to near zero.
https://downdetector.com/status/nih/

But I'm still looking for a good explanation of what happened.

#Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Therese Choquette ran searches on #PubMed and may have found gaps corresponding to terms banned by the #Trump admin.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/therese-choquette-former-vallerskog-1531132_pubmed-activity-7301996327691816961-afAN?rcm=ACoAAADEjlkBbyOxuygZagmqeEC6540rx1UQQSs

PS: Unfortunately she compared US PubMed with Europe PubMed Central, which is apples to oranges. (PubMed is metadata-only and PMC is full text.) Can we crowdsource some systematic searches comparing (1) PubMed now with PubMed before Trump, e.g. in the Wayback Machine, and (2) US PMC with Europe PMC?

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "48 Scientific Societies Representing Almost 100,000 Scientists Ask Congress to Protect the Future of Science"
https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/scientists-ask-congress-protect-future-science

"[48] scientific societies…representing almost 100,000 scientists from diverse disciplines, have sent a letter, organized by the #UCS, to members of Congress demanding that they protect federally funded scientific research and federal scientists. The letter is open so the number of signers may continue to grow."

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Here's the open letter mentioned in the previous post (this thread).
https://ucs-documents.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/science-network/Scientific-Society-Sign-On-Letter-signed-2-28-25.pdf

"We, the undersigned professional scientific societies, associations, and organizations, are writing to ask you to take immediate action to protect and restore life-saving and essential scientific research that…[is] funded by American taxpayers and authorized by Congress and cannot be unilaterally halted by the executive branch."

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. It's just a coincidence that the newer open letter to Congress in the previous post, this thread (nd but approx March 3) …
https://ucs-documents.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/science-network/Scientific-Society-Sign-On-Letter-signed-2-28-25.pdf

… and this older letter (nd but approx Feb 17) …
https://unitedsciencealliance.org/

… were both initially signed by 48 scientific societies. They're different letters, organized by different groups, and signed by (mostly) different societies.

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. The American Physical Society (#APS, @apsphysics) is running a survey on the impact of cuts to US science #funding. Please take it if you're affected or likely to be affected.
https://apsphysics.fillout.com/t/6ESUva3vwGus

"This survey collects stories showcasing the transformative positive impact of #NSF, #NIST, #DOE, #NASA, and #DOD-funded research and programs as well as what would be lost if support for basic research evaporates. You can document your experiences and share how recent executive actions have impacted you. Individual stories will be only be used publicly with permission or when fully anonymized."

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "US science is under threat ― now scientists are fighting back"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00661-8

"The courts temporarily halted some of the Trump administration’s orders, but a coherent message has broken through: federal support for science is in danger. Gradually, scientists began to stir, Varga says: “They’re realizing now that doing any one thing is better than doing nothing.” That activism is taking many forms...."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Funding #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "‘Omg, did #PubMed go dark?’ Blackout stokes fears about database’s future"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00674-3

"The NIH told Nature in an e-mail that, on 1 March 'some of NIH public-web services experienced service disruptions' but all services were restored on 2 March. 'NIH is committed to resilient and open access to PubMed and other NIH web services,' the team wrote. But [Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious-diseases physician] says any disruption — even if temporary — raises concerns about how researchers access essential scientific information. 'It also serves as a reminder of the need for contingency plans, such as alternative #repositories or offline access to critical research, to ensure that health-care providers and researchers are not left without crucial information when they need it most,' she says."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #OpenInfrastructure #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "EDGI Relaunches Federal Environmental Web Tracker"
https://envirodatagov.org/press-release-edgi-relaunches-federal-environmental-web-tracker/

"In response to the #Trump administration’s rapid dismantling of federal websites, the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (#EDGI) has relaunched its Federal Environmental Web Tracker…The… Tracker makes records of significant changes to federal environmental websites publicly available in a searchable database…Since the first Trump administration, EDGI has monitored thousands of federal environmental webpages. Partners at the #InternetArchive download these webpages every day, and EDGI’s #OpenSource software compares versions of these webpages to identify differences."

#Censorship #Climate #DefendResearch #Environment #Monitoring #Preservation #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Update. An editorial in _Annals of Internal Medicine_ responds to "Political Action That Threatens the Integrity of Medical Research."
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-00985

"The editors have given a great deal of thought to actions Annals can take to counter some of this damage. Following an executive order that limited the ability of health agency staff to communicate externally, we quickly published all manuscripts with government-affiliated authors that were accepted but awaiting publication before we could receive a request to withdraw them. As a member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [#ICMJE], Annals helped develop and strongly endorses the guidance it posted in early February 2025 relevant to journals' responses to requests to withdraw, revise, or alter authorship of manuscripts in process at scientific journals. To date, we are unaware of any request to retract published articles that include banned terms or address issues the U.S. administration deems unsavory. If we receive such requests, Annals will not honor them. Retraction is warranted only when there is clear evidence of major errors or scientific misconduct that seriously compromise research findings."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Kudos to Aix Marseille University (@univamu_europe), for funding "American Scientists Who Fear #Trump #Censorship"
https://www.404media.co/french-university-to-fund-american-scientists-who-fear-trump-censorship/

"A leading French university is inviting American scientists who fear their research on subjects like #climate might be censored by Donald Trump’s administration to do their work in France. The program is called ‘safe place for science,’ and will provide 15 million Euros in funding for some 15 researchers over a 3-year period…It targets, but is not limited to, climate and environment, health, and human and social sciences."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00703-1

"In an unprecedented move, the US #NIH has begun mass terminations of research grants that fund active scientific projects because they no longer meet “agency priorities.” NIH staff members have been instructed to identify and potentially cancel grants for projects studying transgender populations, #gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion (#DEI) in the scientific workforce, [or] #environmentaljustice…Grants that allot funding to universities in #China and those related to #climate change are also under scrutiny. 'It’s extremely alarming that grants that have been vetted by the scientific community and deemed important and impactful to understand the world are now being cancelled because of political ideology,' says Lisa Fazio, a cognitive psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who studies misinformation. 'For all this talk about free speech, this is direct censorship of scientific research.'"

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Funding #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. The Stand Up For Science rally starts in two hours (noon ET).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T5CnzeVD5T-2GpeicyvWJYluRWCtaayW/view

"Since being launched in mid-February, Stand Up for Science has transformed into a national movement with international support. Our primary goal: defending science as a public good and central pillar of social progress. On March 7th, we will host official events mobilizing scientists and science advocates in Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and 28 other cities around the United States....But March 7th is just the beginning. Our policy goals include a restoration of federal scientific funding, the reinstatement of wrongfully terminated employees at federal agencies, an end to governmental interference and censorship in science, and a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science. We are also committed to empowering scientists–and anyone who has benefited from scientific advancements–to engage in sustained advocacy in the years to come."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #standupforscience2025 #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "‘Scientists will not be silenced’: thousands protest Trump research cuts"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00704-0

"Thousands of researchers and supporters of science protested in cities across the US and Europe today against actions taken by the administration of US President Donald #Trump to cut the US scientific workforce and slash spending on research worldwide…Marie Walde, a biophysicist at the Roscoff Biological Station in France, posted about a rally she attended…saying: “In solidarity with our colleagues in the US, researchers and citizens all over France are protesting today for science and knowledge as a public good.” … Since taking office in January, Trump and his team have laid off, and in some cases then tried to rehire, thousands from US science agencies, whose jobs touched on nuclear safety, bird flu surveillance, extreme-weather forecasting and more."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Funding #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Heard at yesterday's Stand Up For Science rally in Washington.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/healthpolicy/114556

Francis Collins, former director of the #NIH: "99% of new drug approvals depended…on NIH research…So the industry has a lot to lose if federal investment is damaged. It would be good to hear more about that from pharmaceutical company leaders -- just saying."

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD.). Said he was glad to be in a crowd with so many "mad scientists… Everybody in America should be mad…about what we are witnessing right now in our country, including the illegal and reckless attacks on science by Elon #Musk and the #Trump administration."

Former Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). When he and his colleagues introduced the 21st Century Cures Act in 2015, it included $45 billion in additional health research funding for NIH and FDA. At the time, they had support from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). "You see, diseases don't impact just Republicans or Democrats. It [sic] impacts all of us."

Bill Nye the Science Guy. "We demand that scientists not be censored, that there be legal safeguards to prevent political interference in their research and they be enabled to communicate their findings freely."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Selected additional coverage of the March 7 Stand Up For Science rally in Washington and across the country:

Scientists Are Rising Up to Resist Trump Policies, Inside Climate News, March 6
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06032025/stand-up-for-science-marches-resist-trump-policies/

‘Enough is enough’: Scientists from UCLA, USC protest Trump’s policy changes, LA Times, March 7
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-03-07/stand-up-for-science-los-angeles-protest-trump-cuts

Thousands gather across U.S. and world in Stand Up for Science events, Science, March 7
https://www.science.org/content/article/thousands-gather-across-u-s-stand-science-events

Out of the lab and into the streets, researchers and doctors rally for science against Trump cuts, AP, March 7
https://apnews.com/article/science-doctors-cuts-budget-trump-health-climate-cead2742a686b3dbc2fe4b1294939454

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "USDA’s Purge of #Climate #Data is Illegal and Reckless, Doing Immediate Harm to Farmers, Lawsuit Alleges"
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05032025/usda-climate-data-purge-harms-farmers/

"The #Trump administration has deleted thousands of climate-related web pages from the U.S. Department of #Agriculture’s (#USDA) website, stripping #farmers of critical resources as droughts, floods and shifting growing conditions intensify. Now, a coalition of environmental and farming groups is suing to get that information back, arguing that the purge is not just reckless but illegal."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html

"The above terms appeared in government memos, in official and unofficial agency guidance and in other documents viewed by The New York Times. Some [agencies] ordered the removal of these words from public-facing websites, or ordered the elimination of other materials (including school curricula) in which they might be included…The presence of some terms was used to automatically flag for review some grant proposals and contracts that could conflict with Mr. #Trump’s executive orders. The list is most likely incomplete. More agency memos may exist than those seen by New York Times reporters, and some directives are vague or suggest what language might be impermissible without flatly stating it."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Update. See the growing number of petitions from the Union of Concerned Scientists (#UCS, @ucsusa) at MoveOn.org (@moveon) in support of US science and scientists.
https://sign.moveon.org/partnerships/union-of-concerned-scientists

#DefendResearch #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. From @chrischirp: "Censor, purge, defund: how Trump is following the authoritarian playbook on science and universities"
https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/censor-purge-defund-how-trump-following

"Making a list of the actions taken since January 2025 reveals distinct patterns. Just as the administration’s actions as a whole are following an authoritarian playbook, so are the specific ways they are attacking science. I’ve displayed 35 distinct actions in the Venn Diagram below (table of actions with links), grouped into three main categories:
[1] Control of science to align with state ideology; [2] Undermining the independence of universities / suppressing dissent; [3] Maintaining geopolitical / economic goals."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #Universities #USPol #USPolitics

Update. #ActionLab is a #crowdsourced collection of practical actions "for the various issues scientists are facing in the wake of destructive anti-science policies. Filter our database by action type, by location, by deadline, or by the amount of time you have to spend today. Find a way to act that is right for you."
https://airtable.com/apppMymixtqx3yqxa/shrpqNUa2cLF4gjwh

Here's the gallery view of the 27 actions posted to date.
https://airtable.com/apppMymixtqx3yqxa/shrDtqn83Zrm3KWVH

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (#NASEM), talks about defending US science under #Trump.
https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/03/america-cant-be-great-without-great-science-that-is-where-the-academies-can-help?mc_cid=7d33d921dd&mc_eid=20aa62cccc

"First of all, we are working to reach officials in the administration who will be sensitive to the likely impacts of [their] actions on the health, security, economic opportunity, and well-being of all Americans. Second, we are using the contacts here at the Academies and among our members to directly appeal to other individuals who may share some of the administration’s goals. We are working with them to demonstrate how the scientific evidence base suggests some of the tactics the administration is taking now may not lead to the goals that they want to accomplish…The mantra of this administration is, of course, to make America great. Well, science has been a big part of what has made America great, and America can’t be great without great science…For example, we are doing a fast-track study on reducing red tape for researchers that should be useful to the new administration. It could dramatically increase the efficiency of federally supported science…I really encourage members to talk to their members of Congress; as their constituents, they have more impact."

#DefendResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "US science rues ongoing demotion of research under President Trump"
https://physicsworld.com/a/us-science-rues-ongoing-demotion-of-research-under-president-trump/

"In his first cabinet meeting on 26 February, #Trump suggested that officials “use scalpels” when trimming their departments’ spending and personnel – rather than #Musk’s figurative chainsaw. But bosses at the Environmental Protection Agency (#EPA) still plan to cut its budget by about two-thirds…The White House’s attack on #climate science goes beyond just the EPA. In January, the US Department of #Agriculture removed almost all data on climate change from its website…The Trump administration has also barred #NASA’s now former chief scientist Katherine Calvin and members of the State Department from travelling to China for a planning meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meanwhile, in a speech to African energy ministers in Washington on 7 March, US energy secretary Chris Wright claimed that coal has “transformed our world and made it better”, adding that climate change, while real, is not on his list of the world’s top 10 problems."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "#Trump’s next #climate move: Show global warming benefits humanity"
https://www.eenews.net/articles/trumps-next-climate-move-show-global-warming-benefits-humanity/

"President Donald Trump has long rejected climate science. Now, his administration is grappling with how to assemble a body of federal climate research to show a warming world is benefiting humanity…Proposals include…conducting a hostile review of U.S. and international climate reports, and recruiting a White House-approved list of researchers to produce a National Climate Assessment based on partisan research and industry studies."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Disinformation #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "Strong Scientific Leaders Must Speak Out against the Trump Administration’s Science Denial"
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strong-scientific-leaders-must-speak-out-against-the-trump-administrations/

"We are proud to be members of the #NAS [National Academy of Sciences], but we are not proud of its present inaction. In these challenging and defining times, the National Academy of Sciences, of all scientific institutions, must speak up…The new #Trump administration is now making an unprecedented effort to prevent science from informing public policy. In his first day in office, President Trump signed executive orders withdrawing the U.S. from participation in the Paris Agreement on #climate change and from the World Health Organization [#WHO]. The new administration has subsequently acted to drastically limit support for climate and medical research performed by scientists in the federal government and in universities. In this emergency, it is not enough for the National Academy of Sciences to speak up from its grass roots, as in 2016 or 2018. It must now speak as an institution if it is to fulfill its responsibilities to the nation and maintain its relevance in the future."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Update. "How college presidents are quietly resisting federal attacks on higher education"
https://www.highereddive.com/news/college-presidents-resisting-federal-attacks-higher-education/742074/

"The relative lack of public statements is not a sign of cowardice as some have suggested. It’s that many college presidents have rightly concluded that quiet resistance rather than public protest is a more effective strategy. "

PS: Is quiet resistance working? If so, more power to it. It has to be better than quiet blenching. But does it work better than unquiet resistance? And how would we know?

#Academia #Universities #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
@academicchatter

Update. It's not enough for #Trump to …

* nominate #climate denialists to run key agencies like the #EPA and #NOAA
* remove climate-related words from govt web sites
* take down whole climate science sites and datasets
* defund climate research and researchers
* layoff scientists and civil servants with climate expertise
* repeal climate regulations
* eliminate 10 regional EPA offices, including the one in DC
* and plan to replace consensus climate findings with ideological cherrypicking as the foundation for policymaking …

… now his #FBI is freezing the assets of nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, which have received EPA grants, alleging that they might be guilty of “possible criminal violations” including “conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/192660/trump-fbi-charge-climate-organizations

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #USLaw #USPol #USPolitics