USA under presidency of a know-nothing, neo-fascist, racist, sexist, mobbed-up narcissist!!

[Peter Lemkin]

An Open Letter to President-Elect Trump and the 115th Congress

Scientific knowledge has played a critical role in making the United States a powerful and prosperous nation and improving the health and well-being of Americans and people around the world. From disease outbreaks to climate change to national security to technology innovation, people benefit when our nation's policies are informed by science unfettered by inappropriate political or corporate influence.
To build on this legacy and extend the benefits of science to all people, including Americans who have been left behind, the federal government must support and rely on science as a key input for crafting public policy. Policy makers and the public alike require access to high-quality scientific information to serve the public interest. There are several actions Congress and the Trump administration should take to strengthen the role that science plays in policy making.
First, creating a strong and open culture of science begins at the top. Federal agencies should be led by officials with demonstrated track records of respecting science as a critical component of decision making. Further, recognizing that diversity makes science stronger, administration officials should welcome and encourage all scientists regardless of religious background, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Second, Congress and the Trump administration should ensure our nation's bedrock public health and environmental lawssuch as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Actretain a strong scientific foundation, and that agencies are able to freely collect and draw upon scientific data to effectively carry out statutory responsibilities established by these laws. They should also safeguard the independence of those outside the government who provide scientific advice.
Third, Congress and the Trump administration should adhere to high standards of scientific integrity and independence in responding to current and emerging public health and environmental threats. Decision makers and the public need to know what the best-available scientific evidence is, not what vested interests might wish it to be. Federally funded scientists must be able to develop and share their findings free from censorship or manipulation based on politics or ideology. These scientists should, without fear of reprisal or retaliation, have the freedom and responsibility to:

• conduct their work without political or private-sector interference
  
• candidly communicate their findings to Congress, the public, and their scientific peers
  
• publish their work and participate meaningfully in the scientific community
  
• disclose misrepresentation, censorship, and other abuses of science
  
• ensure that scientific and technical information coming from the government is accurate
  

Finally, Congress and the Trump administration should provide adequate resources to enable scientists to conduct research in the public interest and effectively and transparently carry out their agencies' missions. The consequences are real: without this investment, children will be more vulnerable to lead poisoning, more people will be exposed to unsafe drugs and medical devices, and we will be less prepared to limit the impacts of increasing extreme weather and rising seas.
These steps are necessary to create a thriving scientific enterprise that will strengthen our democracy and bring the full fruits of science to all Americans and the world. The scientific community is fully prepared to constructively engage with and closely monitor the actions of the Trump administration and Congress. We will continue to champion efforts that strengthen the role of science in policy making and stand ready to hold accountable any who might seek to undermine it.

Donald Trump Issues Media Blackout at Multiple Federal Agencies

Posted on Jan 24, 2017

By Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

"Americans recognize that science is critical to improving our quality of life, and when science is ignored or politically corrupted, it's the American people who suffer," said physicist Lewis Branscomb. (Eric Vance / USEPA / flickr)

Though the majority of President Donald Trump's controversial cabinet nominations have not yet been confirmed, his so-called "beachhead" teams have arrived at their respective agencies, carrying out orders that make clear that the "War on Science" has begun.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed broke the news that scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are no longer allowed to share information about taxpayer-funded research with the public.
In an email sent Monday and obtained by the news outlet, Sharon Drumm, chief of staff for the USDA's primary in-house research arm, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), told the department: "Starting immediately and until further notice, ARS will not release any public-facing documents…This includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content."
As BuzzFeed noted:

Though some Agricultural Research Service work touches on sensitive subjects like pesticides and genetically modified food, its research is generally less politically charged than that conducted by other agencies, especially those focused on understanding climate change, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. But under the Obama administration, the Agriculture Department funneled research money into finding ways of cutting down the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from cows.

At the same time, Trump surrogate Myron Ebell, a climate change denier who has led the transition for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has confirmed reports that the new administration has ordered a "freeze" on grants and contracts at the agencya move that the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) warns "could seriously impede the agency's work…protect[ing] our health and the environment from pollution."
In a press statement, Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS, condemned the moves, describing the as "equally short-sighted and destructive."
"These actions don't just threaten scientiststhey threaten everyone in the country who breathes air, drinks water, and eats food," said Rosenberg. "These agency scientists carry out research in support of policies that protect our health and safety and help farmers, and it makes no sense to put up walls between them and the public, or unilaterally halt the work they do."
"That the administration has moved so quickly to clamp down on scientists shows that the Trump administration is more focused on lifting rules on polluters than keeping our air and water clean," he added.
But that's not all. It has become apparent that the Trump administration has also ordered a media blackout at the EPA, as well as at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
According to an internal EPA memo obtained by the Huffington Post, specific prohibitions include banning press releases, blog updates, new website content, or posts to the agency's social media accounts, while all external communications and speaking engagements must be approved by the president's "Beach Team."
On Tuesday, the Huffington Post reported speaking to officials from several other agencies who confirmed that a similar communication lockdown had been instituted.
HuffPost's Sam Stein and Kate Sheppard report:

Officials at sub-agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, have been told not to send "any correspondence to public officials" according to a memo shared with HuffPost. Instead, they have been asked to refer questions to agency leadership until the leadership has had time to meet with incoming White House staff about the new administration's policies and objectives, according to a congressional official who was also informed of the communications freeze.
An official with the National Institutes of Health told HuffPost after the initial publication of this piece that an email had been sent to the directors of NIH institutes and centers providing guidance from HHS on how to handle new or pending regulation, policy or guidance.
"The HHS guidance instructs HHS Operating Divisions to hold on publishing new rules or guidance in the Federal Register or other public forums and discussing them with public officials until the Administration has had an opportunity to review them," the official said.

During his press briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he needed to look further into the matter to offer a comment.
The clampdown comes amid growing concern that Trump and his appointees will suppress scientific innovation and research to advance their own ideological agenda.
More than 5,500 scientists have signed on to an open letter, sentto Trump in the days following his election, warning against the dangers of allowing "political or corporate influence" to override scientific fact.
"Americans recognize that science is critical to improving our quality of life, and when science is ignored or politically corrupted, it's the American people who suffer," said physicist Lewis Branscomb, professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, who served as vice president and chief scientist at IBM and as director of the National Bureau of Standards under President Richard Nixon.

Protesters Rally in NYC: Trump's Dakota Access Pipeline Order 'Offends the Rule of Law'

"Trump is ignoring the millions of people who vehemently oppose these projects and he does so at peril of his own legitimacy," said filmmaker and activist Josh Fox.



By Stephen Kent / AlterNet
January 24, 2017

Drums and songs during the rally in solidarity with Standing Rock and against the Dakota Access Pipe Line. Portland, OR, 9/9/2016.
Photo Credit: Diego G Diaz/Shutterstock



Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker of Gasland, including the latest film in the series, How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change, weighed in today about the news that President Trump is issuing an executive order overturning the Obama administration's decisions and advancing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL Pipeline. Fox will participate in a demonstration at Columbus Circle in Manhattan tonight starting at 6pm to protest the order.
"Trump is ignoring the millions of people who vehemently oppose these projects and he does so at peril of his own legitimacy," said Fox. "Trump's decree offends the rule of law. It violates tribal sovereignty, and upends the environmental review process. It flies in the face of our democratic process and contradicts the will of the American people, 80% of whom want renewable energy and 100% of whom want clean water. And it contradicts clear rulings from federal court upholding new environmental review for DAPL."
"The water protectors and the pipeline protestors aren't going to just accept Trump's tyrannical order. We're non-violent, we're strong and we will fight it effectively," said Fox, who spent several weeks at Standing Rock filming the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters. "We're a national movement now that Trump can't stop with executive orders or militarized police crackdowns. This is the kind of hijacking of the public interest we can expect from Trump, but it won't stand."
In late 2016, thousands of protesters at Standing Rock succeeded in preventing the final leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline from crossing Standing Rock Sioux lands in North Dakota and threatening the water supply by tunneling under Lake Oahe. After the Obama administration decided in December to block DAPL construction on the disputed land and restart environmental review, the protesters celebrated a victory, though they remained vigilant.
Trump's executive order is expected to rescind the new Environmental Impact Statement process that would study new routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline. That process was upheld in Federal District Court last week after a challenge from DAPL lawyers. Donald Trump has been a stockholder in Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, predicted a Trump executive order overturning DAPL may not stand up in court, noting that President George W. Bush's attempts to roll back Clinton-era environmental policy measures were repeatedly challenged in federal court.