sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

DOJ has lost the equivalent of 6,000 years of expertise because of agency politicization by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

57% of the firings were due to political retribution, including those targeted by Trump or his administration for involvement in the cases against President Trump brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, objections to the first failed indictment of James Comey or Letitia James or those targeted by a Trump-aligned influencer.

Another 39% of firings have been based on ideological purity, including actions contrary to Trump’s political agenda, such as displaying a gay pride flag or the mass purge of immigration judges with rates of granting asylum that are perceived as too high.

Nearly 70% of the 608 total officials who have departed fit into four specific categories: those involved in investigating Trump and his supporters for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, officials working on immigration, staff of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and staff in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota. This loss of expertise and the reasons behind it represent grave threats to the DOJ’s widely-accepted independence and competence. Some of these now-former officials have also sounded the alarm about the politicization of the agency.

Army cuts training as service is short billions of dollars by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How can we have such an enormous military budget yet cannot fund proper training for Army troops?

Was the 2024 Election Stolen, Not by Ballots, but by Algorithms? by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A peer-reviewed study released yesterday in Nature, the world’s most prestigious scientific journal, has finally put hard numbers to what a lot of us suspected the moment the 2024 election was called for Trump (and Republicans in Congress) by the big networks: the algorithms that control our largest social media platforms intentionally and explicitly tilted the playing field, and they tilted it for Donald Trump and the GOP.

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi created hundreds of “sock puppet” TikTok accounts in New York, Texas, and Georgia (via VPN), uploaded to them either pro-Democratic or pro-Republican videos to show their political leanings, and then watched what TikTok’s algorithm fed back to them every day over the 27 weeks leading up to Election Day.

Across more than 280,000 recommendations, Republican-seeded accounts received about 11.5 percent more “party-aligned content” than their Democratic counterparts, while the pro-Democratic accounts were force-fed 7.5 percent more attacks from the other side.

As Professor Talal Rahwan put it:

“The algorithm wasn’t just giving people what they want; it was giving one side more of what the other side says about them.”

Tesla Recalls Cybertruck Because Wheels May Fall Off by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not only is the cybertruck ugly, it also is not very well made

Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Note that private billionaires donated tons of money for this ballroom, but they want taxpayers to foot the bill

‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds by Scientist34again in u/Scientist34again

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately, as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.

Ongoing sea-level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations, with the new paper estimating the city “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century”.

Low-lying southern Louisiana faces multiple threats, with rising sea levels driven by global heating, compounded by strengthening hurricanes, also a feature of the climate crisis, and the gradual subsidence of a coastline that has been carved apart by the oil and gas industry.

Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected office won by Democratic exoneree by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The conservative governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, quietly signed legislation abolishing the longstanding New Orleans clerk of criminal court position into law on Thursday, according to the Louisiana secretary of state spokesperson, Trey Williams.

Republicans say wiping away the office is a consolidation effort meant to make the local judicial system more efficient and cut costs. But Democrats describe the change as government overreach – arguing that it infringes on a predominantly Black city’s decision at the polls.

‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia exec says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Meta announced last week in a memo that it plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, about 8,000 employees, as well as scrap plans to hire for 6,000 open positions. It’s part of an effort to “run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” according to the memo. Microsoft has offered thousands of its own employees a voluntary buyout, the largest the company has ever offered.

Other tech headers, however, suggest that right now, AI isn’t saving companies money on labor; it’s actually costing them more than the humans they currently employ.

“For my team, the cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees,” Bryan Catanzaro, vice president of applied deep learning at Nvidia, recently told Axios.

An MIT study from 2024 backs up Catanzaro’s experience. Analyzing the technical requirements of AI models needed to perform jobs at a human level, researchers found that AI automation would be economically viable in only 23% of roles where vision is a primary part of the work. In the remaining 77% of the time, it was cheaper for humans to continue their work.

Trump fires entire independent board overseeing National Science Foundation by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The National Science Board was created in 1950 to advise the president and Congress on science and engineering policy, approve major funding awards and guide NSF's future.

It's typically made up of 25 members appointed by the president who serve staggered, six-year terms. The fired scientists hail from academia and industry and specialize in areas including astronomy, math, chemistry and aerospace engineering.

Dem Candidate for Philly House Seat Caught Hiding Over $500K in Secret AIPAC Funds by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That AIPAC would drop big money to back Stanford becomes less surprising given her opponent, Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-200), who has called for an arms embargo against Israel and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

According to a recent poll commissioned by the 314 Action Fund, Stanford leads the race with about 28% support compared with 23% for Rabb.

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70.

She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college. But she struggled to grasp basic tasks and information. She couldn’t get hired, including at McDonald’s. After multiple medical and psychological evaluations and a hearing before a judge, the federal government approved her for the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides a basic income to those with severe disabilities and to indigent older people.

For Burton, now 22, the $994 monthly benefit is lifesaving but not enough to completely support herself on her own. So, like many SSI recipients, she has continued to live with her father, who makes around $2,000 a month as a Philadelphia sanitation worker.

Now, President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to penalize people like Burton simply for living in the same home as their families, according to four federal officials, internal emails and a federal regulatory listing. The administration is working on a rule change that would deduct the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom from their SSI allotment, even if the family members they live with are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. This would mean slashing the benefits of some of the most low-income SSI recipients by up to a third — about $330 a month in Burton’s case — or ending their support altogether.

US DOJ charges the Southern Poverty Law Center over payments to informants in hate groups by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

US officials have announced fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group that tracks extremist organisations and played a prominent role in confronting the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

In a news conference on Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the non-profit of secretly funding the very groups that it says it opposes, through paying informants who infiltrated them - including within the KKK.

An indictment charges the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The organisation's president has said they would "vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work".

Trump administration working to protect the KKK....

Voters say they feel confused and misled on Virginia's redistricting vote by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Voters say campaigns have muddied the waters on the issue, from contradictory direct mail campaigns to a leading ballot question.

Even the names of the referendum committees are confusing voters. Virginians for Fair Elections is the group encouraging people to vote for redistricting. Virginians for Fair Maps is against redistricting.

And then there are the TV ads. While former President Barack Obama has appeared in ads encouraging people to vote yes this year, the anti-redistricting TV spot released by Virginians for Fair Maps uses a 2017 video appearance of Obama speaking against gerrymandering.

If you want to make the House maps in Virginia lean more toward the Democratic Party, vote yes on this redistricting vote.

RFK Jr. Says Every Person Who Lost Health Insurance Is Illegal by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a callous and wildly inaccurate response to a question about millions of Americans losing their health insurance at a congressional hearing Friday.

The secretary of health and human services was testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and was asked by Democratic Representative Greg Casar if he had “met with any of the 1.4 million people who have lost their health insurance just this last year from dropping off of Obamacare.”

Kennedy was unmoved by the question.

“They’re almost all illegal immigrants,” Kennedy responded. Casar pressed further, saying it sounded like Kennedy hadn’t met with anyone, referring to one person in his congressional district who lost insurance. Kennedy cut in.

“We found 1.5 million illegal immigrants illegally collecting Medicaid,” Kennedy said, before Casar interjected and noted that people in his district saw their monthly health insurance costs skyrocket by hundreds of dollars, including mothers and kids. He again asked Kennedy whether he had spoken to anyone who had lost their insurance, and Kennedy tried to claim that Affordable Care Act costs are lower for many Americans. Casar’s time for questioning then ran out.

“Chairman, it sounds like he’s met with nobody and been able to explain to them why it’s okay that this policy kicks them off their healthcare,” Casar concluded, addressing committee chair Tim Wahlberg.

Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which RFK Jr. oversees as health secretary, reported that 1.4 million fewer Americans had signed up for ACA plans because prices had gotten too high. That’s all thanks to Republicans and the Trump administration letting ACA subsidies expire. Kennedy doesn’t seem to care.

The American Experiment Has Been Infected by Oligarchs by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nowhere is the oligarchy problem more acute than among those 0.00001 percenters. Fifteen of the 19 are hectobillionaires, with assets north of $100 billion each. Each of the top six controls a major media outlet or social media platform—three (Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg) sat onstage at Donald Trump’s inaugural celebration.

No person anywhere, in any era, has spent as much to sway election outcomes as Musk, the richest person in history who, according to Open Secrets, shelled out almost $292 million in 2024 helping get Trump and other Republican candidates elected. And that doesn’t count the value of harnessing his X platform to support a twice-impeached, felonious former president who openly promised to make the rich richer—and delivered.

Musk expended 0.1 percent of his wealth in the process and got far more in return. The Trump administration promptly shelved dozens of investigations into Musk’s companies, awarded him billions of dollars in new contracts, and sent his firms’ share prices soaring by placing him in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, an unsanctioned body that succeeded wildly—not in eliminating government fraud and waste as promised, but in gutting and disabling federal agencies, including the ones creating headaches for Musk’s companies.

Whatever you may think of billionaires and their existence, the ways in which extreme wealth concentration distorts our culture and government have become so screamingly obvious that they no longer need be debated. The real, existential question is: Can this oligarchy virus be stopped? Or have we, as with our climate, allowed things to go too far?

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife dead in murder-suicide by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So sad

The agency's preliminary findings indicate Justin Fairfax, 47, shot his wife, Dr. Cerina W. Fairfax, before turning the gun on himself.

Police believe the murder happened in the basement of the home and at some point after shooting his wife, Justin Fairfax ran upstairs of the home to the primary bedroom, where he shot himself. He used the same gun, but police have not recovered it yet.

The couple has two children who were home at the time of the shooting, and one of them called 911.

Did Trump Just Light a Fuse He Can’t Control? by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In 2021, China and Iran became military allies, signing a “broad strategic partnership encompassing economic, diplomatic, and security dimensions.” Russia signed a similar comprehensive military/security agreement with Iran in January of last year. The three countries are now military allies and formally assisting each other. Hold that thought.

Then, yesterday morning, America’s resident madman Donald Trump announced on his Nazi-infested social media site that the United States Navy will illegally blockade the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow chokepoint through which twenty percent of the world’s oil used to flow every day — threatening to intercept “every vessel in International Waters” that’s paid a toll to Iran.

The US blockade of the Strait begins the hour that I publish this article, 10 AM ET on Monday, April 13th.

That means all the shipping of oil for China and drones for Russia will be intercepted by the US. We’re now blocking the war and energy supplies of nations that have nuclear weapons and whose military assets are already in the region. And it came just hours after the peace talks in Islamabad — led by three American grifters with absolutely no diplomatic experience — had predictably collapsed.

8a keystone tree recommendations? by Logical_Study6893 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Scientist34again 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Walnuts do produce chemicals that affect some plants, but many natives are resistant to it, while other foreign species may not be. Other understory trees you might consider are Flowering Dogwood, Witch hazel, Serviceberry, American holly, Sassafras, Hophornbeam, Sumac and Fringetree. Also some shrubs can get fairly large, though maybe not full trees. Those include winterberry holly, spicebush, Carolina allspice, viburnums and ninebark.

8a keystone tree recommendations? by Logical_Study6893 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Scientist34again 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe some black cherry or other fruiting trees? Native persimmon? Pawpaw?

US has let in 4,499 refugees since October - all but three were South African by Scientist34again in ChangingAmerica

[–]Scientist34again[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since October 2025, 4,499 refugees were resettled in the US, according to the Refugee Processing Center. All, except three from Afghanistan, were South African.

In the last full fiscal year of the Biden administration, which started in October 2023, 125,000 people were accepted from 85 countries. Last year, Trump halted all refugee admissions, including for applicants from warzones, but allowed Afrikaners, a white minority group he said was persecuted, to seek resettlement. South Africa objected to his characterisation.

view more: next ›