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Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

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Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#331

Post by cyberax »

zmgsabst wrote: post #307
cyberax wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't get so depressed. The Executive branch in the US does not have a lot of power when it comes to influencing the states. For example, Trump can't actually force states to change their school athlete programs. It doesn't have any power over individual states (or schools). All his DoE can do, is to threaten to withhold funding. And even that is being contested because the Congress has not authorized it. However, if…

Congress has authorized it: civil rights laws make schools ineligible when violated, and Trump is claiming various programs violate those.

And this is going to be contested through the courts for many years.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#332

Post by cancerhacker »

20after4 wrote: post #129
trhway wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We're looking at the US wilfully letting go of the possibiility of remaining the most powerful nation in the world. many here see it way (me too, though i'm well aware that many times whenever i was critical of Musk, he happened to be right, and in this case - Musk is naturally not anti-science guy, so i'd guess there must be some other reason for him doing that which i'm just not able to see). I wonder whether some…

Their actions are pretty clearly to consolidate power, replace everyone with loyalists, cut taxes on the rich, deport and depopulate the country and transfer assets to their associates. Once the economy is tanked they can go on a buying spree and pick up all sorts of private assets for bargain price.

I keep thinking about musks group having all this financial data (that his business competitors do not!) and feeding it into a model to find signal he can use to further his empire / investments. I also see his stated intention to make the “one app to rule them all” (for govt ID, banking, etc) as another route to the same data. His payments to / cleaving to trump really accelerated his underlying goal.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#333

Post by watwut »

bruce511 wrote: post #228
malcolmgreaves wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except it’s not really democracy. You have gerrymandered districts. You elect a leader not by who gets the most votes, but who wins a system that was designed for the benefit of white slave owners. And of course, who really believes the election results when you have Trump saying that Musk rigged some voting machines in his favor. Face it, the US no longer creates its government from the collective will of its citize…

I buy the gerrymandering concept at the congressional level. But Trump won the popular vote. He increased his numbers in 90% of counties. He grew across all demographics. This was not a structural failure. It was very clearly a country-wide mandate.

Small victory is not country wife mandate. And also, frankly, I can't imagine you are conservatives saying the same if Hareis was in power.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#334

Post by mikeyouse »

cavisne wrote: post #251
mikeyouse wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course non-probationary employees can be fired, don’t be so credulous. OPM has a whole process for a RIF, which is actually what is happening, DOGE is just lying on the separation paperwork blaming individual poor performance, because following the law and treating employees like they’re human beings is hard and it’s easier to falsify some paperwork.

Has it ever happened before? Pre DOGE it was a common assumption that they could not be fired due to various protections. Just because there is a theoretical process doesn't mean it can be done (or has ever been done within a presidential term) Eg. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/politics/rule-protecting-fede...

The Biden rule was aimed at preventing firings for political reasons (eg what’s happening in the FBI where they’re tracking down anyone who worked on Jan 6 cases in any capacity) - if DOGE wanted to shrink the overall size of the government, they should work with congress to defund specific departments rather than illegally impounding approved spending. Once that happens, the departments would follow the RIF ‘playbook’ to shrink the size of their teams.

And yes, they’re entirely common.. as one example the Air Force did a big one of its civilian staff during the Obama era. The military does them all the time for their base closures and realignments. Tens of thousands of staff were let go during that process.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#335

Post by watwut »

rayiner wrote: post #250
andix wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forgot "wilfully letting go of democracy". US democracy is far away from dying, but who knows how much longer it can keep holding up.

This is democracy! You can say it’s a bad idea or whatever. But Trump had Musk on stage promising to do this then we elected him. That’s democracy. Tyranny of the majority. Also people like it: https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HHP... (pp. 29-32)

Democracy involves rule of law.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#336

Post by kergonath »

rayiner wrote: post #292
coliveira wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing Americans don't seem to realize is that the current constitution needs to be rewritten once we get out of this mess. One of the consequences of dictatorships is that they deform the constitution for their purposes. It seems that republicans have done enough to deform the system in an irreparable way.

How would you propose rewriting it that wouldn’t just mean “less democracy” and “more control by credentialed elites?”

The thing is, the current situation is "more control by credentialed elites". Way more than at any point since at least WWII. It’s just that the elites are oligarchs who kneeled before Trump. He is the only one giving credentials.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#337

Post by cyberax »

Braxton1980 wrote: post #318
cyberax wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't get so depressed. The Executive branch in the US does not have a lot of power when it comes to influencing the states. For example, Trump can't actually force states to change their school athlete programs. It doesn't have any power over individual states (or schools). All his DoE can do, is to threaten to withhold funding. And even that is being contested because the Congress has not authorized it. However, if…

Are states exactly flush with cash to plug even small gaps in school budgets? You mentioned CA which is rebuilding from massive fires, can they afford that? What about Arizona, 2021 to 2022 19% of their schools budget was federal funding. What happens if there is a natural disaster, Trump can withhold funds to force changes. Can a state turn down that level of assistance? They would have to prioritize recovery I assu…

> You mentioned CA which is rebuilding from massive fires, can they afford that?

Yes.

> What about Arizona, 2021 to 2022 19% of their schools budget was federal funding.

They are an outlier, but mostly because they spend so little: https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statisti...

> What happens if there is a natural disaster, Trump can withhold funds to force changes. Can a state turn down that level of assistance? They would have to prioritize recovery I assume and just accept the change.

But many sides can play this game once the can of worms is open.

The thing is, then the next Democratic president (or a Democratic House/Senate) happens and yet another hurricane flattens a part of Florida. What do you think the Florida delegation in the Congress will do when faced with a prospect of not getting help?

> Money is power

Indeed. And the Blue States have way more money than most of the Red states.

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#338

Post by aragilar »

rayiner wrote: post #292
coliveira wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing Americans don't seem to realize is that the current constitution needs to be rewritten once we get out of this mess. One of the consequences of dictatorships is that they deform the constitution for their purposes. It seems that republicans have done enough to deform the system in an irreparable way.

How would you propose rewriting it that wouldn’t just mean “less democracy” and “more control by credentialed elites?”

Some suggestions:

* Drop the electoral collage * Proportional and/or preferential voting * Term limits/retirement ages * An independent electoral organisation with real teeth to prevent gerrymandering (and verify the election) * Free and easy voter IDs (if ID are ever required) * All election days are public holidays, with requirements to allow workers on the day to vote * Compulsory voting (works in AU) * Minimum number of polling booths per X people * Absentee voting * Changing to a parliamentary system where the president is a figurehead

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#339

Post by try_the_bass »

mindslight wrote: post #289
try_the_bass wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, the agencies were created by congress, and have always been accountable to Congress. But Congress hasn't been doing its job, which is why they seem unaccountable. If Congress hasn't been doing its job, then they don't just seem unaccountable, they actually are.

The levers of accountability could have been pulled any time, so it stands to say that they were still accountable. Perhaps they weren't held accountable as much as you or I would have liked. But the authority was there. But either way I don't really see what greater point you're trying to make.

Just that there is no practical difference between "seeming unaccountable" and "being unaccountable", especially if, as you say, "the levers of accountability could have been pulled", but weren't. If the departments aren't being held accountable, they are, by definition, acting unaccountably.

You seemed to disagree, and be trying to make a distinction where no practical difference can be found. You also seem to agree that they haven't been held accountable, which makes this apparent distinction even less coherent! This kind of just comes across as contrarian, or perhaps sophistry to avoid agreeing with an apparent opponent?

Re: Everyone at NSF overseeing the Platforms for Wireless Experimentation is gone

#340

Post by watwut »

_heimdall wrote: post #215
trhway wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We're looking at the US wilfully letting go of the possibiility of remaining the most powerful nation in the world. many here see it way (me too, though i'm well aware that many times whenever i was critical of Musk, he happened to be right, and in this case - Musk is naturally not anti-science guy, so i'd guess there must be some other reason for him doing that which i'm just not able to see). I wonder whether some…

Well I'm not from "the other side" as I don't align with either party, but I do live in a very red part of the country. In the short term, as I understand it, the goal is to root out fraud and abuse. For decades many people from both sides of the aisle have believed the government wastes money, that is nothing new. The current moves somewhat rhyme with the early Clinton administration. Whether that is Trump's goal or…

This has zero to do with rooting put fraud, this is literally making goverment more corrupt.

And the whole "democrats are Marxists" talking point is ridiculous. There are no paralels here, just a authoritarian and anti democratic movement successfully demonizing other side regardless of truth.

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