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NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

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Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#171

Post by cozzyd »

timschmidt wrote: post #143
jltsiren wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The vast majority of those working for a PI are students and postdocs, which are inherently trainee positions. Though, depending on the field and the PI, trainees may also have plenty of freedom to work on their own topics. If you want an actual career in the academia, the main options are becoming a PI or choosing a teaching-focused position. There are some staff scientists and similar, but such positions are rarer…

> postdocs > inherently trainee positions Do we live on the same planet? I understand that the point of being an academic is to always be learning, but there's no place on earth I know of that thinks of someone with a PhD as a trainee. > the main options are becoming a PI or choosing a teaching-focused position. There are some staff scientists and similar, but such positions are rarer than tenured professors. Implyin…

It's true that serial postdocs exist (though schools tend to have term limits and even limits on years since PhD on postdocs), but it is certainly intended to be a trainee role. Even postdocs with fancy fellowships generally have sponsors.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#172

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

snake42 wrote: post #161
ziddoap wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> or find subversive, incremental ways to undermine it. I'm asking for concrete examples of what "subversive, incremental ways to undermine it" would be. You basically just reworded the vague suggestion of "fight back". What are some specific examples of what the NSF director could have done that are subversive, incremental ways to undermine the orders which ultimately came from the president?

Mire things down in bureaucracy. Try and make everything take substantially longer than it should. Throw up hurdles in the face of progress. "Forget" to do important steps in the process so that you have to re-do work. Implement things on the face of it that are correct, but that don't achieve the same result, etc.

If having the NSF offer fewer grants is the administration's goal, as it seems to be, wouldn't this help them along?

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#173

Post by nandomrumber »

pixelpoet wrote: post #145
nandomrumber wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

If this isn't the tyrannical government (disappearing people, destroying public services even the Dept of Education, deliberately dismantling checks and balances, ...) the 2A was specifically created for, then what would be? And if the 2A isn't about countering tyrannical government, what IS it for?

I’m not from the USA, but as far as I understand isn’t education the purview of the states?

And anyway, if you feel that strongly about it, go round up an armed militia and see how far you get. You’re going to need the support of a not insignificant fraction of your fellow citizens, so you’d better get your story straight.

That is to say, you’d better have a rigorous alternative you think will persuade others, and you’re willing to bet your life on.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#174

Post by sanderjd »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #165
lesuorac wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it disagree and commit? NSF is an "independent agency" [1] so if the job you were appointed to an confirmed by congress (senate) is at odds with the presidents desires I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a problem for the president not you. Similar to all those inspector generals who just gave up when they were illegally fired. Literally your job is to prevent the president from corruption, how are you going to do…

The US has three branches of government. If you believe the NSF is independent then you are implicitly agreeing with those who claim there is a fourth 'deep state' branch of government that operates without accountability. Separately: I cited the law that says the president can fire the head of the NSF. So I'm not sure why you'd conclude that any disagreement would be a problem for the president.

Nah, people have got to stop buying into this unitary executive stuff! Independent agencies have oversight and accountability. Congress can do whatever they want with them whenever they want.

I think it's imminently reasonable to say that agencies shouldn't be independent of the executive, and that's the default if the legislation passed by Congress (and signed by the current executive!) doesn't specify otherwise. But Congress should, and I believe does, have the power to set things up otherwise.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#175

Post by alabastervlog »

nandomrumber wrote: post #140
soared wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, there is one more check, one more not so proverbial bullet in a gun.

[flagged]

> The Left doesn’t like the current regime and rapidly descends to openly suggesting they should be put to death.

We learned it from watching Trump back in 2016.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#176

Post by sanderjd »

lelandfe wrote: post #138
throwawaymaths wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems unconstitutional for congress to be able to create a regulatory agency fully outside of the executive's control, as who will check the congress's power? Appointment and confirmation exists so both branches must assent to all officers of then government

> who will check the congress's power The judiciary. E.g Bowsher v. Synar

Yeah this is a silly argument. The check on the actions of independent agencies is the same as the check on the actions of all agencies. The executive obviously isn't a check on the actions of executive agencies...

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#177

Post by cmurf »

soared wrote: post #115
square_usual wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the one remaining possible check - a literal Supreme Court order - has also been ignored.

I mean, there is one more check, one more not so proverbial bullet in a gun.

But if not one thing is yielded to him, if without any violence he is simply not obeyed, he becomes naked and undone and nothing, just as when the root receives no nourishment, the branch withers and dies. - Étienne de La Boétie, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude: Why People Enslave Themselves to Authority

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#178

Post by alabastervlog »

pixelpoet wrote: post #145
nandomrumber wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

If this isn't the tyrannical government (disappearing people, destroying public services even the Dept of Education, deliberately dismantling checks and balances, ...) the 2A was specifically created for, then what would be? And if the 2A isn't about countering tyrannical government, what IS it for?

It wasn’t created for that reason and it’s a pretty flimsy justification for it. Odds of the 2nd being a positive force for retaining liberal democracy are fairly low.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we shouldn’t have it—a right doesn’t necessarily need to be useful—but that justification’s not great.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#179

Post by yodsanklai »

bananapub wrote: post #15

Pretty distressing at how there’s basically zero pushback from the American elites at the destruction of all strategic American advantages and only ineffective pushback from the public. There will be entire genres of books written about how America just said “eh” to being gutted by a bunch of rich psychopaths.

I find it very disappointing that there aren't more public figures speaking on what's happening and calling out Trump's BS and lies. My guess, they are scared of Trump, but also Trump is still popular so they don't want to take a side. The saddest thing is that American people voted for that guy, and that check and balances don't seem to work. So it's not a Trump issue, it's a US problem.

Re: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy

#180

Post by cmurf »

brianmurphy wrote: post #163
pixelpoet wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this isn't the tyrannical government (disappearing people, destroying public services even the Dept of Education, deliberately dismantling checks and balances, ...) the 2A was specifically created for, then what would be? And if the 2A isn't about countering tyrannical government, what IS it for?

Trump was elected on deporting illegals, closing the Dept of Education, removing men from women's sports and to stop sending money overseas. The insular HN community doesn't understand this is what the majority of American voters want. Many of us are very happy with the direction things have been moving.

[flagged]
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