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The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

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Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#301

Post by kleton »

motorest wrote: post #68
a-dub wrote: post #53

if they were honestly trying to improve things, the cuts would be phased in over a few funding cycles at a minimum. it's hard to see surprise cuts as anything more than willful vandalism and a gift to global competitors. time to donate time and money to their opposition. one month in and they've already proven themselves a failure.

> it's hard to see surprise cuts as anything more than willful vandalism and a gift to global competitors. From an outsider's point of view, anything that the Trump administration is doing sounds an awful lot like the total destruction of the United States government, and consequently the country. Let's put it this way: there have been military coups that did a far better job at preserving state institutions, even af…

> preserving state institutions

As Obama said, elections have consequences. Do you think there should be a permanent bureaucracy that is totally unaffected by elections? Or put it this way, hypothetically if James Bowman takes power for the next 8 years, and the other side has had 12 years to implement and entrench their institutions, are you really going to object to your side reversing it when the pendulum swings back your way?

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#302

Post by amanaplanacanal »

afavour wrote: post #300
amanaplanacanal wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I'd really be interested in is something larger than an anecdote: Do trans women dominate cis women in the sports they compete in? It would take a larger study, as a one-off doesn't really mean much. Also note that Fox has not won all of her fights, which indicates that trans women are not as dominant as the one fight you mentioned would suggest.

It really amazes me how much this has become an issue and how few people question why or how. The number of trans athletes we're talking about, nationwide, is no higher than in the dozens. The idea that when asked about a presidential election someone would cite trans issues as a priority staggers me. A true testament to the power of conservative media.

Another angle on this is: If trans athletes are such a concern, wouldn't giving trans kids gender affirming care resolve this issue? The standard care is puberty blockers starting at about 10, then hormone therapy in their teens, then surgery if they wish after they become adults.

It's almost like what they say they are concerned about isn't what they are really concerned about.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#303

Post by mdemare »

llm_trw wrote: post #59
duskwuff wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively: we need to rein in the powers of the presidency. Right now we've got a dynamic of "the president says what to do and the legislature obeys" (or, recently, "the president does stuff on his own"); we might be better off with "Congress decides what to do and the president makes it happen".

California has half the population of Germany and twice the GPD. We can't pretend the US is some dinky country in Europe that can be ruled the same way.

Half the population, and the same GDP.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#304

Post by dragonwriter »

duskwuff wrote: post #39
llm_trw wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Decentralise government so a single election doesn't destroy everything. In short: states rights.

Alternatively: we need to rein in the powers of the presidency. Right now we've got a dynamic of "the president says what to do and the legislature obeys" (or, recently, "the president does stuff on his own"); we might be better off with "Congress decides what to do and the president makes it happen".

Oh, so Congress makes law and the President sees that the law is faithfully executed?

We should definitely amend the Constitution to include that.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#305

Post by conicsl »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #299
conicsl wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[dead]

What I'd really be interested in is something larger than an anecdote: Do trans women dominate cis women in the sports they compete in? It would take a larger study, as a one-off doesn't really mean much. Also note that Fox has not won all of her fights, which indicates that trans women are not as dominant as the one fight you mentioned would suggest.

The question is perhaps better reframed in two parts:

1. Do male athletes dominate female athletes in competition? We know the answer to that is yes, in almost all sports. It's why we have a separate female category, and there is a wealth of evidence to support this - from biological studies by sports scientists to comparisons of world records.

2. Are there any interventions that male athletes can take upon their bodies to entirely eliminate the male physical advantage in sports? From the evidence we have so far, the answer is no. They can be weakened through testosterone suppression, but in general they still retain a significant advantage over female athletes.

There is also the question of whether an impaired male athlete should be considered equivalent to a female athlete for the purposes of eligibility in the female category. This is more of a philosophical question and leans heavily on whether one believes that "trans women" are women or not. Is it fair to impose this belief on others who do not share this belief - particularly female athletes who may fundamentally object to being compelled to compete against men?

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#306

Post by dragonwriter »

llm_trw wrote: post #52
EdwardDiego wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, reform your Presidency to be a constitutional role only, with executive power devolved to the party or parties of your elected representatives that is able to show the head of state that they have the numbers to govern. E.g. like the President of Ireland, or the King of England (via the Governor General proxy) in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Also, the Electoral College is an archaic anachronism,…

What works for a country the size of a New York neighbourhood doesn't work for a country the size of a continent.

> What works for a country the size of a New York neighbourhood doesn't work for a country the size of a continent.

While I personally think the problem with the US system is much more in lack of proportionality in the electoral system used for the legislature , but, even so, I can recognize thet parliamentary government doesn't only work at small scales.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#307

Post by dragonwriter »

EdwardDiego wrote: post #108
llm_trw wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What works for a country the size of a New York neighbourhood doesn't work for a country the size of a continent.

Britain ran a global empire using this model, why wouldn't it work for the US? Maybe read up on how it works before rejecting it out of hand? Britain has a bicameral parliament, with the leader of the majority of the lower house forming the executive, but the head of state retains the constitutional ability to dissolve parliament and order new elections if the current government is unable to function. Having an apoli…

> Britain ran a global empire using this model, why wouldn't it work for the US?

The “global empire” was systematically disenfranchised under that model, which is a big reason why it broke up, and that was specifically called out by the US when it left.

I mean, there are arguably good examples of parliamentary democracy working at significant scale in a state, but the UK’s government at home while the empire was managed through a bunch of other systems is very much not one of them.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#308

Post by conicsl »

afavour wrote: post #300
amanaplanacanal wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I'd really be interested in is something larger than an anecdote: Do trans women dominate cis women in the sports they compete in? It would take a larger study, as a one-off doesn't really mean much. Also note that Fox has not won all of her fights, which indicates that trans women are not as dominant as the one fight you mentioned would suggest.

It really amazes me how much this has become an issue and how few people question why or how. The number of trans athletes we're talking about, nationwide, is no higher than in the dozens. The idea that when asked about a presidential election someone would cite trans issues as a priority staggers me. A true testament to the power of conservative media.

Conservatives leapt upon this as a wedge issue in recent years, but originally the pushback against the imposition of males upon the female category in sports (and female spaces in general) came from feminist activism.

At this point it's hundreds of male athletes competing in women's and girls' sport: https://shewon.org/males

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#309

Post by amanaplanacanal »

conicsl wrote: post #308
afavour wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really amazes me how much this has become an issue and how few people question why or how. The number of trans athletes we're talking about, nationwide, is no higher than in the dozens. The idea that when asked about a presidential election someone would cite trans issues as a priority staggers me. A true testament to the power of conservative media.

Conservatives leapt upon this as a wedge issue in recent years, but originally the pushback against the imposition of males upon the female category in sports (and female spaces in general) came from feminist activism. At this point it's hundreds of male athletes competing in women's and girls' sport: https://shewon.org/males

So now we have people inspecting women's genitals to see if they are really female, women being called out because they don't look feminine enough, and all the worst misogynistic instincts on full display.

The thing is, the best athletes frequently have genetic privilege that others don't have, whether it be extra long or extra short limbs, being extra tall, having higher than average testosterone levels, etc. There is no level playing field.

I don't know what the best answer is, but what we are seeing now is pretty ugly.

Re: The NIH is being slashed and burned, not "reformed"

#310

Post by motorest »

kleton wrote: post #301
motorest wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's hard to see surprise cuts as anything more than willful vandalism and a gift to global competitors. From an outsider's point of view, anything that the Trump administration is doing sounds an awful lot like the total destruction of the United States government, and consequently the country. Let's put it this way: there have been military coups that did a far better job at preserving state institutions, even af…

> preserving state institutions As Obama said, elections have consequences. Do you think there should be a permanent bureaucracy that is totally unaffected by elections? Or put it this way, hypothetically if James Bowman takes power for the next 8 years, and the other side has had 12 years to implement and entrench their institutions, are you really going to object to your side reversing it when the pendulum swings b…

> Do you think there should be a permanent bureaucracy that is totally unaffected by elections?

I don't think you have a good grasp on what is happening, both in form and extent. You're making it sound like the Trump administration is refreshing bureaucrats, where in reality it's completely dismantling the whole federal state while imposing a totalitarian agenda. It's destroying public health services, education services, security services, even R&D. To top things off, the Trump administration caused irreversible damage to decades-old alliances, if they aren't destroyed already, which where at the core of US's global hegemony.

You're talking about bureaucracy as if the only impact this has is some pencil pushers losing a job. It's not. It's the death by suicide of the United States as an ideal, and a global leader. The Trump admin leaves behind a huge power vacuum that will inevitably be filled by another party, and odds are it ain't pushing freedom nor peace.

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