And looking at today’s news…fewer government grants = fewer startups and less innovation. It’s as if they want to hamper everything that makes us a dynamic, broadly prosperous country.
I feel this in my bones. Reading about it this morning, it hit like a gut punch wrapped in slow-burn dread. A country that turns its back on research isn’t just forfeiting leadership—it’s carving out its own irrelevance with surgical precision. This isn’t just the lights dimming; it’s pulling the plug on the very engine that propels humanity forward. Research isn’t a luxury; it’s the oxygen for innovation, the spark that ignites industries, medicines, and technologies that shape not just the present but the next hundred years.
To stop funding it? That’s choosing stagnation over progress, complacency over curiosity. It’s a betrayal of everything that ever made this country dynamic—a slow suicide disguised as fiscal responsibility. The worst part? This isn’t just a loss we feel now. These are the echoes of tomorrow’s breakthroughs silenced before they even had a chance to be whispered. What a gruesome, self-inflicted wound to witness.
I tried to explain it to an old high school buddy once: we’re not doing this out of pure altruism. We’re doing it to keep places stable enough that there’s a lower chance we’ll need to send American troops to die in these places some day.
And yet they get upset over China "investing" in other countries and thus having influence in those countries. Yeah, guys, that's how it works. You pay to play. If we don't pay, China sure as heck will.
Because their vision of greatness is very very limited and is based mostly on raw force and getting everyone else to do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, how you want them to do it.
And having everyone openly acknowledge your greatness and kiss your ass because of it.
I mean, you can see this being operative in the personalities of both Trump and Musk. They are "strong" and "decisive" and smart and know more than anyone else--and they REALLY REALLY need to be openly recognized and celebrated and even worshipped because of that.
Except underneath all of that they are weak and not particularly great or skilled, except maybe in one or two narrow areas, at most.
And to Trump (at least) America being great is basically America being like him (or, more accurately, how HE sees himself)--with the added complication that he sees the treatment of himself as the treatment of America and the treatment of America as a reflection on him.
Not because he is patriotic or cares about America or Ameicans, but because of his narcissism--everything IS about him, as far as he is concerned.
I'm reading down the list of suspended medical aid and wondering how many potential needless deaths does this actually represent. 90 million at risk women and children, 21 million HIV/AIDS patients, and I'm thinking this could be it's own Holocaust. There really is only one point to the Trump/MAGA madness...the cruelty/inhumanity.
Oh without a doubt you are correct. The problem is that most of the places that need help have nothing that Trump wants...not money, not valuable real estate.
Not for long, sadly. The coming purge at HHS agencies and the Veterans Administration will cripple medical and public health research for years to come. Not to mention significantly degrade clinical care. The health-information blackout currently in force at HHS means Americans must rely on the information resources of foreign governments to stay up to date. How is that making Anerica great again?
This is personal for me. I have a cousin who is quite ill with myasthenia gravis, perhaps brought on by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He depends on VA care. He also voted for Trump, but I don’t care about that. I care that he can receive quality care, to which he is entitled.
Less foreign aid = less American influence in the world. Not sure why this is so hard for people who revere greatness to understand.
And looking at today’s news…fewer government grants = fewer startups and less innovation. It’s as if they want to hamper everything that makes us a dynamic, broadly prosperous country.
I feel this in my bones. Reading about it this morning, it hit like a gut punch wrapped in slow-burn dread. A country that turns its back on research isn’t just forfeiting leadership—it’s carving out its own irrelevance with surgical precision. This isn’t just the lights dimming; it’s pulling the plug on the very engine that propels humanity forward. Research isn’t a luxury; it’s the oxygen for innovation, the spark that ignites industries, medicines, and technologies that shape not just the present but the next hundred years.
To stop funding it? That’s choosing stagnation over progress, complacency over curiosity. It’s a betrayal of everything that ever made this country dynamic—a slow suicide disguised as fiscal responsibility. The worst part? This isn’t just a loss we feel now. These are the echoes of tomorrow’s breakthroughs silenced before they even had a chance to be whispered. What a gruesome, self-inflicted wound to witness.
I tried to explain it to an old high school buddy once: we’re not doing this out of pure altruism. We’re doing it to keep places stable enough that there’s a lower chance we’ll need to send American troops to die in these places some day.
And yet they get upset over China "investing" in other countries and thus having influence in those countries. Yeah, guys, that's how it works. You pay to play. If we don't pay, China sure as heck will.
"Why are we spending money over there when we have homeless vets over here!!"
When we cut foreign spending, "Can we now spend money to help homeless vets?"
"No, that's communism you red bastard! Bootstraps and protestant values! The rich need tax cuts!"
Funny how the goalposts keep moving. No, that's not a reference to the officiating last night. :)
Probably few things in the budget with better ROI.
Because their vision of greatness is very very limited and is based mostly on raw force and getting everyone else to do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, how you want them to do it.
And having everyone openly acknowledge your greatness and kiss your ass because of it.
I mean, you can see this being operative in the personalities of both Trump and Musk. They are "strong" and "decisive" and smart and know more than anyone else--and they REALLY REALLY need to be openly recognized and celebrated and even worshipped because of that.
Except underneath all of that they are weak and not particularly great or skilled, except maybe in one or two narrow areas, at most.
And to Trump (at least) America being great is basically America being like him (or, more accurately, how HE sees himself)--with the added complication that he sees the treatment of himself as the treatment of America and the treatment of America as a reflection on him.
Not because he is patriotic or cares about America or Ameicans, but because of his narcissism--everything IS about him, as far as he is concerned.
.
L’etat c’est lui.
Because they are slow to comprehend?
I'm reading down the list of suspended medical aid and wondering how many potential needless deaths does this actually represent. 90 million at risk women and children, 21 million HIV/AIDS patients, and I'm thinking this could be it's own Holocaust. There really is only one point to the Trump/MAGA madness...the cruelty/inhumanity.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Pro-Life party...
Maybe it's only the pro white life party.
I suspect that the aid will become transactional. You want HIV meds and aid for your HIV orphans? That's fine, but you need to give us X,Y, and Z.
Oh without a doubt you are correct. The problem is that most of the places that need help have nothing that Trump wants...not money, not valuable real estate.
I’m sure China, Russia, and Iran will be more than happy to fill whatever funding gaps Trump creates.
This. Nature (and politics) abhors a vacuum; China will gladly step in and fill the void.
100%
And especially re the healthcare sector where we are the leader.
Not for long, sadly. The coming purge at HHS agencies and the Veterans Administration will cripple medical and public health research for years to come. Not to mention significantly degrade clinical care. The health-information blackout currently in force at HHS means Americans must rely on the information resources of foreign governments to stay up to date. How is that making Anerica great again?
This is personal for me. I have a cousin who is quite ill with myasthenia gravis, perhaps brought on by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He depends on VA care. He also voted for Trump, but I don’t care about that. I care that he can receive quality care, to which he is entitled.
(Which is, actually, a little ironic.)