#cronyism — Public Fediverse posts

"The NIH is preparing to launch a clinical research program to study people who believe they were harmed by vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines. There are plans for a new research center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, that could start up in mid-October."

Any guesses as to what the outcome of the program will be?

P.S. RFK Jr. canceled nearly $500 million in federal funding for 22 mRNA vaccine development projects in 2025.

https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-new-nih-research-center-vaccine-harms-takes-shape
#UsPol #Cronyism #AntiScience
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From Science.org:

"The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a 10-page memo signaling a retreat from its traditional role of giving grants to individual researchers to pursue their best ideas and to train the next generation of scientists.

Instead, the memo makes clear, NSF will devote the bulk of its resources to addressing the research priorities of Trump and his administration, many of them technology focused."

https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-memo-implementing-trump-s-golden-age-science-unsettles-researchers
#UsPol #Cronyism
1/n

I must confess that the auhor *Lost* me when he advocated for major increases in the remuneration of politicians based on the falsifiable premise that higher salaries attracts more competent *managers*. False premises and undisclosed assumptions is the killer blow to any quazy-academic postulate, and the author fell for both of them IMO.

Happy to be criticized for my review.

#Managerialism #Politics #NeoLiberalism #FinancialDeregulation #RiskManagement #Cronyism #Corruption #RevolvingDoors #DemocraticInstitutions #MeritoriousMediocrity

The No-Bid Boondoggle

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/08/the-no-bid-boondoggle/