Scott Pruitt explaining the elimination of the program that funds research into environmental impacts on communities.
Credit: Pete Marovich
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate its National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), a department that funds research into environmental impacts on communities. (emphasis added)
The center, tasked with distributing “grants to test the effects of chemical exposure on adults and children,” will be shuttered amid a reorganization at the agency as part of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s goal of creating more efficiency at the agency.
Why has support for gun rights become a hallmark of the Republican Party? There is nothing inevitable about the combination of economic and foreign policy conservatism with social conservatism. As late as the mid-1980s, conservative icons including Ronald Reagan supported gun control measures such as the Brady bill and a ban on assault weapons. Support for gun control legislation actually increased among Republicans in the 1980s. Unambiguous support for gun “rights” didn’t appear in the Republican Party platform until 1988. Even the National Rifle Association did not become fanatically opposed to any and all gun regulations until the late 1970s.
During his 2008 primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama famously proposed a crude psychological explanation for why traditionally Democratic-leaning groups of voters were being drawn to Republican positions on social issues. Industrial jobs had disappeared from the small towns of Pennsylvania and the Midwest, he noted, and Republicans and Democrats alike had failed to address the distress of these communities. So, he said, it’s not surprising that “they get bitter, they […]
Fewer Indians are attending graduate school in the U.S.
Credit: Reuters/Keith Bedford
The Donald Trump administration’s protectionist rhetoric seems to have put off Indian students.
The number of Indian students enrolling for graduate-level programmes in computer science and engineering in the US declined by 21%, or 18,590, in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to a recent report (pdf) by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a Virginia-based non-profit public policy research organisation. The report is based on data from the US department of homeland security.
This took a toll on the overall number of international students enrolling with US colleges, which fell by 4% in 2017, the report said.
“Indian graduate students completing degrees in science and engineering at US universities are a major source of talent for US companies,” NFAP said in its report. If the trend continues, it could have a profound negative impact on students, universities, companies, and the US economy, the report said. “The US government policy, such as the Trump administration’s announced plans […]
Republican Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday announced that the Justice Department’s inspector general will investigate the circumstances that led to a former Trump campaign aide’s surveillance.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Sessions made the remarks about the investigation at a press conference when answering a question about a GOP memo that alleged abuses in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrants obtained to surveil one-time Trump adviser Carter Page.
The memo, commissioned by House Intelligence Committee Chairman and known Trump ally Devin Nunes, alleged the DOJ and FBI abused their surveillance powers when obtaining FISA warrants for Page, further speculating that an anti-Trump dossier from 2016 was the main reason for obtaining the warrants. The bureau, however, first obtained FISA warrants to surveil Page in 2014, when they suspected he had been compromised by Kremlin operatives.
“We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the highest standards in the FISA court, and yes it will be investigated, and I think that’s just the appropriate thing,” Sessions said. “The inspector general […]
Credit:radio.foxnews.com
In the Backdrop of a chaotic first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, the conservative Koch brothers have won victory after victory in their bid to reshape American government to their interests.
Documents obtained by The Intercept and Documented show that the network of wealthy donors led by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch have taken credit for a laundry list of policy achievements extracted from the Trump administration and their allies in Congress.
The donors have pumped campaign contributions not only to GOP lawmakers, but also to an array of third-party organizations that have pressured officials to act swiftly to roll back limits on pollution, approve new pipeline projects, and extend the largest set of upper-income tax breaks in generations.
“This year, thanks in part to research and outreach efforts across institutions, we have seen progress on many regulatory priorities this Network has championed for years,” the memo notes. The document highlights environmental issues that the Koch brothers have long worked to undo, such as the EPA Clean Power Plan, which is currently under the process of being formally repealed, and Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
