Free Republic

They're scientists. Veterans. Park rangers. Lawyers. Researchers. Administrative staff. They work on fire safety. Safe drinking water. Veterans' health. Combating bird flu. They're from all over the country, in red states and blue. They're young and old. Thousands of federal workers have been fired in the last month. They're victims of efforts by President Donald Trump and his senior adviser, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, to cut the size of the government. And they want people to understand what they did and why they loved being public servants. Anna Conn, 35, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Asheville, N.C.:...

Sweeping layoffs, funding freezes and executive orders have provoked outcry among federal researchers and their university partners, who fear that science itself is under siege. “This is simply the end.” That was the five-word message that Rick Huganir, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, received from a colleague just before 6 p.m. two Fridays ago, with news that would send a wave of panic through the scientific community.… The flurry of activity in recent weeks stems from Trump’s executive orders that aim to shrink the federal workforce and target programs related to gender identity, environmental justice or diversity,...

Lower vaccination rates among Republicans could explain the partisan gap, but some researchers say mask use and social distancing were bigger factors. Covid deaths are unevenly distributed among Republicans and Democrats. Average excess death rates in Florida and Ohio were 76% higher among Republicans than Democrats between March 2020 and December 2021, according to a working paper released last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Excess deaths refers to deaths above what would be anticipated based on historical trends. A study in June published in Health Affairs similarly found that counties with a Republican majority had a greater...