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NEW BLOG IDEA = Need to Track Trump News in a systematic and searchable manner.

The onslaught of hideous news coming out of the Trump Administration is already starting and will turn into an unmanageable deluge before long.

I believe "we" need some sort of new blog, specifically dedicated to documenting, tracking and cataloging these stories, from authoritative sources.
Comments would include fact checking and follow up, discussion and such.
 
I think the SkepticalScience websites offers sort of a template for how to set up something like that.

Does anyone agree?
I'm big on climbing on my soap boxes, but don't have the savvy or IT know how needed to be successful at it.  
(to think '93 I was cutting edge Mac guy, learned all the Adobe Programs - not much good anymore.)

DC, you've got a good looking new blog started and you've even got your "Short Takes" but I'm talking about that tries to keep up to date and becomes a public archive for easy access to important information.  Oh and there's no doubt this sort of site would need a number of volunteers since it would require lots of regular homework.

Any Thoughts?


Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’
Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space exploration
Oliver Milman in New York
Wednesday 23 November 2016
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research
PG_Antioch

Comments

  • edited November 2016
    CC - I think that John Dupuis already started a list along the lines of what you have in mind on his blog "Confessions of a Science Librarian":

    Documenting the Donald Trump War on Science: Pre-Inauguration edition

    The blog post has already been updated a couple of times since first getting published on Nov. 11.


  • Baerbel,

    Thank you I saw that and, ....

    Okay that was interesting, encouraging and cool enough for me to repost it.  However, it's still just a list.  


    I'm thinking developing a blog like a study project.  

    Categorized, Cataloged news stories for organized access.  

    Fact checked and discussed in a way that enables others easy searchable access.

    Followed up, in order to track how these stories and events develop, including consequences.

    Thus enabling those building blocks to be used by others, individually and in collective efforts.  

    Be fun if John Mashey could be enticed to offer some of his organizational know how.

    PG_Antioch
  • BaerbelW 
    Another website starting something similar is Science Debate:
    Monitoring the Impact of the Trump Presidency on Science
    Now we're talking beef !
    Thank you, I'm going to have to spend some time over there.

  • Barbel, that seems like a cool effort.  http://questions.sciencedebate.org/forums/562990-monitoring-the-impact-of-the-trump-presidency-on-s  They want scientists, researchers, staff to share their actual first hand experiences of coming changes.  Sounds like a fantastic idea.    
    "We are seeking to rapidly gather your concerns and to document any changes you may be experiencing. We need to move from rumors to a set of case studies to help inform what we need to monitor and respond to."
    Although, this is another site I'm not familiar with and must admit I was a bit shocked to find a number of recent Judith Curry articles under http://sciencedebate.org "NEWS" so I'm curious if anyone else knows whats up over there?


  • Still looking for a research focused framework to track the wide variety of Trump's coming rapid fire attacks on science, public lands and environmental safeguards.

    Anyone out there good with bullet lists and categorizing?
    What would the structure for something like that look like?
  • It's not just science, public lands and environmental safeguards. You could also add education (DeVos' aim is to eliminate the public education system and use federal funding for privately-run religious schools) and journalism (see this article for tips on what is likely to happen).

    Then there are all the other aspects.
  • True enough - Kinda overwhelming isn't it.

    Hope for an awakening and an engagement by the masses   ?
  • But seriously, isn't a blog dedicated to tracking various specific developments in realtime something someones should be considering.  Now before the onslaught really begins.  At some time people are going to get pissed and take notice and good source of information will be invaluable. 

    Anyone care to offer a category break down?
  • edited November 2016
    To be perfectly honest, I think attacks on science are going to be the least of your problems. For a start, not even the Republicans want to destroy America's science capability as a whole. Even destroying parts of it that they don't like will probably prove more difficult than they think, and Trump himself basically has no idea how to implement anything he tweets about.

    NASA is obviously going to survive, with a large part of its capability intact. As one of its people said, they have to do work with satellites anyway and climate basically comes along for the ride. Universities will survive. Reaserch will still be going on around the world, and business (even in the US ) will still be making the case that climate change is real and bad for business, and the US military will still be making the case that climate change is real and a threat to national security.

    Yes, Trump and his friends are going to have some detrimental effects on science, but my guess is that they won't be able to be as bad as they would like to be. The world, and even a majority the US electorate, has moved on past the point where climate science denial is plausible.

    So while I am a bit worried about the effect troglodytes will have on US science, if I was actually living in the US I'd be more concerned about the other damage they could (and most likely will) do to your society, because that includes things that could be much harder to repair once Trump's term is over.

    Anyway, you may find this useful: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/28/danny-lyon-burn-zone-photographer-climate-change



  • Contrail,
    Thanks for that thoughtful feedback.  On the one hand, I have to agree with what you are saying.  Civil Rights and police brutality, totally breakdown in cross class communication  and citizens starting to shoot at each other in an organized fashion are where these insane alt-righters want to take this country, and I fear they may have more luck at it than not.  Not to overlook, Public lands will be going on the auction block, etc, etc.   (ps.  http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/11/profiles-in-treason-citizens-united.html) so in that regard, protecting and defending science may not be the highest priority,
    however that's no reason to abandon science and assume all will be fine.  Tracking and having a data base of objective information (again I see the SkS model dancing in my head) available for anyone on the internet to use.

    I will look at your link with interest when I get home tonight.
  • Nah, nice article, more power to him but guess I'm being crazy pie in the sky.  I'm thinking tracking and creating a vast data set, that will with time record in detail the proposal and their outcomes and consequences. 

    Sou am I crazy on this?  Have any thoughts about the concept and it's ultimate usefulness, should it be put together and maintained?  

    I know there are hundreds of important issues many more immediately touching people, but I for one get lost in that realm.  Too many sides all based on individual believes.  That's one reason I love the Earth so much, it's honest and straightforward, there is understanding and learning and better understanding of her fundamental truths that simply are.  If one gets it wrong, it's because one hasn't looked close enough or learned quite enough yet.  That I can stand up and defend.
  • I just found someone who had the same idea. This blog "limits" itself to science.
    http://scienceblogs.com/confessions/2016/11/11/documenting-the-donald-trump-war-on-science-pre-inauguration-edition/
    It is probably a good idea to limit oneself to a very small topic, not to be overwhelmed and then stopping or not beginning. Instead try to set up a system where multiple people can work on their topic to get a more complete picture and do so in a common way to make it accessible and more visible to the public.
  • Just found this thread. Lots of good ideas here, and some links I'll need to explore.

    I agree with Contrail Chook that science will be harder to dismantle than Trump and the the Banana Republicans think, particularly if they are going to fully fund the military which uses lots of this infrastructure. Also that, since this is true, while not insignificant, it will be the least of our worries. The damage that could be done to our society, even in the next two to four years, is immeasurable.

    Sou's is not a political blog however, so I'm hesitant to rail against the darkness here. 

    Citizenscallenge, I agree it is vital to keep making noise and to track the coming horrors in real time, and to engage as many people as possible. 


  • Also that, since this is true, while not insignificant, it will be the least of our worries. The damage that could be done to our society, even in the next two to four years, is immeasurable.
    agreed

    One reason to rouse as many people as soon as possible.

    Also I agree this isn't a "political" but are life is dominated by politics, so it will leak into here.
  • Actually on consideration,
         Complacency is exactly what got us into this coming horror show.  

    Remember the HARPER HORROR SHOW  
    http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2016/02/documenting-harper-attack-canadian.html

    In this post I share a link to The Harper Watch who have been documenting Stephen Harper's Administration since the man's election.  Then excerpts along with links to the Royal Society of Canada expert panel on the future of libraries and archives.  A well written summation by Erika Thorkelson at Huffington Post, and another thoughtful piece by Penny Pepperell examining implication of the National Energy Board gobbling up a portion of Canada's Oceans and Fisheries.  Then the Canada Center for Policy Alternatives' review of the Harper Administration's 2008-2013 impacts on the full spectrum of the Canadian government and its people.  
    I finish up with Charles Mandel reporting at the aftermath.  It's too late to stop this damage, now Canada is left with mop-up and half-hearted rebuilding.  CSIRO's damage can still be prevented.  Can you help?
    There's a lot of non military applicable science supporting land and water protection, justifying public lands, etc.  Besides what I'm talking about is creating a data base that develops in real time so that we can later assess with some accuracy exactly what has been done, along with recording consequences.
    http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trump_Environment.htm

    Q: Would you cut departments?
    TRUMP: Environmental Protection, what they do is a disgrace.  Every week they come out with new regulations. 
    Q: Who's going to protect the environment?
    TRUMP: We'll be fine with the environment. We can leave a little bit, but you can't destroy businesses.
    Why is Trump so fixated on abolishing the EPA?
    By Ben Adler on May 20, 2016
    http://grist.org/politics/why-is-trump-so-fixated-on-abolishing-the-epa/

    Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been notably light on policy specifics. Yet one of his very few clear proposals is to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency. He has called for doing so repeatedly, although he sometimes calls it the “Department of Environmental” or “DEP.” And he’s not the only Republican presidential contender to call for puting EPA on the chopping block. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich also called for eliminating the agency, and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio called for drastically limiting its authority.
    Trump victory reverses U.S. energy and environmental priorities
    By Steven Mufson and Brady Dennis November 9, 2016
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/09/trump-victory-reverses-u-s-energy-and-environmental-priorities/?utm_term=.ee571bf019ff

    Donald J. Trump comes into office with a plan to toss out most of what President Obama achieved on energy and the environment.
    While vowing to “cancel” the international Paris climate accord Obama championed, Trump would also rearrange domestic energy and environmental priorities. He wants to open up federal lands to oil and gas drilling and coal mining. He wants to eliminate regulations he calls needless. He would scrap proposed regulations for tighter methane controls on domestic drillers. And he wants to shrink the role of the Environmental Protection Agency to a mostly advisory one and pull back the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s proposed plan to push utilities toward lower carbon emissions.
    Although Trump has portrayed himself as the ultimate outsider, in putting together a transition team the New York real estate mogul has chosen veteran Washington insiders, many of them lobbyists for fossil fuel companies and skeptics about climate science.

    and so on and so forth . . . 

    Time and tide wait for no one.  In a few months everyone's going to be scrambling so much, it'll be hard for anything to gain tractions.  Lordie knows the Republican aren't waiting one minute getting their opening salvo ready, while most leftie types don't even realize what's coming.  And those that do, continue hoping for the best.

    Okay so I'm a pessimist, unfortunately when I look back over decades now my fears have proven way more accurate that everyone else's complacent security and disconnect from the seriousness of what these neocons and Alt-righters and white religious fanatics want the world to turn into, not to mention what they want to do to rationalists.

    Will we never learn.   :- (

    PG_Antioch
  • That looks like an excellent resource, Victor. Thanks.
  • Also, the Wiki could be used to plop any blog articles or media items into it that people felt like putting in. It's really not all that hard to add entries (or register). You can include your own comment or just put up links to other sources, like the above. If anyone wants me to add a Trump Effect page or pages, I'll be happy to set this up.

  • {this has been sitting here un-posted for weeks now - my intro deleted since it's out of date.  
    Still then articles I was going to share is worth posting.}
    Trump Can't Grasp Common Facts, Much Less Scientific Facts
    http://questions.sciencedebate.org/forums/562990-monitoring-the-impact-of-the-trump-presidency-on-s/suggestions/17106934-trump-can-t-grasp-common-facts-much-less-scientif

    It almost seems like a luxury to be concerned about scientific knowledge and advancement when Trump and his associates seem unable to distinguish between the true and the false in everyday matters, much less scientific ones. 

    For a man who couldn't determine if Obama was from the US, it will be nearly impossible for him to grasp the issues surrounding the question of global warming and whether or not it's anthropomorphic. He probably doesn't even know what anthropomorphic means...and I'm not trying to be dismissive. I'm serious. His degree of understanding about the world and his level of interest and/or curiosity in critical topics is frighteningly low. 

    So, while I would de delighted if Mr. Trump would address scientific issues in a serious manner, his previous 70 years of behavior would indicate that that is an empty wish and that he will not address even non-scientific issues in a serious manner. 

    I'm afraid that science and scientific matters will have to take a step back while we try to raise this new President's level of critical thinking skill to at least a basic level. Once he has demonstrated an ability to discern fact from fiction regarding less complex issues, then, perhaps, we can hope that he can graduate to the consideration of higher order problems. I just wouldn't hold my breath for that day to come. And his running mate, Mr. Pence, appears to have -- if this is even possible -- even less of an ability to grasp scientific matters and, instead, relies on mystical beliefs unmoored from any data or facts. I believe that he even questions the bedrock scientific fact of evolution. Such men are a bit beyond recovery. 

    We may just need to wait until more capable individuals are in office. In the meantime, we need to concentrate on making sure that our state and local officials -- Democrat or Republican -- are able to deal with scientific problems and understand the scientific method. These will be dark years, but we must try to keep our heads above water until rescuers arrive. ...


    PG_Antioch
  • Citizen, was this what you were looking for? http://trump-track.com/

    Yeah, that's looking petty close.  There's still the organizational and accessibly question, specially as time goes on, but the foundation is there of consistently capturing the stories as they are being produced.  I'll be checking it out regularly.

    Thanks for sharing that.

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