In a continuing effort to collect the signs and portents from the Trump administration that might signal actual science policy, here is a quick look at the White House website [1]. After Friday, the website changed over to the new administration and with that came a set of new issues […]
policy
28 posts
It’s been days since the confirmation hearings of Mr. Rex Tillerson for United States Secretary of State. I was not able to listen to his hearing, but his testimony has been available in recordings with some transcripts becoming available. The topic of most interest to me was potential U.S. climate […]
Since the election, while I have paid attention to the developments of the Trump administration, I have withheld on commenting about any of the news so far because nothing has actually happened. On the science front, the most salient decisions related to science policy that Mr. Trump has made so […]
On January 5 (yesterday), the President spoke to the nation about possible executive actions to address gun sales and safety. Memes began circulating immediately (see right), likely dusted off and reshared from previous second amendment “debates” but recycled for this moment. Do they accurately reflect the content and intent of […]
I am Stephen Sekula, an Assistant Professor of Physics at SMU conducting research on the ATLAS Experiment. These comments will be my own, and I will try to take a broad view. Let me begin by thanking the members of the Panel for this opportunity to speak, and let me […]
I’ve been engaged in a small conversation on a social network regarding the labeling of food as “genetically modified.” I’ve written specific thoughts about the scientific problems with that labeling recently in this blog [1]. I thought it might be useful to explain here how I got engaged in this […]
I am saddened by the news that South Carolina’s governor has chosen a path of scientific and medical ignorance and vetoed a bill that would have provided young girls free access to the HPV vaccine, which is recommended for girls as young as 12 to head off the possible transmission […]
A child infected with measles, a disease easily prevented with a simple vaccination. From http://www.flickr.com/photos/julien_harneis/4140374881/ Please find below the letter I just sent to American Airlines pertaining to the claim by the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) press release claiming that AA will give them a platform for their anti-vaccination message. […]
Peter Gleick’s unethical subterfuge to obtain internal documents from the Heartland Institute has begun to give some interesting insights into this anti-science institution. While not all of the documents have been confirmed, enough has been confirmed from independent sources (including those named in the documents) to begin shedding light on […]
I have been following on Twitter all of the major Presidential hopefuls in the Republican Party, plus President Obama, and the major fact-checking and political reporting organizations (you can find them in my Twitter list, https://twitter.com/#!/drsekula/u-s-political-spotlight). I peruse it daily for claims and subsequent fact-checks. It’s also a useful way […]
Many years ago, I commented on the seeming extinction of the species Sanctimonium Santorum [1]. Like many species that were previously believed to be extinct, there has been a sudden and unexpected reappearance of this odd species. However, as I commented then, In government, there are limited resources. There are […]
Me and a lot of my friends and family members are doing a lot of traveling during these holidays. A lot of us bring electronics with us to entertain during the tedious flights. As a scientist, I want to make the lives of flight attendants easier by being well-behaved, but […]