curated citations to news sources
Robert Reich: Trump destroys our source of information about jobs. This is beyond irresponsible.
He hates facts. He rejects truth. He doesn’t want the public to know what’s really happening.
I spent much of the 1990s as Secretary of Labor. One unit of the Labor Department is the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I was instructed by my predecessors as well as by the White House, and by every labor economist and statistician I came in contact with, that one of my cardinal responsibilities was to guard the independence of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Otherwise, this crown jewel of knowledge about jobs and the economy would be compromised. If politicized, it would no longer be trusted as a source of information.
So what does Trump do? With one fell swoop on Friday he essentially destroyed the credibility of the BLS.
Trump didn’t like the fact that the BLS revised downward its jobs reports for April and May.
Well that’s too bad. Revisions in monthly jobs reports are nothing new. They’re made when the Bureau gets more or better information over time, which it often does.
Yet with no basis in fact, Trump charged that Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, “rigged” the data “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.” Then he ordered her fired and replaced with someone else — presumably someone whose data Trump will approve of.
How can anyone in the future trust the information that emerges from the Bureau of Labor Statistics when the person in charge of the agency has to come up with data to Trump’s liking in order to stay in the job? Answer: They cannot.
(Robert Reich more…)
NY Times: Trump, Claiming Weak Jobs Numbers Were ‘Rigged,’ Fires Labor Official
Economists said ousting the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics could undermine confidence in government economic data.
Slate: Yes, Trump Firing the BLS Commissioner Is Bad. Really Bad.
Her agency told the truth about Trump’s floundering economy. That was more than the aspiring autocrat could tolerate.
Jason Furman: Why Trump’s Firing of the B.L.S. Commissioner Is So Damaging
James Eagle: The Death of Statistical Independence
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – August 1, 2025
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Trump’s attempts to draw attention away from the news might have raised awareness of another issue, though. Chris Truax, an appellate lawyer who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s 2008 primary campaign, noted that Trump’s wild stories, inability to understand numbers, and inability to place events correctly into a timeline are key signs of dementia. Truax published an article in The Hill today, titled: “Trump’s mental decline is undeniable—so what now?”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.: A PolitiSage Backgrounder on Hegseth
He’s American Taliban, the guy who wants a “360-degree Holy War” to exorcise “the leftist specter.” He’s Henry II and a drunken Leonid Brezhnev all rolled into one. And he’s your Secretary of Defense.
(Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D. more…)
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Slashdot: Researchers Map Where Solar Energy Delivers the Biggest Climate Payoff
A Rutgers-led study using advanced computational modeling reveals that expanding solar power by just 15% could reduce U.S. carbon emissions by over 8.5 million metric tons annually, with the greatest benefits concentrated in specific regions like California, Texas, and the Southwest. The study has been published in Science Advances.
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arsTECHNICA: With Trump’s cutbacks, crew heads for ISS unsure of when they’ll come back
“We are looking at the potential to extend this current flight, Crew-11.”
(arsTECHNICA more…)
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Thom Hartmann: The Coming Republican Depression: How the GOP Turned America Into a Powder Keg, and Is About to Light the Match
Housing bubbles, financial scams, and political sabotage are converging into a historic, preventable disaster.
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arsTECHNICA: Under RFK Jr, CDC skips study on vaccination rates, quietly posts data on drop
Vaccination rates fell once again as nonmedical exemptions hit a new high.
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Atlantic: Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End
America’s run as the premier techno-superpower may be over.
(Atlantic more…)
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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