Extra, Extra
Nu’Merical: “The credibility of American statistics is foundational. It undergirds investor trust. It guides fiscal and monetary policy. It tells businesses when to hire, when to expand and when to hold. When those numbers are tainted or appear to be, the ripple effects are vast. Markets can lose faith in the data and in the country that produces it.” George A. Akerlof, a Nobel-winning economist, on Trump’s firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he didn’t like the numbers. NYT (Gift Article): What to Do When the President Acts Like a 5-Year-Old?
+ Scientific Un-American: “The very best scientists are like elite basketball players: They come to America from all over the world so that they can spend their prime years working alongside top talent.” That’s been true for decades. As you can imagine, it’s less true every day. The Atlantic (Gift Article): Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End.
+ Gerrychurl: “Gov. Greg Abbott informed Texas House Democrats late Sunday that he would attempt to have them removed from office if they do not return to Austin to pass the GOP’s proposed new congressional maps.”
+ Access Granted: “A new disclosure shows how corporations and individuals, including many in the crypto business, wrote big checks while seeking favor from the president.” Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation.
+ ‘Zempics or It Didn’t Happen: Derek Thompson with an interesting overview of Ozempic, etc. If GLP-1 Drugs Are Good For Everything, Should We All Be on Them?
+ Code Red: “Farritor was an inquisitive, uncommonly talented and sometimes obsessive young man. He had opportunities. He had people who cared about him, and those people had ideas of what he might achieve. Their ideas had nothing to do with Washington. Maybe Farritor didn’t know that his decision to help the man he so admired try to slash government spending would mean disappearing from his own life, working secretively but appearing in court documents. That it would mean disappointing and angering some, thrilling others. That in trying to solve one problem, he would play a part in creating chaos and distress and fear. Those he knew would not always be spared. His community in Lincoln would be cleaved. Maybe, some in his hometown say, he didn’t know there would be consequences.” Bloomberg (Gift Article): Doge-Pilled. Meanwhile, Tesla awards CEO Musk millions of shares valued at about $29 billion.
+ You Electrolyte Up My Life: What’s the deal with electrolyte drinks — do you need them to stay hydrated? (Spoiler Alert: No.)
