Persistent Science
@scienceendures.bsky.social
Current federal employee in science and technology work. Sending my own perspective. My posts aren't official communications.
Why it seems like so many with power are so reluctant to act as though this is the crisis it is will be a mystery to me until my dying day. Psychological textbooks will written on this time, and the actions of many.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Why it seems like so many with power are so reluctant to act as though this is the crisis it is will be a mystery to me until my dying day. Psychological textbooks will written on this time, and the actions of many.
Of course, some have done far more, and if the Republic is saved, I think Marc Elias, Mark Zaid, and others who have fought the good fight legally will deserve an outsized portion of the credit. But they can't do it alone.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Of course, some have done far more, and if the Republic is saved, I think Marc Elias, Mark Zaid, and others who have fought the good fight legally will deserve an outsized portion of the credit. But they can't do it alone.
And sadly, it makes me wonder whether we will recover from this - not because we can't, but because those who shold know better and have the power to lead us out of darkness act as though it's all cool. It's just another Wednesday.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
And sadly, it makes me wonder whether we will recover from this - not because we can't, but because those who shold know better and have the power to lead us out of darkness act as though it's all cool. It's just another Wednesday.
As a federal employee, I watched horrendously illegal, unConstitutional, corrupt, and damaging actions all of last year, and the "business as usual" response to it. I can't speak for all feds, but the lack of full-on political response was probably the most disheartening thing.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
As a federal employee, I watched horrendously illegal, unConstitutional, corrupt, and damaging actions all of last year, and the "business as usual" response to it. I can't speak for all feds, but the lack of full-on political response was probably the most disheartening thing.
And in that lack of news, they conclude Trump's actions are, while not necessarily something they love, are not a crisis.
Impeachment, whether successful or not, rips that complacency apart.
Even CBS has to report on it.
Impeachment, whether successful or not, rips that complacency apart.
Even CBS has to report on it.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
And in that lack of news, they conclude Trump's actions are, while not necessarily something they love, are not a crisis.
Impeachment, whether successful or not, rips that complacency apart.
Even CBS has to report on it.
Impeachment, whether successful or not, rips that complacency apart.
Even CBS has to report on it.
The problem with NOT doing this is the vast majority of people do not spend time on BlueSky, or Truth Social, or anywhere they might hear a lot of what more politically aware people hear.
What they DO see is lack of news regarding opposition to Trump's actions, whatever those might be.
What they DO see is lack of news regarding opposition to Trump's actions, whatever those might be.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
The problem with NOT doing this is the vast majority of people do not spend time on BlueSky, or Truth Social, or anywhere they might hear a lot of what more politically aware people hear.
What they DO see is lack of news regarding opposition to Trump's actions, whatever those might be.
What they DO see is lack of news regarding opposition to Trump's actions, whatever those might be.
Didn't the South Koreans threaten to file impeachment charges against their would-be autocrat over and over until he left?
I recall something about "filing on a weekly basis".
I recall something about "filing on a weekly basis".
January 7, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Didn't the South Koreans threaten to file impeachment charges against their would-be autocrat over and over until he left?
I recall something about "filing on a weekly basis".
I recall something about "filing on a weekly basis".
"Never" is a long time for something like murder, which has no statute of limitations.
January 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
"Never" is a long time for something like murder, which has no statute of limitations.
I don't mind at all.
January 7, 2026 at 8:26 PM
I don't mind at all.
Funny. To most of the rest of us, I'd venture to say it's a sign of weakness and cowardice.
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Funny. To most of the rest of us, I'd venture to say it's a sign of weakness and cowardice.
Ken - on the civil suit side, the victim is a private citizen, not public figure, and DHS and Noem don't seem to care much about the truth in the statements they're making. After the criminal proceedings, would defamation be a possibility?
January 7, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Ken - on the civil suit side, the victim is a private citizen, not public figure, and DHS and Noem don't seem to care much about the truth in the statements they're making. After the criminal proceedings, would defamation be a possibility?
A question on the civil side: Noem and the DHS social media team leaping out to smear the private citizen victim here, without knowing anything about her, seems like "reckless disregard for the truth" to me. But I'm not a lawyer. Thoughts?
January 7, 2026 at 7:51 PM
A question on the civil side: Noem and the DHS social media team leaping out to smear the private citizen victim here, without knowing anything about her, seems like "reckless disregard for the truth" to me. But I'm not a lawyer. Thoughts?
The thing is, this isn't a political opponent. It's a private citizen gunned down in cold blood.
And if I may borrow a legal term, I think Noem and the DHS social media team are demonstrating a blatantly reckless disregard for the truth in her claims about the victim.
And if I may borrow a legal term, I think Noem and the DHS social media team are demonstrating a blatantly reckless disregard for the truth in her claims about the victim.
January 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
The thing is, this isn't a political opponent. It's a private citizen gunned down in cold blood.
And if I may borrow a legal term, I think Noem and the DHS social media team are demonstrating a blatantly reckless disregard for the truth in her claims about the victim.
And if I may borrow a legal term, I think Noem and the DHS social media team are demonstrating a blatantly reckless disregard for the truth in her claims about the victim.
Kind of hoping there's a strategy here. His answers don't seem solid.
December 8, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Kind of hoping there's a strategy here. His answers don't seem solid.
As I've said elsewhere, as a federal employee, I can assure anyone who asks (as can other feds) that we are most certainly accountable to Congress, the President, and the American People.
We are accountable to the law.
We are accountable to the law.
December 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
As I've said elsewhere, as a federal employee, I can assure anyone who asks (as can other feds) that we are most certainly accountable to Congress, the President, and the American People.
We are accountable to the law.
We are accountable to the law.
Reposted by Persistent Science
The idea the president has a popular mandate and accountability superior to Congress would have been baffling, infuriating, and heretical to the people who wrote and ratified the Constitution, and this is obvious to anybody even glancingly familiar with what any of them had to say about it.
December 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
The idea the president has a popular mandate and accountability superior to Congress would have been baffling, infuriating, and heretical to the people who wrote and ratified the Constitution, and this is obvious to anybody even glancingly familiar with what any of them had to say about it.
Doesn't the U.S. have enough private sector corporations? Why set up the President to compete with them?
The government, by design, serves a different function. And it requires expertise to do it. Sauer is a fool.
The government, by design, serves a different function. And it requires expertise to do it. Sauer is a fool.
December 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Doesn't the U.S. have enough private sector corporations? Why set up the President to compete with them?
The government, by design, serves a different function. And it requires expertise to do it. Sauer is a fool.
The government, by design, serves a different function. And it requires expertise to do it. Sauer is a fool.
As a federal employee, we sure as hell answer to Congress. We also answer to the White House, and to the American People.
We don't have to treat the President as an unaccountable private sector CEO to make that happen. It already does!
We don't have to treat the President as an unaccountable private sector CEO to make that happen. It already does!
December 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
As a federal employee, we sure as hell answer to Congress. We also answer to the White House, and to the American People.
We don't have to treat the President as an unaccountable private sector CEO to make that happen. It already does!
We don't have to treat the President as an unaccountable private sector CEO to make that happen. It already does!
There can be no logical limiting principle when you set the President up as a king.
The Constitution provides broad limits on the President by making that office respect the law. Absent that, you really have nothing.
The Constitution provides broad limits on the President by making that office respect the law. Absent that, you really have nothing.
December 8, 2025 at 4:05 PM
There can be no logical limiting principle when you set the President up as a king.
The Constitution provides broad limits on the President by making that office respect the law. Absent that, you really have nothing.
The Constitution provides broad limits on the President by making that office respect the law. Absent that, you really have nothing.
They are arguing for monarchy by ignoring the part of the Constitution that prevents it, full stop.
December 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
They are arguing for monarchy by ignoring the part of the Constitution that prevents it, full stop.
And some of those include accountability to Congress, some to the President, and some more directly to the American People.
It isn't necessary to treat the President like a monarch to have accountability for the civil service. In fact, that turns the civil service into the President's army.
It isn't necessary to treat the President like a monarch to have accountability for the civil service. In fact, that turns the civil service into the President's army.
December 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
And some of those include accountability to Congress, some to the President, and some more directly to the American People.
It isn't necessary to treat the President like a monarch to have accountability for the civil service. In fact, that turns the civil service into the President's army.
It isn't necessary to treat the President like a monarch to have accountability for the civil service. In fact, that turns the civil service into the President's army.