Erol Akcay

I've now received five NIH notice of awards for new or continuing grants since January. Almost enough data to detect some patterns. Here are a few observations. 1/n

Where to even start? There are no legally binding deals. Nobody has handed over any cash. Tariffs are primarily a tax faced by Americans, not exporters.

August 1, 2025 AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations Statement from the American Economic Association on the Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today. The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day. Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias. The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions. We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure. Lawrence Katz President, American Economic Association Katharine Abraham President-Elect, American Economic Association Karen Dynan Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics Kenneth Troske Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing

As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements

This is a big deal

Evolutionary Genomics, Assistant Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Fall 2026 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville: Knoxville Academic Units: College of Arts and Sciences: Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Open date: July 28, 2025 Description The Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, seeks applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Evolutionary Genomics. We invite applicants whose research leverages modern genomic tools and statistical approaches to address fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. We are particularly interested in candidates working on functional and evolutionary genomics in any system—plant, microbe, or animal (including humans)—who bring innovative, integrative approaches to large-scale genomic data analysis. [more on description excluded due to character limit on bsky: please see ad at https://apply.interfolio.com/170735 ] Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Biology, Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, or a related field at the time of appointment and should demonstrate a strong record of scientific accomplishment, including peer-reviewed publications. Excellent communication skills and a commitment to effective and modern teaching practices are required. Applications will be reviewed beginning September 19, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled. This position has an anticipated start date of August 1, 2026. Interested applicants should submit via Interfolio (apply.interfolio.com/170735) a cover letter, curriculum vitae, two-page statement of research accomplishment and plans, two-page description of teaching experiences and interests, and contact information of at least three individuals who could write letters of reference. Please direct any questions to the search chair, Dr. Elizabeth Derryberry (ederryb1@utk.edu).

Tenure-track faculty job in Evolutionary Genomics in my department, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at U of Tennessee, Knoxville.

• Any system (even humans)
• Interdisciplinary, collaborative folks welcomed
• Review starts Sep 19, 2025
• Details at apply.interfolio.com/170735

#AcademicSky

From what I can tell though this is the number of arrests from Oct 2020 to Dec 2024, not the recent stuff. Am I missing something?

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

1/2 Repulsive and built on lies.

Truth: The criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell was open and shut.

Truth: Trump Justice Department investigated and indicted Maxwell.

This disinformation effort should backfire on those who try to carry it out -- many times over.

Corrupt. Dangerous. Deeply deeply damaging.

"He's a piece of shit, but let's get the political science stuff out of the way," Steven told me when I asked if he thought support of Tesla could be considered apolitical. "Elon Musk has platformed white supremacists and antisemites on X. He got rid of all the moderation. He put back accounts that were clearly neo-Nazis. He's changed algorithms to promote that type of hate. Him and DOGE did massive cuts in the government, including our civil services. He's cut cancer research. Did I mention he was a giant piece of shit?" "He's cut our aid to Africa, which Will result, without exaggeration, in millions of women and children and innocent people dying. Millions," he said. "I'm not a big fan of people who give the Hitler salute. I mean, I'm kind of fussy like that. He gave it twice at Trump's inauguration," he continued. "He's a Nazi. And he cheats at video games. You have another question?"

lol at this response to a “man on the street” interview with protestors at the Tesla diner

Another email to Bhattacharya about his interview and his continued statements that NIH's gain of function research caused the COVID pandemic and killed millions of people.

1/8

the palate cleanser in the five course pardon meal

Social media post from Donald J. Trump on August 1, 2025, at 2:09 PM, addressing the firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of Labor Statistics. Trump accuses her, a Biden appointee, of falsifying jobs data to benefit Kamala Harris before the 2024 election. He claims the Bureau of Labor Statistics overstated job growth figures by hundreds of thousands in multiple months leading up to the election. Trump calls for accurate data and says McEntarfer will be replaced by someone more competent. He also criticizes Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, nicknaming him “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell,” and implies the Fed manipulated interest rates for political gain. The post ends with a thank you to followers and shows engagement metrics: 2.61k ReTruths and 8.77k Likes.

It's no exaggeration to say this is how you become a failed state like Venezuela. You fire competent people and replace them with loyal sycophants, even in roles where the truth is vital.

This will end in disaster when key economic data is manipulated on behalf of an authoritarian leader.

True banana republic stuff.

the republican party hates public goods and wants to force feed you and your family slop produced by its billionaire allies

US transit costs and how to tame them Alon Levy explains how the US can build cheaper, better public transit by learning from the rest of the world.

There's a *ton* of interesting stuff in this pod with Alon Levy about why US public transit is so f'ing expensive, but I really want to highlight what I take as his Main Point, to wit ...

Check out our paper in Evolution Letters!

We used D. melanogaster pigmentation as a focal trait to explore parallelism in phenotypic and genomic responses to environmental change - read more at the link below 👇

Yolo is a good name for a vulture.

WSJ OPINION Cornell University Discriminated Against Me I was excluded from a candidate search on the basis of my race and have filed an EEOC complaint. By Colin Wright July 30, 2025 at 4:53 pm ET

Colin Wright is a world class loser

Motherfucking wind farms…

CBS News investigation of Jeffrey Epstein jail video reveals new discrepancies A CBS News investigation found discrepancies between the government's description of the Jeffrey Epstein jail video and what the video shows.

Late in the day but this is really phenomenal work by CBS. I didn't think the story could surprise me anymore, but I exclaimed out loud several times reading this.

www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey...

Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding The National Institutes of Health can’t award grants to outside researchers under a new White House restriction.

NEW
The White House is blocking the NIH from awarding new research grants for the rest of the fiscal year

Chokes off billions in research funding

Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol... with @nidhisubs.bsky.social

With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.

Photo of Tom Lehrer

My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer.

Here’s the ‘lab leak’ family of Covid conspiracy theories, all of which are utter BS, being used to justify Project 2025’s destruction of federal science

(Also, leaf-blowers-on-lizards was NSF funded, not NIH, and it was both cheap and clever)

Have a Jeffrey Epstein question? Ask Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown There’s no one who knows the Jeffrey Epstein story better than Julie K. Brown, who will be answering reader questions to help separate fact from fiction.

Have a Jeffrey Epstein question? Ask Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, who first exposed how Epstein was able to get away with sexually abusing hundreds of girls with minimal consequences in her Perversion of Justice investigation.

graphic of two hands shaking Cyclists Drivers Wanting fewer drivers on the road in the middle We all want fewer drivers on the road regardless of how we get around.

We all want the same thing.

Creative developed with @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social

It is fucking insane that we had a decade of people complaining about the dangers of cancel culture, and now literally hundreds of thousands of people are being purged from government jobs for ideological reasons, but that is not cancel culture.

I will be more blunt: many of these essayists are “aggrieved” because they were, in some ways, held accountable for their racist and/or misogynistic views or behavior and incorrectly blame “science” and not progress. It’s not a lack of curiosity that fuels this book, it’s resentment

Plan to read "The War on Science" out 7/29 (taking one for the team) & saw that Jerry Coyne summarized it as:

"A group of 39 essays ... about how science is being corrupted by the Left."

Are the essayists truly unable to grapple with the existential threat from the right?

It matters.

a 🧵

when RFK says he wants to “end chronic disease,” what people hear is “he wants to cure us” but what he means is “i want to cull the weak”