Eric S. Lander, the president’s top science adviser, resigned Monday evening after acknowledging that he had demeaned and disrespected his colleagues, behavior that prompted immediate questions about how he could keep his job given President Biden’s promise to fire any aide who disrespected others.
“The president accepted Dr. Eric Lander’s resignation letter this evening with gratitude” for his work, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “He knows that Dr. Lander will continue to make important contributions to the scientific community in the years ahead.” …
Dr. Lander, a cabinet-level official, apologized in an email to his staff after an internal investigation found that he had violated an administration policy that outlines rules for respectful workplace conduct. In his resignation letter to the president, he again expressed regret for having been disrespectful.
“I am devastated that I caused hurt to past and present colleagues by the way in which I have spoken to them,” Dr. Lander wrote in his resignation letter. “I have sought to push myself and my colleagues to reach our shared goals — including at times challenging and criticizing. But it is clear that things I said, and the way I said them, crossed the line at times into being disrespectful and demeaning, to both men and women.”
Mr. Biden, on his first day in office, said he would immediately terminate anyone who was caught showing disrespect to another colleague.
“If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot,” Mr. Biden told a group of appointees on Inauguration Day. “Everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. That’s been missing in a big way for the last four years.”
Since then, the White House has faced questions on how Mr. Biden’s edict has been applied across the administration. …
… While we can celebrate the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to science, we must recognize that Lander has a reputation among some scientists for being controversial, and colleagues have criticized him for his “ego without end.” We cannot forget that in 2016, Lander wrote a widely criticized history of the revolutionary technology CRISPR, dubbed the “Heroes of CRISPR,” that erased the contributions of two women colleagues. This conspicuous exclusion is emblematic of the forces in science that hold back women and scientists of color from attaining the level of prominence he enjoys.
These are hardly contributions that could be omitted by mistake. In 2020, those scientists, Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work, solidifying their place in history. …
Biden’s Top Science Adviser Resigns After Acknowledging Demeaning Behavior
(Link won’t post.>
NYT: Eric S. Lander, the president’s top science adviser, resigned Monday evening after acknowledging that he had demeaned and disrespected his colleagues, behavior that prompted immediate questions about how he could keep his job given President Biden’s promise to fire any aide who disrespected others.
“The president accepted Dr. Eric Lander’s resignation letter this evening with gratitude” for his work, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “He knows that Dr. Lander will continue to make important contributions to the scientific community in the years ahead.”
… Lander’s conduct and the White House’s initial decision to stand by him sparked some consternation inside the White House and among Biden allies and created an unnecessary distraction from Biden’s agenda.
By late Monday, Lander came to believe he was in an untenable position and resigned effective no later than Feb. 18, “in order to permit an orderly transfer.”
In a statement Monday, the American Association for the Advancement of Science said Lander would no longer be invited to speak at its meeting next week, saying he was not conducting himself in a “manner befitting a scientist or scientific leader — much less a cabinet-level leader in the administration.’ …
” Racial gerrymandering cases don’t get more “clearcut” than Merrill v. Milligan, and when Roberts sides with the liberals in a VRA case, you know it’s an easy one. Yet five justices saw fit to break their court’s rules to deprive
Black voters of a hard-fought, richly deserved victory. In doing so, they effectively insulated racial gerrymanders in other states, including South Carolina and Louisiana, from invalidation. And, by extension, they handed Republicans more whitewashed seats in the House of Representatives. The court’s order is not merely partisan. It is a lawless assault on the one remaining provision of the VRA protecting Black Americans in red states from political oblivion.”
Actress Susan Sarandon is yet another Bernie Sanders supporter who doesn’t vote, as she recently tweeted, “with my vagina.”
But, as Sarandon explains why she’s with Sanders and not with Hillary Clinton, you can’t help but think that gender does give her a certain perspective — one that’s tough on female candidates.
When Clinton first ran for office, “Of course I was behind a woman,” the actress said during an interview Thursday at the Thinking Cup on Tremont Street. Then, came the vote to authorize war with Iraq. When Clinton voted for it , “I broke up with her,” said Sarandon. “I expected so much more of her as a woman.” …
That reason being the Bush Jr administration had pushed the idea that Iraq leader Saddam Hussein had somehow supported the events of 9/11. This was a lie, but it served to boost Bush Jr’s approval ratings.
thanks for this. we do need to be reminded that Dems are unreliable on certain issues, like war, the economy, and human rights. their rhetoric is generally on the side of the good guys, but for some reason they never seem to deliver. [i have just been reading about Bill Clinton’s contributions to Obama’s deficit commission talks held by Peter Peterson…that should put a chill in your heart.
as for women, I think the current lineup at fox news, or congressional ladies etc should have taught us that women are fully equal to men..just as stupid and dishonest and cruel. This does mean I am saying “don’t vote for women.” I am saying don’t vote for a woman just because she is a woman.
On the other hand Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s attempt to portray Biden’s suggested Supreme Court nominee “has no qualifications other than being a woman” is such a poisonous travesty of logic that we should be grateful to them: it helps us know that they are lying even when we don’t know the facts.
thinks for bringing this to our attention. i wish you had included more facts/arguments.
I don’t need to be told the current SC doesn’t give a damn about human rights, democracy, the law, the constitution, or America itself, except as the property of the idle rich class (would that they were a little more idle). but just words that assert this, without some substance presented with them, don’t do much more than increase my level of stress and the general meaningless noise of politics
There are several posts in here by Run that have all the details. If you look at 3rd party voting in 2012, 2016 and 2020 in MI, WI and PA it becomes obvious that the Sarandons of the world put Trump in the White House.
The increase in those votes in 2016 from 2012 were hundreds of thousands more than trump’s winning margins. Then in 2020 those third party votes went away and returned to 2012 levels.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods soared to record levels in 2021, topping $1 trillion as Americans continued to spend heavily on computers, toys, bicycles, clothing, pharmaceuticals and other goods made in foreign factories during the pandemic.
The overall trade deficit in both goods and services also hit an annual record, rising 27 percent as the country’s imports far outpaced its exports, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. …
The widening deficit — which climbed to $859.1 billion from $678.7 billion the previous year — was a reflection of a highly unusual pandemic economy. Americans, sheltering at home from the coronavirus and with savings swelled by government relief packages, slashed their spending on travel, restaurants and movies and splurged on furniture, electronics and other goods instead.
It is also the latest sign of how dependent the United States remains on other countries, particularly China, for the things that consumers want to buy.
i am old fashioned enough to be at least a little worried about deficits, but deficit hysteria has been used to mask anti-worker politics in this country too long for me to take it seriously.
the “deficit” if important, could be fixed by rescinding the Trump and Bush tax cuts on the rich. “inflation” if serious (i don’t think the current inflation scare is quite serious…its roots are not in excessive demand, but price gouging blamed on the pandemic.) will be “fixed” by raising interest rates, which should put the economy into recession and generally hurt workers and their families. not to mention democratic chances for the next wo elections at least. after that, elections won’t matter.
(Actually, he said ‘Debt’, but close enough. I’m not worrying.)
Amid all the wild swings in U.S. politics over the past decade, one thing has remained constant: the G.O.P. position on government debt. The party considers high levels of debt an existential threat — if a Democrat is sitting in the White House. If a Republican president presides over big deficits, well, as Donald Trump’s budget director reportedly told supporters last year, “nobody cares.”
So it’s a completely safe prediction that once Joe Biden is sworn in, we will once again hear lots of righteous Republican ranting about the evils of borrowing. What’s less clear is whether we’ll see a repeat of what happened during the Obama years, when many centrists — and much of the news media — both took obvious fiscal phonies seriously and joined in the chorus of fearmongering. …
… the fact is that we’ve learned a lot about the economics of government debt over the past few years — enough so that Olivier Blanchard, the eminent former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is talking about a “shift in fiscal paradigm.” And the new paradigm suggests both that public debt isn’t a major problem and that government borrowing for the right purposes is actually the responsible thing to do. …
Anybody concerned about the blatant attempt to overthrow the U.S. Government and the “Rule of Law”?
Every day we get more & more rock-solid evidence of blatant seditious crimes to overthrow the government of the United States. Yet, each day we hold our breath to see if DOJ will charge, arrest or begin of all the criminals. Sadly nothing! Rule of Law has little meaning if not applied equally!
Mark Meadows 57+ days subpoena violation; Trump Presidential Records Act violations; & 83 fake electors running free. Blatant Federal crimes. Solid, irrefutable evidence & NO DOJ ACTION. Serious malfeasance problems at DOJ!
9-27.000 – PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL PROSECUTION
“…serious violations of federal law MUST be prosecuted”
I can understand some reluctance to indicting Trump directly & wanting all the details in place, but can’t understand reluctance on 83 fake electors or Meadows which could provide even more evidence for action against Trump & higher ups. No investigation necessary. Slam dunk prosecution!
The Meadows delay may seem somewhat insignificant but he simply refused to show up & violated the subpoena. He wants to claim Executive Privilege, but to do that you MUST show up to claim whatever you want. BUT, you can’t just not show up. This should have been charged & prosecuted IMMEDIATELY… now 57+ days out with nothing. Terrible precedent for “rule of law”.
Pretty soon end of Summer will be here and Congress will want to leave this behind and start campaigning. And if Repubs win, Dems have an excuse for doing nothing more than investigating. Merrick is not impressing so far.
yeah, i’m worried. But I’m hoping they are just patiently buiding their case.
And not-jailing some might just keep what happened in the front of people’s minds long enough to sink in. Jailing someone would either provoke the lie machine or just tell the people “okay, that’s all taken care of now.”
I’ve never been so fond of putting people in jail, even those who deserve it. It might be better to just make it hard for them to ever again be in a position of power.
That is a risk. Hitler was put in jail, and he came back stronger than ever.
The Russians put people in jail, and all the world heard was “human rights abuse” instead of “dangerous people put where they could not reinvent “capitalist abuse of the people.”
[I think “human rights abuse” was the true story there, but we don’t want it to be the story that comes out from jailing Trumpists.]
Top Science Adviser Resigns After Acknowledging Demeaning Behavior
NY Times – Feb 7
Eric Lander (was) Not the Ideal Choice for Presidential Science Adviser
Scientific American – 500 Women Scientists on January 21, 2021
Biden’s Top Science Adviser Resigns After Acknowledging Demeaning Behavior
(Link won’t post.>
NYT: Eric S. Lander, the president’s top science adviser, resigned Monday evening after acknowledging that he had demeaned and disrespected his colleagues, behavior that prompted immediate questions about how he could keep his job given President Biden’s promise to fire any aide who disrespected others.
“The president accepted Dr. Eric Lander’s resignation letter this evening with gratitude” for his work, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “He knows that Dr. Lander will continue to make important contributions to the scientific community in the years ahead.”
AP via Boston Globe – Feb 7
… Lander’s conduct and the White House’s initial decision to stand by him sparked some consternation inside the White House and among Biden allies and created an unnecessary distraction from Biden’s agenda.
By late Monday, Lander came to believe he was in an untenable position and resigned effective no later than Feb. 18, “in order to permit an orderly transfer.”
In a statement Monday, the American Association for the Advancement of Science said Lander would no longer be invited to speak at its meeting next week, saying he was not conducting himself in a “manner befitting a scientist or scientific leader — much less a cabinet-level leader in the administration.’ …
Have a nice day, Susan Sarandons of the world.
” Racial gerrymandering cases don’t get more “clearcut” than Merrill v. Milligan, and when Roberts sides with the liberals in a VRA case, you know it’s an easy one. Yet five justices saw fit to break their court’s rules to deprive
Black voters of a hard-fought, richly deserved victory. In doing so, they effectively insulated racial gerrymanders in other states, including South Carolina and Louisiana, from invalidation. And, by extension, they handed Republicans more whitewashed seats in the House of Representatives. The court’s order is not merely partisan. It is a lawless assault on the one remaining provision of the VRA protecting Black Americans in red states from political oblivion.”
https://slate.com/news-and-…
Just to review…
Actress Susan Sarandon is yet another Bernie Sanders supporter who doesn’t vote, as she recently tweeted, “with my vagina.”
But, as Sarandon explains why she’s with Sanders and not with Hillary Clinton, you can’t help but think that gender does give her a certain perspective — one that’s tough on female candidates.
When Clinton first ran for office, “Of course I was behind a woman,” the actress said during an interview Thursday at the Thinking Cup on Tremont Street. Then, came the vote to authorize war with Iraq. When Clinton voted for it , “I broke up with her,” said Sarandon. “I expected so much more of her as a woman.” …
Boston Globe – Feb 25, 2016
(Eventually, she supposedly voted for Jill Stein on the Green Party ticket. Third-party voting on a presidential ballot is always a bad idea.)
(The mostly Dem NY congressional delegation was solidly behind the Iraq War for some reason.)
That reason being the Bush Jr administration had pushed the idea that Iraq leader Saddam Hussein had somehow supported the events of 9/11. This was a lie, but it served to boost Bush Jr’s approval ratings.
Dobbs
thanks for this. we do need to be reminded that Dems are unreliable on certain issues, like war, the economy, and human rights. their rhetoric is generally on the side of the good guys, but for some reason they never seem to deliver. [i have just been reading about Bill Clinton’s contributions to Obama’s deficit commission talks held by Peter Peterson…that should put a chill in your heart.
as for women, I think the current lineup at fox news, or congressional ladies etc should have taught us that women are fully equal to men..just as stupid and dishonest and cruel. This does mean I am saying “don’t vote for women.” I am saying don’t vote for a woman just because she is a woman.
On the other hand Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s attempt to portray Biden’s suggested Supreme Court nominee “has no qualifications other than being a woman” is such a poisonous travesty of logic that we should be grateful to them: it helps us know that they are lying even when we don’t know the facts.
EM
thinks for bringing this to our attention. i wish you had included more facts/arguments.
I don’t need to be told the current SC doesn’t give a damn about human rights, democracy, the law, the constitution, or America itself, except as the property of the idle rich class (would that they were a little more idle). but just words that assert this, without some substance presented with them, don’t do much more than increase my level of stress and the general meaningless noise of politics
There are several posts in here by Run that have all the details. If you look at 3rd party voting in 2012, 2016 and 2020 in MI, WI and PA it becomes obvious that the Sarandons of the world put Trump in the White House.
The increase in those votes in 2016 from 2012 were hundreds of thousands more than trump’s winning margins. Then in 2020 those third party votes went away and returned to 2012 levels.
https://images.dailykos.com/images/1035629/story_image/uighurlabor915.png?1644310513
US trade deficit soared to a record last year
NY Times – Feb 8
Dobbs
i am old fashioned enough to be at least a little worried about deficits, but deficit hysteria has been used to mask anti-worker politics in this country too long for me to take it seriously.
the “deficit” if important, could be fixed by rescinding the Trump and Bush tax cuts on the rich. “inflation” if serious (i don’t think the current inflation scare is quite serious…its roots are not in excessive demand, but price gouging blamed on the pandemic.) will be “fixed” by raising interest rates, which should put the economy into recession and generally hurt workers and their families. not to mention democratic chances for the next wo elections at least. after that, elections won’t matter.
If Paul Krugman says not to worry about them, then I don’t worry about them.
Learn to Stop Worrying and Love De(ficits)
NY Times – Dec 3, 2020
(Actually, he said ‘Debt’, but close enough. I’m not worrying.)
Admittedly, trade deficits might be a different matter.
But until the US manages to get back to manufacturing more/most of the stuff we need, we are going to be buying what is necessary from overseas.
We buy what we gotta buy. And import what we gotta import.
Anybody concerned about the blatant attempt to overthrow the U.S. Government and the “Rule of Law”?
Every day we get more & more rock-solid evidence of blatant seditious crimes to overthrow the government of the United States. Yet, each day we hold our breath to see if DOJ will charge, arrest or begin of all the criminals. Sadly nothing! Rule of Law has little meaning if not applied equally!
Mark Meadows 57+ days subpoena violation; Trump Presidential Records Act violations; & 83 fake electors running free. Blatant Federal crimes. Solid, irrefutable evidence & NO DOJ ACTION. Serious malfeasance problems at DOJ!
9-27.000 – PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL PROSECUTION
“…serious violations of federal law MUST be prosecuted”
https://t.co/Vmx7dW5MCt
I can understand some reluctance to indicting Trump directly & wanting all the details in place, but can’t understand reluctance on 83 fake electors or Meadows which could provide even more evidence for action against Trump & higher ups. No investigation necessary. Slam dunk prosecution!
The Meadows delay may seem somewhat insignificant but he simply refused to show up & violated the subpoena. He wants to claim Executive Privilege, but to do that you MUST show up to claim whatever you want. BUT, you can’t just not show up. This should have been charged & prosecuted IMMEDIATELY… now 57+ days out with nothing. Terrible precedent for “rule of law”.
JP
Pretty soon end of Summer will be here and Congress will want to leave this behind and start campaigning. And if Repubs win, Dems have an excuse for doing nothing more than investigating. Merrick is not impressing so far.
Pick one like Meadows and crucify him.
J.P.
yeah, i’m worried. But I’m hoping they are just patiently buiding their case.
And not-jailing some might just keep what happened in the front of people’s minds long enough to sink in. Jailing someone would either provoke the lie machine or just tell the people “okay, that’s all taken care of now.”
I’ve never been so fond of putting people in jail, even those who deserve it. It might be better to just make it hard for them to ever again be in a position of power.
That is a risk. Hitler was put in jail, and he came back stronger than ever.
The Russians put people in jail, and all the world heard was “human rights abuse” instead of “dangerous people put where they could not reinvent “capitalist abuse of the people.”
[I think “human rights abuse” was the true story there, but we don’t want it to be the story that comes out from jailing Trumpists.]