Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Adam Bonica

@adambonica.bsky.social

The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning. 🧵⬇️

Scatterplot titled “Empirical Evidence of Ideological Targeting in Federal Layoffs: Agencies seen as liberal are significantly more likely to face DOGE layoffs.”
• The x-axis represents Perceived Ideological Leaning of federal agencies, ranging from -2 (Most Liberal) to +2 (Most Conservative), based on survey responses from over 1,500 federal executives.
• The y-axis shows Agency Size (Number of Staff) on a logarithmic scale from 1,000 to 1,000,000.

Each point represents a federal agency:
• Red dots indicate agencies that experienced DOGE layoffs.
• Gray dots indicate agencies with no layoffs.

Key Observations:
• Liberal-leaning agencies (left side of the plot) are disproportionately represented among red dots, indicating higher layoff rates.
• Notable targeted agencies include:
• HHS (Health & Human Services)
• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
• NIH (National Institutes of Health)
• CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Dept. of Education
• USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development)
• The National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE), despite its conservative leaning (+1 on the scale), is an exception among targeted agencies.
• A notable outlier: the Department of Veterans Affairs (moderately conservative) also faced layoffs despite its size.

Takeaway:

The figure visually demonstrates that DOGE layoffs disproportionately targeted liberal-leaning agencies, supporting claims of ideological bias. The pattern reveals that layoffs were not driven by agency size or budget alone but were strongly associated with perceived ideology.

Source: Richardson, Clinton, & Lewis (2018). Elite Perceptions of Agency Ideology and Workforce Skill. The Journal of Politics, 80(1).

February 20, 2025 at 2:18 AM

Reposted

Anonymous

@youranoncentral.bsky.social

Mass protests in Indiana as hundreds stepped up to stand against tyranny. The demonstrations were sparked after Trump collaborator Gov. Braun signing an executive order, directing law enforcement to aid ICE ethnic cleansing operations. #3E #USprotests #ICE

"Who's the criminal? Donald Trump!"

February 2, 2025 at 10:11 PM

Reposted

#BetterTransitNOW

@bettertransitnow.org

From October through December, only 66% of MTA bus service was on time. Light rail and subway were even worse at 59% and 52%, respectively. 👎

📢 Baltimore deserves #BetterTransitNOW!
📅 RSVP to attend our #TransitRidersRally on February 4th: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-transi...

MTA's unreliable service continues to demoralize current riders, discourage new ones and damage the Baltimore region. From October through December 2024, 66% of scheduled bus stop visits were on time; light rail was 59% on time, and the subway was 52% on time. MTA riders need at least 90% on-time performance. From October through December 2024, 91% of scheduled bus trips occurred; light rail was 75%, and the subway was 63%. MTA riders need at least 90% of scheduled trips to run.

January 7, 2025 at 4:31 PM

Reposted

Julia aka mizzelle

@mizzelle.bsky.social

Such a beautiful building! Also if you're a Pratt Library user you can get free access to the @thebaltimorebanner.com. It'll ask for your card number. #baltimore