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We never ask: Why am I spending another minute of my life reading about and yapping about Donald Trump when I know nothing about the 2 million or so federal employees and their possibly lifesaving work that the president is intent on eliminating?
Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (p. 6). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
We have been told that DOGE’s gutting of federal agencies was about saving money, and learn today, July 4, 2025, that with the signing of the “one big beautiful bill” the US debt will rise by trillions of dollars and that Elon Musk opposed the bill saying that it would add to the debt whatever if anything his cuts while at DOGE saved and much more. So while services provided by the US Federal government will be crippled and the American people and people around the world will suffer, what was the point of DOGE firing all these federal workers?
It was the accumulation of power by the autocrats who wanted to undermine and sabotage the authority that comes from knowledge, skill, and competence of the federal workforce who work for the good of the American people and the world.
So what have we lost in firing people with knowledge, skill, competence, and the values of public service? That’s what Lewis and his colleagues wanted to learn.
What have you noticed already about the loss of governmental services since the federal workers have been terminated? How has your life and the lives of your loved ones and community been affected?
It isn’t just providing healthcare that is impacted—the science that leads to these healthcare measures is being destroyed too. OBBBA is slashing funding for basic science research, even more than the cuts that have already taken place in the last 6 months. These institutions are already woefully underfunded, and these cuts will effectively destroy scientific research infrastructure in the US.
The National Institutes of Health is losing 40% of their budget.
The CDC is losing roughly 50% of their budget.
The National Science Foundation is losing $7 billion in funding.
That means over 1,600 research grants, primarily at public universities, will be gone. 75% of early-career science fellowships will be gone. Even more layoffs at public research labs. That’s years of work lost, overnight.
No support for vaccine infrastructure, food safety, epidemic and pandemic preparedness, maternal health. Preventive services research.
The magnitude of damage will be exponentially worse than the NIH indirect cost caps, which I wrote about earlier this year: (From Immunologic by Dr. Andrea Love, accessed on 07/04/25)
1) I know that Unitarian Universalists don't see Jesus as God.
This could just be a Catholic & Orthodox claim but what do you think about church fathers who had lived very near to Jesus' time think that he was God?
But on the other hand, Arian Christians for example, think that those claims are wrong and Christians should turn back to the 1st or 2nd century beliefs of Christianity since there were some corruption after those times and they don't believe Jesus was God either.
2) I am a former Christian. I also have religious OCD/scrupulosity. I am scared of the possibility of the mainstream Christianity might be the real religion and that I might end up in its hell.
So, what are your opinions? Thanks.
I grew up within the Baptist denomination, and it's hard to shake some preconceptions that come with terms like "outreach" and "missions". There was usually an ulterior motive attached - everything was done in hopes that people would hear about Jesus and do the "personal savior" thing. I put those notions away decades ago along with that theology. Now we are part of a lay-led UU church and I'm interested in and involved with coordinating some things labeled "outreach" or "missions" - relief agencies, Pride festivals. Just wondering if anyone has found alternate terminology. I'm collecting thoughts/ideas for an upcoming sermon on the topic.
A big reason we became involved in our UU group (right after the November election) was that we wanted to be engaged in our world - from our neighborhood/family level on up - and represent an alternative to the de facto "Christian" perspectives that permeate a lot of activities and relationships. I'm especially troubled by the pseudo-apocalyptic undercurrents that are present in conservative political thought. So there's not a goal of "saving souls", but there is a notion of wanting to make it known that you don't need an ulterior motive for being and doing good in the world.
WWUUD stream 