Senior officials at the US Department of Veterans Affairs have ordered that VA physicians and scientists not publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned.
The edict, laid down in emails on Friday by Curt Cashour, the VA’s assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, and John Bartrum, a senior adviser to VA secretary Doug Collins, came hours after the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published a perspective co-authored by two pulmonologists who work for the VA in Texas.
The article warned that cancelled contracts, layoffs and a planned staff reduction of 80,000 employees in the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system jeopardizes the health of a million veterans seeking help for conditions linked to toxic exposure – ranging from Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who developed cancer after being exposed to smoke from piles of flaming toxic waste.
Muzzling scientists is always a good way to prove your government is led by Nazis.
Canadians will remember this exact same move by the former PM, Stephen Harper.
“You can’t do anything without coming to us first, by going through several other individuals who will then be able to contact some Trump administration appointees who are completely removed from the research you’re publishing, but will determine if and where you can publish it or speak publicly about it. Because we hate bureaucracy so much!”
DOGE am I right?
<blink>fascism in progress</blink>
Progress is good, right?
Oh a political officer comrade ! Long live!
I’m guessing VA physicians can easily find jobs elsewhere. Doesn’t seem like a good idea to encourage them to.
Us reactionaries are really eating our words right now…
Oh wait.
Couple more months and that’s all we’ll be able to afford to eat.