When the physicists need burner phones, that's when you know America's changed

I'm a US scientist and the use of minimalist phone and a laptop is something I'm planning for all my travel.

This is for the simple reason that I have determined, based on a large body of cases that are accumulating at a disturbing rate, that the current US administration considers themselves "above the law". Furthermore, the administration has shown that they are eager to carry out actions that violate due process and freedom of speech against anyone they perceive as opposing their policies/views.

EDIT: I'm happy to document such cases for those who have not been paying attention, but I also encourage those who are doubtful to simply search the many examples that have been posted here on HN (unfortunately, many flagged in an attempt to suppress discussion).

Do you not feel unsafe sharing this publicly?

That is not really relevant, because you sort of have to say what's true whatever happens to you, as required at the intersection of the duties of a scientist, of a citizen of a republic, and even on the basis of the basic tenants of the country's majority religion. In some sense to live a steady life you have to be resigned to potential misfortunes, even if you do not want them to happen to you.

I’ve been struggling with this. I’ve recently started using a new handle as a way to distance myself a bit. I wouldn’t expect it to hold up under scrutiny though. And then I wonder about the moral obligation to say what is right. So is it worth, or even morally right, to create a new pseudoanoynomous identity?

Fifty four percent of American adults read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. The situation in America is not some temporary aberration, it is a permanent change in the status quo.

Anti-intellectual populism is the new normal, and any thinking person who values their safety should be weighing anonymity and silence as viable options.

The Bolsheviks didn't want people who got the message and shut up. They were extremely paranoid about them. They wanted people who had been raised in the new system or who had supported it when the choice was free. I don't think that self-interest is morally right as a guiding principle or that people who have written things as clearly "aware" as your comment have the option you're suggesting.

I understand and respect your moral position, I just feel that I have an even stronger moral requirement to take care of myself and my family first, and I think that others should do the same.

As the stewardesses say, you should always put on your own oxygen mask first.

Sure, but nobody is going to read that comment and think, "this guy is a solid Bolshevik."