It's gonna be a while before we experience a blue wave in America. But we may be witnessing the beginning of a crimson wave (yes, it's reddish, but a little added purple is a start). Breaking a dangerous and depressing trend led by Columbia, Harvard rejected the demands of the Trump administration. NYT(Gift Article): Harvard’s Decision to Resist Trump Is 'of Momentous Significance.' "Harvard University is 140 years older than the United States, has an endowment greater than the G.D.P. of nearly 100 countries and has educated eight American presidents. So if an institution was going to stand up to the Trump administration’s war on academia, Harvard would be at the top of the list. Harvard did that forcefully on Monday in a way that injected energy into other universities across the country fearful of the president’s wrath, rejecting the Trump administration’s demands on hiring, admissions and curriculum. Some commentators went so far as to say that Harvard’s decision would empower law firms, the courts, the media and other targets of the White House to push back as well." The fact that Harvard's refusal to kowtow to a budding dictator is described as a choice of momentous significance tells us just how fast and far our institutions have fallen. How momentous the decision will prove to be depends on how many other institutions and individuals follow suit. This is a fight the sharks in the administration want and they smell blood in the water. To win, Harvard and the rest of us are gonna need a bigger boat. 2Control, Halt, DeleteWhy settle for the consequence-free breaking of rules when you can delete the rules altogether? NYT (Gift Article): Inside Trump’s Plan to Halt Hundreds of Regulations. "Across the more than 400 federal agencies that regulate almost every aspect of American life, from flying in airplanes to processing poultry, Mr. Trump’s appointees are working with the Department of Government Efficiency...to launch a sweeping new phase in their quest to dismantle much of the federal government: deregulation on a mass scale." (We need political Metamucil on a mass scale: a return to regularity.) 3Due TimeOne of the sad ironies of this era is that due process gave Trump enough time to become president and take due process away. Yesterday, I led with the Trump administration's defiance of the Supreme Court, refusal to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home from an El Salvadorian prison, and plans to try to send American citizens to prisons abroad. What's important to remember is that there's more than one innocent person who was sent to that prison under an act that hasn't been used since WWII. Maybe a lot more. NYT (Gift Article): ‘Alien Enemies’ or Innocent Men? Inside Trump’s Rushed Effort to Deport 238 Migrants. "Most of the men do not have criminal records in the United States or elsewhere in the region, beyond immigration offenses, a New York Times investigation has found. And very few of them appear to have any clear, documented links to the Venezuelan gang. As they were being expelled, the detainees repeatedly begged officials to explain why they were being deported, and where they were being taken, one of their lawyers told the courts. At no point, the lawyer said, did officers indicate that the men were being sent to El Salvador or that they were removed under the Alien Enemies Act. The Alien Enemies Act gives the U.S. government broad powers to detain people during times of war, but Supreme Court rulings make clear that detainees have a right to challenge the government, and are entitled to a hearing, before their removal." 4DEI HardAfter much outrage, the webpage was restored, but "on the morning of March 19, those three letters [DEI] were added to a URL for an article on the U.S. Department of Defense website about baseball icon Jackie Robinson—and that article was then surreptitiously taken offline ... Rachel Robinson—the 102-year-old widow of one Jack Roosevelt Robinson—woke up to an affront on her dead husband’s legacy by the very country he served with honor, only to rise a few weeks later and witness not just the utter silence of the league he integrated, but her husband’s old employer specifically fawning over the brute who ordered the whole thing." The Ringer: Jackie Robinson Would Be Appalled. 5Extra, ExtraWelcome Splat: We're landing many self-inflicted blows to the economy. I keep harping on one in particular because I think the problem will continue to grow. "The US economy is set to lose billions of dollars in revenue in 2025 from a pullback in foreign tourism and boycotts of American products, adding to a growing list of headwinds keeping recession risk elevated." And from Quartz: Tourists are ditching America. "The biggest declines came from Western Europe, which registered a 17% year-over-year decrease in arrivals by plane. Luxembourg residents stayed away in droves, leading the way with a 44% decline. Denmark, Austria, and Iceland weren’t far behind." 6Bottom of the News"If you pay attention to AI company branding, you'll notice a pattern: Circular shape (often with a gradient). Central opening or focal point. Radiating elements from the center. Soft, organic curves. Sound familiar? It should, because it's also an apt description of... well, you know. A butthole." (I still hold out hope that my butthole will reach the singularity before AI does.)
|
