Archives for category: Trump

One by one, the lords of the media are kissing Trump’s ring. ABC paid him $15 million because George Stephanopoulos interviewed Trump and said that Trump had been convicted of rape by a New York jury. Trump said it was false and he was defamed. ABC could have fought the suit, but instead it paid Trump $15 million plus $1 million for his Inauguration.

Mark Zuckerberg was sued by Trump for suspending his Facebook account after the insurrection four years ago. After Trump was re-elected, Zuckerberg settled for $25 million.

Trump sued “60 Minutes,” claiming that its interview with Kamala Harris had been edited in a way that helped her campaign. Shari Redstone, who owns the company that owns CBS, is in talks with Trump to settle.

Oliver Darcy, media critic, wrote:

The journalists at CBS News are livid at Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone over the company’s move to engage in settlement talks with Donald Trump.

Paramount, which is trying to complete a merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, is now in active discussions with the Trump team to strike a settlement that would put an end to an absurd lawsuit the then-candidate filed against the news network, as first reported by The New York Times Thursday evening. Trump filed the lawsuit in October over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, preposterously alleging that the newsmagazine program engaged in “deceitful” editing that disadvantaged him in the race.

Most legal experts swiftly dismissed Trump’s lawsuit as nothing more than a naked attempt to bully the news network. That is still the overwhelming position of the legal community. As the well-respected First Amendment attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. told me Thursday evening, “There is absolutely no reason, from a legal perspective, for CBS to settle — this is a ridiculous case.”

Maybe she won’t pay off Trump, but if she did, it would be humiliating for “60 Minutes,” which almost always edits interviews. Since he won the elections, Trump can’t show any damages.

But now you can understand why Trump loves to sue. He’s filed thousands of lawsuits in his life. He’s making millions by suing, all the while getting the major media to grovel before him and watch their step with their coverage of him.

Categories Corruption, Ethics, Media, Trump

Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening to Punish Schools that Teach About Racism and Gender

By dianeravitch

January 30, 2025 //

Trump signed an Executive Order threatening to cut off federal funding from schools that “indoctrinate” students on issues related to race and gender. The order is titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”

Let’s start by acknowledging that this order is in direct violation of a law that was passed in 1970 to prevent the federal government from imposing any curriculum on the nation’s schools. This provision has been repeatedly renewed. Neither party wanted the other to impose its views on the schools, which is what Trump seeks to do.

The law says:

“No provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, [or] administration…of any educational institution…or over the selection of library resources, textbooks, or other printed or published instructional materials.” P.L. 103-33, General Education Provisions Act, Section 432.

What Trump ordered is illegal.

Trump is expressing the views of far-right extremist groups, like “Moms for Liberty,” who hate public schools for teaching honest accurate history about racism. They want teachers to say that there was racism long, long ago, but not any more. They vehemently oppose any discussion of systemic racism (they call such discussion “critical race theory,” which of course must never be mentioned).

Any discussion of the reality of racism is forbidden by this order.

Even more threatening to the extremists is what they call “radical gender ideology.” That would be any discussion that acknowledges that LGBT+ people exist. They believe that just talking about the existence of such people–widespread on television, movies, and the Internet–makes children turn gay or even transgender.

Trump’s executive order threatens to withhold federal funding from any school where yea gets “indoctrinate” their students to consider the existence of systemic racism or sexuality.

It is Trump’s hope that with the actions he take, non- binary people–that is, LGTB+–will cease to exist.

Trump’s friend Elon Musk posted yesterday a graphic showing that in the distant past, there were two genders; in the recent past there were “73 genders.” Starting in 2025, his post said, there will be only two genders. Musk is the father of a transgender daughter, who was originally named Xavier. With his gleeful tweet, he seems to be trying to erase his daughter.

Categories Academic Freedom, Accountability, Bigotry, Censorship, Civics, Civil Rights, Curriculum, Democracy, Disruption, Extremism, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Learn, Freedom to Read, Gender, History, Lies, Race, Racism, Republicans, Trump

Trump Signs Executive Order Directing Federal Funds to School Choice, Directly Attacking Public Schools

By dianeravitch

January 30, 2025 //

Trump has always expressed contempt for public schools. In his first term, he appointed billionaire religious zealot Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education. She has spent many millions over decades to promote charters and vouchers, and she shoveled as much money as she could to charter schools, especially large chains.

His nominee for Secretary of Education, wrestling-entertainment entrepreneur Linda McMahon, will be no less spiteful towards public schools than DeVos. McMahon is chair of the extremist America First Policy Institute, which peddles the lie that public schools “indoctrinate” their students to hate America.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump pushed school choice as one of his major issues.

Yesterday he signed an executive order directing that discretionary federal funds be spent to promote all forms of choice, and he praised states with universal vouchers.

His executive order lambastes the “failure” of the public schools, a refrain we have heard from privatizers for the past 30 years, and he makes false claims about the benefits of private choices.

He says:

When our public education system fails such a large segment of society, it hinders our national competitiveness and devastates families and communities. For this reason, more than a dozen States have enacted universal K-12 scholarship programs, allowing families — rather than the government — to choose the best educational setting for their children. These States have highlighted the most promising avenue for education reform: educational choice for families and competition for residentially assigned, government-run public schools. The growing body of rigorous research demonstrates that well-designed education-freedom programs improve student achievement and cause nearby public schools to improve their performance.

This paragraph is larded with lies. Despite decades of loud complaining about how public schools hurt our economic competitiveness, we have the most vibrant and successful economy in the world. Our public schools, which enroll 85-90% of our nation’s students, contributed to that success.

Next is his patently false claim that universal choice is the best path to educational success. There is no evidence for that claim. In fact, Florida–a leader in universal choice–just experienced a sharp drop in its NAEP scores. Its reading and math scores dropped to their lowest level in more than 20 years.

And most ridiculous is his assertion that “rigorous research demonstrates that well-designed education-freedom programs improve student achievement and cause nearby public schools to improve their performance.”

Josh Cowen’s new book The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers thoroughly debunks those claims.

The most rigorous research, which Cowen reviews, shows that poor kids who take vouchers and switch to a private school experience a dramatic decline in their test scores. Many return to public schools.

The most rigorous research shows that most students who use vouchers were already enrolled in private schools. The voucher is a subsidy for their religious and private school tuition.

The most rigorous research shows that universal vouchers in every state that has them are used by affluent families. They are welfare for the rich.

The most rigorous research shows that public schools lose funding when new and existing state funding goes to nonpublic schools.

The most rigorous research shows that universal choice busts the budgets of states that fund all students, including private school students.

Trump has sharpened his knife to destroy public education.

Fight back!

Join the Network for Public Education and link up with people in your community, your state, and the nation who believe that public dollars should be spent on public schools.

Organize, strategize, resist!

Categories Betsy DeVos, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reform, Disruption, Education Industry, Extremism, Failure, Funding, Home Schooling, Privatization, School Choice, Trump, Vouchers

Jim Acosta Signs Off at CNN

By dianeravitch

January 29, 2025 //

CNN doesn’t want to make Trump angry.

Trump doesn’t like Jim Acosta.

CNN moved him to a late-night slot, where fewer viewers would see him.

Jim Acosta resigned. He is now on Substack.

This was his final message on CNN:

I just wanted to end today’s show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network.
You may have seen some reports about me and the show, and after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing in alternative timeslots CNN offered me, I’ve decided to move on. I am grateful to CNN for the nearly 18 years I’ve spent here doing the news.
People often ask me if the highlight of my career at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump.
Actually, no. That moment came here when I covered former President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island’s political prisoners.
As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home this lesson: It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant.
I have always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that here at CNN, and I plan on doing all of that in the future.
One final message. Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.
Even if you have to get out your phone, record that message. I will not give in to the lies. “I will not give in to the fear!”
Post it on your social media so people can hear from you, too.
I’ll have more to say about my plans in the coming days. But until then, I want to thank all of you for tuning in. It has been an honor to be welcomed into your home for all these years.
That’s the news. Reporting from Washington. I’m Jim Acosta.

Categories Censorship, Courage, Democracy, Ethics, Fascism, Freedom of the Press, Media, Trump

Trump Administration Rescinds Funding Freeze

By dianeravitch

January 29, 2025 //

A maxim: Where Trump goes, chaos reigns.

The across-the-board federal funding freeze imposed by the Trump administration was withdrawn, according to this report at MSNBC.

The freeze was announced, then modified, and today it was withdrawn. It caused widespread chaos, as numerous programs were confused about whether or not they had funding. Red states, where federal funding is concentrated, were hit hardest.

The New York Times added details:

Grant freeze: The White House rescinded an order on Wednesday that froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans and sparked mass confusion across the country, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. A federal judge had temporarily blocked it on Tuesday…

The initial directive interrupted the Medicaid system that provides health care to millions of low-income Americans and sent schools, hospitals, nonprofits, research companies and law enforcement agencies scrambling to understand if they had lost their financial support from the federal government.

A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Tuesday afternoon temporarily blocked the order in response to a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward, a liberal organization that argued that the directive violated the First Amendment and a law governing how executive orders are to be rolled out.

On Wednesday, Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director for the Office of Management and Budget, sent a notification to federal agencies notifying them that memo freezing aid had been “rescinded.”

“If you have questions about implementing the President’s executive orders, please contact your agency general counsel,” Mr. Vaeth said in the notification.

Categories Accountability, Democracy, Extremism, Funding, Stupid, Trump

Trump Appoints Vocal Critic of DEI to Lead Civil Rights Commission

By dianeravitch

January 29, 2025 //

Trump appointed Andrea Lucas, an outspoken critic of policies that acknowledge race or gender, to be chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC traditionally advocates for race-based and gender-based policies to monitor whether employers are trying to give all groups an equal chance. Lucas opposes the EEOC’s actions.

If the EEOC receives a complaint about racism in a workplace, it would collect data about the workforce. Its recommendations would be based on that data.

Lucas believes that hiring decisions must “colorblind,” so if the workforce is 100% white, there’s no problem.

Lucas opposes any enforcement that takes race or gender into account. She is also strenuously opposed to acknowledging that transgender people exist. She may think the same of gay people.

Lucas spoke at a Federalist Society meeting, where she made her views on gender clear:

“It’s important to say that biological sex is real and it matters, and it’s immutable and it’s binary. And from that premise we have, that’s the foundation on which we then proceed to have the various civil rights laws that have been enacted for the last 60 years.”

In short, don’t expect her to have any sympathy for discrimination against LGBT people.

There are five members on the EEOC, and she is the only Republican. Trump appointed her in 2020. There is a vacancy. Even with a 3-2 majority of Democrats, don’t expect much civil rights enforcement for the next four years.

Categories Bigotry, Equity, Ethics, Gender, Inequity, Race, Racism, Trump

Unprecedented: Trump Shuts Down Almost All Federal Funding, But DC Judge Freezes Trump’s Freeze

By dianeravitch

January 28, 2025 //

Trump is determined to remove all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from the federal government.

Through the Office of Management and Budget, the Trump administration has cut off almost all federal funding. This is called “impoundment,” meaning that the…
Unprecedented: Trump Shuts Down All Federal Funding

D.C. Judge freezes Trump’s halt to federal programs until February 3:

The New York Times reported:

President Trump’s order to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans led to confusion, outrage and threats of legal action on Tuesday as it interrupted the Medicaid system that provides health care to millions of low-income Americans and other programs that depend on the flow of federal money.

As the White House moved to rapidly put in place Mr. Trump’s plan to purge the government of what he calls a “woke” ideology, federal health researchers, nonprofits and programs for early childhood education also reported that their usual access to federal funds had gone down, raising alarms about whether the order meant people would lose access to jobs, health care services, reduced-price meals and more.

Trump has said that DEI programs are “immoral and illegal” The Smithsonian Institution closed its diversity office. Any institution that depends on federal funding must immediately halt any outreach to Black, Hispanic, and Asian job candidates, as well as women.

The white patriarchy is in charge again!

Categories Extremism, Funding, Gender, Race, Trump

Unprecedented: Trump Shuts Down All Federal Funding

By dianeravitch

January 28, 2025 //

Through the Office of Management and Budget, the Trump administration has cut off all federal funding. This is called “impoundment,” meaning that the President refuses to spend money for programs authorized by Congress. It is illegal. It is unprecedented. This is the action of a dictator, not a President in a democratic society.

I received the following notice:

Potential Implications of Trump’s Sweeping, Illegal Funding Freeze

January 28, 2025

Late Monday, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget issued a
memorandum ordering federal agencies to immediately halt vast swaths of federal funding set to go out to states, families, and communities in every part of the country.

The sweeping, unprecedented directive builds on unlawful executive orders President Trump has signed to deny the American people investments Congress has made. It is not only illegal, but will have severe consequences for real people in every part of the country—in red states and blue states and everywhere in between.

As Senator Patty Murray wrote to OMB last night alongside House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro:

“The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have
devastating consequences across the country. …. The law is the law—and we demand you in your role as Acting OMB Director reverse course to ensure requirements enacted into law are faithfully met and the nation’s spending laws are implemented as intended.”

The sweeping directive is effective at 5 PM ET on Tuesday, January 28.

If implemented broadly, as written, this action by the Trump administration could block
hundreds of billions of dollars in approved funding—sowing chaos nationwide, hurting
American families and businesses, killing jobs, and undermining our national security and
emergency preparedness.

Among much else, the directives in the memo could block funding for:

 PUBLIC SAFETY: Grants for law enforcement and homeland security activities will
cease to go out the door, undermining public safety in every state and territory.

 DISASTER RELIEF: Public assistance and hazard mitigation grants from the Disaster
Relief Fund (DRF) to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and non-profits to
help communities quickly respond to, recover from, and prepare for major disasters will
be halted—right as so many communities are struggling after severe natural disasters,
most recently in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and California.

 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: All federally-funded transportation projects across
the country—roads, bridges, public transit, and more—will be halted, including projects
already under construction.

 COMBATTING FENTANYL CRISIS: Funding for communities to address the
substance use disorder crisis and combat the fentanyl crisis will be cut off.

 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE: Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, as well as grants for mental health services, will be cut off.

 BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: There will be immediate pauses on all funding for
critical health research, including research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes,
as well as clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center and all across the country—disrupting
lifesaving and often time-sensitive research.

 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: Critical preparedness and response capability
funding used to prepare for disasters, public health emergencies, and chemical,
biological, radiological, or nuclear events will be frozen.

 FIREFIGHTING: Grants to support firefighters across the country will be halted—this includes grants that help states and localities purchase essential firefighting equipment.

 HEAD START: Funding for Head Start programs that provide comprehensive early
childhood education for more than 800,000 kids and their families will be cut off.
Teachers and staff would not get paid and programs may not be able to stay open.

 CHILD CARE: Child care programs across the country will not be able to access the
funding they rely on to keep their doors open.

 K-12 SCHOOLS: Federal funding for our K-12 schools will be halted. School districts
may not be able to access key formula grant funding including Title I, IDEA, Impact Aid,
and Career and Technical Education, which would pose tremendous financial burdens on
schools in the middle of the school year.

 HIGHER EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING: Millions of students relying on Pell
grants, federal student loans, and federal work study will have their plans to pursue
postsecondary education and further their careers thrown into chaos as federal financial
aid disbursements are paused.

 HEALTH SERVICES: Federal funding for community health centers that provide
health care for over 30 million Americans will be immediately frozen, creating chaos for
patients trying get their prescriptions, a regular checkup, and more.

 SMALL BUSINESSES: The Small Business Administration will have to halt loans to
small businesses—including those in disaster ravaged communities in North Carolina,
Texas, and Florida.

 VETERANS CARE: Federal grants to help veterans in rural areas access health care and
grants to help veterans get other critical services, including suicide prevention resources, transition assistance, and housing for homeless veterans, will be cut off.

 NUTRITION ASSISTANCE: Millions of American citizens who rely on nutrition
assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and school lunch programs will be left hungry as
funding is cut off and non-profits who provide additional assistance lose federal funding.

 TRIBES: Funding to Tribes for basic government services like health care, public safety, programs, Tribal schools, and food assistance will be halted.

 PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: All Violence Against Women Act
(VAWA) grants, as well as funding for victims assistance and state and local police, will
be cut off.

 U.S. COMPETITIVENESS: Existing grants to support research for AI and quantum
computing will be halted and any new grant funding would be paused—undermining
U.S. innovation and competitiveness with China and putting American jobs at risk.

 ENERGY JOBS: Grants for critical energy projects nationwide will be cut off—halting
billions of dollars in investment nationwide and jeopardizing good-paying American
jobs. The Department of Energy Loan Program Office will halt loans in 28 states,
impacting hundreds of thousands construction and operations jobs.

 FOOD INSPECTIONS: Some states will have to take on the full financial burden of
ensuring the nation’s meat supply is safe if federal cooperative agreements for meat
inspection are halted.

 SUPPORT FOR SERVICEMEMBERS: Support for a host of DOD financial assistance and grant programs supporting servicemembers and their families will be halted, including the Fisher House, Impact Aid, community noise mitigation, ROTC language training, STEM programs, and the USO.

 WEAKENS MILITARY READINESS: Grants and other assistance appropriated to
strengthen military effectiveness and defense capacity will be halted, including Defense
Production Act support for the defense industrial base, basic research grants necessary to advance key technologies, and small business support to strengthen supply chains.

 AMERICANS OVERSEAS: Programs that track and combat the spread of infectious
diseases, create business opportunities for American companies in emerging markets,
combat terrorism, and counter the influence of the PRC, Russia, and Iran—and efforts to
ensure the safety and security of Americans implementing these programs—are all
suspended and could be terminated.

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Categories Extremism, Funding, Trump

ProPublica: Trump Chooses Lawyer as #2 at EPA Who Opposes EPA Regulations

By dianeravitch

January 28, 2025 //

Trump’s picks for his Cabinet are appalling. His choices for #2 are a five-alarm fire. For the #2 position at the Environmental Protection Agency, he selected a lawyer who represents corporations who oppose EPA regulations.

ProPublica reports:

The man tapped by President Donald Trump to be second-in-command of the federal agency that protects the public from environmental dangers is a lawyer who has represented companies accused of harming people and the environment through pollution.

David Fotouhi, a partner in the global law firm Gibson Dunn, played a key part in rolling back climate regulations and water protections while serving as a lawyer in the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump’s first administration.

Most recently, Fotouhi challenged the EPA’s recent ban of asbestos, which causes a deadly cancer called mesothelioma. In a brief filed in October on behalf of a group of car companies called the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, he argued that, for the specific uses that were banned, the “EPA failed to demonstrate that chrysotile asbestos presents an unreasonable risk of injury.”

The EPA banned the carcinogen in March, long after its dangers first became widely known. More than 50 other countries have outlawed use of the mineral. The agency had worked toward the ban for decades, and workers died while lobbyists pushed to delay action, as a 2022 ProPublica investigation showed.

Less than a day after Trump’s inauguration this week, the White House webpage that celebrated the historic ban was gone.

Categories Accountability, Environment, Ethics, Extremism, Trump