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FCC’s Knives Are Out for First Amendment

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Fairness & Accurately in Reporting (FAIR): Brendan Carr, newly appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission, is waging a war on the news media, perhaps the most dangerous front in de jure President Donald Trump and de facto President Elon Musk’s quest to destroy freedom of the press and the First Amendment. Trump’s FCC has revived right-wing requests to sanction TV stations over their election coverage—complaints that had previously been dismissed by the FCC as incompatible with the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press. The media industry news site Deadline (1/22/25) summarized:

The complaints include one against ABC’s Philadelphia affiliate, WPVI-TV, alleging bias in ABC’s hosting of the September presidential debate; one against WCBS-TV in New York that accuses CBS of “news distortion” in the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris; and another against WNBC-TV in New York for alleged violations of the equal time rule when Saturday Night Live featured Harris in a cameo the weekend before the presidential election.

Database and dashboard – activities, groups and businesses supporting democracy through action

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The Team at Horizons Project is keeping up a database about movement activity focusing on the range of activity against various pillars. The Pillars — principled collective action & loving defiance. Subject matter tools, links and resources authored by: government workers; business; faith based initiatives; professional associations; unions. Includes Tactics Used, Links and Further Details.… Continue Reading

Researcher Captures Contents of ‘DEI.gov’ Before It Was Hidden Behind a Password

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404 Media [unpaywalled] “A German researcher captured the contents of the White House’s “DEI.gov” during a brief period when it was not password protected. The capture shows that the site contains a list of vague, alleged government-funded tasks and their costs, without sources or context, like “$1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers,” “$1.5 million… Continue Reading

Site tracks how much of Project 2025 has been implemented

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Project 2025 Tracker – The site tracks overall progress now at 34% as well as well as detailed objectives specific to each government agency. This is a significant and very disconcerting tool. Thanks go out to the folks at the free project you can support via Patreon. See also Searchable Full Project 2025 Text: Mandate… Continue Reading

Memory-Holing January 6: What Happens When You Try to Make History Vanish?

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ProPublica: “On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Justice released a 123-page report on the 1921 racial massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which claimed several hundred lives and left the thriving Black neighborhood of Greenwood in smoldering ruins. The department’s investigation determined that the attack was “so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence.”… Continue Reading

Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired

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Via LLRX – Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired – Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our… Continue Reading

The war on DEI is a smoke screen

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The Verge – [unpaywalled] “Violent metaphors abound for what’s happening in Washington: Elon Musk and his allies have taken a “slash-and-burn” approach to the government and a “sledgehammer” to government institutions, doing away with supposed waste and excess while leaving the fundamental structure intact. All of this is being done with the stated goal of… Continue Reading

How Trump Could Remake the Supreme Court for a Generation

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The Nation: Donald Trump is poised to become the first president since FDR to have appointed the majority of high-court justices. His potential picks are terrifying.This article appears in the March 2025 issue, with the headline “The Supreme Trump Court.” Donald Trump’s first term as president gave the republicans control over the most dangerous body… Continue Reading

All the ways Elon Musk is breaking the law, explained by a law professor

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Vox [unpaywalled]- “There are a lot of them. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is moving fast and breaking the law — lots of laws. The scope of Trump and Musk’s sweeping effort to purge the federal workforce and slash government spending has shocked the political world — in part for its ambition, but also… Continue Reading

The List of Trump’s Forbidden Words That Will Get Your Paper Flagged at NSF

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Gizmodo –  “It’s fascism, plain and simple.Every federal agency in the U.S. is currently trying to figure out how to purge forbidden words from documents posted online, in a desperate attempt to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to purge “DEI” from every facet of American life. And nowhere is that effort more bizarre… Continue Reading

Recent CRS and GAO Reports Highlight Key Issues of Trump Administration

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2/3 – USAID Under the Trump Administration (CRS) 2/3 – No More Deference: Sixth Circuit Relies on Loper Bright to Strike Down Net Neutrality Rules (CRS) 2/3 – Food Safety: Status of Foodborne Illness in the U.S. (GAO) 2/4 – Recent White House Actions on Immigration (CRS) 2/6 – Federal Workforce Downsizing: Voluntary and Involuntary… Continue Reading

Anatomy of an AI Coup

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Tech Policy News: “Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology for manufacturing excuses. While lacking clear definitions or tools for assessment, AI has nonetheless seized the imagination of politicians and managers across government, academia, and industry. But what AI is best at producing is justifications. If you want a labor force, a regulatory bureaucracy, or accountability… Continue Reading