A Place to Think About Mind and What Matters
In resistance - A Hands Off! event, organized by MoveOn, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, and the Not Above the Law Coalition, is scheduled for April 5. Movement leaders, experts, and citizens from around the country will participate in person and virtually in a mass call in response to the Trump administration’s unprecedented power grab.
The Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York City's harbour on October 28, 1886 for the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence as a gift from the French people to America. French Parliamentarian, Raphael Glucksmann, said "we gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home."
Sunshine laws (1976) are regulations requiring public disclosure of government agency meetings and records. Sunshine Week takes place from March 16 to 22. Various federal agencies will be more or less open to the public. Meanwhile, alot of document shredding is happening at the National Archives
In government - Looking for real estate or discounted Teslas? Salesman extraordinaire , President Trump, along with a sober Elon Musk, who was dressed in black and wearing dark glasses, (would you buy from this guy?) produced an infocommerical for Tesla in front of the White House, which is also available at a discount.
In technologies - The government says AI must be America First and no WOKE.
In climate change - COP16 saw some accomplishments but it was a mixed bag; the usual financial challenges common to international climate change efforts remained unsolved.
In Basic Needs -(focus on social security)
In the Guardian, March 29 - Dr. Peter Mark was the "Guardrail" against future politicization of FDA'S approval of vaccines. He had a choice to resign or be fired. He resigned citing RFK's "misinformation and lies." He issued a warning in his resignation letter, “Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines that have met the high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness that have been in place for decades at FDA is irresponsible, detrimental to public health and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security.”
In Daily Kos, March 27 - "The RFK Jr.-led Health and Human Services Department is cutting over $11 billion in COVID-19-related funding—funding that supported public health work and infrastructure. This includes firing almost 25% of its full-time workforce and cutting regional offices in half.
These cuts will damage the important research being done in this field, as there is still much we don’t know. But one thing we do know is that COVID has never simply “gone away.”
A study shows that the average person will be 40% poorer with climate change.
Inside climate news, March 27 – The Juliana V. United States case was declined by the US Supreme Court.
Juliana is a 10-year legal effort by young people to hold government accountable for knowingly endorsing an energy system that would destabilize the climate which would affect future generations and the right to life, liberty and property.
The plaintiffs want the US government to phase out carbon emissions and implement national plans to address the energy and environmental problems they create.
Juliana's efforts to call the US government to account have faced many hurdles including a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which argued that policy decisions belonged in the hands of politicians, not the courts.
However, this case and those that followed have inspired more than 60 youth-led lawsuits worldwide.
Miko Vergun, one of the plaintiffs, was born in the Marshall Islands, which is one of the small island states most threatened by climate change with sea level rise and intensifying storms. Following the Supreme Court’s decision she said, “We have the resources…We have the evidence. She is still hopeful and hopes the next generation of youth will speak out.
In DW, Mar kch 18 - Germany's political negotiations between the Greens and the new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who needed enough votes to add €500 billion to the country's budget, led to a concession to the Greens of €100 billion toward a Climate Transformation Fund.
In The Nation, March 13 - Uruguay had depended largely on gas and oil imports and hydropower which could not meet the country's need. Unluckily, the country did not to have the same oil and gas resources as its neighboring countries.
Or maybe in the face of climate change Uruguay was lucky because it did not have those resources because in a time when adaptability is critical it turned out that Uruguay's nmost valuable asset was the realization that necessity really was the mother of invention.
Tired of flickering light and power cuts and committed to the idea of electricity as a human right, Physicist Ramon Mendez and Jose Cataldo, a mechanical engineer, led a team to install the first modern wind generator. In the process they learned more about how to make alternative energy doable and scalable for their country.
A 2008 drought was a wakeup call for policy makers and helped fuel the way toward more wholesale change rather than the alternative of a tentative piecemeal approach.
Transitioning to alternative energy sources was a massive challenge and a steep learning curve but it was worth it. From 2017 to 2020, 97 percent of the electricity generated in Uruguay came from renewable sources, making it one of the first countries in the world to reach that level—and, perhaps most importantly, the first to green so much of its grid in such a short period of time.
In Earth.Org, March 11, 2025 -A list, compiled by thinktank InfluenceMap shows that 36 major fossil fuel companies are responsible for over half of the world's planet hearing carbon dioxide emissions. Kumi Naidoo, President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative said, "We are living at a critical moment in human history. And the alarming reality is that the world’s largest fossil fuel companies are not only increasing their emissions, but they are doing so against a backdrop of climate events that are having devastating impacts on people’s daily lives. It is essential that governments step up and use their authority to end the root cause of the crisis we find ourselves in: the expansion of fossil fuels. We urgently need to transition to more sustainable, fair and affordable economic and energy models for all, or what will be left for future generations will be a broken planet."
In EHN, March 11 - A US Supreme Court decision "allows lawsuits from Democratic-led states — such as California, Connecticut, and Minnesota — to move forward against oil giants like Exxon Mobil and BP for allegedly misleading the public about climate change.
"Nineteen Republican attorneys general attempted to shut down these cases, arguing they could disrupt interstate commerce, but the Supreme Court refused to intervene.
The decision opens the door for states to press forward with lawsuits that could force oil companies to pay for climate damages."
The 15th meeting of the UN Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity ( CBD COP15) took place from in Montreal, Canada.
The 193 CBD members agreed to set new ambitious goals to halt and reverse biodiversity goals including the adoption of a global biodiversity framework (GBF). Targeted national and global goals were to be met by 2030 and 2050.
There were sticky concerns at COP15 about financing given an estimated funding needed of around $700 billion per annum. Wars and climate change were also issues in the face of major losses to global biodiversity.
There were unfinished challenges and new ones to be picked up at COP16.
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) met in Cali Columbia October 21, to November 1 2024. Nations agreed on a new fund for sharing benefits from the use of genetic data, the creation of a dedicated subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities, and a new process to identify ecologically and biologically significant marine areas.
Nations also considered the idea of a “permanent arrangement” for providing biodiversity finance to developing nations that would “future-proof” the flow of funds past 2030. Plans for this had been 30 years in the making. Despite these successes, COP16 ran over and lost its quorum due to disagreements over biodiversity finance. The agenda was suspended on November 2.
COP16 agenda was resumed in Rome. A three-day meeting took place from February 15-27. This meeting resulted in an agreement to set up a “permanent arrangement for a financial mechanism” by 2030 in support of developing countries – This was an item that had been decades in the works.
Members also agreed to create a strategy for global collaboration toward financing biodiversity goals. It was estimated that the $700 billion per annum would require funds from all sources to close a $200 billion a year diversity funding gap. It was not decided as to how this would be structured either as a new entity or as part of existing funding instruments.
Similar to other UN COP proceedings, CBD member countries were to provide an account of how they planned to move forward on national goals. Out of 130 member countries more than half that had submitted plans referenced global goals of 30% protection of land and sea, but did not reference 30% for national goal which made it more difficult to realize the 30% global goals.
While the US is not a party to the treaty and was not in attendance it had made sizable contributions to CBD. Under President Trump that funding was gone. With the loss of US dollars there was a diminished expectation that countries would achieve their biodiversity goals or go beyond these goals to reach targeted goals in 2030 and 2050.
Larger developed countries provide their contributions but they were under greater pressure which included a concern about how to manage a balance between agriculture, biodiversity and economic development
Other challenges included:
There was the question of a need for adaptive governance which was unresolved. Finding a viable funding structure was critical.
Attendance was down and there was the realization the civil society was not involved enough. One observer noted that there had been far less protesters at COP16, unlike COP15.
Self-defined indigenous people had not received money from the international fund and needed more direct funding.
The previous COP ? had called for a commitment of 1% of a corporation’s budget but this was voluntary and unenforceable without stronger national laws.
The development of a permanent Nature Fund had been argued for since COP1. An agreement to establish this fund was a win. Setting it up would take more work.
The question of how to deal with eliminating practices harmful to biodiversity had yet to be resolved.
There was a need for more integrated approaches for climate change and biodiversity efforts. The CBD and UNCCC ? represent separate treaties but in reality they were twin dangers that were inseparable. Cooperation and integrative practices were important.
This would hopefully be established at the Brazil COP30 on climate change which was coming up in November 25 in Brazil. Given the direction of Brazil's leadership in regard to climate change there were higher expectations that this could be achieved.
On March 15, the Trump administration claimed authority under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a 227 year-old law, to immediately deport any Venezuelan citizen age 14 or older who the administration says is a member of Tren de Aragua, a violent criminal gang that was designated a foreign terrorist organization in February. The White House claimed that the gang was “perpetrating an invasion” of the United States. The antiquated law had been invoked three times before — for the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.
There is no due process or protection rights under this Act.
The rule of law was upheld in this case by a lawsuit immediately filed by American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Forward, and the ACLU of the District of Columbia. The judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to turn back the planes carrying the immigrants to El Salvador.
The (TRO) had ordered that the individual plaintiffs in this lawsuit not be removed from the United States for 14 days. However, the speedy judicial response to stop Trump from using the 1798 act was ignored by the White House.
The White House claimed that Trump had the legal right to invoke the Act and the US was not subject any international law and, in terms of the deportations, the plane was already over international air space so the White House could ignore the judge’s order to turn around.
A remote hearing was held before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg, where the ACLU and Democracy Forward successfully requested preliminary certification of a class action and the expansion of the temporary restraining order to everyone detained and in danger of removal under the act.
This battle between the executive and judicial branches is supported by a number of Republicans. It is one of many on the current road to oligarchy happening in the US. In this case, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) said, "I'll be filing articles of impeachment against activist Judge James Boasberg this week."
The Alien Enemies Act has remained largely unmodified since 1798. It empowers the president to detain and deport non‑citizens in times of a declared war or presidentially proclaimed “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign nation or government.
These are words and meanings grounded in perceptions which Trump has used to pave the way for a convenient use of the Act.
From the The Brennan Center for Justice (February 2024), "The Alien Enemies Act does not require the president to establish or even believe that detained or deported non-citizens pose a threat to the national security. Rather, it is enough that a non-citizen was born in, has the passport of, or resides in the wrong country."
The law center had warned that the Act should be quickly revoked. It wasn't.
From AP - The long fight against COP City left protesters facing ludicrous domestic terrorism and RICO charges. A lawsuit has been filed alleging that authorities view any critic of police training as fair game to be arrested without cause. The suit is filed on behalf of Jamie Marsicano who was among 23 people arrested near a music festival in DeKalb County in March 2023. Some background on COP City is in the PSM archives.
Energy Transfer, which owns the Dakota Access Pipeline, is seeking $300 million in a suit that revolves around the role Greenpeace played in protests against construction of the pipeline nearly a decade ago.
Greenpeace said it played a minor role in the protest which was primarily composed of Native American activists.
In Democracy Now, the question arose as to why go after Greenpeace and not Native American groups?
The case of COP city (above) and this lawsuit, brought by a corporation, both represent SLAPP lawsuits.
Going after Greenpeace rather than the Native American groups who were the drivers of the protest has little to do with whether the corporation wins in court. The purpose is to run protests dry in financial terms and to achieve a chill effect against this kind of free speech. This could turn out to be a seminal case regarding the question of free speech.
The NIH , the largest source of funding for medical research in the US, announced on Friday that it will significantly limit payments for indirect costs in grants as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to cut government spending.
Cornell, along with 11 other universities, filed a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health on Monday challenging the recent cuts to funding related to “indirect costs” — which cover the expenses of research infrastructure — associated with NIH grants towards medical research.
Reported in Endpoint News - Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts granted a nationwide preliminary injunction on March 5 after hearing arguments last month in three separate lawsuits brought by 22 states, several universities, and organizations representing schools and hospitals. Kelley had previously issued a temporary restraining order, which prevented the cuts from taking effect while she considered the details of the case.
Book bans are steadily increasing around the country. There has been increased censorship in schools and public libraries nationwide
From The Texas Tribune - SB 13 is due to go to the Texas Senate for a full vote. "It would require that school boards, rather than librarians, have the final say over which new books or materials can be put in school libraries. The bill would also create a way for parents to challenge any library book and have it removed from shelves until the school board decides whether that material is allowed.
"Under SB 13, each school district would also be required to have local advisory councils — with parents of students in the district making up a majority of voting members — that would recommend which books should be added and removed from school libraries. Additionally, the bill would not allow schools to have library materials that have “indecent content or profane content,” which can include books that use “grossly offensive” language. a concept.”
SB 13 is expected to swiftly pass the Senate. All 20 Republican senators sponsored the proposal. A date for the vote hasn’t been set yet. There is a move to add parental rights to the Texas Constitution.
In Democracy Now - Titled "Erasing History..." Amy Goodman interviews Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley about the Trump Administration's effort to replace woke with a classical education.
He said, "Classical education is an education that is found — whose foundational elements are the works of the ancient philosophers and ancient history, like Thucydides, Plato and Aristotle. Plato advocated removing children from their family at birth. In Plato’s Symposium, it’s normal to have relations between older male professors and their younger male students. So, the idea that classical education is there to promote Christianity and the nuclear family is simply just delusional."
The advent of US President Donald Trump: his use of tariffs, his isolationism, his stance toward Ukraine, and his negative and dismissive attitudes toward Europe have been a wakeup call for Europe in terms of shoring up defenses through military strength.
From Human Rights Watch - Benjamin Ward, Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, sends a warning to Europe - don't become what you defend against.
Human rights, democracy, and the rule of law are critical to maintain whatever the threat.
He says, "[P]olitical leaders in the EU and UK have recently appeared willing to set aside universal human rights, criticize the courts, undermine protest and civil society or interfere in the media for the sake of political expediency.
... some governments - notably Hungary’s - have hollowed out democracy from within, with damaging consequences for human rights inside and outside the country...If European leaders respond to expanding external threats now without standing up for human rights and defending democratic institutions at home, they will fail. And Europe will have lost the foundations that help protect all of us."
In The Siren, by Isabella Bannerman Trump as LouisXVI
In Hyperallergic - "The Sanest Response to an Insane Presence." A group of artists led by Coco Fusco, Pablo Helguera, and Noah Fischer released a new satirical publication called The Siren on Inauguration Day. They say humor is a powerful weapon as America turns upside down - so have a laugh. It's good for the soul and good for the country.
From George Chidi, The Atlanta Objective - "A proposal for an aquamation facility at a funeral home on Memorial Drive goes down the drain, a victim of local politics, squeamishness around death, and beer..."
There is a formula when retailers want to site a business; cost, crime, traffic count, competing/complementary businesses, average household income.
Memorial Drive was on a slide thanks to the effects of poverty. Neither Starbucks nor Trade Joes were viable candidates. The problem was it was one of the last patches available for redevelopment in an unincorporated area.
Clarence Boston held permits for his funeral home which was sited in the same building as his brewery. He was Georgia's first Black microbrewery owner. He wanted to expand and open up a crematorium.
Leaders and activists who had been working on a revitalization plan for Memorial Drive for several years did not like the fit. This was not the vision they had in mind. One activist said that cremation was polluting. The vote was against issuing a permit.
Boston offered an alternative. Aquamation would potentially be less polluting, but the response was there were too many questions. He withdrew his application.
While gentrification had benefits, the money it would take to attract a Trader Joes in a poor mostly black area was a lot and it wouldn't do much to help existing Black businesses.
Chidi concluded, "Boston is a Black entrepreneur getting creamed in a Black neighborhood, and its hard to cheer that."
Ola Abus Nassar records the names of the dead. It was a day in infamy that has remained unaccounted for. Even today. (First heard on NPR’s All Things Considered December 24, 2023).
The date was October 29, 2023. The scene was “all bodies and body parts.” It only took moments for the massacre of 132 members of an extended Palestinian family.
A surviving cousin, 27-year-old Ola Abu Nassar, along with her cousin Muhammad Abus Nassar, began recording and revising a list names; body after body. With the help of Palestinian journalists, NPR correspondent, Daniel Estrin, interviewed survivors.
In The New Republic,, March 13 - The Trump administration has asked the U.S. military to draw up options for retaking the Panama Canal.
"The canal is one of the busiest waterways in the world, with most of the cargo passing through heading to or from the U.S. Any disruption or blocking of the canal would have devastating effects on the U.S. as well as the world economy. But Trump has proven during his presidency that his personal wishes outweigh any economic concerns, no matter how absurd."
In Truthout - Wall Street wants Panama, too - and more. As Trump pushes forward on a global imperial struggle for control over critical resources and infrastructure, his ambition aligns with growing US corporate investment interests, e.g., BlackRock.
Perhaps relatedly,The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected in the coming weeks to start a sweeping overhaul of the judge advocate general’s corps as part of an effort to make the US military less restricted by the laws of armed conflict.. Let's hope International law has some meaning here.
The Arab states led by Egypt have advanced a $53 billion reconstruction alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan on March 4 at a summit held in Cairo. The plan was capsulized in a detailed blueprint, with a 91-page glossy document reflecting utopian images as an answer to Trump.
A major international conference will be held next month to raise the huge sums of money necessary for the rebuilding project which requires funding from the Gulf states. The wealthier states appear willing to foot some of the bill. But they are not ready to invest unless they are absolutely convinced buildings won't come crashing down in another war. A two-state guarantee would be evidence of a commitment to peace. This is something that Israel is opposed to.
As far as Trump’s “Middle East Riviera”, satirical images rendered with the use of AI include a golden statute of Trump - which he happily posted on his website. Trump has a plan of sorts - bully Arab states into absorbing Palestinians and “beautiful” property development, where one can imagine a magnificent golf course covering toxic waste.
His plan just doesn’t include Palestinians other than they will have nice homes and be happy somewhere else. Trump is following what he loves best - property rights. Though becoming an historic peacemaker as the greatest US President ever would not be shabby.
In Aljaeera - The second phase of the ceasefire was supposed to start on March 1 and a blockade against further humanitarian aid is in effect. While supplies including food and fuel came into Gaza during the first phase of the ceasesfire humanitarian organizations were unable to stockpile goods. The need is too great. There is no reserve. Children are acutely malnourished and seriously ill. Too many children are dying.
The Arab League led by Egypt passed a resolution condemning “Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the schemes for their displacement from their land”.
There are two competing plans for the reconstruction of Israel. The Egyptian led plan offers an alternative to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and put it under US control in order to - in Trump's vision - transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East minus Palestinians.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states. OIC has endorsed the Egypt-led Arab League plan for Gaza's reconstruction. "It also called for the The organization also called for the creation of an international fund, in cooperation with the UN, to support about 40,000 orphans in Gaza."
The Egyptian-led plan has been rejected by Israel and the United States. A reason given is that Egypt's plan does not address the question of Hamas.
Reconstruction has to happen and will happen for Palestinians but the question of how much needs a dose of reality. Above 2023 estimates for Ukraine's restoration might be closer to the true costs associated with Gaza's reconstruction.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will join five of Sen. Bernie Sanders stops on March 20 starting in Las Vegas, Nevada and then on to Arizona State University in Tempe.
In Common Dreams, March 16 - "Sanders (I-Vt.), who mobilized working-class voters nationwide during his 2016 and 2020 runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, launched the tour in the Midwest last month. Thousands of people have attended his events in cities across Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin."
"'Today, the oligarchs and the billionaire class are getting richer and richer and have more and more power," Sanders said recently. "Meanwhile, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and most of our people are struggling to pay for healthcare, childcare, and housing. This country belongs to all of us, not just the few. We must fight back. "
...What I have found is that in these districts, and all across the country, Americans are saying loudly and clearly: NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, NO to kleptocracy, NO to massive cuts in programs that working people desperately need, NO to huge tax breaks for the richest people in our country.' "
From the Associated Press - "Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk’s budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money...The rapid pace of cancellations has raised alarms, with some agencies and lawmakers appealing to DOGE to exempt specific buildings. Several agencies are facing 20 or more lease cancellations in all, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey."
Also in the Associated Press, "The Trump administration is demanding U.N. humanitarian agencies that receive or disburse U.S. funding fill out a questionnaire disclosing any ties to communism, socialism or anti-American beliefs, according to U.S. and U.N. officials and a copy of the survey obtained by The Associated Press...The questionnaire asks respondents to confirm that “this is not a climate or ‘environmental justice’ project,” that the organization encourages free speech and that it “does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or any party that espouses anti-American beliefs." This includes any DEI problems lurking about.
Thomas Shannon, a former U.S. diplomat who worked under President Barack Obama and during Trump’s first administration pointed out "...you have 193 countries that represent every race, gender and language, diversity is a fact. It is not an ideology.”
In The New Republic - During Trump’s non–State of the Union address, and the DOGE announcement earlier in the week that 7,000 employees at Social Security are to be immediately laid off—with as many as half of all Social Security employees (an additional 30,000 people)—soon to be on the choppLucia Cholakian Herrera is a freelance journalist based in Buenos Aires, ing block.
Thom Hartman wrote,"The entire solvency and health of Social Security could be cured permanently, in other words, if we simply did away with the billionaire loophole in the Social Security tax."
In The Texas Tribune, March 19 - Senate Bill 13 passed in Texas creating a parent's council that bypasses the judgement of librarians and gives the final say over new books that should be banned to school boards. It paves the way for parents to challenge any book and have it removed until the school board decides whether to ban the book or not. In 2023, a judge ruled that a previous HB900, directed at depictions of sex, was unconstitutionally broad. The even broader SB13, giving control to parents and school boards, which passed unanimously, was the State's response to the ruling. Critics of the passage of SB13 say it will lead to widerspread censorship. Logistically, SB13 will hurt the flow of school library books and generally reduce their availability.
Claiming that the DOE was a tool for indoctrination Trump signed an executive order on March 20 to officially begin staging closure of the Department of Education (DOE), then spreading the department's ashes around various, federal agencies, as yet unknown, and finally clearing the way for the privitization of education.
Established in 1979, the DOE oversees funding for public schools, administers student loans and runs programs that help low-income students. Upholding civil rights, as part of its job, determines equity and fairness in federally funded schools.
In Time Magazine, March 21 -
The indoctrination part e.bg. the selection of curriculum already belongs to the states, that also in fact the state and local governments control most of the funding facts trump seems to prefer not to share these facts in lieu of rhetorical other off based facts. Funding clarity it seems would not suit the purpose of the Administration which appears to be the destruction of DEI along with civil liberties and civil rights. IN any case, congressional approval consisting of a supermajority in the US senate is required to remove the department (again and again we ask, where is congress anyway?). Hopefully, It is unlikely that will happen. Meantime, these days it is normative mayhem as is usual. At least the sign is still up.
From NPR, March 12 - The Department of Education has released a statement saying "it would cut nearly 50% of the department's workforce. Impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21, according to the announcement.
"The statement confirms "all divisions" within the agency will be hit by cuts, but also says it will continue to deliver programs protected by law "including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking."
What does E for equity in DEI mean to the Trump/Musk? The duo's wants public education to go away because like DEI it is too woke. The department of education doesn't exist according to Musk nor does DEI. Why? Discrimination is important therefore equity doesn't exist because some are more equal than others and so deserve more? That is what privatization offers the public.
In The Baffler - Writer Jennifer C. Bershire looks at DEI along with some history of the Department of Education. She relates the following,"NCLB [No Child Left Behind] is largely remembered for the backlash it spurred against standardized testing, but at its heart was the inspiring vision that all kids could reach the same level of academic achievement, no matter where they started. Today, we have a word for that sort of thinking: woke. Bush’s sales pitch on behalf of his signature law, studded with nods to equal opportunity and “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” would never make it past Elon Musk’s DOGE goons, nor most of Trump’s cabinet picks".
“'Equality is the pursuit of equal opportunity; equity is the false promise of equal outcome,” wrote now defense chief Pete Hegseth (along with coauthor David Goodwin) in his 2022 screed Battle for the American Mind. “It’s cultural Marxism and socialism."”
From AP, March 20 - "The United States Embassy in South Africa said Thursday it received a list of more than 67,000 people interested in refugee status in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate members of a white minority group he claims are victims of racial discrimination by their Black-led government...
...Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 7 cutting U.S. funding to South Africa and citing “government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.”...
...The South African government has said that Trump’s allegations that it is targeting Afrikaners through a land expropriation law are inaccurate and largely driven by misinformation. Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform that Afrikaners were having their farmland seized, when no land has been taken under the new law...
....There are approximately 2.7 million Afrikaners in South Africa, which has a population of 62 million. Trump’s decision to offer some white South Africans refugee status went against his larger policy to halt the U.S. refugee resettlement program."
In Scientific America - "In U.S. science, technology and engineering companies, foreign-born employees make up 43 percent of workers who hold doctoral degrees. That number is nearly 60 percent in computer science and certain other fields. “Immigrants are a big part of what has made America a global leader in science and technology,” write the editors of Scientific American. Restricting the entry of skilled workers into the country will have profound effects on U.S. innovation and the economy...
"Musk’s Tesla company received approvals for 742 H-1B petitions for new hires during the 2024 federal fiscal year, more than double the number from a year earlier. Amazon (owned by Jeff Bezos) applied for nearly 3,900 H-1Bs in 2024. Most of the 25 companies that made the most H-1B requests in 2024 are technology firms, including Microsoft, Infosys and Meta, the parent company of Facebook (run by Mark Zuckerberg)."
From Bloomberg City Lab- The Trump Administration holds fast to a narrative of lawlessness and danger associated with immigration as a reason to go after Sanctuary cities and withhold federal funding.
Four mayors refuted that narrative in a Congressional hearing before the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 5, 2025.
The mayors — Boston’s Michelle Wu, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Denver’s Mike Johnston and New York City’s Eric Adams let the Committee on a reality - facts don't lie. Cities are safer when immigrants, documented or undocumented live without fear of arrest or deportation.
They cited significant drops in violent crime that coincided with increased numbers of migrant residents over the past few years. They recommended refocusing on gun control reforms and stop undercutting necessary reforms on behalf of safer cities.
In Wired, March 14 - he National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),, in the US Department of Commerce) has told partnering scientists affiliated with the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (USAISI) to update their cooperative R&D agreement and erase mentions of “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness (this mandate opens the door to false facts and misinformation and mitigates discrimination). Members were told that developing skills would entail seeking out ideological bias and that they should follow "America First" as a global mandate. As an added note, Elon Musk has criticized current AI models like OpenAI and Google while competing with them as he promotes his own model, xAI.
On February 16, 2025 Google changed its tracking approach.
It is called "digital fingerprinting". Cookies are still following you, but unlike cookies digital fingerprinting combines multiple user data signals collected on devices. It builds a profile that transcends websites to identify you and everything you like and are likely to buy.
Digital fingerprinting apparently bypasses consent mechanisms. In other words, it would seem that there is no direct opt out alternative.
Google says change is necessary because of the growth of multiple devices in a household.
Citing privacy issues, the UK says no to Google's change.
Google Chrome is expected to release a one-click"leave me alone" button that will block cookies.
Finally, be aware of your Google extensions.In The Current - Kim Komando shares a list of questionable extensions that should be deleted.
Many thousands of postcards were sent to the White House from around the country on the Ides of March, which was a fortelling of the fall of Ceaser, with expressions of anger and frustration toward Trump and Musk.
In Democracy Now, March 14 - "Over 300 protesters with the group Jewish Voice for Peace flooded the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Thursday wearing red shirts saying “Not in Our Name.” They demanded the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and held banners reading “opposing fascism is a Jewish tradition.” About 100 protesters were arrested and face charges of trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest.
In New Lines Magazine - Lucia Cholakian Herrera, a freelance journalist based in Buenos Aires, writes about a new kind of right-wing diplomacy born in the US that threatens multilateral relationships around the world. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The author writes:
"CPAC is a strange institution, a hybrid between a political assembly and a festival. Unlike a United Nations or European Union conference, it’s a private event funded by private institutions. But those in attendance are rising stars in many countries around the world, bolstering unofficial connections that are, nonetheless, relevant to their role as political outsiders (even when they hold office, which they do in many cases). After all, if an outsider like Trump can take on the establishment and become the establishment, why not them?"
The White House carnage of the Social Security System is a significant threat to survival for many seniors and the disabled who have no other safety net. This will a disproportionately impact residents of rural areas and the so-called "red states."
In Wired March 29 - "The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the system—and the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans rely—at risk."
Oakland, CA Residents Protesting Social Security cuts, March 17. “We’ve all paid for it. It’s not a gift”, photo credit: Natalie Orenstein
The White House carnage of the Social Security System based on lies and misinformation about fraud at 10%, rather than the estimated 1% of which many cases are simply mistakes on the part of a recipient or SSA, is a significant threat to survival for many seniors and the disabled who have no other safety net.
DOGE’s planned cuts which include 7000 firings and the closures of regional and local field offices, where Social Security offices were already understaffed, will disproportionately impact residents of rural areas and the so-called "red states, Blacks and Latinos, and women.
It just isn’t possible to overcome the obviously manufactured hurdles of in-person evidence where too many people have no access to any digital solution or in cases in rural areas access to transportation. Even if they were able to find a functioning Social Security office the bottleneck would be another hurdle to overcome.
We are a country that too often forgets or dismisses our old. We can’t do that here. As far as advocacy, the subject of the basic needs of old people and the disabled might not be as sexy to mainstream media as the immediately visible (and avoided) threats of war and climate change but it is immediate and it is a matter of life and death to this country’s aging population. Social Security was intended to replace about 40% of an average worker’s income. That is not the reality. Millions rely on Social Security for the majority, if not all of their income.
The war on the old and disabled in this country is so much bigger than people realize, from the 18% of critical care services migrants provide seniors to general cuts to health and welfare services.
I have a personal stake in what happens to social security. This not only applies to myself but to my disabled son who is experiencing hell right now because he is afraid of losing benefits, including his SSI, essential to his existence. How many others are living this reality?
To be clear, Elon Musk and the White House Administration do not care. Their sociopathic break from reality should be clear by now. Our representatives must care.
Democrats, and/or any Republicans that have some semblance of a conscience, need to get off their butts, get grounded, stop their complicity, and follow Bernie Sanders into the field now . "This threat to the basic need of seniors and the disabled in an aging population is a window of opportunity.
In Common Dreams, March 16 - Leonard “Ned” Johnson, 82, wasn’t dead. The White House, hiding behind the DOGE cost-cutting lie, said he was and took $5,201 from his account.
Johnson then plowed through blood pressure rising non-human bureaucracy. He was put on hold, then he waited in line for four hours. Luckily he had a passport.
He thought about other seniors who might be infected. After years of hard work they could end up dumpster diving.
Johnson got his money back, but was still waiting for his February and March benefit payments.
James McCaffrey was told to pay $740 or he would lose his Medicare benefits. He thought, maybe it was an immigration thing because he was born in Germany on a military base.
McCaffrey was worried about those seniors who had no cushion; who didn’t have the means to follow through and fight back. What about them?
President Trump and Elon Musk have begun a deranged effort to brutally slash Social Security with the help of Musk's young techie/thugs.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D - R.I.) outlined the Republican led game plan. To summarize: Tarnish social security, build up a fraud story, jump in and save the day, turn it over to Wall Street.
Meantime, it’s more than a blood pressure rise while dealing with bureaucracy, though that can be a highly stressful and even health threatening scenario. For many aging Americans, who have no cushion, it is a finality; a matter of life and death.
In RollingStone - Many people live month to month just getting by. So, what if your social security check doesn't come? At a time when an aging population of baby boomers are at a pinnacle, Social Security is on a downward slide.
"DOGE has closed Social Security field offices, shut down internal departments that deal with technology and online interfaces that Americans navigate to access and apply for benefits....All of this is being done to an agency that is at a 50-year low in staffing and at a time when the number of new applicants for benefiting for benefits are skyrocketing as baby boomers reach retirement age....Dismantling the agency can result in checks failing to reach millions of Americans –something that hasn’t happened in the 90 year history of the SSA."
Increasingly constituents whose lives depend on receiving their monthly social security check are asking their congressmen in town hall meetings, "where are you?" Apparently many members are in hiding.
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - "House Republicans are weighing cutting SSI by billions of dollars.... House Republicans have proposed pairing these damaging cuts with yet more tax cuts for the wealthy and profitable corporations — shifting the price tag to moderate- and low-income families while the wealthy avoid paying their fair share."
In Democracy Now, March 13, 2025 - Valerie Costa, an organizer behind the grassroots Tesla Takedown movement (a peaceful movement), has received numerous threats thanks to Elon Musk's rant on his X platform. She also faces the threat of being labeled as a domestic terrorist thanks to the loose language of the US President.
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