I had, naively, assumed that the rant about DEI and the subsequent executive order were intended to remove positive discrimination in favour of ethnic minorities and LBTQ until I saw reports emerging that the Arlington National Cemetery had been ordered to remove references to African and Hispanic Americans and Women who were buried there.
So I tried to access their website but found that you are forced to accept all cookies and you cannot even read their cookie, privacy or usage policies before you have accepted them.
So I went to Snopes:-
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/arlin ... -veterans/
Apparently the verdict is mixed on the grounds that they are desperately trying to put the references back!
Is nothing sacred?
How Far do Trump’s DEI Policies Go?
Re: How Far do Trump’s DEI Policies Go?
You might ask who is making the changes.
The order comes down the line, White House to the boss at Arlington Website or any other .gov website: "get rid of pages about LQBTQIEWHATEVER".
He has no idea how, he has an IT department, he passes the order down. It reaches a desk of someone who, thinking "Is nothing sacred?", greps the website and deletes, among other things, all references to Enola Gay. Not with the intention of cooperating, but of embarrassing the originator of the order.
How the order was worded seems unclear, but a stack of pages emphasizing the military prowess or bravery or ability of generals or "firsts" among minorities all disappeared. The intention at the top may have been to remove such pages where they were only there because they were minorities. The effect, to embarrass or to comply, was a purge of minority focussed pages. And you'll not find the wording of the order anywhere.
But I'd say the silencing of Enola Gay can only have been protest from within .gov websites.
The order comes down the line, White House to the boss at Arlington Website or any other .gov website: "get rid of pages about LQBTQIEWHATEVER".
He has no idea how, he has an IT department, he passes the order down. It reaches a desk of someone who, thinking "Is nothing sacred?", greps the website and deletes, among other things, all references to Enola Gay. Not with the intention of cooperating, but of embarrassing the originator of the order.
How the order was worded seems unclear, but a stack of pages emphasizing the military prowess or bravery or ability of generals or "firsts" among minorities all disappeared. The intention at the top may have been to remove such pages where they were only there because they were minorities. The effect, to embarrass or to comply, was a purge of minority focussed pages. And you'll not find the wording of the order anywhere.
But I'd say the silencing of Enola Gay can only have been protest from within .gov websites.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Re: How Far do Trump’s DEI Policies Go?
And there is a pretty good summation of what the present administration is headed for:
The majority of those who bothered to vote in the 2024 Presidential election gave him the authority to do it. Without the majority vote, and the majority Senate, and the majority House, he'd be a feeble has-been never-was-been anomaly struggling to get round nine holes before returning to his empty bed. But that's not what happened. American voters chose to unleash this four-year catastrophe on the Homeland.
The fact that Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless, is the consummation of the twenty years of American policy, national and international, this site has discussed time and again. Domestically screaming against every minority at home, internationally focused on killing people abroad. If America ends up blind and blundering, feeble and friendless because of the Trump fiasco it's a deserved outcome. Reasonable people do not want America to lead the world and confront adversaries, they've seen where that leads. Reasonable people want America to be isolationist and that defines the present administration's policy. If the next step is permanent US withdrawal from NATO, reasonable people will throw a street party. Reasonable people are happy to deliver President Trump the oxygen of publicity he craves until the cows come home if he keeps on delivering chaos at his present rate. Bring on the reciprocal tariff war and blaming foreigners for the consequence.
Meanwhile, whatever happened to that first amendment freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances thing? People used to talk about that a lot too. ICE seems to be arresting a lot of folk with a right of residence recently.
Well just so, lady. Nobody has said it better.“Clinton’s critique of Trump’s second term went beyond just the Signal scandal, laying into the administration over the mass firing of federal workers, the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the retreat from global diplomacy, arguing it was weakening the country on the world stage.
The Trump approach is dumb power,” she wrote. “Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/2 ... ump-028309
The majority of those who bothered to vote in the 2024 Presidential election gave him the authority to do it. Without the majority vote, and the majority Senate, and the majority House, he'd be a feeble has-been never-was-been anomaly struggling to get round nine holes before returning to his empty bed. But that's not what happened. American voters chose to unleash this four-year catastrophe on the Homeland.
The fact that Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless, is the consummation of the twenty years of American policy, national and international, this site has discussed time and again. Domestically screaming against every minority at home, internationally focused on killing people abroad. If America ends up blind and blundering, feeble and friendless because of the Trump fiasco it's a deserved outcome. Reasonable people do not want America to lead the world and confront adversaries, they've seen where that leads. Reasonable people want America to be isolationist and that defines the present administration's policy. If the next step is permanent US withdrawal from NATO, reasonable people will throw a street party. Reasonable people are happy to deliver President Trump the oxygen of publicity he craves until the cows come home if he keeps on delivering chaos at his present rate. Bring on the reciprocal tariff war and blaming foreigners for the consequence.
Meanwhile, whatever happened to that first amendment freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances thing? People used to talk about that a lot too. ICE seems to be arresting a lot of folk with a right of residence recently.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Re: How Far do Trump’s DEI Policies Go?
And Cory Booker addressed the Senate for 25 hours across Monday-Tuesday 1st April 2025. Here is Claude's appreciation of the first half - the Congressional Record hasn't caught up with day 2 yet.
I've analyzed the transcript of Senator Cory Booker's extended speech on the Senate floor from April 1, 2025. This appears to be the first portion of what became a 25-hour marathon speech addressing proposed cuts to healthcare programs, particularly Medicaid.
Senator Booker conducted what's often called a "talking filibuster" to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare programs that were part of a budget reconciliation bill. The key points he addressed included:
The proposed $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid that were included in a House-passed budget resolution.
The human impact of these cuts, illustrated through dozens of personal stories from constituents and others who rely on Medicaid for essential healthcare.
Opposition from bipartisan groups including doctors, hospitals, Republican and Democratic governors, mayors, and healthcare organizations.
Criticism of the Trump administration's actions affecting healthcare, including freezing NIH research grants, imposing hiring freezes at health agencies, and cutting local/state health department funding.
The connection to tax cuts, arguing that these healthcare cuts were designed to fund tax cuts that would primarily benefit the wealthy.
The moral dimension of cutting healthcare services for vulnerable populations including children with disabilities, seniors in nursing homes, and people with rare diseases.
A tribute to Senator John McCain's 2017 vote against ACA repeal, reading extensively from McCain's speech explaining his decision.
Throughout the speech, Booker was joined at various points by Democratic colleagues including Senators Chuck Schumer, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Chris Murphy, who posed questions that allowed him to elaborate on his points while maintaining control of the floor.
What makes this speech remarkable is not just its length but its substance and emotional resonance. Senator Booker effectively combined detailed policy analysis with powerful personal stories to humanize the abstract numbers involved in budget cuts. His decision to read numerous letters from constituents and statements from diverse organizations demonstrated both the breadth of opposition to the proposed cuts and their real-world consequences.
The speech represented a classic example of the Senate's tradition of extended floor speeches as a form of protest, following in the tradition of memorable filibusters from senators like Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, and Chris Murphy (whose 15-hour speech on gun violence Booker referenced). By invoking John McCain's decisive moment on healthcare in 2017, Booker placed his stand within the Senate's history of pivotal moments where individual senators have influenced major policy decisions.
Booker's framing of this as "good trouble" - explicitly referencing civil rights icon John Lewis - positioned his marathon speech as not merely a parliamentary maneuver but a moral stand in defense of vulnerable Americans, consistent with his broader political philosophy emphasizing justice and compassion.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.