Bet's recent activity
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 24 in ~society
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 24 in ~society
Bet LinkTrump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaulTrump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing Vice President JD Vance to eliminate "divisive race-centered ideology" from Smithsonian museums, educational and research centers, and the National Zoo.
Titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," the order states, "Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive." It goes on to say: "Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn -- not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
The order calls for Vance, along with Vince Haley, the assistant to the president for domestic policy and Lindsey Halligan, the special assistant to the president and senior associate staff secretary, to work with Congress to prohibit the Smithsonian from receiving appropriations for exhibitions and programs that, "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy." It also requests that future appropriations "celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women's History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum."
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Comment on What we know about the Tufts University PhD student detained by US federal agents in ~society
Bet LinkAnother student was also detained without cause at the University of Alabama.Another student was also detained without cause at the University of Alabama.
The Trump administration has detained another international student, but this time has not provided any justification.
University of Alabama doctoral student Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian citizen, was picked up at his home on 5 a.m. Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. A university spokesperson said that Doroudi was detained off campus, but ICE didn’t respond to reporters at The Guardian or The New York Times.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
Bet LinkPreventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court Yet another executive order specifically targeting lawyers and law firms.Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court
Yet another executive order specifically targeting lawyers and law firms.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
Bet LinkDemocratic Senators Team Up With MAGA To Hand Trump A Censorship Machine .Democratic Senators Team Up With MAGA To Hand Trump A Censorship Machine
At the exact moment when Donald Trump and his MAGA allies are actively dismantling democratic institutions and working to silence critics, a group of Democratic Senators have decided to collaborate with Trump’s supporters to make it easier to censor speech online.
As reported in The Information (paywalled), several Democratic Senators are teaming up with some of Trump’s strongest Senate allies to repeal Section 230 — the law that both enables content moderation and protects websites from being sued into oblivion for hosting user speech.
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The timing here is what makes this move particularly baffling — and dangerous. At the exact moment when Trump and his allies are systematically dismantling democratic institutions and attempting to silence critics, these Democratic Senators want to hand them an incredibly powerful censorship tool.
Here’s what repealing Section 230 would actually do: remove the law that explicitly protects websites when they resist government pressure to censor speech.
Without those protections, the Trump administration would have far more leverage to force platforms to remove content they don’t like — whether that’s criticism of Trump, exposure of corruption, or information about voting rights. It can also allow them to pressure websites to host pro-MAGA or pro-Nazi content that sites might not wish to associate with.
Think that’s hyperbole? Consider what’s already happening with all of the various attacks on the media and even law firms that have supported Democratic causes.
Repealing Section 230 entirely would simply give the administration even more power to control online speech. It would give the Trump administration incredible latitude to censor any kind of content they dislike, even if that content would nominally be protected under the First Amendment.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
Bet LinkI’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnappedI’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped
There was no explanation, no warning. He led me to a room, took my belongings from my hands and ordered me to put my hands against the wall. A woman immediately began patting me down. The commands came rapid-fire, one after another, too fast to process.
They took my shoes and pulled out my shoelaces.
“What are you doing? What is happening?” I asked.
“You are being detained.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean? For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
That would be the response to nearly every question I would ask over the next two weeks: “I don’t know.”
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
Bet Link ParentThe response to that letter, for anyone interested. It is appropriately professionally salty, lol; no fools suffered there.[Martin] recently sent a “letter of inquiry” to Georgetown University Law Center’s dean that warned that his office won’t hire the private school’s students if it doesn’t eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The response to that letter, for anyone interested. It is appropriately professionally salty, lol; no fools suffered there.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 17 in ~society
Bet Link'Segregated facilities' are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts'Segregated facilities' are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts
The segregation clause is one of several identified in a public memo issued by the General Services Administration last month, affecting all civil federal agencies. The memo explains that it is making changes prompted by President Trump's executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion, which repealed an executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination. The memo also addresses Trump's executive order on gender identity.
While there are still state and federal laws that outlaw segregation and discrimination that companies need to comply with, legal experts say this change to contracts across the federal government is significant.
"It's symbolic, but it's incredibly meaningful in its symbolism," says Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at New York University. "These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government's efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 10 in ~society
Bet LinkMinnesota Senate Republicans Push to Make 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' a Mental Illness A test case, I assume, and only the first of many. Designating someone as mentally incompetent is a surefire...Minnesota Senate Republicans Push to Make 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' a Mental Illness
A test case, I assume, and only the first of many.
Designating someone as mentally incompetent is a surefire way to severely restrict all of their activities. Republicans at all levels really do seem hellbent on reviving only the vilest aspects of our nation’s history. At this rate, I wonder when we’ll start seeing the inevitable future push for new laws surrounding conservatorships.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 10 in ~society
Bet LinkArlington Cemetery strips content on black and female veterans from website History of the Nisei ‘Go For Broke’ WWII unit removed from Army website The Medal of Honor Recipient Erased in the... -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkUS ‘to cease all future military exercises in Europe’ Also:US ‘to cease all future military exercises in Europe’
The United States has told its allies that it does not plan to participate in military exercises in Europe, according to reports.
The move, the latest in Donald Trump’s pivot away from the bloc, would see America pull out of exercises beyond those already scheduled for this year.
Also:
The Telegraph reported on Friday that Mr Trump is also considering pulling US troops out of Germany and redeploying them to Eastern Europe.
He is understood to be weighing up withdrawing some 35,000 active personnel and moving them to Hungary.
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Comment on Defying Donald Trump, Ukrainian troops advance in the east in ~news
Bet Link ParentUnexploded Ordinance, literally the most figuratively dangerous kind.the rapid exchange of ordinance.
Unexploded Ordinance, literally the most figuratively dangerous kind.
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Comment on What works do you think should be added to the literary canon? in ~books
Bet (edited )LinkThe entirety of Erich Fromm’s oeuvre. Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies. Herman Hesse’s Demian. Luisa Valenzuela’s Change of Weapons. And Robin Hobbs’ Realm of the Elderlings series, (which I...The entirety of Erich Fromm’s oeuvre.
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies.
Herman Hesse’s Demian.
Luisa Valenzuela’s Change of Weapons.
And Robin Hobbs’ Realm of the Elderlings series, (which I will continue shouting about until my dying day).
*Also seconding the earlier suggestions of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkHow Trump’s ‘51st state’ Canada talk came to be seen as deadly seriousHow Trump’s ‘51st state’ Canada talk came to be seen as deadly serious
On those calls, Trump laid out a long list of grievances he had with the trade relationship between the two countries, including Canada’s protected dairy sector, the difficulty American banks face in doing business in Canada and Canadian consumption taxes that Trump deems unfair because they make American goods more expensive.
He also brought up something much more fundamental.
He told Trudeau that he did not believe that the treaty that demarcates the border between the two countries was valid and that he wants to revise the boundary. He offered no further explanation.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkNew Executive Order — Addressing Risks From Perkins Coie LLP — is the second to target firm Trump considers his political enemy. The first was signed last week — Fact Sheet: President DONALD J....New Executive Order — Addressing Risks From Perkins Coie LLP — is the second to target firm Trump considers his political enemy. The first was signed last week — Fact Sheet: President DONALD J. TRUMP Directs Suspension Of Security Clearances And Evaluation Of Government Contracts For Involvement In Government Weaponization.
PRIORITIZING CITIZENS OVER PARTISAN GAMES: President Trump remains steadfast in his commitment to restoring trust in government by ensuring that public resources and privileges are not exploited for political gain.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkUS cuts off intelligence sharing with Ukraine The U.S. has officially banned its allies from sharing intel with Ukraine.US cuts off intelligence sharing with Ukraine
The U.S. has officially banned its allies from sharing intel with Ukraine.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkUS supreme court weakens rules on discharge of raw sewage into water suppliesUS supreme court weakens rules on discharge of raw sewage into water supplies
The US supreme court has weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage into water supplies in a 5-4 ruling that undermines the 1972 Clean Water Act.
The CWA is the principle law governing pollution control and water quality of the nation’s waterways.
The Republican super majority court ruled on Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot employ generic, water body-focused pollution discharge limits to Clean Water Act permit holders, and must provide specific limitations to pollution permittees.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
Bet LinkDonald Trump threatened on Tuesday to halt all federal funding for any college or school that allows “illegal protests” and vowed to imprison “agitators”, in a social media statement that prompted...“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
A missed opportunity to use the word ‘whence’.
The efficacy is the problem.