11 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 24

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Tags: politics, usa, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

13 comments

  1. [6]
    Omnicrola
    Link
    https://president.umich.edu/news-communications/messages-to-the-community/evolving-our-approach-to-dei-and-moving-forward-together/ I am simultaneously angry and completely unsurprised. This is...

    https://president.umich.edu/news-communications/messages-to-the-community/evolving-our-approach-to-dei-and-moving-forward-together/

    Based on our assessment of input from various stakeholders regarding our DEI programs – along with recent federal actions – and after conversations with Regents, university leaders, deans and government officials, we are implementing the following changes, effective immediately, in alignment with many of our peers at public and private institutions.

    • The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion (OHEI) will close. Student-facing services in ODEI will shift to other offices focused on student access and opportunity.
    • The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, the umbrella strategy for schools, colleges and units, will be discontinued, along with DEI 2.0 unit plans, related programming, progress reporting, training and funding. Individual leads, who have supported DEI efforts in schools, colleges and units, will refocus their full effort on their core responsibilities.
    • All units will evaluate their web presence to reflect the status of current programmatic directions and for compliance with federal executive orders and guidance.
    • The decision to end the use of diversity statements in faculty hiring, which was made earlier this academic year, will be applied universitywide; and statements related to a person’s commitment to DEI will no longer be solicited or considered in admissions, hiring, promotion, awards, annual reviews or other assessments for faculty and staff. 
    • The Office of the General Counsel will initiate an expedited review to ensure all policies, programs and practices comply with federal law and guidance.

    These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting.

    I am simultaneously angry and completely unsurprised. This is some grade-A infringement on free speech, and some of the largest and most influential universities (not just U-M) in the country are just rolling over.

    5 votes
    1. [5]
      boxer_dogs_dance
      Link Parent
      Did you see the massive cuts to research grant funding levels that was one of the first actions of Doge? My guess is that colleges have more options for now, but research universities are facing...

      Did you see the massive cuts to research grant funding levels that was one of the first actions of Doge?

      My guess is that colleges have more options for now, but research universities are facing very very hard choices. This administration uses mafia tactics to achieve control.

      Submitting might not be enough to satisfy the oppressor, but the trustees are likely the ones making this call.

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        Omnicrola
        Link Parent
        Yes, it's something I've been paying close attention too, since UM is a research institution and a lot of my friends are scientists and/or faculty at one of several universities. It was pretty...

        Did you see the massive cuts to research grant funding levels that was one of the first actions of Doge?

        Yes, it's something I've been paying close attention too, since UM is a research institution and a lot of my friends are scientists and/or faculty at one of several universities. It was pretty clear this was the route they would probably take once Columbia caved to similar demands, after being threatened with as you said, mafia tactics. I understand the impossibility of the choice that the university was/is faced with, but I'm really tired of just taking hits and watching the Cheeto in Chief smash everything he doesn't like. I want someone to fight back.

        2 votes
        1. [3]
          boxer_dogs_dance
          Link Parent
          Raskin is coordinating legal strategy for Dems in Congress, at the moment focusing on briefs for every case against Trump. Walz is doing town halls in districts where Republicans won't talk to...

          Raskin is coordinating legal strategy for Dems in Congress, at the moment focusing on briefs for every case against Trump.

          Walz is doing town halls in districts where Republicans won't talk to constituents.

          Bernie and AOC are barnstorming.

          There are special elections for Congress coming up in Florida.

          Saturday, there are world wide Tesla protests planned.

          And you are right. We need more. But what is being done now doesn't hit the top of the news cycle or the algorithms.

          4 votes
          1. [2]
            Omnicrola
            Link Parent
            Thank you for these reminders, I needed them. It's easy to forget the positive things that are actually happening.

            Thank you for these reminders, I needed them. It's easy to forget the positive things that are actually happening.

            4 votes
  2. [2]
    Omnicrola
    Link
    White House Correspondents' dinner cancels comedian Amber Ruffin's appearance Sucks, Amber is a national treasure, and a delightful human being with a wicked sharp sense of humor. I really hope...

    White House Correspondents' dinner cancels comedian Amber Ruffin's appearance

    "At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,"

    Sucks, Amber is a national treasure, and a delightful human being with a wicked sharp sense of humor. I really hope she does the set anyway and just posts it on YT or something, I'm sure it would have been amazing.

    4 votes
    1. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      The WHCA is facing the consequences of access journalism IMO. They could honor their journalists and just, not invite the president if that was the "focus."

      The WHCA is facing the consequences of access journalism IMO. They could honor their journalists and just, not invite the president if that was the "focus."

      2 votes
  3. Bet
    Link
    Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul

    Trump 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."

    2 votes
  4. [2]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    Trump administration revokes millions of dollars worth of active grants funding treatment for addiction and mental health

    Trump administration revokes millions of dollars worth of active grants funding treatment for addiction and mental health

    2 votes
    1. Bet
      Link Parent
      The efficacy is the problem.

      In their statement to NPR, HHS officials downplayed the impacts of the cuts and said most grants being rescinded fund outdated programs linked to the pandemic, including efforts to "address COVID-19 health disparities among populations at high-risk and underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations."

      Tom Wolf, an addiction activist in San Francisco who has been critical of Democratic approaches to address the overdose crisis, said he remains broadly supportive of Trump's policy ideas.

      "There are certain aspects of what he's doing that I think are good. For me it's about getting things done," Wolf said.

      But he also voiced concern about the pace of change and the risk that effective addiction treatment programs could be defunded at a time when tens of thousands of people in the U.S. are still dying from fatal overdoses each year.

      "Are they stopping to look at the efficacy of those programs?" Wolf said.

      The efficacy is the problem.

      1 vote