Yes, I’ve gone quiet. Fortunately, I don’t have paying subscribers, so I need not feel particularly guilty about this.
Obviously, I’m appalled by what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing. It is the epitome of evil.
But I also see no viable path—at least at present—to improving matters. The Democrats are barely even doing their usual thing of complaining about Republicans even as Tesla’s woes mount, at least in part due to Musk’s assault on the federal government and his transformation of Twitter into a paleoconservative disinformation network[1] and inflation seems set to worsen with Trump’s tariffs and his lack of attention.[2] It’s all a gift to the Democrats that they steadfastly ignore, confirming yet again that the Democrats are not truly an opposition party.
I visited my doctor to get a measles shot and she complained about how the measles outbreak had seemingly come out of the blue. This isn’t terribly surprising: An anti-vaxxer is in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services and a lot of folks who deal with such outbreaks are facing layoffs[3]—Musk is at work here, too. I replied that it isn’t just medicine; the U.S. government can no longer be trusted as a source of information.
And mainstream journalism outfits are cowed as, for example, the Associated Press has been barred from White House briefings because it insists on calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico.[4] Disinformation will be the new official truth as journalists scramble to preserve ‘access.’
The AP cites the first amendment in its lawsuit against the Trump administration[5] but we are transitioning into an aconstitutional broligarchy[6]—constitutional rights will be irrelevant. The Department of Education has targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for elimination,[7] meaning that publicly funded education at all levels will need to conform to white Christian nationalist ideology, flagrantly violating the first amendment. Woe will be unto anyone who dares to challenge that ideology.
All this is, of course, completely the opposite of what I’m about as a scholar. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: This is a time to survive. Protect yourself. Protect your unauthorized migrant neighbors (who will be blamed for the measles outbreak[8]). Survive. Even it means keeping quiet.
[1] Carlton Reid, “What’s Driving Tesla’s Woes?” Wired, March 8, 2025, https://www.wired.com/story/whats-driving-teslas-woes/
[2] Elisabeth Buchwald, “Trump is one month in and Americans are already mad at him about inflation,” Cable News Network, February 21, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/economy/us-economy-trump/index.html; Paul Wiseman and Christopher Rugaber, “Trump’s tariff tactics carry higher economic risks than during his first term,” Associated Press, March 3, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariff-mexico-canada-inflation-1123ada61916502324ca830347ed8d14
[3] Bryant Furlow, “Measles outbreak challenges Trump's public health vision,” Lancet, February 26, 2025, doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(25)00075-X
[4] David Folkenflik, “AP sues Trump White House for denying access over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ row,” National Public Radio, February 21, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/02/21/nx-s1-5305226/ap-sues-white-house-gulf-of-america-mexico-trump
[5] David Folkenflik, “AP sues Trump White House for denying access over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ row,” National Public Radio, February 21, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/02/21/nx-s1-5305226/ap-sues-white-house-gulf-of-america-mexico-trump
[6] David Benfell, “We still need a better plan,” Not Housebroken, February 12, 2025, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/we-still-need-a-better-plan
[7] U.S. Department of Education, “U.S. Department of Education Takes Action to Eliminate DEI,” January 23, 2025, https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-takes-action-eliminate-dei
[8] Bryant Furlow, “Measles outbreak challenges Trump's public health vision,” Lancet, February 26, 2025, doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(25)00075-X