Post owner Bezos announces shift in opinions section; Shipley to leave; The Washington Post, February 26, 2025

Washington Post staff , The Washington Post; Post owner Bezos announces shift in opinions section; Shipley to leave

"What readers are saying

The comments express strong disapproval of The Washington Post's new focus on "personal liberties and free markets" in its opinion section. Many readers perceive this shift as a move towards right-wing ideology and a departure from the paper's tradition of diverse and critical opinion pieces. There is a widespread sentiment that this change undermines journalistic integrity and stifles free speech, leading numerous subscribers to cancel their subscriptions in protest. Show less

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments."

Prosecutors seeking ‘retribution’ for Trump can be disbarred; The Washington Post, February 26, 2025

Bruce E. Yannett , The Washington Post; Prosecutors seeking ‘retribution’ for Trump can be disbarred

"Bruce E. Yannett, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is a criminal defense attorney in New York.

As President Donald Trump embarks on his promised campaign of “retribution” against his political enemies, there’s little reason to hope that the leadership of the Justice Department will curb his worst impulses — just consider the specious dismissal of the case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

But those willing to do the president’s bidding might have forgotten one important protection built into the justice system: Lawyers are governed by ethical rules regulated by state bar associations and state courts. And those authorities can and do discipline — and even disbar — lawyers who order, assist or engage in unlawful conduct.

Though state authorities have historically been reluctant to police the conduct of federal prosecutors, they now will have no choice but to shed that reluctance and show the kind of courage they did after the 2020 elections. Then, disciplinary authorities in New York, California and the District of Columbia sought to suspend and even disbar not only such high-profile private lawyers as Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, but also then-Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, for engaging in dishonesty or undermining the administration of justice."

Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, just sent out this email of total submission.; The Ink, February 26, 2025

The Ink; Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, just sent out this email of total submission.

[Kip Currier: Nail by nail by nail by nail, the three richest persons on the planet -- Elon Musk (Twitter/X), Jeff Bezos (Amazon/Washington Post), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta/Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp/Threads) -- are erecting barriers to information and solidifying control of their versions of information. 

Note what Bezos, in part, wrote today: 

"We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too, of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others."

Point 1: Bezos's prior conduct tells us that he will decide how the two pillars of "personal liberties" and "free markets" are defined. That's censorship of ideas and free expression.

Point 2: Bezos will determine the parameters of "viewpoints opposing those pillars". That's also censorship of free speech.

Point 3: Bezos downplays the time-honored tradition of U.S. newspapers providing "a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views" by stating that "Today, the internet does that job." This is an abject abandonment of the historical role of one of the nation's foremost papers of record; indeed, the very newspaper that exposed the Watergate scandal that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. Bezos knows, too, that the internet is rife with misinformation and disinformation. A chief reason that readers seek out creditable, trusted news providers like The Washington Post is the expectation of fact-checking and responsible curation of opinions and facts. Bezos's statement amounts to disingenuous dissembling and the ceding of responsibility to the Internet and social media, which he well knows are highly flawed information ecosystems.

Point 4: Bezos states later that "freedom is ethical". But freedom always comes with ethics-grounded responsibilities. Nowhere in Bezos's statement does he talk about ethical responsibilities to truthfulness, free speech, accountability, transparency, the public/common good, constitutional checks and balances, or the rule of law, all of which are integral to informed citizenries and functioning democracies.

Bezos's actions and viewpoints are antithetical to free and independent presses like The Washington Post, as well as to the core principles of one of the world's oldest democracies.]

[Excerpt]

"Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, just sent out this email of total submission.

Bezos appears to have misread Timothy Snyder’s advice “Do not obey in advance” as “Obey in advance,” missing a couple words."

#AltGov: the secret network of federal workers resisting Doge from the inside; The Guardian, February 26, 2025

 Timothy Pratt, The Guardian; #AltGov: the secret network of federal workers resisting Doge from the inside

"Calling itself #AltGov, the network has developed a visible, public-facing presence in recent weeks through Bluesky accounts, most of which bear the names or initials of federal agencies, aimed at getting information out to the public – and correcting disinformation – about the chaos being unleashed by the Trump administration."

Look at Donald Trump and his gang of broligarchs – and tell me we don’t need a wealth tax; The Guardian, February 25, 2025

Brian Cox , The Guardian; Look at Donald Trump and his gang of broligarchs – and tell me we don’t need a wealth tax

"Among the clique were the three richest men in the world: Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and top dog Elon Musk, who personally poured $277m into Trump’s election campaign, increasing his own wealth by $170bn as a result...

I’m someone who has lived with both poverty and wealth – but increasingly people from my working-class background will not be given the opportunities afforded to me. Because wealth is becoming more concentrated, cronyism is growing and the rest of the world is suffering.

Some at least are calling it out. Last month, nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires signed a letter asking leaders at Davos to take action on extreme wealth – by taxing the super-rich, like them. And, in his farewell speech, the then US president, Joe Biden, warned of a dangerous oligarchy taking shape. This should be a wake-up call to us all – especially those people elected to represent us.

Governments must address the obscene political capture we are witnessing. One simple way to do this is to tax the super-rich. These people now manage so much more than money. They manage what we read, what we watch, the information we’re given and, ultimately, how we vote."

UK newspapers launch campaign against AI copyright plans; Independent, February 25, 2025

 Martyn Landi, Independent; UK newspapers launch campaign against AI copyright plans

"Some of the UK’s biggest newspapers have used a coordinated campaign across their front pages to raise their concerns about AI’s impact on the creative industries.

Special wraps appeared on Tuesday’s editions of the Daily Express, Daily Mail, The Mirror, the Daily Star, The i, The Sun, and The Times – as well as a number of regional titles – criticising a Government consultation around possible exemptions being added to copyright law for training AI models.

The proposals would allow tech firms to use copyrighted material from creatives and publishers without having to pay or gain a licence, or reimbursing creatives for using their work."

Trump family rakes in profits as President Trump fires ethics watchdog; WBUR, February 25, 2025

 WBUR; Trump family rakes in profits as President Trump fires ethics watchdog

"The Trump family has made nearly $80 million since the election, and that's not counting the crypto assets they've been pushing. The Trump Organization, now overseen by the president's son Eric Trump, has not barred itself from pursuing deals with foreign companies, as it did during Trump’s first term. President Trump also fired the head of the Office of Government Ethics.

Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus joins us to discuss the Trump family's growing fortunes.

This segment aired on February 25, 2025."

Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes; Reuters, February 25, 2025

Sam Tabahriti, Reuters; Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes

"More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws, which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work."

AI in law firms: Ethics panels clearing path forward; Minnesota Lawyer, February 21, 2025

Nicole Black, BridgeTower Media Newswires , Minnesota Lawyer; AI in law firms: Ethics panels clearing path forward

"With the arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI), a roadmap to ethical adoption was needed, and quickly, given the unprecedented rate of advancement. Fortunately, bar associations nationwide rose to the occasion, issuing timely and in-depth guidance in months, not years. Since the spring of 2023, many jurisdictions released guidance or opinions on the ethics of using AI in law firms: California, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, the American Bar Association, Virginia, D.C., and New Mexico.

Most recently, North Carolina joined their ranks in November, handing down 2024 Formal Ethics Opinion 1.  In the opinion, the Ethics Committee addressed six inquiries about ethical AI adoption."

Chatbots for children: China grapples with how to teach use and ethics of AI in schools; South China Morning Post, February 25, 2025

Josephine Ma , South China Morning Post; Chatbots for children: China grapples with how to teach use and ethics of AI in schools

"One question educators are pondering is the boundary between using AI as a learning aid and students using AI to write."

Will AI jeopardize science photography? There’s still time to create an ethical code of conduct; Nature, February 24, 2025

Felice Frankel, Nature ; Will AI jeopardize science photography? There’s still time to create an ethical code of conduct

"Ethical standards

For years, I have suggested that scientists need to be trained in the ethics of visual communication, and the easy availability of AI image-creation software adds urgency to this discussion."

When is it time to have the courage to quit?; NPR, February 24, 2025

Ally Schweitzer, NPR; When is it time to have the courage to quit?

"If your boss asks you to do something you consider unethical, do you resign or hold the line?

Some federal workers are wrestling with that question now, as President Trump calls to reshape the mission and perceived politics of government agencies. In one recent example, multiple prosecutors resigned after Trump's Department of Justice ordered Manhattan officials to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

"I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten in his resignation letter...

But sometimes, sticking around is the more ethical choice, Rutgers philosophy professor Alex Guerrero told NPR. He spoke with Morning Edition host A Martínez about what to consider before leaving a job that conflicts with your values...

Martínez: Is there an argument that some people who choose to resign for ethical reasons ought to stay? Maybe they can do more good by staying as opposed to making a public statement by leaving.

Guerrero: Absolutely. I think especially in cases where you might not be in a particularly high-profile position, maybe nobody will really notice that you leave. But also, there might be cases where it's really important that people stay and look for ways to fight from within: to try to push back against what's being done, to gum up the works. I think in many cases, the ethical thing to do actually is to stay in the role, as hard as it might be, because if you leave, you might be replaced by somebody who is gung ho about the immoral thing and will push forward in a much worse way. But also, you might well be able to help slow down the things that are being done."

Trump’s firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem; Fast Company, February 12, 2025

JARED KELLER, Fast Company; Trump’s firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem

"On Feb. 7, Trump fired Colleen Shogan from her role as Archivist of the United States, the head of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and government official responsible for overseeing the preservation—both physical and digital—and promulgation of government records. Shogan’s dismissal marks the first time that a sitting president has fired the nation’s archivist since the position was established in the 1930s...

The dismissal wasn’t exactly unexpected. The New York Times reports that Trump had grown to “despise” the agency for its role in alerting the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2022 to his alleged misappropriation and mishandling of classified documents at his Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago following his first term in office—a case a federal judge dismissed in July of last year. (His ire extended to Shogan despite her not assuming the Archivist post until 2023, months after the agency alerted the DOJ.) 

And Shogan won’t be the last NARA official to get the axe: The president has reportedly in recent months drawn up a “list” of staff to fire in retaliation for their role in the classified documents investigation, according to Rolling Stone. (Shogan, NARA, and the White House did not respond to Fast Company’s requests for comment.)"

Copyright 'sell-out' will silence British musicians, says BRIAN MAY; Daily Mail, February 23, 2025

 Andy Behring , Daily Mail; Copyright 'sell-out' will silence British musicians, says BRIAN MAY

"No one will make music in Britain any more if Labour's AI copyright proposal succeeds, Sir Brian May warned last night as he backed the Daily Mail's campaign against it.

The Queen guitarist said he feared it may already be 'too late' because 'monstrously arrogant' Big Tech barons have already carried out an industrial-scale 'theft' of Britain's cultural genius.

He called on the Government to apply the brakes before the next chapter of Britain's rich cultural heritage – which includes Shakespeare, Chaucer, James Bond, The Beatles and Britpop – is nipped in the bud thanks to Sir Keir Starmer's copyright 'sell-out'...

Sir Brian said: 'My fear is that it's already too late – this theft has already been performed and is unstoppable, like so many incursions that the monstrously arrogant billionaire owners of Al and social media are making into our lives. The future is already forever changed."

The CIA smuggled the Guardian into the eastern bloc during the cold war; The Guardian, February 22, 2025

Ella Creamer, The Guardian; The CIA smuggled the Guardian into the eastern bloc during the cold war

 "The CIA smuggled the Guardian Weekly to eastern bloc countries during the cold war, a new book reveals. Copies of this newspaper were sent as part of a broader secret programme that got literature by authors including George Orwell and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn behind the Iron Curtain.

In the early 70s, Guardian Weekly was sent to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, said Charlie English, former head of international news at the Guardian and author of The CIA Book Club.

Under the “CIA book program”, the US intelligence agency sent approximately 10m books east over the three decades leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The programme aimed to “combat the stultification that Stalinism imposed on the eastern bloc”, where censorship was rife, and show those living there that “the west hadn’t forgotten about them”, said English...

The CIA Book Club details the significant role of the late Jerzy Giedroyc, a relative of the former Great British Bake Off television presenter Mel Giedroyc, in the CIA’s operations. He was “perhaps the most important person in the west helping the CIA ship books into Poland” and considered a “hero of the Polish independence movement”, said the author.

While the book programme is given “almost no credit” for bringing about the end of the cold war, dissidents say literature was vital to the anti-communist movement in Poland, and former CIA officers believe it played a significant role in ending the war."

Literary gold … or betrayal of trust? Joan Didion journal opens ethical minefield; The Guardian, February 23, 2025

Donna Ferguson , The Guardian; Literary gold … or betrayal of trust? Joan Didion journal opens ethical minefield

"The announcement that these post-psychiatry notes, discovered by Didion’s literary executors in an unlabelled folder shortly after she died in 2021, are to be published in April has raised questions around the ethics of posthumous publishing."

A college president offers a class in standing up to Trump; The Washington Post, February 18, 2025

Opinion Perry Bacon Jr. , The Washington Post; A college president offers a class in standing up to Trump

"Many college presidents and deans are issuing mealymouthed statements, ending long-standing programs, removing content from websites and otherwise cowering in the face of the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education. Then there’s Michael S. Roth.

The president of Connecticut’s Wesleyan University wrote a piece in Slate that described some of the Trump administration’s rhetoric as authoritarian. He consistently reposts articles criticizing Trump’s decisions. He speaks and blogs firmly in defense of diversity, equity and inclusion, transgender rights and immigration.

Roth is demonstrating the kind of eloquence and resistance we desperately need from the leaders of not only colleges but also corporations, nonprofits and other organizations in the face of Trump’s onslaught against the rule of law, civil society and key American institutions."

Elon Musk’s Cringey Chainsaw Act Exposes a Deep Ignorance Fueling DOGE; The New Republic, February 21, 2025

 Michael Tomasky, The New Republic; Elon Musk’s Cringey Chainsaw Act Exposes a Deep Ignorance Fueling DOGE

[Kip Currier: Read and share this New Republic article with as many people as possible. We must work to raise awareness of what the Trump/Musk alliance is perpetrating and inflicting.

Matthew 20:16: "So the last shall be first, and the first last."

As this article unpacks, even catching a glimpse of the richest man on Planet Earth perversely fetishizing a chainsaw on stage -- as he elatedly wreaks havoc on the lives of Americans and the world -- is both stomach-churning and heart-breaking. We see before us a WWE-esque caricature of a human; a performative individual who is profoundly lacking an ethical center and values like compassion, reason, and integrity.

Elon the Oligarch can buy whatever access his heart desires. He can attain whatever healthcare he or his family needs. Musk also has unfettered access to lucrative government opportunities for self-enrichment, despite having clear conflicts of interest and supporting the abrogation of government ethics rules. The unchecked damage that Team Musk is unleashing will be far-reaching for millions.

Consider just a few examples:

• The veteran who has served this country and may need, say, a pair of hearing aids or a cancer treatment regimen but may not now be able to get the healthcare they need and deserve. 

• The recent college graduate who wants to serve their country in the FBI, FDA, or FAA but who was summarily fired because they were one day shy of finishing their probationary period before DOGE jubilantly sacked them and countless other probationary federal employees sharing their expertise and service.

• The university researcher who has been performing medical research that is leading to new insights and treatments for common and rare diseases but whose funding and research studies may now be halted and eliminated altogether.

Musk wants us to feel guilty for government programs that we support with our tax dollars, while he games the system to advance his aim of being the world's first trillionaire.

When the time comes to vote, remember the politicians who unabashedly are supporting Elon the Tyrannical right now, and the administration giving him a free hand to take a chainsaw to programs that assist persons in need and empower other people to help their fellow humans in need.]

[Excerpt]

"At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Elon Musk appeared on stage in oversized sunglasses, a black gothic MAGA hat, a thick gold chain around his neck—and wielding a chainsaw. Ha ha. Over at Politico’s Playbook, the new team may not have heard of the New Deal, but thank goodness they do have enough sense to know that the richest man in the world and the president he works for (or is it the other way around?) might—make that will—come to rue that cringey image.

The way Musk’s DOGE is going about these cuts is the equivalent, as I heard former Biden administration official Mitch Landrieu say on TV this week, of a man thinking he needs to lose 30 pounds and deciding to saw off his leg. That’s funny, and true. But this is even worse. A man sawing off his leg hurts only himself. What Musk is doing will hurt millions of people in ways that we’re only beginning to see.

Here’s one small example, which you likely haven’t read about but which I take a little personally. If you’re one of my regular readers, you know that I was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and went to my hometown university, West Virginia University, or WVU (not UWV, thank you). A week ago, West Virginia Watch, a small nonprofit news organization in the state, moved a story noting that the university expects to lose $12 million annually in funding that supports cancer and vascular research. 

Under dynamic Dean Clay Marsh, a native of the state recruited back to West Virginia from Ohio State by WVU President E. Gordon Gee (and the son of hell-raising newspaper editor Don Marsh, who once upon a time made The Charleston Gazette one of the most aggressive regional newspapers in the country), the cancer institute has made tremendous strides. The cuts, a university spokeswoman told West Virginia Watch, could cost the school the faculty it has recruited to do the research and conduct the clinical trials that could lead to the breakthroughs that would save a lot of lives in the state with the third-highest cancer mortality ratein America.

And if it’s $12 million at the smallish West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, imagine what it is at New York University, or UCLA, or Johns Hopkins, or even much larger state research hospitals in Florida or Washington. And it’s happening to every state university medical system in the nation."

Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 10 Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril; New York Post, February 20, 2025

Douglas Murray, New York Post; Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 10 Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril

"In Trump’s rush to end the bloodshed, these are also the truths against which any deal will be judged and which will define him when the history books are written.

To ignore them or not treat them with the gravity they deserve will also have enormous consequences for decades to come:

Truth No. 5

Putin is a dictator. Putin has ruled Russia with an iron KGB fist since coming to power in 1999. He has ruthlessly quashed independent media, ended free and fair elections, crushed civil society and killed his political opponents. And not just inside Russia, but around the world. People who live inside Russia and express any opposition to the war are imprisoned.

Truth No. 6

Zelensky is not a dictator. A political outsider, Zelensky won the 2019 presidential election, which was relatively free and fair. He has a 57% approval rating, not the 4% Trump claimed.

Unlike in Russia, Ukraine has vibrant independent media that hold the government to account — despite claims to the contrary by internet swamp creatures and Russian bots.

Many Ukrainians freely criticize the government’s conduct of the war. When Britain was fighting for its survival against the Nazis in the 1940s, it too did not hold elections.

The Russian ambassador to the UK spent yesterday crowing that he’s “not sure” Zelensky would be re-elected if there were elections today. But we all know one thing for sure. Whether or not Zelensky would be re-elected in Ukraine, Putin will always be re-elected in Russia. Because his elections are con jobs, pageant shows. Putin hasn’t won a free and fair election in his life. Because he doesn’t hold them."

Ukrainians Rally Around Zelensky as Trump and Putin Denigrate Him; Time, February 21, 2025

 HANNA ARHIROVA / AP, Time; Ukrainians Rally Around Zelensky as Trump and Putin Denigrate Him

"After Trump called Zelensky a “dictator”—for legally postponing an election last year—and as reports emerged of U.S. and Russian officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire without input from Ukraine, even some of Zelensky’s harshest domestic critics have begun defending him.

“We may have different opinions about Zelensky, but only Ukrainian citizens have the right to judge his support,” said Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a lawmaker from the opposition party Holos. “And to publicly criticize him too, because, in the end, he is our elected leader.”

Trump’s harsh words for Zelensky have drawn criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in the U.S. Congress, where defending Ukraine from Russia—with tens of billions of dollars in military aid—has had bipartisan support. But Vice President J.D. Vance admonished Zelensky for publicly warning Trump about falling for Russian disinformation...

A poll released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology put public trust in Zelensky at 57%. The survey was conducted Feb. 4 to Feb. 9 among 1,000 people living across Ukraine in regions and territories controlled by the Ukrainian government."

Nearly Twice as Many Americans View Trump as 'Dictator' Than Zelensky; Newsweek, February 20, 2025

Mandy Taheri, Newsweek; Nearly Twice as Many Americans View Trump as 'Dictator' Than Zelensky

"Nearly twice as many Americans view President Donald Trump as a "dictator" compared to Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a new poll. Trump recently used the word to describe the Ukrainian president...

A YouGov poll of 4,071 Americans conducted on February 19 asked participants whether they believe Zelensky, Trump and Putin are dictators.

The poll found that 41 percent of participants view Trump as a dictator, just below the 45 percent who do not. Gender played a role in participants answers, as among women, 46 percent consider Trump a dictator, compared to 35 percent of men.

The divide also falls along political lines, with 80 percent of Republicans saying Trump is not a dictator, while 68 percent of Democrats believe he is.

Fourteen percent of respondents said they were unsure if they consider him a dictator or not.

When participants were asked if they considered Zelensky a dictator, as Trump did on Wednesday, 22 percent said yes, while 45 percent said no. A larger share of participants, 33 percent, were unsure.

A majority of Democrats, 63 percent, said the Ukrainian leader is not a dictator, with only 15 percent believing he is. Republicans were fairly split among the three responses, with 36 percent unsure, 31 percent saying no and 33 percent saying yes."

Fox News’ Mark Levin criticizes Trump for attacking Zelensky: ‘MAGA doesn’t support Putin; New York Post, February 20, 2025

 Ronny Reyes, New York Post; Fox News’ Mark Levin criticizes Trump for attacking Zelensky: ‘MAGA doesn’t support Putin’

"Fox News host Mark Levin, a longtime supporter of President Trump, is breaking with the commander-in-chief over his recent attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, warning Trump that “MAGA doesn’t support Putin.”

Speaking on the Mark Levin Show on Wednesday, Levin offered a rare criticism of the president as he backed Zelensky for maintaining order in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Levin’s segment appeared to be a direct response to Trump’s claims that Zelensky is a dictator that the Ukrainian leader is stopping free elections and only has a very low approval rating. 

The Fox News host said both of those assertions are false."

Trump ends federal leadership program, cutting off key talent pipeline; The Washington Post, February 20, 2025

 Olivia George, The Washington Post; Trump ends federal leadership program, cutting off key talent pipeline

[Kip Currier: "So we do not lose heart." 2 Cor. 4:16.

Trump, Vance, Musk, and others in his circle want the American people to despair and believe that our government is irreparably broken. [Read/Listen to Ezra Klein's 2/7/25 New York Times interview with Kara Swisher "What Elon Musk Wants"] That we as a country, committed to the bedrock principle E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One), are irrevocably divided. That we are not indivisible, in contravention of our Pledge of Allegiance (one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all).

The damage being done every day by the Trump administration is tragic, uncharitable, and vengeful.

Yet, we must and will persevere as a nation. We must build stronger guardrails to protect against this kind of unilateral, monarchical destruction of federal employees, programs, and agencies that help people, provide deserved opportunities, strengthen our democracy and the free world, and present hope and information to those yearning for freedom and self-determination.

Take heart. We will rebuild our government when this regime has ended.]

[Excerpt] 

"The Trump administration ended the Presidential Management Fellows Program in a late-night executive order Wednesday, axing a decades-old initiative that has long been celebrated as a pipeline to draw talent into civil service careers.

The two-year, full-time fellowship brings recent graduate students into agencies across the government with pay, benefits, training and mentorship. It bills itself as “the premier leadership development program” and has helped thousands of graduates get into government roles since its founding in 1977.

President Donald Trump instructed the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to “promptly terminate” the program in the executive order, which targeted “elements of the Federal bureaucracy” that he had “determined are unnecessary.” The order also eliminated or dramatically diminished a handful of other programs and federal advisory committees, including the U.S. Institute of Peace, which works to prevent and resolve violent conflict, and the U.S. African Development Foundation, which invests in African grassroots enterprises.

“This is one of the most unsettling, tragic pieces of news yet,” said Sean O’Keefe, a member of the presidential management program’s inaugural class who went on to become the NASA administrator under President George W. Bush. “This is a firing of convenience. They are looking for a headcount reduction; there is nothing qualitative about this.”