How a Times Reporter Eluded a Ban on the Word ‘Gay’; The New York Times, June 7, 2025

David W. Dunlap , The New York Times; How a Times Reporter Eluded a Ban on the Word ‘Gay’

"Among the articles in The Advocate was “The ‘G’ Word,” about The Times’s refusal to adopt the word “gay.”

At the time, there was an explicit prohibition in The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: “gay. Do not use as a synonym for homosexual unless it appears in the formal, capitalized name of an organization or in quoted matter.”

Gay men found this rule to be demeaning. I know, because I was one of them. As a closeted young reporter on The Times’s Metro desk, however, I didn’t stand a chance of persuading the publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger (1926-2012), or the executive editor, A.M. Rosenthal (1922-2006), to overturn a ban they had put in place in 1976.

So I waged guerrilla warfare instead. Whenever I wrote articles of particular concern to gay readers, I peppered the text with “gay” as much as I could — in accordance with the stylebook rule. I also tried to limit use of the clinical, antiquated “homosexual.”...

The editor to whom the book belonged, Thomas Feyer, drew an “X” through the entry in June 1987, when the rule was superseded by a memo from Allan M. Siegal (1940-2022), an assistant managing editor.

“Starting immediately,” Mr. Siegal wrote, “we will accept the word gay as an adjective meaning homosexual, in references to social or cultural patterns and political issues.” That made my life easier, in many ways.

Today, the stylebook says: “gay (adj.) is preferred to homosexual in most contexts.”"

Lawyers face sanctions for citing fake cases with AI, warns UK judge; Reuters, June 6, 2025

Sam Tobin, Reuters; Lawyers face sanctions for citing fake cases with AI, warns UK judge

"Lawyers who use artificial intelligence to cite non-existent cases can be held in contempt of court or even face criminal charges, London's High Court warned on Friday, in the latest example of generative AI leading lawyers astray.

A senior judge lambasted lawyers in two cases who apparently used AI tools when preparing written arguments, which referred to fake case law, and called on regulators and industry leaders to ensure lawyers know their ethical obligations.

"There are serious implications for the administration of justice and public confidence in the justice system if artificial intelligence is misused," Judge Victoria Sharp said in a written ruling...

She added that "in the most egregious cases, deliberately placing false material before the court with the intention of interfering with the administration of justice amounts to the common law criminal offence of perverting the course of justice"."

In Challenge to Trump, Smithsonian Says It Controls Personnel Decisions; The New York Times, June 9, 2025

Robin Pogrebin Graham Bowley and Zachary Small, The New York Times; In Challenge to Trump, Smithsonian Says It Controls Personnel Decisions

 "In a challenge to President Trump, the Smithsonian said on Monday that it retained the power over personnel decisions, a statement that came in the wake of the president’s announcement that he was firing Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery.

“All personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the secretary, with oversight by the board,” said a statement from the Smithsonian, which oversees that museum and 20 others, as well as libraries, research centers and the National Zoo. “Lonnie G. Bunch, the secretary, has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian.”

The statement came hours after the Board of Regents, including Vice President JD Vance, discussed the president’s announcement at a quarterly meeting...

The fight over Ms. Sajet’s tenure has further complicated matters for Mr. Bunch, who was already under pressure to navigate a recognition of presidential power while defending the institution’s autonomy. Created by Congress as a trust to be administered by the board and the secretary, the institution receives two-thirds of its $1 billion in annual funding from the federal government.

The Smithsonian’s silence after Mr. Trump’s announcement about Ms. Sajet, the first woman to lead the National Portrait Gallery, appeared to signal a reluctance to challenge the president. But the board on Monday reacted in a way that, if not a complete statement of support for Ms. Sajet, was a clear effort by the institution to reassert its autonomy."

BFI Report Sets Out 9 Recommendations to Ensure “Ethical, Sustainable, Inclusive AI” Use; The Hollywood Reporter, June 8, 2025

Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter; BFI Report Sets Out 9 Recommendations to Ensure “Ethical, Sustainable, Inclusive AI” Use

"A new report published on Monday by the British Film Institute (BFI) sets out nine recommendations for the U.K. screen sector to ensure that artificial intelligence will be a boon rather than bane for film and TV. 

“AI in the Screen Sector: Perspectives and Paths Forward” analyzes current usage and experimentation with “rapidly evolving generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies,” the BFI said. “To ensure that the U.K. remains a global leader in screen production and creative innovation, the report sets out a roadmap of key recommendations to support the delivery of ethical, sustainable, and inclusive AI integration across the sector.”"

5 Dangerous Myths About AI Ethics You Shouldn’t Believe; Forbes, May 14, 2025

Bernard Marr , Forbes; 5 Dangerous Myths About AI Ethics You Shouldn’t Believe

"AI can empower just about any business to innovate and drive efficiency, but it also has the potential to do damage and cause harm. This means that everyone putting it to use needs to understand the ethical frameworks in place to keep everyone safe.

At the end of the day, AI is a tool. AI ethics can be thought of as the safety warning you get in big letters at the front of any user manual, setting out some firm dos and don’ts about using it.

Using AI almost always involves making ethical choices. In a business setting, understanding the many ways it can affect people and culture means we have the best information for making those choices.

It’s a subject there's still a lot of confusion around, not least involving who is responsible and who should be ensuring this gets done. So here are five common misconceptions I come across involving the ethics of generative AI and machine learning."

What to know about counterprotests to Trump's June 14 parade; Axios, June 7, 2025

 

• April Rubin, Axios; What to know about counterprotests to Trump's June 14 parade

"Protestors are taking to the streets and community hubs nationwide on June 14 in what organizers expect will be the largest single-day anti-President Trump rally since the start of the administration.

Why it matters: The widespread movement will run counter to Trump's multimillion dollar military parade in D.C.

"No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance," organizers wrote. "From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we're taking action to reject authoritarianism."

More than 100 pro-democracy advocacy groups are partnering to organize the No Kings events.

What they're saying: "Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday," the No Kings website said.

"A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn't staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else."

By the numbers: Millions of people are estimated to protest in more than 1,500 cities across all 50 states and commonwealths, organizers said. 

Context: Trump proposed a military parade on his 79th birthday and the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary.

The Army predicts it will spend $25 to $45 million on the plan, an estimate that doesn't include Secret Service or law enforcement.

D.C. is not known for having military parades, but Trump has been vying for one since his first term."

We are witnessing the first stages of a Trump police state; The Guardian, June 9, 2025

Robert Reich , The Guardian; We are witnessing the first stages of a Trump police state

"Trump and his regime are rapidly creating such an infrastructure, in five steps:

(1) declaring an emergency on the basis of a so-called “rebellion”, “insurrection”, or “invasion”;

(2) using that “emergency” to justify bringing in federal agents with a monopoly on the use of force (Ice, the FBI, DEA, and the national guard) against civilians inside the country;

(3) allowing those militarized agents to make dragnet abductions and warrantless arrests, and detain people without due process;

(4) creating additional prison space and detention camps for those detained, and

(5) eventually, as the situation escalates, declaring martial law.

We are not at martial law yet, thankfully. But once in place, the infrastructure of a police state can build on itself.

Those who are given authority over aspects of it – the internal militia, dragnets, detention camps, and martial law – seek other opportunities to invoke their authority.

As civilian control gives way to military control, the nation splits into those who are most vulnerable to it and those who support it. The dictatorship entrenches itself by fomenting fear and anger on both sides.

Right now, our major bulwarks against Trump’s police state are the federal courts and broad-based peaceful protests – such as the one that many of us will engage in this coming Saturday 14 June, on the No Kings Day of Action.

It is imperative that we remain peaceful, that we demonstrate our resolve to combat this tyranny but do so non-violently, and that we let America know about the emerging infrastructure of Trump’s police state and the importance of resisting it.

These are frightening and depressing times. But remember: although it takes one authoritarian to establish a police state, it takes just 3.5% of a population to topple him and end it."

Newsmaker: Brewster Kahle; American Libraries, June 4, 2025

Anne Ford  , American Libraries; Newsmaker: Brewster Kahle

"How has the work of the Internet Archive been affected since Trump took office?

Well, the biggest effect has been getting a lot of attention for what we do. We spend a lot of time on Democracy’s Library, which is a name for collecting all the born-digital and digitized publications of government at the federal, state, and municipal levels. There’s been so much attention about all of the [digital] takedowns that we’ve received lots and lots of volunteer help toward collecting not only web assets but also databases that are being removed from government websites. It’s all hands on deck.

And you just launched a new YouTube channel.

Yes, we unveiled our next-generation microfiche scanning as part of our Democracy’s Library project, because a lot of .gov sites are on microfiche, and people don’t want to use microfiche anymore. Fortunately, the US government in its early era was pro–access to information and made government documents public domain. So we put out a YouTube livestream of the microfiche being digitized.

What would you like to see libraries and librarians do during this challenging time?

We need libraries to have at least as good rights in the digital world as we have in the physical world. There’s an upcoming website [from the Internet Archive and others] called the Four Digital Rights of Libraries, and that is something libraries can sign onto as institutions. [The website will launch during the Association of European Research Libraries’ LIBER 2025 Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 2-4.]

People generally don’t know that libraries, in this digital era, are prevented from buying any ebooks or MP3s. They are not allowed by the publishers to have them. They spend and spend and spend, but they don’t end up owning anything. They’re not building collections. So the publishers can change or delete anything at any time, and they do. In their dream case, libraries will never own anything ever again. This is a structural attack on libraries. You don’t need to be a deep historian to know what happens to libraries. They’re actively destroyed by the powerful.

So let’s spend [our collection budgets] buying ebooks, buying music, buying material from small publishers or anybody [else] that will actually sell to us. Make it so we are building our own collections, not this licensing thing where these books disappear.

That’s a big ask. But the great thing about that will be that our libraries start buying things from small publishers, where most of the money goes back to the authors, not stopping with the big multinational publishers. Let’s build a system that works for more players than just big corporations that make a habit of suing libraries."

Stop bending the knee to Trump: it’s time for anticipatory noncompliance; The Guardian, June 8, 2025

David Kirp, The Guardian; Stop bending the knee to Trump: it’s time for anticipatory noncompliance

"Fearing Hurricane Donald, a host of universities, law firms, newspapers, public schools and Fortune 500 companies have rushed to do his bidding, bowing before he even comes calling. Other institutions cower, in hopes that they will go unnoticed.

But this behavior, which social scientists call “anticipatory compliance”, smoothes the way to autocracy because it gives the Trump regime unlimited power without his having to lift a finger. Halting autocracy in its tracks demands a counter-strategy – let’s call it anticipatory noncompliance...

Restoring democracy is no easy task, for it is infinitely easier to destroy than rebuild. It will take a years-long fight that deploys an arsenal of tactics, ranging from mass demonstrations and consumer boycotts to litigation and political organizing. It’s grueling work, but if autocracy is to be defeated there’s no option. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” observed James Baldwin, in a 1962 New York Times article. A half-century later, that message still rings true."

Getty argues its landmark UK copyright case does not threaten AI; Reuters, June 9, 2025

 Sam Tobin, Reuters; Getty argues its landmark UK copyright case does not threaten AI

 "Getty Images' landmark copyright lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Stability AI began at London's High Court on Monday, with Getty rejecting Stability AI's contention the case posed a threat to the generative AI industry.

Seattle-based Getty, which produces editorial content and creative stock images and video, accuses Stability AI of using its images to "train" its Stable Diffusion system, which can generate images from text inputs...

Creative industries are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own work after being trained on existing material. Prominent figures including Elton John have called for greater protections for artists.

Lawyers say Getty's case will have a major impact on the law, as well as potentially informing government policy on copyright protections relating to AI."

The Smithsonian faces an existential crisis. The world is watching.; The Washington Post; June 4, 2025

Philip Kennicott , The Washington Post; The Smithsonian faces an existential crisis. The world is watching.

"The Smithsonian has a long and sadly craven history of caving to critics, including making changes to exhibitions after pressure from activists and members of Congress. Former Smithsonian secretary G. Wayne Clough censored an NPG exhibition of portraiture featuring LGBT people in 2010, after pressure from conservative Christian activists. Clough forced museum curators to remove a single video, by the gay artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, which actually made the exhibition more popular when it traveled to Brooklyn and Tacoma, Washington.

The precedent for that intrusion on editorial independence had been established at least since 1995, when the National Air and Space Museum censored an exhibition about the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb. The Enola Gay controversy, which centered on some veterans’ opposition to an evenhanded curatorial discussion of why the bomb was dropped and whether it was necessary, damaged the institution, but it also helped foster widespread and lasting resistance to censorship and content meddling throughout the organization.

But those examples were mere brush fires compared with the destruction that would follow a new precedent, the right of the president of the United States to dictate hiring and content. Trump’s ongoing efforts to assert control over the performing arts, museum sector and the larger American historical narrative have been audacious and destructive. Subscriptions sales at the Kennedy Center are down some 36 percent from last year, and community arts and humanities groups around the country are suffering from the loss of small but essential grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services."

The Guardian view on coming-out tales: from A Boy’s Own Story to What It Feels Like for a Girl; The Guardian, June 8, 2025

 Editorial, The Guardian; The Guardian view on coming-out tales: from A Boy’s Own Story to What It Feels Like for a Girl

"Each of these coming-out stories is rooted in a specific time and place. They are about class as well as sex, the salvation of books and music as well as romance. They are about loneliness, desire and a longing for escape – being a teenager, in short. Despite heartbreaking scenes of abuse and pain, they are also bursting with excitement. One of the conditions of youth is that one’s “own story” feels like the only story. This is why the coming-of-age narrative endures.

In our digital age of toxic masculinity and intolerance, these memoirs call for truthfulness and compassion. They are reminders of the fragility of progress. “If gays have gone from invisibility to ubiquity and from self-hatred to self-acceptance,” White wrote in his last book, The Loves of My Life, published in January, “we should recognize we’re still being pushed off cliffs in Yemen – and from the top fronds of Florida palms, for all I know.”"

"O for a muse of fire": The modern appeal of Shakespeare, June 8, 2025

Mo Rocca , CBS News Sunday Morning; "O for a muse of fire": The modern appeal of Shakespeare

"Dowd says it's fitting that the Folger is located in the nation's capital: "Outside in the garden, there's a silvery statue of Puck from 'Midsummers Night's Dream,' and the line, 'Lord, what fools these mortals be,' and it faces the Capitol. And there's never been a more apt description of politics in Washington than that."

In fact, Dowd says, Shakespeare was a cultural father figure to America's earliest leaders. "The Founding Fathers were very steeped in Shakespeare," she said. "Thomas Jefferson advised people to read Shakespeare from the time it got dark 'til the time they went to bed."

John Adams read Shakespeare to better understand the dark side of power, and how to protect against it. "The Founding Fathers definitely used it to form the Republic," she said. 

Dowd herself cites the Bard in her new collection, "Notorious," just as she has in her column ever since 1995, when Bill Clinton was president. "Clinton just is such a classic Shakespeare character because he just had this tragic flaw of recklessness," Dowd said. 

She compared Vice President Dick Cheney to Iago, preying on the insecurities of George W. Bush's Othello … Barack Obama to Hamlet, for his hesitancy and indecisiveness … and as for Joe Biden? "If Joe Biden had read 'King Lear,' he would've realized the dangers of the gerontocracy, and you really should not cling to power and suffocate the younger people who are coming along," Dowd said.

And then there's the current commander-in-chief: "Donald Trump reminds me of several different plays. He's kind of like late Lear, howling at the moon. He's also like Julius Caesar in a republic, but trying to grab the crown and think of himself as an emperor," Dowd said."

Corruption Has Flooded America. The Dams Are Breaking.; The New York Times, June 8, 2025

 Ben Rhodes, The New York Times ; Corruption Has Flooded America. The Dams Are Breaking.

"President Trump has more than doubled his personal wealth since starting his 2024 election campaign. Billions of foreign dollars have flowed into his family’s real estate and crypto ventures. A plane that doubles as a “palace in the sky” has been given for Mr. Trump’s use by the government of Qatar.

It is easy to dismiss this as just a bigger and more brazen version of the self-dealing we saw during the first Trump term. But it poses a more fundamental danger. Our political system is being transformed into something that no longer serves the people. Indeed, the United States is seemingly becoming just another country with a corrupt strongman personalizing and profiting from power...

Corruption is a powerful tool, but it is not popular. To build a movement powerful enough to push back on Mr. Trump’s self-dealing, Democrats must show people how it will affect their lives."

Appeals Court Ruling Raises Bar for Challenging School Book Bans; EducationWeek, May 28, 2025

Mark Walsh , EducationWeek; Appeals Court Ruling Raises Bar for Challenging School Book Bans

[Kip Currier: Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan's majority opinion statements that "“Removing a library book does not deny anyone the chance to read it...“The book has not been ‘banned.’ …People who want the book can buy it or borrow it from somewhere else.” are disingenuous and elitist. The reality is that the book has been made inaccessible.

The chief rationale for having a school library is to enable students to be able to access information and materials like books. Taxpayer monies support the acquisition of materials for school libraries. So requiring a student and their family to have to resort to buying a book that the school library would arguably be likely to have is inequitable. A hypothetical student's family's tax dollars support the purchase of school library books. However, the state's stance requires that family (or any other family!) to elect to spend additional monies on a book that their child may want to read or forego access to that book. The other option, as Judge Duncan notes, is to try to borrow that book from somewhere else, which in and of itself raises obstacles. Either way, these are unethical barriers to information that only some students are required to navigate, while other students have unfettered access to state-favored resources. That's censorship and treats some people disparately from others.

The court's rationale is also inherently problematic and potentially unconstitutional as viewpoint discrimination because the court's position prioritizes the views of some books over others. It is acknowledged that no library is able to purchase and provide access to every book. Yet, this policy favors some students and families over others by the nature of the resources that tend to be removed under bans of this nature, i.e books that include references to issues and characters of color or that are LGBTQ+-related.]

[Excerpt]

"The court’s 100-page decision in Little v. Llano Countydevotes much discussion to school library book challenges. Notably, the court expressly overruled its own 1995 precedent that suggested students could challenge the removal of books in their schools.

“Removing a library book does not deny anyone the chance to read it,” says the majority opinion by Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, an appointee of President Donald Trump. “The book has not been ‘banned.’ … People who want the book can buy it or borrow it from somewhere else.”

The majority also rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, which stemmed from a New York state school district’s 1976 removal of books from school libraries including Black Boy by Richard Wright, Soul On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver, and Go Ask Alice by an anonymous author."

Bill giving Texas parents, school boards more control over library books heads to Gov. Greg Abbott; The Texas Tribune, May 26, 2025

AYDEN RUNNELS , The Texas Tribune; Bill giving Texas parents, school boards more control over library books heads to Gov. Greg Abbott

"Legislators on Saturday gave final approval to a bill giving Texas parents and school boards a bigger role over what books students can access in public school libraries and creating new advisory councils to oversee the removal process. 

Senate Bill 13 would give school boards, not school librarians, the final say over what materials are allowed in their schools’ libraries by creating a framework for them to remove books based on complaints they receive. The final version of the bill agreed upon by lawmakers from both chambers would allow school boards to oversee book approvals and removals, or delegate the responsibility to local school advisory councils if parents in a district sign a petition allowing their creation. The House version of SB 13 required 20% of parents to sign the petition, but the version agreed upon between chambers requires only 50 parents or 10% of parents in the district, whichever is less."

SC banned more school books than any other state. Can any be reinstated?; The Island Packet, June 5, 2025

Isabella Douglas, The Island Packet; SC banned more school books than any other state. Can any be reinstated?

"Following last month’s state education board meeting, South Carolina now leads the nation in the number of books removed from public schools. The books banned have drawn national backlash and packed board meetings with pleas from students, parents and advocacy groups. But with no formal process to reverse the ban, efforts to “unban” books face legal uncertainty, regulatory hurdles and no clear path forward.

At the heart of the controversy is Regulation 43-170, a policy that allows for the removal of public school library and classroom books that contain descriptions or images of sexual conduct."

Washington State Library closing to the public, 12 jobs getting axed; Washington State Standard, June 6, 2025

 JERRY CORNFIELD , Washington State Standard; Washington State Library closing to the public, 12 jobs getting axed

"The Washington State Library in Tumwater and the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library in Seattle will close to the public on July 1 due to a lack of state funding.

State libraries will also eliminate 12 jobs due to the financial pressure. 

Shuttering the facilities will curb access to the state’s trove of historical and governmental collections and force cancellation of an array of services and programs, the secretary of state’s office announced Friday.

“Libraries are cornerstones of civic life and education in many areas of our state. The impact of the closures will risk denying communities access to the information, literacy tools, and resources they depend on,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement."

Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits’, top regulator warns; The Guardian, June 8, 2025

 Callum Jones, The Guardian; Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits’, top regulator warns

"Artificial intelligence is, meanwhile, transforming the gambling sector. “If operators are using technology to target bettors, that technology can be used to promote healthy behaviors,” said Maynard. “And I believe that a way that happens quicker is for regulators to get involved on the issue.”"

Judge says administration can dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services; AP, June 6, 2025

AP; Judge says administration can dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services

"A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the American Library Association to halt the Trump administration’s further dismantling of an agency that funds and promotes libraries across the country, saying that recent court decisions suggested his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. 

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had previously agreed to temporarily block the Republican administration, saying that plaintiffs were likely to show that Trump doesn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally shutter the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which was created by Congress.

But in Friday’s ruling, Leon wrote that as much as the “Court laments the Executive Branch’s efforts to cut off this lifeline for libraries and museums,” recent court decisions suggested that the case should be heard in a separate court dedicated to contractual claims."

OpenAI to appeal copyright ruling in NY Times case as Altman calls for 'AI privilege'; Foxbusiness, June 6, 2025

 Bradford Betz, Foxbusiness; OpenAI to appeal copyright ruling in NY Times case as Altman calls for 'AI privilege'

"The OpenAI co-founder said the case has accelerated the need for a conversation about "AI privilege," in which "talking to an AI should be like talking to a lawyer or a doctor.""

Hope After Trump; The New York Times, June 7, 2025

Nicholas Kristof , The New York Times; Hope After Trump

"Authoritarians surround themselves with sycophants, so that no one warns them when they proclaim dumb policies that tank the economy. Free from oversight, they yield to dissolution and corruption...

In recent years alone, look at what has happened to some of the most prominent authoritarians around the world. In Brazil, the Supreme Court in March ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of discussing a coup to stay in office. And in Hungary, Orban’s party is now lagging in some opinion polls.

In the Philippines, Duterte targeted the brave journalist Maria Ressa, who faced up to 34 years in prison for committing journalism. But now Ressa has a Nobel Peace Prize and is free while Duterte is in a prison cell in The Hague, facing charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.

I caught up recently with Ressa, and her line to Americans is: “If you’re depressed now, think of the Philippines” — and find hope...

Domestically, the United States is showing resilience...

If Filipinos can win back their country, then surely we Americans can as well. Given the enormous stakes, this is a time for a rebirth of liberal patriotism. So don’t emigrate, friends; stay and fight for your country’s future. And the world’s."