The conservative think tank’s requests are clogging the pipeline at federal agencies in an apparent attempt to find employees a potential Trump administration would want to purge.
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Eta:
Three investigators for the Heritage Foundation have deluged federal agencies with thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests over the past year, requesting a wide range of information on government employees, including communications that could be seen as a political liability by conservatives. Among the documents they’ve sought are lists of agency personnel and messages sent by individual government workers that mention, among other things, “climate equity,” “voting” or “SOGIE,” an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
The Heritage team filed these requests even as the think tank’s Project 2025 was promoting a controversial plan to remove job protections for tens of thousands of career civil servants so they could be identified and fired if Donald Trump wins the presidential election.
Jesus H. Christ, they’re actually gearing up for purges and show trials. Accusations of fascism get trotted out far too often, but this is a textbook step on the way.
Just read “the Hearing” with my kid tonight, a chapter early in HP 5, when one of the better villains in popular literature is introduced, Delores Umbridge. First time I read HP5 was 20 years ago, reading it again today only for the second time with current context is instructive.
The Hearing is an important chapter as it, for the first time, lays out that the institution running the wizard world might not be on Harry’s side, that there may be political motives behind processes, treatment and proceedings, and overall pulls the adolescent curtain down on the assumption right and good are running everything in the world of wizarding. Umbridge becomes the embodiment of propaganda, misuse of position, and how much damage motivated actors can do when handed power.
The Hearing is an important chapter as it, for the first time, lays out that the institution running the wizard world might not be on Harry’s side, that there may be political motives behind processes, treatment and proceedings, and overall pulls the adolescent curtain down on the assumption right and good are running everything in the world of wizarding.
Sort of sounds like what Rowling would do to trans people if she had her way and why.
Isn’t it wild what humans are capable of? Someone can understand human nature and history to the degree to write some of the things in HP and yet completely have blinders on to their own biases that would enable the same things?
ProPublica is the journalism we need, in a time when we really need it most
Eta:
Jesus H. Christ, they’re actually gearing up for purges and show trials. Accusations of fascism get trotted out far too often, but this is a textbook step on the way.
This is step 4 of 5
Just read “the Hearing” with my kid tonight, a chapter early in HP 5, when one of the better villains in popular literature is introduced, Delores Umbridge. First time I read HP5 was 20 years ago, reading it again today only for the second time with current context is instructive.
The Hearing is an important chapter as it, for the first time, lays out that the institution running the wizard world might not be on Harry’s side, that there may be political motives behind processes, treatment and proceedings, and overall pulls the adolescent curtain down on the assumption right and good are running everything in the world of wizarding. Umbridge becomes the embodiment of propaganda, misuse of position, and how much damage motivated actors can do when handed power.
Sort of sounds like what Rowling would do to trans people if she had her way and why.
Isn’t it wild what humans are capable of? Someone can understand human nature and history to the degree to write some of the things in HP and yet completely have blinders on to their own biases that would enable the same things?