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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Jeremy Faust, MD, MS, MA, Editor-in-Chief - MedPage Today
Stephan:
As a research scientist, I have published some 325 papers in seven disciplines in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. I have been doing this for 47 years, and in all that time I have never heard or read of a U.S. government agency censuring a science research publication. But that is where we are now in “emperor” Trump’s regime. I cannot adequately convey to you how desperately dangerous and bad this is. If a scientist or physician cannot publish a fact-based paper because they have used forbidden terms, then America’s decline is happening faster and is steeper than anything I would have predicted. Americans will no longer be able to access accurate information on certain topics on taxpayer-funded science websites because they are now being censured by “emperor” Trump’s politician watch guards.
The CDC has instructed its scientists to retract or pause the publication of any research manuscript being considered by any medical or scientific journal, not merely its own internal periodicals, Inside Medicine has learned. The move aims to ensure that no “forbidden terms” appear in the work. The policy includes manuscripts that are in the revision stages at journal (but not officially accepted) and those already accepted for publication but not yet live.
In the order, CDC researchers were instructed to remove references to or mentions of a list of forbidden terms: “Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” according to an email sent to CDC employees (see below).”
An Expansion of an Emerging Censorship Regime at the CDC
The policy goes beyond the previously reported pause of the CDC’s own publications, including Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) which has seen two issues go unreleased since Jan. 16, marking the first publication gap of any kind in approximately 60 years. Emerging Infectious Diseases and Preventing […]
Olivia Rosane, Staff Writer - Common Dreams | AlterNet
Stephan:
What amounts to an oligarchical coup of the United States has just happened. The unelected billionaires who bought “emperor” Trump his office now have my, and probably your, complete personal financial data — anything any of us has ever filed with the federal government, as well as any military service, or education loan data under your name. This development also illustrates how weak and corrupted the American Congress has become. You and I no longer live in the same country we did this time last week.
Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency—or DOGE—have been granted access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system that contains the personal information of every American who receives tax refunds, Medicare, Social Security, and other payments from the government.
Newly approved Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Musk surrogates access to the system late on Friday, five people familiar with the situation toldThe New York Times. Bessent’s decision came the same day as news that David Lebryk, a career Treasury official who was acting secretary before Bessent’s confirmation, would step down after arguing with DOGE members over access to the system run by the Bureau of Fiscal Service that pays out over $6 trillion a year.
“Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote on social media on Saturday. “Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies. All […]
ROB GILLIES and FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ, Staff Writers - Associated Press
Stephan:
Expect prices for everything from gas to grocery store items, as well as a long list of other products, to go up significantly before the month is out. “emperor” Trump has created a trade war with our neighbors to the North and South as well as with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing that Canada will be responding to “emperor” Trump’s initiating a trade war by responding with their own tariffs on American goods. Credit: Associated Press
TORONTO, CANADA — Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs on American goods in response to sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and businesses and consumers in both countries questioned Sunday how the new trade war might affect them.
Canada initially ordered tariffs of 25% on American imports starting Feb. 4, including beverages, cosmetics and paper products worth 30 billion Canadian dollars ($20 billion). A second list of goods was to be released soon, including passenger vehicles, trucks, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy products, aerospace products and more. Those goods were estimated to be worth 125 billion Canadian dollars ($85 billion).
Mexico has so far said only that it will impose retaliatory tariffs, without mentioning any rate or products.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke by phone Saturday after Trump’s administration imposed the new tariffs — 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, with […]
Kevin Liptak and Veronica Stracqualursi, Staff Writers - CNN
Stephan:
Get ready for it. “emperor” Trump has just warned the Commons that as a result of the trade war he has initiated, we will all be experiencing “some pain.” This pain is going to come in all kinds of ways, not just the increase in grocery prices. There will be major loss of jobs in some states. For example as cited in this report, “Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, which Trump won by more than 30 percentage points in the 2024 election, warned of the potential impacts on the state’s bourbon industry after the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario directed their liquor boards to remove American alcohol from shelves.
“emperor” Trump warns the Commons they will be experiencing “some pain” because of the trade war he has initiated. Credit: CNN
A day after signing steep new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, President Donald Trump acknowledged what economists, members of Congress and even some of his own aides — in their previous lives — have been saying all along: Americans may find themselves paying the costs.
“THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA! WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump posted, in all capital letters, on his Truth Social platform.
The message, which appeared in the hour before Trump arrived to his West Palm Beach, Florida, golf club for the second day in a row, amounted to an advance warning. Trump is serious about fulfilling his campaign promises to end illegal immigration, curb the flow of deadly drugs and rebalance continental trade.
But doing so will be uncomfortable, Trump is suggesting, and could serve to undermine another of his top campaign vows: lowering costs for Americans.
“WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL […]
Fascism like a lethal cancer is growing in the United States. Government agents are roaming the streets grabbing immigrants, families are being separated. concentration camps are being set up, federal agencies are being dismantled, the economy is about to go in to recession with tariffs, and allies are breaking away. Say goodbye to American democracy readers. It is disappearing before your eyes while a large minority of Americans don’t seem to comprehend what is happening in their lives.
Trump signs tariffs
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President Trump on Saturday imposed significant tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, a White House spokesperson said, following through on a long-standing pledge and potentially setting off a trade war with the United States’ top trading partners.
“Tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China are SIGNED!” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields posted on X. “This bold move holds these countries accountable for stopping illegal immigration and the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl.”
Trump is imposing a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods. Canadian energy imports will only be tariffed at 10 percent. The tariffs are set to take effect on Tuesday.
The tariffs signed Saturday include a clause that stipulates the U.S. could increase the tariffs if any of the countries retaliate, which they are expected to do.
For months, the president has vowed to impose tariffs on the three countries as he called on them to do more to crack down on the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States.
Trump has signaled Saturday’s announcement may just be the first […]
Zack Colman and Marcia Brown, Staff Writers - Politico
Stephan:
There is a christofascist playbook, Hitler followed it, Mussolini followed it, and Stalin followed it. The latest version in Project 2025. And one of the constants of the christofascist playbook is that the government must be censured to ensure that information the fascists don’t like is not made available to citizens. “king” Trump and his MAGAt vassals don’t believe in or want any government agency to talk about climate change. So all the federal agencies have been told to strip any reference to climate change off of their websites.
Climate change references are under fire at the Agriculture Department under President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins. Credit: Carolyn Kaster / AP
Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO.
The directive from USDA’s office of communications, whose authenticity was validated by three people, could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives, USDA climate hubs and Forest Service information regarding wildfires, the frequency and severity of which scientists have linked to hotter, drier conditions fueled by climate change. And it is reminiscent of moves made during the first Trump administration to remove references to climate change from federal government websites.
The email sent Thursday afternoon calls on website managers to “Identify and archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on climate change” and “Identify all web content related to climate change and document it in a spreadsheet” for the office to review. It set a Friday deadline for handing […]
Christofascists don’t care about the wellbeing of the country, good healthcare is not part of their agenda. That’s why the CDC websites have now been heavily censured. It is no longer going to be possible for Americans to look to the scientific agendas of the government for fact-based information on issues that are critically important to them. Nor can they rely on their government to tell them the truth about what it is doing. You may have heard Trump talk about sending $50 million dollars to Gaza for condoms, which they made into bombs. Putting aside how one would turn a condom into a bomb, the money, $83 million, was actually sent not to Gaza next to Israel but to the large Gaza province of Mozambique a country in Africa north of South Africa to help them deal with an outbreak of AIDS. Like all fascists “king” Trump it is not interested in facts . What he cares about are dramatic lies that stir the emotions of ignorant Americans. It is exactly the same ploy as the lies Hitler told about the Jews.
The CDC has begun removing from its website words and pages relating to diversity, gender identity, or LGBTQ issues, according to several sources.
“From a journalist friend: Just spreading the word,” wrote Deborah Blum, director of MIT’s Knight Science Journalism program, on Blueskyopens in a new tab or window. “The CDC is purging data, so people should archive their favorite CDC datasets today, namely ones around race/ethnic diversity, LGBTQ, and reproductive health. Also, health data involving climate. The youth risk behavior surveyopens in a new tab or window has already gone down.”
It was unclear whether the pages were being permanently deleted or just removed from public view, but a quick search showed the following pages have all gone missing and return a note indicating the “page you’re looking for was not found”:
“king” Trump has just gutted public education in the United States. American public schools were once the envy of the world, and families came to the United States because they could get the best education possible for their children. That is no longer true, and exactly what is going to happen to public schools in the U.S. is very unclear. My assessment is that Blue states will try to maintain public education, and Red MAGAt states will go along with “king” Trump and move young people in their states into religious and other kinds of profitable private schools. It will become part of the Great Schism Trend as the children in the Red MAGAt states get an indoctrination curriculum, while the children in Blue States get an education.
President Donald Trump at the White House on Jan. 29, 2025. Credit” Alex Brandon / AP
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to steer large amounts of federal money away from public schools and toward private-school vouchers and other “educational alternatives.”
The executive order cites disheartening national test scores released Wednesday as one justification, saying families need options outside the public system. Securing federal funding has been a longtime goal of supporters of vouchers and educational savings accounts, which families can tap to pay for private education.
Until now, with the exception of a voucher program in Washington, D.C., the use of taxpayer dollars for private education has expanded mostly through state policy. A proposal to use federal tax credits to fund private school scholarships has not advanced in Congress — though new versions were recently introduced.
The executive order sidesteps Congress and directs the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find ways to take existing […]
