Be of good cheer. Leftists right now are rattled. They’re like mobsters who have pulled off crime after crime, and unexpectedly had a big defeat. But leftists have learned nothing, and are incapable of learning or growth because their core premises are set on destruction. Sooner rather than later, their sociopathic and psychopathic attitudes will resurface. It will all manifest as coercion and violence. It always has, because that’s the nature of collectivism and totalitarianism: forcing others into submission. The battle for truth and liberty will never be over; the cost of such blessings? Eternal vigilance.

*******

DEI is Jim Crow on the federal level. Jim Crow laws in the South coerced people into racial favoritism in certain counties and states. DEI coerced the entire federal government and, at least indirectly, major corporations to practice racial and gender favoritism. The groups who benefit from the favoritism are not the issue. Under Jim Crow, it was whites who were shown favoritism; under DEI, it’s blacks, Hispanics, gays, Muslims and people with gender dysphoria who are shown favoritism.The point: It’s always morally wrong to show favoritism, although it is a legal right on your own private property to choose with whom to associate. It’s always illegal to force people to show favoritism. Advocates of DEI pose as racially and culturally sensitive souls. In truth, they’re unsophisticated bigots with totalitarian tendencies seeking to obliterate the spirit and letter of American Constitutional law.

*******

Cancel leftism.
Defund leftism.
Abolish leftism.

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” SKIP TO CONTENTSKIP TO SITE INDEXSEARCH & SECTION NAVIGATION Subscribe for $1/week Trump Administration LIVEUpdates 8m ago Birthright Citizenship Order Hegseth Nomination Migrant Deportations Paying for Trump’s Agenda ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading. Trump Leaves Democrats Dazed and on the Defensive Locked out of power in Washington, the party is struggling to agree on a unified message of opposition. Some of its lawmakers are even telling Republicans they want to work together. Listen to this article · 7:43 min Learn more Share full article 438 Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin, a Democrat, used his annual State of the State speech this week to defend immigrants. Many other Democratic leaders have been quieter in their pushback to the new administration.Credit…Morry Gash/Associated Press By Reid J. Epstein Reporting from Washington Jan. 24, 2025 Updated 3:03 p.m. ET Sign up for the Tilt newsletter, for Times subscribers only.  Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, makes sense of the latest political data. Try it for 4 weeks. Follow our live coverage of the latest news on President Trump. As President Trump pushes aggressively to reshape the federal government, Democrats have retreated into a political crouch that reflects their powerlessness in Washington. Far from rising up in outrage, the opposition party’s lawmakers have taken a muted wait-and-see approach as Mr. Trump tries to end birthright citizenship, halt diversity programs in the federal government, undo foreign policy alliances and seek retribution against his perceived political enemies. In some cases, Democrats are even making a show of working with Republicans. Scores of them voted for the Laken Riley Act, which allows the deportation of unauthorized migrants who are accused but not yet convicted of crimes. Others volunteered to work with Republicans on a border security bill. And while Democrats are fighting the nominations of Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as national intelligence director, Mr. Trump’s other cabinet appointees appear on a glide path to confirmation without much vocal resistance. It is telling that in the opening days of the new Trump administration, the loudest pushback to the president’s policies has come not from an elected Democrat but from the bishop at Washington National Cathedral, who asked Mr. Trump directly during a service to have mercy on immigrants and L.G.B.T.Q. children. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “We’re no longer trying to win a news cycle,” said Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a Democrat who has become an outspoken messenger for his party on social media. “We’re trying to win an argument, and that’s going to take time and patience and discipline.” A group of 70 progressive House Democrats and six Senate Democrats gathered at the Capitol on Thursday to try to settle on a single message of opposition to Mr. Trump as he takes aim at myriad liberal constituencies and priorities. The assembled Democrats concluded that their best course of action was to focus on economic concerns, which they believe led to the party’s November defeats. Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat who is the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, convened the meeting. He said Mr. Trump’s control of the federal government, combined with his allies’ ownership of major social media networks, meant that Democrats must be in lock step, with a focused message of opposition for voters. “It’s going to be really critical for Democrats to point out what Trump’s real intentions are, which is to screw people over on pocketbook issues in service of the mega-rich,” Mr. Casar said. Image Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan said that fellow Democrats “can’t be in a constant state of hysteria,” but added, “We also don’t want to be Pollyanna.”Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times The Democratic stance is a stark change from the last time Mr. Trump came to office. That period, in 2017, was defined by public demonstrations of resistance, a flurry of new liberal groups and a palpable anger over an election outcome many in the party saw as illegitimate. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT This time, Mr. Trump won the popular vote and there have been no murmurs of significant foreign interference in the election. And he has unleashed so many new policies and executive orders that Democrats have been left in a daze. “It feels like we’re battling the L.A. fires, and the wind is 100 miles per hour, and it’s zero percent contained,” said Matt Bennett, a founder of Third Way, a center-left think tank. “We’re just going to have to wait for the wind to die down a little. It’s going to be a minute before Democrats can mount an effective response.” Some Democrats do believe Mr. Trump has already made significant mistakes that will cause political damage for him and Republicans. Trump Administration: Live Updates Updated  Jan. 24, 2025, 2:43 p.m. ET29 minutes ago Mike Pence is waging a lonely crusade against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his abortion views. Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Dept., discloses details of his complex financial interests. Hegseth’s ex-wife who denied physical abuse is bound by a nondisparagement clause. His far-reaching pardons for people convicted of attacking police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have already led to uncomfortable responses from Republicans. Democrats are also quick to point out that few of Mr. Trump’s early actions have addressed inflation or grocery prices — top issues for voters that he pledged during the campaign to prioritize. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT And in a sign that substantive pushback to Mr. Trump’s policies is likely to come from state capitals rather than from Washington, 22 state attorneys general sued the federal government to block Mr. Trump’s executive order directing the government not to recognize U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants as citizens. (However, not all of these left-leaning attorneys general wanted to talk about their legal challenge — in Washington, D.C., the typically voluble top prosecutor did not issue a news release and declined to discuss it.) In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, devoted 11 paragraphs in his annual State of the State speech on Wednesday night to defending immigrants’ contributions to Wisconsin — though he did not mention Mr. Trump by name. “Wisconsin, we cannot allow reckless decisions in Washington to stymie our economic momentum,” Mr. Evers said. “I will not compromise on our Wisconsin values of treating people with kindness, dignity, empathy and respect.” And in Newark, Mayor Ras J. Baraka on Thursday denounced an immigration raid in which he said a U.S. military veteran was detained. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” Mr. Baraka said. Democratic officials whose constituents are being directly targeted by Mr. Trump’s actions are less willing to give the party time to think about how to respond. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Cristóbal Alex, a former Biden administration official who is now the chairman of the Latino Victory Fund, ticked through Mr. Trump’s early moves: binding himself to billionaire tech executives, ending Biden-mandated caps on insulin prices, pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters and seeking to end birthright citizenship. “It’s prime time for Democrats to step it up,” Mr. Alex said. And yet plenty of Democrats want to make it known that they are trying to work with the new Trump administration. Thirteen Democratic senators signed a letter to Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican majority leader, asking to be involved in Mr. Trump’s proposed legislation to crack down on the nation’s immigration system. “We stand ready to work with you,” the senators wrote. Some Democratic officials ascribed the party’s hesitation and confusion in part to a lack of clarity from their voters. While anger — and money — drove the so-called Resistance of 2017, Mr. Trump’s second coming has been met by liberal resignation. No one in the world of politics or culture has emerged with a cogent and consistent anti-Trump message since his victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris, and the social media platforms that hosted many of the influencers of eight years ago are now owned by Mr. Trump’s billionaire allies. Patrick Gaspard, the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal research group, said the lack of Democratic mobilization was not surprising, given that few in the party were shocked by Mr. Trump’s 2024 victory. Democrats, he said, must take time to decide how best to oppose him and Republicans. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “This guy is throwing loads of chum in the water, and we can’t go after all of it,” Mr. Gaspard said. One think tank’s thoughtfulness is another’s hesitation. Rahna Epting, the executive director of MoveOn, a liberal advocacy group, said elected Democrats were trying to determine what their voters want them to do. “I see Democrats still trying to figure out where to plant their feet on the spectrum of pure opposition and bipartisanship,” Ms. Epting said. “It’s up to constituents and outside groups like MoveOn and others to hold their feet to the fire.” Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. More about Reid J. Epstein See more on: Democratic Party, Donald Trump, 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, U.S. Politics, Republican Party READ 438 COMMENTS Share full article 438 More on the Trump Administration Expelling Migrants: The Trump administration is giving ICE officials the power to quickly deport migrants who were allowed under Biden-era programs, according to an internal memo. Rehousing Transgender Prisoners: President Trump told federal prisons to house inmates who are transgender women in men’s facilities and halt medical treatments related to gender transition, part of an executive order meant to limit the recognition of gender to sex at birth. U.S. Plan for Crypto: Trump issued an executive order to support the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, calling for a new plan to regulate a business in which he has substantial investments. A Potential Blow to Trump’s Base: Republicans are mulling deep cuts in safety net spending that would affect struggling working class voters, many of whom helped elect Trump in November. A Global Surge to the Right: Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hard-line conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to surging nationalist parties in the European Union and beyond. 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A new paper in the QJE [the Quarterly Journal of Economics], The Global Race for Talent: Brain Drain, Knowledge Transfer, and Growth, by Marta Prato uses extensive data on inventors and their migration to make the following points.

(i) gross migration is asymmetric, with brain drain (net emigration) from the EU to the United States; (ii) migrants increase their patenting by 33% a year after migration; (iii) migrants continue working with inventors at origin after moving, although less frequently; (iv) migrants’ productivity gains spill over to their collaborators at origin, who increase patenting by 16% a year when a co-inventor emigrates.

Notice that migration doesn’t just relocate talent from the EU to the US; it amplifies talent. Preventing “brain drain” would create short-term gains for the EU but retaining talent at lower productivity would stifle long-term innovation and patenting, ultimately slowing growth for both the EU and the world. In short, even the EU gains from sending talent to the US! The effect would be much larger if we can import high-skill immigrants from countries where their skills are even less productive than in the EU. Ideally, other nations could replicate the US institutions that supercharge productivity, creating global economic gains. For now, however, the US seem to be a unique Galt’s Gulch for talent.

Prato concludes with a practical suggestion:

On the migration policy side, doubling the size of the U.S. H1B visa program increases U.S. and EU growth by 4% in the long run, because it sorts inventors to where they produce more innovations and knowledge spillovers.

Of course, when we expand the H1B program, we should allocate the visas by compensation rather than by lottery. (Jeremy Neufeld runs the numbers). In this way, we would get the most valuable workers. And please don’t tell me that we need a lottery so some poor startup can hire workers. No. Unless you have some compelling argument for why there is a massive externality and why lotteries (lotteries!) are the best way to target that externality we should let price allocate.

The FBI has closed its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office.

…

The decision follows growing criticism from Republican lawmakers. Earlier this month, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, condemning what she described as “radical” DEI initiatives that she argued had “endangered” Americans, citing the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans as an example.

“While the facts surrounding this unconscionable attack continue to emerge, what we know is deeply troubling: the suspect was in possession of weapons, improvised explosive devices, and an ISIS flag. This horrific incident constitutes a blatant act of terror on the American homeland, and the people of our country deserve to know whether federal law enforcement agencies can sufficiently prevent and respond to such incidents,” Blackburn wrote in her letter. “To that end, I am deeply concerned that—under your leadership—the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people.”

Blackburn’s letter also pointed to a report by retired FBI agents warning that the agency’s “law enforcement and intelligence capabilities of the FBI are degrading because the FBI is no longer hiring ‘the best and the brightest’ candidates.” She also highlighted the 2021 hiring of a Chief Diversity Officer and the New Orleans field office’s “Diversity Agent Recruiting Event” held in July as examples of the agency’s intensified focus on DEI initiatives.

Blackburn also posed pointed questions regarding the FBI’s DEI hiring practices. She inquired about the number of employees the Bureau hired through its DEI initiatives, how these initiatives are funded, whether any funds were reallocated to support them, and how many individuals were hired during the New Orleans field office’s Diversity Agent Recruiting Event in July.

…

This announcement comes mere days before Trump’s inauguration. Talk about winning!

Let’s start with the University of Idaho, which has closed its cultural centers (that is, leftist ideological pods) following a long overdue directive from the State Board of Education to close down DEI programs (though of course some programs will be renamed and staff shuffled around, so there will need to be a second phase of DEI-hunting).

Inside Higher Education quotes a student employee of a now-shuttered “Women’s Center,” which is merely being moved to a new unit under a new name:

“The transition strips away culture and history entirely. We want to be grateful for what is left over and what we are still able to have, while grieving and deeply understanding how dangerous it is to holistically sweep away so many identities and personhood.”

She forgot to say “genocide!” (Perhaps that term is reserved only for speaking of Israel.) “Sweeping away many identities”? And “personhood”? It really does seem that the identitarians are so far gone that they doubt their own ontology unless there is a special campus office devoted to making them feel better. This whole word-salad is a perfect piece of evidence for why all of these programs need to be abolished, under whatever name they try to disguise them. (Recall the definition of “holistic” in Power Line’s Lexicon of Political Terminology: “Leftist adjective for ‘we have no idea how to think about or what to do about a problem and want to change the subject with a fog of pretentious adjectives.’”)