Once artists, organizers, teachers, lawyers, and other Americans were smeared by the committee as subversives, their reputations disintegrated and their projects collapsed. Donner chronicled HUAC’s heyday as a time of “loyalty oaths,” “congressional witch hunts,” and “pervasive self-censorship.” American institutions, academics, and media must quickly reacquaint themselves with this period in history, because accusation-as-gospel and hearing-as-punishment are quickly reemerging as a prevalent force in U.S. politics—and neither is likely to stop unless targets begin to push back more effectively.
This is a must-read essay by someone who has first-hand experience with the bad-faith – but powerful – attack dogs of Trump world. The piece provides deep context and a history lesson (often the same thing) for those who are unfamiliar with America's 20th Century political witch hunts.
In her research, the author (disclosure: a friend) learned things she hadn't known. I learned things from her report, and I promise you will, too.
The most important takeaway for me was her prescription for pushing back on the attackers and their slimy methods. It won't be an easy task for many of the victims, but it's hard to see what else can work to ultimately deter deceitful propaganda – "political theater," as she calls it – that is designed to harm people who are out of favor with the regime and its cultists.
“Making political contributions to aid Billy Long seems like a surefire way to ingratiate yourself with the man poised to lead the IRS, especially when we’re talking about contributions to help repay campaign debt that is just loans to the candidate himself and contributions to his leadership PAC,” said Michael Beckel, the senior research director of the campaign-finance reform organization Issue One, who first spotlighted the donations. “People often criticize campaign contributions for being legalized bribery, but in this case, we’re truly talking about money being given to Long to repay himself.”
The brazen nature of this (legal?) bribery, detailed at the Lever news site, is one of the Trump regime's signature features.
The corruption starts at the top, and includes Dear Leader's family, apparatchiks, and business partners. The corruption isn't just permitted. It's visibly encouraged.
I wait, apparently in vain, for some journalism organization to put it all in context, to show the breathtaking extent of Trump world corruption. As I've said repeatedly, while we need the news media to investigate and report on individual examples of the sleaze – there are countless such cases, more every day – that's not enough.
This story, like all the others, tells us about a brush fire. But no one in the media seems to care that the entire forest is ablaze.
One of the sources familiar with the talks described them as “a departure from the usual acquisition process. There’s an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.”
A departure? It's blatantly corrupt, and this Reuters piece would have raised a huge uproar had any previous president been in office when it was published. Now? It's come and gone like a cherry blossom, except much faster.
As Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall aptly puts it, this is "one of growing number of examples that the U.S. government is at present essentially being held hostage by the clique surrounding Elon Musk." If you think that's over the top, you are mistaken. It may even understate the situation.
The assault on universities and on the knowledge they produce has been disorienting in its swiftness, animus, and savagery. But universities are not starfish, flopping about helplessly on a beach while a cruel child slices off their arms one by one. They can do far more than hope to survive another day, regrowing missing limbs in some remote future. They have real power, here and now. But they need to move quickly, they need to move in solidarity, and they need to use the resources that they have, collectively, assembled. Because, if they aren't going to use those resources when their very mission comes under assault, what was the point of gathering them in the first place? Here are a few of those resources.
This fine commentary from Ars Technica should be read by every administrator, faculty/staff member, and student – plus parents and donors – in American higher education. It gives context into the dismal predicament shared by everyone who cares about the vital role of our nation's colleges and universities, and then offers some genuinely useful clarity on what needs to happen next.
Those people should do more than read the piece, of course. They should take its advice and do what they can to push back effectively against the forces trying to control these vital institutions (or shut them down). They should go on the offensive, getting out of their defense crouch.
They didn't start this war, but they are now required to be combatants. Singly, they cannot possibly prevail. They are obliged to use the substantial resources at their command, and then to form alliances. Their role in our democracy is vital, and they need to show they understand that.
I'm one of the people who has to show it, too. I'm a university alumnus, a former university faculty member, and have had fellowships at several other schools. I've donated quite a bit of money over the years to the various institutions of higher education. My future donations will increase. They will, however, go to schools that don't just express concern in this pivotal moment, but also demonstrate bravery and action in the face of repression.
How I put this together
This newsletter is a compendium of the reporting and commentary that best explains the America's political, economic, and social conditions – and, most important, how we can find a way back from the dark days ahead. You will rarely find anything here from the New York Times or Washington Post or any of the other Big Journalism companies that failed us so completely during the 2024 elections and are now sucking up – even more than usual – to Donald Trump, his cult, and corporate oligarchs. My focus will be on smaller, more honorable outlets (and individuals). I hope you'll support them with your attention and your money. For more details, please read my About page.
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Jordan S. Allen
David Sirota
Ars Staff
