Illiberalism
Gilead
Migration
Saja Hindi, “Denver mayor Mike Johnston warns migrant counts could “eclipse” previous highs as Texas sends more buses,” Denver Post, September 27, 2023, https://www.denverpost.com/2023/09/27/texas-greg-abbott-denver-migrants-mike-johnston/
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. Donald Trump booking photograph by Fulton County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, August 24, 2023, via New York, August 25, 2023,[1] public domain.
Eric Levitz, “Trump Wants His Enemies to Fear for Their Lives,” New York, September 26, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/trump-milley-death-fbi-threats.html
David McAfee, “Trump just crossed the line with furious attack on fraud judge: experts,” Raw Story, September 27, 2023, https://www.rawstory.com/experts-say-trump-s-judge-comments-cross-a-line-a-matter-of-time-before-the-worst-comes/
Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker, “Judge Chutkan denies Trump’s request to recuse herself in federal election subversion case,” Associated Press, September 27, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-justice-department-special-counsel-jan-6-8439ca0fcae8e7cf2a15663f9888e75a
Finances
Fig. 2. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
This is all happening awfully quickly.
Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle, “New York judge finds Donald Trump liable for fraud,” CNN, September 26, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/politics/trump-organization-business-fraud/index.html
Michael R. Sisak, “Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers while building real estate empire,” Associated Press, September 26, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249
David McAfee, “Trump just crossed the line with furious attack on fraud judge: experts,” Raw Story, September 27, 2023, https://www.rawstory.com/experts-say-trump-s-judge-comments-cross-a-line-a-matter-of-time-before-the-worst-comes/
Shayna Jacobs, “N.Y. appeals court refuses to delay Trump fraud trial set to start Monday,” Washington Post, September 28, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/28/trump-fraud-trial-appeals-court/
Imperialism
Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh
Ishaan Tharoor, “An Armenian exodus raises the specter of ‘ethnic cleansing,’” Washington Post, September 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/26/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia/
Francesca Ebel, “Exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh: ‘I never imagined we would ever leave,’” Washington Post, September 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/27/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-refugees/
Gabriel Gavin, “Azerbaijan officially dissolves Nagorno-Karabakh,” Politico, September 28, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/nagorno-karabakh-dissolved-azerbaijan-armenia-de-facto-president-samvel-shakhramanyan/
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Infrastructure
Fig. 3. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
The detour for the ramp from southbound (inbound) Pennsylvania Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge involved getting off at the Fox Chapel exit and sitting in barely moving traffic on Freeport Road past the Waterworks shopping center, through Aspinwall, nearly all the way to Sharpsburg. And of course, the roadwork proceeded at the usual Pittsburgh pace, which is to say, almost not at all.
I’ve seen what these road crews can do when they put their minds to it. This Route 28 widening is definitely not that.
Julia Maruca, “Highland Park Bridge ramps open to traffic,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 27, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/highland-park-bridge-ramps-open-to-traffic/
Neoliberalism
Academic repression
Student loans
Fig. 4. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[2] fair use.
Probably none of the programs I attended since 2003, when I returned to school, finished a Bachelor’s and completed a Master’s and Ph.D. programs, should qualify under the new “gainful employment” rule.[3] The trick here, particularly with https://disunitedstates.org/the-mother-of-the-social-sciences/, is that these programs will be judged precisely according to the value that elites assign to them.
It’s about ensuring that students get their money’s worth, [Miguel Cardona] said. “Higher education is supposed to be a valuable investment in your future. There’s nothing valuable about being ripped off or sold on a worthless degree,” he said during a Wednesday news conference.[4]
Human Science does not tell the powers that be what they want to hear. Therefore, in this light, the field is “useless,” or, as Miguel Cardona puts it, “worthless.” And so it is with at least most of the social sciences and humanities.
It’s about ensuring that students get their money’s worth, [Miguel Cardona] said. “Higher education is supposed to be a valuable investment in your future. There’s nothing valuable about being ripped off or sold on a worthless degree,” he said during a Wednesday news conference.[5]
Education is supposed to be more than job training, but neoliberals would prefer we forget about civic preparation—that’ll be for those who can afford these programs and are least likely to choose them, which may therefore be forced to close—and not for the rest of us.
Charlotte Matherly, “Here’s How the Government Plans to Crack Down on Colleges’ Ineffective Career Programs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, September 27, 2023, https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-how-the-government-plans-to-crack-down-on-colleges-expensive-ineffective-programs
- [1]Margaret Hartmann and Nia Prater, “All the Mug Shots of Donald Trump and His Alleged Co-Conspirators,” New York, August 25, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-mug-shot-gallery.html↩
- [2]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩
- [3]Charlotte Matherly, “Here’s How the Government Plans to Crack Down on Colleges’ Ineffective Career Programs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, September 27, 2023, https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-how-the-government-plans-to-crack-down-on-colleges-expensive-ineffective-programs↩
- [4]Charlotte Matherly, “Here’s How the Government Plans to Crack Down on Colleges’ Ineffective Career Programs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, September 27, 2023, https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-how-the-government-plans-to-crack-down-on-colleges-expensive-ineffective-programs↩
- [5]Charlotte Matherly, “Here’s How the Government Plans to Crack Down on Colleges’ Ineffective Career Programs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, September 27, 2023, https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-how-the-government-plans-to-crack-down-on-colleges-expensive-ineffective-programs↩