I hope you read my March 31, 2025, blog post. It was about the 298 words that The New York Times published on March 4, 2025, that the Trump Regime does not want US Government agencies to use.
The words on that list were a gut punch.
But then, on March 212, 2025, PEN America published an updated list or words and topics. (https://pen.org/banned-words-list/).
PEN Americais a nonprofit organization that works to defend free expression in the United States and around the world through the advancement of literature and human rights. The PEN America list repeats most of the words on The New York Times list.
My blog post today draws your attention (I hope!) to the words and topics from PEN America that were not on the New York Times list. Here they are:
abortion
accessibility
autism
Black and latinx
Cancer Moonshot
continuum
Covid-19
definition
dietary guidelines/ultraprocessed foods
disabled
discussion of federal policies
diversity and inclusion
diversity/equity efforts
EEJ
EJ
entitlement
elderly
equitable
equitableness
evidence-based
fetus
fluoride
gay
H5N1/bird flu
hate
hispanic
ideology
indigenous people
inequity
intersex
issues concerning pending legislation
male dominated
marijuana
measles
minority serving institution
MSI
NCI budget
obesity
opioids
peanut allergies
promote
science-based
self-assessed
socioeconomic status
special populations
stem cell or fetal tissue research
topics of federal investigations
topics that have received recent attention from Congress
topics that have received widespread or critical media attention
understudied
vaccines
vulnerable
woman
PEN America’s comments
PEN America’s article, “Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship,” is self-described as “most assuredly incomplete.”
The article goes on to say, “These policies’ tentacles already extend beyond government websites, though removing HIV resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regardless of whether they mentioned ‘gender ideology’ or other banned terms, is bad enough. Reports say scientists are self-censoring in hopes of improving their chances of getting government grants.
“That’s exactly the sort of response the administration is hoping for, and it will immeasurably limit the research and other work supported by the federal government, universities and more, on the public’s behalf.”
The PEN America article said these restrictions on words “represent a dystopian effort to control what Americans think and say, despite President Trump’s lip service to ‘freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.’ There’s nothing ‘free’ about banning words or ideas.”
Some of the abbreviations are elusive
I had to look up EEJ, EJ, MSI, and NCI budget. In case you’re not familiar with them either, I’ll save you the trouble.
EEJ is, apparently, electroejaculation. EJ is, apparently, environmental justice. MSI is either Microsoft Installer or Micro-Star International Co., Ltd, a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation. NCI budget is the US National Cancer Institute budget.
My two-cents’ worth
I won’t take time to comment on each word, word combination, or topic, but the following from the list leave me gobsmacked, to borrow a British word:
autism – This is a real thing. Thousands of children and adults (and their caregivers) deal with it every day. You can’t erase it by erasing the name.
Cancer Moonshot – President Biden’s plan to try to find cures for cancer
Covid-19 – Outlawing the name of a pandemic doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
dietary guidelines/ultraprocessed foods – So how are you going to “Make America Healthy Again” without dietary guidelines?
disabled – Sort of like autism… You can’t erase it, although Nazi Germany tried to.
discussion of federal policies -This just defies reason! Does it mean I can no longer blog about federal policies?
diversity and inclusion – Dog whistle for hiring people of color and women.
diversity/equity efforts – Ditto.
elderly – Okay. I’m 72 years old. That makes me a “baby boomer,” but doesn’t it also make me elderly?
evidence-based – Another one that defies reason.
fetus – Ditto!
fluoride – I know RFKjr. doesn’t want cities to put fluoride in their water, but come on!
gay – Please don’t outlaw this word. I have a friend whose name is Gay, and we’ve already found out voters didn’t like it when you had references to the Enola Gay taken down from the Department of Defense. Give it up!
H5N1/bird flu – So what are scientists and physicians to call it if not H5N1?
hate – I’m sorry, but some people are full of hate. Some of them live and work on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.
hispanic – I’ll let people of Spanish descent handle this one.
indigenous people – I guess I should let indigenous people handle this one, too.
issues concerning pending legislation – What are you thinking?
male dominated – No, we wouldn’t want anyone to say that any levels of government or business are male-dominated, would we? (By the way, you forgot the hyphen.)
marijuana – What word are we supposed to call this plant?
measles – Been there, done that in the second grade. Wish there had been a vaccine then. I know researchers and physicians know it as rubella, but what’s wrong with laypeople calling it measles?
obesity – We have an obesity epidemic in America, so maybe you need to rethink banning this word.
opioids – We also have a opioids epidemic in America. Fentanyl is a synthetic piperidine opioid. Isn’t that the root of the President’s attacks on Mexico and Canada?
peanut allergies – Peanut allergies are a real thing.
science-based – Here we go again down the same path as evidence-based.
topics of federal investigations – Does this just apply to government employees or does it also apply to reporters?
topics that have received recent attention from Congress – Ditto.
topics that have received widespread or critical media attention – Does this just apply to government employees or can regular citizens no longer discuss amongst ourselves things we heard on the news or read online?
vaccines – I think I know who we have to thank for this one. After dedicating your entire adult life to outlawing vaccines, at least now you’ve convinced the powers that be to ban the use of the word.
vulnerable – The way things are going, I feel like most people living here now are vulnerable. When it applies to the majority of a population, does it qualify for a new word. “Vulnerable” is starting to lose its punch.
woman – I don’t know what to say about this one. First you ban the word, then it makes it easier to ban the woman.
If today’s list and the list I shared on March 31, 2025, don’t send a shiver down your spine, you must not have a spine.
Some of you are, no doubt, laughing at these lists and at me for being concerned about them.
Some of you are, no doubt, in denial. (“Surely, a United States President would not encourage or instruct US Government employees to “limit or avoid” these words or topics. That’s just silly!”)
Keep in mind that censorship was an important weapon in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. Censorship is not laughing matter. Censorship is not silly.
A brief message about western North Carolina and South Carolina fires
I failed to mention in my blog about Hurricane Helene recovery in western NC on March 26, 2025, that firefighters had poured in from across the United States to fight the numerous wildfires in our mountains. Some of the fires are in the exact areas that were hit so hard six months ago by the hurricane.
I understand that firefighters from Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming have come to help North Carolinians fight these fires!
Thank you, each of you!
I learned on Sunday that FEMA had awarded Polk County a Fire Management Assistance Grant. It will cover up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (I’m glad we still have one of those on the state level!) issued a Code Red Air Quality Action Day for Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties on Sunday due to extreme smoke.
Much-needed rain fell over the area on Sunday and Monday, alleviating the fire situation and allowing some 300 firefighters to take a break. The terrain is challenging and most of it is still littered by the millions (yes, millions!) of trees that came down during the hurricane. In addition to hampering firefighters in gaining access, the downed trees are feeding the fires.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Table Rock Fire in South Carolina was only 30% contained. Arson charges have been filed by the SC Forestry Commission against two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old who were smoking cigarettes and, through their negligence, started the 13,000-acre Table Rock Fire. A juvenile suspect in the case has been charged and released into the custody of his parents. It is the largest fire in South Carolina’s history.
It renews my faith in some of my fellow Americans to know that in times of trouble, there are still people who will go to another state’s aid not caring whether most people in that state voted for a Republican or a Democrat.
The statewide burn ban in NC will be lifted at 8 a.m. today, except the ban still exists for fires within 100 feet of a residence.
Until my next blog post tomorrow
Pay attention to what’s happening.
Watch for my blog post tomorrow about words that the United States Department of Agriculture is not allowed to use now.
Keep reading reputable nonfiction and fiction.
Don’t compromise your principles.
Remember the people of Myanmar, Thailand, Ukraine, and western North Carolina.
Janet, a disgruntled political science major
P.S. No, I didn’t even mention the tariffs that took effect today. I can’t address everything.
Janet's Writing Blog 
Stay safe and stay well Janet. What is going on is outrageous and unbelievable!
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Thank you, Francis. I’m running out of words to describe it. And he announces more tariffs later today. He’s calling today “Liberation Day.” All it’s going to do is drive up prices on everything and wreck the world economy… something for him to brag about.
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I think America is fast becoming a dictatorship society. I heard on the news that they locked up some students who took part in demonstration against the war in gaza. Soon, no one will be able to demonstrate or speak freely about anything. There will not be any land of the free anymore. The only thing you will be free to do is spend money or credit cards on unnecessary stuff to line the rich pockets. It is sad. I don’t think many people are aware of what is happening. They buried their heads in the sand. Thanks for spreading some awareness
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It is sad to see how the USA is fast approaching a dictatorship society. There is no freedom of speech anymore. The only thing that you are free to do is to spend money on unnecessary stuff to line the rich pockets. Some people are unaware of what is happening because they buried their heads in the sand. Thanks for spreading awareness and may the Lord continues to protect you.
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You’re right, Beverley. Trump laughed and said he would only be a dictator on his first day back in office. Those of us who have been paying attention since before his first term in office know that he does not joke. He has absolutely no sense of humor. He also said before the election, “If you vote in November, you’ll never have to vote again.” I don’t understand why anyone could vote for him after hearing him say that! Now he and his supporters are saying he will defy the US Constitution and run for a third term. And, yes, college students are being arrested for protesting the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza! I am frightened for my country. It is being destroyed from within. I’m reading a book during Lent about how we as Christians can resist that hate in our society. The part I read last night was about hate and how we have to resist hating the people we disagree with while addressing what they are doing… like Jesus turning over the tables at the temple. I do not hate the people who voted for Trump, but I surely do hate what they did. I feel sorry for people who delight in the suffering of others.
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It is very said, Beverley. If a judge makes a ruling Trump doesn’t like, he says that judge should be impeached. If a law firm represents someone who sues Trump, he uses his influence to try to put that law firm out-of-business. He has fired thousands of scientists and medical researchers and crippled the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. He has stopped federal funding going to universities if they stand for freedom of speech or the rights of minorities. He daily operates out of a place of revenge. He has done terrible things every single day since January 20. His Executive Orders and other actions are coming at us so fast and furiously that it is impossible for the journalists and citizens to keep up. The power he has given to Elon Musk, the richest man in the whole world — and who was born in South Africa and not in the USA — is an egregious thing, but the Republicans are in the majority in the US Senate and the US House of Representatives and none of them have the courage to speak out against him. If they do, they and their families start receiving death threats! I think things are rapidly reaching the boiling over point because half of us did not vote for him. ICE agents are wearing masks and driving around in unmarked vehicles… and presenting no identification… and they are snatching up people under the guise of arresting gang members. Then, the people (some of them are children) are sent off to detention centers. Some have been sent to a prison in El Salvador without due process. Without due process, some innocent people are being swept up — like the father of an autistic child from Maryland. Yesterday, Trump said it was an “administrative error” and he has no way to get the man brought back to the US! It is unbelievable what Trump has been able to do in ten weeks! I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn’t anticpate that he would do so much damage so quickly. At 4pm this afternoon he is scheduled to announce massive tariffs. He is ignorant of history and does not know (or care) that these tariffs are going to mean higher prices for Americans and further destroy any feelings of goodwill he hasn’t already destroyed with other countries. I’m 72 years old. I don’t expect to live long enough to see the US being respected again. The truth isn’t in him. If he left office today, it would take decades for any country to trust the US again. Thank you for your prayers. For the first time in my life I am afraid of my government. That is a chilling statement coming from a white woman. I cannot imagine how men, women, and children of color must be feeling now. I don’t know how long I’ll have the freedom to right whatever I want to in my blog, but I believe God expects me to speak out as long as I have this platform. I never imagined I would be using my little blog for this purpose even though God knew all along and He made it possible for me to have a blog.
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I did not even know that he made such a comment about being a dictator. Everything is pointing to the end of times. He is displaying all the characteristics of an antichrist. There have been many throughout the ages and he fits the definition. Note how many people are following him blindly. That is also a criteria. May the Lord help us all.
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Trump clearly displays traits of narcissism and grandiosity: he overestimates his own abilities, cannot tolerate criticism, rewrites facts, and erases history that doesn’t serve him. He calls truth “fake,” turns enemies into “heroes,” and sees himself as “indispensable.” Those who don’t follow him are discredited or erased. And yet, there is hope: history shows that power built on lies is fragile. Words can be erased, but truth always finds its way back—through books, through memory, through courageous voices. Those who keep speaking keep the memory alive. Thank you for your brave voice, Janet.
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I have feared that very thing since his first term in office, Beverley. It weighs on my mind. Even down to the “signs on their foreheads” … I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of the red baseball caps he and his followers wear that say, “Make America Great Again.” Too many things are adding up.
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I’m delighted that he’s banned Covid and bird flu! If only he’d banned Covid back a month or so before it began, though. But we were too stupid to realise that simply banning the word would make the disease go away. And obviously now that Covid and measles have been banned, there’s no need for vaccines. Could we persuade him to ban hay fever, do you think?
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What the hell happened to the First Amendment?????
It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the masked ICE thugs snatching people off the street are Proud Boys or mercenaries, not ICE at all.
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Free speech is only a memory now, Liz. I honestly wonder when the unmarked van will pull up in my driveway because I’ve voiced my opinions about the Dear Leader on my blog. I could happen. Wouldn’t surprise me, either, if it is the Proud Boys kidnapping people! Unmarked vehicle, masks, no ID. They could be Proud Boys or just any Tom, Dick, or Harry deciding to kidnap somebody and we’re supposed to just assume it’s ICE! And Trump claims we can’t get the father from Maryland back from El Salvador. What up with that? Until January 20 we were the most powerful country in the world, but now we can’t tell El Salvador to release one of the prisoners we sent them by mistake? Maybe one of our Intelligence Brain Trust clowns could text one of the prison guards on Signal and try to strike a deal. Or email them on gmail. This is beyond frightening, and people are just going about their lives as if this is normal or not happening. I would go outside and scream it, but I live out in the country and no one would hear me. Spoiler alert for tomorrow’s blog post: the USDA can no longer use the words “clean water.” I regret letting my passport expire.
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Yes, hay fever would be a good one. Everything here is yellow and I can’t breathe! And the tariffs he announced this afternoon? God, help us! He is so stupid and evil! His announcement lasted over an hour and made no sense. HE called this Liberation Day and that it will go down in history as the greatest day in US history! Between the double talk and the outright lies, it was impossible to make any sense out of the entire hour. He poorly reads the teleprompters and then he goes off script and can’t speak in complete sentences. I gather tonight that he put tariffs on 185 countries, including several uninhabited islands. Geography is not his strong suit. I wish I had stocked up on Scottish shortbread before this happened! And now everything we import from China (which is an ungodly amount of stuff!) will have a 54% tariff three hours from now. And this is supposed to teach China a lesson? He has a basic misunderstanding of how tariffs work (or don’t work), but he has said repeatedly that “tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” If that’s not a sign of a warped mind, I don’t know what is! Spoiler alert for tomorrow’s blog post: The US Department of Agriculture can no longer use the term “clean water.”
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Matroos, you have stated the situation so eloquently! I hope you’re right about truth always finding its way back. I just don’t know if I’ll live to see it! There is an old saying here that if you give someone enough rope they will hang themselves. I don’t know how much more rope Trump can be given before something gives. In announcing the tariffs on 185 nations (including several uninhabited islands) this afternoon, he spouted out his usual lies and tossed out statistics that were probably pulled out of a hat. He called today “Liberation Day” and said it will be remembered as the greatest day in US history. (Step aside July 4, 1776. You’ve been replaced!) A more apt name for today would probably be “Americans Can’t Afford to Live Any More Day.” He says the other countries will pay the tariffs and all that money pouring in “going to make America rich again.” He is delusional. I think he is the most dangerous person in the world. Thank you for your encouragement. I don’t know what lies ahead. Surely, it won’t be as horrendous as I think it will be, but so far it has been much worse.
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I can only hope that the spooks and/or the military are working behind the scenes to end the coup. (Moving forward, I probably should be more guarded in expressing my opinions.)
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I keep hoping for the same thing, Liz. I hope enough of them took their pledge “to protect and defend the Constitution from enemies, foreign and domestic” more seriously than 99.9% of the folks in DC. Especially, the domestic part! A little voice keeps telling me to be more guarded in my writing, but then that little voice gets drowned out by the next news cycle and there I go again!
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God gave you this blog for such a time as this. I am surprise how more people are not protesting about theses things in the US. Also, I was watching the news “Democracy now” and a gentleman was giving the history of Elon Musk grandfather. When you hear it you realize their ultimate agenda. Stay safe, my friend. May the Lord continues to protect and guide you.
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Thank you for your encouragement, Beverley. I have felt that about my blog, but I don’t want to assume too much or set myself up on a pedestal. I’m feeling my way through this every day and seeking God’s guidance that I will do His will. There are varying reports of the estimates of how many Americans protested on Saturday. There were “Hands Off” protests all over the country. I’ve seen estimates ranging from 3 million to 5 million. Trump’s supporters are putting out a false narrative that all the protesters were paid to protest! Nothing could be further from the truth! And the more I learn about Elon Musk’s family history, the more I understand what’s behind all this cruelty and racism. This is all so sad.
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I am in the UK. It would have been better if more people had worked out that in 2020 they rebranded the ‘flu which was why the ‘flu almost disappeared from the statistics to be replaced by COVID 19. If you have vaccines for COVID and the ‘flu you are getting a double dose.
This makes big pharma very happy of course as it gets more profit. It likes rebranding when sales are falling and is a typical business practice. It works well as the take up of COVID vaccines proves.
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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. It was Trump who insisted on called Covid 19 a “flu,” when that was only meant to belittle it and allow it to take hold while he denied its existence. Now, the combination of the lies of big pharm and the ignorance of health decision makers within the Trump Administration such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Combining Covid and the flu vaccine is not a good idea for people like me who have problems with various medications and vaccines. When two are combined and there is a bad reaction, you’re left not knowing which vaccine you reacted to. As Trump insists on taking research and science out of medicine, it probably spells the end of vaccines developed in the US for the foreseeable future. I may have misunderstood your point.
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Thank you for your reply Janet. My point is that if you believe that COVID 19 is a novel disease then you have been misled as in reality the ‘flu was rebranded. It is a standard business practice for big business when sales are falling.
I am not surprised you have problems with various medications and vaccines. The bulk of pharma medications are neurotoxic whilst vaccines contain a cocktail of toxic or irritant chemicals designed to what they call ‘stimulate the immune system’.
In reality is causing disease even if only mild. We have been told this is of benefit to future health but this is a complete lie as being poisoned, even if only slightly is never a good idea.
However injecting this straight into the body, bypassing the body’s normal defences means there is the likelihood that the toxic substances will get into vital organs including the brain and cause damage.
As regards research and science this is dominated by big pharma which has a vested interest in promoting its toxic products. Making people better is not top of its agenda as healthy people are not profitable.
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I’m sorry you have such a negative view of vaccines. If not for vaccines such as the Salk vaccine for polio, many more people would have contracted that disease and died. I’m of an age that I had first cousins and childhood acquaintances who got polio. Not all medicine is bad.
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I used to think vaccines were of some use, just not for the ‘flu as people fell ill anyway. I observed this in the 1980’s. Even my wife had one in 1989 before I met her and was promptly ill for 3 days.
As regards polio, this is listed as having a very broad range of symptoms from slight to severe and covers what we can generally call neurotoxic harm. I would suggest you look up the issues with DDT, a toxic substance in wide spread use at the time.
The medical world has a habit of rebranding disease to obscure issues with vaccines.
And then they had to introduce the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in 1986 to protect vaccine manufacturers from litigation on a scale that threatened the continuing production of vaccines.
If vaccination was so good it should have sold itself like other products. That really should be very telling.
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You make some valid points. I’m not as down on the medical field as you. It would be better for all of us if the pharmaceutical industry was not profit-driven, but the genie is out of the bottle. Medicine is not an exact science and, therefore, a drug or vaccine that benefits one person will not benefit every person. Truth at high levels is at an acute shortage these days. When the US Secretary of Health and Human Resources can publish a report filled with bogus research citations, the entire world loses due to the confusion, fear, and distrust created. Your point about vaccines being sold like other products is well-taken, if only they could be financially accessible to everyone regardless of their income. I’m not as down on the medical field as you, but I suppose we’ve had different experiences.
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Thank you. I am not sure what Health and Human Resources report you refer to ( I believe you meant Health and Human Services), but as regards research, so much is funded by big pharma that it is skewed to its benefit. The very organisations that are supposed to benefit us are infiltrated by those with ties to the industry. It has got worse over the years.
And as is written, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
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Yes, I meant Health and Human Services. (I think you meant It has gotten worse….) Must we nitpick?
The report was the one RFK Jr. issued last week with hundreds of citations that appear to be AI-generated. Since many of them are bogus, the report, RFK Jr., and his department have lost what little credibility they ever had.
We have beaten this dead horse long enough. It is time to move on.
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