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.