Tag: U.S. Department of the Interior

Tomorrow is World Press Freedom Day

The free press is under attack in the United States. President Trump and his followers never miss an opportunity to criticize journalists. Trump delights in telling falsehoods about specific news organizations, and one of his favorite pastimes is to publicly say nasty things to female reporters.

If you take time to watch his press conferences, speeches, and interviews, you know what I’m talking about.

We have not in my 73 years had any other U.S. President who had a personal vendetta against the free press. His contempt for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is frightening to those of us who treasure freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

A meme with the words of the First Amendment with the American flag in the background
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

To mark World Press Freedom Day tomorrow, I will give just two examples of what we were made aware of this week thanks to the free press.

Defense Department Drone Deal

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Defense is going to purchase drones from a company owned by Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump.

You did not get that information from The White House or from the U.S. Department of Defense.

You got it from a free press.

1,000-Year-old UNESCO Site Damaged by Department of Homeland Security

The Washington Post reported that a bulldozer cut a 60-foot swath out of a 200-foot Native American archeological treasure on Friday, April 24, 2026.

Did The White House report it? Did the U.S. Department of Homeland Security report it?

No, the free press reported it.

The priceless site in in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) treasure that was partially destroyed was an etching in the desert sand known as an intaglio.

At least 1,000 years ago, ancestors of the Hia-ced O’odham Indigenous People scraped down to white soil under the desert sand to create a 200-foot long etching of a fish.

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issuing waivers for the construction of Trump’s border wall, the Trump Administration does not have to abide by the federal laws protecting the environment or sacred Indigenous sites while building the wall.

Now, thanks to those waivers and a President’s administration devoid of respect for history, nature, or indigenous peoples, a 60-foot swath has been ripped through the etching as the construction of the Trump wall between the United States and Mexico continues at the rate of three miles per week.

The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. An anonymous employee of that department confirmed to The Washington Post that the damage had been done by the Department of Homeland Security.

The Tohono O’odham Nation was able to prevent the first Trump Administration from building the wall across its reservation. They were able to protect the intaglio and a sacred burial site then, but that protection has been ignored by the second Trump Administration.

Archaeologist Rick Martynec, who has studied the site over the last 20 years, reported that the Refuge had been in discussions with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure the intaglio was not damaged. When he visited the site a couple of weeks ago, he saw stakes in place that marked the boundaries of the etching.

Various people and groups were actively working to make sure the Department of Homeland Security did not destroy the site, but it was all to no avail.

And we would not know it if not for the free press.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

A Few Matters of Concern

For those of you who cannot watch the news any more “because it’s too sad,” I apologize. You might not want to read this blog post.

There is just something deep down inside me that compels me to comment on the continuing dismantling of our democracy.

Some doctors in the United States are now telling their patients not to keep up with current events because it’s not good for their health. Mine hasn’t told me that yet, so I’m steamrolling forward.

(I am making a point to listen to relaxing music every day now though, so that’s a positive result of Donald Trump’s reelection. I highly recommend the hammered dulcimer and guitar instrumentals of Steve and Ruth Smith.)

What’s in store for CBS?

Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the merger/takeover of CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, by Skydance. The new company will apparently be called New Paramount.

It seems to me a more accurate name would be 19th Century Paramount, for that’s what the FCC chair and the folks at Skydance plan to do.

I’m going to quote FCC chair Brendan Carr, because I want those of you who missed it to see just what kind of person we have in charge of the FCC, which issues all TV and radio broadcast licenses. Aa thinking person, I find Mr. Carr’s attitude to be beneath the level of trust and integrity his office holds (or used to). Here’s what Mr. Carr said in a statement issued along with the FCC’s decision:

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

Carr also stated, “In particular, Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum. Skydance will also adopt measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media.”

From what I gathered online and on news broadcasts, among other things, Skydance promised not to have any diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at New Paramount. And Paramount promised to donate $16 million to the Trump Presidential Library. (That’s the greatest oxymoron I’ve ever heard!)

Will all the people of color and all the women at CBS and all the other media Skydance will now own need to find employment elsewhere? Will there be no more people of color or women in the movies made by Paramount Studios?

One can’t help but wonder what the future of broadcasting will be in the United States with Trump and his ilk in charge.

If you voted for Trump last November, is that what you wanted? If it is, please don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know that about my blog readers.

National Science Foundation

Photo of a row of microscopes
Photo by Ousa Chea on Unsplash

We know from many things the Trump Administration has done that he is anti-science. I mean, you can’t fire medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health and be pro-science. Simple as that.

The National Science Foundation is speaking out about politically motivated actions that have been taken to derail the traditional peer-review process related to grants. Instead of outside peers reviewing grant applications, Trump has directed grant proposals to be screened for political compliance first. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff will now decide which scientific research proposals are approved for federal grants.

We can safely assume there will be no grants approved for scientific research related to race, climate, or LGBTQ+ health.

More than 1,600 National Science Foundation grants were suddenly cancelled by DOGE on July 3, 2025.

The long-range ramifications of three-and-a-half more years of Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress cannot even be imagined in the area of scientific research in the United States. I hope other countries will fill in the gap.

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule came about in 2001 because there was a backlog in repairs to roads in our national forests. Repairs and maintenance of park roads were too expensive, so this rule was adopted under which no new roads were to be developed in national forests to save money and to protect the environment.

Guess what the Trump Administration wants to do.

Contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative, even if you know it will do no good. Be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you tried to save the national forests.

Federal lands in New Mexico to be drilled

Photo of four oil drilling rigs
Photo by Documerica on Unsplash

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last Thursday the federal government’s profit of $58,260,929 from the gas and oil leasing of 7,502.76 acres of “our” land in New Mexico.

The press release from the Bureau of Land Management did not use the word “profit.” The statement referred to the 58 million dollars as “revenue.” That sounds so much better than calling it “profit” or “blood money.”

New Acting President of U.S. Institute of Peace

The new Acting President of the U.S. Institute of Peace – a taxpayer-funded agency – is white supremacist Darren Beattie. So now the person overseeing the U.S. State Department’s efforts to fight extremist rhetoric is a man who actively traffics in it.

His website publishes January 6 conspiracy theories. He lost his job with the first Trump Administration because he attended a white supremacist conference, so why is he back?

Confirmation of Emil Bove

The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove in a 50-49 vote for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge yesterday, ignoring complaints about his conduct from Justice Department employees.

Bove was one of Trump’s personal lawyers. The message this sends to his other attorneys is that if they remain loyal to him, they can look forward to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge, too.

Someone, please stop the madness.

Until my next blog post

Keep reading whatever you can.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Remember the people of Ukraine, the people of western North Carolina, and the starving children of Gaza.

Janet