[ad_1]
OMG! I’M IN TEARS! THIS JUDGE JUST SPANK-ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP ERASING OUR HISTORY AT OUR NATIONAL SITES!
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. – zero hyperbole and 100% facts in plain English about what’s going on with this administration and the law (it’s fine to share this post)
It takes quite a bit to move me to tears, but this opinion and order issued late yesterday by Judge Angel Kelley of the District Court of Massachusetts did it.
Let me start with the beginning of the actual order, which of course is near the end of this *incredible* and momentous document (full document included for Notes from the Front members):
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood that Defendants’ efforts, ostensibly taken in the name of restoring dignity, instead seek to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen. History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story. Indeed, at a time of facts and alternative facts, the only thing we must be able to rely on as undeniable truth is history. And telling the full truths of our shared story helps our Nation heal from past wrongs, rather than prolonging us.”
(sniffle)
*Then*, among other things, Judge Kelley said “Defendants are ORDERED to take all necessary steps forthwith to restore and reinstall all interpretive materials at park sites managed by the NPS that, pursuant to the Secretary’s Order, have been altered, removed, or damaged in the process of such removal since May 20, 2025, to be completed within twenty-one (21) calendar days of this Order. Defendants are further ENJOINED from making any further alterations to interpretive materials at NPS park sites pursuant to the Secretary’s Order.”
AND then ordered the administration to file a status report *every week*!!
But let’s back up a bit.
This is a response to Trump’s executive order “Restoring
Truth and Sanity to American History”. You know the one, the one under which places like our National Parks were instructed to *remove* references to our nation’s history that Trump considers either unsavoury, or fake news, or both.
That executive order said, among other things, “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.
“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths.”
Well, if that isn’t the racist pot calling the kettle erasable.
And *then* it directed the Department of the Interior – and pay attention here because this is the really sinister part – to “take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within he Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people or, with respect to natural features, the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.”
Let me repeat that: the Department of Interior was directed to ensure that those places “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)”.
That’s some motherflocking authoritarian doodoo right there.
And the list of sites in which “inappropriate” information had already been removed is rivaled only by the list of sites that had been flagged to yet have such information removed. Judge Kelley lists a large number of them, including signs at parks talking about the effects of climate change, *and*, says Judge Kelley, “Defendants have removed multiple signs involving slavery, abolition, immigration, labor, women’s suffrage, and civil rights.”
Honestly, when you read this opinion you will be gobsmacked, if not downright horrified, at the list of what has already been removed, and from where it was removed, and of what is earmarked to yet be removed, erasing any trace of our nation’s sometimes fraught history.
Fortunately Judge Kelley is not only on the case, but is *pissed*!
And in yet another example of what I try to keep explaining to people who get freaked out over executive orders (that they are not law and do *not* have the force of law), Judge Kelley says “The Court is not persuaded by Defendant’s {Dept of the Interior} insistence that they may not simply disregard the President’s directive,” explaining, “Agencies are duty-bound to presidential directives only “to the extent allowed by law.” Here is Judge Kelley pointing out, in case you haven’t heard it enough from me, that executive orders are *not law*, and in fact people who work in the agencies in the executive branch are *not* required to follow orders if those orders *are not allowed by law*!
“We were only following orders” didn’t work 80 years years ago, and it doesn’t work now.
This is of course but a thumbnail sketch of Judge Kelley’s marvelous opinion and order, which is 63 pages long. Hopefully it gives you an immediate sigh of relief, it’s as if Judge Kelley is saying “Citizens of our great country, I’ve got your back here”, but if you’re a Notes from the Front member you really should read the whole opinion, it will bolster your faith in our system and our judges.
Notes from the Front members: Judge Kelley’s opinion and order is in your inbox now!
If you’re not a Notes from the Front member yet, please consider joining us! It’s just $5 a month and not only will you be supporting my research and reporting for you (which I do all myself, the buck stops here!), but you will have access to all of the documents, to our live shows, and to our *private* members-only chat! You can join here and of course you can cancel any time!
https://annepmitchell.substack.com/subscribe
New by popular demand: Many of you have asked how you can support my work without joining Notes from the Front (thank you for asking! ❤️), here’s how: https://www.annepmitchell.com/buy-anne-a-coffee/
P.S. If you actually read all the way to the bottom please leave a comment that includes the words “whitewashing”. It will show me that my efforts aren’t in vain and that people actually *do* read these things, and it will drive those who just skim crazy wondering just why everyone is talking about whitewashing! ;~)
[ad_2]
Source