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The War on DEI Is a Smoke Screen. “MAGA’s attacks on ‘wokeness’ and diversity, equity, and inclusion are a thinly veiled attack on the Civil Rights Movement itself.”

I cracked wise in a footnote yesterday about MapQuest still being around, but it turns out they’re not only still around, and they’re not only still labelling the Gulf of Mexico by its world-recognized not-stupid name, but they’ve actually built an entire website that perfectly jibes with my closing argument — to wit, that this whole thing is objectively hilarious and that mockery is our best tool to subvert a kakistocracy. Bravo.

Link: gulfof.mapquest.com/

Ethan Marcotte resigned from his job at 18F (a GSA subsidiary) rather than participate in the Trump/Musk purge of gov’t employees. “I didn’t want to sit down with anyone involved in that, and pretend like any part of their work was lawful, legitimate, or moral.”

Musk and the Trump Administration are lying about not purging anyone from the FAA involved in safety. A fired FAA employee: “The danger to the national airspace can’t be understated. This is a very real threat to the American flying public.”

In case you need a new t-shirt: READ BOOKS PUNCH NAZIS. “All proceeds from this campaign are going to SafePlace International in Oakland.”

Elon Musk has claimed that his “DOGE” team has found evidence of “massive fraud” at the Social Security Administration, alleging that 150-year-old Americans were receiving benefit checks. I saw this claim easily debunked over the weekend, but Wired has a good writeup of it. ...

Marisa Kabas: Elon Musk & his young acolytes are actual, open Nazis. “Whatever comes to mind when you think of a Nazi, that is for whom this country is currently being run.”

Brian Merchant, author of the excellent Blood in the Machine (about the Luddites), talked to a bunch of federal tech workers about the illegal purge of federal employees and shuttering of entire government agencies (also illegal): “what’s happening, how they’re processing it...

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt party on and rewatch the 1992 comedy classic ‘Wayne’s World,’ starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey … NOT! Check out our Ringer Movies YouTube channel! Producer: Craig Horlbeck Video Producers: Jack Sanders and Chia Hao Tat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You saw the news last week, I’m sure, that both of the major mapping-app providers, Google and Apple, have updated their maps to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. Microsoft’s Bing Maps, which I would describe as a minor provider, has made the change too.1...

UK PM says US security guarantee only way to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again. Also: Using AI to detect prostate cancer and tributes paid to Paquita la del Barrio whose songs empowered women around the world.

“The future of the Department of Education — and of the students with disabilities who depend on it — will likely hinge […] on the world views of two billionaires who abhor what they perceive as weakness and waste.”

NBA star Victor Wembanyama brought a book with him to the All-Star Game and said that he reads before every game. My new favorite player! 📗❤️

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

The Global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is at an all-time high right now, besting even the economic uncertainty at the start of the pandemic (May 2020).

“We, the opposition, are the majority. Take heart,” says Hamilton Nolan. “How do regimes manage to impose minority rule on enormous populations? By getting the majority to give up. Don’t do that.”

Amid shortages of air traffic controllers & fatal aircraft events, the Trump administration has purged several hundred FAA employees. Casual detail: the firing email came from a Microsoft email address, not a .gov one. (But her emails, etc.)

Elon Musk’s attack on key US government systems and agencies continues with the IRS: “US tax agency has received request for access to classified system containing personal financial records of US taxpayers”. Everyone’s tax records, nbd.

From Heather Cox Richardson, an overview of what the Trump administration is doing in terms of foreign policy. Their war on liberalism in the US is being matched by a war against liberal democracies.

Extraordinary illustrated essay by Marcin Wichary, documenting a typeface — and its long, fascinating, splintered history — that exemplifies the difference between beautiful and pretty. The beauty in Gorton isn’t just in its plainness and hardworking mechanical roots — it’s in the history of the 20th century itself. Gorton became such a part of the world that the bygone world of the previous century imbues how this font makes me feel.

Do yourself a favor and read this one in a comfortable chair, with a tasty slow-sipping beverage, on a screen bigger than a phone. Everything about this piece is exemplary and astounding — the writing, the photography, the depths of research. But most of all, Wichary’s clear passion and appreciation. It’s a love letter.

Link: aresluna.org/the-hardest-working-font-in-manhattan/