Bravo Harvard, my late husband ,schooled in a Communst dictatorship ,would have been proud of you

 The attempt by Trump to require Harvard to only hire professors and teach a curriculum that Trump approves of reminded me of a story my late husband told. He was in medical school in his home university in Communist Yugoslavia, which was ruled by dictator Tito. In his final oral exams, he was asked by the committee of professors. His knowledge of medicine was not in question. Still, he was asked to explain the answer to a medical challenge in terms of the ideology: How does this fit into Marx's dialectical materialism? Mike was no dummy, and he passed, but it left him both angered and amused. Mike became a refugee in time and finished med school in Switzerland with both an MD and a Phd. Communist-controlled medical school degrees in the West were not honored and were considered no better than a pre-med undergraduate degree. He passed away a few years ago after our 52 year marriage and a highly successful life in the US, but often, he repeated the story of the absurdity of the oral exam question as an example of the absurdity of having any government demanding compliance to an ideology as a condition of getting degree from a univiserity and why he became a refugee. This letter to Harvard reminded me of the absurdity of Trump's actions, that was akin to what he experienced in a dictatorship. Bravo Harvard. It was a proud moment for Dr. Mike when he attended the ceremony when his son received his master's degree from Harvard. If there is a lesson to be learned, such actions by dictators lead to brain drain from their countries. It is already happening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf1z0ggh32A

Update 5/1/2025 Trump says he's revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status: 'It's what they deserve!'

Update 4/22/2025 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/read-the-full-letter-from-universities-opposing-government-intrusion

reuters.com

After Harvard rejects US demands, Trump adds new 

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-ex


Bravo, Northwestern. It will self-fund Trump's defunding of federal-funded $790 million in research projects . The projects will continue as the Big Ten schools join together in a self-defense pact to come to the mutual aid of Trump's anti-academia crusade. Northwestern, by the way, had already self-implemented a plan against anti-semitism, but still Trump took them on. To me that shows his real aim is to end academic freedom. His anti-Semitism crusade is a tool. The other takeaway: it makes no difference if a university voluntarily or under threat makes a deal to do as they are told by Trump regarding taking steps against anti-semitism. The Trump administration is still trying to hold Columbia to a consent decree even though Columbia "made a deal". He has a wider agenda/ It is to suppress academia which can challenge his agenda. He is power-mad. I am proud to say Northwestern is my alma mater. https://www.highereddive.com/news/northwestern-university-touts-decline-in-antisemitic-harassment-amid-lawmak/744137/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/04/18/northwestern-university-will-continue-funding-grants-frozen-by-feds/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/04/16/columbia-appears-reject-consent-decree
A faculty revolt is brewing,.https://dailynions-on-academic-freedom-to-faculty-assembly/  https://dailynorthwestern.com/2025/04/15/lateststories/nu-aaup-to-bring-resolutions-on-academic-freedom-to-faculty-assembly/

Why GOP leaders use ugly anti-semitism to explain away Trump's indictment.

 From my Facebook posting today: GOP political leaders in America have a very effective propaganda weapon: set up bogeymen, demonize them, and then paint any public policy issue they oppose or think they can use to make political hay with the same distasteful brush. They did that with Fauci, who is blamed for spreading COVID with his vaccine and pro-science remarks. Now they are using ugly anti-semitism to push their agenda: It is one of the oldest tricks in the political trade to shorthand a political position by painting someone with the evil of another in order to get support to counter bad news without sounding like something really bad, stupid, or off the wall.

The Blog continues.

It is a dog whistle to anti-semites.

One of the oldest tropes in the world led to the rise of Hitler and the ovens.. anti-Semitism directed at Jewish bankers. Why did DeSantis call the New York DA, a Soros DA? This trope is in play again in the GOP reaction to Trump's indictment by the NY DA. Remember history? The ones the Nazis said were causing Germany's economic pain pre-world war II were Jewish bankers (not the worldwide depression or the debt allies put on Germany for starting WWI). It played well in a country like Germany with a tradition of anti-Semitism and looking for something to blame for their troubles other than starting World War I. Now we are hearing from GOP leaders that the reason Trump was indicted in New York was that the DA received campaign contributions from George Soros, a Jewish International banker who contributes to liberal causes and reformists. That explains everything to some supporters who are already anti-Semites and are looking for a way to exonerate Trump.

Is Trump himself anti-semitic?. Who knows?. There is good evidence that Trump himself believes anti-Semites are his constituents. and they were among the "fine people" he praised in the Charleston neo-Nazi march. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/07/electoral-logic-behind-trumps-antisemitism-00072661 That then explains to Trump's followers why innocent Trump gets accused of crimes. Semites did it. Anyone tagging the NY DA as a Soros DA risks sounding like a 1930s Nazi, just as DeSantis and large numbers in the GOP did.

Why DeSantis and many other GOP leaders would join in the anti-semitic tactic is risky, given the huge number of Jewish residents in Florida, but perhaps they also do not believe either DeSantis or Trump are anti-semites themselves. It makes sense to the Trump followers among them that the more who support Trump of any ilk, the better for the cause they support. Whatever works.

Nonetheless, ignoring the NY DA indictment of Trump still sounds right to some on the right regardless of any known facts, forgetting earlier in a federal indictment Trump in a similar case was named as Individual One. They were also ignoring the reasons that 23 citizens in the Grand Jury deduced their judgment from sworn testimony and evidence that there was probable cause to believe a crime (s) had been committed and it was appropriate to have a jury trial so Trump could defend himself. In the American justice system, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Trump is not exempt from following the law and every citizen like him should have his day in court. Just having Trump go through the process supports the American judicial system whether he is found guilty or not. It is a lesson for any other politicians in the future that they, too, risk this if they try to grab power and scoff at the law in doing it. It sets in history an important precedent that protects democracy for the future from wannabe autocrats.

Update 4/3/23: I did get a protest on a private facebook page from someone who objected to calling US nazis, Nazis, by way of blunting any comparisons I made. Note above: those spouting anti semitic messages to nazis looked like they were 1930's nazis. Here is the exchange and my response:

(HIs objection to the 1930's comment) There's no such thing as nazis. Nazis were National socialists in germany. These are what's called larpers. And they definitely aren't conservative.

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  Felicia Muftic

  Trying to define what and who someone is by their formal name is very deceptive. What they do and how they act is better. When the current crop in the US even hoists and wear the same or similar swastika flag, it becomes an indication of how they view themselves. Right: terrorists and neo-nazis and what they do, act, and out are not conservative. We agree., However, conservatives are complicit if they do not act or speak out or consider them their constituent whose votes they need in the next election.

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  Felicia Muftic

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../charlottesville-videos/

  

  WASHINGTONPOST.COM

  Deconstructing the symbols and slogans spotted in Charlottesville

  Deconstructing the symbols and slogans spotted in Charlottesville

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  Felicia Muftic

  From the Wapo article: the National Socialist Movement traces its roots to the American Nazi Party, which was founded in 1959. The National Socialist Movement is the largest active neo-Nazi organization in America, openly reveres Adolf Hitler, and its members often protest in Nazi uniforms complete with swastika armbands.

The indictment and attack on the rule of law were enough to motivate the former governor of Arkansas to jump into the 2024 primary and oppose Trump. Maybe it is not too much to ask him to speak out against anti-semitism while he is at it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/04/02/ex-arkansas-gov-asa-hutchinson-running-for-president-in-2024

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-desantis-and-other...

https://www.msn.com/.../ron-desantis-responds.../ar-AA18RsmC

https://thehill.com/.../3915008-republicans-at-odds-over.../

ADL.ORG

The Antisemitism Lurking Behind George Soros Conspiracy Theories

A caricature of George Soros as a tentacled monster has appeared o