Summary

The White House is drafting an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, aligning with Trump’s long-standing pledge.

However, Congress must approve the agency’s abolition, making its passage unlikely despite GOP control. Critics, including the National Education Association, warn this move would harm students, increase costs, and weaken protections.

GOP lawmakers have repeatedly attempted to eliminate the department since its 1979 founding.

Trump also recently signed an order expanding school choice, reinforcing the Republican agenda of decentralizing education policy.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    18 days ago

    I was going to ask if this means I no longer have to pay back my student loans, but of course I know better than that.

  • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
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    18 days ago

    Congress is required for all sorts of shit that Elon is doing but that isn’t stopping Elon.

    Laws are not some sort of natural force. They are implemented by people and all of those people are either fascists or cowards.

    Trumps immunity plus his pardon power make him king. All of his minions can do all the illegal things they want. Trump can then pardon them and he isn’t liable for their crimes if he is doing something roughly in line with his duties are President. John Roberts fucked us all.

    The only way this is going to be solved is by people power. Organize. Fight these fascists.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        0 cosponsors and probably hasn’t even been looked at by the education committed it was submitted to.

        We’re wasting time talking about theoretical nonlaws when theres actual real shit happening.

        • hansolo@lemm.ee
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          18 days ago

          For real. Plus it’s Dem-sponsored, so until it gets an R cosponsor it’s likely not even going to make it to the floor.

    • DrFistington@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Correct. If you want to see how fascism ends, look at pictures of Mussolini’s corpse hanging in public. That’s the only way it ends. The sooner the better

      • futatorius@lemm.ee
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        17 days ago

        That’s how fascism ended that one time. Francisco Franco died of old age in his bed. So did Pinochet. The generals’ junta in Portugal were eased out but the guilty were never held to account. The future is what we make it be. History doesn’t write itself.

    • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      They already blocked organization by controlling the mass media and major social platforms are in cahoots.

      Facebook, Twitter/X and tiktok all pushed trump and hid Kamala during the campaign. Not to mention the influencers that got paid to push Trump.

      Any type of hashtag or trend that tries to fight back is just going to get pushed down in “the algorithm” or straight up blocked (search kamala on twitter)

      • wanderingmagus@lemm.ee
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        18 days ago

        That’s why word-of-mouth about the Fediverse is so powerful - and why it’ll become increasingly important to return to the old methods of organizing - in person, posters put up at night, meetings in basements and in homes, discussions in back alleys and storage closets. Zines and fliers.

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          17 days ago

          Never mind about zines and flyers. Do graff. Project images on the sides of buildings. Put up QR codes that point to ephemeral sites. Nothing persistent, nothing traceable.

        • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          I think WhatsApp groups might work to spread the word as well. It’s mainstream enough and can’t be banned like other platforms.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          18 days ago

          Huh… I’m tired of feeling helpless, and have been wondering what I can do. I’m so frustrated with the constant bombardment of awful news, and the fact that seemingly nobody I interact with in the real world has any fucking idea that it’s happening.

          Maybe I’ll be that crazy guy that makes his own newsletter and hands it out at work.

          • The_Terrible_Humbaba@slrpnk.net
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            17 days ago

            Maybe I’ll be that crazy guy that makes his own newsletter and hands it out at work.

            “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

      • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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        17 days ago

        nobody is forced to use these platforms and we were able to deal with worse restrictions.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        The thing to do to stop this was vote blue no matter who in the 2016 and 2024 elections. Failing that, you’ll have to convince 13 Republicans to impeach and remove Donald Trump.

        But guess what? That won’t happen. No matter what, we’re going to see people suffer and violence in the streets. Whether you’re keeping yourself safe at home or contributing to the violence is up to you.

      • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
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        18 days ago

        Here is a single thing that anyone should be doing, there are other resources elsewhere. But everyone should be working with their unions or forming unions at their places of work. It is surprisingly easy to do, and even MAGA people can recognize they are being fucked by capital. Unionizing the workplace is where our power lies. It is the thing that fascists have always feared. Use those unions to gain concessions from the bosses. Get higher wages, safer work environments, set schedules, etc.

        Ok, here is a second idea. Feed your neighbors. Go help feed the homeless folk in your community.

        Showing compassion for everyone is a radical act. Build solidarity.

    • takeda@lemm.ee
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      18 days ago

      This is exactly why musk is not appointed, he can’t be impeached and as you said DOJ and pardons will protect him.

    • Vinstaal0@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      Normally the state would have a lot less power over judges. In the US the state has power over judges AND there is a jury system.

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    18 days ago

    Let em keep chopping off the federal government … at one point, individual states will start wondering why they are all interconnected in a union that doesn’t do anything or provide any benefits any more and start acting like independent nations.

  • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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    18 days ago

    It might be worth mentioning that Andrew Johnson signed the Department of Education into law in 1867. It was elevated to a cabinet position in 1979 by Carter from it’s previous position within the Department of Health, Education, And Welfare.

    The idea that the government has a constitutional interest in fostering the education of the public is NOT a new thing contrary to what conservatives would have you believe. An educated populace is an essential function of a representative democracy.

      • But I can’t figure out why. A society with severe brain drain would lead to reduced quality of life for them as well. Are they just banking on AI to do everything while everyone dies in rebellions and counter-rebellions? Shit, that’s probably it.

        • Pollo_Jack@lemmy.world
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          15 days ago

          Think of the rich as aliens. Extract all the wealth from available resources and then move on to the next country. More likely than not, they will die before any of their damage matters enough to bother them. This is why they want to drill.

        • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
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          18 days ago

          Fascists aren’t particularly smart. They tend to lose in the long run because they just cannot comprehend anything complex. All their philosophy is wishful thinking and simple heuristics that follow their preconceived notions about the superiority of their in group.

          They want feudalism because they can’t stand anyone having power other than the people who deserve to rule. They can’t stand that non elites can vote, demand decent wages, etc. so they want feudalism without understanding the downstream effects of that.

          They are just fucking dumb. And that is why, if we get enough time, we will win against them. Climate change might get us. But we will fucking destroy these no knowing fuck wits.

        • jonne@infosec.pub
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          18 days ago

          Yeah, I also don’t understand why they’re aiming for this kind of society. Eventually they’ll cut so much that the actual pie will shrink, so they’ll end up getting less while being surrounded by slums.

        • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          They measure their quality of life by their ability to dominate others. On top of the desire for feudalism for many of them is a desire for theocracy. For them politics peaked at the divine right of kings.

        • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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          17 days ago

          If everything is going to shit, getting a slightly less shit deal even if it means everyone else gets a whole lot more shit is a deal people will take just about 10/10 times across an electorate.

        • Maeve@kbin.earth
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          17 days ago

          Neura-starlink, first on prisoners, then on everyone else and apparently the op paperclip people in conjunction with USA make the thousand year reign a reality.

  • Mighty@lemmy.world
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    18 days ago

    I’m so sorry, Americans. I’m not sure who is even able to liberate your country. You and the Russians liberated the camps in Europe at the end of WW2, but who’s there for you? I think you might need to liberate yourself. Again. I’m sorry. Good luck

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      18 days ago

      Read Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 for some insight.

      Also, that whole treatise on language that Orwell stuck in the middle of 1984…

    • teft@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Bread and circuses. No one wants to revolt.

      “The super bowl is on and I just heated up some nacho cheese dip.”

    • Gerudo@lemm.ee
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      18 days ago

      I’d love to be at the protests tomorrow. Why it’s on a weekday I’m not sure, but my capitol is hours away, and I work. I just started a new job and barely make enough to make ends meet until I get my first commission checks. I wasn’t working for months prior.

      I literally can’t afford to go protest.

    • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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      18 days ago

      When the capitol of the country is possibly thousands of miles away, and missing work means losing health insurance and becoming homeless, it terrifies a lot of people that can’t even miss one day of work for being sick, let alone the days’ journey and expense it would take. Much longer than the maximum 8 hour drive it would take to get from anywhere in Germany to Berlin, by comparison.

      Not an excuse either, the US is just huge, and set up for citizens to fail if they actually stand up.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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        18 days ago

        DuH! And where are all those proud people, who so furiously attacked Russians with rhetoric: *why won’t you stop Putin, you lazy asses!"

        • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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          18 days ago

          Oddly if you look into a lot of them, there were a lot of “small business owners” that aren’t beholden to a company or people connected to someone else’s wealth, or illegal under the table wealth, or other shady things. It has been a while since I looked into it, but it was a combination of personal fiscal stupid decisions, access to rich with money to burn. The tl;dr was basically: they didn’t care what they did to themselves because they thought The Orange Oompa McBurger Loompa was going to anoint them all soldiers of his magic rich person court.

          When you have a fatalist/selfish/sure-thing psychology working “outside” the system, you really don’t care if your kids have medication, and you don’t lose your health insurance because you’re taking Ivermectin from the neighborhood vet that sells it under the table.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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        18 days ago

        Look at us in Russia. Years go by, and we still are not revolting. I’m afraid, it will not be months for you.

        • ubergeek@lemmy.today
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          18 days ago

          For better or worse, civilians here have far more guns. But, your point still holds.

    • Steve@communick.news
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      18 days ago

      They also manage the school vouchers. It’s literally getting in the way of their own goals. Something I mentioned months ago.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      18 days ago

      Yeah, you would think that would get rid of the loans, but realistically they’ll just sell the loans to some bank, and then a political solution to debt forgiveness becomes completely impossible.

    • indecisiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      18 days ago

      I’m sure the “servicers” will continue to collect. Republicans went out of their way to file a suit on behalf of one of them that triggered relief getting blocked.

      Don’t worry, they will make sure to close all of the loopholes that might actually benefit the working class.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        18 days ago

        As someone who’s got ~1 year left of payments on his Public Service Loan Forgiveness, I’m just waiting for the news that it’s been cancelled and my loans will not be forgiven.

      • thesohoriots@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        Yep, student loan repayment is the one point on which politicians will grow a spine and object. God forbid they unite on anything else.

    • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Just heads up, DOE is Department of Energy. Official abbreviation for Department of Educations is ED, an informal one is DoEd.

      Also the student loans would be transfered to Department of Treasury, which they will likely try to do even if ED is not shut down.

  • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    18 days ago

    I had no idea the DOE was that recently created. Having grown up in a deep red state I feel like a veil was suddenly lifted from me, and now I can see how even more fucked up my older relatives’ education must have been compared to mine (already pretty fucked up!).

  • stephfinitely@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    Come on, other branches of government do your job. Even if you agree with the executive branch doesn’t have this power.

  • nifty@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    This is one people should seriously protest to fucking stop. Education is the one thing that levels the playing field for people across different socioeconomic backgrounds. Get on the phone to your representatives, this is the main one they were working towards and wanted to distract from!

    • Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      Education is the one thing that levels the playing field for people across different socioeconomic backgrounds.

      Exactly, and that’ll be why it’s one of the first things they want to piss all over.

  • yarr@feddit.nl
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    16 days ago

    Hey evryone!! Big mooves are hapening in the world of Ed-U-Kashun! The Departmint of Edukation is gettin the boot!!! No more bossy beurocratz teling teechers what 2 do!!! Trumps doin it, an its about TIME!!

    Thnik about it—why do we need a bunch of folks in Washintun teling local skools how 2 run??? It’s like they no better then us parints and edukaytors. Time too cut the kord and let fredom RING!!

    But wate, some peepul are crying fowl!! The NEA an other groops are UPSET becuz they cant keep there grip on things. They want MORE RULEZ an HIGER TAXIS so they can stay in charge!?!? Can u beleev that?? It’s all about KEEPING POWER, NOT HELPIN KIDS!!!

    Without the DOE skools can save monee an stop following outdate rulez!! Teechers can TEACH how THEY WANT and studants can LERN at THERE own pace!!! It’s like a fresh start 4 evryone!!!

    And dont 4get Trumps skool choice oder!!! Now, local leeders can decide what wurks BEST for there kidz!! No more distunt beurocrats messing things UP!!

    So, let’s MAKE IT HAPEN!!! The Dept of Edukashun is HISTORY!!! Skool choice is on the table, an local leeders are READY to take CHARGE!! Who needs a Dept of Ed when you got SMART FOLKS makin desishuns 4 ur kidz?? LETS GO EDUKASHUN FREDOM!!!