Tyrant Judge Orders Trump To Restore Funding For Libraries, Museums. Americans Hate Those!
Maybe to get the money they'll all have to be renamed after Trump.
In March, Donald Trump issued an executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a fairly small agency that distributed federal funding to libraries and museums around the country. The order was supposedly aimed at paring back federal agencies to only cover “statutory functions” while eliminating all unneeded spending. (But a grandiose ballroom bigger than the White House itself is an absolute necessity. Besides, it’ll be paid for with bribes, so it’s free!)
Axing IMLS didn’t “save” a huge amount of money; in 2024, the agency issued around $266 million in grants and research funding. Most libraries get the bulk of their funding from local and state taxes. But the federal funding covers stuff like library staff training, computer networking, interlibrary loan, and special services for folks with disabilities — and remember, the Trump people consider “accessibility” just as “unfair” as DEI, because why should people with disabilities take “our” tax money?
The cuts’ impact to small town and rural library systems around the country was real and nasty, since they’re more dependent on IMLS funds. Some cut back services like interlibrary loan and access to ebooks and audiobooks, which sharply reduced reading options in places where the selection of physical books was already limited.
In my state, Idaho, funding dried up for audiobooks for blind Idahoans, as well as for an early learning program that got books to kids whose homes might not have any, and for a digital program that “provides Idahoans free 24/7 access to online education, business and recreation resources.” Just one more way in which the Trump administration made life in America a little shittier, the way the Founders wanted it.
So now the good news: 21 states sued to block the executive order, and last month a federal court in Rhode Island ordered that the funding be restored to IMLS and six other federal agencies Trump attempted to send down the Memory Hole with his EO.
District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. wrote that Trump’s order was “arbitrary and capricious,” and that no, Donald, you do not have the power to just refuse to spend funds Congress appropriated, you dick.
The question presented in this case is a familiar one: may the Executive Branch undertake such actions in circumvention of the will of the Legislative Branch? In recent months, this Court — along with other courts across the country — has concluded that it may not. That answer remains the same here.
And while there’s always the possibility that the administration might appeal the decision, because spending taxpayer money on lawyers is good but spending it on helping people learn things is bad, in this case, it looks like the administration intends to restore the library funding, if not necessarily the other programs. On Wednesday, the IMLS announced on its website that, “Upon further review, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has reinstated all federal grants. This action supersedes any prior notices which may have been received related to grant termination.”
We suppose it’s possible that was posted by some wild-eyed library geek who was all hopped up on herbal tea, but that sounds pretty definite. The brief notice advised grantees that they can now “access the agency's electronic grants management system” for information on getting the money Congress wanted them to have.
In a statement, American Library Association President Sam Helmick called the restoration of funding a "massive win" for libraries in all states. Remember kids, since it’s a case brought by states, the ruling actually applies beyond just the 21 states that sued.
So hooray, this is terrific news for a lot of libraries and museums everywhere in this great weird nation.
Now all they have to contend with is the continued threat from Rightwing crusaders who want to have all the librarians arrested for all that nakey porn communism. Hey, if you’re in one of the places where the documentary The Librarians is screening, check it out! It’ll probably be a top contender for Best Documentary next year. Here’s the trailer:
And while you wait to see the film, check out “On The Media’s” interview with Louisiana high school librarian Amanda Jones, one of the librarians featured in the film.
Now get off the internet and read a book! Wait! I mean, after you have discussed this post in the comments (which we do not allow) get off the internet and read a book, but come back to Wonkette often! [“Good save, Dok,” I said to myself.]
[NPR / Idaho Capital Sun / NPR / Order in Rhode Island v Trump]
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‘Not acceptable!’ Pro-Trump Somali migrant breaks with president over 'racist' remarks
https://www.rawstory.com/somalia/?utm_source=push_notifications
A Somali immigrant who aggressively campaigned for President Donald Trump in 2024 is severing all ties with the president over his recent remarks where he referred to Somali migrants as “garbage,” condemning them as “racist” in an appearance Saturday on CNN.
“It was very dehumanizing and very un-presidential coming from the commander in chief to dehumanize an entire community by calling them garbage,” said Salman Fiqy, who immigrated to the United States from Somalia in 2009. “This is not acceptable by any means.
Fiqy directly coordinated with the Trump campaign last year, being featured prominently at one of the president’s rallies in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In November of 2024, he spoke with other Minnesota Somali leaders in support of Trump at a widely publicized event.
Trump’s remarks earlier this week, however, which included him saying that the country of Somalia “stinks,” were the straw that “broke the camel’s back” for Fiqy.
“His comments about Somalis and other races are racist, and it ignites the racist aspects of the party,” Fiqy said.
Fiqy appeared with CNN’s Victor Blackwell, who asked Fiqy whether he regretted voting for Trump. Fiqy said he didn’t.
“No, I don't regret my vote because I see politics through a conservative prism, and I still have conservative values and see politics through that lens,” he said. “But I withdraw all connections from the Minnesota GOP for not standing up for the Somali community.”
As for Trump, Fiqy's condemnation went beyond the president's disparaging remarks directed toward Somalians, arguing that the president had also failed to fulfill much of what he promised on the campaign trail.
“He seems not delivering on the promises that he promised the country,” Fiqy said.
"Now get off the internet and read a book!"
What's everyone reading?