Replacing the Old Elite (Scientists & Scholars) with the Trump Elite (Conspiracy Theorists & Fundamentalists)

 

Replacing the Old Elite (Scientists & Scholars) with the Trump Elite (Conspiracy Theorists & Fundamentalists)

“I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That’s one half of his job, the other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. And you cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for.” 

Vice President JD Vance responding to Chief Justice John Roberts’ comments earlier in May that the judiciary’s role is to check the executive branch as told to New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat on the “Interesting Times” podcast, which was taped on Monday (5/19].

‘When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.” 

Richard Nixon in a 1977 interview by David Frost

“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a letter to Harvard, based upon Harvard’s purported antisemstism.

"We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action…It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams." Harvard President Doctor Alan M. Garber (who is Jewish) in a letter to the college community, as Harvard filed suit against the government for "blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act."

Every now and again, I like to stop, clear my mind, and then take a 30,000-foot view of the Earth. I look as if I were taking it all in for the first time. I try to be a cultural anthropologist visiting an alien planet, examining the life forms, the intelligent life (if there is any), and try to understand their culture, political structure, their mores, fears and beliefs. I took one of those views from above in the dying days of the Biden administration, but today, when Führer Trump summarily banned Harvard from allowing any foreign students to be admitted to or remain in school – that’s about 6,800 students (27.2% of the entire student body) and either they find other schools and enroll or they will have their student visas pulled – I ascended for another look. The view wasn’t pretty… I couldn’t find the United States of America… it was gone!

The very glue of our fabric is the system of checks and balances built into our system of government from our Founding Fathers who drafted the Constitution in revulsion to the concentration of power in one man, King George III of England, by architecting three co-equal branches of government: Article I defines Congress, Article II defines the President and the Executive Branch, and Article III defines and empowers the judicial branch. As the Supreme Court grapples with how its check of the Executive Branch can be implemented (can a federal trial court issue a nationwide injunction against a blatant violation of the Constitution?), there is one immutable reality: the Supreme Court absolutely can restrain an unconstitutional action by the President. As a graduate of the Yale School of Law, JD Vance absolutely knows that.

The very notion that the voters made an affirmative choice to deploy a brutal arrest-detain-deport policy – with no hearing, no appeal, allowing the State Department to terminate green card resident and student visa status, without recourse, if they don’t agree with what the individual believes or says (however respectful or peaceful) and to send detainees as criminals (so designated without trial) to foreign gulags, some of which are violative of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual” punishment – is absurd, especially from a President whose November victory was by a slender 1.5 majority. No, Mr Vance, the voters did not choose that!

As one more VP-seeking-relevance, JD Vance’s misguided statement – that Supreme Court jurisdiction cannot impede a president’s foreign policy choice, and the Court’s actions to the contrary represented a “profoundly wrong sentiment” and that the courts should be “deferential” to the president, particularly when it comes to immigration – is without basis. Like Richard Nixon, he was wrong. The presidential immunity Supreme Court ruling limiting criminal liability for a president’s official actions while in office has nothing to do with the power to ignore or override the Constitution.

In a ruling on May 22nd, a California federal court in an earlier challenge to the government’s assault on foreign students’ visas, “barred the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students at universities across the country. Employing sharp verbal jabs, the court repeatedly rebuked the government for its behavior in five consolidated cases.

“In his 21-page order, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, distills the immigration-related dispute into an instance of the government trying to ‘move fast and break things.’… ‘Defendants’ [the government’s] actions since these cases were filed raise the concern that they may be trying to place any future SEVIS [Student and Exchange Visitor Program] terminations beyond judicial review… At each turn in this and similar litigation across the nation, Defendants have abruptly changed course to satisfy courts’ expressed concerns. It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless Defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations.’” Law & Crime, May 22nd. This case is rising towards the Supreme Court.

Indeed, Trump’s efforts to reshape the United States into his vision of America follows the autocrat’s handbook, since the truth generated by universities is often a direct contradiction to the fabrications and authority of a corrupt regime. Stephen Collinson, writing for the May 23rd CNN, adds: “The escalation in Trump’s battle with Harvard University came as the administration barred its capacity to enroll foreign students. Such pressure echoes the actions of authoritarian leaders like MAGA hero Viktor Orbán of Hungary, who cracked down on the academy to enhance his own power. Even though on May 23rd, a Federal District Court has temporarily halted Noem’s directive against Harvard, the battle is just beginning. But Trump corruption continues unabated.

“Trump appeared at his golf club in Virginia for dinner with investors from around the world who sunk millions of dollars into his cryptocurrency meme coin, drawing concerns that foreigners are enriching the US leader and buying access.” This recent corruption can be added to Trump’s proclivity to fabricate as duly evidenced in his May 21st Oval Office castigation of South African President Cyrill Ramaphosa for alleged genocide of white Afrikaner farmers… using photographs and video footage taken in the Congo!

The United States has profoundly benefitted from foreign students accessing our best universities in two ways: 1. The best and brightest often remain in the United States and constitute one of the greatest sources of new, cutting-edge jobs. And 2. Many of these graduates find their way into the highest reaches of foreign government, creating a very useful foreign policy bond with the United States. In attempting to force so many of the best and brightest at Harvard to leave for other campuses, our loss of that potential excellence is clearly evidenced by this Chinese offer:

“The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today announced an open invitation to international undergraduate and postgraduate students currently enrolled at Harvard University, as well as those holding confirmed offers for Harvard degree programs, to continue their academic pursuits at HKUST. This initiative comes in response to evolving global academic landscapes and reinforces HKUST’s commitment to fostering a diverse, world-class learning environment.

“As a leading international institution ranked among the top universities globally, HKUST is extending this opportunity to ensure talented students can pursue their educational goals without disruption. The university will provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition for interested students.” HKUST press release. Automatic admission to one of China’s best universities? Red Alert!!! 

I’m Peter Dekom, and as a proud Yale graduate, I stand with the students and graduates of our arch rival, Harvard, who are in the front lines against an unlawful and totalitarian effort to repeal freedom, democracy… and even common sense… in our country.