The Trump Administration embraces anything that hurts people.

Little Marco grabs every opportunity to be in the MAGA spotlight by hurting disabled workers.

Calibri font becomes the latest DEI target as Rubio orders return to Times New Roman

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman effective Wednesday, reversing a Biden administration shift to the less formal typeface that he called wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of U.S. government documents.

“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad Tuesday.

In it, he said the 2023 shift to the sans serif Calibri font emerged from misguided diversity, equity and inclusion policies pursued by his predecessor, Antony Blinken. Rubio ordered an immediate return to Times New Roman, which had been among the standard fonts mandated by previous administrations.

“The switch was promised to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities,” the cable said, asserting that it did not achieve that goal and had cost the department $145,000 but did not offer any evidence.

Since taking over the State Department in January, Rubio has systematically dismantled DEI programs in line with President Donald Trump’s broader instructions to all federal agencies. The Trump administration says the goal is to return to purely merit-based standards.

Rubio has abolished offices and initiatives that had been created to promote and foster diversity and inclusion, including in Washington and at overseas embassies and consulates, and also ended foreign assistance funding for DEI projects abroad.

“Although switching to Calibri was not among the department’s most illegal, immoral, radical or wasteful instances of DEI it was nonetheless cosmetic,” according to Rubio's cable obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The New York Times.

“Switching to Calibri achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s correspondence,” he said, adding that it also clashed with the typeface in the State Department letterhead.

According to a separate memo sent to department employees, the return to Times New Roman takes effect Wednesday and all templates for official documents are to be updated to remove the offending Calibri font.

The only exceptions are documents prepared for international treaties and for presidential appointments, which are required to use Courier New 12-point font, the memo said. (ABC News, from. The Associated Press)

No surprise. This man is his boss. 👇

Trump doesn’t have the power to end certain holidays, so he wants to hurt those who honor them.

America’s health is crashing.

Here is a sad example.

Do you know 4 House Republicans who might help?

Here are the 4 most likely Republican YES votes.

Congratulate each for caring about Americans. Urge them to take this big and important step and vote yes.

1. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) - 202-225-4276.
   • Has explicitly urged passage of an ACA subsidy extension.
   • Leads bipartisan groups on health policy.
2. Jen Kiggans (VA-02) - 202-225-4215.
   • Co-sponsored a bipartisan proposal to extend ACA subsidies.
   • Represents a very competitive coastal district where thousands rely on ACA plans.
3. Kevin Kiley (CA-03) - 202-225-3861.
   • Introduced (or co-introduced) bills that would extend subsidies or create an alternative that preserves affordability.
   • Represents a district where ACA plans are popular among small businesses.
4. Don Bacon (NE-02) - 202-225-4155.
   • Reported as part of a group backing a subsidy extension package.
   • One of the most moderate Republicans in the House.

Now about that $900 Billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDA) which passed by 312-112 - is it a disaster? is it transformative?

Well, there was full-on bi-partisan support for the pay increase for the military. Did anybody notice that a 3.8% increase didn’t keep up with inflation for even one year?

According to Army recruiting material, a typical enlisted soldier’s total annual compensation package breaks down approximately this way:
• Salary (basic pay): ~$28,300
• Housing allowance: ~$21,300
• Food allowance: ~$5,600
• Clothing allowance: ~$2,060
• Total compensation: ~$67,300/year (for a junior enlisted member). 

The salary raise would bring this poor soul’s salary to $29,375.40 - That sure shows that America loves and honors its enlisted men and women, no?

Republican priorities in the bill were:
• Crackdowns on Chinese involvement near U.S. bases and technology sectors
• Restrictions on cooperation with Chinese and Russian military biotech firms
• Investments in strategic capabilities (missile defense, technologies countering great-power rivals)
• Support for Ukraine security initiatives ($400 million per year)
• Repealing old war authorizations that some view as obsolete

As for Democratic priorities, these were the ones generally supported:

✔ Traditional defense priorities such as pay raises.
✔ Continued support for alliances and stability
✔ Oversight provisions aimed at accountability - this included that the video of the recent boat strikes video be released.

The New York Times sees that section of the bill as follows:

It . . . seeks to curb his [ Trump’s] pullback from Europe and mandate more Pentagon consultation with Congress, including sharing unedited videos of attacks on suspected drug boats since September, which have killed at least 87 people since September. Trump officials have so far been unwilling to show these to lawmakers.

Do you think it will now happen?

Democrats opposed or were disappointed by:
✘ the removal of the portion of the bill which would have provided IVF coverage to military families
✘ Cuts or policy riders on DEI, climate, and other social-policy areas.

These were big disappointments.

But the Republicans faced a disappointment too - a ban on the Pentagon covering gender-affirming surgeries was stripped out (though they got their ban on transgender women participating in women’s athletic programs at U.S. military academies.)

The New York Times says -

The bill would block the Pentagon from reducing the number of troops “permanently stationed in or deployed” to Europe below 76,000 for longer than 45 days, unless Mr. Hegseth and the top officer overseeing U.S. European Command certify to Congress that such a drawdown aligns with U.S. national security interests and that NATO allies were consulted.

If this holds, it strengthens our commitment to NATO and stops Trump’s withdrawals from our long time allies. It’s a big deal, after Trump’s attack last week on the European Nations as not “viable countries any more,” which faced “civilizational erasure” if they continued to allow immigration.

The $400,000,000 annually to Ukraine doesn’t suit Trump either. Instead, it restates traditional American foreign policy.

Representative Adam Smith, top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, declared on the House floor that voting for the bill was an act of reasserting Congress’s authority as a co-equal branch of government - an effort “to try to get some restraint on the lack of transparency, the unaccountability and the problems that are coming out of this White House and this Department of Defense.”

Let’s hope Congressman Smith is right.

From my point of view, the NDA is neither a disaster, nor is it transformative. It does some good at pulling back some of Trump’s priorities, and sanctions others.

It is a big, big, big and certainly not beautiful bill.

Let’s see what the Senate says.