from the illegal-and-ignorant dept

Fri, Feb 20th 2026 05:22am - Karl Bode

One recurring theme of this era: folks who actually choose to stand up to this bumbling kakistocracy of hateful failsons usually tend to win if they stick together. Those that prematurely bend the knee in abject cowardice (like say, CBS, countless law firms, or numerous university administrators) will hopefully be remembered for it.

It happened again this week, when the Department of Education (DOE) was forced to back off of their illegal effort to permanently enshrine intolerance and ignorance across U.S. education standards.

More specifically, the DEO was forced to suspend their “Dear Colleague” directive that sought to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in schools and higher education. That directive, initially implemented in February of 2025, threatened to cut funding for institutions practicing “DEI,” (falsely) claiming it violated the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on affirmative action.

One of its core claims, as we’ve seen at other agencies like the FCC, is that even acknowledging well documented systemic racism and sexism is somehow unfair to white men. It’s just the dumbest, lamest bullshit, from some of the shittiest human beings to ever govern (and if you’re well-versed in American history, that’s really saying something).

The American Federation of Teachers filed suit against the administration shortly thereafter, alongside an ACLU FOIA lawsuit forcing disclosure of documents highlighting the Education Department’s flimsy legal reasoning. Numerous court rulings subsequently found the Trump administration ignored the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and tried to rewrite federal civil rights policy illegally.

While the Trump administration realized they’d been beaten and had given up the fight late last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland put the final nail in the coffin this week. As a result the DOE has been forced to formally shut down the initiative, a significant victory for Americans who aren’t ignorant assholes:

“Upon the U.S.’s concession that the directive and subsequent certification requirement are vacated – meaning they are formally nullified – the district court issued a final ruling today, permanently invalidating the directive and preventing the government from enforcing, relying on, or reviving it. As a result, the challenged guidance is no longer in effect and cannot be enforced against anyone, anywhere nationwide.”

It’s worth reiterating that a lot of University administrators were abject cowards (or avid supporters of intolerance) and immediately threw minority and marginalized populations under the bus at the first indication of a stiff breeze, causing no manner of disruption to grants and scholarships. I’m not sure it’s even possible to functionally calculate the read harm caused to people.

It’s something you’d like to think they might be held actually accountable for by their colleagues:

Despite the win, much of the harm is likely permanent. And there are certainly other avenues where the administration has done very similar things and hasn’t yet been held to account; such as Trump’s illegal dismantling of the Digital Equity Act — which stifled all manner of rural broadband investment to marginalized neighborhoods and Trump voters alike because the word “equity” gave a few idiots a sad.

Any way you slice it, the sheer hubris of believing you can permanently eliminate equality, kindness, and diversity through illegal mandate by a dim, half-insane king remains historically stupid and deserves bottomless historic ridicule and derision.

But as we keep seeing, if people want to organize and meaningfully challenge this pathetic and increasingly unpopular administration, they usually win. As Trump’s health and influence fades, hopefully we’ll see a corresponding jump in courage.

Filed Under: colleges, dei, department of education, racism, school, universities
Companies: aclu, american federation of teachers