Friday 20th of February 2026
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history was a palimpsest, scraped clean, and reinscribed.....

A U.S. federal judge has issued an opinion that compares President Donald Trump’s administration removal of displays about slavery from a historical site in Philadelphia to the actions of the propaganda agency in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.

 

Judge Slams Trump Admin for Orwellian History

By Jessica Corbett

 

Judge Cynthia Rufe — appointed to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by former Republican President George W. Bush — began her ruling this week by quoting Orwell’s 1949 critique of totalitarianism: 

“All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean, and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place.”

The judge wrote: “As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not.”

The judge was ruling about the administration removing an exhibit on slavery at the site of the President’s House in Philadelphia, where the first two U.S. presidents live from 1790 to 1800. 

“The President’s House is a component of Independence National Historical Park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residence and the people who lived there, including people enslaved by President George Washington,” she explained.

“On January 22, 2026, the National Park Service (NPS) removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President’s House,” wrote the judge.

The removal followed Trump’s March executive order aimed at ensuring “federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums,” are not subjected to what he called “ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”  The move can be seen as part of Trump’s “war on history” and embrace of authoritarianism.

Relying on the Administrative Procedures Act, Philadelphia sued the National Park Service (N.P.S.) and acting Director Jessica Bowron, as well as the parent agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and its secretary, Doug Burgum, over the removal of the slavery exhibits.

“In its argument, the government claims it alone has the power to erase, alter, remove, and hide historical accounts on taxpayer and local government-funded monuments within its control. Its claims in this regard echo Big Brother’s domain in Orwell’s 1984,” Judge Rufe wrote in her 40-page opinion. 

She cited the dystopian novel’s description of the largest section in the fictional government’s Records Department, which “consisted simply of persons whose duty it was to track down and collect all copies of books, newspapers, and other documents which had been superseded and were due for destruction.”

According to Rufe, “The government here likewise asserts truth is no longer self-evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and his appointees and delegees, at his whim to be scraped clean, hidden, or overwritten. And why? Solely because, as defendants state, it has the power.”

She wrote:

“An agency, whether the Department of the Interior, N.P.S., or any other agency, cannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims or the whims of the new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it.”

Rufe found that the federal defendants “completely ignored their legislatively imposed duties,” took actions that “impede the separation of powers instituted by the Constitution,” and “acted in excess of their authority as agencies authorized by Congress within the executive branch.”

“‘The government here … asserts truth is no longer self-evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and his appointees and delegees, at his whim to be scraped clean, hidden, or overwritten….'”

The judge determined that Philadelphia “is likely to prevail on its claims that the removal was arbitrary and capricious,” and “met its burden to establish irreparable harm.” 

She concluded that “the balance of harms and the public interest tip in the city’s favor.” 

Her preliminary injunction requires the reinstallation of “all panels, displays, and video exhibits that were previously in place,” and bars defendants from “any additions, removals, destruction, or further changes of any kind to the President’s House site.”

Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney flagged the ruling on social media, highlighting the Orwell references. His posts gathered thousands of reposts and responses, including from observers who were alarmed by the administration’s actions and welcomed the judge’s decision.

“Federal judges continue to speak up and speak out. It is amazing to see one quote George Orwell, but it also feels appropriate at a time when we see so many attacks on the rule of law,” said Lawyers Defending American Democracy.

Democratic Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija wrote on Bluesky: 

“Proud of this result. The court cited Orwell’s 1984 recognizing that we can’t just erase hard truths from our history. Montgomery County was proud to join Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties in filing an amicus brief to support preserving the President’s House slavery exhibits.”

Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/02/19/judge-slams-trump-admin-for-orwellian-history/

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

trump's law.....

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose and Policy.  Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.  This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.  Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.  Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame, disregarding the progress America has made and the ideals that continue to inspire millions around the globe.

The prior administration advanced this corrosive ideology.  At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — where our Nation declared that all men are created equal — the prior administration sponsored training by an organization that advocates dismantling “Western foundations” and “interrogating institutional racism” and pressured National Historical Park rangers that their racial identity should dictate how they convey history to visiting Americans because America is purportedly racist. 

Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.  This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.  For example, the Smithsonian American Art Museum today features “The Shape of Power:  Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” an exhibit representing that “[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.”  The exhibit further claims that “sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism” and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating “Race is a human invention.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that “hard work,” “individualism,” and “the nuclear family” are aspects of “White culture.”  The forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports.  These are just a few examples.

It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.  Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.

To advance this policy, we will restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness –- igniting the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans.

Sec. 2.  Saving Our Smithsonian.  (a)  The Vice President, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan, Esq., shall work to effectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents with respect to the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo, including by seeking to remove improper ideology from such properties, and shall recommend to the President any additional actions necessary to fully effectuate such policies.

(b)  The Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall work with the Congress to ensure that future appropriations to the Smithsonian Institution:

(i)   prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy; and

(ii)  celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women’s History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum.

(c)  The Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Interior shall take any other measures within their authority to promote the policy of this order.

(d)  As appropriate, the Vice President shall, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan, Esq., work with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Majority Leader, to seek the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of this order.

Sec. 3.  Restoring Independence Hall.  The Secretary of the Interior shall provide sufficient funding, as available, to improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park, which shall be complete by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Sec. 4.  Restoring Truth in American History.

(a)  The Secretary of the Interior shall:

(i)    determine whether, since January 1, 2020, public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology;

(ii)   take action to reinstate the pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties, as appropriate and consistent with 43 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., 54 U.S.C. 100101 et seq.,and other applicable law; and

(iii)  take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people or, with respect to natural features, the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.

Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

                              DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    March 27, 2025.

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.