So, I take a break from politics and the news for just an hour, so I can see the #AppleEvent I missed while I was working, only for my mom to bust in my room to tell me that there was a shooting at the #USNavalAcademy in #Annapolis #Maryland.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/u-s-naval-academy-lockdown-officials-claim-active-threat

The #USA is so cooked lol, hopefully we make it through the #CFB weekend and I get to watch #NFLRedzone this weekend.

Warriors Don’t Fear Ideas – U.S. Naval Institute – 2025

If the Naval Academy is to develop future warriors and scholars of the highest caliber, it must encourage them to think independently. Here, U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2025 midshipmen stand and take the oath of office
(Kenneth D. Aston Jr.)

Warriors Don’t Fear Ideas
By Jason Chen, Kristen Kavanaugh, and Michael Smith
June 2025, Proceedings, Vol. 151/6/1,468

On 27 January, an executive order directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to abolish Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs and prohibit its educational institutions from promoting what the document called “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist, and irrational theories.” The order further directed a comprehensive review of the “leadership, curriculum, and instructors of the United States Service Academies.” Two days later, DoD issued a similarly titled memorandum to military and civilian leaders, stating that, “No element within DoD will provide instruction on critical race theory, DEI, or gender ideology as part of a curriculum.” The justification for these policies falls under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s overarching priority to “forge warriors, rebuild strength, and restore deterrence.” The U.S. Naval Academy’s military and civilian leaders have followed the DoD’s direction, as they are duty-bound to do.

While Hegseth’s oft-repeated goal of maximizing warfighting and lethality is laudable, it cannot be achieved by suppressing ideas or stifling academic inquiry.

A timeline of recent events at the Naval Academy demonstrates a concerted effort to suppress and stifle:

● October 2024 – The Naval Academy rescinds an invitation to speak for Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a scholar of authoritarianism and fascist movements, to deliver the annual Bancroft Lecture. The Academy claims the speech has not been cancelled, but rescheduled, though no new date has been announced.

● February 2025 – The Academy launches a review of midshipman clubs and affinity groups for cancellation. Groups organized around religious affiliation are exempted, but some formed around gender or ethnicity are targeted, such as the Midshipmen Black Studies Club, the Society of Women Engineers, and “Moms in Flight Suits”—a mentoring group of experienced female aviators for female midshipmen interested in naval aviation.

● March 2025 – In anticipation of a visit by Secretary Hegseth, a display featuring the achievements of female Jewish graduates is removed. The Academy’s director of communications confirmed the action but said it was done mistakenly, and the display was returned after the Secretary’s departure.

● March 2025 – The Naval Academy cancels the annual Michelson Lecture speaker, Dr. Susan Solomon, who was to give a speech the following month on atmospheric science, because it was “not well aligned with executive orders and other directives.”

Read more: Warriors Don’t Fear Ideas – U.S. Naval Institute – 2025Source Links: Warriors Don’t Fear Ideas | Proceedings – June 2025 Vol. 151/6/1,468

#2025 #America #DonaldTrump #History #Libraries #Library #Politics #Proceedings #Resistance #Science #Trump #TrumpAdministration #USNavalAcademy #USNavalInstitute #UnitedStates #Warriors

Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn – Seattle Times & Associated Press

Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn
May 21, 2025 at 4:36 pm

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves after the newest Pentagon-ordered review — the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Based on the new review, about 20 books from the academy’s library are being pulled aside to be checked, but that number includes some that weren’t identified or removed in last month’s initial purge of 381 books, defense officials told The Associated Press.

A few dozen books at the Air Force libraries — including at the Air Force Academy — also have been pulled out for review, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is still ongoing.

The back-and-forth on book removals reflects a persistent problem in the early months of the Trump administration, as initial orders and demands for an array of policy changes have been forced to be reworked, fine-tuned and reissued because they were vague, badly defined or problematic.

The reviews and changes at military libraries and to websites, social media accounts and more are part of the Trump administration’s far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies.

The Pentagon earlier this month issued a detailed directive to all military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by Wednesday. The order contained more specific search words than earlier guidance and verbal orders from Defense Department leaders, and officials said it resulted in dramatically fewer banned books than initially thought.

Read more: Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn – Seattle Times & Associated PressSource Links: Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn | The Seattle Times

#Annapolis #AssociatedPress #Books #Censorship #DEI #GOP #Maryland #TheSeattleTimes #Trump #USNavalAcademy

‘Operation Caged Bird’ takes flight after Naval Academy removes hundreds of books from its library - WTOP News

wtop.com/maryland/2025/04/oper…

#usnavalacademy #library #bannedbooks #DEI #Baltimore