Attacks on American civil society to the most picayunish

Update: 8/15/2025 

Some Florida cities are resisting ("Delray Beach changes course, will defy state and keep its LGBTQ+ pride intersection," Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel), including Key West and others.

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A file photo, above, shows the “Pride Progress Flag” mural on East Ocean Avenue and First Street in Boynton Beach. Now, it's no longer there. A woman, below, walks her dog at the newly painted intersection on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) 

Besides post-hospital demotivation, another reason for not writing has been the overwhelmingly anti-progressive acts by the Trump Administration, too much to grapple with.  I wrote about this in March ("Federal government cuts target civil society").  

From the Sun-Sentinel:

The instructions came via a July 1 social media post, press release and “Dear Governor” letter from Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and a July 2 social media post from Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, who attached a detailed memorandum from one of his assistant secretaries. 

 Duffy was direct about his intentions. “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks. Political banners have no place on public roads. I’m reminding recipients of @USDOT roadway funding that it’s limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. It’s that simple.”

So much for placemaking, traffic calming, and sustainable mobility.

This is further illustrated by proposals to cut federal funding to PBS and NPR ("Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs," NPR).  Since the Senate agreed, it's all but a done deal.  Advocacy and action groups in all categories, such as agriculture and sustainable mobility, the arts and humanities and other areas are all losing funding.

In "Florida city removes LGBTQ+ rainbow intersection, quickly complying with state, federal mandate," the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports on how the US DOT and Florida DOT--both hard right Republican, have advised local governments to remove gay pride rainbow crosswalks because they are not authorized "traffic control devices."