Evidence-Based, Science-Based, Vulnerable, Transgender, Diversity, Fetus, Entitlement.
Unfortunately, this is not at all like George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words. Instead, the words Science-Based, Evidence-Based, Vulnerable, Transgender, Diversity, Fetus, and Entitlement have been forbidden in use of official CDC documents prepared for next year’s budget. So, we have a good idea of what the amoral regime is looking to ignore completely when it comes to funding. This is not good. Not good at all.
The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.
Policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were told of the list of forbidden words at a meeting Thursday with senior CDC officials who oversee the budget, according to an analyst who took part in the 90-minute briefing. The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”
In some instances, the analysts were given alternative phrases. Instead of “science-based” or “evidence-based,” the suggested phrase is “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes,” the person said. In other cases, no replacement words were immediately offered.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, “will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans,” HHS spokesman Matt Lloyd told The Washington Post. “HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”
The question of how to address such issues as sexual orientation, gender identity and abortion rights — all of which received significant visibility under the Obama administration — has surfaced repeatedly in federal agencies since President Trump took office. Several key departments — including HHS, as well as Justice, Education, and Housing and Urban Development — have changed some federal policies and how they collect government information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
In March, for example, HHS dropped questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in two surveys of elderly people.
HHS has also removed information about LGBT Americans from its website. The department’s Administration for Children and Families, for example, archived a page that outlined federal services that are available for LGBT people and their families, including how they can adopt and receive help if they are the victims of sex trafficking.
The Washington Post has the full story. Yet another stone dropped on top of us, ensuring our slide down into a pit of devastating ignorance.
Hmmm. Good thing the government isn’t supposed to respect ALL of its citizens, only those who voted for it. (/snark) Fucking republicans. They can’t make reality go away just because they won’t speak of it.
They’re doing their damnedest. Even the few repubs who hesitated on the tax thing caved, they all signed off on it.
I’m kind of surprised to see “entitlement” on the list. I thought Republicans loved that one, because that’s the Luntz-approved word they use it make people who get the benefits they’ve paid for sound like spoiled children. “These people think they’re entitled to Medicare
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I was surprised to see entitlement on the list too, until I thought about it for a few. They love entitlement, particularly feeling entitled to whatever they want, but if you go slinging that word around in regard to poor people, children, the elderly, the marginalized, or the oppressed, oh then it’s bad. Very, very bad.
@Caine: I think Vucodlac was saying the same thing about the word entitlement, but was surprised that they would give up the word “entitlement” because without it it becomes (linguistically) harder to bash the oppressed, the poor, and the powerless.
Won’t someone think of the middle-aged men who need good words to bash the children?
In any case, apparently the order was rescinded: they’re happy to engage in censorship, of course, of opposing views and even of views that are merely insufficiently supportive. They’re not happy, however, to find their agenda set back when people stupid enough to elect them to defend freedom actually read in the paper that they are engaged in censorship. Of course, their supporters aren’t big readers, so the criticism of their censorship has to reach a pretty high level for them to care. I guess in this one instance, it did.
Don’t take that as any reason to hope they’ll rescind the global gag rule, however.
Is it time to say “Orwellian”?
Asking for a friend.
And where these “fake” words are to be replaced, be sure to write the new “truthy” ones with an orange crayon.
“Fetus”? Are they also going to try and ban other medical terms like “ovaries”, or “reproductive tract”? I have better idea, ban the word “cancer” and the cause of most deaths will disappear. Because that is how it work,s right? You change the language and the reality follows suit, right?
They really believe in magic.
So, these are the same fools who keep shouting “Freeze peach!” when it comes to not using offensive slurs and rails against being “politically correct” regarding language and considering the rights and existence of other people and all that yeah?
Hypocrisy really is a Reich-wing sacrament. Just flippin’ appalling.
It’s political correctness gone mad!