The Trump administration says it believes in MERIT.
But since taking power, it’s beaten “merit” so badly the word needs asylum.
You’re an international student studying science, technology, engineering or math at an American university?
We don’t need your merit.
You’re a highly skilled H-1B worker recruited by an American company?
We don’t need your merit.
You’ve worked legally in America for 10+ years, built a career, paid taxes, and your employer is sponsoring you for a green card?
Apparently, we don’t need your merit either.
This is the contradiction nobody seems willing to address.
Trump once argued that America should keep exceptional foreign students and workers here, saying: “We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance.”
His administration originally proposed an immigration system that would explicitly reward advanced education, valuable skills and employment.
Yet today we’re putting more barriers in front of the very international students, skilled workers and employment-based immigrants who would supposedly score highest in a merit-based system.
So what happened to the meritocracy we were promised?
و این هم از معمای امروز:
پدرش در ۴ ثانیه اول جنگ به هلاکت رسید.
خودش از ثانیه اول جنگ ناپدید شده است.
در مراسم جنازهکشی پدرش شرکت نکرد.
لقبش مقوا است.
او کیست؟
#USCISPause has already been ruled unlawful by a federal court, yet @DHSgov is still trying to keep thousands of families, students, researchers, and professionals in limbo through a stay request. Court orders must be respected. #LiftTheHold
Do you know why women in Iran receive lashes for singing?
The logic behind Islamic laws is simple: men might get aroused by a woman’s voice.
So I decided to test that logic and asked all men one question. Just listen.
If you are a man, your answer will make you understand this injustice in a completely different way.
@aspenideas
This is the Islamic regime under Ghalibaf
The so called new leader of the new Regime.
Terrorist won’t change,
🚨 This is what’s happening under his watch:
The Islamic regime in Iran sentenced singer Parastu Ahmadi to 74 lashes for performing without a hijab
She was also banned from leaving the country and engaging in creative activities for two years. The reason for the verdict was a performance without a hijab during an online concert.
Ahmadi gained fame in December 2024, during the height of the Iranian protests, after performing the famous patriotic song in front of an empty hall.
She performed without a hijab, which is mandatory according to Islamic norms.
Soon after, Ahmadi and eight other participants of the performance were detained.
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi has been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for singing without hijab. For Iranian artists, the ruling deepens fears of escalating cultural repression.
➡️ https://t.co/zD4yZAIPVY
Parastoo Ahmadi sang without a hijab. Iran’s reported answer: 74 lashes, a travel ban and a ban on art. This is not justice; it is the machinery of fear punishing a woman for existing freely. No state owns women’s bodies, voices or beliefs. Peace with Iran cannot mean silence on repression. Europe must defend dialogue without abandoning dissidents. As European Democrats, we stand with Iranian women and artists: culture is not a crime, dignity is not negotiable.
La artista iraní Parastoo Ahmadi fue condenada, junto a ocho miembros de su equipo, a recibir 74 LATIGAZOS por aparecer sin velo en este video. Además, no podrán actuar ni viajar fuera de Irán durante los próximos dos años.
A court in Qom has sentenced singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight musicians and production team members involved in the online "Caravanserai Concert" to 74 lashes each, a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on artistic activity.
The court cited Ahmadi's performance without hijab, the participation of male musicians and the online publication of the concert as grounds for the sentence.
Iranian regime have sentenced singer Parastoo Ahmadi, two musicians, and six members of her production team to 74 lashes each following an online concert broadcast linked to violations of mandatory hijab rules.
🚨Iran sentences singer to 74 lashes for singing without hijab; brutal flogging still pending.
The 29-year-old Iranian artist Parastoo Ahmadi, along with eight members of her production team, was just sentenced by a Qom court for performing a patriotic song in a hijab-free YouTube concert that has racked up nearly 3 million views, but the barbaric 74-lash flogging has not yet been carried out.
- 74 lashes in public
- 2 yr travel ban
- 2 yr ban on artistic work
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi & 8 other members performing with her have been punished for singing without Hijab.
This is what Islam is all about --- not peace, not architecture or music!!
One day after the U.S. signed a deal with the Islamic Republic، the regime in Iran, handed Parastoo Ahmadi 74 lashes for singing on YouTube.
They call America the Great Satan. And then they flew to the table and signed a deal with the «Devil«. But a woman’s voice scared them more than any superpower ever could.
A regime that whips women for showing their hair and singing, there’s not a normal government.
This is called apartheid against women.