No joke
This AP headline above looks like something from The Onion. But it’s not:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman effective Wednesday, reversing a Biden administration shift to the less formal typeface that he called wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of U.S. government documents.
“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad Tuesday.
In it, he said the 2023 shift to the sans serif Calibri font emerged from misguided diversity, equity and inclusion policies pursued by his predecessor, Antony Blinken. Rubio ordered an immediate return to Times New Roman, which had been among the standard fonts mandated by previous administrations.
Times New Roman is simply more dignified, Rubio’s memo argues.
“Aligning the Department’s practice with this standard ensures our communications reflect the same dignity, consistency, and formality expected in official government correspondence.” “Dignity” appears mutliple times in the memo.
Rubio attends Cabinet meetings where a president with an epic comb over and orange tanner expects him and others to lick his boots while he nods before returning to an office he redecorated to look like a bordello.
ABC News leads its report, tongue firmly in cheek, with “There’s a new serif in town!” The memo requires official State documents printed in 14-point font. If that’s to make them easier to read, isn’t that just the “accessibility” Rubio’s memo decries?
“So, to restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface.”
Nothing says Trump like decorum and professionalism.
* * * * *
Is this a private fight, or can anyone join?
No King’s One Million Rising movement
50501
May Day Strong
Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit
The Resistance Lab
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
You Have Power
Chop Wood, Carry Water
Thirty lonely but beautiful actions
Attending a Protest Surveillance Self-Defense