The Distraction Index

This week saw systematic dismantling of institutional accountability across federal agencies: the Department of Homeland Security eliminated civil rights oversight offices, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to bypass due process protections for deportations, Columbia University capitulated to federal funding threats signaling coercive control over higher education, and Voice of America was shuttered to consolidate information control. Simultaneously, attention was diverted through high-profile spectacles including the Oval Office gold redesign, announcements of sixth-generation fighter jets, and repeated statements about hypothetical China war scenarios with Elon Musk. The pattern reflects a consistent strategy: constitutional constraints on executive power are being removed through policy action while public focus is channeled toward symbolic gestures and culture war positioning, leaving structural damage to oversight mechanisms largely unexamined in real time.