By Michael Leppert
The Indiana Citizen
August 6, 2025
To me, “1984” was originally a rock album, the last studio collection of songs by the original members of Van Halen. It was July 7, 1984, when the 16-year-old version of me earned his way to a spot right in front of Eddie Van Halen’s place on the stage at Roberts Stadium in Evansville for the biggest tour of the year. Back then, we fought for those spots on the arena floor.
The album was named after George Orwell’s classic book, even though there is no artistic connection between the book’s “Ministry of Truth” and songs like “Hot for Teacher.” Back then though, even after learning more about the book and growing out of Van Halen, both seemed like nothing more than inconsequential examples of make-believe.
That was a different time.
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report—as has been typically done on the first Friday of every month. The first bit of bad news in this report was the 73,000 jobs added in July, significantly lower than the forecasted 109,000. But that initial bad news got worse.
What is commonly done in the monthly jobs report are revisions to prior monthly reports after data is more accurate and complete. The BLS revised the May and June reports downward by 250,000 jobs, the largest revision outside of the COVID era, since 1979.
As reported by the BBC, “It is not unusual for the BLS to amend jobs figures as more data comes to light, however. During Joe Biden’s presidency, statistics for 12 months over 2023-4 were retroactively revised downward by 818,000 jobs.” Importantly, the article also stated, “Though this month’s changes were much larger than usual, analysts said the updates were consistent with other data showing slowdown.”
It’s not great news. When I saw the numbers, I wasn’t surprised at all. I also wasn’t giddy about how they might make President Donald Trump’s obviously questionable economic strategies look as perilous as I think they will be. I remember saying out loud to the report, “Well, yea.”
Trump apparently thought the report should say something different and was also apparently so enraged by this bad news that later that day, he fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. She was appointed as the commissioner in January 2024 and was confirmed by the Senate on an 86-8 vote. Then-Senator and current Vice President J.D. Vance voted yes. Then-Senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio voted yes. Her impeccable qualifications were reported extensively by Fortune on Sunday.
I have worried about the BLS and its data for at least a decade. Allowing such important facts to be provided publicly, and through a process that had inarguable integrity, just seemed dangerous to an anti-truth regime. The day when the news was bad enough to provoke a firing like this one was inevitable.
So, what?
Well, if this is allowed to blend into the noise of all the other norm busting behaviors of the maniacal leadership in Washington today, there won’t be any reason to trust anything our government says going forward.
That is just how the Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” would have it. Once all data has been reduced to only what the regime in charge allows you to see, there is only the one version of the story left to believe. In the handling of the BLS report, President Trump basically shot the messenger when he fired McEntarfer.
The concept of killing the bearer of bad news can be traced back to the Greek playwright, Plutarch, when he wrote in “Parallel Lives” that when the first messenger brought King Tigranes II bad news from the battlefield, “…he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared to bring further information.”
“Parallel Lives” was written around the early 2nd century, so the concept of eliminating the messenger truly is ancient, but also perilous. Tigranes eventually surrendered to Pompey the Great.
Orwell’s classic novel is not quite that old, published in 1949, and it is fiction. But so many of the concepts are coming to life today, 76 years later.
What messengers did we once trust that this regime has discredited? I can name a few. A U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Department of Justice, both of which are hostile to the rule of law. An Environmental Protection Agency, hostile to the realities of climate change. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hostile to health, humans and science.
The biggest hit from Van Halen’s “1984” was “Jump,” a cute little song that hasn’t aged well. However, forty-one years later, as our norms, institutions, and importantly, our irrefutable truths are being killed, a good jump doesn’t sound all that bad.
Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.
