Raw Story

On Tuesday, I went out with a jarring piece that I wish to hell I never had to write, but I reckon needed telling.

In Hell is Here, I told you what you should already know: We are in the middle of a national emergency that is growing more dire by the minute. America, and the roots of her existence are being torn from her moorings by the most callous, lawless uncaring group of miscreants in our nation’s history.

I told you that:

“We simply cannot survive this obscene level of anti-Democratic lawlessness from the fascist White House, and that makes it incredibly important how this moment in history is framed for the public.”

And this:

“This is a five-alarm fire. It is far beyond what any reasonable person who has been around for awhile feared in their lifetimes. Our Democracy is burning out of control, and the response from our Democratic representatives on the frontlines in Washington has been appalling.”

And this:

“On the first day of his reign of terror, the sick, vengeful king released 1,600 dangerous thugs, who beat the life out of cops and tried to set fire to our country, by violently stopping the certification of our election. The people he said that he “loved” now have safe harbor, but just as long as they vow to work for him, because, you see, he has proven he is both capable of getting them in and out of their terrible messes.”

So let me get at the nut of what is frying my ass this afternoon in the wake of that piece, and the bloody hell that has in fact been coming at us in a torrent the past 48 hours:

All of this complete horses---I am seeing from many people I respect telling us to stay calm — that all this was to be expected.

While I believe this is coming from a genuine place of goodness, it is bordering on gaslighting.

So let me tell you something, dammit: Anybody telling you to stay calm just because "all this was to be expected" is either a damn fool, or lying to themselves and you, because NONE of them have been through a transition like this in America.

All this “stay calm, all this was to be expected” stuff might be easy on the ears, but it is impossible to digest.

We are in deep, deep trouble right now, patriots, and it is not only OK to say that, it is paramount we do. We might yet get through all of this, but that won’t mitigate for one damn minute all the trouble and pain people are in RIGHT NOW.

Good and decent folks are being hurt as I click on my keyboard, and it is getting worse by the minute. These feelings of dread and helplessness you are having are all-too real. The voices crawling around inside your head won’t stop, because they are borne from a place deep inside you that has been through a few things.

You hurt because you care. You scream because you feel like you are being ignored. You are mad, because of this terrible and vulnerable situation we find ourselves in thanks to the disregard from the last administration of what was most assuredly coming for, and at us, if we didn’t win November’s election.

WE have been left holding the bag. THEY are gone.

All these feelings deserve justification, not disregard.

Look, if you’ve read my stuff at all, you will know I’ve been sounding the alarms around here for years — that a second Trump Administration simply was not tenable. Everything needed to be done to stop it.

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland failed us catastrophically by not going after Bastard No. 1 and the Republicans who attacked us the minute after he took office.

I will not spend more time on this here, because it turns out that I was sadly right all along. I pounded on the table, and it did no good. That doesn’t mitigate my anger right now, though, and it shouldn't yours.

You have a right to it.

Just because a meteorologist can predict the Category 5 hurricane it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with in its terrible aftermath …

We have fought hard the past eight years, and invariably some of the political infrastructure we put in place will slow this unrelenting Republican attack, but it won’t erase the damage that has already happened, and too much of what is coming.

I have lost much of the trust I had in our courts and the notion of law and order since hell arrived in November of 2016. Members of our nation’s highest court are bought-off and corrupt.

And you don’t need me to tell you that we are craving bold leadership on the Left, who will not only oppose this anti-American attack, but will speak to it in ways that inspire a call to action.

Let these words help to light that flame. Let your voices rise up until they shake.

Do not let anybody deny you of your feelings.

Millions of people are scared to death right now, because they are brave enough to be paying attention.

The minute that stops, WE ARE DONE.

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D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here, and follow him on Bluesky here.

President Donald Trump's White House became the subject of ridicule on Sunday after it issued a statement with a misspelling.

Trump over the weekend made a surprise move after migrant flights were reportedly sent back. He decided to hit the ally with tariffs, which were then returned in kind, prompting what some said could become a trade war.

As part of that back-and-forth, the White House issued a statement referring to Trump's post on Truth Social.

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"ICYMI President Donald J. Trump's TRUTH on Columbia sanctions," the press release says, misspelling the nation's name.

Journalist Aaron Rupar replied, "I’m more of a North Face guy but this seems a bit extreme."

Republicans against Trump said, "Trump’s White House misspelled ‘Colombia’ as ‘Columbia’…confusing the country with the University in an official announcement," along with a clown emoji.

Jeff Stein, White House economics reporter for The Washington Post, said, "I know Barron is going to NYU but it seems like a little much."

Former Trump campaign aide A.J. Delgado chimed in with, "Did a WHITE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE really misspell Colombia? I remember how much I had to proof read and correct BASIC mistakes in drafts by others on the 2016 Campaign but this is... wow."

"Only the dumbest of the dumb work in this White House," she added.

Popular internet personality Three Year Letterman said, "I can't top this."

A purported Trump lie tracker said, "Columbia is a university in New York City. Colombia is the country Donald Trump threatened today."

"But talk to us about how competence is back in the White House," the account added Sunday.

DNC delegate Christopher Hale said, "White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who recently disclosed over $300,000 in unpaid campaign debts — including approximately $200,000 from illegal contributions — can’t spell Colombia."

New York Times columnist and former Republican, David French, in an op-ed published Sunday points to one German political expert to make sense of President Donald Trump supporters' unwavering loyalty.

"Over the last decade, I’ve watched many of my friends and neighbors make a remarkable transformation," French writes. "They’ve gone from supporting Donald Trump in spite of his hatefulness to reveling in his aggression."

However, he notes, "This isn’t a new observation. In fact, it’s so obvious as to verge on the banal. The far more interesting question is why," arguing, "When a person believes that he or she possesses eternal truth, there’s a temptation to believe that he or she is entitled to rule."

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French writes:

There’s a difference, however, between yielding to temptation and developing an alternative morality. And what we’ve been witnessing in the last decade is millions of Americans constructing a different moral superstructure. And while it is certainly notable and powerful in Trumpism, it is not exclusive to Trumpism.

A good way to understand this terrible political morality is to read Carl Schmitt, a German political theorist who joined the Nazi Party after Hitler became chancellor. I want to be careful here — I am not arguing that millions of Americans are suddenly Schmittians, acolytes of one of the fascist regime’s favorite political theorists. The vast majority of Americans have no idea who he is. Nor would they accept all of his ideas.

One of his ideas, however, is almost perfectly salient to the moment: his description, in a 1932 book called 'The Concept of the Political,' of the 'friend-enemy distinction.' The political sphere, according to Schmitt, is distinct from the personal sphere, and it has its own distinct contrasts.

'Let us assume,' Schmitt wrote, 'that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil, in aesthetics beautiful and ugly, in economics profitable and unprofitable.' Politics, however, has 'its own ultimate distinctions.' In that realm, 'the specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.'

Furthermore, French notes that Schmitt notes that "one of liberalism’s deficiencies is a reluctance to draw the friend-enemy distinction," and its failure "to draw it is a fool’s errand."

"An enduring political community can exist only when it draws this distinction. It is this contrast with outsiders that creates the community," French emphasizes.

The Times columnist suggests, "Because our civics depends on our ethics, we should be teaching ethics right alongside civics. Sadly, we’re failing at both tasks, and our baser nature is telling millions of Americans that cruelty is good, if it helps us win, and kindness is evil, if it weakens our cause. That is the path of destruction. As the prophet Isaiah said, 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.'"

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French's full column is available at this link (subscription required).

CNN's chief fact-checker had his work cut out for him Friday following President Donald Trump's visit to North Carolina and California as he tours areas devastated by natural disasters.

In the Los Angeles area, fires have scorched about 45 square miles. At least 28 people have died. Meanwhile, Hurricane Helene's damage in North Carolina has been estimated at $59.6 billion. At least 104 people died.

On Friday, Trump said he planned to sign an executive order to "begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA — or maybe getting rid of FEMA."

Trump criticized the disaster agency for being too slow and bureaucratic. He has floated letting states handle disasters.

After his speech, CNN's Daniel Dale acknowledged Trump is "totally entitled" to criticize FEMA, and even conceded he's delivered "accurate criticism" of FEMA.

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"But he's also said a lot of things about FEMA and the general federal response to Helene that are just wrong," said Dale.

Dale took particular issue with Trump's claims that he said could "dissuade" Americans in need of federal disaster assistance from applying.

"For instance, Trump said this month FEMA is out of money. If you're thinking of applying for FEMA aid, please know that is not even close to true," he said.

FEMA had $27 billion in its disaster relief coffers as of Jan. 8, Dale noted.

"Similarly, the president has said FEMA has no money for North Carolina because it took all that money and gave it to illegal immigrants," said Dale. "That did not happen."

Congress gave FEMA tens of billions of dollars last year for disaster relief. Separately, it gave a "much smaller amount" — $650 million — to help state and local governments shelter undocumented migrants.

"It didn't divert money to shelter migrants — those are two separate pots of funds," said Dale.

Trump has also claimed that hurricane victims can only get $750 in federal aid. But that figure was only an initial emergency assistance for food water and other pressing needs.

"They can also apply for tens of thousands in additional federal assistance, including up to $42,500 each for home repairs," said Dale. "And Jake, I think this political claim is important as the president muses as you say about abolishing FEMA."

Trump has said FEMA hasn't helped North Carolina at all and has been completely absent. While it's true some mountain communities didn't see federal help for days and have faced slow housing assistance or inadequate, FEMA has "certainly been on the ground in the state," Dale said.

FEMA has doled out more than $316 million in cash in addition to another $300 million given to governments for infrastructure repairs and debris cleanup.

"I'm not up here saying FEMA or the Biden administration was perfect responding to this storm or anything else, and some of what President Trump claimed did prove to have a valid basis," said Dale, calling out Trump's claim the agency has political bias. "It later emerged at least one Florida FEMA employee had directed relief teams not to approach homes with pro-Trump signs, and then told CNN that skipping those homes is part of FEMA's avoidance and de-escalation guidance."

Regardless, Dale concluded, despite that valid claim, "he's gotten a lot of other stuff wrong on the subject of FEMA and federal assistance."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Edward Martin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, is asking a federal judge to eliminate all restrictions on the previously incarcerated leaders of the far-right Oath Keepers paramilitary from visiting the capital.

Stewart Rhodes and several other Oath Keepers leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States for their role in the Jan. 6 attack. After Trump commuted their sentences in his sweeping Jan. 6 pardon order, a federal judge issued an amended supervised release order, which limits them from visiting D.C. in general without court permission.

Martin, appointed the same day Trump was sworn in as president, argues that the court doesn't have authority to do this.

"As the terms of supervised release and probation are included in the 'sentences' of the defendants, the Court may not modify the terms of supervised release; the term is no longer active by effect of the Executive Order."

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According to CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Martin further included a whataboutist complaint regarding pre-emptive pardons former President Joe Biden issued for members of his family and other officials likely to be subject to prosecutorial harassment by the Trump administration.

“If a judge decided that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or another individual were forbidden to visit America’s capital — even after receiving a last-minute, preemptive pardon from the former President — I believe most Americans would object," said Martin. "The individuals referenced in our motion have had their sentences commuted — period, end of sentence.” Notably, none of the people Martin is referring to were ever charged or convicted of any offense related to an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rhodes has said he doesn't regret joining in with the Jan. 6 attackers, noted The Hill, but he does say he regrets the violence that occurred.

“I didn’t go into the Capitol. I didn’t tell anybody else to go inside ... I regret that my guys went in. They blundered in along with everybody else. It doesn’t make them criminals. It just makes me kind of stupid.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday blasted Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s nominee to again lead the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, over his involvement in Project 2025 and called on their colleagues to reject his nomination.

Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 900-page conservative blueprint, which seeks to dramatically reshape the federal government and drew much attention throughout Trump’s presidential campaign as Democrats sought to tie the document to him.

Though Trump has repeatedly disavowed Project 2025, he asked several people who were part of the conservative agenda to serve in his second administration.

Vought was the OMB director during Trump’s first administration after serving as deputy director and acting director of the office responsible for administering the federal budget and overseeing the performance of departments throughout the federal government.

During a Thursday press conference, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Vought is “at the levers of power to implement these dangerous, dangerous proposals” outlined in Project 2025, dubbing the nominee its “chief cook and bottle washer.”

The New York Democrat said that while a “good number” of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are “very, very troubling,” Vought is “probably at the very top of the list in terms of how dangerous he is to working people and to America.”

Schumer highlighted how the OMB director “holds one of the most critical positions in the federal government,” adding that “it affects every federal agency, every local economy, every town, city, every American family — so someone in this position has to understand what working families in America need.”

Programs ‘on the chopping block’

Multiple Democrats on the Senate Committee on the Budget — including ranking member Jeff Merkley of Oregon as well as Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico — also lambasted Vought and his involvement in Project 2025.

Murray, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said Vought “has made very clear that as Trump’s budget director, he will put everything … on the chopping block, from programs that people rely on, to the checks and balances that our democracy is actually founded on.”

“Given his extremism and his clear disdain for the rule of law, we should not hand Vought power that he has made clear he will abuse to help billionaires get ahead at working people’s expense,” she added.

Impoundment belief

Vought sat Wednesday for a confirmation hearing in the Senate Budget Committee.

Last week, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to be vetted for the post.

During that hearing, Vought expressed his and Trump’s beliefs that the president has the sole authority to withhold funding Congress has approved through impoundment.

Impoundment refers to when the president withholds funds Congress has already approved. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the president “has no unilateral authority to impound funds.”

In a November announcement of the nomination, Trump said that during his first White House term, Vought “did an excellent job” serving as the OMB director.

He described Vought as an “aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies.”