Daily Kos

@Daily Kos Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the head of right-wing pressure group Turning Point USA, endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president on Thursday night. Turning Point’s history of racist activism falls directly in line with Vance’s bigoted rhetoric in recent years. Speaking to activists in Phoenix about the 2028 election, Kirk said, “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected.” The surprise endorsement comes just a few weeks after Kirk and Vance shared a lingering hug at a Turning Point event that started rumors about the pair. Vice President JD Vance takes the stage during a Turning Point USA event. Charlie Kirk was a bigot who openly promoted racist rhetoric and ideas. During his time leading Turning Point, which he founded, Kirk went after civil rights icons like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who he called “awful.” Kirk called the 1964 Civil Rights Act an “anti-white weapon” and said Black History Month “deepens” racial wounds. The history of Turning Point is littered with racist incidents: a field director for the group sent texts saying “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE;” a chapter held an “affirmative action bake sale;” conference attendees discussed what Adolph Hitler got “right;” another chapter sent around “racist memes and rape jokes;” and so on. The Kirk-Turning Point support of hate meshes well with Vance, who serves in one of the most racist administrations in U.S. history. During the 2024 campaign, Vance repeated and amplified President Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric accusing Haitian immigrants of eating domestic pets. Vance did this despite being aware that there was no truth to Trump’s accusation. When a DOGE staffer’s racist writings were exposed and he was pushed out, Vance said in February he should be re-hired. “JD Vance on Halloween” by Pedro Molina More recently, in October, Kirk defended a Young Republican group after their chats pushing racist and antisemitic ideas were exposed. The chats made jokes about gas chambers, called Black people monkeys, and posted pro-Nazi commentary. “I refuse to join the pearl clutching,” Vance wrote in response to the disclosure. That same month, Vance falsely claimed that hospital benefits were being given to undocumented immigrants and complained that they were “very often a person who can't even speak English.” Vance’s bigoted rhetoric makes it clear why Trump put him in charge of purging Smithsonian museums of exhibits that tell the truth about American racism. To be sure, it is far too early to predict the outcome of the 2028 presidential race but a recent poll pitting Vance against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may give Erika Kirk second thoughts. The poll from The Argument/Verasight showed Vance losing to Ocasio-Cortez by a margin of 51% to 49%.

Daily Kos

Wife of murdered bigot endorses Vance for 2028

Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the head of right-wing pressure group Turning Point USA, endorsed Vice President JD Van...

@Daily Kos President Donald Trump's name is being affixed to the outside of the Kennedy Center just one day after its board—which he stacked with his allies—voted to add Dear Leader’s name to the cultural center. And they’re doing it in violation of federal law. Tarps are installed in front of the sign on the Kennedy Center on Dec. 19. Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said in a post on X that if work was indeed taking place to “physically change the sign on the Kennedy Center,” then it “needs to stop as it’s illegal to change without Congress.” Photos taken of the building on Friday clearly show Trump’s name being added. That’s proof positive that the board’s so-called vote was basically fixed and that Trump’s lackeys planned to put his name on the building, no matter what. The vote was merely a way for them to make their illegal move appear legitimate. Trump himself played dumb on Thursday, saying he had no idea the name change was happening but that it is a huge honor—even though he had mused about the name change earlier this month. YouTube Video Of course, this is far from the first time the Trump administration has ignored the law to do whatever it wants. Trump infamously had the White House’s East Wing bulldozed to make way for his hideously ostentatious $400 million ballroom—which will dwarf the size of the White House itself. Trump also unilaterally tried to rename the Gulf of Mexico and the Department of Defense. However, the name change for the Department of Defense is not official, since it would take an act of Congress to do that. And he can’t force other countries to adopt his “Gulf of America” rebrand. Meanwhile, Trump’s name was also affixed to the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent organization that Trump effectively—and illegally—shuttered. And his administration is illegally trying to mint $1 coins bearing Trump's face, even though federal law states that a living individual cannot appear on American currency. At the end of the day, though, Trump is an egomaniac who—rather than focus on making the economy work better for everyday people—is more concerned with plastering his face and name all over the country like a dictator. “What's next, the Trump-Washington monument? The Trump-Lincoln Memorial? Every building in D.C.? Are there any self-respecting Republicans willing to stand up to their Dear Leader? Completely insane,” Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland wrote in a post on X.

Daily Kos

Kennedy Center already defiled with Trump's name

President Donald Trump

@Daily Kos What do President Donald Trump and a nuclear fusion company have in common? Unfortunately, more than many Americans like to see. The download screen for Donald Trump’s Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer on March 20, 2024, in New York. On Thursday, Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the president’s Truth Social echo chamber website, announced that it signed a $6 billion stock-funded merger with TAE Technologies. “As our country positions itself to achieve global technology dominance in AI, quantum computing, and other groundbreaking innovations, we’re merging with @TAE to build the engine we believe will power America’s technology revolution,” the California-based company said in a press release. Trump Media’s new business partner TAE intends to build the country’s first nuclear fusion reactor used to create commercial energy in a presently energy-starved economy. Of course, the whole reason we’re energy-starved is because of the artificial intelligence race that the U.S. has dived into headfirst. AI data centers require a tremendous amount of energy, and it sure does seem like the president, taking a page from his cash grabs at cryptocurrencies, is setting himself up to profit—again. But it’s not just this odd merger that’s positioning Trump and his family for a big potential payout down the road. The president has a lot of sway when it comes to how quickly TAE Technologies can grow. Should the company choose to pursue them, grants or other government support could certainly come more easily with the president’s name attached. Related | The dark reality of making US the ‘AI capital of the world’ TMTG intends to supply $300 million up front to TAE Technologies, which is ultimately a small number compared to the fusion power company’s other big-time investors, including Google. TAE’s CEO Michl Binderbauer told CNN that this futuristic, unestablished technology would be a “multi-billion dollar undertaking.” “The velocity you can get the capital is differentiating. If I raise $2 billion over five years I can’t build the plant sufficiently fast,” he said. Nuclear fusion is a clean energy idea that has yet to reach commercial use. It’s unclear if this will be a successful venture, but having the president and his Cabinet of loyalists greasing the wheels could certainly help. The president and his sons Don Jr. and Eric have used his time in office to sink their claws into lucrative side hustles. Truth Social, the social media app used by Trump as a bully pulpit, has branched out into the financial sector with Truth.Fi, cell phones with Trump Mobile, and streaming with Truth+. But the Trump family also launched its own crypto trading platform, World Liberty Financial, shortly before the start of Donald’s second term. He notably made some crypto-friendly policy decisions soon after taking office. It’s unclear if this merger will pay off sooner rather than later for the Trump family, though. TAE is scheduled to break ground on a power plant in 2026 at an undetermined location but, according to Binderbaur, it will take “five-ish” years to start producing power. Related | Inside the Trump administration's deranged push to power AI with dirty energy

Daily Kos

Why is Trump Media going nuclear?

What do President Donald Trump and a nuclear fusion company have in common? Unfortunately, more than many Americans like to see.�

@Daily Kos By Marty Schladen for Ohio Capital Journal Since online sports gambling became legal in Ohio in 2023, sports scandals have been mounting. Getting less attention is the human toll, which has grown rapidly. With the stress of the holidays — and college and professional football playoffs — approaching, a Columbus-based clinician said it’s important to understand when gambling passes from being simple fun to a real problem. Kelley Breidigan is an assistant clinical professor at Ohio State’s College of Social Work. She said that measures of problem gambling have been on the rise in all 38 states that have legalized online sports betting. “Most folks are assigning this to the Supreme Court decision in 2018 that allowed states to legalize and regulate sports betting,” she said. “With that legalization, what we’re starting to see is that as online betting increased, it coincided with record-breaking demand for help for gambling addiction.” The costs of problem gambling can be demonstrated several ways. For example, people’s financial health has deteriorated in a big way. The UCLA Anderson School of Management in April reported that entire states’ average credit scores took a hit when sports betting was legalized. That’s not just the average credit scores of gamblers, but of everybody in the state. “Our main finding is that overall consumers’ financial health is modestly deteriorating as the average credit score in states with legalized sports gambling decreases by roughly 0.8 points,” the report said. “When states introduce access to online sports gambling, average credit scores decline by nearly three times as much (2.75 points). The decline in credit score is associated with changes in indicators of excessive debt.” Not surprisingly, the researchers also found an increase in other, more serious problems. “We find a substantial increase in average bankruptcy rates, debt sent to collections, use of debt consolidation loans, and auto loan delinquencies,” the UCLA report said. “Together, these results indicate that the ease of access to sports gambling is harming consumer financial health by increasing their level of debt.” In Connecticut, 12.4% of lottery revenue and 51% of sports betting revenue comes from about 2% of people with severe gambling addiction, a 2024 report from Gemini Research shows. Amid accusations that big-time players are rigging at least parts of games, Gov. Mike DeWine last month told the Associated Press that he regrets signing Ohio’s sports betting law. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio. He’s taken steps to limit bets on minor aspects of games — or “prop” bets — that seem particularly prone to abuse. Speaking of the gambling companies, DeWine referred to “the deep, deep, deep pockets they have to advertise and do everything they can to get someone to place that bet…” the AP reported. Breidigan, the Ohio State clinician, said that marketing sends the message that sports betting is a normal, safe activity. Indeed, watch any sports broadcast and you’re likely to see Kevin Hart and LeBron James laughing it up as they promote the Draft Kings betting platform. Breidigan said such promotion and the ease of betting via cell phone have mainlined gambling to a huge new audience. “This was always relegated to the fringes of society — people who had gambling issues. What this did is completely normalize gambling,” she said. “It made it so easy for people to just pick up their phone and make a bet. That has had a severe impact on individuals and families.” In addition to deteriorating finances, other social costs are mounting. There are an estimated 255,000 problem gamblers in Ohio. And the United Way of Greater Cleveland reported a 277% increase in gambling-related calls to its helpline in the first month of legalized sports betting when compared to a year earlier. Even though legalized gambling creates a stream tax revenue, it’s still a losing bet in terms of public policy, the peer-reviewed journal Public Health reported in October 2024. It cited studies in Sweden and France finding that the social costs of gambling outweighed the taxes it generated. And, as people develop gambling problems, they can face catastrophic personal consequences, the report said. “Rates of attempted suicide and suicidal ideation are much higher among individuals with serious gambling problems and/or clinically diagnosed Gambling Disorder than among the general population,” it said. “Rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts have been found to be even higher among individuals in treatment for Gambling Disorder: as high as 81.4% for suicidal ideation and 30.2% for suicide attempts in the past 12 months.” Breidigan said that it’s important to understand that problem gambling functions in ways similar to problems with substances. “What I think a lot of people don’t realize is that gambling actually stimulates the brain’s reward system just like drugs or alcohol,” she said. Advertisements for sports betting apps are seen in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Nov. 29. “The way our brains are set up, once it acclimates to a certain activity or substance or whatever it is, it needs more to get the same kind of dopamine hit to get that feel-good response.” The reasons some people might be more prone to problem gambling than others can vary. Bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders as well as depression might underlie a gambling problem. But so can many other things, Breidigan said. It’s important to recognize when gambling goes from being an amusement to something more. That’s when people “develop an incredible preoccupation with gambling. They’re constantly thinking about it. They’re planning it. There are increased bets… You’ll see them where they’re chasing losses — they’re trying to win back that money that they lost,” Breidigan said. As with other addictions, problem gambling often reaches a point where it damages families. “A lot of times we see a lot of lying that really affects the family and friends because they’re hiding the extent of the losses that they have,” Breidigan said. “There’s a huge issue where they’re borrowing money. They’ve got unpaid bills. They’re selling possessions so that they can keep funding their gambling.” As with other forms of addiction, help is available for problem gamblers. Breitigan said it’s important for people to get over their embarrassment, and understand that they’re far from alone. She said a good place to begin seeking help is the Ohio problem gambling helpline. “There are some people who try very hard, but despite their best efforts, they’re still engaging in this harmful behavior,” Breitigan said. “Oftentimes it’s friends and family saying, ‘You need help.’ If you’re hearing those sorts of things, or thinking about them yourself, it’s probably a good idea to talk to someone. The job of a mental health professional is not to shame. There’s absolutely no point in that.”

Daily Kos

With human costs of gambling mounting in Ohio, more are seeking help

By Marty Schladen for� Ohio Capital Journal Since online sports gambling became legal in Ohio in 2023, sports scandals have been mounting. Gett...

@Daily Kos Vanity Fair’s eyebrow-raising tell-all story on the chaotic inner workings of the Trump administration was overshadowed by accompanying photos that showcased lip filler injection scabs, deep wrinkles, and weird shots of Secretary of State Marco Rubio that are reminiscent of “The Blair Witch Project.” Writer Chris Whipple captured an unfiltered, up-close look at President Donald Trump’s closest confidants and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ surprisingly loose lips, but it was photographer Christopher Anderson’s images that took the online gossip mill by storm. When the first batch of photos was released Tuesday, a zoomed-in shot of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s face spread like wildfire across social media sites. People pored over the sticky gloss smeared over obvious injection sites for her lip filler, and the foundation and mascara flakes tucked into crevices beneath the 28-year-old’s eyes. How's Karoline Leavitt faring in the onslaught of questions about the Epstein files? "It's pretty clear he wants us to be aggressively offensive when it comes to this issue."

Vanity Fair

Trump’s Inner Circle, On the Record (Part 2 of 2)

Susie Wiles discusses the Epstein files, Pete Hegseth’s war tactics, and “retribution” against Letitia James.

pic.twitter.com/2JGVlODcln— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) December 16, 2025 Other less-than-flattering closeup photos of Vice President JD Vance, Rubio, Wiles, and top White House racist Stephen Miller were published as well. MAGA talking reacted defensively, with conservative influencer Benny Johnson calling the snaps part of a “reality distortion machine” and tweeting that it was a clear “smear” piece. A whiny Rubio also slammed Anderson’s work. “It is obvious to most people that Vanity Fair deliberately manipulated pictures and reported statements without context to try and make the WH team look bad,” he tweeted. On the other side of the aisle, however, many White House critics laughed and celebrated the unfiltered photos of an administration notorious for being obsessed with appearances. But the raw truth came from Anderson himself when he told The Washington Post in a Wednesday interview that he has been taking these kinds of portraits for a long, long time. Related | Trump’s top aide exposes White House chaos—and regrets it “It was my attempt to circumnavigate the stage-managed image of politics and cut through the image that the public relations team wants to be presented, and get at something that feels more revealing about the theater of politics,” he told the outlet en route to another photo shoot in Munich. This style, he said, was more “close, intimate, [and] revealing.” And that is something he clearly captured—for better or worse. While MAGA revolted over the idea of publishing up-close, unedited pictures, Anderson said that to retouch the images would have been “a lie.” “I would be hiding the truth of what I saw there,” he explained. But hiding reality from the media is this administration’s M.O. In October, the president hated a cover photo used by Time magazine, despite the photo depicting him accurately. Soon after, the outlet capitulated to Trump’s complaints and changed the cover image. Trump administration officials have attacked the media for how they portray them in other ways, too. The Associated Press was booted from the White House press briefing room until a judge intervened for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, per Trump’s demand. Multiple media outlets gave up their access to the Pentagon when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth required prior approval for all published information. Journalists and TV hosts who even hinted at a negative stance on murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk were attacked and fired. Sensing a theme? The media’s portrayal is crucial to an administration battling public relations nightmares over its inhumane treatment of immigrants while stripping Americans of affordable and life-changing health care. And Trump’s deputy chief of staff Miller seems to know that. The architect of Trump’s cruel mass deportation scheme approached the photographer after the shoot, seemingly satisfied with his work, Anderson recalled. “And then when we were finished, he comes up to me to shake my hand and say goodbye,” the photographer said. “And he says to me, ‘You know, you have a lot of power in the discretion you use to be kind to people.’ And I looked at him, and I said, ‘You know, you do, too.’”

Daily Kos

Unfiltered images of Trump's minions reveal the ugly truth

Vanity Fair’s eyebrow-raising tell-all story on the chaotic inner workings of the Trump administration was overshadowed by accompanying photos th...

@Daily Kos If Carly Simon was writing music in 2025, Donald Trump would absolutely think her songs were about him. The egomaniacal president has plastered his likeness across a slew of things and places in his lifetime, but nothing trumps his own vanity efforts quite like his second term in the White House. Here are a few of Trump’s strangest targets from 2025. National park passes If there’s anyone who doesn’t give off the vibe of a hiker who loves the great outdoors, it’s President Trump. Yet after deciding to cut critical staffing and transfer park rangers with policing capabilities to cities, Trump is boldly putting his face on the national park pass. But not without a fight. The environmental group Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in Washington challenging the National Park Service’s efforts to make the changes. “Blotting out the majesty of America’s national parks with a close-up of his own face is Trump’s crassest, most ego-driven action yet,” Kierán Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote in an email to The New York Times. The final verdict is yet to be decided, but if Trump is successful, the new park passes festooned with his mug will go live at the start of 2026. Unsurprisingly, an enterprising outdoor enthusiast has already seized upon a way to make national park passes beautiful again. Trump’s “Gold Card” For $5 million, immigrants willing to shell out the cash will get U.S. citizenship—complete with a card adorned by the president’s gilded face. A poster showing the Trump Gold Card on display during an Oval Office press conference. Really, nothing says Trump more than literal gold-plated favoritism for the wealthy while rounding up and deporting poor brown immigrants in inhumane ways. Federal buildings Massive banners have popped up across Washington displaying Trump’s huge face on the facade of federal buildings. According to findings by Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, the Trump administration used more than $50,000 in taxpayer money to foot the bill for this egotistical, autocratic display. U.S. currency This one has its own legal murkiness, but after striking the penny for good, the president decided the best course of action would be to slap his face on a new $1 coin. Apparently the coin will be the Trump administration’s way of celebrating the United States’ 250th birthday. Unbelievably, the president also thinks that hosting a UFC match on the White House lawn is an equally appropriate “celebration.” Upping the ego-feeding ante, Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr pushed forward the idea of a Trump-faced $250 bill. Trump promptly reposted the idea to his Truth Social account. The Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace On Dec. 4, the administration currently under fire for carrying out strikes on manned boats off the coast of Venezuela renamed the Institute of Peace to honor the sitting president. It was an ironic move, considering Trump empowered multibillionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the agency from within. Related | What the f-ck is the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace? The White House White House walls usually honor past presidents—but Trump is currently doing the opposite of that. Instead, he’s seemingly decided the White House walls are best adorned by multiple portraits of … well, himself. A painting of President Donald Trump is seen in the Grand Foyer as Trump speaks about investing in America in the Cross Hall of the White House on April 30. From a painting depicting his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, to his infamous mugshot (and the New York Post’s front-page coverage of it), the president is plastering the People’s House with his face. Imagine stumbling across such an image while wandering the White House in the dead of night. He’s so vain, indeed.

Daily Kos

Trump won't stop plastering his face all over the place

If Carly Simon was writing music in 2025, Donald Trump would absolutely think her songs were about him . The egomaniacal president has plastered h...

@Daily Kos Frequently yelling, President Donald Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday, telling Americans that their experiences of the current economy were wrong, and that actually it was the “hottest” in the world. However, hours after he spoke, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the costs of groceries remain stubbornly high under Trump’s watch. YouTube Video In his speech, Trump praised his tariff policy, saying “tariffs” were his “favorite word” because they had purportedly made America “the hottest country anywhere in the world.” But within hours of the speech’s conclusion, Trump’s message was undermined. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its regular Consumer Price Index report on Thursday morning. The report shows that food prices in November increased 2.6% year over year—higher than in November 2024, when the pace of food inflation was 2.4%. The BLS report details that prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs increased even more, by 4.7% over the past year. In 2024, Trump campaigned against high food prices under the Biden administration, and claimed he would push policies lowering costs on his first day in office. That has not happened. In reality, Trump has increased tariffs on goods, and retailers are passing those increased costs on to consumers. Families are able to afford fewer things, and the change in spending habits is working its way through the economy. And while the BLS report also reveals that core inflation—which excludes food and energy prices—eased slightly in November, many economists are warning that the data is troubled. For example, the report was delayed due to the Republican Party’s government shutdown, and much of the data gathering took place shortly before Black Friday, when prices were artificially lower, rather than across the entire month of November, as typically occurs. Before the report’s release, former Federal Reserve economist Alan Detmeister said the overall report would be a “very poor reflection of reality.” The wife of a civil service employee who was furloughed due to the government shutdown unpacks groceries her husband received from a food bank, in Mississippi, on Nov. 3. And other data agrees with that point. A Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Tuesday showed the unemployment rate is up to 4.6%, the highest it has been since September 2021, when the nation was still facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, said the unemployment data revealed that the U.S. was “in a hiring recession”—the opposite of the “hot” state Trump touted in his abrasive speech. Trump’s speech also adds to swirling questions about his mental state. When he wasn’t misconstruing Americans’ economic struggles, Trump used his bigoted anti-immigration actions to claim he was taking action to help American workers, arguing that deporting immigrants would mean “more housing and more jobs.” In a cynical attempt to shore up his sagging approval ratings, Trump also announced a “warrior dividend” for military members, sending them $1,776 before Christmas, but this was actually a congressionally approved subsidy that was previously appropriated. Democratic leaders panned Trump’s shouting. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MS NOW, “It was an unhinged speech that was, of course, untethered from reality and truth. You know, Donald Trump has made things worse for the American people.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “President Trump’s speech last night showed he lives in a bubble completely disconnected from the reality everyday Americans are seeing and feeling.” “Behind the absolutely unhinged delivery there is a simple truth: Trump’s corruption is helping his friends and family while things are getting worse for you and yours,” Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey wrote in a post on social media. “He’s failing you because he doesn’t care about you.” Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said the speech was a “sad attempt at distraction,” adding, “Americans know the truth: costs are up, unemployment is up, and he STILL won’t release the Epstein Files.” Trump’s speech was out of touch with growing concerns about affordability, something Trump has called a “hoax” even as polls show the economy and inflation are their top issues. Meanwhile, day after day, congressional Republicans are choosing not to run for reelection. It is a sign that Trump’s economy is a political loser—and more yelling isn’t going to help.

Daily Kos

Trump screams at America that everything is fine

Frequently yelling, President Donald Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday, telling Americans that their experiences of the current economy were ...

@Daily Kos Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking time away from murdering boaters in the Caribbean to take aim at the Army chaplain corps’ “Spiritual Fitness Guide.” Now that’s multitasking. Hegseth is mad that the guide only mentions God once and never mentions virtue, but does mention “feelings” 11 times. The horror. So, he’s getting rid of it. He posted a video on X with a caption reading, “We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again.” Donald Trump’s toadies are all such monsters, but they are also so cringe. Imagine having to constantly frame everything just as Dear Leader would, ever striving to hit that note of petulant bullying that comes so effortlessly to the president. Related | Hegseth demands military commit more war crimes But back to Petulant Pete. “In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers. Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care,” he whined. Yeah, wouldn’t want a religion that nourishes the body and soul now, would we? That stuff is for pussies. Apparently, it’s not just that the guide was too touchy-feely. Hegseth also thinks that the military’s recognition of a wide range of religions is an “ongoing war on warriors.” So Hegseth is going to “streamline” the list of which religious affiliations will be recognized by the military. No, he hasn’t bothered to explain what will count or how he will decide, but you can count on servicemembers being forced into religion. “There will be a top-down cultural shift putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health,” he declared. Unfortunately, we know what “spiritual well-being” looks like for Hegseth, and it is not great. It looks like Hegseth pushing violent Christian nationalist content on official government social media accounts. It looks like grooming codes that violate the religious freedom of Muslim and Sikh soldiers by forcing them to either violate their faith and shave, or be forced out of the military. It looks like Doug Wilson, the head of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Hegseth attends a CREC church, and here are some of Pastor Doug’s cool beliefs: No same-sex marriage or even Pride parades! Some enslavers were totally good people! Non-Christians should not hold elective office! Women should stay home! Sex is an act of colonization where a man conquers and a woman surrenders! It looks like Hegseth’s Deus Vult tattoo, a symbol used by white Christian nationalists. As a D.C. National Guard member, Hegseth was detailed to protect Joe Biden during the 2021 inauguration until a fellow service member informed leadership that his ink was a white supremacist symbol. It looks like Hegseth’s “kafir” tattoo. Written in Arabic, the term translates as “infidel” or “unbeliever” and is used by far-right Islamophobes. Proud Boy Joe Biggs also sports one. Related | Defense bill could force Hegseth to tell truth on boat strikes Hegseth is openly trying to transform the military—once a shining example of American diversity, seriously!—into an all-white, all-Christian, all-xenophobic fighting force that will follow Trump anywhere. Probably to war in Venezuela first. But at least soldiers won’t have to worry about chaplains giving them any comfort. Just muscular virtue all the way down.

Daily Kos

For Pete's sake! Hegseth wants to make spirituality manly again?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking time away from murdering boaters in the Caribbean to take aim at the Army chaplain corps’ “Spiritual F...

@Daily Kos DLCC plans $50M effort to flip 650 state seats nationwide, with Arizona a top priority By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy for Arizona Mirror National Democrats are looking to spend big next year to win legislative seats across the nation, and flipping control of the Arizona Legislature will once again be a top priority, even after record spending in 2024 resulted in Republicans expanding their majorities in both chambers. A memo from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee outlines plans to flip more than 650 state legislative seats from red to blue, including in battleground states like Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Wisconsin. That is possible, the DLCC believes, because of the historic unpopularity of President Donald Trump in his second term and a resulting hostility among voters toward Republicans up and down the ballot. “The favorable political environment taking shape for Democrats is on a scale that only comes once in a generation, similar to what Republicans took advantage of in 2010 with Project REDMAP, when they flipped hundreds of seats and fundamentally shifted the country’s political trajectory by cementing GOP control in the states,” the memo says. The DLCC memo says that the group plans to target 42 legislative chambers, the most it has ever attempted, with an estimated $50 million budget, the largest single-year budget to date, according to the memo. “2026 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally transform state legislative power in Arizona and the data shows us the next election is our strongest opportunity yet to flip these chambers,” DLCC President Heather Williams said in a statement to the Mirror. “We aren’t wasting a moment to execute on our winning strategy to flip Arizona’s legislature and deliver a new trifecta.” This isn’t the first time DLCC has spent big and made big plans to flip Arizona’s legislature. In 2023, the DLCC announced record-high investments in races in the state in an effort to flip the legislature as at the time Republicans had a one-seat majority in both chambers. Pro-Democratic groups spent more than $10 million backing legislative candidates in the Grand Canyon State, though the efforts weren’t successful: Republicans increased their majority in both chambers. “It is the bi-annual confident push by Democrats that they’re going to flip one house of the legislature,” Republican political consultant Barrett Marson told the Mirror. “Every two years, Democrats think it is the year.” Marson pointed to gains made by Republicans in the legislature and how some Democrats have pivoted on immigration as a reaction to Trump. New polling by Gallup has shown that Americans have grown more accepting of immigration over the past year, shifting away from the tougher policies that gained Trump larger support. Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, who co-chairs the Arizona DLCC, said that her caucus has a “diversity” of opinions on the issue of immigration, but at the end of the day, Arizonans want a “lawful deportation process,” not one with “extreme and excessive overreach.” Students march in protest at Arizona State University in January. The Trump administration has come under fire for its handling of its mass deportation agenda, as ProPublica has uncovered more than 170 American citizens detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which does not track how often they hold them. “I think the vast majority of Arizonans can agree this is not how we view a lawful immigration issue,” Sundareshan said. But immigration is hardly to be the only issue at the forefront of the next legislative session, which begins in January. Sundareshan said Democrats intend to leverage the affordability crisis in the upcoming session and next year’s elections. “Specifically in Arizona, we can point to rising grocery prices that are a result of our agriculture industry being harmed by tariffs,” she said, noting that Arizona Republicans are working in “lockstep” with Trump to back policies that harm Arizonans. Economists anticipate that the impact of the tariffs should hit consumers’ wallets by the start of next year, while Arizona farmers are saying that billions of dollars in aid meant to offset the impacts of the tariffs is too little, too late. “This is the year where a lot of voters are going to realize that Trump and Republicans are lying to them,” Sundarashen said. “I think it is clear that a lot of the policies and priorities we have long championed as Democrats have been to ensure that corporations cannot continually raise prices and rates.” She said that they intend to point to policy ideas Democrats are trying to put forward to lower those costs and increase affordability, though she conceded they’ll be fighting against a Republican majority that will almost certainly be unwilling to hear those bills or messages. To Marson, Republicans already have wins on affordability in recent years, including repealing the rental tax and grocery tax, policy changes that were spearheaded by GOP lawmakers. Marson also pointed to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signing an executive order to align the state’s tax code with cuts included in Trump’s budget bill as another sign of things to come.

Daily Kos

Democrats aim to flip control of the Arizona legislature in 2026 as Trump approval hits record lows

DLCC plans $50M effort to flip 650 state seats nationwide, with Arizona a top priority By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy for� Arizona Mirror Nationa...

@Daily Kos President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that would reclassify cannabis under federal law—a move that would mark the most significant shift in federal cannabis policy in decades. According to senior administration officials who spoke with CNN, the order would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Schedule III substances, by contrast, are considered to have “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Immigrant workers trim cannabis flowers at the Loving Kindness Farms in Gardena, California in April 2019. The shift would pull cannabis out of the same legal category as heroin and LSD, easing restrictions that have slowed serious medical studies for decades. Reclassification would also give the Food and Drug Administration greater latitude to evaluate cannabis as a treatment, potentially expanding its use as a pharmaceutical for patients like seniors and veterans. According to ABC News, the executive order is expected to acknowledge that the decades-long delay in rescheduling cannabis has not served Americans who could benefit from medical applications, particularly for chronic pain and other conditions. Still, the White House has been careful to stress that the move would not legalize cannabis nationwide. Instead, it would argue that the current classification has actively impeded research into the drug’s safety and efficacy. NBC News reports that the order would likely direct either the DEA administrator or Attorney General Pam Bondi to complete the formal rescheduling process and publish a final rule. That process began under the Biden administration in 2024 but has been stalled for administrative reasons since early this year. Timing remains fluid. One White House official told CNN that the signing was planned for Thursday, though ABC reports it could happen as soon as Wednesday. Trump himself previewed the move Monday, telling reporters that reclassification is under serious consideration. “We are considering that because a lot of people want to see it—the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify,” he said. “So we are looking at that very strongly.” The draft order could also go further. Two sources told NBC that it could include a directive urging Congress to pass the SAFER Banking Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow legal cannabis businesses to access banks and financial institutions without fear of federal prosecution. Another potential provision would instruct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to explore reimbursement for CBD products. President Donald Trump and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz stand beside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a press conference. The push follows a series of meetings inside the White House, including a session last week in which Trump hosted cannabis industry executives. Other discussions included FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. Trump has been signaling openness to reform for some time. During the 2024 campaign, he pledged to “unlock the medical uses of marijuana.” That same year, he broke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by supporting a state ballot initiative to legalize recreational cannabis, which ultimately failed. Privately, administration officials have spent much of 2025 studying how to proceed with rescheduling. But the move carries political risk. Some MAGA-aligned conservatives have warned that loosening federal restrictions would invite social disorder. Over the weekend, The Daily Signal argued that rescheduling cannabis was “a very bad idea,” with contributor Paul J. Larkin writing that “the cannabis plant is not a ‘safe’ drug.” Skepticism has also come from the left. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has pushed for broader decriminalization, but now he’s criticizing the expected order as insufficient, calling it “an attempt to boost [Trump’s] pathetic approval ratings.” “Trump will try to gaslight everyone into believing he just made pot legal. Wrong,” Wyden wrote on X. “He has not decriminalized cannabis or expunged the records of black and Latino Americans stuck in prison for minor drug offenses.” Indeed, thousands of Americans remain incarcerated for low-level cannabis offenses. And yet, public opinion has moved decisively. A November Gallup poll found that 64% of U.S. adults support legalizing marijuana—far beyond what Trump’s order would accomplish. A cartoon by Drew Sheneman. Complicating matters further, Trump signed a provision last month cracking down on low-THC hemp-derived products sold nationwide, even in states without legal recreational cannabis—a reminder of how uneven and contradictory federal policy remains. CNN reports that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles previously asked agencies to weigh in on rescheduling, with their responses compiled by the Domestic Policy Council and delivered to her over the summer. A more than two-hour Oval Office meeting on Dec. 9 revisited the issue, though no final decision was made. Trump appears ready to press ahead anyway, even if it irritates parts of his base. The payoff, if it comes, would be incremental—fewer barriers for researchers, and some relief for patients who have spent years caught between state laws and federal prohibition. But whether that adds up to a real shift in cannabis policy or simply a change in labels with limited practical effect is the question the administration now has to answer

Daily Kos

Trump likely to piss off MAGA buds with new cannabis order

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that would reclassify cannabis under federal law—a move that w...