curated news excerpts & citations
TNR: The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned
Call them the Cassandras: the people—mostly not white and male—who smelled the fascism all over Trump from jump street. Why were they “alarmists,” and how did “anti-alarmism” become cool?
… They weren’t time travelers but saw what was coming clearly enough. They called Trump’s movement fascist from the very start, and often predicted specific milestones of our democratic decline well in advance. They were convinced they were right—and often beside themselves with worry. Accordingly, they did everything they could to get others to listen.
But not enough people did, and many attacked them—even as events proved them right, again and again. …
(TNR more…)
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Rebecca Crosby, Noel Sims, and Judd Legum: Breaking precedent, networks interrupt prime time for Trump political diatribe
On Wednesday night at 9 PM Eastern, President Trump delivered a prime time address to the nation that was aired by all major broadcast networks. It preempted the season finale of “Survivor” on CBS, one of the network’s most highly-rated shows, the season finale of “The Floor” on Fox, and holiday specials on ABC and NBC.
Typically, networks will interrupt their primetime schedule for presidents to address wars, crises, or very significant new policies. In his remarks on Wednesday, Trump delivered his standard talking points, bragging about his mass deportation policies and tariffs and attacking Democrats and the Biden administration. The only crisis was Trump’s sagging approval ratings.
(Rebecca Crosby, Noel Sims, and Judd Legum more…)DailyBeast: Trump Spills Real Reason for Manic Address When Cameras Stop
NOW IT MAKES SENSE
Susie Wiles made me do it, the president explained after his disastrous televised address.Brian Allen: Trump’s $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” Is a Rebranded Housing Subsidy, Not New Money
Sarah Jones & Jason Easley: Trump Steals Money From The Troops To Give The Troops Checks
Trump is taking congressionally allocated housing assistance funds away from the troops to pay for his $1,776 checks to the troops stunt.
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Dispatch: The Malaise Speech
… in rereading it this morning, I wonder if Carter got a bad rap. For instance, this rings a bell nearly 50 years on:
We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.It took us a while to choose that path, but we did choose it eventually. And national failure does appear to be the likely destination.
(Dispatch more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – December 18, 2025
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Joyce Vance: Thursday Evening
Tonight, at just about the same time, there was news in both the Brown University shooting case and in the prosecution of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan. I’m shifting gears, and rather than what I’d been working on for this evening, I’ll update you briefly on both of those situations.
(Joyce Vance more…)
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HuffPost: Board Rules ‘Unanimously’ To Name Kennedy Center After Trump
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However, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) disputed claims that the vote was unanimous.“For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,” Beatty wrote on social media.
Sarah Jones & Jason Easley: Trump Rigged The Vote To Illegally Rename The Kennedy Center After Himself
DailyBeast: Kennedy Center Musician Describes Sea of Empty Seats After Trump Takeover
The National Symphony Orchestra’s principal violist fears for the future of the venue as audiences stay away.
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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