I'm not sure broken is the right word. She's made a conscious decision to be this way. No one's holding a gun to her head. This is who she's chosen to be, and for her and millions of other people, this is normal.
I think you have a different definition of broken. It has nothing to do with being forced to say something. She's broken bc she enjoys being a monster and all those that agree with her are broken too. But this is all based on an opinion.
Broken is a subjective term, TJ. Kelly's moral baseline is orthogonal to mine and yours. She could just as easily call me and you monsters for wanting "those people" to come work in the United States. And at the end of the day, the really issue isn't Kelly. The real issue is the great and good American people who created the conditions for this to happen to the Haitian community.
I think you are right about it being a conscious decision. She has found fame and considerable fortune in being a Deplorable and craves the taste and smell of it all. But I suspect it also comes from enough people telling her enough times over the years that she is special, to the point that not only she believes it, but also that she subconsciously plays the card whenever it makes for a winning hand. It takes little to no imagination to see her saying "Don't you know who I am?" anytime she does not get her way with someone else.
Broken implies that something is trying to work "right" but can't. This is gleeful hate and curelty. The lives of people are simply the stage set for the performance - of no real consequence. She is the great thing that justifies all and she know exactly what she is doing. It is really just pretend hate.
Kelly found out what Tucker Carlson discovered. You can go from being pretty conservative to making a gob smack ton of money by spouting far out wack job ideas. Is capitalism great or what!!
Do the mean, nasty, and glib lazy-brained like Megyn Kelly not realize that on any given day, they could be involved in a car accident and become paralyzed, or on any given day a loved family member could have a stroke and become helplessly paralyzed, and end up needing the sympathetic portion of humanity themselves to survive in this world? Do they truly feel no sympathy for others? Even if they aren't in a position to help, what is this bizarre need to actually amplify and spread their hatred and carelessness?
This. It bodes ill for us Boomers but even worse for the generation after us. Health care cannot survive without immigrants, and to call this Supreme Court decision and the far right reaction cruel, which God knows it is, is to neglect how remarkably short sighted it is. Trump doesn’t care. He’ll be long gone. The destruction he’s unleashed will last a very long time. Expand the damn court.
Hard agree. On the "illegal news" podcast I listened to earlier today, Andrew Weismann suggests that the combination of various budget cuts and policy changes (gutting support of basic research, changes in vaccine approvals, nursing education not considered professional etc.) will have a significant negative impact on health care in America that is quietly aggregating behind the scene with few people yet noticing. I put this situation in that same bucket.
I think of "Angels in America," where the one-time worst person in America - Roy Cohn - is cared for by the ex-drag queen Belize. (Not that Belize likes him. But he still cares for him.)
This country will rue the day we spat on our immigrants.
And Kelly, Kelly ... what kind of name is that? Irish, I think? So despised in the 19th century? Oh, she's Italian on her mother's side? Need I say more?
Sorry, Megyn. I know you thought you'd pulled up the ladder and that you were as white and pure as a Mayflower descendant, didn't you?
The right wing media ecosystem rewards abhorrent behavior, it's only going to get worse as long as Trump is in power, and Musk controls X. They need to constantly radicalize in order to keep getting attention.
She is so far beyond my comprehension. As an empathetic person I can truly say that I will never understand how people can be so cruel and evil. I am not naive—I know all too well how many evil people are in this world. Maybe that’s why I prefer to hang out with my dog and cat along with very few people.
I don’t get it. What filled Megyn Kelly with so much hate? Clearly this isn’t really about immigration status. It’s hatred for people because they are brown or black, but since they can’t directly attack all brown and black people (yet), so focus on immigrants.
Kim, I wouldn't waste a lot of energy trying to figure out why Kelly is what she is. It's sort of like trying to figure out why Trump is the way he is. The real problem is 77 million people created the conditions for this to happen to the Haitian community by returning a man who attempted a coup to the presidency.
I'd guess at least 70 million of them haven't changed their opinion at all, we just have to hope they're not as motivated to cast a ballot next election.
It's not just rightwing hate, it's ratings, baby, for her podcast, as if she needs the money. She tried to go mainstream once, and that was an utter failure bcuz she isn't.
She is the way she is because it is now OK to be the way she is. I suspect she was always a hateful, disgusting person, but the Trump Era of Devolution has allowed her to feel free to say what she was always thinking. And, make lots of money by saying that garbage.
Spewing hate pays big bucks in the USA. Look at that Texas massage therapist who spewed a hate-filled diatribe against two Muslim women who were unfortunate enough to encounter her. The woman's employer fired her, after which she promptly started a GiveSendGo that has raised $180,000 as of two days ago. It's probably over $200K now. She's made in a few days what would have taken her years at her old job.
Tim pointed out a few weeks ago that giving money to political campaigns may not be a great use of funds. Giving money to the Haitian Support Center clearly is.
Jim: "Outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine, who grew up in the area and has done charitable work in Haiti with his wife, has supported extending TPS and called Thursday’s ruling a mistake that was “not in the best interest of the United States nor Ohio.”"
Didn't DeWine vote for Trump in 2024? Didn't Ohio vote for Trump in 2024? They heard Trump's "eating the dogs" lie, heard J.D. Vance say he will lie to further his agenda, and instead of being repulsed, the great and good people of Ohio pulled the lever for Trump anyway. Ultimately, the people of Ohio and the people of every other state who voted for Trump are responsible for what's about to happen to Springfield's Haitian community. Seriously, is DeWine really surprised that the guy who came down the escalator in 2015 to disparage Mexicans is now disparaging Haitians and wants to deport them based on the color of their skin? What a prick.
DeWine has not been a profile in courage. He also endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, only to be rewarded by attack ads against Acton that he then defended her on. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. It does not count for standing up to Donald Trump, as he has found.
It angers me to no end, Jim. DeWine is morally responsible for what's about to happen to these people. He doesn't get to meekly say SCOTUS's ruling was a mistake. The real mistake was getting behind a narcissistic sociopath who attempted a coup, and that mistake IMO is unforgivable.
Your anger, I so understand. It's also personal to me. I was born, raised, HS graduate out of Springfield. The people of Springfield, & Ohio, voted for DT. They knew of his total lack of morality, empathy, humanity, yet voted him back into office. Not a good reflection on their character. DeWine is like the majority of Republican politicians today. Gutless, with lukewarm, if any, protestations, against DT. I still have immediate family there. The good folks there, that are trying to assist the Haitians, who have really helped Springfield economically, are living the consequence of the majority of their fellow citizens, voting for the orange idiot. I still love my roots & hometown, but am so happy I relocated to California decades ago. Much more politically to my liking. I so hope our country wakes up, starting midterms, & starts to regain it's moral compass & unity. Better late than never!
Standing up to Trump—these useless invertebrates give new meaning to the term. They only stand up after they’ve been defeated at the polls and it’s still tepid at best, since they all need jobs once their political careers are DOA.
Or if they do have a backbone—they eventually collapse faster than a cheap lounge chair—backtracking on War Powers Resolution comes to mind!…:)
Some good news from Ohio: On Sunday, I am co-hosting an event for Amy Acton + David Pepper, and we have had to turn many people away, referring them to other scheduled events because our venue, capacity 140, is full! We have already raised over $30,000 and more people will be making their contributions on site.
As a lifelong (Cincinnati) Ohioan, I agree with these assessments of Gov. Dewine. He is quite an enigma, but sadly he is far from alone in his desire to be portrayed as a compassionate christian conservative while supporting complete evil. I honestly do believe that he feels shame for it, which is more than I can say for most MAGA acolytes. That is not to excuse him, in any way. In fact, I consider the non-deplorable "normie" Republicans most guilty because their complacency in the face of evil is more harmful than people who have been waiting in the wings for liberation-- freedom to show their true evil in public without shame.
The people who know better are the worst. I reluctantly agree with JVL on the likes of MTG vs. the likes of DeWine. I mean, I still disagree with MTG on most policy type stuff and I probably agree with DeWine on more (but still not a lot). MTG is not the best thinker for sure, but at least she can stand up on her own two feet for an extended period of time, unlike DeWine.
He has also endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. Mike "too little, too late" DeWine. While he's done some good things, it's not enough to wipe out the times he's taken the knee to the MAGA overlords.
I remember when the whole "eating cats and dogs" bullshit was happening. An interesting revelation came to light around that nightmare. Business owners were saying how much they loved the Haitian workers because they came to work on time, came in sober, and put in a days work - every day! The implication, of course, is that American citizens didn't. Some of the owners said as much, and some just implied it.
The Supreme Court’s decision to strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from over 330,000 Haitian refugees—exposing them to deportation into a nation currently collapsing under severe violence—is not an isolated cruelty, but the latest chapter in a centuries-long campaign to punish Haiti for its own liberation.
In 1804, after a grueling twelve-year war against France, Spain, and Great Britain, Haiti emerged as the world’s first free Black republic and the only sovereign nation born of a successful slave revolt.
This unprecedented triumph terrified global empires, resulting in immediate diplomatic isolation and embargoes imposed by nations such as the United States.
The most devastating blow came in 1825, when French warships surrounded Port-au-Prince with an impossible ultimatum: pay 150 million francs to compensate French planters for their lost "property"—the very human beings they had enslaved—or face destruction. This ransom, roughly 300% of Haiti’s GDP, forced the young nation into predatory loans with French banks.
For the next 122 years, until 1947, Haiti was forced to drain up to 80% of its national wealth just to service this "independence debt." Economists estimate this systemic financial sabotage cost the country up to $115 billion in modern currency and lost economic growth—wealth stolen from domestic infrastructure, schools, and hospitals.
Today, as the U.S. judicial system strips legal protections from Haitian families who have built lives and paid taxes here, forcing them back into a crisis exacerbated by foreign intervention, the historical echo is deafening.
Haiti’s current destitution is not a failure of self-governance, but the direct consequence of a continuous, unbroken global effort to make an entire nation foot the bill for demanding its own freedom, and the complete lack of shame for the harm done by France remains a global tragedy made worse by an indifferent Trump administration.
Fair enough, as long as you are aware that what is now the US was a British colony and that the crown mandated the triangle trade and slavery, some former colonies were quick to shed those obligations, others not so much, and hundreds of thousands sacrificed their lives to right that wrong.
At one time I knew about the changing positions the British Crown took on slavery. Overall they were happy with the revenue generated, but the preferred more ambiguous form of servitude such as indentures and penal sentencing. Hereditary chattel slavery based on race is particularly evil.
And when the colonies were being populated in the 1600s, the demand for labor was met by Europeans being placed into indentures to settle debts. Those contracts were considered chattel, and the newly arriving were sold at auction. The vast majority were not African until the calculus changed when Bacon's Rebellion frightened them into realizing that black and white servants were willing to take up arms to win their freedom.
Thank you for this important frame of reference. I admit that while I’ve wondered in the past what set Haiti apart from other Latin American countries in the degree of poverty and violence they endure, I now understand how it came to be. I didn’t think I could feel worse about yesterday’s decision, but it turns out that I can
JD Vance continues his assault on deceny and a little humility. He's dismissing Nixon's guilt in Watergate. That bozo should realize that's when the party of law & order was the party of law & order and had a collective spine.
You know, how many times can a person be launched - go ballistic? Our rocket fuel is not infinite. But, JD and Megyn really, really sent me skyward yesterday. Both are true, unadulterated assholes.
I don’t know if other Republicans articulate it quite so clearly, but other Republicans have made comments to the effect they felt Nixon hard done by Watergate. John Roberts views of the executive branch seem to have been influenced by those events and not in a good way.
These Nixon apologists should do some time travel to the 1970s and tell that to then Senator Barry Goldwater who was totally disgusted w Nixon's lying and led the charge to have Nixon resign.
What would Goldwater think of Trump? Seriously, I think if he got him alone w/o Secret Service, he'd punch his lights out.
The worst part is a plurality of voters are so selfish, they don't give a toss about what happens to anybody else. All they care about is their material well being.
Both are equally repugnant. After yesterday's Triad, I can no longer excuse disgraceful people for their disgusting views and behavior. My heart weeps for what us happening to immigrants right now.
The amusing thing about people like Megyn is they can't imagine a scenario where the government could go after them. If it's really acceptable to deport people based on what they look like, then a POTUS who's an authoritarian leftie can go after Megyn for arbitrary reasons, too. Once that seal is broken, none of us are safe.
Oh, I don’t think people would like me very much if I disengaged my filters. Suffice to say they attenuate my worst impulses on how to deal with these people.
What do you do when you’re an evil administration and you can’t properly vilify hundreds of thousands of black immigrants because they’re not committing crimes? Turn them into criminals instantly with a stroke of an autopen by ending their TPS. Now they’re here illegally and cannot find work, which means if they want to feed their families, they can only rely on the kindness of neighbors or resort to theft. And now, you can properly politicize them and turn them into a prop in your culture wars, while Springfield and other communities fracture and disintegrate.
And what about the 77 million people ultimately responsible for this? Trump was only able to do this because 77 million people chose him, even though he's a lying sack of shit. If we were a better people, Trump would have been punished for those lies about the Haitians. But we're not a better people.
I check then every now and then. I also read the WSJ, whose commenters aren’t much better. Although a big anti-Trump contingent has developed fortunately.
I followed the link and read enough of the reader comments to be astonished by the cruelty and lies. Not a pleasant chore, but I do feel that it is enlightening to see what the Magaverse is spewing.
Thanks to Jim for summarizing the situation in Springfield, Ohio.
Samuel Alito, whose own ancestors may have experienced the backlash Italian immigrants faced when immigrating to the U.S., has found creative and cruel ways to close the door to those who seek the same opportunities today.
He and his fellow arsonists are the primary reason I now support expanding the Supreme Court to 13 seats, matching the number of Federal courts.
This link from Ohio Capital Journal on the reaction in Springfield to the Supreme Court ruling is worth reading: bit.ly/4es6moo. Jim covered the impact and anguish of the community. But there's also an economic impact to Springfield and Ohio:
“We are a city that had been in decline for 50 years...When Haitians arrived, that was the first time we grew in half a century. … (This is) going to hurt businesses in Springfield. It’s going to lead to economic decline. It’s going to hurt our county. It’s just awful. … It will create an economic and humanitarian disaster for Springfield.”
"Springfield experienced a shrinking population for decades as manufacturing jobs disappeared, but Haitian immigrants have grown Clark County’s workforce by more than 10,000 workers.
"Deporting Haitians in Springfield would eliminate roughly $300 million in annual spending from Clark County, with an estimated economic loss projected to exceed $400 million."
It already is, based on my visit there a few weeks ago. Empty houses, empty businesses with "For Lease" signs and only one remaining Haitian restaurant open.
Just to further the misery of it all half of all Haitians are catholic, not that religion ought to matter, but Vance Alito, Barrett etc how’s your consciences doing?
Thank you for writing this piece, Jim. This story of the Haitians in Springfield really hits home to me. I grew up in a Cincinnati suburb. And it’s awful to think that this country could send thousands of law abiding immigrants (like my grandparents were) to their deaths. It makes me want to cry.
A difficult and thorough article about the impact on Springfield - one community among hundreds across our country that will be similarly impacted. Bravo to The Bulwark, and a special shout out to fellow Buckeye native son Jim Swift - terrific & timely reporting, engaging style of writing - we're fortunate to have your insights beyond Springfield to the larger political & economic issues in Ohio. This situation could be a part of this Fall's elections there - here's hoping
Haitians received TPS status fair and square. There was no sneaking across rivers or dissembling to officials. If we can grant work visas or permits to techies from Asia, why can we not begin by granting the same to Haitians who are presently employed or who have been in the main employed since being granted the status? As for the others, evaluate on a case by case basis.
What a horribly ugly woman Megyn Kelly is.
She is reveling in it despite no need for money, like Tucker Carlson. Truly a broken person.
I'm not sure broken is the right word. She's made a conscious decision to be this way. No one's holding a gun to her head. This is who she's chosen to be, and for her and millions of other people, this is normal.
I think you have a different definition of broken. It has nothing to do with being forced to say something. She's broken bc she enjoys being a monster and all those that agree with her are broken too. But this is all based on an opinion.
Broken is a subjective term, TJ. Kelly's moral baseline is orthogonal to mine and yours. She could just as easily call me and you monsters for wanting "those people" to come work in the United States. And at the end of the day, the really issue isn't Kelly. The real issue is the great and good American people who created the conditions for this to happen to the Haitian community.
I think you are right about it being a conscious decision. She has found fame and considerable fortune in being a Deplorable and craves the taste and smell of it all. But I suspect it also comes from enough people telling her enough times over the years that she is special, to the point that not only she believes it, but also that she subconsciously plays the card whenever it makes for a winning hand. It takes little to no imagination to see her saying "Don't you know who I am?" anytime she does not get her way with someone else.
Broken isn't it. Megyn discovered the world of making tons of money by spewing wack job ideas. (Like Fucker Carlson)
Broken implies that something is trying to work "right" but can't. This is gleeful hate and curelty. The lives of people are simply the stage set for the performance - of no real consequence. She is the great thing that justifies all and she know exactly what she is doing. It is really just pretend hate.
👊
Kelly found out what Tucker Carlson discovered. You can go from being pretty conservative to making a gob smack ton of money by spouting far out wack job ideas. Is capitalism great or what!!
Do the mean, nasty, and glib lazy-brained like Megyn Kelly not realize that on any given day, they could be involved in a car accident and become paralyzed, or on any given day a loved family member could have a stroke and become helplessly paralyzed, and end up needing the sympathetic portion of humanity themselves to survive in this world? Do they truly feel no sympathy for others? Even if they aren't in a position to help, what is this bizarre need to actually amplify and spread their hatred and carelessness?
Do they not realize that with mass deportation, finding a healthcare aide for a stricken relative will be much harder and more expensive?
This. It bodes ill for us Boomers but even worse for the generation after us. Health care cannot survive without immigrants, and to call this Supreme Court decision and the far right reaction cruel, which God knows it is, is to neglect how remarkably short sighted it is. Trump doesn’t care. He’ll be long gone. The destruction he’s unleashed will last a very long time. Expand the damn court.
Hard agree. On the "illegal news" podcast I listened to earlier today, Andrew Weismann suggests that the combination of various budget cuts and policy changes (gutting support of basic research, changes in vaccine approvals, nursing education not considered professional etc.) will have a significant negative impact on health care in America that is quietly aggregating behind the scene with few people yet noticing. I put this situation in that same bucket.
"Have you no shame"
I think of "Angels in America," where the one-time worst person in America - Roy Cohn - is cared for by the ex-drag queen Belize. (Not that Belize likes him. But he still cares for him.)
This country will rue the day we spat on our immigrants.
And Kelly, Kelly ... what kind of name is that? Irish, I think? So despised in the 19th century? Oh, she's Italian on her mother's side? Need I say more?
Sorry, Megyn. I know you thought you'd pulled up the ladder and that you were as white and pure as a Mayflower descendant, didn't you?
When you don't realize that blackface for Halloween trick or treating is offensive, you're beyond a lost soul.
It's like she wanted in on the "worst human on the planet" action. Jealous of all the attention RFK and Tulsi have been getting on that front.
Oops you forgot Hegseth
Every time I think she can't go lower, she proves me wrong.
The right wing media ecosystem rewards abhorrent behavior, it's only going to get worse as long as Trump is in power, and Musk controls X. They need to constantly radicalize in order to keep getting attention.
I've never seen a picture of her, but I don't need to, to firmly support your statement.
Kelly is a truly ugly human being on the inside. She purports to be a catholic but does not act like one.
Yet, Joe Biden was the Catholic who had a bishop telling him not to receive communion.
These people are Leonard Leo Catholics https://medium.com/@thcarter123/leonard-leo-the-stained-glass-curtain-hes-hiding-behind-cb1964eb1160
She is so far beyond my comprehension. As an empathetic person I can truly say that I will never understand how people can be so cruel and evil. I am not naive—I know all too well how many evil people are in this world. Maybe that’s why I prefer to hang out with my dog and cat along with very few people.
She is without a doubt absolutely vile
Amen! What in the hell is wrong with her?
The hatred Trump and MAGA has for immigrants in general, and these Haitians in particular who did everything the right way, really sucks
I don’t get it. What filled Megyn Kelly with so much hate? Clearly this isn’t really about immigration status. It’s hatred for people because they are brown or black, but since they can’t directly attack all brown and black people (yet), so focus on immigrants.
Kim, I wouldn't waste a lot of energy trying to figure out why Kelly is what she is. It's sort of like trying to figure out why Trump is the way he is. The real problem is 77 million people created the conditions for this to happen to the Haitian community by returning a man who attempted a coup to the presidency.
And 30 to 37 % are still supportive!
I'd guess at least 70 million of them haven't changed their opinion at all, we just have to hope they're not as motivated to cast a ballot next election.
Elections are all about who is motivated the most.Democrats hold a wide margin for 2026.
It's not just rightwing hate, it's ratings, baby, for her podcast, as if she needs the money. She tried to go mainstream once, and that was an utter failure bcuz she isn't.
BINGO! Kelly, Carlson, Alex Jones and $$$$
She wouldn’t make $$ if there was no market for her hateful rhetoric.
She is the way she is because it is now OK to be the way she is. I suspect she was always a hateful, disgusting person, but the Trump Era of Devolution has allowed her to feel free to say what she was always thinking. And, make lots of money by saying that garbage.
Spewing hate pays big bucks in the USA. Look at that Texas massage therapist who spewed a hate-filled diatribe against two Muslim women who were unfortunate enough to encounter her. The woman's employer fired her, after which she promptly started a GiveSendGo that has raised $180,000 as of two days ago. It's probably over $200K now. She's made in a few days what would have taken her years at her old job.
That’s disgusting.
It’s Trump’s USA. Where you can make far more $$$ for being a talentless bigot than you ever could through respectable means.
That is what you get from DJT, Megyn Kelly and their ilk. ( people from "shit hole countries and Muslims)
And they are morons. Our economy NEEDS immigrants. Who do they think will harvest our crops, mow our lawns, build our houses, or care for our elderly?
I think anyone who wants to celebrate forcing immigrants out of the country should have to explain how those jobs and taxes etc. will be replaced.
By all the people who will be absolutely desperate after the collapsing economy.
Good luck getting enough white Americans to pick crops.
Yes, AND see Stephen Miller
Right. Like they're all Native Americans.
Tim pointed out a few weeks ago that giving money to political campaigns may not be a great use of funds. Giving money to the Haitian Support Center clearly is.
Just gave to them
Same.
Grateful to Jim Swift for including those easy links in his column!
Agreed!👍
Yes!
Jim: "Outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine, who grew up in the area and has done charitable work in Haiti with his wife, has supported extending TPS and called Thursday’s ruling a mistake that was “not in the best interest of the United States nor Ohio.”"
Didn't DeWine vote for Trump in 2024? Didn't Ohio vote for Trump in 2024? They heard Trump's "eating the dogs" lie, heard J.D. Vance say he will lie to further his agenda, and instead of being repulsed, the great and good people of Ohio pulled the lever for Trump anyway. Ultimately, the people of Ohio and the people of every other state who voted for Trump are responsible for what's about to happen to Springfield's Haitian community. Seriously, is DeWine really surprised that the guy who came down the escalator in 2015 to disparage Mexicans is now disparaging Haitians and wants to deport them based on the color of their skin? What a prick.
DeWine has not been a profile in courage. He also endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, only to be rewarded by attack ads against Acton that he then defended her on. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. It does not count for standing up to Donald Trump, as he has found.
It angers me to no end, Jim. DeWine is morally responsible for what's about to happen to these people. He doesn't get to meekly say SCOTUS's ruling was a mistake. The real mistake was getting behind a narcissistic sociopath who attempted a coup, and that mistake IMO is unforgivable.
Tim is clearly correct!
That happens once in a great while.
More than that Tim!
Your anger, I so understand. It's also personal to me. I was born, raised, HS graduate out of Springfield. The people of Springfield, & Ohio, voted for DT. They knew of his total lack of morality, empathy, humanity, yet voted him back into office. Not a good reflection on their character. DeWine is like the majority of Republican politicians today. Gutless, with lukewarm, if any, protestations, against DT. I still have immediate family there. The good folks there, that are trying to assist the Haitians, who have really helped Springfield economically, are living the consequence of the majority of their fellow citizens, voting for the orange idiot. I still love my roots & hometown, but am so happy I relocated to California decades ago. Much more politically to my liking. I so hope our country wakes up, starting midterms, & starts to regain it's moral compass & unity. Better late than never!
Oh but he has "Concerns"!
Standing up to Trump—these useless invertebrates give new meaning to the term. They only stand up after they’ve been defeated at the polls and it’s still tepid at best, since they all need jobs once their political careers are DOA.
Or if they do have a backbone—they eventually collapse faster than a cheap lounge chair—backtracking on War Powers Resolution comes to mind!…:)
Some good news from Ohio: On Sunday, I am co-hosting an event for Amy Acton + David Pepper, and we have had to turn many people away, referring them to other scheduled events because our venue, capacity 140, is full! We have already raised over $30,000 and more people will be making their contributions on site.
As a lifelong (Cincinnati) Ohioan, I agree with these assessments of Gov. Dewine. He is quite an enigma, but sadly he is far from alone in his desire to be portrayed as a compassionate christian conservative while supporting complete evil. I honestly do believe that he feels shame for it, which is more than I can say for most MAGA acolytes. That is not to excuse him, in any way. In fact, I consider the non-deplorable "normie" Republicans most guilty because their complacency in the face of evil is more harmful than people who have been waiting in the wings for liberation-- freedom to show their true evil in public without shame.
The people who know better are the worst. I reluctantly agree with JVL on the likes of MTG vs. the likes of DeWine. I mean, I still disagree with MTG on most policy type stuff and I probably agree with DeWine on more (but still not a lot). MTG is not the best thinker for sure, but at least she can stand up on her own two feet for an extended period of time, unlike DeWine.
He has also endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy. Mike "too little, too late" DeWine. While he's done some good things, it's not enough to wipe out the times he's taken the knee to the MAGA overlords.
And still we elected him! Once can be viewed as a mistake. Twice isn't. Ask any our allies about this,
It's often said that hate is a learned behavior.
Megyn Kelly seems particularly proud of her PhD.
Isn't she a complete POS! Just another hardcore rightwing ghoul.
Learned from FOX.
I remember when the whole "eating cats and dogs" bullshit was happening. An interesting revelation came to light around that nightmare. Business owners were saying how much they loved the Haitian workers because they came to work on time, came in sober, and put in a days work - every day! The implication, of course, is that American citizens didn't. Some of the owners said as much, and some just implied it.
So, yes, Megyn Kelly can fuck all the way off!
The Supreme Court’s decision to strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from over 330,000 Haitian refugees—exposing them to deportation into a nation currently collapsing under severe violence—is not an isolated cruelty, but the latest chapter in a centuries-long campaign to punish Haiti for its own liberation.
In 1804, after a grueling twelve-year war against France, Spain, and Great Britain, Haiti emerged as the world’s first free Black republic and the only sovereign nation born of a successful slave revolt.
This unprecedented triumph terrified global empires, resulting in immediate diplomatic isolation and embargoes imposed by nations such as the United States.
The most devastating blow came in 1825, when French warships surrounded Port-au-Prince with an impossible ultimatum: pay 150 million francs to compensate French planters for their lost "property"—the very human beings they had enslaved—or face destruction. This ransom, roughly 300% of Haiti’s GDP, forced the young nation into predatory loans with French banks.
For the next 122 years, until 1947, Haiti was forced to drain up to 80% of its national wealth just to service this "independence debt." Economists estimate this systemic financial sabotage cost the country up to $115 billion in modern currency and lost economic growth—wealth stolen from domestic infrastructure, schools, and hospitals.
Today, as the U.S. judicial system strips legal protections from Haitian families who have built lives and paid taxes here, forcing them back into a crisis exacerbated by foreign intervention, the historical echo is deafening.
Haiti’s current destitution is not a failure of self-governance, but the direct consequence of a continuous, unbroken global effort to make an entire nation foot the bill for demanding its own freedom, and the complete lack of shame for the harm done by France remains a global tragedy made worse by an indifferent Trump administration.
If we acknowledged the truth about Haiti we would need to confront the value added to our own nation by enslaved people and non-citizen immigrants.
Fair enough, as long as you are aware that what is now the US was a British colony and that the crown mandated the triangle trade and slavery, some former colonies were quick to shed those obligations, others not so much, and hundreds of thousands sacrificed their lives to right that wrong.
At one time I knew about the changing positions the British Crown took on slavery. Overall they were happy with the revenue generated, but the preferred more ambiguous form of servitude such as indentures and penal sentencing. Hereditary chattel slavery based on race is particularly evil.
And when the colonies were being populated in the 1600s, the demand for labor was met by Europeans being placed into indentures to settle debts. Those contracts were considered chattel, and the newly arriving were sold at auction. The vast majority were not African until the calculus changed when Bacon's Rebellion frightened them into realizing that black and white servants were willing to take up arms to win their freedom.
You make me feel better by calling out the unpleasant truth, we must do better for the sake of generations to come.
Thank you for this important frame of reference. I admit that while I’ve wondered in the past what set Haiti apart from other Latin American countries in the degree of poverty and violence they endure, I now understand how it came to be. I didn’t think I could feel worse about yesterday’s decision, but it turns out that I can
Steve - thank you for this historical background to our present failure 😞
What's the worse part of this mess? Telling the lie about eating pets, or how many people happily believed that lie?
JD Vance continues his assault on deceny and a little humility. He's dismissing Nixon's guilt in Watergate. That bozo should realize that's when the party of law & order was the party of law & order and had a collective spine.
Tom Nichols described JD accurately five years ago: asshole.
... enshitified asshole
Much better.
You know, how many times can a person be launched - go ballistic? Our rocket fuel is not infinite. But, JD and Megyn really, really sent me skyward yesterday. Both are true, unadulterated assholes.
I don’t know if other Republicans articulate it quite so clearly, but other Republicans have made comments to the effect they felt Nixon hard done by Watergate. John Roberts views of the executive branch seem to have been influenced by those events and not in a good way.
These Nixon apologists should do some time travel to the 1970s and tell that to then Senator Barry Goldwater who was totally disgusted w Nixon's lying and led the charge to have Nixon resign.
What would Goldwater think of Trump? Seriously, I think if he got him alone w/o Secret Service, he'd punch his lights out.
While Goldwater was awful, he was serious about his values. The current GOP is all about power for power's sake.
A+ description.
Yeah, how dare Nixon be punished for breaking the law!
... And I keep saying: keep it up! Keep talking!
The worst part is a plurality of voters are so selfish, they don't give a toss about what happens to anybody else. All they care about is their material well being.
If you haven't had a chance, read JVL's piece yesterday about The Cleti.
I did read it. None of it surprises me. These people are unreachable. It's best to accept them for who and what they are.
Agreed.
...And move on
Tis’ the malice in the hearts of the willing and ignorant, Mike. Hands down. If I may offer an old bromide, “hurt people hurt people’…
Instead, how about willingly ignorant, brainwashed people have no morals.
Both are equally repugnant. After yesterday's Triad, I can no longer excuse disgraceful people for their disgusting views and behavior. My heart weeps for what us happening to immigrants right now.
77 million happy people
Telling far worse.
Let me guess, Megyn Kelly also crows about what a good Christian she is, right?
I can't call Megyn what I want to call her.
Evil is a good start.
The amusing thing about people like Megyn is they can't imagine a scenario where the government could go after them. If it's really acceptable to deport people based on what they look like, then a POTUS who's an authoritarian leftie can go after Megyn for arbitrary reasons, too. Once that seal is broken, none of us are safe.
Exactly! One is never safely inside the tent forever. No matter how secure you think you are, they're coming for you.
This is described very will in "A Man For All Seasons."
Hey Tim; let your inner JVL out!
Oh, I don’t think people would like me very much if I disengaged my filters. Suffice to say they attenuate my worst impulses on how to deal with these people.
And wears her giant cross around her neck in case anyone doubts that.
What do you do when you’re an evil administration and you can’t properly vilify hundreds of thousands of black immigrants because they’re not committing crimes? Turn them into criminals instantly with a stroke of an autopen by ending their TPS. Now they’re here illegally and cannot find work, which means if they want to feed their families, they can only rely on the kindness of neighbors or resort to theft. And now, you can properly politicize them and turn them into a prop in your culture wars, while Springfield and other communities fracture and disintegrate.
Expand the Court.
And what about the 77 million people ultimately responsible for this? Trump was only able to do this because 77 million people chose him, even though he's a lying sack of shit. If we were a better people, Trump would have been punished for those lies about the Haitians. But we're not a better people.
And the estimated 90 million who were eligible to vote (don't know the number for registered voters) but didn't...
Indeed, DD. They're responsible, too.
While there is a moral culpability for allowing evil to happen, I think actively advancing evil is worse.
Over at the vile Coffee & Covid substack, he’s celebrating, and repeating the “eating pets” lie.
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/unshackled-friday-june-26-2026-c
I haven’t checked the comments but they’re always supportive.
OMG, @Frau Katze, I didn't know that substack existed -- and now I wish I'd never known.
I check then every now and then. I also read the WSJ, whose commenters aren’t much better. Although a big anti-Trump contingent has developed fortunately.
Checked the comments. They’re worrying about their US-born kids who unfortunately have citizenship.
Cue the demand for the end of birth right citizenship.
I followed the link and read enough of the reader comments to be astonished by the cruelty and lies. Not a pleasant chore, but I do feel that it is enlightening to see what the Magaverse is spewing.
Horrible but enlightening.
They may want to consider that what they create can be, and should be, weaponized against them. I'm all out of fucks to give at this point.
Bill, as soon as I started reading I wondered where we could send $, so thanks for the links.
Thanks to Jim for summarizing the situation in Springfield, Ohio.
Samuel Alito, whose own ancestors may have experienced the backlash Italian immigrants faced when immigrating to the U.S., has found creative and cruel ways to close the door to those who seek the same opportunities today.
He and his fellow arsonists are the primary reason I now support expanding the Supreme Court to 13 seats, matching the number of Federal courts.
This link from Ohio Capital Journal on the reaction in Springfield to the Supreme Court ruling is worth reading: bit.ly/4es6moo. Jim covered the impact and anguish of the community. But there's also an economic impact to Springfield and Ohio:
“We are a city that had been in decline for 50 years...When Haitians arrived, that was the first time we grew in half a century. … (This is) going to hurt businesses in Springfield. It’s going to lead to economic decline. It’s going to hurt our county. It’s just awful. … It will create an economic and humanitarian disaster for Springfield.”
"Springfield experienced a shrinking population for decades as manufacturing jobs disappeared, but Haitian immigrants have grown Clark County’s workforce by more than 10,000 workers.
"Deporting Haitians in Springfield would eliminate roughly $300 million in annual spending from Clark County, with an estimated economic loss projected to exceed $400 million."
It's going to be a huge loss
It already is, based on my visit there a few weeks ago. Empty houses, empty businesses with "For Lease" signs and only one remaining Haitian restaurant open.
Breaks my heart.
Just to further the misery of it all half of all Haitians are catholic, not that religion ought to matter, but Vance Alito, Barrett etc how’s your consciences doing?
I'll say what others won't: Megyn Kelly is a malignant cunt
... enshitified malignant cunt.
Thank you for writing this piece, Jim. This story of the Haitians in Springfield really hits home to me. I grew up in a Cincinnati suburb. And it’s awful to think that this country could send thousands of law abiding immigrants (like my grandparents were) to their deaths. It makes me want to cry.
A difficult and thorough article about the impact on Springfield - one community among hundreds across our country that will be similarly impacted. Bravo to The Bulwark, and a special shout out to fellow Buckeye native son Jim Swift - terrific & timely reporting, engaging style of writing - we're fortunate to have your insights beyond Springfield to the larger political & economic issues in Ohio. This situation could be a part of this Fall's elections there - here's hoping
Haitians received TPS status fair and square. There was no sneaking across rivers or dissembling to officials. If we can grant work visas or permits to techies from Asia, why can we not begin by granting the same to Haitians who are presently employed or who have been in the main employed since being granted the status? As for the others, evaluate on a case by case basis.