Morning Roundup: Reckless Firings Continue, but Americans are Paying Attention
February 24: Featuring Jen Rubin, Brian O'Neill, Mara Karlin & Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Paula Thornhill
Good morning Contrarians!
Don’t forget to tune in to Coffee with the Contrarians, LIVE for all subscribers at 9:15 ET, and always available for paid subscribers. While you wait for their lively, informative chat to kick off, please enjoy this morning’s responses to last weekend’s breaking news.
Mara Karlin and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Paula Thornhill take an unflinching eye to Trump’s “Friday night bureaucratic massacre.” As the president offered no explanation or conclusion for the unexpected firings, it’s impossible to avoid the deduction that gender, race, and comments on diversity were the reason. Must read.
Brian O’Neill also addresses Trump’s abrupt dismissal of General Charles Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, and Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the Air Force—marking a troubling shift in the relationship between civilian leadership and the military establishment.
Jen Rubin on everyday American citizens rising up to resist Trump and Musk’s regime—applying pressure on Republican politicians to discontinue their seeming vow of silent obedience.
And in case you missed Norm’s Publisher’s Roundup this weekend, please check it out to be kept up to date on all things Contrarian, from the courts to the court of public opinion:
Spring training—for democracy!
Major league baseball spring training has begun, the Grapefruit League in Florida for the East Coast teams and the Cactus League in Arizona for the West Coast. There are wow moments: towering home runs and leaping catches. As a maniacal Dodgers fan (here I am at the 2024 World Series), I enjoy those thrilling early glimpses of promise.
We’ll be back tonight with our evening roundup, but be sure to check on our content throughout the day. A new week dawns…
Thanks for being with us,
The Contrarians
HCR Letter was especially helpful this morning. And this quote:
"Historian Johann Neem, a specialist in the American Revolution, turned to political theorist John Locke to explore the larger meaning of Trump’s destructive course. The founders who threw off monarchy and constructed our constitutional government looked to Locke for their guiding principles. In his 1690 Second Treatise on Government, Locke noted that when a leader disregards constitutional order, he gives up legitimacy and the people are justified in treating him as a “thief and a robber.” “[W]hosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law and makes use of the force he has under his command…ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another,” Locke wrote."
Also need to recognize Senator Sanders going to red districts all over the country raging against the Oligarchs who are golng after working class saftey net inorder to give big tax cuts to the rich and corporations!!!