And reported literally by every news service this morning — from British police blotters, a “66-year-old Norfolk man” was arrested today, charged with revealing official state secrets to Jeffrey Epstein….
That would be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of course, the former Prince Andrew, younger brother to King Charles, who was not informed before police moved in on Sandringham Estate, but who supported the move.
A reminder — a little 5-year-old boy from Minneapolis named Liam Ramos in a bunny hat has spent more time in American police detention than any associate and “friend” of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.
It is reported that Trump is now trying to initiate impeachemt of judges who don't toady to him. This is not the right, even of a president. It is, however, the action of a dictator.
Excellent, spot-on piece. The only change I can think of to suggest is to put "Christian," as in in, "white 'Christian' nationalism," quotation marks. These people are frauds and fascists, not Christians.
I emphatically agree! It would behoove The Contrarian to start the fashion of doing so. It may sound petty, but white "Christian" nationalism is an insultand a slander to Christianity (despite that religion having its own original sins and skeletons in the closet, just like our country does). I also would love to see (and if it's been done I'd like to be pointed to it, as I can't read or watch everything this fine source puts forth) interviews done with, well, anyone who would got along with it, who would explain the theological underpinnings to the "Christian" part. And the white part. This would be presumably be some Evangelical ministers or theologians. The secular arguments, of course, are all over the place: the Founding Fathers were all vowed Christians (except some?) and therefore our nation is meant to be Christian; they were all white, and so our nation is meant to be white. I honestly think if we could get the fashion to be quotes around "Christian" it might help it penetrate into some of the minds of people who keep their ears and minds closed while they vote for dictators, that these are NOT people who are sitting in pews every Sunday absorbing messages from the scriptures.
Any judge that quotes Bob Dylan has a special place in my heart. I think it's time we stop referring to Republicans as MAGA. The REPUBLICAN brand needs to be tarnished with every sin of the Trump administration because they are either actively supporting it, or cowardly refusing to stop it. Either way it's REPUBLICANS that will be on the ballots in the midterms. Vote them all out. Don't let any of them pretend they are not MAGA (Susan Collins, anyone?)
Superbly written article! It lays it all out so well, and I’m grateful to these judges for speaking truth and upholding the constitution and our rights. Thank you, my Contrarian heroes!
Most astonishing to me is that Republicans I once might have thought good and decent remain Republicans. That is, they still vote for these people and still support Trump. I have always insisted that Trump support was a revelation of character. And it is now, more than ever.
Orwell and Martin Niemöller have been mandatory reading for decades for, it turns out, no good reason at all. People who learn history still choose to repeat the worst of it. It seems that imparting information does not make anyone wiser or more honest with themselves about reality.
"Orwell and Martin Niemöller have been mandatory reading for decades..."
Mandatory reading for whom? In English class, Orwell was an elective reading, and my history classes never mentioned Martin Niemöller at all. If what I didn't learn is any example for others, it's unlikely that their words would have too much of an effect on peoples' thinking.
Wow, really? When and where did you go to school? I went to Virginia public schools in the 1980s and 90s, and both 1984 and Animal Farm were required reading, and in 10th grade I had extensive Holocaust-related education that included reading Elie Wiesel, going with school to the US Holocaust Museum and Schindler's List came out that year and my parents took my sister and me to see it.
I was "educated" in Washington D.C. in the 1960s. Civil Rights was the focus at the time. 1984 and Animal Farm were elective readings, not mandatory. I read them anyway because reading was important. History at the time didn't much mention the Holocaust at all. Much more learning occured in college and in years later.
Virginia is a purple state today and Northern Virginia is solidly liberal with Loudoun County now being one of the richest in the country. I grew up in Loudoun when it was largely rural, not rich, before the tech boom, and like the rest of Virginia, it was solidly red/Republican then. It was not easy to grow up there as a gay person. With all this in mind, it really unnerves me that the education I got from Republican-controlled Virginia public schools 30-40 years ago was far more ‘liberal’ than the Republican party is today.
They taught us that we are a nation of immigrants.
They taught us in elementary school that within 40-50 years, Latino people would be the demographic majority—and therefore our culture will change to reflect those influences as it always has done with other immigrants’ cultural influences. It was not presented as a threat to anyone.
They taught us racism was wrong, slavery was condemnable, the Holocaust was the ultimate evil.
They glorified colonists and settlers otherwise, though, and did not honestly teach how American Indian people were treated.
They taught us that the original colonists rebelled against tyranny, and they described tyranny as exactly what the Republican party leaders are doing to the USA today.
They taught us church and state can never merge and that freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly are one and the same, equally important, equally valuable, and the basis of the American ethos.
Republicans were in control of our schools then. Today, Republicans teach the opposite of most of this.
I was given a suprise ‘good samaritan’ award at the end of one school year because I intervened when someone was being gang-mocked for being injured and limping. Today, I can only imagine schools in red states giving awards to students who cause harm to vulnerable people.
I hope you’ll re-examine your comment above. You state that ‘people’ reading the writings of these two authors is for ‘no good reason at all’, implying that their message is not valuable to anyone. While this is undoubtedly true of trump’s followers, it is not true of the vast majority of millions of people, myself included. You are focusing only on the beliefs of a minority of the population. An overwhelming number of the rest of us understand the warning contained in Orwell’s books and act on it every day. It’s one of many reasons for the existence of publications like The Contrarian.
You further state that ‘…imparting information does not make anyone wiser or more honest with themselves about reality’. I believe if you reconsider your comment, you’ll realize that this sentence completely lacks any basis in fact.
Jen Rubin’s articles contain unassailable facts and analysis that she uses to uplift her readers. Comments like yours above do the opposite.
Artistlike shared an opinion, not necessarily their own belief. No need to make it personal. Comments, like everything else, can be assessed. Ms. Rubin writes more to inform readers than to 'uplift' them. If she does, so be it, though some of what she reports upon is horrifying - and rightly so.
My husband read that there's some S#$#@ about a law that we have to go to a Christian church on Sunday. Are they going to get ICE to herd us there? WTF them. Madness. Christian Morons. Separation of Church and State!!!!!!
Honestly I am not expecting that law (one that says you are not allowed to go to a synagogue or Mosque maybe). The reason being that the billionaires behind all of this, the media personnel, and the clowns in government, don't give a %&%#% where we are on a Sunday, in fact they'd really rather we were buying something, the whole "Christian" thing is just code for white-like-us.
drumpf has grown dependent on a supine Court, to which his lackeys will appeal every decision against the brutal insanities foisted on the nation. We need Court reform as soon as the Democrats are elected to a Congress that has been non-existent so far. Thank you for dropping the too-polite language used by the greatest number of media journalists, a screen that serves to hide the despicable nature of this regime, for which the entire rethug party is responsible, not just their chosen fuhrer.
You said it so well, Jen! How many other Bill of Rights amendments has he violated? It’s definitively authoritarianism at its core. Christian nationalism is not Christian at all. It’s the perversion of Christianity. This alone should offend not only Christians but people of all faiths and even those of no faith.
Contempt of court. Judges should start finding the attorneys working for the WH Crime Boss in contempt of court and begin fining or arresting them. I think that's within their power. Also, South Korea is putting their former Prime Minister in prison for his Trump-Like actions and the former "Prince" Andrew is being charged for his behavior on Epstein Island. These are examples that the people of the Democratic States of America can rally around.
I would posit that it was Orwell who has given the regime all their "great" ideas. Orwell's "1984" should be read through to its final chapters... but then, again, attention span and critical thinking skills are not strong suits among the maga faithful.
This is where the 'drill baby, drill' should come into play in reality. Keep drilling holes in the "ship of fools" (MAGA) so that it may sink more quickly.
Thank you. This last paragraph: "We need not indulge MAGA cultists who insist they are virtuous victims, muzzled by the left. The only ones muzzling critics are the historical and constitutional know-nothings who repeatedly try to rewrite history to comport with their goal of establishing a white supremacist autocracy. Such maneuvers are un-American — and cannot stand if our democracy is to survive." Two thoughts: 1. As an LGBTQ+ married man. all I want is to have the same rights as everyone else. Why Christian Nationalists and MAGA feel I am infringing on their rights is beyond me. 2. Don't we think it's time for those who with a more powerful voice and clout to speak up for the First Amendment? Where is the communications industry? This is beyond "politics." It is about who we are as a nation.
i once asked someone why he thought same sex marriage infringed upon his own hetero marriage. he had no answer. just insisted it did. well isn't that bigotry? of course it is.
Look at what has become of the "communications industry". Some have been been bought by Trump sychophants (Bezos, Murdoch) and others are corporate owned who have other interests that they fear would fall victim to Trump's ire should they deny him.
Meanwhile, from The Guardian: "South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection." This should have been us.
And reported literally by every news service this morning — from British police blotters, a “66-year-old Norfolk man” was arrested today, charged with revealing official state secrets to Jeffrey Epstein….
That would be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of course, the former Prince Andrew, younger brother to King Charles, who was not informed before police moved in on Sandringham Estate, but who supported the move.
A reminder — a little 5-year-old boy from Minneapolis named Liam Ramos in a bunny hat has spent more time in American police detention than any associate and “friend” of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.
thank you for putting the facts in sharp contrast with what we are experiencing here.
I can't say that I "like" your post, since it shows such obvious hateful, bigoted, and certainly immoral behaviors, but thank you for posting it.
And Bolsonsero!
No bloody kidding!!!
I burn with admiration and jealousy
Numerous judges have given me hope. They are simply not tolerating the lawlessness of this regime.
It is reported that Trump is now trying to initiate impeachemt of judges who don't toady to him. This is not the right, even of a president. It is, however, the action of a dictator.
Excellent, spot-on piece. The only change I can think of to suggest is to put "Christian," as in in, "white 'Christian' nationalism," quotation marks. These people are frauds and fascists, not Christians.
Agree. I've begun identifying these people as "Christian supremacists" or generally as "religious supremacists."
Or (groaner alert), "Nationalist Christians." "NAT-Cs" for short :-)
white "christian" supremacists.
Good one.
I emphatically agree! It would behoove The Contrarian to start the fashion of doing so. It may sound petty, but white "Christian" nationalism is an insultand a slander to Christianity (despite that religion having its own original sins and skeletons in the closet, just like our country does). I also would love to see (and if it's been done I'd like to be pointed to it, as I can't read or watch everything this fine source puts forth) interviews done with, well, anyone who would got along with it, who would explain the theological underpinnings to the "Christian" part. And the white part. This would be presumably be some Evangelical ministers or theologians. The secular arguments, of course, are all over the place: the Founding Fathers were all vowed Christians (except some?) and therefore our nation is meant to be Christian; they were all white, and so our nation is meant to be white. I honestly think if we could get the fashion to be quotes around "Christian" it might help it penetrate into some of the minds of people who keep their ears and minds closed while they vote for dictators, that these are NOT people who are sitting in pews every Sunday absorbing messages from the scriptures.
Any judge that quotes Bob Dylan has a special place in my heart. I think it's time we stop referring to Republicans as MAGA. The REPUBLICAN brand needs to be tarnished with every sin of the Trump administration because they are either actively supporting it, or cowardly refusing to stop it. Either way it's REPUBLICANS that will be on the ballots in the midterms. Vote them all out. Don't let any of them pretend they are not MAGA (Susan Collins, anyone?)
Any judge who gets exactly who Orwell was and what he was describing in his dystopian novel has an even warmer place in my heart!
They are card-carrying members of the Fascist Party of America.
I wish journalists would stop referring to them as "conservatives". They are NOT. They are fascists.
My new moniker for them is MAW. Make America White. No don't add "Again" because this was never a White nation. Just MAW.
Keep saying truth to power! Thank you. (A new paid subscriber)
Superbly written article! It lays it all out so well, and I’m grateful to these judges for speaking truth and upholding the constitution and our rights. Thank you, my Contrarian heroes!
Most astonishing to me is that Republicans I once might have thought good and decent remain Republicans. That is, they still vote for these people and still support Trump. I have always insisted that Trump support was a revelation of character. And it is now, more than ever.
The content of their character is completely exposed.
They repeatedly violate their oath of office. Does that not make them traitors?
Orwell and Martin Niemöller have been mandatory reading for decades for, it turns out, no good reason at all. People who learn history still choose to repeat the worst of it. It seems that imparting information does not make anyone wiser or more honest with themselves about reality.
https://open.substack.com/pub/artistlike/p/think-and-doublethink-about-what?r=lje8i&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
"We are being manipulated through public communications today." No shit?
None dare call it "advertising."
Advertising and propaganda are Siamese twins.
"Orwell and Martin Niemöller have been mandatory reading for decades..."
Mandatory reading for whom? In English class, Orwell was an elective reading, and my history classes never mentioned Martin Niemöller at all. If what I didn't learn is any example for others, it's unlikely that their words would have too much of an effect on peoples' thinking.
Wow, really? When and where did you go to school? I went to Virginia public schools in the 1980s and 90s, and both 1984 and Animal Farm were required reading, and in 10th grade I had extensive Holocaust-related education that included reading Elie Wiesel, going with school to the US Holocaust Museum and Schindler's List came out that year and my parents took my sister and me to see it.
I was "educated" in Washington D.C. in the 1960s. Civil Rights was the focus at the time. 1984 and Animal Farm were elective readings, not mandatory. I read them anyway because reading was important. History at the time didn't much mention the Holocaust at all. Much more learning occured in college and in years later.
Virginia is a purple state today and Northern Virginia is solidly liberal with Loudoun County now being one of the richest in the country. I grew up in Loudoun when it was largely rural, not rich, before the tech boom, and like the rest of Virginia, it was solidly red/Republican then. It was not easy to grow up there as a gay person. With all this in mind, it really unnerves me that the education I got from Republican-controlled Virginia public schools 30-40 years ago was far more ‘liberal’ than the Republican party is today.
They taught us that we are a nation of immigrants.
They taught us in elementary school that within 40-50 years, Latino people would be the demographic majority—and therefore our culture will change to reflect those influences as it always has done with other immigrants’ cultural influences. It was not presented as a threat to anyone.
They taught us racism was wrong, slavery was condemnable, the Holocaust was the ultimate evil.
They glorified colonists and settlers otherwise, though, and did not honestly teach how American Indian people were treated.
They taught us that the original colonists rebelled against tyranny, and they described tyranny as exactly what the Republican party leaders are doing to the USA today.
They taught us church and state can never merge and that freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly are one and the same, equally important, equally valuable, and the basis of the American ethos.
Republicans were in control of our schools then. Today, Republicans teach the opposite of most of this.
I was given a suprise ‘good samaritan’ award at the end of one school year because I intervened when someone was being gang-mocked for being injured and limping. Today, I can only imagine schools in red states giving awards to students who cause harm to vulnerable people.
Back in the 70s in NJ, Orwell was a mandatory but not Niemöller.
I hope you’ll re-examine your comment above. You state that ‘people’ reading the writings of these two authors is for ‘no good reason at all’, implying that their message is not valuable to anyone. While this is undoubtedly true of trump’s followers, it is not true of the vast majority of millions of people, myself included. You are focusing only on the beliefs of a minority of the population. An overwhelming number of the rest of us understand the warning contained in Orwell’s books and act on it every day. It’s one of many reasons for the existence of publications like The Contrarian.
You further state that ‘…imparting information does not make anyone wiser or more honest with themselves about reality’. I believe if you reconsider your comment, you’ll realize that this sentence completely lacks any basis in fact.
Jen Rubin’s articles contain unassailable facts and analysis that she uses to uplift her readers. Comments like yours above do the opposite.
Artistlike shared an opinion, not necessarily their own belief. No need to make it personal. Comments, like everything else, can be assessed. Ms. Rubin writes more to inform readers than to 'uplift' them. If she does, so be it, though some of what she reports upon is horrifying - and rightly so.
My husband read that there's some S#$#@ about a law that we have to go to a Christian church on Sunday. Are they going to get ICE to herd us there? WTF them. Madness. Christian Morons. Separation of Church and State!!!!!!
no law yet, but wait for it
Honestly I am not expecting that law (one that says you are not allowed to go to a synagogue or Mosque maybe). The reason being that the billionaires behind all of this, the media personnel, and the clowns in government, don't give a %&%#% where we are on a Sunday, in fact they'd really rather we were buying something, the whole "Christian" thing is just code for white-like-us.
It's in Project 2028. They want a theocratic dictatorship.
drumpf has grown dependent on a supine Court, to which his lackeys will appeal every decision against the brutal insanities foisted on the nation. We need Court reform as soon as the Democrats are elected to a Congress that has been non-existent so far. Thank you for dropping the too-polite language used by the greatest number of media journalists, a screen that serves to hide the despicable nature of this regime, for which the entire rethug party is responsible, not just their chosen fuhrer.
You said it so well, Jen! How many other Bill of Rights amendments has he violated? It’s definitively authoritarianism at its core. Christian nationalism is not Christian at all. It’s the perversion of Christianity. This alone should offend not only Christians but people of all faiths and even those of no faith.
Contempt of court. Judges should start finding the attorneys working for the WH Crime Boss in contempt of court and begin fining or arresting them. I think that's within their power. Also, South Korea is putting their former Prime Minister in prison for his Trump-Like actions and the former "Prince" Andrew is being charged for his behavior on Epstein Island. These are examples that the people of the Democratic States of America can rally around.
I would posit that it was Orwell who has given the regime all their "great" ideas. Orwell's "1984" should be read through to its final chapters... but then, again, attention span and critical thinking skills are not strong suits among the maga faithful.
america reads at a 6th grade level
Trump is functionally illiterate.
That high?
Social Media hasn't helped that problem at all, and is also likely responsible for the shortened attention span, as well as reacting without thinking.
Good article Jennifer.
It looks as if the MAGA ship is starting to take on water. Thanks to you and your Contrarian army.
This is where the 'drill baby, drill' should come into play in reality. Keep drilling holes in the "ship of fools" (MAGA) so that it may sink more quickly.
Excellent piece! Thank, Jen!
Thank you. This last paragraph: "We need not indulge MAGA cultists who insist they are virtuous victims, muzzled by the left. The only ones muzzling critics are the historical and constitutional know-nothings who repeatedly try to rewrite history to comport with their goal of establishing a white supremacist autocracy. Such maneuvers are un-American — and cannot stand if our democracy is to survive." Two thoughts: 1. As an LGBTQ+ married man. all I want is to have the same rights as everyone else. Why Christian Nationalists and MAGA feel I am infringing on their rights is beyond me. 2. Don't we think it's time for those who with a more powerful voice and clout to speak up for the First Amendment? Where is the communications industry? This is beyond "politics." It is about who we are as a nation.
i once asked someone why he thought same sex marriage infringed upon his own hetero marriage. he had no answer. just insisted it did. well isn't that bigotry? of course it is.
Look at what has become of the "communications industry". Some have been been bought by Trump sychophants (Bezos, Murdoch) and others are corporate owned who have other interests that they fear would fall victim to Trump's ire should they deny him.