Breaking news: Trump just eliminated NOAA's research budget. (I assume comment on this is also unnecessary because he ordered it done.) He is dismantling government piece by piece. He's cut billions of dollars of research at universities on his whim. A headline at WaPo (I can't bear to read the article) indicates more law firms have caved. And he's defied the judge's order to update the court today on his efforts to bring Abrego Garcia back.
The most ominous of his actions are the rendition of immigrants to El Salvador without due process and the detention of foreign students for their campus speech. This makes us a police state, not a nation of laws.
Remember to focus on the resistance. A few more law firms have caved. They will lose their best lawyers to the firms, hundreds of them, that have and will stand strong.
I simply can't imagine the thought process behind the big law firms 'reaching deals with Trump.' I guess I must be dim to not understand why this is being done and to what end...Are they part of the retribution he promised? Is this so that the firms that employed anybody that took part in any case against Trump? Help me understand this. Please!
The big law firms that are raking in billions by representing big-money corporations are the ones caving. They want to save their bank accounts.
Many great law firms have banded together to file suit against trump’s willful targeting of law firms that represented his “enemies”. Their suit maintains that it is unconstitutional to use the office of the Presidency for revenge against anyone or any entity.
I'm starting to wonder if Garcia is still alive. They sure are being evasive about him. I believe I saw today that their lawyer isn't able to tell the Court where he is. It seems like if we paid someone to house our prisoners one could find out where they are.
Did we pay for them to be kept forever or is this an ongoing thing? If we are expected to keep paying then we need an accounting of our prisioners.
We need our free press to keep up its vital work. Local news outlets need to keep up their reporting. Faux news needs to stop lying. Lawyers must fight for the Constitution. Please keep writing. Every voice is important. (Reminds me of Dr Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who”)
the work of The Contrarian is essential and I personally am very grateful for all that is brought to us, US citizens. I see one of the greatest hurdles in this crisis in which the USA now finds itself, is the two distinct "media bubbles" or "information eco-systems" in which Americans are now living. IT IS positive that Indivisible.org, Bernie Sandies/AOC & other organizations are holding Town Halls in Red Districts - but WHO will attend? And how & where will these events be reported so as to alert the average citizen in these places? Patriotic Millionaires.org is taking their show into Red States which is both courageous & laudable. And I will not discount my optimism over the intra-family strife in the Murdoch family 😁👍 As it stands now, the moment Rupert kicks the bucket two of his 3 eldest children, who no longer want to be part of "All Things Propaganda," will have the power to change the "journalist style" currently used by Fox Infotainment (forgive me I cannot call it "news.") Do we just wait and see how millions react when Trump's reckless & callous policy hurt them personally? (That might be sooner than Rupert's final farewell 😅). Billboards? How do we re-instill the value of fact based truth?
Believe it or not, there are quite a few people out there who voted for Bernie Sanders in a primary and for Trump in the general election. What he and AOC are doing is really important.
"On Thursday, the New York Times reported that DOGE is attempting to delete the Social Security information of hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants living in the United States."
The solvency of the Social Security system is threatened if payroll taxes are no longer collected from people who are not here legally (can't ever collect benefits) but are working.
I actually believe the consequences to be much worse. We now know that a mechanism exists, and is being used, to financially disappear any person whose personal data has fallen into the hands of DOGE. AI can quickly find the people who donate to Democratic or other "liberal" causes and cross reference to social security numbers to be disabled. Even if they never do it, or do it and then reverse it, the very existence of the mechanism intimidates free speech and association. The solvency of the Social Security system is the least of the worries of this regime.
SCOTUS's nominally unanimous ruling on the Abrego Garcia situation was no more a protection of a core American principle than a stage-set painting of a castle is a castle. Its legal sophistry made the decision seem pretty OK, sort of, from a distance, but in fact left an obvious escape route for the present régime so it could avoid full compliance with and accountability before the law.
If this decision becomes a template for how SCOTUS will come down on the many crucial cases soon to come before it -- a tiptoeing around the core conflicts involved, for fear of losing a confrontation with a dictatorial régime rapidly solidifying its illegal and extra-legal powers -- the Supreme Court will have vacated the rule of law in this country and become supine before a tyrant.
“Possibility of insider trading?” Don’t you mean ‘probability’? Is there a stronger word? Don’t we all know it’s gone way beyond only a guess! I hope someone is keeping track of these shenanigans so (if he doesn’t give a blanket pardon) we can try to recoup from his billionaire friends, every Republican congressperson, etc., etc. I still don’t understand how these thieves and grifters could have been elected! (imho)
Absolutely was insider trading, it's even documented in videos similar in fact to when he said "in the oval office" that Elon "rigged the votes" because he really knows his computers. We are living a nightmare! Thank you Contrarians for providing us with the information so that we can stay informed even though it's not good for our health.
This administration is simply destroying everything that is good in our country! We the people have to and never stop protesting until the destruction ends!! As John Lewis said, “Let’s make good trouble!”
Tonight is the first night of Passover. I hope Jews like me and our non-Jewish friends Will be talking about how we oppose the suffering of all people and support dignity and freedom for everyone. And this is especially important in our country right now, when one of the reasons for the deportations is supposedly to protect Jews from violence. Our safety cannot be predicated on the suffering of others. I don't believe that any American thought that trump's deportation policy would lead to the incarceration of people in a brutal prison. Dehumanization of one leads to dehumanization of all.
The sad part is that there are Jews who have forgotten their (our) background. It is appalling how the Paul Wise, et al., law firm caved so quickly! The granddaughters of federal judge, Simon Rifkind, ripped Paul Wise apart. Sarah Longwell and George Conway revealed the email that they sent to the chief officer of the firm, Karp, said “ You traveled to Washington to surrender before you had even begun to fight”. They told him that must stop “invoking our grandfather’s name to justify your actions and defend the erosion of the rules of law”. Conway explained that this firm was originally put together by Jews because no law firms would hire them. The law firm is nearly 150 years old. Yeah, Happy Pesach to us. Sigh…
Speaking of Signal debacle, where are things with that? The Dems and I think (?) a Republican or two were going to investigate and hold hearings, but I haven't heard anything. Is that still on the docket or has Congress decided to let it evaporate until the next time?
We need to remove the president and vice president from office immediately. If we survive this disaster, we need to rethink who we put into Congress. If lawmakers with impeachment power are afraid to stand up for the rule of law, they have no business representing us.
The crucial thing here is that Trump supporters are starting to feel the pain, and that will be the essential straw that breaks Trump’s back. His own hubris will be his downfall. The ancient Greeks knew it a long time ago. “Those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad". And Trump is as mad as a hatter.
He will eventually fall, but America may fall with him. The Steve Bannons of the world spin stories that have a stranglehold on 1/3 of America, and it may take a long time before the pain is enough to break that hold. In the meantime, we must work and maintain our decency for the duration--also a big challenge.
While I appreciate your thoughts, I would add that we are in entirely unknown territory here. I would not deny the possibility of your supposition, but I’d warn against any kind of certainty. So yes, we must work to maintain our Republic with every sinew we can summon and hope that time will be on our side.
My only certainty is that every despot falls, if only through death. And others will always be looking for the opportunity. We certainly are in new territory made possible by the same technology that helps us prosper. I think this also increases the probability of rapid change in despotic power.
"My only certainty is that every despot falls, if only through death”
You could say the same thing about most if not all democratic rulers as well. But in fact some form of despotism has been very much the norm rather than the exception throughout the vast majority of human history ever since ‘the kingship descended from Heaven’ in ancient Sumer.
Where my thinking rests is on the fact that we were the nation on earth to found itself specifically on the opposite proposition. So the test we are facing now is just as Lincoln noted during one of other tests we faced, “whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure”. And we shall see.
And The Trump\DOGE Plunderers keep plundering American institutions, legal system, judicial system, educational system, scientific and research laboratories, etc. as though they could replace these wonders which have kept them alive and gives them the riches they crave, plundering them courtesy of SCOTUS. I keep knitting, remember the woman who kept knitting through the French Revolution? Ah, yes.
At age 75 and in questionable health, I have precious few years left. I wish I could move past hours of reading/posting about this nightmare we have become, but it does feel like the legitimacy of the 2024 election of Trump and his Project 2024 playbook is proving to be way more challenging than we thought. He has secured SCOTUS, even though they threw a bone with the 9-0 vote to ask (not tell) Trump to bring Garcia back. I guess I better go do something uplifting like clean toilets.
Joyce Vance, you and a few others are the beacon of hope. Thank you!
Breaking news: Trump just eliminated NOAA's research budget. (I assume comment on this is also unnecessary because he ordered it done.) He is dismantling government piece by piece. He's cut billions of dollars of research at universities on his whim. A headline at WaPo (I can't bear to read the article) indicates more law firms have caved. And he's defied the judge's order to update the court today on his efforts to bring Abrego Garcia back.
The most ominous of his actions are the rendition of immigrants to El Salvador without due process and the detention of foreign students for their campus speech. This makes us a police state, not a nation of laws.
Remember to focus on the resistance. A few more law firms have caved. They will lose their best lawyers to the firms, hundreds of them, that have and will stand strong.
Don’t let the bastards get you down, Joan.
Five more big law firms reach deals with Trump. Pro bono? For the good of what?
Spinelessness is not a quality to be admired in a legal advocate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/business/trump-law-firms-kirkland-ellis-latham-watkins.html
I simply can't imagine the thought process behind the big law firms 'reaching deals with Trump.' I guess I must be dim to not understand why this is being done and to what end...Are they part of the retribution he promised? Is this so that the firms that employed anybody that took part in any case against Trump? Help me understand this. Please!
The big law firms that are raking in billions by representing big-money corporations are the ones caving. They want to save their bank accounts.
Many great law firms have banded together to file suit against trump’s willful targeting of law firms that represented his “enemies”. Their suit maintains that it is unconstitutional to use the office of the Presidency for revenge against anyone or any entity.
They're cowards.
I'm starting to wonder if Garcia is still alive. They sure are being evasive about him. I believe I saw today that their lawyer isn't able to tell the Court where he is. It seems like if we paid someone to house our prisoners one could find out where they are.
Did we pay for them to be kept forever or is this an ongoing thing? If we are expected to keep paying then we need an accounting of our prisioners.
To that end, why can’t the Judge specifically order the DOJ to verify if Mr. Garcia is still alive and if so, what his
living conditions are day by day ?
We need our free press to keep up its vital work. Local news outlets need to keep up their reporting. Faux news needs to stop lying. Lawyers must fight for the Constitution. Please keep writing. Every voice is important. (Reminds me of Dr Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who”)
the work of The Contrarian is essential and I personally am very grateful for all that is brought to us, US citizens. I see one of the greatest hurdles in this crisis in which the USA now finds itself, is the two distinct "media bubbles" or "information eco-systems" in which Americans are now living. IT IS positive that Indivisible.org, Bernie Sandies/AOC & other organizations are holding Town Halls in Red Districts - but WHO will attend? And how & where will these events be reported so as to alert the average citizen in these places? Patriotic Millionaires.org is taking their show into Red States which is both courageous & laudable. And I will not discount my optimism over the intra-family strife in the Murdoch family 😁👍 As it stands now, the moment Rupert kicks the bucket two of his 3 eldest children, who no longer want to be part of "All Things Propaganda," will have the power to change the "journalist style" currently used by Fox Infotainment (forgive me I cannot call it "news.") Do we just wait and see how millions react when Trump's reckless & callous policy hurt them personally? (That might be sooner than Rupert's final farewell 😅). Billboards? How do we re-instill the value of fact based truth?
Believe it or not, there are quite a few people out there who voted for Bernie Sanders in a primary and for Trump in the general election. What he and AOC are doing is really important.
"On Thursday, the New York Times reported that DOGE is attempting to delete the Social Security information of hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants living in the United States."
The solvency of the Social Security system is threatened if payroll taxes are no longer collected from people who are not here legally (can't ever collect benefits) but are working.
I actually believe the consequences to be much worse. We now know that a mechanism exists, and is being used, to financially disappear any person whose personal data has fallen into the hands of DOGE. AI can quickly find the people who donate to Democratic or other "liberal" causes and cross reference to social security numbers to be disabled. Even if they never do it, or do it and then reverse it, the very existence of the mechanism intimidates free speech and association. The solvency of the Social Security system is the least of the worries of this regime.
Enablers; the Supreme Court, Law firms, sycophant's billionaires, and Maga Congress.
SCOTUS's nominally unanimous ruling on the Abrego Garcia situation was no more a protection of a core American principle than a stage-set painting of a castle is a castle. Its legal sophistry made the decision seem pretty OK, sort of, from a distance, but in fact left an obvious escape route for the present régime so it could avoid full compliance with and accountability before the law.
If this decision becomes a template for how SCOTUS will come down on the many crucial cases soon to come before it -- a tiptoeing around the core conflicts involved, for fear of losing a confrontation with a dictatorial régime rapidly solidifying its illegal and extra-legal powers -- the Supreme Court will have vacated the rule of law in this country and become supine before a tyrant.
“Possibility of insider trading?” Don’t you mean ‘probability’? Is there a stronger word? Don’t we all know it’s gone way beyond only a guess! I hope someone is keeping track of these shenanigans so (if he doesn’t give a blanket pardon) we can try to recoup from his billionaire friends, every Republican congressperson, etc., etc. I still don’t understand how these thieves and grifters could have been elected! (imho)
Absolutely was insider trading, it's even documented in videos similar in fact to when he said "in the oval office" that Elon "rigged the votes" because he really knows his computers. We are living a nightmare! Thank you Contrarians for providing us with the information so that we can stay informed even though it's not good for our health.
This administration is simply destroying everything that is good in our country! We the people have to and never stop protesting until the destruction ends!! As John Lewis said, “Let’s make good trouble!”
Tonight is the first night of Passover. I hope Jews like me and our non-Jewish friends Will be talking about how we oppose the suffering of all people and support dignity and freedom for everyone. And this is especially important in our country right now, when one of the reasons for the deportations is supposedly to protect Jews from violence. Our safety cannot be predicated on the suffering of others. I don't believe that any American thought that trump's deportation policy would lead to the incarceration of people in a brutal prison. Dehumanization of one leads to dehumanization of all.
The sad part is that there are Jews who have forgotten their (our) background. It is appalling how the Paul Wise, et al., law firm caved so quickly! The granddaughters of federal judge, Simon Rifkind, ripped Paul Wise apart. Sarah Longwell and George Conway revealed the email that they sent to the chief officer of the firm, Karp, said “ You traveled to Washington to surrender before you had even begun to fight”. They told him that must stop “invoking our grandfather’s name to justify your actions and defend the erosion of the rules of law”. Conway explained that this firm was originally put together by Jews because no law firms would hire them. The law firm is nearly 150 years old. Yeah, Happy Pesach to us. Sigh…
I think we need a coup d’état pour l’état c’est moi.
Speaking of Signal debacle, where are things with that? The Dems and I think (?) a Republican or two were going to investigate and hold hearings, but I haven't heard anything. Is that still on the docket or has Congress decided to let it evaporate until the next time?
An overtly bold administration that deports people like they have Garcia must be reined in.
We need to remove the president and vice president from office immediately. If we survive this disaster, we need to rethink who we put into Congress. If lawmakers with impeachment power are afraid to stand up for the rule of law, they have no business representing us.
The crucial thing here is that Trump supporters are starting to feel the pain, and that will be the essential straw that breaks Trump’s back. His own hubris will be his downfall. The ancient Greeks knew it a long time ago. “Those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad". And Trump is as mad as a hatter.
He will eventually fall, but America may fall with him. The Steve Bannons of the world spin stories that have a stranglehold on 1/3 of America, and it may take a long time before the pain is enough to break that hold. In the meantime, we must work and maintain our decency for the duration--also a big challenge.
While I appreciate your thoughts, I would add that we are in entirely unknown territory here. I would not deny the possibility of your supposition, but I’d warn against any kind of certainty. So yes, we must work to maintain our Republic with every sinew we can summon and hope that time will be on our side.
My only certainty is that every despot falls, if only through death. And others will always be looking for the opportunity. We certainly are in new territory made possible by the same technology that helps us prosper. I think this also increases the probability of rapid change in despotic power.
"My only certainty is that every despot falls, if only through death”
You could say the same thing about most if not all democratic rulers as well. But in fact some form of despotism has been very much the norm rather than the exception throughout the vast majority of human history ever since ‘the kingship descended from Heaven’ in ancient Sumer.
Where my thinking rests is on the fact that we were the nation on earth to found itself specifically on the opposite proposition. So the test we are facing now is just as Lincoln noted during one of other tests we faced, “whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure”. And we shall see.
And The Trump\DOGE Plunderers keep plundering American institutions, legal system, judicial system, educational system, scientific and research laboratories, etc. as though they could replace these wonders which have kept them alive and gives them the riches they crave, plundering them courtesy of SCOTUS. I keep knitting, remember the woman who kept knitting through the French Revolution? Ah, yes.
At age 75 and in questionable health, I have precious few years left. I wish I could move past hours of reading/posting about this nightmare we have become, but it does feel like the legitimacy of the 2024 election of Trump and his Project 2024 playbook is proving to be way more challenging than we thought. He has secured SCOTUS, even though they threw a bone with the 9-0 vote to ask (not tell) Trump to bring Garcia back. I guess I better go do something uplifting like clean toilets.
Joyce Vance, you and a few others are the beacon of hope. Thank you!