What They Died For

Publisher's Roundup 19, Memorial Day Edition

Memorial Day has particular meaning for me. I would not be alive if it were not for the US military. It helped save both my parents in World War II—though in very different ways.

In spring 1945, my mom had been in Nazi captivity for a year—transferred from Auschwitz to a slave labor camp in Neuengamme Germany, packing (and when she could, sabotaging) ammunition. When she was flagging, a friendly jailer whispered to her to hang on—the allies were near. But for the US Armed Forces joining the fight, at terrible cost to so many American soldiers and families, my mom would not have survived.

My Dad’s connection was more direct: he actually served in those forces. He fled Europe for the US in 1940, arrived here with no papers, and enlisted in the Army to become a citizen. Who knows what would’ve become of him if the Army hadn't welcomed him. While my parents didn’t meet until years after the war (in Israel, of all places), the US military was their godsend, and so mine.

I thought of all that this weekend, as I watched a group of veterans process at the Brown University commencement ceremony (I was there for my 40th reunion). The university has a program for veterans to get college degrees. The diverse platoon was composed of about twenty men and women; short and tall; black, brown, and white; all clad in gowns and mortarboards instead of uniforms or camouflage. They were greeted with cheers and whoops for their own accomplishments, of course, but also for the honor of the extraordinary institution they represent.

The American idea, which they and their absent comrades fought and died for, is being attacked from within this Memorial Day. How do we honor those who died for freedom when we see liberty under attack here at home? How do we salute the flag and that idea of America it stands for, when its meaning is being assaulted daily by the very administration entrusted with its care?

I know some might say we should simply remember our lost soldiers today, without tarnishing that tribute by addressing our political climate. But to my mind, looking away squanders their sacrifice. It is our responsibility to be candid about the crisis and to honor their service more urgently than ever.

We can do that by recommitting ourselves to defending our democracy. To memorialize our veterans’ sacrifices is to attend to the fragile, unfinished work of fighting autocracy and building a country worthy of their service. It is to hold tight to the idea of America, even when its practice falters. To do our part, as they did—not on distant battlefields, but on our streets, among our communities, and in our courthouses.

For me, that mission is informed by a Jewish aphorism that my parents, both saved by American soldiering, would sometimes say to me:

לֹא עָלֶיך הַמְלָאכָה לִיגמוֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חֹרִין לְחִבָּטֵל מִמֶנָה

“Your job is not to finish the work—but neither are you, the child of free people, not to do your share.”

I think of it often when I’m doing my pro-democracy work here in the court of public opinion at The Contrarian or my parallel work in the courts of law, which paid subscribers make possible. The challenge is relentless, so it reassures me to know that I need not harbor illusions of finishing the job. By the same token, it motivates me to stay mindful that I must always do my share.

“The child of free people.” That’s me and my family—but it is also all of us. We owe our freedom to American soldiers who fought and died for it. Watching those proud, processing veterans at Brown reminded me that Memorial Day is about people—ordinary people who exhibited extraordinary courage so that those they never knew, but also they and their children, could be free. As we raise flags and lay wreaths, let us also raise voices and lay down the law. And as we enter this summer, let us be realistic: no one can finish the work, so let us each be prepared to do our share for democracy.

A lot of you did just that last week, and we covered it here at The Contrarian.

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Democracy Movement

If you ever find yourself hungry for hope, one of my favorite features at The Contrarian is our daily coverage of the Democracy Movement. We started it to keep you inspired by fellow Americans across the country who are protecting and defending democracy.

This week, the bulk of the protests were over the big, hideous budget bill the House passed on Thursday. (As a friendly reminder: call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121. There’s always value in letting representatives know how their voters feel.) This week, we also covered some early planning for No Kings Day, clocked a crowd of 18,000 in the streets of Chicago, and spotted Gabby Giffords joining protesters in Tucson to oppose the GOP tax scam. Also included are protesters outside Trump’s outrageous, unethical “meme coin dinner” (which I covered live), Tesla Takedowns, Batman joining the resistance, and much more. As always, find protests in your area at mobilize.us and send us your photos at submit@contrariannews.org. Also, check here to find a town hall in your area.

Dispatches from (and about) the international scene

Jen Rubin continued to revel in her much-deserved European vacation, but not without regular dispatches and thoughts on the U.S.’s place in the world from the other side of the Atlantic. On Trip Day 3 she reminded us that as Trump’s autocratic ambitions falter, Europe’s commitment to democratic values is only gaining strength.

In The Spanish Historical Lesson Jen delivered the long view of the rise and fall of superpowers, and on where to turn our gazes now—not to the week’s “breathless, heartless, dumb commentary” on the sad news of former President Biden, but towards the crisis raging in plain sight from the current Oval Office occupant.

Jen wasn’t the only one surveying international affairs. Brian O’Neill wrote about one weekend, three elections in Romania. Poland. Portugal. For each he posed the same global question: Can democracy still hold the line? And indeed, liberal democracy passed a set of critical stress tests in each country. O’Neill laid out the next defining test: NATO’s summit.

Jen once again took a global lens on the American crisis, returning with a question for us. Where is the outrage when Trump goes full Erdoğan? When Erdoğan jailed his top rival, the world noticed, as we did with recent autocratic moves in Chad and Tanzania. Why, she asked, has the reaction to Trump’s arrest of political opponents like a member of Congress and a judge not been greeted with equal outrage?

By week’s end, in observing the United States from abroad as we kicked off the Memorial Day weekend, Jen was struck by how much of the world that we know today would not exist, but for American military and financial sacrifice. As she wrote, “If not for young men and women ready to lay down their lives for others, Europe today would not be free, democratic, and devoted to Western values.” For this reason and countless more, this week’s Undaunted column honored veterans.

Justice…or the lack of it

The Supreme Court needs to double down on empowering lower courts, wrote Leah Litman, legal expert and author of Lawless, in regards to our highest court’s crucial decision last week blocking Trump’s illegal efforts to deport migrants to a Salvadoran prison. Their ruling delivers a clear message to lower courts: they are the first line of defense against Trump’s overreach. But if the rule of law is to survive, SCOTUS better do its own job.

This need came into stark relief when Trump’s DOJ charged a Democratic congresswoman.

Mimi Rocah wrote on this abuse of the justice system in plain sight: charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D, NJ) for allegedly assaulting federal agents—a case that is, in Rocah’s expert opinion, riddled with red flags.

Meanwhile, Matthew Boulay took on Avelo Airlines, which has signed a $150 million contract with ICE to operate its deportation flights. This summer, don’t fly deportation airlines, he suggested. “The same airline offering weekend getaways is now helping remove from the United States men, women, and children—many of whom were denied fair hearings and basic protections. Let’s be clear: Avelo is now complicit in one of the most shameful human rights violations of our time,” he wrote.

And our ace Democracy Index team analyzed a week when the Trump Administration took new steps in abusing its power of government to attack institutions and perceived enemies. However, this week also featured important instances of the federal judiciary—the institution most strongly protecting the rule of law—pushing back and thwarting these unlawful actions.

Race in America

Contrarian April Ryan was joined this week by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to discuss 5 years after George Floyd. Yesterday marked the somber anniversary of his killing. AG Ellison led the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who murdered George Floyd, and he and April had an honest and excoriating discussion of what has changed since then, and what hasn’t. “Whenever you see the racism and the distraction, look for the grift, because that's what they’re doing.”

Carron J. Phillips added his view: It took America only five years to forget about George Floyd. Witnessing the death of an innocent Black man caused this country to reflect, he recalled. However, the subsequent “racial awakening” proved to be short-lived.

The naked racism of the Trump regime was dissected in Shalise Manza Young’s column on why white South Africans are migrants the Trump administration can love. She traced how Trump’s “white is right” approach has shaped which refugees and global victims he chooses to champion—and which he ignores, apropos of a tense meeting with South Africa’s president, in which he once again pushed the claim that white South Africans are facing “genocide.”

Shalise also wrote on how Louisiana’s Nottoway fire took us back to when Black Twitter was a time. She bid good riddance to a burned-down former sugar plantation—while giving a fond eulogy to Black Twitter, which celebrated the fire with an online party at the heights of its pre-Musk-takeover heyday. “It was Black joy and Black comedy, a needed release as we watched another fire, the second iteration of a Donald Trump presidency.”

Big and Beautiful…Billionaires’ Bounty

The week brought us Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” a clear winner for Words & Phrases We Can Do Without, a weekly column on the language GOP spin doctors have rendered meaningless. When you hear this insipid branding, Jen Rubin wrote, “reframe it in your mind to mean ‘morally repugnant, fiscally insane, anti-growth bill.’”

If you like your presidential travel mixed with big money self-enrichment for Trump and sons, this week’s “Talking Feds” podcast was the one for you, as a terrific roundtable of all-star policy and legal experts–Peter Baker, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg—broke down Trump’s Gulf Coast lucre tour and this benighted “big, beautiful bill” in Art of the Self Deal.

This week’s live Q&A, “Let’s Do Lunch” with Jared Bernstein featured a heavyweight guest to answer your burning econ questions: the great Paul Krugman. These budget experts discussed, among other things, how the U.S. dollar may still be the backbone of global trade—but it’s only as reliable as the country behind it.

Katie Phang and Congressman Ritchie Torres on GOP’s calamitous cuts to Medicaid

Congressman Ritchie Torres joined Contrarian Katie Phang to dig into the GOP’s plan to decimate Medicaid support for millions of people while putting cash in the pockets of billionaires. “Ultimately, this debate is about lives and livelihoods.”

In a similar vein, Jeff Nesbit wrote an insistent piece: don’t lose sight of the pain Trump is passing on to American consumers. In it, he shone a deserved spotlight on what Trump’s policies are already costing us—at the store, at the doctor, and in your paycheck. Behind the noise, as always, Trump’s agenda is about gutting working families to reward himself and the rich.

While the mainstream media seem trapped in a news cycle about former President Biden’s health and cancer diagnosis, Jeff also explained that Trump’s cuts to cancer research are imperiling Biden’s legacy Cancer Moonshot initiative. The sitting president continues to gut cancer research pretty much everywhere he can, which of course puts at high risk the survival of the initiative that was one of Biden’s most heroic legacies.

GOP Self-sabotage

Lisa Gilbert and I explained why eroding the filibuster would come back to bite Republicans. Senate Republicans undertook that erosion by overruling the parliamentarian this week to wipe away state environmental laws that they don't like. That is as shortsighted as…well, everything else the GOP is doing.

Austin Sarat wrote about when government officials are ignorant about the Constitution, noting the stunning lack of basic constitutional knowledge among Trump’s cabinet of toadies. Last week’s special contestant was Kristi Noem. Her claim that “habeas corpus” protection from wrongful imprisonment means the exact opposite and gives free rein to the president to trample our rights endangers the republic she’s meant to serve.

Brian O’Neill published his second open letter to the director of national intelligence in sorry, Tulsi Gabbard. You can’t polygraph your way out of this. He urged her to take a step back after 100 days of politicizing—not protecting—the intelligence community with her sweeping changes. When the next failure comes, he warned, Gabbard will only have herself to blame.

With the help of our video team, we’ve been taking a clear-eyed look at some of the less savory members of this regime, who must be held accountable for failing to uphold their oaths of office. In doing so we also seek to recognize those unafraid to ask the right questions. Though he’s often cited as the only qualified member of Trump’s cabinet, we didn’t observe that in our look at what happened when Marco Visited Congress.

Health

Health is always front of mind for most of us, and has become even more so with our unhinged Secretary of Health and Human Services. In her piece, making Salmonella Great Again, Jennifer Schulze wrote on how the administration’s gutting of the FDA and CDC is transforming routine grocery shopping into a contamination casino: pay your money and take your chances on E. coli and Salmonella.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf turned to grim cases like that of Adriana Smith in her piece on how the state of reproductive rights is dire. Smith was pregnant with a fetus declared brain dead, but forced to remain on life support until delivery, possibly months from now—another case exposing the harrowing present reality of women’s bodies being under siege.

In addressing matters of health that we actually can do something to prevent, Jehieli Luevanos-Ovalle put forward essential advice: Take care of yourself while the world is burning. Self-care is essential for all of us who want to maintain the endurance to keep up the fight.

Culture, Comics & Cooking

Our friend Pablo Torre was joined by Dan Arrigg Koh for The Contrarian’s weekly show of Offsides with Pablo Torre. They discussed how sports talk wins the manosphere, as well as the need for Democrats to act like real people, Trump’s fake fandom, then back to how sports can serve as a gateway for political engagement for young men. “Sports is the lone monoculture left.”

Trump’s Oval Office is Dripping in Gold: Azza Cohen Explains via a fascinating video Trump’s ancién regime approach to Oval Office decor: a gilded study in bad taste (and worse values).

Keeping with the subject of optics and perception, Josh Levs wrote on how to dismantle the media’s bothsidesism. Image, rather than journalistic integrity, defines too much coverage, leading to the “bothsidesism” news agencies complain about yet also fall prey to. On the bright side, “where big media fail, we come in and fight the good fight” here at The Contrarian.

Culture picks for the long weekend. Meredith Blake gave us recs on what to watch, read, and listen to this Memorial Day. This week is thick with divas of very different varieties: Julianne Moore’s character in Sirens, the inimitable Cher’s memoir, and a podcast on the legendary directors that stick around for…maybe too long?

Our roster of brilliant editorial cartoonists were all on point, from Michael de Adder’s vision of the Ahab in Trump in The white whale and his depiction of the…farcical upside to dismantling Medicaid in Good news, bad news, to Nick Anderson’s illustrated double standard in the GOP’s supposed love of the order side of law with Back the blue; to our Friday stalwart Ruben Bolling, whose Tom the Dancing Bug strip offered us a glimpse at The New Sneetches.

We always love to send you into the weekend with something new to try out in your kitchen. Jamie Schler has yet to disappoint with her recipes and their context, and this week’s Summer Cherry Berry Cobbler was no exception.

Finally, we had our Contrarian Pet of the Week. This week, we introduced you to our new friend MAC (lovingly known among the Contrarian staff as MacOmar, due to his Baltimore roots and our company-wide appreciation for The Wire).

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Although we discussed the state of our democracy constantly at my 40th college reunion, I was struck again and again by how normal the gathering felt. My classmates and I caught up over Shabbat meals and at dance parties and symposia. At commencement on Sunday, the reunion classes marched down College Hill in order of seniority, with the graduating class lined up on either side as they applauded us. Then we took our places by the side of the road further down the hill, and the new grads (including our military veterans) passed between our ranks as we clapped and hollered for them. The joy was palpable. That, too, is what our absent heroes fought and died for. We honor their memory by fighting for our democracy, but also by living fervently.

Have a meaningful Memorial Day, Contrarians.

Warmly, Norm