Evening Roundup, April 16
Featuring Anat Shenker-Osorio; Austin Sarat; Anderson Clayton in conversation with Jen Rubin; Jennifer Weiss-Wolf; Nick Anderson; Pamela Smith and The Democracy Movement
Free Kilmar
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller
Fascism and the English language
“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?”
No, prisoners in the United States cannot be sent into exile
By Austin Sarat
The Supreme Court has long held banishment as unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.
Anderson Clayton explains the state of play in the North Carolina Supreme Court Race
The North Carolina State Supreme Court race is still being contested by Republicans, despite there being no evidence of election interference. Justice Allison Riggs won the election for a seat on the NC Supreme Court against Judge Jefferson Griffin in November of last year. Griffin refused to concede, and a litigation battle ensued. Chair of the North C…
The SAVE Act
With so much ink spilled about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act—the Republican-sponsored bill that passed the House last week and is now on to the Senate—Contrarian readers have requested a deep dive about one aspect that has gone viral: how it would affect women.
Tightening the screws
Nick Anderson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist whose cartoons have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and elsewhere. Find him on Substack at nickanderson.substack.com.
We can’t afford to defund election security
By Pamela Smith
Not taking election security seriously irreparably harms our democracy.
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
Every Monday-Friday, we’ll update this space with protests, signs and other public demonstrations against the actions of the current regime.
Wednesday: Americans demand the return of Kilmar Abrego García, plus protests in Florida, California, Arizona, and more.
MD Sen Van Hollen is in El Salvador trying to speak with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The senator has been completely blocked from doing so by the leaders of El Salvador. But why? Why are trump et al so completely, nonsensically obstructionist about bringing home this one man whom they incarcerated illegally? I’m not into conspiracy theories but the skeptical lawyer in me has to wonder whether Abrego Garcia is perhaps not publicly presentable or even no longer alive. What then?
FASCISM
1. Indispensable ruler 2. Supremacy of the NATION 3. Scapegoats to unify the masses
4. Fear mongering 5. Military strength and supremacy 6. Misogyny and sexism
7. Denigrating the media 8. Primacy of corporate power 9 .Cronyism
10. Contempt for institutions 11. The nation surrounded by enemies
12. False accusations of Fraudulent elections 13. Personal attacks on rival elites
14. Law and Order as a political weapon 15. Religion in the public square