Evening Roundup: Constitutional Principles and post-Super Bowl Commentary
February 10: Posts by Anthony Michael Kreis, Austin Sarat, Contrarian Allison Rice, Eric Schnure, Andy Borowitz, The Democracy Index, and Jen Rubin!
Good Evening Contrarians! Unintentionally, but as a potent reminder to us all, The Contrarian’s 150th piece of content—posted exactly four weeks after going live—is the first one below, leading with “We rejected kingly power once. We must do so again.” Indeed. Thank you for being with us on this journey!
We rejected kingly power once. We must do so again.
By Anthony Michael Kreis
Constitutional principles are so deeply wedded to the American experience that they transcend presidential administrations.
JD Vance's impatience with constitutional niceties won't buy him friends on the court
Yesterday, Vice President JD Vance said the quiet part out loud. When many commentators think the courts are all that stand between the American people and the collapse of the government of separated powers envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution, the vice president has thrown down the gauntlet.
The case for sports: The rest is still unwritten
Last night, millions of people watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in dominant fashion. As a Baltimore Ravens fan still bitter from the team’s AFC Championship loss last season, I was thrilled to watch the Eagles defense routinely get to Patrick Mahomes...
Shhh, You Can Talk After the Commercials
The most insufferable team played against the team with the most insufferable fans in front of the most insufferable person. Yeah, that last one is a very close tie with Elon Musk. But I’ll give the title to Trump out of fear of retribution. And because I don’t want to read about it on Truth Social...
In addition, there’s no better day than a Monday to make sure you’re laughing your way through the atrocities. Who better to help you do so than Andy Borowitz? *WARNING*: Once you imagine this, it’s hard to unsee:
And in case you missed our thrilling morning announcement, please do familiarize yourself with Joyce Vance’s Democracy Index, which The Contrarian will be hosting, starting this Friday.
The Democracy Index
If you feel like you’re trudging through some heavy, impenetrable muck as you take in the news about Donald Trump’s first three weeks back in office, you are not alone.
Three Reminders for the Week Ahead
Unsurprisingly, the corporate and billionaire media continue to sane-wash the creepy South African billionaire Elon Musk’s assault on government (as we’ve seen in revisions such as characterizing unilateral and illegal axing of an agency as eliminating waste and fraud or as “cost-cutting efforts”).
Have a lovely night,
The Contrarians
Thank you for the Borowitz report today. I need desperately to laugh out loud these days to keep my sanity. Not only was the report some welcome comic relief, but the hundreds of comments had me laughing. It's a wonderful community to be a part of during this time of terror. If we can keep each other buoyed up with clever humor while we fight the fascist oligarchs, we will find we have amazing endurance and resilience. Thank you for all that you are doing.
Let's all be sure to ask our Republican Congresspeople: Are you a Republican, or are you a fascist? CBK