Evening Roundup, June 9
Featuring Norm Ornstein, Steve Vladeck, Chris Mirasola, Jen Rubin, April Ryan and Juan Proaño, Nick Penniman, Pablo Torre, Brian O'Neill, Austin Sarat, Meredith Blake, and RJ Matson
Welcome to the nihilocracy
In many ways, President Donald Trump is a dangerously cartoonish version of his role model autocrats and dictators: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Mohammed bin Salman, Viktor Orban, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But in one respect, he is different. The others at least want their governments to function. Trump, however, is operating …
156. Federalizing the California National Guard
Welcome back to “One First,” an (increasingly frequent) newsletter that aims to make the U.S. Supreme Court and related legal issues more accessible to all of us. If you’re not already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider becoming one (and, if you already are, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription if your circumstances permit):
Are we on the verge of a police state? Chris Mirasola on the legality of deploying the National Guard in L.A.
On Saturday evening, Trump deployed the National Guard to L.A. in response to the anti-ICE protests that started this past Friday. In his presidential memo, Trump stated “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United St…
The Golden Age of Resignations
Well, at least you can say this for the dark, depressing, and frightful Trump era: It has given us magnificent resignation statements. In refusing to serve a tyrannical regime at odds with their oaths, the Constitution, and their professional obligations,
Coffee with Contrarians 6/9
Thank you Elliot Jurist, William Larry Groves, Carla Atkinson, Michael Broder, Mona Mona, and many others for tuning into Coffee with the Contrarians! We’re live every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 9:15am ET. Join us!
In Their Own Words: Veterans Protest Cutbacks at Rally on the National Mall
Since January, roughly six thousand veterans have been fired by DOGE. The Department of Veterans Affairs, where former service members make up more than a quarter of the workforce, is set to lose another 80,000 workers under VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins’s proposed cutbacks. Veterans’ advocates fear that staffing cuts could severely impact care for mi…
Offsides with Pablo Torre: Trump's crackdown on LA, the future of college sports, and epic finals at the French Open
A lot has happened since the last episode of Offsides with Pablo Torre. How to talk about the evolution of college athletics when the President just sent the National Guard into Los Angeles? And what about the epic championship that played out at the
A masterclass in figuring out ways not to do what judges order
Fifty years ago, singer/songwriter Paul Simon released what would become a smash hit: “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” As the title suggests, Simon described different underhanded techniques for ending a relationship.
At the Tonys, Hamilton harkens back to a more optimistic moment in American life
It was 2015 all over again at the Tony Awards Sunday night. Or at least it felt that way for a few blissful minutes, as the original cast of Hamilton reunited for a special performance celebrating the musical’s 10th anniversary.
Godzilla v. King Kong
RJ draws several editorial cartoons each week for his substack, e pluribus cartoonum, and for Roll Call, the newspaper of Congress and Capitol Hill. His work is widely syndicated to print newspapers by Cagle Cartoons.
To the tune of Greenback Dollar
“I don’t want your millions, mister. I don’t want your golden watch and chain. All I want is my constitution, mister. Give me back my democracy again.”
The failure of the House and Senate minority “Leaders” to lead, has deprived the Dems of an opposition platform and time is running out to put one together within the context of a functioning democracy.
Therefore, someone has to build that opposition/Democracy platform in the form of a presidential campaign and stand on it, NOW!
Who has the guts to step into the yawning breach?!
Senator Murphy, Shiff, Whitehouse, Kelly, King.. Congressman Booker, Swalwell, Khanna, Crow, Himes, Raskin, Auchincloss, Moulton, Goldman this moment is for one of you. Take it. NOW.
(This country is not ready for a woman president, otherwise I would have included ten on the list!)