Evening Roundup, September 15
Featuring Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Norm Ornstein, "Offsides" with Pablo Torre & Jen Rubin, Daryn Dickens, Tim Mak, Carron J. Phillips, "We Don't Like that, Mikey," "Talking Feds," and Merch!
Dehumanization & kleptocracy: Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Trump's authoritarian takeover
Deploying the military against the citizenry, going after universities, intimidating the media into silence—these are just some of the techniques that Trump and countless other dictators have used to maintain power.
Senate Republican Chicanery
You don’t have to be very old to remember when Senate Republicans used mass obstruction to block or deter Biden nominees for courts and executive posts. That included using every delay tactic on individual nominees (remember, the rules changes did not eliminate filibusters, but simply cut the cloture threshold for confirmation from 60 to 50…
Offsides with Pablo Torre: Updates on the Kawhi Leonard scandal, Bill Belichick & performative politics in sports
It’s Monday, so that must mean Pablo’s joining us for another episode of Offsides! Today, he and Jen continue to dive into the Kawhi Leonard scandal (where Pablo recently unveiled another piece of the puzzle), the unsurprising mediocrity of Bill Belichick’s leadership of the North Carolina Tar Heels…
When white America is scared, Black schools get threatened
By Daryn Dickens
Bomb threats at several HBCUs were another chapter in threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Where in the World is Tim Mak? Russian drones in Poland & political upheaval in Nepal
Two major international events happened last week but received less coverage than they deserved. First, Russia sent over 19 drones into Poland’s airspace, which Poland consequently shot down. On Saturday, Romania experienced a similar breach of their territory...
MAGA supporters have become real-life Manchurian candidates
By Carron J. Phillips
Trump didn’t need technology and science to brainwash his followers. He galvanized their privilege, a tactic that never fails.
We don't like it, Mikey
Mike Johnson has made his way to the front of the line of cronies attempting to cover up Trump’s involvement with Epstein and his role in the Epstein Files.
A Darker Turn
As the country reels from the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Harry Litman welcomes a special all-Contrarian panel of Norman Eisen, Jennifer Rubin, and George Conway to grapple with the attack's aftershocks.
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My fear is that with this regime’s continuing attacks on Venezuelan boats on the high seas, is the regime’s efforts to provoke the U.S. into another war! It certainly will be one that the U. S. Started by acts of aggression with no proof that the boats attacked are drug runners! Where is the transparency touted by this regime?
Is there a transcript of this, please? And if so, how do I access it?