Read "Ordinary Men," "Hitler's Willing Executioners," or similar historical studies. You will see that fascist dictators have no difficulty at all converting ordinary citizens into remorseless killers.
It seems like plenty of the ICE agents weren't ordinary citizens who got swept into committing these acts, but were white supremacists and J6 alums who are living out their greatest dreams right now.
Laurie, it appears to me that too many ICE officers are essentially street thugs. Their purpose is the create chaos and intimidation in the same way Hitler's Brownshirts did in Germany in the '20s and 30's.
Indeed it has already happened here. Trump and Miller's MAGAStopo are the regime's secret police, and snatching even citizens off the street and now murdering one. They are being unleashed against blue cities and states. ICE must be abolished and the CBP must return to its job of border security. The good squad and its leadership must be held to account.
Read "In the Garden of the beast" by Erik Larson. You will read about exactly what you are now seeing in America.
The 1938 Nazi takeover of Germany with the blessings of the people of Germany. Americans today have also given their country to Fascists. I think everyone seems to be underestimating how hard it will be to get our democracy back from them (IF, in fact we ever DO get it back). The longer he is president the harder it will be.
People will continue to get murdered. America's future today is NOT pretty.
Robert, thank you for the reading recommendation. WW II and its prelude generated millions of stories worth knowing, so it is always helpful to know of writings which are of particular value. I will do some shopping on Amazon!
P.S. I, for one, am NOT underestimating the hard road ahead to reclaim America's place in the World. We Americans spent some 250 years getting there, and that position has largely been destroyed in a matter of months.
Building Trust and Respect is a lengthy process. Destroying Trust and Respect is not. Recovery is by no means certain, and few who are alive today will be around to experience that possibility.
I’m sure that your local library has a copy or can get it for you. Supporting your library with your reading has multiple civic benefits, including depriving Bezos of more opportunities to push out small retailers, and making sure that it remains available for kids and others in your community.
There is a documentary of the same name. I can never remember if it's Netflix or Prime that showcases it. It's about 55 minutes long, well worth the time.
Thanks much. "Ordinary Men" is available on Netflix. I will be watching it. The book itself has a curious effect on the reader. The unrelenting horrors slowly begin to fade and to resemble quotidian accounts of the lives of cattle herders. Some 80+% of these ordinary, working-class men willing performed their assigned tasks. The few who refused suffered no significant rebukes or consequences. The closing chapters of the book reflect on the circumstances and processes which created killers from common clay, factors like peer pressure, normalization, respect for hierarchy, etc. When there is rot at the top, it spreads easily downwards. It should be noted that Reserve Police Battalion 101 was just one small unit among a numerous and varied collection of groups dedicated simply to killing.
Yes! What I don't understand is why Democrats in Congress and the states haven't been shouting to the heavens from the beginning that legal offenses committed under Trump will be prosecuted all the way up and down the line when they return to power. Of course, Trump will probably just pardon everyone connected with his government. Maybe not the small fry, though. And we need individual ICE agents to be very afraid of getting the justice they deserve.
On Thursday, the Senate voted to advance a bill that would stop the Trump administration from additional attacks on Venezuela without congressional approval. The vote was 52–47 with five Republicans joining all the Democrats to move the measure forward. Republicans killed a similar measure in November, but Trump’s enormously unpopular incursion into Venezuela and threats against Greenland prompted five Republicans to reassert congressional authority over military action. CNN called it “a notable rebuke of the president.”
The five Republicans voting for the bill were Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana.
Immediately, Trump posted on social media that the five “should never be elected to office again.” By reasserting the power of Congress, he wrote, they were “attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.”
Trump is in a pickle. Here is Baghdad By the Sea, at least one House MAGAT, my rep, opposes him on immigration. Many other House Republicans oppose him on the Epstein coverup. Others on the Obamacare issue. It's up to us to convince more to join them.
In Minnesota Congressional Republicans need to be pressured. We need to contact their donors. Local businesses. Local Holy Joes. Picket. Sit in.
The current Republican U.S. representatives for Minnesota are:
District 1: Brad Finstad (since August 12, 2022)
District 6: Tom Emmer (since January 3, 2015)
District 7: Michelle Fischbach (since January 3, 2021)
How much were the five more worried about saving their seats and finally doing something that the voters approve, than worry about what Trump might do to them? We shall never know the motivation.
Take advantage of the situation. Trump is vulnerable.
Yesterday, Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would oppose the confirmation of all picks for the Fed, including the forthcoming chair nomination, until the legal matter is resolved.
Feasible to get several House members to flip, issue by issue. IMHO Epstein is primary. All these moves are designed to distract our attention.
It's hard not to be distracted with everything that is raining down upon us at the same time. Good, ICE, Venezuela, Greenland, Colombia, Iran, Congress, Trump and his ilk, and a legacy media that flits from one to the next shiny object.
Which legal matter are you referring to? Trump’s ability to fire Powell? As I said yesterday I hope that the Supreme Court gets off its behind and issues the ruling on that. Of course I may not like it but they do show signs of not approving of Trump being able to fire the head of the Fed. There will be a huge financial fallout if he’s given the ability to fire the fed chief.
You are certainly right about the threat of criminal prosecution. And the markets are responding accordingly. Selling off US treasury which raises interest rates. Total chaos in the markets will be the outcome.
You are absolutely correct. The issue is to get the Dems to create a plan and follow it precisely! This can be done, but it will take a lot of planning and action rather than reaction! Trump will not let go, and if the same number of Republicans move to support a counterattack, he will refuse to comply, and then it is time to resist with even more conviction. Once the ball starts rolling, others will join.
We cannot get these people (some are Democrats) to accept people of color as citizens, so we will have to be even stronger to point out the Democrats who straddle the fence!
I hate to say it, but after the catastrophic tenure of Garland, I'll believe Democrats have grown a spine when I see it, even if they do return to power.
I think they're trying. But first, they're in the minority. Second, most sources of information are controlled by oligarchs. Third, it's difficult in any news cycle to break through the firehose of sensationalist garbage emanating from the extreme right. Most people are too busy living their lives to break through all that.
You are totally right. ICE is Trump’s SS. Are you aware that Noem’s slogan “one of ours, all of yours” is an SS mantra developed /used in response to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, SS second only to Himmler. “All of yours “ refers to the extermination of the Czech villagers of Lidice and Lezaky in reprisal.
I need to modify this statement as I am digging further. The incident of Heydrich and the villages is real. The phrase may be older, perhaps use by the falangists(fascists) in Spain during the civil war. And by the SS. And to complete the digging, please see this Substack by James Fell yesterday which I believe gives the most accurate and meaningful assessment of Kristy Noem’s horrific slogan https://substack.com/@jamesfell/note/c-198813764?r=elhkx&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Thanks for the digging, I so appreciate the readers (as well as the writers!!) of the Contrarian for the commitment to accuracy and holding up facts that as individuals it is almost impossible for all of us to just know.
The even scarier part is that THEY do not know where that originated.
I fully expect tomorrow Karline Spokesbarbie with be rolling out the administration's new slogan: "One government. One Leader. One People and walk out with that smug little kewpie grin on her face thinking she's come up with an original idea. Macht Amerika wieder Groß...
Not content with ruining this country, Trump is now aiming on wrecking Venezuela, Greenland, and possibly Colombia as result of the action in Venezuela. These are distractions to what is happening here at home, but they are dangerous in their own right. The War Powers restrictions couldn't have come at a better time, but will he abide by them?
Two things, apparently, according to attendees at the oil company executive meeting, he has also lost control of his bowels. And secondly, I haven’t seen anything definitive but I have read comments that the military has perhaps weighed in on the inadvisability of trying to take Greenland by force. I don’t know if it’s true but I read that Germany had sent two warships to Greenland..
It's little surprise that we get more complete and accurate reporting on U.S. news from foreign sources these days. The Daily Mail is a bit tabloid, though is often on top of breaking news. The Guardian is more contemplative. It would be interesting to see if the BBC World Service covers it in the newscast tonight.
I lived in London for a year and went there often on business and on vacation after that. And I subscribe to the Guardian which is a terrific newspaper. I know about the daily mail and I never read that particularly but somebody else had restacked it. I was in London on the Berlin wall came down, and it was amazing at how different the coverage was from there as opposed to what I was seeing from the US. A whole different viewpoint. Yes, BBC World Service should be checked, thanks for reminding me.
When I was living there, I was doing an advanced degree in international law, and one of my fellow students, who was from Spain and in London with her family, took the whole family over to Berlin so that her kids could understand what was going on. She brought back some pieces also. Unfortunately I never talked her into giving me one!
I have a piece of the wall that my son brought me from a business trip he took some years ago. I don't know which side it came from; the case it's in just says Berlin. But it doesn't have any graffiti.
A large portion of the western side was on display at the Newseum once upon a time. It was an amazing thing to see.
I agree! Now there’s even another country. Iran has raised its ugly head. A rather pure Theocracy, it’s holding down yet another restless generation of young people! This one is a thing we need to stay away from, simply bc no matter what we do, a nation of fanatics isn’t going to like it!
Start impeachment. Pull Seal Team Six and remove him from the US. (Like he did to Maduro) And also EXILE him to a "shithole" secret 3rd world country maybe Epstein's island?
The videos of the event do not reveal that the ICE Agent was in any mortal danger that would justify shooting and killing the victim in self-defense. On the contray, given his exclamation at the time of the shooting of “F------ bitch!” indicates this was a hate crime arisng from what he interpreted as taunting, though no jury would acquit the ICE agent with a defense that “She taunted me so I killed her”.
Since Trump and his puppet sycophants and pathetic flatterers started to deploy masked ICE squads, like bands of Gestapo thugs, in cities and neighborhoods around the country, they have been constantly taunted for their ruthless tactics, so they should have been used to and become accustomed to dealing with them.
We can expect, though, that Trump and his menagerie of psychos will rally behind the ICE agent and try to bury the case.
The American people, however, will not stand for it.
The State of Minnesota has every legal right to prosecute the ICE agent for murder, and the victim’s family has every legal right to bring a wrongful death action against the agent, ICE and the federal government. In doing so, they have every right to access all of the evidence in federal custody, which the DOJ and ICE are now refusing to share with the State of Minnesota. The family will also have the right to depose the ICE agent and other witnesses.
Any attempt by Trump to pardon the ICE agent would not prevent the State of Minnesota from prosecuting the agent. Trump has no legal authority to pardon anyone for a state crime. In addition, to accept a pardon for a federal crime by the President would enable a state court judge to instruct the jury that they may infer from such acceptance an acknowledgment of guilt.
This undertaking will last a long time, and possibly beyond the end of Trump’s term when a new administration will take office. In the meantime, the headwinds against attempts to insure that justice is done will be strong because Donald Trump has no patience for anyone who opposes him, his puppet functionaries or his thugs on the streets of America.
Thank you for characterizing this as a hate crime. Two women, lesbians to boot, were taunting Ross and the other ICE agents and it infuriated him. He killed one of them, jumping first in front of her car so he could claim self defense. If nothing else, he violated every rule of law enforcement engagement in the book -- but I do think it is homicide.
Agree. He needs to be charged with a crime or crimes in the same way that other killers are treated. Ideally under state law so that some fairness to the victim is ensured.
You are correct Steve. He needs to be prosecuted in State court. Also, Good's family should hire counsel to file a wrongful death suit against the ICE Agent, ICE and the federal government and depose all relevant witnesses in addition to subpoening videos, photos, ballistic reprts, et etc. They should also subpoena the coroner's report re the trajectory of the bullets etc.
"On the Sunday shows, both immigration czar Tom Homan and Noem refused to acknowledge that ICE should not kill an unarmed civilian in her car."
This is truly an inflection point, provide We The People do not let this opportunity slip away. As Ms. Rubin said, Democratic representatives must speak firmly about what will happen when they regain power. And be specific. Mention by name that Homan, Noem, and the other inhumane members of the regime will be held to account. And ask those terrified-of-Trump Republicans what they think. Get them on the record.
Read about the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Joyce Vance in today’s substack “Civil Discourse” talks about it. Pretty much, if you disagree with trump you’re a domestic terrorist. “Now, Trump has ordered that the JTTFs “shall investigate” an exhausting laundry list of potential infractions committed by people who oppose his views. In Trump’s view, Americans exercising their First Amendment and other rights are violent domestic terrorists.”
I am amazed about the huge effort on right wing social media to support the slaying of Renee Good and smear her name. Posts showing her mug shot and complete arrest history or saying stuff like "She fucked around and found out" as well as doctored videos ad nauseum.
Our protest here in Santa Cruz, CA had around 450 "officially" sign up but it's estimated there were a thousand citizens out protesting with a huge variety of signs. Mine said: "Even the Nazis didn't wear masks! Why do you?"
A favorite with the crowd was "The World Hates Trump". There were signs about Renee Good. Others equated or compared what's happened in Nazi Germany. One that caught my eye that I fully believe in said:
"Kidnapping neighbors is how the Holocaust started!"
There were hundreds perhaps into a thousand or more vehicles driving by honking their horns in support, waving, some displaying their own signs. Overall it was a successful demonstration of support for our democracy not what's going on with this regime.
~~~On a personal note, I really needed this "shot in the arm" because the day before I had spoken with a college friend who has cancer, as do I. She lives in Florida & voted for trump all 3 times. We don't "talk politics" for obvious reasons & her cancer may have progressed further than mine so I don't want to end a friendship over that prick, trump. But she asked me what I was going to do on Sunday & I told her "protest" she asked me what I was protesting, which I thought should have been rather obvious but I just said "what happened this week". We did wind up talking, yes talking, I held my anger in check, as a fellow cancer victim I didn't want to take the chance of ending a decades long friendship. But I have to say when we briefly discussed the last election & she told me she couldn't vote for Harris because she was a flawed candidate I really had all I could do to stop myself from saying: "Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!" Fortunately I didn't say that & we talked a bit more with her telling me we should agree to disagree which I acknowledged we should do,we finished our visit with normal conversation & wishing each other well with our health. BUT I have to tell you the conversation left me almost in despair. A college educated woman, with Catholic upbringing & Catholic education in high school & college, a friend since about 1964 it makes me sad. I won't end the friendship, I already barely communicate with my trump supporting family but thinking about all those really good people being caught in the web of MAGA is a tragedy that this country should throw in the faces of those in power & run their hypocritical family values in it! Thank you for letting me tell my story if you read to the end of this post.
The dreadful irony of the Good killing in Minneapolis is that the orange narcissist-felon has spoken out and threatened Iran's regime with intervention if it kills innocent protesters while his own regime is doing precisely that, with his full support. His own regime has, in the record, killed nine times in support of ICE's lawless, masked brutality. Iran's regime has already killed hundreds, a toll on innocent lives that is rising by the hour.
The only difference is the number. The motivation is identical.
The cognitive dissonance between these two positions held by the orange narcissist-felon and his sycophant enablers is an intellectual, emotional and moral chasm too wide and too deep to understand, to cross, and to forgive.
I have no confidence the Democrats will do a damn thing. I understand those wimps Schumer and Jeffries are refusing to even consider defunding ICE at the end of the monthv when the next government shutdown will probably happen. They are too quiet and weak-willed. Dems need leaders willing to yell and scream and get out there and be visible. Where is Chuck and Hakeem?
Could not agree more. And these folks are like leeches when they get ahold of leadership positions. They just refuse to let go in many cases, no matter how obvious it is that they can't do the job.
Daniel is correct, and Jeffries has been successful in pushing through ACA rescue legislation by convincing some Republicans to vote for it. It’s not through yet but that is a big breakthrough. And he is being complimented by many subs good writers.
That's my point. I want Dem leaders who will go after these fascists full bore, not with strongly worded letters. And FYI, I know exactly how Congress works, as well as the how the executive and legislative branches are supposed to balance each other. Schumer's expiration date in leadership has expired, and most of us think so.
How is it that all we can hope for is : “assert robust legislative oversight over a brutal, unhinged force that terrorizes Americans”? How is it that we still think we have to continue to deal with this storm trooper force at all? It was born in 9/11 fear and power posturing and truly serves no need whatsoever. Let’s admit Bush made a mistake and rid ourselves of it forever.
I feel like we are approaching some great cliff -- though in fairness, I've felt the same thing before as norms and rules get shattered and propaganda replaces information. Yet it seems there's a limit to how long a combination of absolute stupidity, feckless greed, malice aforethought, incompetence and cruelty for the sake of cruelty can last before the whole Rube Goldberg Hindenburg balloon finally blows up.
There's a tiny Republican trickle of NO out there. Behind that are raging currents of disgust and fury from the American people. When will all of this finally turn into Niagara Falls and sweep away these evil bastards? We must figure out everything we can do to make that happen.
HCR and maybe Joyce Vance had written that AG Ellison was not going to investigate. So your reporting suggests that public outrage changed his mind. Plus the fabulous work of Common Cause and the courage of the local county prosecutor to say of course I’m going to investigate. If D leadership won’t move, the public will have to push harder.
On Jan 8, 2026, Donald Trump said in a NYT interview that, “...my own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me." In context, these shocking words, coming from the mouth of the legally-adjudicated First Felon, the person with --LITERALLY-- his finger on the nukes, has admitted/boasted that he believes himself to be above the law and accountable to no person, body or law. CLEARLY, the 25th amendment must be invoked immediately, because it's obvious that we can't afford to wait until 2028.
If Congress acts unanimously, as one INDIVISIBLE BODY, there's safety in numbers for the RePubs who've been threatened into inaction. And once that's done, it will be an easy thing to undo all the actions (pardons) he's made while not of sound mind.
Then, the IMPEACHMENTS can begin (in no particular order): Vought, Miller, Noem, Hegseth, Bondi, Blanche, Rubio, Bove, Patel, Bovino, Vance, etc.
Good luck with demanding that the Democratic Party as a whole grow a backbone. Most of our representation is more concerned about their food bowls being moved than about taking a courageous and principled stand against the forces of tyranny. There are a few isolated individuals who stand up but the rest of them are interested in action only when they get cover from Jeffries or Schumer. They'll vote but they won't actually step up. But primarying them is pointless. What we need to do is have young Dem candidates standing against every. single. Rethuglican who is currently in office, from dog catcher to Senator to Governor. But the Dems won't do that either, because the leadership just doesn't want to expend the effort, the time, and the funds necessary. A totally independent organization in Missouri that has no real affiliation with the local Dem leadership (which basically has ceded the field to the fascists because they are thereby safe to keep their seats) is doing more to expand Dem support in the state than any elected official. It is pathetic.
I give up. What is it with "feckless" leadership? What do you expect leaders of an arithmetical MINORITY to do with their minority? What specific thing are you grumbling about? Or is it a complaint against your fellow electorate for being too lazy, indifferent, glued to TikTok or whatever to have bothered dragging their asses out last November to VOTE, so that we might have a majority, rather than a minority?
There is a lot they can do. They need to stop hiding behind future participles. First, stop voting for any trump appointees, Second, press conferences on the Capital steps every day, Third run ad campaigns, Fourth, travel and hold rallies, Fifth, file impeachment resolutions (does not matter if they pass), Sixth, vote Schumer and Jeffries out of leadership, Seventh, primary all of the cavers and on and on. Should really be concerned when Schumer reportedly said this about impeachment:
“we hope that we can have support from our Republican colleagues to put a brake on this long before it gets that far"
What I see in my small circle is comfortable, educated white people too busy planning their next vacation, dinner out, or theatre performance to expend any energy, time, or money on attending a demonstration or calling their Congress people or working on voter registration. Yes, they voted. And think that's burden enough. It's infuriating and depressing. I suppose they call it "self-care".
You obviously don't have friends who are having problems making ends meet - who gets put off this month so that another more pressing bill can be paid. An insular existence may be comfortable, but reality it's not.
Read "Ordinary Men," "Hitler's Willing Executioners," or similar historical studies. You will see that fascist dictators have no difficulty at all converting ordinary citizens into remorseless killers.
Couldn't happen here? It already is.
It seems like plenty of the ICE agents weren't ordinary citizens who got swept into committing these acts, but were white supremacists and J6 alums who are living out their greatest dreams right now.
Laurie, it appears to me that too many ICE officers are essentially street thugs. Their purpose is the create chaos and intimidation in the same way Hitler's Brownshirts did in Germany in the '20s and 30's.
And, the result will be the same as what happened then also.
For them, World War 2.
For us, World War 3.
Absolutely correct. Too cowardly to join the military and too stupid to be cops.
I believe that.
We are now ruled by Autocratic Fascists. Our future is grim.
Indeed it has already happened here. Trump and Miller's MAGAStopo are the regime's secret police, and snatching even citizens off the street and now murdering one. They are being unleashed against blue cities and states. ICE must be abolished and the CBP must return to its job of border security. The good squad and its leadership must be held to account.
Thank you for the term MAGAStopo!
Read "In the Garden of the beast" by Erik Larson. You will read about exactly what you are now seeing in America.
The 1938 Nazi takeover of Germany with the blessings of the people of Germany. Americans today have also given their country to Fascists. I think everyone seems to be underestimating how hard it will be to get our democracy back from them (IF, in fact we ever DO get it back). The longer he is president the harder it will be.
People will continue to get murdered. America's future today is NOT pretty.
Robert, thank you for the reading recommendation. WW II and its prelude generated millions of stories worth knowing, so it is always helpful to know of writings which are of particular value. I will do some shopping on Amazon!
P.S. I, for one, am NOT underestimating the hard road ahead to reclaim America's place in the World. We Americans spent some 250 years getting there, and that position has largely been destroyed in a matter of months.
Building Trust and Respect is a lengthy process. Destroying Trust and Respect is not. Recovery is by no means certain, and few who are alive today will be around to experience that possibility.
I suggest hardcopy books. It would be too easy for Amazon to just delete books they don't like, even on devices.
I’m sure that your local library has a copy or can get it for you. Supporting your library with your reading has multiple civic benefits, including depriving Bezos of more opportunities to push out small retailers, and making sure that it remains available for kids and others in your community.
There is a documentary of the same name. I can never remember if it's Netflix or Prime that showcases it. It's about 55 minutes long, well worth the time.
Thanks much. "Ordinary Men" is available on Netflix. I will be watching it. The book itself has a curious effect on the reader. The unrelenting horrors slowly begin to fade and to resemble quotidian accounts of the lives of cattle herders. Some 80+% of these ordinary, working-class men willing performed their assigned tasks. The few who refused suffered no significant rebukes or consequences. The closing chapters of the book reflect on the circumstances and processes which created killers from common clay, factors like peer pressure, normalization, respect for hierarchy, etc. When there is rot at the top, it spreads easily downwards. It should be noted that Reserve Police Battalion 101 was just one small unit among a numerous and varied collection of groups dedicated simply to killing.
"Hitler's Willing Executioners" is one of the most chilling books I've ever read.
Good analogy. Both books are chilling. Both Christopher Browning and Daniel Goldhagen captured this creepy and sociopathic phenomenon well.
Yes! What I don't understand is why Democrats in Congress and the states haven't been shouting to the heavens from the beginning that legal offenses committed under Trump will be prosecuted all the way up and down the line when they return to power. Of course, Trump will probably just pardon everyone connected with his government. Maybe not the small fry, though. And we need individual ICE agents to be very afraid of getting the justice they deserve.
@Heidi Wilson:
1. They are. You've been brainwashed.
2. We are a minority party, need Congressional Republicans.
3. We have an open window of opportunity.
If we can get three (3) Republicans, we can issue subpoenas, hold hearings.
Jerry Weiss scenario. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
On Thursday, the Senate voted to advance a bill that would stop the Trump administration from additional attacks on Venezuela without congressional approval. The vote was 52–47 with five Republicans joining all the Democrats to move the measure forward. Republicans killed a similar measure in November, but Trump’s enormously unpopular incursion into Venezuela and threats against Greenland prompted five Republicans to reassert congressional authority over military action. CNN called it “a notable rebuke of the president.”
The five Republicans voting for the bill were Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana.
Immediately, Trump posted on social media that the five “should never be elected to office again.” By reasserting the power of Congress, he wrote, they were “attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.”
Trump is in a pickle. Here is Baghdad By the Sea, at least one House MAGAT, my rep, opposes him on immigration. Many other House Republicans oppose him on the Epstein coverup. Others on the Obamacare issue. It's up to us to convince more to join them.
In Minnesota Congressional Republicans need to be pressured. We need to contact their donors. Local businesses. Local Holy Joes. Picket. Sit in.
The current Republican U.S. representatives for Minnesota are:
District 1: Brad Finstad (since August 12, 2022)
District 6: Tom Emmer (since January 3, 2015)
District 7: Michelle Fischbach (since January 3, 2021)
District 8: Pete Stauber (since January 3, 2019)
Local Fox outlet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KMSP-TV
Contrarian should be promoting https://www.removetheregime.com/
Removal coalition
How much were the five more worried about saving their seats and finally doing something that the voters approve, than worry about what Trump might do to them? We shall never know the motivation.
Take advantage of the situation. Trump is vulnerable.
Yesterday, Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would oppose the confirmation of all picks for the Fed, including the forthcoming chair nomination, until the legal matter is resolved.
Feasible to get several House members to flip, issue by issue. IMHO Epstein is primary. All these moves are designed to distract our attention.
It's hard not to be distracted with everything that is raining down upon us at the same time. Good, ICE, Venezuela, Greenland, Colombia, Iran, Congress, Trump and his ilk, and a legacy media that flits from one to the next shiny object.
Which legal matter are you referring to? Trump’s ability to fire Powell? As I said yesterday I hope that the Supreme Court gets off its behind and issues the ruling on that. Of course I may not like it but they do show signs of not approving of Trump being able to fire the head of the Fed. There will be a huge financial fallout if he’s given the ability to fire the fed chief.
NYT published yesterday that SCOTUS decisions were 88% in Trump's favor. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/us/politics/trumps-appeals-court-judges.html
Powell is being coerced by threatened legal action now, no longer termination.
It's hard to keep up with the chaos, but then, that's the point.
You are certainly right about the threat of criminal prosecution. And the markets are responding accordingly. Selling off US treasury which raises interest rates. Total chaos in the markets will be the outcome.
You are absolutely correct. The issue is to get the Dems to create a plan and follow it precisely! This can be done, but it will take a lot of planning and action rather than reaction! Trump will not let go, and if the same number of Republicans move to support a counterattack, he will refuse to comply, and then it is time to resist with even more conviction. Once the ball starts rolling, others will join.
We cannot get these people (some are Democrats) to accept people of color as citizens, so we will have to be even stronger to point out the Democrats who straddle the fence!
I hate to say it, but after the catastrophic tenure of Garland, I'll believe Democrats have grown a spine when I see it, even if they do return to power.
I think they're trying. But first, they're in the minority. Second, most sources of information are controlled by oligarchs. Third, it's difficult in any news cycle to break through the firehose of sensationalist garbage emanating from the extreme right. Most people are too busy living their lives to break through all that.
Not an excuse, I know.
What you say is more an observation of what is actually happening than an excuse.
You are totally right. ICE is Trump’s SS. Are you aware that Noem’s slogan “one of ours, all of yours” is an SS mantra developed /used in response to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, SS second only to Himmler. “All of yours “ refers to the extermination of the Czech villagers of Lidice and Lezaky in reprisal.
I need to modify this statement as I am digging further. The incident of Heydrich and the villages is real. The phrase may be older, perhaps use by the falangists(fascists) in Spain during the civil war. And by the SS. And to complete the digging, please see this Substack by James Fell yesterday which I believe gives the most accurate and meaningful assessment of Kristy Noem’s horrific slogan https://substack.com/@jamesfell/note/c-198813764?r=elhkx&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Thanks for the digging, I so appreciate the readers (as well as the writers!!) of the Contrarian for the commitment to accuracy and holding up facts that as individuals it is almost impossible for all of us to just know.
This redditthread is unable to pin down the origin of the phrase https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/s/faSPNDaedY
I had no idea where that originated. Thank you.
The even scarier part is that THEY do not know where that originated.
I fully expect tomorrow Karline Spokesbarbie with be rolling out the administration's new slogan: "One government. One Leader. One People and walk out with that smug little kewpie grin on her face thinking she's come up with an original idea. Macht Amerika wieder Groß...
Scarier still is the one who does know its origins and displayed it.
Yes.
Bullshit Barbie. I can't stand her. She'll look good in prison orange.
See my comment modification please. It may not be the origin. But it’s definitely about reprisals against the community.
I have just verified that slogan on her podium on the white house.gov website.
Trump has lost control of the entire situation. He is trying to run the whole country and all the happenings of the world by himself.
It’s impossible to do with the group of incompetent fools he brought in for a “cabinet”.
His wandering around his office during the meeting with oil company executives shows he has lost control.
He and the other criminals in the executive branch are now killing American citizens and denying it, blaming the victims.
Removal of all needs to happen.
Not content with ruining this country, Trump is now aiming on wrecking Venezuela, Greenland, and possibly Colombia as result of the action in Venezuela. These are distractions to what is happening here at home, but they are dangerous in their own right. The War Powers restrictions couldn't have come at a better time, but will he abide by them?
Two things, apparently, according to attendees at the oil company executive meeting, he has also lost control of his bowels. And secondly, I haven’t seen anything definitive but I have read comments that the military has perhaps weighed in on the inadvisability of trying to take Greenland by force. I don’t know if it’s true but I read that Germany had sent two warships to Greenland..
I just saw the source of what I had read about the Joint Chiefs pushing back against Trump’s invasion plans. It was in the Daily Mail out of GB.
It's little surprise that we get more complete and accurate reporting on U.S. news from foreign sources these days. The Daily Mail is a bit tabloid, though is often on top of breaking news. The Guardian is more contemplative. It would be interesting to see if the BBC World Service covers it in the newscast tonight.
I lived in London for a year and went there often on business and on vacation after that. And I subscribe to the Guardian which is a terrific newspaper. I know about the daily mail and I never read that particularly but somebody else had restacked it. I was in London on the Berlin wall came down, and it was amazing at how different the coverage was from there as opposed to what I was seeing from the US. A whole different viewpoint. Yes, BBC World Service should be checked, thanks for reminding me.
I have a piece of the Berlin Wall - from the East Side, where graffitti wasn't allowed. The coverage was different then, as it is today.
When I was living there, I was doing an advanced degree in international law, and one of my fellow students, who was from Spain and in London with her family, took the whole family over to Berlin so that her kids could understand what was going on. She brought back some pieces also. Unfortunately I never talked her into giving me one!
I have a piece of the wall that my son brought me from a business trip he took some years ago. I don't know which side it came from; the case it's in just says Berlin. But it doesn't have any graffiti.
A large portion of the western side was on display at the Newseum once upon a time. It was an amazing thing to see.
I agree! Now there’s even another country. Iran has raised its ugly head. A rather pure Theocracy, it’s holding down yet another restless generation of young people! This one is a thing we need to stay away from, simply bc no matter what we do, a nation of fanatics isn’t going to like it!
Here's a plan:
IMPEACH REMOVE EXILE
PASS IT ON!
Start impeachment. Pull Seal Team Six and remove him from the US. (Like he did to Maduro) And also EXILE him to a "shithole" secret 3rd world country maybe Epstein's island?
Point Nemo.
The videos of the event do not reveal that the ICE Agent was in any mortal danger that would justify shooting and killing the victim in self-defense. On the contray, given his exclamation at the time of the shooting of “F------ bitch!” indicates this was a hate crime arisng from what he interpreted as taunting, though no jury would acquit the ICE agent with a defense that “She taunted me so I killed her”.
Since Trump and his puppet sycophants and pathetic flatterers started to deploy masked ICE squads, like bands of Gestapo thugs, in cities and neighborhoods around the country, they have been constantly taunted for their ruthless tactics, so they should have been used to and become accustomed to dealing with them.
We can expect, though, that Trump and his menagerie of psychos will rally behind the ICE agent and try to bury the case.
The American people, however, will not stand for it.
The State of Minnesota has every legal right to prosecute the ICE agent for murder, and the victim’s family has every legal right to bring a wrongful death action against the agent, ICE and the federal government. In doing so, they have every right to access all of the evidence in federal custody, which the DOJ and ICE are now refusing to share with the State of Minnesota. The family will also have the right to depose the ICE agent and other witnesses.
Any attempt by Trump to pardon the ICE agent would not prevent the State of Minnesota from prosecuting the agent. Trump has no legal authority to pardon anyone for a state crime. In addition, to accept a pardon for a federal crime by the President would enable a state court judge to instruct the jury that they may infer from such acceptance an acknowledgment of guilt.
This undertaking will last a long time, and possibly beyond the end of Trump’s term when a new administration will take office. In the meantime, the headwinds against attempts to insure that justice is done will be strong because Donald Trump has no patience for anyone who opposes him, his puppet functionaries or his thugs on the streets of America.
Thank you for characterizing this as a hate crime. Two women, lesbians to boot, were taunting Ross and the other ICE agents and it infuriated him. He killed one of them, jumping first in front of her car so he could claim self defense. If nothing else, he violated every rule of law enforcement engagement in the book -- but I do think it is homicide.
Agreed. Now we need to insure that he gets his day in court or rather that we get his day in court.
Agree. He needs to be charged with a crime or crimes in the same way that other killers are treated. Ideally under state law so that some fairness to the victim is ensured.
Also, if charged and dealt with under state law, Trump cannot pardon him! State offenses are not under his purview.
You are correct Steve. He needs to be prosecuted in State court. Also, Good's family should hire counsel to file a wrongful death suit against the ICE Agent, ICE and the federal government and depose all relevant witnesses in addition to subpoening videos, photos, ballistic reprts, et etc. They should also subpoena the coroner's report re the trajectory of the bullets etc.
"On the Sunday shows, both immigration czar Tom Homan and Noem refused to acknowledge that ICE should not kill an unarmed civilian in her car."
This is truly an inflection point, provide We The People do not let this opportunity slip away. As Ms. Rubin said, Democratic representatives must speak firmly about what will happen when they regain power. And be specific. Mention by name that Homan, Noem, and the other inhumane members of the regime will be held to account. And ask those terrified-of-Trump Republicans what they think. Get them on the record.
Homan also suggested that someone peacefully opposing an ICE raid might fit the definition of a domestic terrorist. How sick is that?
Read about the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Joyce Vance in today’s substack “Civil Discourse” talks about it. Pretty much, if you disagree with trump you’re a domestic terrorist. “Now, Trump has ordered that the JTTFs “shall investigate” an exhausting laundry list of potential infractions committed by people who oppose his views. In Trump’s view, Americans exercising their First Amendment and other rights are violent domestic terrorists.”
I am amazed about the huge effort on right wing social media to support the slaying of Renee Good and smear her name. Posts showing her mug shot and complete arrest history or saying stuff like "She fucked around and found out" as well as doctored videos ad nauseum.
Except the arrest history is a fake.
Our protest here in Santa Cruz, CA had around 450 "officially" sign up but it's estimated there were a thousand citizens out protesting with a huge variety of signs. Mine said: "Even the Nazis didn't wear masks! Why do you?"
A favorite with the crowd was "The World Hates Trump". There were signs about Renee Good. Others equated or compared what's happened in Nazi Germany. One that caught my eye that I fully believe in said:
"Kidnapping neighbors is how the Holocaust started!"
There were hundreds perhaps into a thousand or more vehicles driving by honking their horns in support, waving, some displaying their own signs. Overall it was a successful demonstration of support for our democracy not what's going on with this regime.
~~~On a personal note, I really needed this "shot in the arm" because the day before I had spoken with a college friend who has cancer, as do I. She lives in Florida & voted for trump all 3 times. We don't "talk politics" for obvious reasons & her cancer may have progressed further than mine so I don't want to end a friendship over that prick, trump. But she asked me what I was going to do on Sunday & I told her "protest" she asked me what I was protesting, which I thought should have been rather obvious but I just said "what happened this week". We did wind up talking, yes talking, I held my anger in check, as a fellow cancer victim I didn't want to take the chance of ending a decades long friendship. But I have to say when we briefly discussed the last election & she told me she couldn't vote for Harris because she was a flawed candidate I really had all I could do to stop myself from saying: "Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!" Fortunately I didn't say that & we talked a bit more with her telling me we should agree to disagree which I acknowledged we should do,we finished our visit with normal conversation & wishing each other well with our health. BUT I have to tell you the conversation left me almost in despair. A college educated woman, with Catholic upbringing & Catholic education in high school & college, a friend since about 1964 it makes me sad. I won't end the friendship, I already barely communicate with my trump supporting family but thinking about all those really good people being caught in the web of MAGA is a tragedy that this country should throw in the faces of those in power & run their hypocritical family values in it! Thank you for letting me tell my story if you read to the end of this post.
The dreadful irony of the Good killing in Minneapolis is that the orange narcissist-felon has spoken out and threatened Iran's regime with intervention if it kills innocent protesters while his own regime is doing precisely that, with his full support. His own regime has, in the record, killed nine times in support of ICE's lawless, masked brutality. Iran's regime has already killed hundreds, a toll on innocent lives that is rising by the hour.
The only difference is the number. The motivation is identical.
The cognitive dissonance between these two positions held by the orange narcissist-felon and his sycophant enablers is an intellectual, emotional and moral chasm too wide and too deep to understand, to cross, and to forgive.
1930s Germany = 2020s America
German Gestapo = American ICE & CBP
NAZI = MAGA
Hitler = Trump
"There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem." Eldridge Cleaver
I have no confidence the Democrats will do a damn thing. I understand those wimps Schumer and Jeffries are refusing to even consider defunding ICE at the end of the monthv when the next government shutdown will probably happen. They are too quiet and weak-willed. Dems need leaders willing to yell and scream and get out there and be visible. Where is Chuck and Hakeem?
Could not agree more. And these folks are like leeches when they get ahold of leadership positions. They just refuse to let go in many cases, no matter how obvious it is that they can't do the job.
@Paulette&Pf: You have no clue how Congress works.
Dems had NOTHING to do with this.
PICK ON REPUBLICANS.
Daniel is correct, and Jeffries has been successful in pushing through ACA rescue legislation by convincing some Republicans to vote for it. It’s not through yet but that is a big breakthrough. And he is being complimented by many subs good writers.
That's my point. I want Dem leaders who will go after these fascists full bore, not with strongly worded letters. And FYI, I know exactly how Congress works, as well as the how the executive and legislative branches are supposed to balance each other. Schumer's expiration date in leadership has expired, and most of us think so.
You underestimate Schumer. Note the vote on Venezuela on Thursday.
Despite what you say, I bet you never personally dealt with lobbying. We need to concentrate on how to do jujitsu, not make political speeches.
How is it that all we can hope for is : “assert robust legislative oversight over a brutal, unhinged force that terrorizes Americans”? How is it that we still think we have to continue to deal with this storm trooper force at all? It was born in 9/11 fear and power posturing and truly serves no need whatsoever. Let’s admit Bush made a mistake and rid ourselves of it forever.
I feel like we are approaching some great cliff -- though in fairness, I've felt the same thing before as norms and rules get shattered and propaganda replaces information. Yet it seems there's a limit to how long a combination of absolute stupidity, feckless greed, malice aforethought, incompetence and cruelty for the sake of cruelty can last before the whole Rube Goldberg Hindenburg balloon finally blows up.
There's a tiny Republican trickle of NO out there. Behind that are raging currents of disgust and fury from the American people. When will all of this finally turn into Niagara Falls and sweep away these evil bastards? We must figure out everything we can do to make that happen.
Thank you, thank you Jen.
HCR and maybe Joyce Vance had written that AG Ellison was not going to investigate. So your reporting suggests that public outrage changed his mind. Plus the fabulous work of Common Cause and the courage of the local county prosecutor to say of course I’m going to investigate. If D leadership won’t move, the public will have to push harder.
"...(and if Trump does not pardon killers)..."
On Jan 8, 2026, Donald Trump said in a NYT interview that, “...my own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me." In context, these shocking words, coming from the mouth of the legally-adjudicated First Felon, the person with --LITERALLY-- his finger on the nukes, has admitted/boasted that he believes himself to be above the law and accountable to no person, body or law. CLEARLY, the 25th amendment must be invoked immediately, because it's obvious that we can't afford to wait until 2028.
If Congress acts unanimously, as one INDIVISIBLE BODY, there's safety in numbers for the RePubs who've been threatened into inaction. And once that's done, it will be an easy thing to undo all the actions (pardons) he's made while not of sound mind.
Then, the IMPEACHMENTS can begin (in no particular order): Vought, Miller, Noem, Hegseth, Bondi, Blanche, Rubio, Bove, Patel, Bovino, Vance, etc.
It's truly black humor when a totally amoral person claims to follow only his own morality.
GOOD LIST HEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And a GREEAATT comment!!
Look at who is being recruited for ICE. These are not ordinary citizens with a desire to serve.
Good luck with demanding that the Democratic Party as a whole grow a backbone. Most of our representation is more concerned about their food bowls being moved than about taking a courageous and principled stand against the forces of tyranny. There are a few isolated individuals who stand up but the rest of them are interested in action only when they get cover from Jeffries or Schumer. They'll vote but they won't actually step up. But primarying them is pointless. What we need to do is have young Dem candidates standing against every. single. Rethuglican who is currently in office, from dog catcher to Senator to Governor. But the Dems won't do that either, because the leadership just doesn't want to expend the effort, the time, and the funds necessary. A totally independent organization in Missouri that has no real affiliation with the local Dem leadership (which basically has ceded the field to the fascists because they are thereby safe to keep their seats) is doing more to expand Dem support in the state than any elected official. It is pathetic.
Not a heavy lift for democrats? LOL. With the feckless leadership, expect nothing but more caving.
I give up. What is it with "feckless" leadership? What do you expect leaders of an arithmetical MINORITY to do with their minority? What specific thing are you grumbling about? Or is it a complaint against your fellow electorate for being too lazy, indifferent, glued to TikTok or whatever to have bothered dragging their asses out last November to VOTE, so that we might have a majority, rather than a minority?
There is a lot they can do. They need to stop hiding behind future participles. First, stop voting for any trump appointees, Second, press conferences on the Capital steps every day, Third run ad campaigns, Fourth, travel and hold rallies, Fifth, file impeachment resolutions (does not matter if they pass), Sixth, vote Schumer and Jeffries out of leadership, Seventh, primary all of the cavers and on and on. Should really be concerned when Schumer reportedly said this about impeachment:
“we hope that we can have support from our Republican colleagues to put a brake on this long before it gets that far"
Do these incompetents need help?
Impeachment resolution:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6959801225ac8191957fd1e462017365
Citation Addendum:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_695a37f969e88191bbfca2bb88ef74b8
Inherent Contempt of Congress for Failure to Comply with Epstein Transparency Act:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6953e7e6de88819185cb9d96266afd5b
How about some marketing campaigns:
Billboard campaign to run ahead of trump’s mini rallies:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_693eb6404c8881918c9dcefc14eb8617
General ad campaign:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6911849656d48191b9261a7fe3f4c375
And how about a radical strategy to encourage jurors to vote their conscience:
https://chatgpt.com/s/t_694fb0e70d5c8191bdfd34ec9373c70d
Let’s get it together democrats.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is destroying us all.
What I see in my small circle is comfortable, educated white people too busy planning their next vacation, dinner out, or theatre performance to expend any energy, time, or money on attending a demonstration or calling their Congress people or working on voter registration. Yes, they voted. And think that's burden enough. It's infuriating and depressing. I suppose they call it "self-care".
You obviously don't have friends who are having problems making ends meet - who gets put off this month so that another more pressing bill can be paid. An insular existence may be comfortable, but reality it's not.
With friends like you, who needs enemies.