Not only that, Bibi is the worst thing to happen to world-wide Jewry since the end of the Second World War. It's unfair and wrong, but the entire world Jewish community is getting painted with the same brush as Israel, even though the majority of (at least) American Jews disagree with the current government there.
As I have posted in the past, you can be pro-Israel and anti-Netanyahu with his charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the civilian population of Gaza by the International Criminal Court. Sucking up to Drumpf and the MAGAtsphere has blown up in his face and Bibi is now learning what countless others have in the past when it comes to the unhinged doddering lunatic: he will stab you in the back and leave you for dead in the alley if it serves his maniacal purposes and you will be a convenient scapegoat when he starts looking for others to blame for the Iran fiasco.
Rubin left out the critical corollary in her remark that Netanyahu has come out opposed to US financial assistance. What he is calling for is for the US and Israeli defense production establishments to form more joint ventures! In other words, because financial aid is now under attack, he wants to get Israel's grip more firmly entrenched in the US by merging our defense industries! And guess what, Congressional Republicans have submitted a bill that would do just that! Contrarians, if your representative or Senator is behind that bill, kindly express your opinion to them.
Yes. It's essential to call out Netanyahoo's malicious cunning. He cannot afford to lose US support of his self-serving unending wars and will try whatever he can to retain access to US funding of his military misadventures.
PS: I should have called called it "...US funding of his (Netanhayoo's) GENOCIDE."
"But hysteria about a stolen election now appears unwarranted, especially if Democrats maximize voter engagement and turnout. (The bigger the margin, the harder it is to cheat.)"
These are the keys:
Don't allow yourself to be defeated before the battle. That is what Trump wants, to convince you that resistance is futile and you're already his serf. Instead, keep fighting back.
VOTE, and make sure all your family, friends, and neighbors get out and VOTE. Let's pull a Hungary on that MF.
And make sure NOW that they are properly registered and help others to do that. Don't take it for granted! And plan to help people their votes in however they do it.
ETTD. The Knicks even won when he wasn't in the building. The worst things about Trump's regime, which will have to be corrected by the next Democratic Congress and President, are his assaults on the environment and public health, his cruel and pointless war against Iran, plus his suppression of human rights under the guise of "protecting" the country from immigrants - like his mom, Melania, her family, and on and on.
And don't forget JD's wife and the fact (if true) that Rubio's parents weren't citizens when he was born, something his boss DJT would like citizenship removed for.
I’m not sure about “unwarranted” but rather than be negative I want to emphasize that an appreciation of the historic dangers we face may be paying off with renewed efforts to determine our fate. To fight our best fight. The Contrarian is definitely one of those best fights!!
Never forget that those who are strongly religious are taught from birth to believe what they are told and to do so without asking for evidence. Evangelicals are among the strongest believers in letting their religious leaders decree what is true and false.
After WW2, teams of scientists researched susceptibility to authoritarianism. They developed testing instruments, tested subjects, compiled their results and published them. Two specific factors were deemed to increase susceptibility: 1) church attendance and 2) rigid parenting styles.
I’m not very religious but always considered Protestants’ direct link with a supreme being an essential element of enlightenment humanitarianism. How Evangelical ministers made themselves local popes is a mystery to me.
Trump's only power to shape events is to screw them up. The list is endless, but starting after he inherited millions from his father and continuing to this day, he's left behind a string of bankruptcies, broken promises, failed businesses, stiffed contractors, and worst of all, deaths. His mishandling of COVID cost hundreds of thousands more lives than had to be taken from us. His heartless slashing of USAID funding has killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, overseas. The court he assembled to end Roe v. Wade has led to the death of so many women that red states with draconian abortion laws have stopped reporting them. Trump was a screwup, is a screwup, and always will be a screwup. His fall will be epic, and I'm doing everything a private citizen can do to aid the cause, including happily paying my monthly Contrarian subscription fee.
The mainstream media is not pushing back hard enough against Trump's baseless and evidence-free election fraud claims. Substack is doing the heavy lifting, but I think the bulk of the populace has never heard of Substack.
The point of claiming that election fraud is going on without evidence is obviously to cause voter suppression. The more we encourage people to register to vote and as more show up at the polls it becomes more difficult to cheat. We should not ignore their cries of fraud though. When polling locations are overwhelmed with voters they can’t turn away then they are forced to find more viable solutions for voting such as mail in ballots!
What is left out of all these editorials is that the radical and cruel regime and greatest sponsor of world terrorism, namely Iran, is the main reason Israel is continually waging wars. What would any nation be doing with decades of onslaught from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran? We can parse the leaders all day long. The people are, as usual, caught in the middle and pay the price in lives.
Who created Iran? We did, starting in the 1950s and earlier, and all for oil. We set up military bases all over the mid-east, mostly to protect our oil interests by intimidating states. (This was at the heart of Osama bin Laden's hatred of the US.) Who created, sold the weapons which are all over the mideast and in the hands of both terrorists and also valid nationalists? Who initiated the so-called war on terror which has inspired the horrible backlash from Muslims? Our Islamophobic foreign policy must change. In times to come, when the US has lost its hegemony and no longer is given a pass for our immoral militarism, maybe our responsibility for world terrorism will be named and we'll be held to account.
"Iran" has been around for thousands of years and has an amazing history of culture. I would like folks to understand that the history and people of Iran are not what their government presents. In fairness, many of us see links to the current regime in part from past interference by the US, both from its oil potential and historical religious divisions.
Yes, Jim, and I hope it didn't sound as if I meant that we actually 'created' what we now called Iran. Persia/Iran does have an incredible, rich culture and proud history which we've tried to subjugate to our oil interests.
Yes, I understood that. I have a lot of sad feelings about Iran. As a child/young adult reading storied of their history and culture, I've always wanted to travel there to experience that. But now, I feel I will never get that opportunity, and it saddens me. Not to mention the many Iranian immigrants I have had the pleasure to meet and know, all truly wonderful folks. it's truly a shame we see the people of a country or region mainly through the lens of their/our governments.
I lived and worked in Iran for a couple of months in 1977. There was definitely a frostiness toward westerners that I hadn't experienced elsewhere. Which was understandable given how the US was plundering their assets and despoiling their beautiful cities with our construction cranes and skyscrapers. But their beautiful artwork and rich culture was everywhere. And their generous people.
The question to ask is a simple one. We asked it here in 2024, published the answer, then saw voters elect a stalwart supporter of the truth as county clerk (elections official). That county clerk in turned helped another elections official in a nearby (very red) county, who in turn got elected over an election-denier. Ask your candidates, and spread their answer far and wide, the simple question: Who Won the 2020 Presidential Election, Biden or Trump?
If the answer is anything but Joe Biden, that's a denier. Out them.
Voters get it, but you have to tell them. They may not understand that Election Denial has become the platform of the Republican Party.
Fraud so bad it can't be proven? Republicans are unable to accept losing a mayoral race in one of the bluest cities in the country. This is the party whose leader attempted to stage a coup & whose capos tampered with voting machines in order to hijack elections.
Both the US and Israel were founded on valuable principles that have been warped and abused at the hands of wealthy, manipulated oligarchs. The whole world can see the mess and can feel the punishments of income inequality and brash narcissism that we represent. It is a tragedy that narcissistic leaders cannot see reality for what it is. And they never will.
I think a corned and desperate Bibi is very dangerous. Cornered at home and more vilified internationally than ever, he will be desperate. Losing the upcoming election means prison. Nukes? Maybe.
Thank you for calling out Bibi’s incontinent policies. He has been a disaster for Israel and the entire mideast.
Not only that, Bibi is the worst thing to happen to world-wide Jewry since the end of the Second World War. It's unfair and wrong, but the entire world Jewish community is getting painted with the same brush as Israel, even though the majority of (at least) American Jews disagree with the current government there.
As I have posted in the past, you can be pro-Israel and anti-Netanyahu with his charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the civilian population of Gaza by the International Criminal Court. Sucking up to Drumpf and the MAGAtsphere has blown up in his face and Bibi is now learning what countless others have in the past when it comes to the unhinged doddering lunatic: he will stab you in the back and leave you for dead in the alley if it serves his maniacal purposes and you will be a convenient scapegoat when he starts looking for others to blame for the Iran fiasco.
Amen!
Bibi is a disaster for humanity. Think about the dead children and their alive parents both in Iran and Gaza.
Don't forget the million or so Lebanese civilians who have become refugees in their own country--who have also suffered too many casualties.
Rubin left out the critical corollary in her remark that Netanyahu has come out opposed to US financial assistance. What he is calling for is for the US and Israeli defense production establishments to form more joint ventures! In other words, because financial aid is now under attack, he wants to get Israel's grip more firmly entrenched in the US by merging our defense industries! And guess what, Congressional Republicans have submitted a bill that would do just that! Contrarians, if your representative or Senator is behind that bill, kindly express your opinion to them.
Yes. It's essential to call out Netanyahoo's malicious cunning. He cannot afford to lose US support of his self-serving unending wars and will try whatever he can to retain access to US funding of his military misadventures.
PS: I should have called called it "...US funding of his (Netanhayoo's) GENOCIDE."
Netanyahoo…perfect!
I’d suppressed that blood diamond of a gem. Thanks for reminding me.
Since I’m already a paid subscriber, I donated to the Democracy Defenders Fund. I really appreciate you, Norm and All the Contrarians!
"But hysteria about a stolen election now appears unwarranted, especially if Democrats maximize voter engagement and turnout. (The bigger the margin, the harder it is to cheat.)"
These are the keys:
Don't allow yourself to be defeated before the battle. That is what Trump wants, to convince you that resistance is futile and you're already his serf. Instead, keep fighting back.
VOTE, and make sure all your family, friends, and neighbors get out and VOTE. Let's pull a Hungary on that MF.
And make sure NOW that they are properly registered and help others to do that. Don't take it for granted! And plan to help people their votes in however they do it.
ETTD. The Knicks even won when he wasn't in the building. The worst things about Trump's regime, which will have to be corrected by the next Democratic Congress and President, are his assaults on the environment and public health, his cruel and pointless war against Iran, plus his suppression of human rights under the guise of "protecting" the country from immigrants - like his mom, Melania, her family, and on and on.
And don't forget JD's wife and the fact (if true) that Rubio's parents weren't citizens when he was born, something his boss DJT would like citizenship removed for.
I’m not sure about “unwarranted” but rather than be negative I want to emphasize that an appreciation of the historic dangers we face may be paying off with renewed efforts to determine our fate. To fight our best fight. The Contrarian is definitely one of those best fights!!
Never forget that those who are strongly religious are taught from birth to believe what they are told and to do so without asking for evidence. Evangelicals are among the strongest believers in letting their religious leaders decree what is true and false.
After WW2, teams of scientists researched susceptibility to authoritarianism. They developed testing instruments, tested subjects, compiled their results and published them. Two specific factors were deemed to increase susceptibility: 1) church attendance and 2) rigid parenting styles.
Consistent training matters.
I’m not very religious but always considered Protestants’ direct link with a supreme being an essential element of enlightenment humanitarianism. How Evangelical ministers made themselves local popes is a mystery to me.
money...religion is a very big business. recall jim and tammi baker.
Trump's only power to shape events is to screw them up. The list is endless, but starting after he inherited millions from his father and continuing to this day, he's left behind a string of bankruptcies, broken promises, failed businesses, stiffed contractors, and worst of all, deaths. His mishandling of COVID cost hundreds of thousands more lives than had to be taken from us. His heartless slashing of USAID funding has killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, overseas. The court he assembled to end Roe v. Wade has led to the death of so many women that red states with draconian abortion laws have stopped reporting them. Trump was a screwup, is a screwup, and always will be a screwup. His fall will be epic, and I'm doing everything a private citizen can do to aid the cause, including happily paying my monthly Contrarian subscription fee.
The mainstream media is not pushing back hard enough against Trump's baseless and evidence-free election fraud claims. Substack is doing the heavy lifting, but I think the bulk of the populace has never heard of Substack.
Fortunately, that “meet the press“ television interview was a good example of how you do it.
The point of claiming that election fraud is going on without evidence is obviously to cause voter suppression. The more we encourage people to register to vote and as more show up at the polls it becomes more difficult to cheat. We should not ignore their cries of fraud though. When polling locations are overwhelmed with voters they can’t turn away then they are forced to find more viable solutions for voting such as mail in ballots!
They are hoping for voter apathy and hopelessness. We cannot give them this!
What is left out of all these editorials is that the radical and cruel regime and greatest sponsor of world terrorism, namely Iran, is the main reason Israel is continually waging wars. What would any nation be doing with decades of onslaught from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran? We can parse the leaders all day long. The people are, as usual, caught in the middle and pay the price in lives.
Who created Iran? We did, starting in the 1950s and earlier, and all for oil. We set up military bases all over the mid-east, mostly to protect our oil interests by intimidating states. (This was at the heart of Osama bin Laden's hatred of the US.) Who created, sold the weapons which are all over the mideast and in the hands of both terrorists and also valid nationalists? Who initiated the so-called war on terror which has inspired the horrible backlash from Muslims? Our Islamophobic foreign policy must change. In times to come, when the US has lost its hegemony and no longer is given a pass for our immoral militarism, maybe our responsibility for world terrorism will be named and we'll be held to account.
Adding the CIA overthrew a legitimate Iranian government in tht mid-1950's to benefit those Western oil companies and install the Shah.
"Iran" has been around for thousands of years and has an amazing history of culture. I would like folks to understand that the history and people of Iran are not what their government presents. In fairness, many of us see links to the current regime in part from past interference by the US, both from its oil potential and historical religious divisions.
Yes, Jim, and I hope it didn't sound as if I meant that we actually 'created' what we now called Iran. Persia/Iran does have an incredible, rich culture and proud history which we've tried to subjugate to our oil interests.
Yes, I understood that. I have a lot of sad feelings about Iran. As a child/young adult reading storied of their history and culture, I've always wanted to travel there to experience that. But now, I feel I will never get that opportunity, and it saddens me. Not to mention the many Iranian immigrants I have had the pleasure to meet and know, all truly wonderful folks. it's truly a shame we see the people of a country or region mainly through the lens of their/our governments.
I lived and worked in Iran for a couple of months in 1977. There was definitely a frostiness toward westerners that I hadn't experienced elsewhere. Which was understandable given how the US was plundering their assets and despoiling their beautiful cities with our construction cranes and skyscrapers. But their beautiful artwork and rich culture was everywhere. And their generous people.
The question to ask is a simple one. We asked it here in 2024, published the answer, then saw voters elect a stalwart supporter of the truth as county clerk (elections official). That county clerk in turned helped another elections official in a nearby (very red) county, who in turn got elected over an election-denier. Ask your candidates, and spread their answer far and wide, the simple question: Who Won the 2020 Presidential Election, Biden or Trump?
If the answer is anything but Joe Biden, that's a denier. Out them.
Voters get it, but you have to tell them. They may not understand that Election Denial has become the platform of the Republican Party.
Fraud so bad it can't be proven? Republicans are unable to accept losing a mayoral race in one of the bluest cities in the country. This is the party whose leader attempted to stage a coup & whose capos tampered with voting machines in order to hijack elections.
https://newrepublic.com/post/211544/mike-johnson-california-election-fraud-no-proof? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Or2A-lxT9k
Both the US and Israel were founded on valuable principles that have been warped and abused at the hands of wealthy, manipulated oligarchs. The whole world can see the mess and can feel the punishments of income inequality and brash narcissism that we represent. It is a tragedy that narcissistic leaders cannot see reality for what it is. And they never will.
I think a corned and desperate Bibi is very dangerous. Cornered at home and more vilified internationally than ever, he will be desperate. Losing the upcoming election means prison. Nukes? Maybe.
I feel cornered and desperate MAGA Republicans will be similarly dangerous. We must be cautious and alert.
Hope you are healing back to baseline Jennifer, while knowing you are immeasurably missed.❤️🩹