The big clown is finished in 2026 if the GOP doesn't figure out a way to tamper with voting machines. This blatant seat grab in Texas will be repelled by blue states recriprocating. I don't think the Republicans want to slide down that slippery slope, because they will upset a delicate balance. They've already awakened two sleeping giants—the formerly Republican voters who blindly trusted The Grifter and have been betrayed by him, and the previously buttoned-up, meek Democrats who tried to play by the rules. There are no rules anymore. This ham-handed attempt to steal our democracy is going to make us stronger and, as Lindsey Graham predicted before becoming a Trump sycophant, ruin the GOP for years to come. I'm not glad Trump was "re-elected," (I still believe he cheated), but I think his second stint in the Oval has galvanized a bigger majority of the country against him. He's a joke, a thief and a bungler, always has been, and always will be. Everything he touches goes down in flames. We can't let him do that to our country. So bravo to the Texas Democratic house members and to Bernie, AOC, Maxwell Frost, Chris Murphy and others who are taking the message to red districts and being welcomed in incredible numbers. And bravo to Norm, Jen, and all The Contrarian contributors.
“In December 2024, I was personally involved in an NSA‑authorized forensic audit of the 2024 election. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz won—by a wide margin. Trump lost dramatically. There are multiple layers of complexity to this cover‑up, including transnational organized crime syndicates that extend far beyond the United States and our elections. To that point, I work in the human trafficking sector, which intersects with the stolen election(s) and has ties to Trump and Epstein—not to President Biden, Vice President Harris, or Governor Walz, but to the Democrats and other allied interests responsible for burying the audit.”
Daniel Solomon - I have read the information from the link you provided. Because I'm not able to evaluate the technical situation myself, I've provided this to two very smart, educated (software design, development, etc.), experienced people I know who can. Shall report.
Daniel, thank you so much for sharing this valuable, far reaching, and partly unexpected information, although I believed the real results would be as you describe concerning the real winners, Kamala and Tim. Thank you also for your work and the confirmation that my feelings were correct.
What I recall hearing Trump say was that he was thankful to Elon for his extraordinary computer skills and the work he did, especially in Pennsylvania, indicating that he could not have won there without Elon’s help. That comment could be interpreted a couple of ways, but to me it seemed very close to a confession, if not an actual one. I felt that the tonality was sincere -a rare moment, for sure! It seemed that he was saying that he could not have won in Pennsylvania if it had not been for the unmatched computer skills of Elon Musk. If I could remember where I heard him say that, and when online, I would tell you. I do not recall whether it was part of a clip from MSNBC, or if it was from some other source. I do not have television service so any programming I watch is on my phone.
Do you think we can have the votes properly counted for real results in 2026? What can be done about complications from interferences?
Agree with everything you say, ESPECIALLY that he cheated in 2024. Although he seemed outright panicky in the months before the election, he seemed much more confident of the outcome just before election day. Someone let him know "We got this." The Russians are past-masters at election-rigging, politically-necessary poisonings, and other dirty tricks.
There also was the noticeable absence of his campaigning early on. It seemed as though he knew he was going to win, and it didn’t really matter how much effort he put into it. Did it seem that way to anyone else? Kamala was so excellent in her debate against him, that he chose not to participate in another debate with her.
I've been calling the short-fingered vulgarian, "Ozymandias," since I realized the GOP was going to select HIM as their candidate, before his first infestation.
Thank you for this round up. You keep us (me definitely) informed of what is really going on, now that we cannot depend on television/radio news, or even newspapers.
Paxton is once again, showing us what an incompetent lawyer he is. He is filing frivolous lawsuits to stop the political speech of Beto O'Rourke and others. O'Rourke and others are using political action committees to help defray the quite significant economic costs associated with breaking quorum. Marc Ellias has reported on this at his Democracy Docket.
We must keep in mind these desperate measures are because Texas Republicans have a deadline. They are aware of it, but the general public may not be. Republicans are trying to force these part-time legislators with day jobs back to Texas so they can get their map installed before the March primaries.
Which means we must take up the slack. Republicans expect Democrats to just wring our hands and do nothing effective to stop them. Not this time. Let's keep the funding for Texas Democrats from drying up so they can afford to stay gone until December. If we make it to the end of the year, Republicans cannot get these maps installed before the Texas March primaries. If these maps do not go into effect, Trump's move is checkmated and we strike a mighty blow for people power. We will not consent to his tyranny! We are not characters in Trump's reality show subject to his direction.
I am sure the Contrarians and Democracy Docket will be delving into the lack of legal basis for Paxton's suit against Beto's PAC as details develop. I hope that if the Contrarians or Democracy Docket can lend some legal help, they will.
Republicans are trying to break Democrats' will by bringing financial and emotional pressure to bear. They want to break our fighting spirit. As we say in Texas, that' not how this is going to go, if I have anything to do with it.
Here is the donation link directly to the quorum breakers. You can also leave them a message to support their morale on this site.
I try. My only social media is Substack. There are a lot of PAC’s out there taking donations for Texas Democrats. Unlike other PAC’s this once appears to cut out the middleman so they get more of the money.
I just got back from a rally with Beto O’Rourke and others in Ft. Worth. Gene Wu, the head of the Texas Democratic Caucus along with quite a few others were zoomed in. They are truly, truly grateful for the outpouring of donations. And he specifically mentioned how grateful they are for the words of encouragment pouring in from all over the country.
On this website, there is a button to leave a public comment. Gene seemed a little emotional especially about how much the words of encouragement are appreciated.
On the subject of the war in Ukraine, there's one story that deserves A LOT more attention than it's getting, and that's the Russians publishing a catalog of stolen Ukrainian children they're putting up for adoption to Russian families. Someone online likened it to a pet adoption site, others suggest it's reminiscent of a slave catalog, complete with photos, personality descriptions and the ability to sort by age, gender, hair color, eye color. It's horrific. And sickening.
Ahead of the Trump-Putin dictator summit, this issue needs to be front and center. These children have been stolen from their families, their homes, and their country. It's a war crime.
I wish that Trump wasn’t referred to as the sitting President rather than the Trump Regime. Trump has not honored his oath of office so I for one would say he is not President. That would hold for all of his illegal actions since violating his oath of office. In spite of Trump’s efforts to derail the Midterms, he knows what is in store for him if Democrats take both houses, I foresee the imposter will be gone.
Here are 100 protest signs. The moment demands protest. To each it should be unmistakable—urgent and morally unassailable. I speak for justice, duty, and shared humanity. Act now for those we must protect. Rise. We have protests to do. Good trouble.
We are NOT at the beginning, we are in the middle of this fight, and we may finally be starting to actually treat this as a war! That is the most positive sign yet from the Democratic Party leaders! I think that there are endless possibilities here!
The first is that even with rigged districts, the republicans may lose because by the Mid-Term, most of the worst we fear economically, will be in play! That fact is conveniently omitted from the article's discussion! Secondly, and most importantly, because democrats will now behave like republicans, the SCOTUS will not be able to merely say nothing about this illegal decision, because democrats will be doing it as well! So, now, the SCOTUS must decide if unlimited Gerrymandering at any time (which is a violation of the Constitution) will be allowed, and both Parties can just have a ball! This FINALLY puts the onus directly where it should be, on the SCOTUS!
If the Democrats have a plan, which would be an amazing step forward, their next step would be to have one of the Democratic States sue this process and force the SCOTUS to act! If they do this, they force the entire political heist that Trump had planned into another stage, which may lead to other issues as not yet in play!
Yes. I'd love to see Democrats try the same trick in a state they're likely to prevail in and get this in motion. Do it before the Texans have time to do anything, do it in a state where Republicans don't have the power to break the quorum. Then let MAGA take it to the SC.
There is an assumption underlying most of the articles I've read about the Texas debacle. That assumption is that Texas Republicans, specifically Latino Texans, will continue to support Trump. But that assumption is questionable. Democrats would do themselves good service by combining their quorum blocking with a strong outreach effort to the Latino community. Same in the other states where the Rs are advocating for more outrageous gerrymandering. That R strategy is insulting to thinking voters and we need to point that out over and over again. Let's treat Republican voters like they have agency in their voting instead of assuming as R leaders are doing, that as long as the lines are drawn in their favor, they will win. MAGA voters are not the majority of the R party and many Rs have changed their registration to unaffiliated. Target them in the messaging/outreach effort.
I think it's all hands on deck regarding elections because that is the only long term solution to removing this Administration and its slavish devotees.
The Texas Republicans are smart enough, or rather barely smart enough, to realize that arresting the Texas Democratic legislators who absented themselves from the rigged vote to disenfranchise huge swarths of Texan voters will backfire on them and generate such outrage among the American people that any gain they might achieve with 5 more House seats will be overcome by sympathy votes for the Democrats around the country.
We Americans have always prided ourselves on being fair.
Gerrymandering is cheating. It is a way to redraw the perimeters of the Congressional districts to cram the citizens who traditionally vote Democratic into as few districts as possible to enable the Republicans to win all the other districts. By this sleazy trick, the Texas Republicans expect to gain 5 more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to insure that Donald J. Trump can continue to rule the House.
This is precisely what the American people call "playing dirty", and they (we) will not stand for it!
. . . gerrymandering is cheating . . . and claiming that the other party has also gerrymandered is not an excuse for doing it yourself, but a confession to similar wrong-doing.
The current map is gerrymandered. Nine of the top ten gerrymandered states are dominated by GOP. This particular grievance isn’t to “fix” gerrymandering in Texas. It’s that it’s being done mid-cycle, in response to a presidential request to kick out mouthy dems and get him five more seats. That’s not fair to the voters in those districts, who voted two years ago for their reps and deserve the right to weigh in on their performance.
Norm, you are one of my heroes--and I don't have many. I hope everyone will listen to this excellent interview with another one of mine, and pay particular attention to the HUGE kudos given to Norm toward the end of it!
The big clown is finished in 2026 if the GOP doesn't figure out a way to tamper with voting machines. This blatant seat grab in Texas will be repelled by blue states recriprocating. I don't think the Republicans want to slide down that slippery slope, because they will upset a delicate balance. They've already awakened two sleeping giants—the formerly Republican voters who blindly trusted The Grifter and have been betrayed by him, and the previously buttoned-up, meek Democrats who tried to play by the rules. There are no rules anymore. This ham-handed attempt to steal our democracy is going to make us stronger and, as Lindsey Graham predicted before becoming a Trump sycophant, ruin the GOP for years to come. I'm not glad Trump was "re-elected," (I still believe he cheated), but I think his second stint in the Oval has galvanized a bigger majority of the country against him. He's a joke, a thief and a bungler, always has been, and always will be. Everything he touches goes down in flames. We can't let him do that to our country. So bravo to the Texas Democratic house members and to Bernie, AOC, Maxwell Frost, Chris Murphy and others who are taking the message to red districts and being welcomed in incredible numbers. And bravo to Norm, Jen, and all The Contrarian contributors.
We wuz robbed, Chris. Adam Zarnowski:
“In December 2024, I was personally involved in an NSA‑authorized forensic audit of the 2024 election. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz won—by a wide margin. Trump lost dramatically. There are multiple layers of complexity to this cover‑up, including transnational organized crime syndicates that extend far beyond the United States and our elections. To that point, I work in the human trafficking sector, which intersects with the stolen election(s) and has ties to Trump and Epstein—not to President Biden, Vice President Harris, or Governor Walz, but to the Democrats and other allied interests responsible for burying the audit.”
https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/ex-cia-whistleblower-the-nsa-audited
Did Trump admit that Musk stole Pennsylvania?
Daniel Solomon - I have read the information from the link you provided. Because I'm not able to evaluate the technical situation myself, I've provided this to two very smart, educated (software design, development, etc.), experienced people I know who can. Shall report.
Daniel, thank you so much for sharing this valuable, far reaching, and partly unexpected information, although I believed the real results would be as you describe concerning the real winners, Kamala and Tim. Thank you also for your work and the confirmation that my feelings were correct.
What I recall hearing Trump say was that he was thankful to Elon for his extraordinary computer skills and the work he did, especially in Pennsylvania, indicating that he could not have won there without Elon’s help. That comment could be interpreted a couple of ways, but to me it seemed very close to a confession, if not an actual one. I felt that the tonality was sincere -a rare moment, for sure! It seemed that he was saying that he could not have won in Pennsylvania if it had not been for the unmatched computer skills of Elon Musk. If I could remember where I heard him say that, and when online, I would tell you. I do not recall whether it was part of a clip from MSNBC, or if it was from some other source. I do not have television service so any programming I watch is on my phone.
Do you think we can have the votes properly counted for real results in 2026? What can be done about complications from interferences?
Agree with everything you say, ESPECIALLY that he cheated in 2024. Although he seemed outright panicky in the months before the election, he seemed much more confident of the outcome just before election day. Someone let him know "We got this." The Russians are past-masters at election-rigging, politically-necessary poisonings, and other dirty tricks.
There also was the noticeable absence of his campaigning early on. It seemed as though he knew he was going to win, and it didn’t really matter how much effort he put into it. Did it seem that way to anyone else? Kamala was so excellent in her debate against him, that he chose not to participate in another debate with her.
PROTEST PROTESTPROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST
PROTESTPROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST PROTEST
I applaud the TX Democrats!
I've been calling the short-fingered vulgarian, "Ozymandias," since I realized the GOP was going to select HIM as their candidate, before his first infestation.
Thank you for this round up. You keep us (me definitely) informed of what is really going on, now that we cannot depend on television/radio news, or even newspapers.
Paxton is once again, showing us what an incompetent lawyer he is. He is filing frivolous lawsuits to stop the political speech of Beto O'Rourke and others. O'Rourke and others are using political action committees to help defray the quite significant economic costs associated with breaking quorum. Marc Ellias has reported on this at his Democracy Docket.
We must keep in mind these desperate measures are because Texas Republicans have a deadline. They are aware of it, but the general public may not be. Republicans are trying to force these part-time legislators with day jobs back to Texas so they can get their map installed before the March primaries.
Which means we must take up the slack. Republicans expect Democrats to just wring our hands and do nothing effective to stop them. Not this time. Let's keep the funding for Texas Democrats from drying up so they can afford to stay gone until December. If we make it to the end of the year, Republicans cannot get these maps installed before the Texas March primaries. If these maps do not go into effect, Trump's move is checkmated and we strike a mighty blow for people power. We will not consent to his tyranny! We are not characters in Trump's reality show subject to his direction.
I am sure the Contrarians and Democracy Docket will be delving into the lack of legal basis for Paxton's suit against Beto's PAC as details develop. I hope that if the Contrarians or Democracy Docket can lend some legal help, they will.
Republicans are trying to break Democrats' will by bringing financial and emotional pressure to bear. They want to break our fighting spirit. As we say in Texas, that' not how this is going to go, if I have anything to do with it.
Here is the donation link directly to the quorum breakers. You can also leave them a message to support their morale on this site.
https://riggedredistricting.com/
Just donated. Thanks for the link to Texas House Dems Rigged Redistricting. You need to distribute this info widely.
I try. My only social media is Substack. There are a lot of PAC’s out there taking donations for Texas Democrats. Unlike other PAC’s this once appears to cut out the middleman so they get more of the money.
I just got back from a rally with Beto O’Rourke and others in Ft. Worth. Gene Wu, the head of the Texas Democratic Caucus along with quite a few others were zoomed in. They are truly, truly grateful for the outpouring of donations. And he specifically mentioned how grateful they are for the words of encouragment pouring in from all over the country.
On this website, there is a button to leave a public comment. Gene seemed a little emotional especially about how much the words of encouragement are appreciated.
I contributed what I can afford. I wish it could be more. Thanks for this link.
I also am very limited in what I can donate. Together, we can make a difference.
On the subject of the war in Ukraine, there's one story that deserves A LOT more attention than it's getting, and that's the Russians publishing a catalog of stolen Ukrainian children they're putting up for adoption to Russian families. Someone online likened it to a pet adoption site, others suggest it's reminiscent of a slave catalog, complete with photos, personality descriptions and the ability to sort by age, gender, hair color, eye color. It's horrific. And sickening.
Ahead of the Trump-Putin dictator summit, this issue needs to be front and center. These children have been stolen from their families, their homes, and their country. It's a war crime.
https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/08/stolen-children-marketplace-russia-creates-catalogue-of-ukrainian-kids-for-adoption
Wow, you're right, this needs to be headlined!
I'm shocked this isn't getting more attention.
In Texas, we have the capacity to out register Republicans.
The Texas Democrats have guts! But I'm not expecting much relief from the 6 political hacks who dominate the SCROTUS.
Trump keeps adding nails to his coffin.As always, he is his own worst enemy.
I wish that Trump wasn’t referred to as the sitting President rather than the Trump Regime. Trump has not honored his oath of office so I for one would say he is not President. That would hold for all of his illegal actions since violating his oath of office. In spite of Trump’s efforts to derail the Midterms, he knows what is in store for him if Democrats take both houses, I foresee the imposter will be gone.
Here are 100 protest signs. The moment demands protest. To each it should be unmistakable—urgent and morally unassailable. I speak for justice, duty, and shared humanity. Act now for those we must protect. Rise. We have protests to do. Good trouble.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/100-free-protest-signs?r=3m1bs
We are NOT at the beginning, we are in the middle of this fight, and we may finally be starting to actually treat this as a war! That is the most positive sign yet from the Democratic Party leaders! I think that there are endless possibilities here!
The first is that even with rigged districts, the republicans may lose because by the Mid-Term, most of the worst we fear economically, will be in play! That fact is conveniently omitted from the article's discussion! Secondly, and most importantly, because democrats will now behave like republicans, the SCOTUS will not be able to merely say nothing about this illegal decision, because democrats will be doing it as well! So, now, the SCOTUS must decide if unlimited Gerrymandering at any time (which is a violation of the Constitution) will be allowed, and both Parties can just have a ball! This FINALLY puts the onus directly where it should be, on the SCOTUS!
If the Democrats have a plan, which would be an amazing step forward, their next step would be to have one of the Democratic States sue this process and force the SCOTUS to act! If they do this, they force the entire political heist that Trump had planned into another stage, which may lead to other issues as not yet in play!
Yes. I'd love to see Democrats try the same trick in a state they're likely to prevail in and get this in motion. Do it before the Texans have time to do anything, do it in a state where Republicans don't have the power to break the quorum. Then let MAGA take it to the SC.
I say that CA, IL, NY, should do it anyway. Gloves off.
Good thinking!!
There is an assumption underlying most of the articles I've read about the Texas debacle. That assumption is that Texas Republicans, specifically Latino Texans, will continue to support Trump. But that assumption is questionable. Democrats would do themselves good service by combining their quorum blocking with a strong outreach effort to the Latino community. Same in the other states where the Rs are advocating for more outrageous gerrymandering. That R strategy is insulting to thinking voters and we need to point that out over and over again. Let's treat Republican voters like they have agency in their voting instead of assuming as R leaders are doing, that as long as the lines are drawn in their favor, they will win. MAGA voters are not the majority of the R party and many Rs have changed their registration to unaffiliated. Target them in the messaging/outreach effort.
I think it's all hands on deck regarding elections because that is the only long term solution to removing this Administration and its slavish devotees.
I hope someone is going with trump to Alaska....to make sure he doesn't trade Alaska to putin for riverfront property on the Volga
The Texas Republicans are smart enough, or rather barely smart enough, to realize that arresting the Texas Democratic legislators who absented themselves from the rigged vote to disenfranchise huge swarths of Texan voters will backfire on them and generate such outrage among the American people that any gain they might achieve with 5 more House seats will be overcome by sympathy votes for the Democrats around the country.
We Americans have always prided ourselves on being fair.
Gerrymandering is cheating. It is a way to redraw the perimeters of the Congressional districts to cram the citizens who traditionally vote Democratic into as few districts as possible to enable the Republicans to win all the other districts. By this sleazy trick, the Texas Republicans expect to gain 5 more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to insure that Donald J. Trump can continue to rule the House.
This is precisely what the American people call "playing dirty", and they (we) will not stand for it!
. . . gerrymandering is cheating . . . and claiming that the other party has also gerrymandered is not an excuse for doing it yourself, but a confession to similar wrong-doing.
The current map is gerrymandered. Nine of the top ten gerrymandered states are dominated by GOP. This particular grievance isn’t to “fix” gerrymandering in Texas. It’s that it’s being done mid-cycle, in response to a presidential request to kick out mouthy dems and get him five more seats. That’s not fair to the voters in those districts, who voted two years ago for their reps and deserve the right to weigh in on their performance.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left (from driver's ed class).
Norm, you are one of my heroes--and I don't have many. I hope everyone will listen to this excellent interview with another one of mine, and pay particular attention to the HUGE kudos given to Norm toward the end of it!
Thank you, Norm 🥰
https://open.substack.com/pub/glennkirschner/p/people-are-standing-up-in-the-face?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=t2qlb