What They Died For Publisher's Roundup 19, Memorial Day Edition Norman Eisen May 26 Memorial Day has particular meaning for me. I would not be alive if it were not for the US military. It helped save both my parents in World War II—though in very different ways. In spring 1945, my mom had been in Nazi captivity for a year—transferred from Auschwitz to a slave labor camp in Neuengamme Germany, packing (and when she could, sabotaging) ammunition. When she was flagging, a friendly jailer whispered to her to hang on—the allies were near. But for the US Armed Forces joining the fight, at terrible cost to so many American soldiers and families, my mom would not have survived. My Dad’s connection was more direct: he actually served in those forces. He fled Europe for the US in 1940, arrived here with no papers, and enlisted in the Army to become a citizen. Who knows what would’ve become of him if the Army hadn't welcomed him. While my parents didn’t meet until years after the war (in Israel, of all places), the US military was their godsend, and so mine. I thought of all that this weekend, as I watched a group of veterans process at the Brown University commencement ceremony (I was there for my 40th reunion). The university has a program for veterans to get college degrees. The diverse platoon was composed of about twenty men and women; short and tall; black, brown, and white; all clad in gowns and mortarboards instead of uniforms or camouflage. They were greeted with cheers and whoops for their own accomplishments, of course, but also for the honor of the extraordinary institution they represent. The American idea, which they and their absent comrades fought and died for, is being attacked from within this Memorial Day. How do we honor those who died for freedom when we see liberty under attack here at home? How do we salute the flag and that idea of America it stands for, when its meaning is being assaulted daily by the very administration entrusted with its care? I know some might say we should simply remember our lost soldiers today, without tarnishing that tribute by addressing our political climate. But to my mind, looking away squanders their sacrifice. It is our responsibility to be candid about the crisis and to honor their service more urgently than ever. We can do that by recommitting ourselves to defending our democracy. To memorialize our veterans’ sacrifices is to attend to the fragile, unfinished work of fighting autocracy and building a country worthy of their service. It is to hold tight to the idea of America, even when its practice falters. To do our part, as they did—not on distant battlefields, but on our streets, among our communities, and in our courthouses. For me, that mission is informed by a Jewish aphorism that my parents, both saved by American soldiering, would sometimes say to me: לֹא עָלֶיך הַמְלָאכָה לִיגמוֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חֹרִין לְחִבָּטֵל מִמֶנָה “Your job is not to finish the work—but neither are you, the child of free people, not to do your share.” I think of it often when I’m doing my pro-democracy work here at The Contrarian or my parallel work in the courts of law, which paid subscribers make possible. The challenge is relentless, so it reassures me to know that I need not harbor illusions of finishing the job. By the same token, it motivates me to stay mindful that I must always do my share. “The child of free people.” That’s me and my family—but it is also all of us. We owe our freedom to American soldiers who fought and died for it. Watching those proud, processing veterans at Brown reminded me that Memorial Day is about people—ordinary people who exhibited extraordinary courage so that those they never knew, but also they and their children, could be free. As we lay wreaths and raise flags, let us also file lawsuits and raise voices. And as we enter this summer, let us be realistic: no one can finish the work, so let us each be prepared to do our share for democracy. A lot of you did just that last week, and we covered it here at The Contrarian. Democracy Movement If you ever find yourself hungry for hope, one of my favorite features at The Contrarian is our daily coverage of the Democracy Movement. We started it to keep you inspired by fellow Americans across the country who are protecting and defending democracy. This week, the bulk of the protests were over the big, hideous budget bill the House passed on Thursday. (As a friendly reminder: call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121. There’s always value in letting representatives know how their voters feel.) This week, we also covered some early planning for No Kings Day, clocked a crowd of 18,000 in the streets of Chicago, and spotted Gabby Giffords joining protesters in Tucson to oppose the GOP tax scam. Also included are protesters outside Trump’s outrageous, unethical “meme coin dinner” (which I covered live), Tesla Takedowns, Batman joining the resistance, and much more. As always, find protests in your area at mobilize.us and send us your photos at submit@contrariannews.org. Also, check here to find a town hall in your area. Dispatches from (and about) the international scene Jen Rubin continued to revel in her much-deserved European vacation, but not without regular dispatches and thoughts on the U.S. place in the world from the other side of the Atlantic. On Trip Day 3 she reminded us that as Trump’s autocratic ambitions falter, Europe’s commitment to democratic values is only gaining strength. In The Spanish Historical Lesson Jen offered delivered the long view of the rise and fall of superpowers, and on where to turn our gazes now—not to the week’s “breathless, heartless, dumb commentary” on the sad news of former President Biden, but towards the crisis raging in plain sight from the current Oval Office occupant. Jen wasn’t the only one surveying international affairs. Brian O’Neill wrote about one weekend, three elections in Romania. Poland. Portugal. For each he posed the same global question: Can democracy still hold the line? And indeed, liberal democracy passed a set of critical stress tests in each country. O’Neill laid out the next defining test: NATO’s summit. Jen once again took a global lens on the American crisis, returning with a question for us. Where is the outrage when Trump goes full Erdoğan? When Erdoğan jailed his top rival, the world noticed, as we did with recent autocratic moves in Chad and Tanzania. Why, she asked, has the reaction to Trump’s arrest of political opponents like a member of Congress and a judge not been greeted with equal outrage? By week’s end, in observing the United States from abroad as we kicked off the Memorial Day weekend, Jen was struck by how much of the world that we know today would not exist, but for American military and financial sacrifice. As she wrote, “If not for young men and women ready to lay down their lives for others, Europe today would not be free, democratic, and devoted to Western values.” For this reason and countless more, this week’s Undaunted column honored veterans. Justice…or the lack of it The Supreme Court needs to double down on empowering lower courts, wrote Leah Litman, legal expert and author of Lawless, in regards to our highest court’s crucial decision last week blocking Trump’s illegal efforts to deport migrants to a Salvadoran prison. Their ruling delivers a clear message to lower courts: they are the first line of defense against Trump’s overreach. But if the rule of law is to survive, SCOTUS better do its own job. This need came into stark relief when Trump’s DOJ charged a Democratic congresswoman. Mimi Rocah wrote on this abuse of the justice system in plain sight: charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D, NJ) for allegedly assaulting federal agents—a case that is, in Rocah’s expert opinion, riddled with red flags. Meanwhile, Matthew Boulay took on Avelo Airlines, which has signed a $150 million contract with ICE to operate its deportation flights. This summer, don’t fly deportation airlines, he suggested. “The same airline offering weekend getaways is now helping remove from the United States men, women, and children—many of whom were denied fair hearings and basic protections. Let’s be clear: Avelo is now complicit in one of the most shameful human rights violations of our time,” he wrote. And our ace Democracy Index team analyzed a week when the Trump Administration took new steps in abusing its power of government to attack institutions and perceived enemies. However, this week also featured important instances of the federal judiciary—the institution most strongly protecting the rule of law—pushing back and thwarting these unlawful actions. Race in America Contrarian April Ryan was joined this week by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to discuss 5 years after George Floyd. Yesterday marked the somber anniversary of his killing. AG Ellison led the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who murdered George Floyd, and he and April had an honest and excoriating discussion of what has changed since then, and what hasn’t. “Whenever you see the racism and the distraction, look for the grift, because that's what they’re doing.” Carron J. Phillips added his view: It took America only five years to forget about George Floyd. Witnessing the death of an innocent Black man caused this country to reflect, he recalled. However, the subsequent “racial awakening” proved to be short-lived. The naked racism of the Trump regime was dissected in Shalise Manza Young’s column on why white South Africans are migrants the Trump administration can love. She traced how Trump’s “white is right” approach has shaped which refugees and global victims he chooses to champion—and which he ignores, apropos of a tense meeting with South Africa’s president, in which he once again pushed the claim that white South Africans are facing “genocide.” Shalise also wrote on how Louisiana’s Nottoway fire took us back to when Black Twitter was a time. She bid good riddance to a burned-down former sugar plantation—while giving a fond eulogy to Black Twitter, which celebrated the fire with an online party at the heights of its pre-Musk-takeover heyday. “It was Black joy and Black comedy, a needed release as we watched another fire, the second iteration of a Donald Trump presidency.” Big and Beautiful…Billionaires’ Bounty The week brought us Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” a clear winner for Words & Phrases We Can Do Without, a weekly column on the language GOP spin doctors have rendered meaningless. When you hear this insipid branding, Jen Rubin wrote, “reframe it in your mind to mean ‘morally repugnant, fiscally insane, anti-growth bill.’” If you like your presidential travel mixed with $B self-enrichment for Trump and sons, this week’s “Talking Feds” podcast was the one for you, as a terrific roundtable of all-star policy and legal experts–Peter Baker, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg—broke down Trump’s Gulf Coast lucre tour and this benighted “big, beautiful bill” in Art of the Self Deal. This week’s live Q&A, “Let’s Do Lunch” with Jared Bernstein featured a heavyweight guest to answer your burning econ questions: the great Paul Krugman. These budget experts discussed, among other things, how the U.S. dollar may still be the backbone of global trade—but it’s only as reliable as the country behind it. Katie Phang and Congressman Ritchie Torres on GOP’s calamitous cuts to Medicaid Congressman Ritchie Torres joined Contrarian Katie Phang to dig into the GOP’s plan to decimate Medicaid support for millions of people while putting cash in the pockets of billionaires. “Ultimately, this debate is about lives and livelihoods.” In a similar vein, Jeff Nesbit wrote an insistent piece: don’t lose sight of the pain Trump is passing on to American consumers. In it, he shone a deserved spotlight on what Trump’s policies are already costing us—at the store, at the doctor, and in your paycheck. Behind the noise, as always, Trump’s agenda is about gutting working families to reward himself and the rich. While the mainstream media seem trapped in a news cycle about former President Biden’s health and cancer diagnosis, Jeff also explained that Trump’s cuts to cancer research are imperiling Biden’s legacy Cancer Moonshot initiative. The sitting president continues to gut cancer research pretty much everywhere he can, which of course puts at high risk the survival of the initiative that was one of Biden’s most heroic legacies. GOP Self-sabotage Lisa Gilbert and I explained why eroding the filibuster would come back to bite Republicans. Senate Republicans undertook that erosion by overruling the parliamentarian this week to wipe away state environmental laws that they don't like. That is as shortsighted as…well, everything else the GOP is doing. Austin Sarat wrote about when government officials are ignorant about the Constitution, noting the stunning lack of basic constitutional knowledge among Trump’s cabinet of toadies. Last week’s special contestant was Kristi Noem. Her claim that “habeas corpus” protection from wrongful imprisonment means the exact opposite and gives free rein to the president to trample our rights endangers the republic she’s meant to serve. Brian O’Neill published his second open letter to the director of national intelligence in sorry, Tulsi Gabbard. You can’t polygraph your way out of this. He urged her to take a step back after 100 days of politicizing—not protecting—the intelligence community with her sweeping changes. When the next failure comes, he warned, Gabbard will only have herself to blame. With the help of our video team, we’ve been taking a clear-eyed look at some of the less savory members of this regime, who must be held accountable for failing to uphold their oaths of office. In doing so we also seek to recognize those unafraid to ask the right questions. Though he’s often cited as the only qualified member of Trump’s cabinet, we didn’t observe that in our look at what happened when Marco Visited Congress. Health Health is always front of mind for most of us, and has become even more so with our unhinged Secretary of Health and Human Services. In her piece, making Salmonella Great Again, Jennifer Schulze wrote on how the administration’s gutting of the FDA and CDC is transforming routine grocery shopping into a contamination casino: pay your money and take your chances on E. coli and Salmonella. Jennifer Weiss-Wolf turned to grim cases like that of Adriana Smith in her piece on how the state of reproductive rights is dire. Smith was pregnant with a fetus declared brain dead, but forced to remain on life support until delivery, possibly months from now—another case exposing the harrowing present reality of women’s bodies being under siege. In addressing matters of health that we actually can do something to prevent, Jehieli Luevanos-Ovalle put forward essential advice: Take care of yourself while the world is burning. Self-care is essential for all of us who want to maintain the endurance to keep up the fight. Culture, Comics & Cooking Our friend Pablo Torre was joined by Dan Arrigg Koh for The Contrarian’s weekly show of Offsides with Pablo Torre. They discussed how sports talk wins the manosphere, as well as the need for Democrats to act like real people, Trump’s fake fandom, then back to how sports can serve as a gateway for political engagement for young men. “Sports is the lone monoculture left.” Trump’s Oval Office is Dripping in Gold: Azza Cohen Explains via a fascinating video Trump’s ancién regime approach to Oval Office decor: a gilded study in bad taste (and worse values). Keeping with the subject of optics and perception, Josh Levs wrote on how to dismantle the media’s bothsidesism. Image, rather than journalistic integrity, defines too much coverage, leading to the “bothsidesism” news agencies complain about yet also fall prey to. On the bright side, “where big media fail, we come in and fight the good fight” here at The Contrarian. Culture picks for the long weekend. Meredith Blake gave us recs on what to watch, read, and listen to this Memorial Day. This week is thick with divas of very different varieties: Julianne Moore’s character in Sirens, the inimitable Cher’s memoir, and a podcast on the legendary directors that stick around for…maybe too long? Our roster of brilliant editorial cartoonists were all on point, from Michael de Adder’s vision of the Ahab in Trump in The white whale and his depiction of the…farcical upside to dismantling Medicaid in Good news, bad news, to Nick Anderson’s illustrated double standard in the GOP’s supposed love of the order side of law with Back the blue; to our Friday stalwart Ruben Bolling, whose Tom the Dancing Bug strip offered us a glimpse at The New Sneetches. We always love to send you into the weekend with something new to try out in your kitchen. Jamie Schler has yet to disappoint with her recipes and their context, and this week’s Summer Cherry Berry Cobbler was no exception. Finally, we had our Contrarian Pet of the Week. This week, we introduced you to our new friend MAC (lovingly known among the Contrarian staff as MacOmar, due to his Baltimore roots and our company-wide appreciation for The Wire). Although we discussed the state of our democracy constantly at my 40th college reunion, I was struck again and again by how normal the gathering felt. My classmates and I caught up over Shabbat meals and at dance parties and symposia. At commencement on Sunday, the reunion classes marched down College Hill in order of seniority, with the graduating class lined up on either side as they applauded us. Then we took our places by the side of the road further down the hill, and the new grads (including our military veterans) passed between our ranks as we clapped and hollered for them. The joy was palpable. That, too, is what our absent heroes fought and died for. We honor their memory by fighting for our democracy, but also by living fervently. Have a meaningful Memorial Day, Contrarians. Warmly, Norm

This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 138 Ron Filipkowski May 25 … Trump gave a bizarre, rambling, slurring, often incoherent speech at the West Point graduation. In addition to the huge military parade scheduled in DC for his birthday next month, Trump continued to politicize an institution that is supposed to be apolitical by wearing one of his red MAGA campaign hats during the speech. … Here were some of the things he said to the young graduates: On a wealthy real estate developer friend who retired: “He ended up getting a divorce. Found a new wife. Can you say a trophy wife? It didn't work out too well. That doesn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives don’t work out. It made him happy for a little while at least. He found a new wife. He got a big yacht.” (Sound like someone whose wife hasn’t been sleeping at WH) “I was investigated more than the great, late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone. Now I am talking to you as President. Can you believe this?” (No, we can’t) “I proposed a $1 trillion military budget. $1 trillion. People say, ‘could you cut it back?’ I said I'm not cutting 10 cents. We can cut plenty of other things.” (Like health care and food for the poor) “I did this recently at Ohio State. They really liked it. I gave them a little advice as to what I see for what you want to do. Some tips.” (It was Alabama not Ohio St) “The whole stealth thing - I'm sort of wondering. We shape a wing this way, they don’t see it, but the other way they see it? I’m not so sure. But that’s what they tell me.” (Of course, he knows more about stealth tech in jets than anyone) … Trump then left without shaking the hands of any of the graduates. Joe Biden and Barack Obama shook the hands of every single one when they spoke there. But Trump headed to Bedminster for golf, where he later posted a photo of his playing partner getting attacked in the genitals by the swan guarding Ivana’s grave near the 16th hole. … Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.), former Commanding General of US Army Europe, on Trump wearing a campaign hat: “What a rotten example for these new Officers. How are any of the Academies or ROTC programs going to teach Cadets about Duty, Honor and Country with him and Secretary Hegseth as their Leaders?” … Tom Nichols, retired Prof at US Naval War College: “Trump has been actively trying to politicize the US military since his first campaign. Those cadets have been taught that this is inappropriate, but now the Commander-in-Chief is telling them that rules are for other people.” … Richard Stengel, former Undersecretary of State: “1. He disrespects West Point by wearing his MAGA hat. The cadets all remove their hats out of a tradition of respect. 2. He disrespects them by talking about trophy wives and yachts. 3. He disrespects them by saying he ‘rebuilt the military’ in 4 months. The military he inherited is larger than the next top 10 nations combined. 4. He disrespects the military by erasing the memory of soldiers of color who fought for freedom even when they did not have it.” … This was the headline from the The Independent (UK) about the speech: … And here is the NYT headline sanewashing the speech for Trump, very similar to many other legacy media headlines about it: … Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on MSNBC: “It is time for Republicans to start calling him out and start questioning his mental acuity, and whether or not he is equipped to serve mentally. We know when it comes down to his criminality, he is not qualified to serve, but this is just absolutely deplorable.” … Crockett also said when Democrats take the House after the 2026 midterms, she wants to run for Oversight Chair: “I am hoping an praying that my colleagues see that I can provide what we need as a team moving forward, hoping we can instill some confidence in the America people knowing they have a real fighter who won’t back down - and I get death threats every day. But I will fight fearlessly and ferociously for the American people.” … She was asked what she would do as Chair: “We will investigate. We will look at whether this president has violated the emoluments clause. We will make sure we look into all these business deals they have going on. Think about how much money they’re raking in, whether we’re talking about the next golf resort they’re setting up in Qatar or this crypto scam. There is no shortage of things for us to dig into.” … Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has parlayed a 5th place finish at the NCAAs into a career as a MAGA social media influencer, was on Sean Hannity’s show complaining about Kermit the Frog’s commencement speech to Univ of MD grads: “Imagine being a 22 year old student who is graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering, and a fraud from the Muppets is on stage telling you to stay connected with your people. I mean, you can’t even make this stuff up. Instead of honoring entrepreneurs, or veterans or innovators they picked Kermit the Frog!” … “We have students who are drowning in debt, struggling to find jobs, and universities are handing the mic to puppets. Not puppets like many Democratic elected leaders, a real puppet. It’s all theater. I see this as the same institutions who have been pushing political agendas and cancel culture now want to use a puppet to inspire students. It’s unserious, it’s out of touch, and frankly it’s insulting.” … Legendary Muppets creator Jim Henson came up with the Kermit puppet character when he was an 18 year old student at Maryland. Henson’s wife also graduated from Maryland. That is why Kermit gave the speech, which the graduates loved. Kermit did not mention trophy wives in his speech, otherwise maybe Gaines would have liked it better. Reminder that we make the entire Weekend Bulletins available to free subscribers, with about the first 30% of the daily ones during the week available for free. Everyone is also able to post comments to the weekend ones. If you missed Friday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Fortune interviewed Nicholas Pinto, who secured a spot at Trump’s crypto dinner after buying $360,000 of his tokens. He was asked about the food: “Trash. Walmart steak. Everyone at my table was saying the food was some of the worst food that they ever had. I was hoping for either Big Macs or pizza. That would have been better than the food that we were served. The only good part was the bread and the butter.” … Pinto text to Fortune from the event: “Most of the people here are sketchy, I’m not gonna lie.” … What did Pinto think about Trump’s speech? “Pretty much, like, bullshit.” … Speaker Mike Johnson was asked on CNN why he wasn’t saying anything about Trump’s crypto dinner scam: “Look, I don't know anything about the dinner. I was a little busy this past week, so I'm not going to comment on something I haven't even heard about.” … Apparently, the Speaker of the House is the only one in DC who hasn’t heard about it. He must just watch Fox News. … Retired AF Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax that Trump’s Palace in the Sky jet from Qatar is going to cost taxpayers plenty: "It's going to cost a lot of money to take the skin off the aircraft, to reinforce it where it needs to be, find any surveillance items that may be lingering around the airplane. All the electronics, communications gear, everything else involved that goes into that. Probably going to run a few dollars.” … NYT published a lengthy story detailing how Vietnam broke some of their own laws to rush approval of a Trump golf resort and a Trump Tower Ho Chi Minh City because they believe that’s what they have to do to get new US tariffs lifted: “To fast-track the Trump development, Vietnam has ignored its own laws, granting concessions more generous than what even the most connected locals receive.” … Le Van Troung was coerced into signing a consent form to allow a burial site with 5 generations of his ancestors to be plowed over to make room for the golf course, as well as rich farmland that has sustained local families for centuries: “There’s nothing I can do. Trump says it’s separate — the presidency and his business. But he has the power to do whatever he wants.” … “Vietnamese officials, in a letter obtained by NYT, explicitly stated that the project required special support from the top ranks of the Vietnamese govt because it was ‘receiving special attention from the Trump admin and Trump personally.’ Vietnamese officials have waved the development along in a moment of high-stakes diplomacy. They face intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.” … “The process usually takes 2-4 years. But records show that initial planning documents were filed only 3 months before Wednesday’s event, which was held on newly leveled land under an archway announcing ‘THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF TRUMP INTERNATIONAL, HUNG YEN.’ Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not respond to questions about the legality of the project.” … WH response to the story: “All of the president’s trade discussions are totally unrelated to the Trump Organization.” … Sen. Rand Paul was on Fox today complaining about the House budget bill: "Somebody has to stand up and yell, 'the Emperor has no clothes!' Everybody is falling in lockstep on this - 'Pass the big beautiful bill. Don't question anything.' Well, conservatives do need to stand up and have their voices heard. If we don't stand up on it, I really fear the direction the country is going." … Paul: "If you increase the debt ceiling $4-5 trillion, that means they're planning on $2T this year and more than $2T next year. That's just not conservative. So I've told them if they strip out the debt ceiling, I'll consider even with the imperfections voting for the rest of the bill." … They aren’t going to do that. Because the only way to do that is to take out Trump’s massive tax cuts or dramatically cut Social Security and Medicaid even more, and take out the $150B in new defense spending. Not happening. … Elon Musk’s X has been a technical disaster over the weekend, with the site going completely down for over an hour with a number of other glitches and problems continuing unabated. Users across the ideological spectrum have been complaining bitterly about it, including Musk’s biggest fan in the Senate, X-addict Mike Lee: “Something is terribly wrong with X.” … Bloomberg: “Elon Musk said he needs to be ‘super focused’ on his companies, pointing to issues at X as evidence of a need for ‘major’ improvement at the social network. Users reported problems with X Friday and Saturday, according to DownDetector. A post from the company’s engineering team also said it was facing issues from a data center outage.” … Musk posted this about it: “I’m back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out. As evidenced by the X uptime issues this week, major operational improvements need to be made.” … This was the guy Trump brought in to make govt more efficient. … WaPo: “Politics has been central to Musk’s identity over much of the past year, but his latest obsession has faded into disenchantment over the personal costs and difficulties in producing results, said 2 people familiar with his thinking. Musk has also become deeply concerned for the personal safety of himself and his family. [WHAT FAMILY?] He also did not anticipate the level of backlash against him personally or against his companies, including incidents of violence at Tesla facilities. Along with that push is a pull for renewed involvement in his 2 main businesses, Tesla and SpaceX.” … The white nationalist group Patriot Front marched in KC this weekend. When this well-documented group did this during the Biden Admin, people like Elon Musk, Sen. Mike Lee, Joe Rogan and many others claimed it was a false flag operation by the FBI to try and discredit right-wingers. Rogan told Musk on his show that we would not see them again once Trump took office, and Musk agreed: “I bet when Kash gets in they disband.” … But Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have been running the FBI for months, and PF is still marching. Is MAGA now going to finally admit these are white nationalists? Nope. … Former FBI Director James Comey was asked about right-wingers who are upset with Kash Patel for yet not arresting anyone connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Deep State political enemies of Trump: "He's found himself now in a reality-based world where statements have to be under oath in front of judges and there are severe consequences for lying — not the case with a podcast." PARDON MY INTRUSION! HARVARD ACCEPTS THE BEST & THE BRIGHTEST! LIVING WITHIN PROXIMITY OF THE  BEST TEACHING FACILITIES IN THE NATION, WE SOMETIMES TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED....EXCEPT WHEN LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS EXIST!  A FRIEND WAS IN THE VA HOSPITAL OVER THANKSGIVING WEEK WITH AN UNRESOLVED PROBLEM & A 'CONSULT' WAS REQUESTED...ONE WOULD THINK THE 'CONSULT' WOULD BE AFTER THE HOLIDAY..NO!  I WAS THERE! A GAGGLE OF DOCTORS ARRIVED ON THANKSGIVING DAY, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT LAB COAT IDENTIFYING THEIR AFFILIATION...THEY OFFERED A QUICK, SIMPLE RESOLUTION, EASILY EXPLAINED!  NOT ONE OF THOSE DOCTORS WAS WHITE!  AMERICANS ARE LAZY & PROVE IT REPEATEDLY!  A FRIEND'S DAD LIVING IN MAINE HAD A LIFE THREATENING CONDITION THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT. HE WAS SENT TO MASS GENERAL WHERE A DOCTOR WEARING A BURKA IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSED HIS CONDITION & TREATED HIM.  IT DOESN'T MATTER WAS GOD YOU WORSHIP. IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT'S IN YOUR BRAIN & YOUR ABILITY TO EXCEL!   … Trump posted: “Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the US, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to. NOT TRUE! Nobody told us that! We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries!” HARVARD IS A PRIVATE INSTITUTION!  … JD Vance made it clear with an X post that the Trump admin is using govt power to coerce a right-wing takeover of major universities: “The voting patterns of university professors are so one-sided that they look like the election results of N. Korea. And on top of all of this, many universities explicitly engage in racial discrimination (mostly against whites and asians) that violates the civil rights laws of this country. Our universities could see the policies of the Trump admin as a necessary corrective to these problems, change their policies, and work with the admin to reform. Or, they could yell ‘fascism’ at basic democratic accountability and drift further into irrelevance.” … Netflix is out with a new documentary about former NFL QB Brett Favre, which included his sexting scandal where he made unwanted advances to a NY Jets employee while he was married, and his welfare fraud scam in Mississippi. Favre complained that Netflix is only targeting him because he is “an outspoken Trump supporter.” … Another MAGA victim. … NBC: “Mexican singer Julión Álvarez announced the postponement of his Sat concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, saying his work visa had been revoked. Álvarez, show promoter CMN and management company Copar Music said the show had been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances and that Álvarez was ‘unable to enter the US in time for the event.’ Alvarez said they were formally notified on May 23 that the work visas for his band were canceled ahead of the May 24 concert. 50,000 tickets were sold for the show.” … Alvarez said he will refund the money and cancel the show if the visa issue can’t be straightened out quickly so he can do the show on another date. … NYT: “Under intense scrutiny about his mental health and his ability to function in his job, Sen. John Fetterman has been in damage control mode, attending hearings and votes that he had been routinely skipping over the past year. Fetterman does not enjoy participating in these hearings that he has sat through in recent weeks as he seeks to prove that he is capable of performing the job he was elected to do until 2028. In fact, at a critical moment for the country, he appears to have little interest in the day-to-day work of serving in the Senate.” … “In an interview, Fetterman said he felt he had been unfairly shamed into fulfilling senatorial duties, such as participating in committee work and casting procedural votes on the floor, dismissing them as a ‘performative’ waste of time. Instead, he said he was ‘showing up because people in the media have weaponized’ his absenteeism on Capitol Hill to portray him as mentally unfit, when in fact it is a product of a decision to spend more time at home and less on the mundane tasks of being a senator.” … “Fetterman has also foregone events in his state. He has avoided hosting town halls with his constituents because he does not want to get heckled by protesters. ‘I just want to be in a room full of love,’ he has told people. At the same time, Fetterman has shed staff. And he has grown more isolated from his Democratic colleagues. Despite attempts from his friends in Congress to draw him out, Fetterman still does not attend the weekly Democratic caucus lunch in the Capitol.” … Kierstyn Zolfo, with the progressive grass roots group Indivisible, who lives in Bucks County: “The regrettable fact is that John Fetterman is not doing the job he was elected to perform. It makes me very sad, because I have supported him for so long, and I worked so hard to get him elected. But he’s just not getting the job done.” … El Pais: “Both the Miami Herald and FL public radio WLRN dedicated editorials to the country’s first Latino Sec of State. ‘Rubio used Venezuelans in his hometown for political gain. Now, he’s betrayed them,’ read the article in the Herald headline. ‘Venezuelans and other migrant groups see leaders like Marco Rubio no longer have their backs — because today, boosting deportations matters more than bolstering democracy,’ wrote WLRN Americas editor Tim Padgett.” … Groups have filled billboards in recent days targeting Rubio and other Republicans in FL who have supported Trump’s immigration policies. One billboard: “Little Marco sold out all Venezuelans. He told Trump to end TPS. He’s a traitor to all those fleeing dictatorships.” … The Trump admin has adopted a strategy to try and bypass the EU to negotiate directly with member countries who they perceive as being more friendly to them like Hungary, Italy, and Poland. It isn’t going to work, but as with all things the Trump strategy is divide and conquer. … Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller was on GB News: “You have to separate out Brussels from the rest of the European countries - from the member countries. President Trump has had his greatest success with bilateral trade agreements. The EU is controlled by these bureaucrats in Brussels. They’re putting up a resistance fight. The president is sending a very clear message that if they don’t come to the table there is going to be ramifications.” … When asked about which bilateral trade agreements Trump has reached that were so successful, Miller cited the BS deal with UK and concepts of deals with some Asian countries that they are still working on. … Economist Justin Wolfers: “Maybe men are just too emotional to run trade policy.” … President Zelensky: “Today, rescuers have been working in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and villages following Russia’s massive strike. Nearly 300 attack drones were launched by Russians overnight. In addition, almost 70 missiles of various types were fired, including ballistic ones. Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored.” … “The silence of America, silence of others around the world, only encourages Putin. Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now – the determination of the US, of Europe, and all those around the world who seek peace. The world knows all the weaknesses of the Russian economy. The war can be stopped, but only through the necessary force of pressure on Russia. Putin must be forced to think not about launching missiles, but about ending the war.” … Oliver Carroll, foreign correspondent for The Economist: “Another heavy night of Russian air strikes on Ukraine. At least 8 dead and 15 injured. Three kids were killed in their beds in Zhytomyr region. The capital was targeted by ballistic missiles and drones again. I still remember the ‘VLADIMIR, STOP!’ phase of Trumpian diplomacy.” … UK journalist Theo Mullis in Kviv: “It amazes me how much the psychology of this echos that of a domestic violence case. I was a police officer for 7 years. I seen a lot of that stuff, and the most dangerous moment is when the survivor tries to break away. That’s what we see from Russia - the impotence, the violent rage, the spitefulness. The sense that if I can’t have you no one will. These attacks on Kviv over the last couple of nights are spiteful outbursts. Exactly the same as when a domestic violence abuser gets drunk and attacks their partner - the psychology is the same.” … Independent journalist ‘Jay in Kviv’: “Russia is merely the broken down, alcoholic wife beater that just cant let go. Sadly, the US now plays the part of the corrupt cop that looks the other way for a small bribe.” … Trump has threatened additional sanctions by Truth Social post on 4 separate occasions over the past 4 months if Russia didn’t stop the bombing, starting with his first day in office. Putin has ignored him, and Trump has done nothing. He played golf yesterday and today with zero statement or response to this weekend’s bombings. … Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA): “The US cannot fail to respond as Putin escalates his barbaric assault on innocent Ukrainians. Congress must act immediately and decisively. Peace through strength begins with action. We need full, crippling sanctions targeting Putin, his regime, and those bankrolling this campaign of terror until the Russian war machine collapses in on itself." … Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected Pope Leo XIV's offer to mediate peace talks with Ukraine at the Vatican: "It would be a little inelegant for Orthodox countries to discuss issues related to eliminating the root causes of the war on Catholic ground. It would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from Orthodox countries in these circumstances." … As usual, everything that comes out of the Kremlin is a lie. Just like our government now. … Rudy Giuliani surfaced on Steve Bannon’s podcast, where he wanted to talk about Jake Tapper’s Biden book. Rudy said he was lobbying Trump and AG Pam Bondi to appoint him as special counsel to prosecute Joe Biden and his family. … Kayleigh McEnany seemed to like the idea of a special counsel, but maybe not Rudy leading the charge. … Joe Exotic, the subject of the Netflix documentary Tiger King, continues to look for new and creative ways to lobby the Trump admin to give him a pardon. His husband was recently deported to Mexico, and he promises Trump that if he lets him out of prison he will go to Mexico and earn $5 million to buy US citizenship for him from Howard Lutnick: “President Claudia Sheinbaum, call President Trump and tell him to release me so I can go to Mexico and work to buy Jorge a Trump Gold Card.” Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.