Source: Reason
by Damon Root

“Since joining the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has voted with the majority to expand gun rights, curtail affirmative action, kill Chevron deference, and eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, all causes that have long been near and dear to the hearts of American conservatives. Yet despite her role in bringing about these landmark conservative victories, a notable faction of the American right is now bizarrely denouncing Barrett as a closet liberal, a ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion hire,’ or worse. What gives? For the record, I have also found fault with some of Barrett’s legal views in recent years. But the notion that she is some kind of intellectual lightweight is ludicrous. Also preposterous is the notion that she is some kind of Justice David Souter redux.” (06/19/25)

https://reason.com/2025/06/19/why-maga-turned-on-amy-coney-barrett/

Source: The Contrarian
by Jennifer Rubin

“Voters oppose the big ugly reconciliation bill by a roughly 2:1 margin. … The numbers on Trump’s deportation scheme, when you drill down, are rotten. … Overall, Trump’s approval is down to the high thirties in several polls. … In sum, cruelty is not popular. And Democrats must focus on MAGA’s victims, tying them to the lawmakers responsible for their ordeal, in order to break MAGA’s grip on power in 2026.” (06/19/25)

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/trumps-agenda-is-a-loser

Source: TomDispatch
by Alfred McCoy

“He lived over 1,000 years ago, but King Canute’s life still has some important lessons for our own time. After conquering England, Denmark, Norway, and part of Sweden, he forged a vast North Sea empire that made him, by the year 1030, the greatest of all the Viking kings. At that peak of power, he ordered his courtiers to place a throne on the seashore. There, according to a contemporaneous account, he shouted at the rising tide: ‘Thou, too, are subject to my command, as the land on which I am seated is mine and no one has ever resisted my commands with impunity. I command you then not to flow over my land, nor presume to wet the feet and the robe of your Lord.’ But the tide, of course, kept rising and waves soon washed over the legs of his royal person.'” (06/19/25)

https://tomdispatch.com/americas-new-industrial-revolution/

Source: Wired
by Jake Lahut

“How should Democrats be approaching this chaotic and, at times, violent moment? From lawmakers and candidates all the way down to the staff who fuel their operations, a series of events over the past week have made national Democrats reconsider their strategy. Following the shootings of the state lawmakers in Minnesota, a weekend of nationwide protests, and Democratic lawmakers in handcuffs, Democrats are trying to figure out what meeting the Trump moment really means for an out-of-power coalition that’s already under fire from constituents for ostensibly rolling over. And for a number of lawmakers and strategists, that answer isn’t so simple.” (06/19/25)

https://archive.is/sLtSx