Julia Payne

We sat through Kristi Noem’s INSANE hearing so you wouldn’t have to.

WATCH 👇

Decades of observations collected from all corners of the continent show that many of North America’s birds are in a state of accelerating decline.

Of 122 species with declining populations, more than half were dying out at an ever-faster rate. https://wapo.st/4tY6T76

Mr. President, Are You Listening? What was once a time-honored ceremonial occasion has morphed into a predictably partisan recitation of “accomplishments”

Former chief speechwriter for Bill Clinton shares what we can expect from Trump’s SOTU tonight.

Norm Eisen Delivers STATE OF THE SWAMP (better than Trump's SOTU) The Contrarian's Norm Eisen (former White House Ethics Czar under Barack Obama) speaks at the State of The Swamp Event.

Watch Contrarian Co-Founder @normeisen.bsky.social talk about the issues Americans actually care about instead of subjecting yourself to that other guy

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“These are not normal times.”

More than 30 members of Congress are at the People’s State of the Union tonight to share the truth of Trump’s regime.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park?

Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/u...

What’s it like to have two grandchildren in the Winter Olympics? Let John Irving tell you Birk and Svea Irving, grandchildren of the great American author John Irving, are competing in Milan Cortina this week.

What’s it like to have two grandchildren in the Winter Olympics? Let John Irving tell you www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

Inside Trump’s ICE Concentration Camps “This system is designed to punish, not protect”

A hard read but a must read by @timdickinson.bsky.social for @contrariannews.org on the inside of Trump's concentration camps open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Older Women – Not Young Men -- Might Save Democracy If ever there were a moment to mobilize menopausal voters, it is now.

Don’t forget about older women!

DOJ Can Give the Survivors Answers And if They Don't, Congress Must

With Pam Bondi testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today on the Epstein files, it is critical that legislators demand better answers.

They may well be the survivors’ last hope for justice.

We'll be following this closely.

Pam Bondi's Top 5 Most Insane Moments from Today's Hearing

Is Trump Losing Rural America? Jess Piper foretells the growing blue wave across the country

Thanks to Trump, rural America has been getting a rude awakening.

@piperformissouri.bsky.social explains:
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/is-trump-losing-rural-america

Gov @joshshapiropa.bsky.social and Pennsylvania are ready for ICE if they come.

Listen to the Governor's full conversation on The Pod: contrarian.substack.com/p/gov-josh-s...

Prosecutors Fail to Bring Charges Against Democrats Involved in Illegal Orders Video The rejection was a remarkable rebuke, suggesting that ordinary citizens did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.

Breaking News: Prosecutors failed to secure an indictment against six Democrats who posted a video reminding members of the military to refuse illegal orders.

Republicans have had a supermajority for 22 years and some folks have the gall to call me “partisan.”

Lol. I just look around and report the truth.

it will really be something if the Epstein Files unseat a British Prime Minster who isn't in them, and not the American President who was Epstein's best friend.

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

NEW: ICE has a plan to lease offices across the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign.

Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.

Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.

part of me still can't believe the East Wing was completely destroyed and there have been no negative consequences or reports on whether items inside were properly archived or not

Jeffrey Epstein’s ghost is haunting the grand old men of capitalism The taint of the disgraced financier will endure

As those embroiled in the tawdry affair are scorned, ostracised or, in some cases, locked up, a new business elite is getting ready to take their place. It has vices of its own

NEW EPSTEIN SURVIVORS AD: “3 million files still not released — stand with us. Tell AG Pam Bondi to release the files. It’s time for the truth.”

Read this - @normeisen.bsky.social and Tianna Mays’s team is going to depose Elon Musk over his unconstitutional actions.

Musk must sit for a deposition to answer for the damage he’s done - a step toward accountability.

List as of Feb 6 at 7:30pm et / 4:30pm pt

How the Murdoch Family Built an Empire—and Remade the News Today, the name represents a story of profit and power unlike any other. But tracing the genealogy of Murdoch sleaze requires a long memory.

Today, the Murdoch empire represents a story of profit and power unlike any other. But how did it come to be? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Former Farming Leaders Warn U.S. Agriculture Could Face ‘Widespread Collapse’

Former Farming Leaders Warn U.S. Agriculture Could Face ‘Widespread Collapse’ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...

Not your mother's protest here in Portland. High Schooler are out in force as part of the national strike.

The Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Reformer, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Sahan Journal, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association today released the following statement: “We strongly condemn the arrest of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, as well as any attempt to intimidate members of the press. The First Amendment recognizes the press as holding a distinct and protected role in our democracy. In America, we do not arrest journalists for doing their jobs. The Minnesota journalism community stands united in defense of press freedom and the essential role reporting plays in holding power to account.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune, @mprnews.org @minnesotareformer.com , @spokesmanrecorder.bsky.social, @sahanjournal.bsky.social, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association today released the following statement:

ICE’s impunity is a formula for more violence Is America’s president building his own paramilitary militia?

The Economist magazine, with a world-wide audience, steps in hard against Trump/Noem’s violent embarrassment of our country with ICE’s goon-squad behavior. It’s remarkable, and sad, that Trump’s America looks like this to the world.

The Trump administration's “war on empathy,” Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, “threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America”: theatln.tc/dcVIzlMi

The Federal Government That Was In his first full year back in office, Donald Trump presided over the destruction of America’s civil service, purging roughly 300,000 workers.

In his first full year back in office, Donald Trump presided over the purging of roughly 300,000 federal workers. Franklin Foer spoke with dozens of former federal employees. He tells Hanna Rosin what he learned:

Purge the Public Servants The destruction of the civil service can destroy democracy, too.

An IRS executive recounts how she left her job after she refused to break the law at the request of the Trump administration. On “Autocracy in America,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social also speaks with Don Moynihan about the impacts of the civil service’s destruction: