From MAGA to resistance

Since joining Substack, it’s been really cool to come across people I’ve never encountered before on Twitter or other platforms. I’ve been getting questions from some of you about the journey I took from MAGA gangbanger to stalwart NeverTrumper. I wrote about it in The Social Spotlight below. I’ll be answering more of your questions live next week, so stay tuned for dates and times.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of my subscribers—old friends, new supporters, free subscribers, paid subscribers, etc. I appreciate every one of you. If you are enjoying this newsletter, please share it with a friend so we can grow our community of loyal opposition. If you’re able, please become a paid subscriber. I’m not a fan of charging for content, but your contribution helps keep my editor in gainful employment. Unlike some media outlets, I care about facts and truth, and I know you do too.

Hope you can join me next week.

HOW NOT TO RESPOND TO TRAGEDY. The plane crash in Washington, D.C., last night was a tragedy. This is not how the President of the United States should respond:

This right here is what the President of the United States should say in the immediate aftermath of such a tragedy. Not comment on the cause of the crash. Not assign blame for the crash. Not engage in conspiracies. This is what a leader, what a good person says. Thank you, Barack Obama.

CONGRATS, DEMOCRATS! Dems in Congress have begun to fight back a bit after Trump decided to freeze all federal aid, causing chaos and confusion. Finally! But most importantly, Trump fucked up, and We the People fought back, because Trump was denying services we pay for that the government provides. That’s a big no-no. Rep. Sean Casten from my home state of Illinois said, “You either enable him or stand up to him in this moment. There is no other option.” He’s right! Now keep going. Here’s some good advice from Dan Pfeiffer.

THIS IS WHAT CORRUPTION LOOKS LIKE. Trump settled his case against Meta in return for $25 million. Hey, Mark Zuckerberg—you shut down Trump’s accounts after Jan. 6 because he was lying repeatedly about an American election and incited a violent attempt to overthrow an American election. Do you really think that’s worth $25 million? Pathetic. Grow a spine. And don’t even get me started on Bob Menendez and Eric Adams, two corrupt Democrats desperately bending the knee to Trump for pardons. Criminals of a feather flock together.

ABOMINATION HEARINGS: The nomination hearings are proving what cowards the Senate Republicans are. They all know RFK Jr. is a quack, a lifelong predator and abuser of people, an anti-vax conspiracist, and an all-around bad person. The apple fell far from the tree, and they ALL know it. But because they’re all cowards, RFK Jr. will likely become America’s health CEO, and Americans will die because of it. Good on Caroline Kennedy for ripping into her cousin. It couldn’t have been easy in a family like the Kennedys, but it was the right thing for her to do, and showed a hell of a lot more courage than a single Republican did.

Kash Patel is another joke of a nominee. I joined with 22 Republicans to sign a letter urging the Senate to reject his dangerous nomination as FBI Director. But again, I expect Senate Republicans to cave.

ANOTHER JAN. 6 CONVERT. Patel must be disappointed in Jason Riddle, another Jan. 6 perp who has rejected Trump’s pardon. Kudos to Riddle for seeing the light. Meanwhile, of those who were pardoned and released just last week, one was shot by an Indiana police officer for resisting arrest, one was arrested on federal gun charges, one was charged with child pornography and exploitation charges, one is being sought on charges of soliciting a minor, and one was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a deadly DUI crash. Such patriots.

So what can you do?

Join the growing #NOKINGS community! Let’s build a community right now of Americans who rally around and identify with that basic truth: we don’t have kings in America. We’ll figure out where to go beyond that down the road. I’ve changed all my profile pictures to #NOKINGS, and you can too. Grab the #NOKINGS graphic below and go to www.oneflaginitiative.org for instructions on how to change your profile pics.

The Journey Every American Must Take

By Joe Walsh

Let me be blunt: I used to be a real asshole. As a Tea Party member of Congress, a nationally syndicated right-wing radio host, and one of the earliest supporters of Donald Trump, I was one of the guys many readers of this newsletter love to hate, and with good reason.

For those of you who don’t know the old Joe Walsh, allow me to introduce you to him with his most famous tweet…...