R.M. Blinch

Why Trump’s Tariff Defeat is the Real Liberation Day The "most beautiful word in the dictionary" just met its legal Waterloo.

open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

U2: Days of Ash review – six new tracks reaffirm the band as a vital political voice On their first collection of new songs since 2017, the quartet have a crispness that has been lacking in their 21st-century material, as they nimbly react to shocking news stories

New #U2 tracks. And "American Obituary," a protest song, sounds fresh and crisp. The Guardian gave the songs a strong review.
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

An El Niño is brewing And with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight.

You need to read this post by Bill McKibben: An El Niño is brewing open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

When the State Already Knows Your Name First They Scanned the Outsider. Now They’re Scanning You.

open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

Trump threatens to block opening of US-Canada bridge The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects Michigan to Ontario, is set to open this year.

A breathtaking twit threatens Canada again. Whatevs.
bbc.com/news/article...

Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism

Can Substack get ahead of this? Does it have the courage to shut down blatant hate 'newsletters?'
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Washington Post correspondent Lizzie Johnson laid off in the middle of a warzone.

Canada and France establish diplomatic presence in Greenland amid Trump threats Both countries will open consulates in Nuuk this week, part of a broader show of support for the island

Canada's Carney and France are no shrinking violets in the battle against Trumpism.

A partially frozen boardwalk tourist attraction near the American Falls is seen from Niagara Falls Tourists are flocking to view the partially frozen Niagara Falls, despite frigid temperatures, with visitors praising the winter spectacle as a striking sight. Pictured: A partially frozen boardwalk n...

ICE. No, not that one. Covering Niagara Falls. Doesn't happen often.
www.reuters.com/pictures/fro...

The Melania movie is an American obscenity The vapid, corruption-soaked film, which celebrates the myth of the "good immigrant," is more revelatory than it seems.

I would have asked what my fellow attendees thought, but not even a plastic cup of wine could help wash down the film in its entirety.

I left 15 minutes before the credits rolled in, incomplete as they were.

Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for Republicans to ‘Nationalize’ Elections

Oh sure, let the GOP run the electoral process. What could go wrong?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

@davidfrum.bsky.social

Keeping Our Heads in America's Season of Vertigo Holding onto a Shared Reality in a Time of Sectarian Rage

Keeping Our Heads in America's Season of Vertigo
open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips.

Here's a fun #Trump family story. The UAE “spy sheikh” wanted access to advanced AI hardware. He made an 'investment' in Trump Inc BEFORE THE ELECTION. Once Donald is back in the White House, he wins access to 500,000 of the most advanced chips. Nothing to see here…

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Opinion | The White House Is the Crisis

Ezra Klein has a way of nailing it: “There is nothing unusual about a presidency being overwhelmed by crises. What is unusual about the Trump administration is that it has created those crises itself.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/o...

How Did Tucker Carlson Get This Way? How Did America?

Do we need another book on how we got here? Or, should we concentrate on where we're going? Yet I'm still tempted to read this book by Jason Zengerle.

How Did Tucker Carlson Get This Way? How Did America? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/b...

Here's how to constrain ICE Senators vote tomorrow on ICE's funding. Call them and tell them to vote NO.

Here’s how to constrain ICE
open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

Neil Young gifts Greenland free access to his music and withdraws it from Amazon over Trump The singer-songwriter has donated access to his music archive to ‘ease the unwarranted stress and threats’ Greenlanders have experienced from the US government

#Neil Young still has a heart of gold.
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

Mark Carney Rejects Suggestions That He Walked Back His Davos Speech to Trump

Mark Carney Rejects Suggestions That He Walked Back His Davos Speech to Trump www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

How Canada Became an Enemy It’s not about trade, it’s about ego

open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

Finding the Light of America The tragic events of Minnesota are pushing the nation toward two tipping points.

Finding the Light of America
open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

The Great Rupture: Carney’s Roadmap Out of the Chaos Why Canada and Others Should File for Divorce from Global Predators

The Great Rupture: Carney’s Roadmap Out of the Chaos
open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

ICE detains 5-year old Minnesota boy; school leader says agents used him as ‘bait’ The Columbia Heights school district says federal agents have detained four children in their district. School officials say agents used 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos as “bait” to try and draw family m...

ICE detains 5-year old Minnesota boy; school leader says agents used him as ‘bait’ www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Opinion | Trumpism Is Doomed Without Restraint

Reading Douthat is like watching someone apply a fresh coat of paint to an outhouse, especially when it's about #Trump. His last line today: "Again, it’s possible to achieve positive ends through Trumpian means. But the mechanism of that achievement requires…"

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/o...

'The old order is not coming back,' Carney says in provocative speech at Davos | CBC News Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a frank assessment of how he views the world in a provocative speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said the longstanding U.S.-led, rules-based intern...

Blunt but apt words from Prime Minister Carney: "Middle powers must act together, because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Military models Canadian response to hypothetical American invasion Armed Forces envision insurgency tactics like those used by Afghan mujahedeen, sources say. But officials and experts stress a U.S. operation is unlikely, and the scenarios are conceptual

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

A Steampunk President Wants the North Do we still have it in us to fight back?

open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

Canada weighs sending soldiers to Greenland as show of NATO solidarity with Denmark Move could anger U.S. President Trump, who has threatened new tariffs on European countries that sent miliary personnel to Greenland

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Why I Wrote Operation Hitchhikers: Our Avoidable Collapse Melting a Few Clocks to Get Attention

open.substack.com/pub/rmblinch...

Book Watch: Fall Books The Autumn's Promise: A Bounty of Books

Need a new book to read? Check out my Book Watch post on substack, where I embrace fall's literary bounty.
rmblinch.substack.com/p/book-watch...