Let’s Hear It For Independents! January 20, 2026January 20, 2026 But first . . . TWO ITEMS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: > Trump Wins Wimbled0n Women’s Singles Championship > NATO Sprays Antipsychotic Medication in Airspace Over White House A GREENLANDER SPEAKS OUT An eloquent perspective even if you watch only the first couple of minutes. HOME INVASION There are so many clips like this one (90 seconds). Is this really the America most of us want? Does she strike you as the “worst of the worst”? When will the Republicans in Congress find the courage to stop the madness? ARCTIC INVASION Well, not the literal Arctic — Minneapolis. Joyce Vance Sunday: Tonight, about 1,500 active-duty soldiers, two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, are under prepare-to-deploy orders for possible action in Minnesota. . . . . It bears repeating that the American military isn’t meant to be used for domestic law enforcement against American citizens, barring extraordinary circumstances that simply aren’t present here. The 11th Airborne, nicknamed the “Arctic Angels,” specializes in operating in arctic conditions. That’s convenient for Minnesota, or perhaps for Maine, where there are persistent rumors Trump plans to surge ICE this week, with an eye to the state’s Somali immigrant community. . . . Trump seems to be on course to become the first President to direct the use of U.S. military forces against American citizens during peacetime. And he’s doing it in a situation where the “unrest” is mostly peaceful protests resulting from Trump’s efforts to inflame the city. . . . . . . According to their website, the 11th Airborne Division . . . are ready to “deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary.” Presumably, that includes the protestor in a giraffe costume ICE agents forced to the ground last week or the one dressed like a pickle. If the stakes weren’t so high, the whole thing would be ridiculous. And now . . . I take this as good news. It suggests there’s a huge and growing middle, neither far left nor far right, skeptical of — if not downright disgusted with — both parties . . . dismayed by the polarization and disfunction . . . looking to elect common sense moderates who can work together to do sensible things. But it’s hard for moderates to win because in most state primaries it’s mainly the hardest-core lefties and righties who take the time and trouble to vote. The solution is well known! > We need ranked-choice voting, especially for primaries. And open primaries. With these changes, candidates would have to appeal to the 80% who are not hard right or hard left. And we have to make mail-in voting super easy so it’s not just the fringes that vote. While we work to make that happen, I have to note that the extremism and nuttiness is not evenly distributed. Yes, there are a handful of Democrats who believe “men can get pregnant” or that we should “defund the police.” But I don’t think a single Democratic officeholder — and surely not a party leader — has ever espoused those views. Anywhere. Ever. By contrast, the leadership of the Republican Party, with the near unanimous acquiescence or approval of every elected Republican, calls for opponents to be jailed and executed; brands Renee Good a domestic terrorist without apology for shooting her in the face; publicly threatens to conquer a friendly neighbor; ignores the Constitution; protects pedophiles; labels opponents “vermin,” “garbage,” and “scum”; destroys without Congressional approval the global goodwill (“soft power”) both parties spent 80 years building; pardons the most violent January 6 felons; pardons the Honduran cocaine king; and — among so much else! — commits and condones unprecedented corruption. In Ken Martin’s 14 years as state party chair, Democrats flipped the Minnesota governorship from red to blue and never lost a single statewide race. In 14 years! Now, as DNC chair, he aims to repeat a good measure of that success nationwide. Click here to help.