Your question gets at something profound. Carl Jung would likely agree with much of what Howard Zinn said, though he’d frame it differently. Jung observed that when any idea, value, or system becomes too dominant in society—whether it’s technocratic control, bureaucratic “safety,” or a fixation on efficiency—its opposite inevitably rises with equal force. This is the law of enantiodromia: the pendulum swings. The more a system tries to seal itself off, the more the collective unconscious pushes back. What seems like closure today may actually be setting the stage for a strong counter-movement tomorrow. Zinn might say the same from a political lens: power feels most secure when ordinary people believe resistance is pointless. Jung would add that this very belief sparks the return of the repressed—the yearning for liberty, dignity, and real human connection that the system has tried to suppress. Both warn against fatalism. The current “closure” feels heavy because it’s so one-sided, but history and psychology suggest no such imbalance lasts forever. The resourcefulness of ordinary people—their refusal to be fully absorbed by the machine—hasn’t vanished. It’s simply waiting for the tension to snap. When it does, the opposite force Jung described won’t ask permission; it will just emerge. The task now is to stay aware, keep small freedoms alive, and be ready when the pendulum swings back.
I greatly appreciate your work and am happy to support you with a paid subscription. But I often feel like a bit of a chump when your excellent articles appear in City Journal well before they are available on Substack, such as "California Provides Sex-Change Procedures..." which was published yesterday morning at City Journal and was not available until today on Substack.
We usually try to post the City Journal investigative articles on Substack the same day they're released over there; yesterday's report was an anomaly in being republished here one day late. Paid subscribers get access to exclusive content from Chris, such as his Friday newsletter, which includes his weekly news roundup and interview excerpts.
Awesome Piece!! The narrative here is loud, but the mechanics are familiar: systems built on trust, exploited in broad daylight, and audited only after the damage calcifies. You can swap the state, swap the agency, swap the ideology—the pattern doesn’t blink. I track these fault lines at Beltway Receipts, and they look the same whether the zip code is Sacramento or DC. The scandal’s never in the slogan. It’s in the spreadsheets, the filings, the quiet places where the story stops matching the paperwork.
Well corruption between one state or another isn't a competition ‼️ Why would investigating the governor of Illinois be more "fruitful" than the Narcissistic Pathological Liar Sociopathic governor in California ❓
Your 'reporting' is often charmingly contrarian. In particular it is cranky and queerly obsessed with California. You wouldn't know the Truth if it came up and buggered you in broad daylight. Your notion of fact is a malleable fiction. As for Gavin Newsom, he is another Armani Democrat, the male 21st century version of Pelosi. Pelosi a despicable human being. As are a majority of the Congress. Your smarmy observations on California, as a third world state (no one uses that term except for antiquated liberals) is at best silly. Maybe in ten years you will have leavened your observations with an acquired wisdom and awareness. As is you are on the cusp of a being a lampoon of a 'journalist' - or more apropos a cartoon character.
Is the exclusive reporting you speak of here coming from non-Substack sources like the California Post or City Journal, or is some coming from your Substack itself, or is it something else?
You are kidding right? Your trump president is the most fraudulent president our country has ever had! Tell me, what has trump ever done for a butterfly? FN
Can you provide examples of Trump and his "fraud" for us please?
not your opinions or feelings but actual fraud that is going on.
Fraud does have a definition and legal meaning as well.
"Fraud is a deliberate act (or failure to act) with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized benefit, either for oneself or for the institution, by using deception or false suggestions or suppression of truth or other unethical means, which are believed and relied upon by others"
We republish my reporting from City Journal, but the Friday/Saturday newsletters are exclusive to paid Substack subscribers.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧.
#𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐙𝐮𝐥𝐮 🎖️🇺🇲
They might as well call it the Stop Shirley and Rufo bill.
Investigating JB Pritzker's reign as governor in Illinois would be far more fruitful. Please look into that.
Please look into Minnesota.
We broke the Somali fraud story! Maybe will find more.
Thank you! Keep it up.
Great job, Chris!
And New York anbd Massachusetts --probably has the longest history of waste, fraud and abuse plus cronyism on steroids.
Your question gets at something profound. Carl Jung would likely agree with much of what Howard Zinn said, though he’d frame it differently. Jung observed that when any idea, value, or system becomes too dominant in society—whether it’s technocratic control, bureaucratic “safety,” or a fixation on efficiency—its opposite inevitably rises with equal force. This is the law of enantiodromia: the pendulum swings. The more a system tries to seal itself off, the more the collective unconscious pushes back. What seems like closure today may actually be setting the stage for a strong counter-movement tomorrow. Zinn might say the same from a political lens: power feels most secure when ordinary people believe resistance is pointless. Jung would add that this very belief sparks the return of the repressed—the yearning for liberty, dignity, and real human connection that the system has tried to suppress. Both warn against fatalism. The current “closure” feels heavy because it’s so one-sided, but history and psychology suggest no such imbalance lasts forever. The resourcefulness of ordinary people—their refusal to be fully absorbed by the machine—hasn’t vanished. It’s simply waiting for the tension to snap. When it does, the opposite force Jung described won’t ask permission; it will just emerge. The task now is to stay aware, keep small freedoms alive, and be ready when the pendulum swings back.
I greatly appreciate your work and am happy to support you with a paid subscription. But I often feel like a bit of a chump when your excellent articles appear in City Journal well before they are available on Substack, such as "California Provides Sex-Change Procedures..." which was published yesterday morning at City Journal and was not available until today on Substack.
We usually try to post the City Journal investigative articles on Substack the same day they're released over there; yesterday's report was an anomaly in being republished here one day late. Paid subscribers get access to exclusive content from Chris, such as his Friday newsletter, which includes his weekly news roundup and interview excerpts.
We greatly appreciate your support!
Working to publish simultaneously here, thanks for your support!
Awesome Piece!! The narrative here is loud, but the mechanics are familiar: systems built on trust, exploited in broad daylight, and audited only after the damage calcifies. You can swap the state, swap the agency, swap the ideology—the pattern doesn’t blink. I track these fault lines at Beltway Receipts, and they look the same whether the zip code is Sacramento or DC. The scandal’s never in the slogan. It’s in the spreadsheets, the filings, the quiet places where the story stops matching the paperwork.
Well corruption between one state or another isn't a competition ‼️ Why would investigating the governor of Illinois be more "fruitful" than the Narcissistic Pathological Liar Sociopathic governor in California ❓
What are you even saying ❓
04/16/26: How about an option to simply donate money?
Oregon. Please. Oregon.
This is why you need to investigate Illinois and Pritzker. Illinois is not very a very liberal state in the minds of the people -- which is different from the politics. It was not even a place that supported marijuana legalization naturally like the west coast states. Yet Pritzker pushed this saying that it would bring equity to minorities. (The Illinois NAACP did not support it, although the Chicago NAACP and Chicago politicians supported it.) https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/21/illinois-cannabis-awards-startups/?lctg=543165B275C4F546C4B5F43EBF&utm_email=543165B275C4F546C4B5F43EBF&g2i_eui=&g2i_source=newsletter&active=yes&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.chicagotribune.com%2f2026%2f04%2f21%2fillinois-cannabis-awards-startups%2f&utm_campaign=trib-chicago_tribune-breaking_news_business-nl&utm_content=alert
You and SubStack are not essential to my life. Thanks.
Your 'reporting' is often charmingly contrarian. In particular it is cranky and queerly obsessed with California. You wouldn't know the Truth if it came up and buggered you in broad daylight. Your notion of fact is a malleable fiction. As for Gavin Newsom, he is another Armani Democrat, the male 21st century version of Pelosi. Pelosi a despicable human being. As are a majority of the Congress. Your smarmy observations on California, as a third world state (no one uses that term except for antiquated liberals) is at best silly. Maybe in ten years you will have leavened your observations with an acquired wisdom and awareness. As is you are on the cusp of a being a lampoon of a 'journalist' - or more apropos a cartoon character.
Put the thesaurus down, sir.
You sir are an imbecilic troll…
Is the exclusive reporting you speak of here coming from non-Substack sources like the California Post or City Journal, or is some coming from your Substack itself, or is it something else?
You are kidding right? Your trump president is the most fraudulent president our country has ever had! Tell me, what has trump ever done for a butterfly? FN
Can you provide examples of Trump and his "fraud" for us please?
not your opinions or feelings but actual fraud that is going on.
Fraud does have a definition and legal meaning as well.
"Fraud is a deliberate act (or failure to act) with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized benefit, either for oneself or for the institution, by using deception or false suggestions or suppression of truth or other unethical means, which are believed and relied upon by others"
thanks
“Your trump president….our country has ever had?” WTF?
As long as we apply the same level of scrutiny to Trumpian related fraud. Or are we operating a two tier system?
All Fraud Matters
That is true -- you should.