My freshman year in college I took an art history survey course that focused quite a bit on the art of very ancient civilizations, by which I mean pre-Roman and even pre-Greek art. For me, the work shown in these videos was most memorable. I could hardly believe how sophisticated it was. In particular the dying lioness, with her paralyzed hindquarters, was powerful, frightening, and yet sensitive and touching, all at the same time:
Platner officially drops out and proves what a class act he is
I assume this is his actual X account:
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 10, 2026
Note the sign-off. After all the more formal jargon, we have this:
F*ck ICE. Free Palestine. Up the hearts.
Solidarity forever,
Graham Platner
I think one of his motives with the sign-off was to embarrass the Democrat politicians who initially supported him and then abandoned him. Then again, he could have done a lot worse there at the end, this being Platner.
So we have those two big progressive causes – anti-ICE and pro-Palestinian. What does “up the hearts” mean? It seems to be a reference to the Portland (Maine), soccer team, the Portland Hearts of Pine. And “Solidarity Forever” is an old labor movement song:
The iconic labor song “Solidarity Forever” turns 109 years old today. Written in defiance of early 20th-century oppression, it railed against the forces that “would lash us into serfdom” with the abiding counsel that the “union makes us strong.”
Will Platner manage to keep himself in the spotlight somehow? I think he’d certainly like to.
The Charlie Kirk murder conspiracy theorists and the Tyler Robinson evidence
Many people are pointing out that the current preliminary hearing in Utah in preparation for Tyler Robinson’s trial in the murder of Charlie Kirk is revealing how bankrupt the “theories” of conspiracy theorists such as Candace Owens are. But actually, almost all the facts being presented in the hearing were already known to anyone paying much attention at all to the case. Thing is, most people don’t do their homework, and that helps make them easy prey for someone like Owens and the others.
The case against Robinson is about as strong as a case can be. It’s not just that there isn’t a reasonable doubt, there is simply no doubt. And that’s been obvious for quite some time. But that doesn’t stop the conspiracy theorists. They thrive on something about human nature: cynicism, suspicion, the urge to doubt authorities (an impulse which, unfortunately, is sometimes quite justified), and the need to feel superior to the common gullible masses.
It’s also a kind of club thing: we are the cognoscenti and you are not. Or maybe a sorority, because people who study such things say that Owens’ followers tend to be women. Although it’s certainly possible that a great many are bots, I have little doubt that a significant number are real people. There is a big market for such things – including and perhaps especially the virulent Jew-hatred that Candace spreads.
It’s certainly not limited to Jew-hatred, either, although that’s a large part of it. Owens also has been viciously attacking Ericka Kirk, whom she’s painted not only as being in on her husband’s murder, but as having never been what she says she is but rather is – among other things – a child trafficker. Owens acolytes (and/or bots) roam around the internet, commenting on videos featuring Kirk and casting her as a villainess extraordinaire. It is actually a sickening thing to behold.
As a result of the overwhelming evidence against Robinson in the legal proceedings, will conspiracy theorists abandon the murky webs they’ve spun regarding Kirk’s death? There might be a couple of people here and there who do so, but not the major players and not the bulk of their followers. They will simply wiggle out of it or change the focus slightly. Not only is it a money-making endeavor for people like Owens, but for her followers it has become a deep belief.
[NOTE: Over the years, I’ve written many posts about the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists. The majority of Americans still do not think that Oswald killed Kennedy or that he acted alone (see this). However, the evidence that he did is totally overwhelming, as I’ve explained in many previous posts.
I’m not going to rehash it here, having already spent so much time doing so. Suffice to say that I recommend the book Reclaiming History to anyone interested. You can find the text (or at least most of it) online here. As I said, I’ve written many posts on the subject, but here’s one of my posts that’s an overview.]
Trump and Rubio on Iran
I’ve long thought that Rubio has no illusions about Iran and its past or current leaders. Whether Trump actually has some illusions on those subjects I really don’t know. But he sometimes speaks and behaves as though he does, although it may be some sort of strategic pretense.
I happened to see this relevant clip yesterday. I’ve cued up a one-minute excerpt:
However, I don’t think Trump is necessarily finished with negotiating, no matter what he says.
The Democrats are holding out for a hero in Maine
Singer Bonnie Tyler died at 75 on July 8. She had one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable voices in pop music, with a rasp (the result of a vocal cord operation) that had the hint of desperation that gave her songs a built-in urgency. He most famous is probably “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” But another big hit was “Holding Out for a Hero,” which totally suited Tyler’s style. This video (which I’d never seen before) is a typically dramatic over-the-top 1980s effort, the visuals bordering on the ever-so-slightly kinky.
Enjoy:
RIP Bonnie Tyler.
Speaking of kinky male heroes, it reminds me of the dilemma facing the Democrat Party, one that Graham Platner’s candidacy spotlighted. Some people wonder why Platner was chosen in the first place to run for office, and pushed by certain factions who thought he’d be a good candidate. I think the answer isn’t obscure: he was their designated working-class hero. At least, he could be presented that way. Because it’s all about casting. And sometimes an actor has to be replaced while the play is still in production.
Democrats have lost many members of a demographic that used to be a goodly portion of their base: white, male, working class. They don’t need those votes in deep blue states or cities, and are free to run rich Communists with a foreign background such as Mamdani. But in purple ones and in nationwide elections it’s a riskier proposition, although it can still happen (see Michigan and El-Sayed; but Michigan has a particularly large Muslim voting bloc). But Democratss would very much like to have those white working-class men voting for them everywhere.
Thus, you had the nomination of the abominable Tim Walz as Harris’s VP. It was an effort that failed because Walz was a leftist’s idea of a masculine guy, but he fell very short of that and just came across as weird (a descriptor he used for J. D. Vance but that fit Walz far better).
Vance, by the way, really did start out as a white working-class guy – or even more poor than that – but rose higher by dint of brains and hard work.
Initially Platner must have seemed like a good solution to the problem. Male, “oyster farmer,” young, tattooed, veteran, Maine native, possessed of a rugged quality. A leftist who didn’t look like a leftist. For a while he polled quite well against Susan Collins, who is old and female and has been in office for a gazillion years. But Platner had a past, and the past wasn’t all that long ago.
Who chose Platner? Like most of these working-class heroes and foreign academic Communists, he was chosen by people whose specialty it is to find them and back them:
Welp… pic.twitter.com/e3TgHWaf9T
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 10, 2026
It’s about one of these “finders,” Daniel Moraff. The Times article said, “He looks for a particular type: military veterans with blue-collar jobs and no electoral experience but an interest in politics and (typically) labor unions.”
Next in line in Maine for the role seems to be Troy Jackson. The difference is that he really is from a working-class background and really was a logger, although he lacks a history of military service. He also has been a Maine politician for about twenty-five years and was the president of the Maine Senate. However, he’s got the usual political baggage, in his case that he was originally an abortion-opposing and same-sex-marriage-opposing Republican and switched both his party and his positions. There’s also this:
Jackson initially maintained a close political alliance with Platner, with the two frequently appearing at campaign rallies together and running in a ranked-choice voting alliance during the 2026 primary cycle. However, after multiple scandals involving Platner, including allegations that he raped a former girlfriend, Jackson has distanced himself from Platner.
On Israel, Jackson adheres to the requisite Democrat Party line:
“Anybody with eyes and a heart knows the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza. It has to end, and we as Americans have the power to end it.” Jackson added that he will “never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel” as a senator.
The article says that’s the first time he’s spoken much publicly about Israel, and it happened yesterday. Funny thing, that – he’s hopping on the bandwagon in an attempt to replace Platner. Jackson is also backed by Hasan Piker and Bernie Sanders. The same article helpfully lists the other contenders for the nomination as well, and mentions their attitudes on the Israel question. They exhibit different degrees of anti-Israel sentiment. But only one candidate seems to be supportive of the country, and that’s Shenna Bellows, the secretary of state of Maine.
One more thing about Troy Jackson – this allegation has emerged:
A progressive advocacy group on Tuesday accused former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson of striking a female colleague with a bottle he threw during a state Senate caucus dispute years ago, complicating his emergence as the leading Democrat contender to replace Graham Platner on the November ballot against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. …
In a post on X, the group said Jackson, “in a heated disagreement, struck a female colleague with a bottle he threw at her” during a caucus meeting when he served as Senate president, and it described the episode as “a widespread open secret” in Maine politics that was “not an isolated incident.”
The group conceded that people close to Jackson were denying the account.
The Democrats have until July 27 to make a decision. It will be the Party regulars of Maine who will choose Platner’s successor. They have an interesting task ahead – how to thread the needle.
[NOTE: If anyone’s interested in how it is that Platner can be on total disability from the service, here’s an article about that.]
Open thread 7/10/2026
Wildflowers I saw the other day:
Spambot of the day
I was wondering who made it:
We made the shirt your group chat already wrote about your dog.
And then there’s Wisconsin and Francesca Hong
Here we go again. A DSA far-leftist named Francesca Hong is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is a purple state, and that’s a statewide office. So the Democrats are understandably nervous about her:
Most political observers assume Democratic insiders are trying to stop Francesca Hong because they fear she would lose a general election. Given Hong’s support for abolishing police, abolishing prisons, and other positions well to the left of most Wisconsin voters, many Democrats worry she could squander what they believe is a favorable political environment in 2026 while dragging down legislative candidates and jeopardizing hopes of a Democratic trifecta.
There is certainly some truth to that.
But the deeper fear has far less to do with November than it does with what happens afterward.
If Hong wins the Democratic primary, she instantly becomes the face of Wisconsin Democrats. Whether she wins or loses in November almost becomes secondary. She would emerge as the standard bearer for the Democratic Party, and an influential voice who can fundamentally re-shape Democrat politics in the state. …
Establishment Democrats see the direction their party is heading—both in Wisconsin and across the country. And many are increasingly fearful that Democratic Socialism is no longer a fringe movement, but the future of the Democratic Party. And they are terrified that they will lose their position of power in this new-look Socialist Party.
Yes, but I’m more worried that, as in New York, these DSA candidates will win elections. I suppose it’s likely that Wisconsin isn’t ready for Hong. But in a few years it may be.
The article goes on to discuss a host of more local races in Wisconsin in which ultra-leftists are challenging more moderate Democrats and even conventionally “progressive” candidates. It’s become very apparent that this DSA takeover attempt is an extremely well-organized national movement.
Here’s some background on Hong, who is from deep-blue Madison:
Hong was born on November 4, 1988, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Korean American immigrant parents
During the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hong backed the Uncommitted National Movement to protest President Joe Biden’s policies towards the Gaza war, and drafted a letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hong also joined the State Assembly’s Socialist Caucus in 2024. …
Hong has described herself as the “wild card” in the race, running as a progressive outsider. During her campaign, she was compared to fellow democratic socialist and then-mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Hong has drawn inspiration from Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in running her own gubernatorial campaign.
Hong is the Democrats’ frontrunner in a recent poll, and she also leads the GOP frontrunner although her advantage is well within the margin of error and the number of undecided voters is large.
About Wisconsin’s history with socialist candidates:
Barry Burden, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that Hong’s style, message and organization approach are working well in the primary, but her style of politics is “less tested in a general election environment.”
“Socialist and populist messages have had resonance in Wisconsin at various times, from the reforms of Robert La Follette a century ago, to several socialist mayors in Milwaukee, to a strong showing by both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the last decade,” he said. “There are more conventional Democratic candidates in the field who fare just fine in a general election but could also fail to fully rally the progressive base.”
Meet Chris Rabb, who will be the House member from the 3rd District of Pennsylvania
DSA member Chris Rabb will be representing the 3rd US House District, which is in Philadelphia. Why do I say he “will,” as though it’s already a fait accompli? After all, the election hasn’t happened yet. The reason is that Rabb is running unopposed; the GOP realizes it would be a waste of time and money to field a candidate there, it is such a deep deep blue area. In fact, it’s the bluest district in the entire House, according to this video.
You can see from the video that Rabb has a great deal of ambition for the DSA message, which he thinks can also resonate in districts that aren’t so deep blue:
Rabb’s story in the primary has been a familiar one. He beat out two Democrats who were not as radical as he and who had more name recognition. All three candidates were black and so I assume race had little to nothing to do with his win over his opponents:
Rabb, who ran an unapologetically progressive campaign, set himself apart from the initially crowded field of candidates by describing himself as the “anti-establishment” Democrat in the race.
His progressive stances – and allyship with leftist organizations, including the Democratic Socialists of America and Working Families Party – proved to be key to his winning the deep blue seat against a party leader in Sharif Street and a tough newcomer in Dr. Ala Stanford.
“A couple of months ago, I was on the precipice of withdrawing from this race,” Rabb said to supporters at his election watch party. “I was reminded that tough times pass, but tough people last.”
You can see, however, that Rabb didn’t get a majority, although he got a strong plurality.
Here’s a quote from Rabb for Independence Day:
Rabb is the Democrat nominee for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District who thought it was a good idea to actually denounce the Declaration of Independence ahead of America’s semiquincentennial.
“Those screeds that were very lofty but were notoriously catering to a performative aspect of collective genius that purposely erased indigenous and black peoples,” Rabb said at “America at 250 — Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth.”
“It created distance from an empire to help very privileged people continue that privilege and ultimately institutionalize that through the U.S. Constitution many years later. But it certainly did not provide independence to indigenous and black peoples,” he claimed. “And we cannot talk about anything today without acknowledging that this is a nation born on stolen land & stolen labor.”
He hits every leftist note, master of the buzzword (“performative,” “privilege,” “stolen land”).
Rabb’s Wiki entry is interesting. In a familiar pattern, he is an Ivy League graduate (Yale in his case, with a Master’s in organizational dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania), and his father is both a doctor and a college professor. He is a descendent of many activist leaders in the black community:
Rabb was born in Chicago, to an ophthalmologist and professor father, Maurice Rabb Jr., and a politically active mother, Madeline Murphy Rabb. His maternal grandmother, Madeline Wheeler Murphy, was a Baltimore-based community activist, and his maternal grandfather, William H. Murphy Sr., was a judge in Baltimore. Rabb’s great-great-grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., was born into slavery and founded the Baltimore Afro-American in 1892.
Rabb hasn’t gotten the same kind of publicity as some of the other DSA progressives. But it seems to me he could be a rising star in the Democratic Socialist movement.
How the new comment system will work – the idea is that there will be a minimum of disruption
You may not even notice the change. At least, that’s what my research indicates.
For previous commenters, as long as you use the name and email address you’ve used here right along, you should be grandfathered in and have no problem whatsoever.
New commenters will have their first comment held in moderation until I approve it. After that, it should be smooth sailing for them, too.
I probably will make the switchover some time this weekend. I’ll announce it at the time. Let me know through an email if you encounter any difficulties when it happens. No regular commenter should have any trouble with the transition, but you never know with these things.
Open thread 7/9/2026
The person who compiles this series of video interviews is excellent at what he does. The note he wrote for this video states that it went viral and that as a result the woman got gifts and cards from all over the world:
Platner says buh-bye
His fifteen minutes of fame is apparently up.
The Democrats must have made him an offer he couldn’t refuse – or a threat he couldn’t defy. Or both.
He argued the real threat was never the allegations themselves, but what the political establishment plans to do with them. Cut off his fundraising. Cut off his voter data. Starve the campaign of everything it needs simply to function. He made his read on their real preference painfully clear.
“They would rather see Susan Collins win than have me be the next senator from Maine,” he said.
No, I don’t think so. They would rather have a different candidate than you, one they think has a better chance of winning. They knew the GOP had the goods on you and was going to wait till after the point of no return, July 13, to reveal it. So they finessed the GOP and revealed it themselves in order to force you out. Believe me, they want to win. This isn’t about you.
He added, about his victory in the primary:
“We went toe-to-toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of the world, and we won,” Platner said.
“We beat them on June 9th in overwhelming numbers.”
But to the best of my recollection, his main (Maine?) opponent, Janet Mills, had dropped out by then. His rise was also promoted by major backers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, hardly outside of an “entrenched political system.”
Let’s see; what else?:
“And I just want to make it clear this is all false,” Platner said.
“The things that have been claimed did not happen; it’s not real.”
He described the past few days as an ordeal no regular person should have to survive, a normal guy suddenly thrust into a spotlight he says he never wanted. He accused the media and the political establishment of skipping the investigation entirely and jumping straight to a verdict.
“I learned about this through press inquiries with no time to truly respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury and executioner,” he said.
“Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end.”
I don’t know whether he’s innocent or guilty, but I do know that apparently Politico saw emails in which his accuser made the Platner rape allegations to friends very close to the time the rape supposedly occurred. Back then, he was not a political figure at all, but merely her ex-boyfriend.
Now the Democrats get to do what they do best: undo the will of the people and replace one candidate with another, in the nick of time. I wonder what Biden might say to all of this.
Who might be the new nominee? Here’s a report on the process:
Earlier Wednesday evening, the state party said it had decided to hold a nominating convention to pick a replacement candidate and plans to “announce the full timeline,” as well as details and requirements for contenders. It promised transparency.
The possible candidates:
[Troy] Jackson, who was a Platner ally before calling on him to step aside Monday, swiftly launched his Senate bid after Platner suspended his campaign. …
A logger with long ties to organized labor, he’s quickly attracted attention from many of the oysterman’s progressive supporters. Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has already thrown its support behind Jackson.
But already, some votes from his 20-year history in the legislature are resurfacing, such as his 2009 state Senate vote against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, giving Platner’s base a bit of pause. He later called that the “worst vote I ever took.” His closeness to Platner during the primary may also give pause to some Democrats as they choose their next nominee. …
[Dan] Kleban also announced his bid Wednesday. The 49-year-old founder of Maine Beer Company had dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary earlier this year and threw his weight behind establishment-backed Gov. Janet Mills. …
[Nirav] Shah, a former public health official, is “evaluating” whether he will mount a Senate bid, he told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon. But he was already positioning himself as a candidate before Platner’s announcement. …
Shah oversaw the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He mounted his first run for public office earlier this year, finishing second in Maine’s gubernatorial primary. He said in an interview that he is “very, very much aligned” with Platner’s politics. …
[Shenna] Bellows, who also ran unsuccessfully for governor, has been fielding calls about a potential run, according to a person familiar with her campaign, granted anonymity to speak about private conversations. The person pointed to her ideological alignment with Platner on progressive issues and compelling biography — she grew up poor in rural Maine and flipped a GOP-held state Senate district — providing an early glimpse of part of her pitch if she decides to enter the race.
There are a bunch of others, most of whom are previous Platner supporters.