Graham Platner and the Limits of ‘Believe Women

 Teasing you with a sampling from The Free Press.

James Woods Fans

Graham Platner and the Limits of ‘Believe Women’   "The journalists and politicians who brought you the slogan “Believe Women” are making themselves awfully hard to believe. That’s because they’re so fickle about the women they choose to credit and the others who they tarnish as liars, all depending on their politics. The downfall of Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is a case in point."

"Graham Platner’s Senate campaign is all but over. The progressive Maine Democratic Senate candidate with enough skeletons in his closet to fill a cemetery announced Monday that he’d be “reflecting” on the best path forward after an ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, accused him of rape.

"We’re bringing you two stories about Platner’s downfall and what it means. Scroll down to read our editorial, in which we unpack how Platner lasted so long, and the troubling double standards this story has revealed in the media and the Democratic Party. But first, read Caitlin Flanagan’s proposal for a new, Platner-inspired entry into the political lexicon: The Honest Oysterman. —The Editors

Graham Platner Is Bad. But Nobody’s Perfect!

"At first, it was “Who among us hasn’t gotten a regrettable tattoo while drunk?” Then it became “Who among us has not assaulted his lover during a home invasion?"

Beware the Honest Oysterman - by Caitlin Flanagan

"Honest oysterman” is a phrase that must enter the lexicons of political reporters and consultants. It will refer to an appealing but deeply flawed candidate whose limitations are temporarily obscured by nonstop counterprogramming about his other, less troubling qualities. Like fresh oysters themselves, the tactic has a short half-life, and yet it never loses its appeal to eager candidates."

Mamdani’s Embittered Fourth of July Rant to America

Victor Davis Hanson › American Greatness

"Zohran Mamdani, New York’s self-described socialist mayor, could not resist using the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration to trash the very country that he and his parents voluntarily sought out.

"As is his custom, Mamdani speaks in stereotypes and generalities, offering few if any examples, all laced with his accustomed unctuous hypocrisy.

"Let’s deconstruct his incoherent July 4 riff:

America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit. How small they are. How weak, how unoriginal .

"At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another.

"Thus spoke the pampered rich kid from Uganda, who immigrated to America with his now-endowed professor father and elite filmmaker mother, the latter reportedly supported by millions of dollars in grants from the Qatari royal autocracy.

"Upon arriving, the Mamdanis joined what is statistically America’s wealthiest and most highly credentialed ethnic group: the enormously privileged Indian American community. (But how was that possible in Mamdani’s version of a racist America that supposedly detests the wrong accents and skin colors?)

"When this nepo baby includes himself among the supposedly “victimized” (“the rest of us”), should we laugh or cry?

"If Mamdani wishes to invoke the tired Marxist oppressed-oppressor binary (“how small they are” versus “the rest of us”), then, by his own revolutionary vocabulary, he once belonged to a settler-colonial Indian expatriate elite." . . .

Democrats were OK with running a Nazi until he began falling in the polls. Don Surber

 

AfterMath - Home

Springtime for Platner ends - Don Surber  

. . . "On Monday, he suspended his campaign, which paves the way for replacing him before the weekend deadline.

"The party was cool with his Nazi affiliation when he was ahead in the polls. Party officials promoted his excuse that he got plastered one night while overseas as a Marine and got a tattoo that he did not know was about the SS who ran the concentration camps. For 18 years he didn’t know it until he decided to run for the Senate.

"Communists rallied behind him.

"Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona said, “This guy is an authentic man. I’m supporting Democrats. We need Democrats in office. And more importantly, we need to win elections.”

"He said Platner could win crossover votes. This shows you what Democrats think Trump supporters are: deplorable Nazis.

"On Monday, realizing Platner cannot win, Gallego announced, “The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement.”

"Also on Monday, Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland said, “I don’t know [Graham Platner] but I’m supporting Democrats. We need Democrats in office. We need Democrats in office to fight back against Donald Trump.”

"What a refreshingly honest answer about Democrat ethics. They have none. It is all about power." . . .   More...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a major backer of Graham Platner, calls for him to drop out:

. . . ELIZABETH WARREN: Graham Platner is “my kind of man.”pic.twitter.com/d6HsW1vdYN

This Defense Attorney Thinks Charlie Kirk's Assassin Won't Go to Trial

This Defense Attorney Thinks Charlie Kirk's Assassin Won't Go to Trial 

Robinson has not yet issued a plea in the case. His attorneys have not indicated whether they are considering a plea agreement. 

"A political commentator argued that Tyler Robinson, accused of murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk, won’t go to trial.

Preliminary hearings for Robinson kicked off on Monday when the prosecution gave an overview of the evidence he intends to present during the proceedings. Robinson faces several charges, including aggravated murder in the fatal shooting of Kirk while he spoke at Utah Valley University.

Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh made an appearance on Newsnation’s CUOMO to discuss the case. When asked whether Robinson’s team will choose to go to trial, he responded, “If they can avoid it, hell no.”

He further stated that Robinson’s attorneys will “run to the nearest sporting goods store, they get the thickest knee pads, they fall to their knees in front of the prosecutors, and they beg them to take death off the table.”

Host Chris Cuomo asked why the prosecution might choose to drop the death penalty, Eiglarsh speculated that a plea deal that involves this option “would include him waiving all of his appeals.”

He also pointed out that in Utah, all 12 jurors must agree on the death penalty." . . . More...

Have the same young women cheering for Mamdani and Mangione been cheering for this young assassin? TD

Israel’s Capitalist Triumph

There’s an unspoken reason that the Democratic Socialists of America cannot forgive the Jewish state.

 Milli Sands 

"Israel’s story is one of courage, adaptation, and triumph. From socialist experiment to capitalist powerhouse, it delivered results the DSA can only promise, but never deliver. The group’s hatred is about a truth they cannot accept: socialism did not work for Israel . . ."

"The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has made opposition to Israel a defining feature of its politics. The organization brands the Jewish state “apartheid” and “settler-colonial,” champions the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, calls for an end to U.S. military aid, and endorses a “right of return” for “Palestinians” that would end Israel’s existence as a country, let alone a Jewish-majority state. The DSA frames all of this around occupation, human rights, and anti-imperialism—and those are the terms on which the debate is usually fought.

"But there is another, quieter tension in the DSA’s position that gets far less attention than it deserves: Israel is the clearest postwar example of a country built on explicitly socialist foundations that then abandoned them, embraced market reforms, and became dramatically more prosperous as a result. That awkward data point directly undercuts an organization that has as its founding premise the claim that capitalism produces exploitation and crisis while collective ownership delivers justice and shared prosperity.

"Israel’s founding generation built the state on Labor Zionist principles: kibbutzim, a powerful Histadrut labor federation, nationalized industries, and heavy state planning. For the first few decades, this produced real nation-building achievements—rapid absorption of immigrants, a functioning welfare state, and near-full employment. But by the early 1980s, it had produced economic collapse. Inflation hit roughly 445 percent in 1984, the budget deficit approached crisis levels, and the country stood on the edge of hyperinflation." . . . (Emphases in original)

More...

Spencer Pratt Rebukes Zohran Mamdani and Communism in Powerful Independence Day Message

 Legal Insurrection  

“Notice how the communists always attacks your history. The communists must attack YOUR history.”  “Why? Because history is what anchors you. It’s what makes us attached to something.”

"If you were disgusted by Zohran Mamdani’s July 4th address on Friday, you are not alone. Spencer Pratt, the former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, feels your pain. He put out a video message yesterday in response, and it’s straight fire.

"Pratt mentions Mamdani by name and offers a lesson on history and communism that goes to the heart of the issue. He creates an effective metaphor, comparing the United States to your family home and explaining how we all embrace our own history and benefit from it.

"Partial transcript via Eric Daugherty on Twitter/X:

“Commie Mamdani’s ancestors NEVER BLED FOR THIS COUNTRY. He has no history here. So he has no attachment to our home. He has no place to rewrite our history and lecture us about what our country stands for!”

“We aren’t cowards. We don’t turn our backs on the painful memories because they make us who we are. Be proud of our country, damn it!” “We all had to sit and watch that vile commie mayor sit on the wrong side of our founding father’s desk to try and lecture us about our own history!” . . .More...

 Yes, They’re Communists, and Yes, They’re Lying About It. For Now. | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics     

Israel: Gaza Border Communities Rebound, Adding 5,000 Residents Since October 7 Attack

 Legal Insurrection

"Responding to the death and destruction unleashed by Palestinian terrorist hordes on October 7, 2023, residents of southern Israel are giving a Zionist reply by rehabilitating survivors, rebuilding homes, and expanding communities.

"As Israel marks 1,000 days since the October 7 massacre, most residents of southern communities have returned home, joined by over 5,000 new Israelis who have moved to the region since 2023.

"Take the example of Kibbutz Kissufim, where terrorists murdered 20 residents and took an 85-year-old resident, Shlomo Mansour, hostage. “Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, about 90% of surviving residents have returned to the Gaza border kibbutz, where children ride bikes again, the pool and pub have reopened and families are rebuilding homes, routines and a sense of belonging,” Israel’s Ynetnews observed in February.

"Kissufim is no exception; this story of resilience is being witnessed across communities neighboring Gaza. According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, “Over 92% of the region’s residents are back home, joined by more than 5,000 new residents,” The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

"If Hamas intended to devastate and depopulate these communities, the strategy has backfired. Citing the statistical agency, The Times of Israel revealed that “in December [2025] … there were 65,000 residents in the region, compared to about 62,000 on the eve of the October 7 attack.” Israel plans to double the region’s population, raising it to “224,000 residents by 203o,” the news outlet added." . . .

Hamas is rebuilding too–for terror and destruction

It never ends, Greta!

"Gazans are rebuilding too. Hamas is recruiting Palestinian teenagers to replenish its depleted terrorist fighting force. According to the Jerusalem Post in January 2026, the Islamic terror group was “reasserting control in parts of the Gaza Strip by recruiting new members to its military wing and civilian institutions.” The newspaper added that “Hamas has been offering cash to teenagers to tempt them to join the group.”

"The jihadist group has been trying to rebuild its terror tunnels. “Inside Hamas-controlled Gaza, there have been increasing reports recently of a resurgence, tunnel rehabilitation, training exercises,” the Israel National News reported Friday.

 Vijeta Uniyal is a writer based in Germany. He is Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Gatestone Institute and founder of the "Indians For Israel".

Charlie Kirk murder suspect Tyler Robinson is seen LAUGHING in court just a few feet away from sobbing widow Erika

 Daily Mail Online  

'[Charlie] wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,' Erika said at the memorial, sparking a standing ovation and roars from the crowd of more than 60,000 people.  'That man, that young man, I forgive him,' she added, while breaking into tears.

"Charlie Kirk's accused killer Tyler Robinson was seen laughing in court as the conservative star's widow Erika wept just feet away. 

"Erika Kirk, dressed in all black, faced her husband's alleged murderer for the first time Monday morning as he appeared before a Utah judge for a five-day preliminary hearing.

Schoolteacher shares the joy

"She had burst into tears before the hearing even started, according to the Daily Mail's reporter in the courtroom.

"She was accompanied by her rarely-seen in-laws, Robert and Kathryn Kirk.

Donald Trump Jr and his wife, Bettina Anderson Trump, showed up to support the sobbing widow and were seated in the front row.

"Robinson, however, is said to have been laughing with his attorney Kathy Nester ahead of the proceeding, which will determine if he has to stand trial for Kirk's murder. It is unclear what prompted his expression of mirth. 

"The 23-year-old is charged with aggravated murder in the September 10 assassination of Kirk, who was shot dead while addressing a crowd of thousands during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

"The accused killer turned himself in after the shooting and prosecutors allege that he also sent a text message confession to his transgender partner.

"He has not entered a plea in the case and attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. The defense has sought to get the death penalty taken off the table." . . .  More...

Charlie Kirk Killer Caught On Camera For First Time, LAUGHING in Court | Internet RAGES: ‘Demonic…  Language'

Report: Platner Accused of Breaking into Woman's House, Sexually Assaulting Her

 Breitbart   

The Washington Reporter wrote in a post on X that a “well-placed source” informed the outlet that Platner would be dropping out of the Maine Senate race.

"Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing allegations that he broke into a woman’s house and sexually assaulted her, according to a recent report.

Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico that while she and Platner had been involved in an “on-and-off relationship,” in 2021 he allegedly “entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night” while intoxicated. Platner allegedly “forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.”

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot explained to the outlet. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.'”

"Breitbart News reported in June that several women, including Lyndsey Fifield, and Racicot spoke to the New York Times about their past relationships with Platner.

"While Fifield told the outlet that Platner “could be rough with her” and described an instance in which they were in an argument and “he twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side,” she said he “never hit” her.

"The outlet said that according to Racicot, “In 2021 he arrived at her house drunk, after she had asked him not to come over.” Racicot also told the outlet that she found his behavior to be “reckless” and “unsettling.” . . . More..

Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner's campaign on the brink of extinction as ex-girlfriend accuses him of sex attack | Daily Mail Online

. . . "Platner has not denied the texts or the profile, describing the stories as 'gossip' and he and his wife have reaffirmed 'a very happy marriage.' 

"Some Democrats, notably, have soured on him. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told CNN: 'What kind of a creep has been on a platform like Kik, sending a dozen explicit messages - and who knows what else.'

"Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren have backed Platner despite all of his scandals. [If Bernie liked Stalin, he should love the Platster]

"Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters last month that he met with Platner during the candidate's visit to DC, adding, 'we're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.'

"Collins, the only Republican in the race, holds an independent streak that makes her both loved and feared.

"She also represents an endangered species: a Republican who represents a state traditionally carried by the Democratic presidential nominee."

Renowned Ethics Professor Hunter Biden Steps on a Rake Lecturing Trump on Profiting Off Presidency

 RedState 

"Hunter's laptop contained thousands of emails, documents, and photos revealing extensive foreign influence-peddling, including multimillion-dollar deals with Burisma and Chinese entities like CEFC. “10% for the big guy” ring a bell?"

"Hunter Biden, for reasons known only to him, went public with sharp criticism of President Trump and his family on Sunday, claiming they raked in billions from government contracts and overseas deals by cashing in on the presidency.

"That's right, Burisma’s best-known, best-paid board member of all time is giving a TED Talk on ethics.

"Biden, in a lengthy social media post, detailed a series of alleged transactions involving Trump family members and associates, while referencing the years-long public scrutiny he faced over his own business activities.

"'I hope everyone had a great 4th of July," he wrote. "I know [President Trump] and family did. 250 years ago, we declared independence from a king who ran the colonies as a family business. In just 18 months, the Trumps have made King George look like an amateur."

"The notorious crack smoker's post jumps straight in, wildly exaggerating and cherry-picking Trump family business stuff to paint it as corruption. Truth is, most of those examples tie back to long-running companies, routine government contracts, and legitimate national security efforts—with zero solid proof of any illegal quid pro quo.

"To borrow a line most likely used throughout Hunter's years from childhood right up to his mid-fifties, accompanied by a little pat on the head—At least you tried." . . .

"The materials also laid out Hunter’s wild spending sprees on drugs, escorts, and high-end luxuries—all bankrolled by those foreign payments—plus emails and messages showing family members working together to shuffle the money through shell companies back when the "big guy" was vice president."  More...

Liberals who side with Hamas I expect to support Hunter, don't you? TD

Democrat Socialists Weaponize Envy To Destroy American Families

 The Federalist   "Let’s stop letting perpetually miserable people define the moral terms of our lives. It’s time to make generational ambition honorable again."

"It is a profound irony and injustice that many of the youths driving the rising socialist movement come from wealthy families and have done the exact opposite."

"The recent wave of primary victories by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates has the media celebrating a web of grassroots populism and a supposed “working-class uprising.” But look past the revolutionary rhetoric, and you’ll find a much more sinister reality: Modern American socialism isn’t being driven by the proletariat; it is being bankrolled by a cabal of deep-pocketed, ultra-wealthy leftists.

"Historically, socialism has never been about uplifting the poor; it is an insider game designed to consolidate state control while shielding the wealth of the ruling class and ransacking the middle class along the way. To pave the way for this scam, these trust-fund radicals must first destroy the independent American family.

To do that, they have weaponized a nasty little phrase in our modern, grievance-obsessed culture. Whenever a person achieves success, buys a home, or launches a business, the bitter arbiters of online misery waste no time throwing an insult disguised as an observation: “You’re just doing well because your parents had money to help you.”

I"t is delivered with a sneer, intended to induce a deep, paralyzing sense of shame. The implication is clear: If your parents sacrificed, saved, and built something of value so that your starting line in life was a few paces ahead of theirs, your achievements are somehow illegitimate.

"This is nothing more than envy disguised as compassion. It is psychological warfare against families ensuring their offspring do better than them — a core tenet of humanity. It is time we stop apologizing. We need to completely reject this manufactured guilt and return to a time when providing a better life for your children was considered the ultimate civic and moral triumph. This achievement is something for children to hold up with immense pride, not hide in the shadows." . . .More...

Then there is my uncle who said "I'm leaving them nothing. Let them get theirs the way I got mine."

Lefties couldn’t stop hating America even on its 250th anniversary

NY Post   

"We get it: Much of the left abhors America. But if they believe this nation is worth saving, shouldn’t they be looking to applaud the nation’s achievements and seeking common ground and unity on its 250th anniversary? And if not, why should the rest of us take any other their advice seriously?" 

"What sourpusses: Lefties can’t even celebrate the Fourth of July without bashing America and ranking on Donald Trump.

"Trump “doesn’t care about you,” huffed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Saturday.

"The Founders’ “radical idea” that “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed” is “under threat” from Trump.   

"Never mind that Trump was duly elected — twice; Newsom blathered on like that for nearly all eight minutes of his speech. That’s a 250th national anniversary salute?

"Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s screed focused on America’s flaws.

"Immigrants, he whined, couldn’t “see the nativism they would face — the jobs they would be refused, the landlords who would not rent to them, the abject labor and living conditions they would withstand.”

"Hmm: Hizzoner’s dad is a professor, and his mom a respected filmmaker. Surely they must’ve known about the “horrors” of America. Yet they came anyway.

"Socialist Claire Valdez, who’ll almost surely represent New York’s 7th congressional district after winning the Democratic primary last month, expressed even more rage.

“'The system is rigged, and our planet poisoned by billionaires, bosses, and war profiteers,” she fumed on X." . . .  More...

But here's how I saw it. TD