Again, have an FT account, beat the paywall, or see as much as FT shows you, and search accordingly in the non-paywalled world. The content will, more or less, be there. In essence, the big players seem to be aggregating and cross-pollenating, with Elon (Xai) and the Chinese not mentioned. The Indian brain power seems to be HB-1 drained to US work, while the Chinese are not sleeping. E.g., here or here.
Those two links, plus this, say enough to where readers can search more as they choose.
Pop the popcorn, and watch. It is the whole worldwide industry moving from desktop/local to rental of gigantic stuff. As in get the riff-raft on payments. You can buy an Nvidia Spark, and learn, but the big players are playing big, and $$$ capital is being gambled upon an on-payments future cashflow model.
Good luck into 2026 and later, where pay-to-play seems to be the goal of the heaviest in hi-tech.
Not that it was not before, but IBM has waned, Digital has disappeared to Control Data land, and the beat goes on. And demand for electricity will dwarf us citizens, and the crypto guys, to where we pay more so Microsof, Google, Amazon, the Eurpoeans and the Chinese can game away their time and extra dollars.
What you see is a U. Alberta research line aimed at extracting knowledge of the workings of the black box, from the black box. A particuolar author's work is discussed -
We enter a new year where, like it or love it, AI will be expanding and crammed down upon us, so know the promise or the pain. Energy prices will parallel an increase in AI servers, and for four grand you can buy in now to Nvidia in a little box:
The Spark is written up at many web links, but, for now it is not vaporware, it is stocked retail. Not cheap, and this is a Linix box, not Windows, but it seems interesting, and Windows boxes with top end gamer GPU laptops and desktop are commodity items. This is being typed on an HP Ryzen laptop with an NPU and Win 11, bought via Costco, so the AI march is mainstrream. For whatever that will ultimately be worth. And confessing to not delving deeply into the NPU capability, but having used Copilot enough to see it has value, even marketed as is being done, it works. Etc.
Read all about it. The juice flows, Section 5, in its whole disbursement intent - but you might want to scan read the rest for context -
Sec. 5. Interagency Coordination and External Engagement.
(a) The APST, through the NSTC, and with support from the Federal
Chief Data Officer Council and the Chief AI Officer Council, shall
convene relevant and interested agencies to:
(i) assist participating agencies in aligning, to the extent
permitted by law, their AI-related programs, datasets, and research and
development activities with the objectives of the Mission in
their respective areas of expertise, while avoiding duplication of
effort across the Federal Government and promoting interoperability;
(ii) identify data sources that may support the Mission’s aim;
(iii) develop a process and resourcing plan in coordination with
participating agencies for integrating appropriate and available agency
data and infrastructure into the Mission, to the extent permitted by law
and subject to available appropriations, including methods under which
all agencies contributing to the Mission are encouraged to implement
appropriate risk-based security measures that reflect cybersecurity best
practices;
(iv) launch coordinated funding opportunities or prize competitions
across participating agencies, to the extent permitted by law and
subject to available appropriations, to incentivize private-sector
participation in AI-driven scientific research aligned with Mission
objectives; and
(v) establish mechanisms to coordinate research and development
funding opportunities and experimental resources across participating
agencies, ensuring agencies can participate effectively in the Mission.
(b) The APST shall coordinate with relevant agencies in
establishing, consistent with existing authorizing statutes and subject
to available appropriations, competitive programs for research
fellowships, internships, and apprenticeships focused on the application
of AI to scientific domains identified as national challenges for the
Mission, to include placement of program participants at DOE national
laboratories and other participating Federal research facilities, with
the purpose of providing access to the Platform and training in
AI-enabled scientific discovery.
(c) The Secretary, in coordination with the APST and the Special
Advisor for AI and Crypto, shall establish mechanisms for agency
collaboration with external partners possessing advanced AI, data, or
computing capabilities or scientific domain expertise, including through
cooperative research and development agreements, user facility
partnerships, or other appropriate arrangements with external entities
to support and enhance the activities of the Mission, and shall ensure
that such partnerships are structured to preserve the security of
Federal research assets and maximize public benefit. To facilitate
these collaborations, the Secretary shall:
(i) develop standardized partnership frameworks, including
cooperative research and development or other appropriate agreements,
and data-use and model‑sharing agreements;
(ii) establish clear policies for ownership, licensing,
trade-secret protections, and commercialization of intellectual property
developed under the Mission, including innovations arising from
AI-directed experiments;
(iii) implement uniform and stringent data access and management
processes and cybersecurity standards for non-Federal collaborators
accessing datasets, models, and computing environments, including
measures requiring compliance with classification, privacy,
and export-control requirements, as well as other applicable laws; and
(iv) establish procedures to ensure the highest standards of
vetting and authorization of users and collaborators seeking access to
the resources of the Mission and associated research activities,
including the Platform and associated Federal research resources.
(d) The APST, through the NSTC, shall, to the extent appropriate,
identify opportunities for international scientific collaboration to
support activities under the Mission.
There's a reporting requirement - a section 6 -
Sec. 6. Evaluation and Reporting.
(a) Within 1 year of the date of this order, and on an annual basis
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the President,
through the APST and the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, describing:
(i) the Platform’s operational status and capabilities;
(ii) progress toward integration across DOE national laboratories
and other participating Federal research partners, including shared
access to computing resources, data infrastructure, and research
facilities;
(iii) the status of user engagement, including participation of student researchers and any related training;
(iv) updates on research efforts and outcomes achieved, including
measurable scientific advances, publications, and prototype
technologies;
(v) the scope and outcomes of public-private partnerships,
including collaborative research projects and any technology transitions
or commercialization activities; and
(vi) any identified needs or recommendations for authorities or interagency support to achieve the Mission’s objective
Gov.
Tim Walz says President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement
is targeting people of color in Minnesota, including U.S. citizens, and
he’s warning that there could be a surge of ICE agents in the state over
the next two weeks.
“It’s
pretty clear to all of us exactly what this president is doing. He’s
targeting states and communities that he has a national political fight
against and that he doesn’t agree with,” Walz said. “It’s also a
distraction from his own personal crimes that are out there being
investigated while he’s harassing others.”
Walz
said the Trump administration is not sharing any information with the
state about this month’s “Operation Metro Surge” but he said he was
expecting an increase as early as Christmas Eve.
“I
would not put it past this administration to target midnight Mass
services,” Walz said. “It makes it especially cruel. It makes it
especially mean-spirited. It makes it especially traumatizing for
communities that wish to gather to celebrate in their faith.”
Mayor Frey is fully in agreement -
“Minneapolis is ready to partner to keep people safe, but that is not
the case with this federal administration right now,” Frey said. “I am
increasingly concerned because of the chaos that is being caused by
these ICE agents that somebody is going to get seriously injured or
killed.”
Mayor Carter -
“Our biggest opponent is our own weaponized federal government, who says
‘Put America first’ but arrest American citizens, who says this is
about ending violent crime, and goes and arrests workers on their way to
work, who says that we care about you and we care for you, and then
goes and separates families from their children,” Carter said.
Like mICE in the cold weather, they get into homes, browse, and you know they've been there because they shit where they've been. Well, not exactly. But you get the gist. ICE is crapping around the Twin Cities because the Twin Cities are Democratic, and that's precisely what Noem and Trump and Egregious Miller have in mind --- that "bad" immigrants need to be intimidated in Dem towns, lest they show up, those that are citizens now, to vote Dem.
I don't want to get into facts such as the great majority of Somalis in Minnesota are citizens, and an almost equally great majority were born here, to first generation immigrant parents. I just want to post about coarse hypocrisy, not smoothed on with a trowel, but shoveled on by the ton.
“Those who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have
nothing to fear,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public
affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a written
statement. “Removing dangerous criminals from our streets makes it safer
for everyone — including business owners and their customers.“
That's untrue. It's a steaming pile of Noem. Citizens are being harassed, over how they look or dress. Dark skin suggests to ICE, a target, let's check this one out. Speak English without an accent, or keep having to look over your shoulder. And, where do you live or work?
OR EAT OUT, OR SHOP?
There are communities. ICE focuses on them. lurking around. Not sneaky, but just there. Profile. Profile. Profile And what might you think an intended holiday consequence of ICE Twin Cities profiling and lurking might be?
Right. Sock 'em collectively in the economic gut, those in retail or restauraning. Hurt anybody/everybody on the Trump hate-em lists, (which seems to be the DOJ's Bondi Tasking also, with Republicans mostly exempt, while some do make the lists as nails that stick out needing to get pounded down).
Thugs are as thugs do. With malice and vigor. Upon our holidays. Against us all. With masks, afraid to show their faces, while showing their intentional ultra-masculine styled brutality. Fear us, Juan. Omar and and Tyshon, we're ICE specialists, with clubs, plastic cuffs, administrative warrants, and our anon brand of shock-and-awe bravado. Masked and dressed for warfare.
Luckily, the guy who threw the Subway sandwich at one of the mICE was acquitted.
They prosecute, for the harassment/intimidation value of it, but good American juries do not convict.
Also -- Remember - mother told you, mICE carry diseases.
Here is a screen shot of a return page of a browser search. Is more needed to be said? Try it yourself, that search.
click the image to enlarge and read
If you do click that image, you may gain an impression I am not the only one pissed at Micro$oft for its heavy, heavy, heavy unchecked hand. WHY???????????? Because they can and dis you? Must be.
_______________UPDATE____________
I have expanded the DuckDuck bot's statement of things -
click to read
and, because the image does not have hot links, this -
FURTHER: In fairness, as I've found Azure easy to do without, I thought Copilot too was not in my needed ranks. Well, it is not -- but I have found it to be a helpful product and welcome so long as it remains free to me at my level of use. Charge for it, forget it.
The Win-11 OS came with the computer, a part of its price for the OEM license to HP, but aside from paying that, Libre Office and Google Docs more than suffice, and are not charged for, so forget Office/Copilot.
This is not where Jobs in the '80s was starting the Mac and had to compromise with Bill to get the Office suite so the Mac had something to run - before Gopher and Netescape and browsers. The Mac would have been a GUI low resolution b/w curiosity without Bill and Jobs cutting a devil's bargain. Copilot, worth using, not worth paying for, and Nadella has bet the farm in financing to OpenAI, thirteen billion or more, and all M$ gets is - if it's free I will use it, otherwise there is Google etc. if Satya wants to attempt to squeeze cash in bits and drabs from users. I hate people wanting to get me on payments.
M$ is big enough to eat its mistakes, and putting that much into OpenAI on spec was a gamble. Users should not have to eat Satya's bad gamble. Shareholders can decide.
Harvard bioengineering professor David Mooney said all cancer
research funding from NIH's National Cancer Institute for his team had
also been cut off, including multiple grants to post-doctoral research
fellows.
The Trump administration also terminated millions awarded for developing anti-cancer immunity at the university's immuno-engineering center, which was launched in 2020
as part of the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative. Mooney's lab was the first
to engineer an "implantable biomaterial cancer vaccine" to retrain the
immune system to destroy cancer cells, the university says.
"This will dramatically diminish our ability to make progress in developing cancer immunotherapies," Mooney said in an email.
Under versions of the cancer initiative launched by Biden first as vice president in 2016 — and later rebooted in 2022
after he was elected president — the federal government poured more
than $1 billion into a broad array of research, prevention and treatment
projects.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing a $50
million investment in using artificial intelligence to cure childhood
cancer.
50 million AI spending vs a billion, for legitimate direct research work, not for AI speculative waste! Trump, you are pissing into the ocean and saying it makes a difference. Biden's efforts were legit and seriously funded.
Trump's latest order, go figure.
How it happens to be is not be how it has to be. Votes get counted every so often, and if you know what's up and detect that funny smell, vote accordingly - next time. Not that I can or would sell you mainstream Democratic inner party choices, but beyond that, options exist and AOC should primary Schumer next chance she has. Unless she's on a Presidential ticket, in which case, vote that ticket. End of story.
For context - The post by itself primarily stated -
The Scripts
1. The Authoritarian Turn. The Trump regime represents a sudden shift
into a dangerous authoritarian future. This view is mostly held by
centrists, which I think means most Democratic politicians.
2. More of the same. The Trump regime is the culmination of decades
of slow erosion of democratic society. Trump is accellerating it. This
is a more leftish view.
3. Constitutional Crisis. The Trump regime is just another
constitutional crisis, based on an electoral victory and a challenge to
the existing regime. It’s like the FDR administration creating the New
Deal. This is the view of Trump supporters and conservative
intellectuals.
Trump’s decisive Electoral College victory in 2024, after
a campaign with more sharply defined stakes than in 2016, put a popular
(if not quite majoritarian) imprimatur on such change. Following a
playbook developed during the New Deal and refined in the civil rights
era, Trump’s team is employing all the tools at its disposal to reshape
the balance of power across state and society in line with campaign
pledges to curb illegal immigration, shrink the federal workforce,
restore religion in the public sphere, and advance a “colorblind”
conception of racial equality.
The difference between the Authoritarian Crisis view and the More of
the Same view is continuity. The former suggests that the US was mostly
fine and getting better, but then Trump came along. The latter suggests
that this regime didn’t come out of nowhere, but is an acceleration of a
long process of deterioration. The Constitutional Crisis theory is
based on the idea that for some decades the US has lived under a
‘liberal hegemony”, and the second Trump regime is a counter-revolution
against that hegemony.
The authors generate a list of horribles which justify each script. I
assume we all know the horribles for the first two. The list for the
third is culture war issues, and Republican revanchism.
The MAGA movement wishes to dismantle not just a policy
here or a doctrine there but a whole edifice of laws, norms, and values
that it sees liberals as having imposed through their dogma of “living
constitutionalism” and their sway over regulatory bodies, universities,
foundations, and legacy media organizations. Although a “radical” reform
agenda of such scale may not sound very conservative, nothing less will
suffice, on this view, to overthrow the prevailing forces of
institutional and ideological control.
Actions suggested by scripts
The Authoritarian Crisis view suggests that we need to return to an
earlier era of cooperation and bipartisanship. The main goal is
decentralization of power after a turn to the concentration of power in
the Presidency.
The More of the Same partisans will want a broad array of changes in
the structure of government, and aggressive efforts to attack
oligarchical control, reactionary courts, and right-wing extremists
stuffed into government at all levels.
The Constitutional Regime Change script suggests that liberals and
others who disagree should continue with normal political opposition. If
enough people don’t like Trumpian government they can just vote the
scoundrels out.
[...]
Maybe most of the billionaires snd rank and file Trump supporters
don’t think of themselves as prejudiced in any way. But they supported
the overtly racist, xenophobic, misogynist, homophobic Trump. They
probably like science and technology, but their Senators approved RFK,
Jr., and stood by while he and Elon Musk wrecked governmental research.
There are other factors that reinforce this top-down justification
and support for hate and fear, including inequality of income and
wealth, inflation, and lack of critical thinking. But for many of us
media-inspired fear and hatred make it impossible to see the actual
causes of actual problems.
And that’s how we got here. Too many of us either wanted or ignored
the hatred and justified their votes with the lies about the economy
paid for by billionaires.
It is self contained, as an EmptyWheel thing, but it led me down two paths, both worth mention. which I shall call Diogenes in search of a conservative intellectual, and Clear and present danger.
Jay Wesley Richards is an American analytical philosopher
who focuses on the intersection of politics, philosophy, and religion.
He is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in Heritage’s DeVos
Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.[1] He serves as an adjunct professor in the School of Business at the Catholic University of America[2] and the executive editor of The Stream and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. A former Presbyterian, Richards is now a Catholic.[3]
One of those. Like JD Vance. The link to his epiphany, links here. There is an hour long video where you can see how much you can take, or a short more contained article stating in part:
Jay grew up in a Presbyterian family in Texas. He credits his best friend growing up,
who was Church of Christ, with his knowledge of the Bible. When he went
off to college he experienced a crisis of faith from the challenges he
met in class. The writings of C. S. Lewis and the Holy Spirit brought him
back from the brink. While in seminary at Calvin College, he did a
study of the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement. This would be the
first crack in the wall of the Calvinist edifice of his theological
system. Years later, he decided to systematically set down a list of the
controversial differences between Catholics and Protestants. To be fair
to the Catholic position, he, for the first time, read about the
Catholic doctrines as written by Catholic authors. This honest and
thorough investigation would lead him home to the holy Catholic Church.
That's the start of it and enough of it. You have the link. Surprisingly, Richards has a Google Scholar page, which intriguingly offered a link where I failed to find the item described as:
In Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the
Problem, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute Jay W. Richards and
bestselling author of Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom
Before It's Too Late and Infiltrated: How to Stop the Insiders and
Activists Who Are Exploiting the Financial Crisis to Control Our Lives
and Our Fortunes, defends capitalism within the context of the Christian
faith, revealing how entrepreneurial enterprise, based on hard work,
honesty, and trust, actually fosters creativity and growth. In doing so,
Money, Greed, and God exposes eight myths about capitalism, and
demonstrates that a good Christian can be a good capitalist.
Is more needed? Well, there is more, so here goes, a brief eclectic trip.
I did a search = PhD Thesis of Jay W. Richards, which gave links but none to an actual thesis to read and weigh. There is a Heritage Foundation connection, what else should we expect, with a Catholic Kevin Roberts atop things there, and JD's having connections, best shown by a screen capture:
Click to enlarge and read "De Vos"
Yes, that DeVos thing (which includes rightwing merc Eric Prince and the Amway ponzi fortune).
An IHE bio copyrighted 2025 begins, "Jay W. Richards, Ph.D., is Director of the Richard and Helen DeVos
Center for Life, Religion, and Family, and the William E. Simon Senior
Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute." Paycheck after paycheck, including the IHE (Institute for Human Ecology) at Catholic University.
Richards was a fellow at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and the program director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture (CSC).[6][7] He was the first fellow at the Discovery Institute to confirm the genuineness of the Wedge document.[8]
Science organizations then paid attention to the institute after the
document was published online, but Richards wrote "that the mission
statement and goals had been posted on the CRSC's website since 1996."[9] Richards has expressed climate change denial.[10][11]
That is my offering of "a conservative intellectual." where his intellectualism can be shown in the quality of this hit piece, (here also - double duty), or in his advocacy and/or utopian musing elsewhere. A man of character. As I've described.
Interchangeable, perhaps, although Richards swims many more places than Kersten. In a bigger ocean. More widely traveled.
Clear and present danger
Here things shall be presented tighter. Two links. Both Heritage Foundation. Both presaging a scurvy attack MO against the health and well being of this nation. Here (https://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform), and here (https://www.heritage.org/restoring-american-wellness). Each is presented as if sound policy deliberation, while each will pick your pocked. The second of those Trojan Horse items rings Richards into its grasp.
____________________UPDATE____________ ______
This is necessary. This perniciously misleading astroturfing item
imitates a grassroots concern for a nation's health, but if you check
the personnel at the bottom, ir is entirely a De Vos center production
for Herritage, where Richards is top dog at De Vos center and the De Vos
family and their people are brutally rightwing. It has no author
attribution, directly, but it came from De Vos inside Heritage, and it
is biased that way, despite the happy family frolicking in the outdoors
at the outset:
If
you can read but not understand, "Uustainable" means they - the Project
2025 perps - intend to down fund healthcare spending, for the rest of
us, and are using tactics fit for Nazi propagandists under Goebbels -
who to my mind could have invented Heritage Foundation.
Who the
fuck frolics around with a flag, pride flag or US flag to the breeze --
nobody does. And such joyful postures are fake for the camera and
captioning. The whole item is fake, and Heritage Foundation is real, and
hence far scarier than fake. Richards? Not fake, but real in what he's
doing.
You are the target. Or a target. Truly, he, Richards, is aiming it more at semi-gullible mainstream MAGA - MHGA
susceptible minds, who cannot tell loathsome propaganda from legit
concern for you and yours. If you doubt that, see the Richards authored
thing linked below.
Richards has an agenda, he sells elixirs and fixes. He is hired to do exactly that. And he smilingly takes the paychecks.
And
that is why I find Richards to be the quintessence of "conservative
intellectual." Don't lose sight of the truth, "Conservative
intellectual" is euphemism for callous hired hit man tied to an agenda.
Will Paramount Cancel Jon Stewart? | The New Yorker Interview
That
title is open ended enough to be okay, but watch it because he says he
does not know how things he does are accepted, but that there is a way
he has to do it to feel honest and honorable. Not those words, but watch
and see things in his words.
Not being pompous, it is the New Yorker so keep an open mind of what might be there to be seen.
It pins the tail on the donkey, however you want to view that phrase, but it is not at all vicious.
I
have never viewed Jon Stewart to be vicious, that is Trump. Sometimes
he indirectly but obviously puts a view out that is undeniably focused,
but it is not viscous. Nor viscous. On first writing I wrote viscous
while meaning vicious, and knew it was wrong, but that I'd fix it before
hitting the PUBLISH button that Blogger has for when you've finished a
post. I believe I am finished, but past posting has involved UPDATE, so
this time, view the video, end of story, hope for better weather.
____________UPDATE__________
An other worldly experience, I accidentally signed into another gmail account I have opened, and the above was posted into a blogger account I'd forgot I'd opened but never used. So weird but natural a mistake, that I thought it worth mentioning. I may go over there, retitle things and blog alternatively, maybe as a Trumpist having only good things to say about JD inheriting the machine, or I could instead make it a legitimate thing instead of a spoof, and not at all political. The Boston Tea Party anniversary was a day or two ago, and it indirectly spawned The Tea Party, which was co-opted into .MAGA by will of the orange man. I'd thought of a spoof blog on a Tea Party theme but never really pushed it, and now it's morphed into where I'd need to think of a Charlie Kirk type of direction, but how he ended up convinced me to let that whole idea go. And to stay here and not mess around with spoofs. Be kind, and more so, honest. Forgiving, and more so, honest. Do honest, and you may change and evolve, but never feel you have to cover your tracks. You can repudiate what you've grown to not feel or believe anymore, but you own it right or wrong, but if published a few years ago and honest, the repudiation will be easier.
Shapiro said Charlie Kirk “knew that Nick Fuentes is an evil troll,
and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility, and that is
precisely what Tucker Carlson did.”
In response, Carlson said
Shapiro’s position would be antithetical to Kirk, who was killed while
debating students on a college campus.
“To hear calls for
deplatforming and denouncing people at a Charlie Kirk event, I’m like,
what?” Carlson said. “This is hilarious.”
Carlson denied being
antisemitic, saying it is immoral to hate people for how they were born.
He then downplayed the problem of anti-Jewish hate by claiming it’s
less pervasive than bias against white men.
“That is racism that
is precisely as bad as antisemitism, but it is much more widespread and
has been so far much more damaging,” he said.
Carlson dismissed
the idea of a civil war in the Trump coalition as “totally fake,” saying
a narrative of tension is ginned up by people who hope to prevent Vice
President JD Vance from becoming Republicans’ next leader.
All the turmoil, he said, is about “who gets the machinery when the president exits the scene.”
[...]
Turning Point draws thousands
There are still three more days
to go for the Turning Point conference, which has drawn thousands of
people. Vance is scheduled to speak Sunday, as is Donald Trump Jr.
So, who gets the machinery? And the franchise and the cash? Bet on Erika Kirk. Bet on JD. Neither will rock any Trump/MAGA boats. Don't bet on MTG. Posing and trying is not enough.
The man is an unimformed bigot. He makes up his bigotry instead of doing the work of trying to find actual facts that support even a little bit of his bigotry. Lazy bigot. Bad Bigot.
Put up with the creepy background music, (for some reason those posting to YouTube thought it was a good idea when it wasn't), and just listen. Archie Bunker would be ashamed if he'd talked that way.
UPDATE: Trump is matchless. But some come close. Even when trying to serve two masters. Reason and Party.
On
February 24, 2025, Extremity Care LLC, a company that sells very
expensive bandages made from discarded placentas and other substances,
donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., President Trump's Super PAC. Six days
later, on Truth Social, Trump blasted a pending Biden administration rule
that would have barred Medicare from covering Extremity Care’s products
— which can cost thousands of dollars per square inch and lack
scientifically proven benefits. "'Crooked Joe' rammed through a policy
that would create more suffering and death for diabetic patients on
Medicare," Trump posted. "The hardest hit: veterans and minorities."
The
Biden rule was initially scheduled to go into effect in February 2025,
but was previously delayed by the Trump administration until April 13 as
part of a blanket regulatory freeze. On April 11, 40 days after Trump's
post, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced
the rule would be delayed until at least January 1, 2026, allowing
Extremity Care to continue to charge Medicare for its products.
The
February 24 donation was not made public until July 31, when MAGA Inc.
filed its 96-page mid-year report. The Extremity Care donation appears
on page 18:
Trump's March Truth Social post claimed that Biden's rule would result in 431,429 lost limbs annually and 187,286 additional deaths. There is no evidence to support these claims.
The Biden rule would preserve Medicare patients' access to skin
substitutes, which are generally not covered by private insurance. Under
the Biden rule, however, coverage would be limited to products "that
are supported by evidence" that they are effective.
Many of the products with scientific backing are much less expensive
than those offered by Extremity Care. Oasis wound matrix, a product
that has proved effective in scientific research, charges Medicare
$75.51 per square inch. Another scientifically-proven product, Apligraf,
charges $195.58 per square inch.
[...] Between April (when the Biden rule was supposed to go into effect) and July, Medicare has spent another $2.3 billion on skin substitutes,
according to a study by Early Read conducted for the New York Times.
Although the precise breakdown is not available, the bulk of that
spending is almost certainly on products lacking scientific support. 92%
of the products currently covered by Medicare would be excluded if the
Biden rule were ever permitted to go into effect.
So, waste, fraud and abuse be damned; they put $5 million into the pay-to-play kettle, and gee, look what happened days later.
Trump's acting style offends, he's a liar, and if the word "liar" needed inventing because of him, it would have been added to English and other languages. He makes up things, which is lying if it's known to be untrue, or was grossly negligent to have been said if not knowing either way. That's lying in my opinion.
And, I am not saying the sequence reported IS bribery. What I am saying is a jury should be allowed in a criminal proceeding to decide whether it is or not bribery beyond any reasonable doubt. I see no reasonable doubt, but let it get to a jury and see how it shakes out.
A pattern emerges. The pattern is greatly offensive. The man should never have reached the White House, but I did all I could with my one vote, and a few contributions to others.
Check that quoted site out, link given at the start. There's more actual news there. People should know.
UPDATE: I rely upon Social Security to cover Medicare Part A and Part B buy-in fees, and my co-pays come out of Social Security. With me it is personal, not merely theoretical. I am not an outside observer, I am where the national policies set by this current grifter and meanness pack hurt. It's real. Do not doubt if you are in a better financial situation, and do note there arise American citizens far worse off than I am.
I am not forced to live in a fucking tent with municipal harassment a regular Cold Water thing. Some are forced to that in our nation where Musk and Ellison joggle for attention as having the most billion dollars of net worth.
FURTHER: Those less fortunate than I am, think of the Gazans, what more could happen against them there? Well, floods and Ellison. That Ellison, not Kieth, the MN AG. That Ellison, buying up media where stories of Gazan suffering can be told or stymied. Days after the Thanksgiving holiday, I remain thankful when great suffering of others is apparent. I am lucky. I've seen 81years, and intend to see more.
I cannot believe he is that racist, to uphold Trump's calling Somalis "garbage." Indirectly, yes, but the bottom line is clear. He kisses Trump's ring. He likes his paycheck, his benefit package, and being taken seriously while being a crypto propagandist. Praising a super crypto fraudster. Before the Congress of the United States praising Bankman Fried for "guardrails." Guardrails against fraud? But Somali fraud, different? Multi Billion-dollar fraudster Bernie Madoff, white man, Jewish, well things happen . . .
BernieMadoff ... Bernard Lawrence Madoff
( April 29, 1938 - April 14, 2021) was an American
financial criminal and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the
largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion.
[3][4] He was at one time chairman of the Nasdaq
Glib, yes; he is glib, but the smell lingers . . . The interviewer asks him questions, he obfuscates, glides, slides, slithers. Blames Biden. Blames Walz. Says as GOP House whip his job is not to judge his Republican colleagues.
Well, as being a Congressman, wtf is his job? To repeatedly always piss on Democrats while denying responsibility for anything wrong? It's Joe Biden's fault, Walz at fault. Speaker Johnson, great guy, no fault, none, not given a mention; glide over that. So is Emmer doing the job citizens deserve? Talking the talk, but - walking the walk? The Trump trade war okay? Making prices lower and lives in the state better. you think?
Go figure. Somebody voted for him, so is there buyer's remorse? (Not from the donors, they're being served, but from the voters? Two separate questions. )
________________UPDATE_______________
Thinking it over, the judgment on Emmer -
The spin gets thin, as the pain gains. Offering Dour Power.
He spins, no grin. Dour power. What he refuses to admit, is the obvious -
So read what's at the "this" link. It's Obvious Stuff any fool can see, yet something Schumer hides from. At least so for the Schumer public persona. Crabgress' guess - he knows truth, but shuns mention of it.
In the course of that Rosenthal-authored item "Third Way - Comeback Retreat" gets a link, and it is same old shit Schumer loves, as do the Clintons. Loser stuff, since it's pablum when guts and truth are needed.
Actually not pablum; hence, Turd Way. Says it crudely, but that mischief they're up to is crude and intentionally misleading by trying to sell, "Let's be GOP-lite. and the big donors see us calling the shots their way and pay us big bucks to mislead;" being the tiny twisted thought process I'd accord it.
It is so fucking tiring to see MAGA and GOP-lite the choice in every ballot these days, other than NYC mayor. At least Peggy Fleming is a MN Senate DFL primary choice, vs a competent conservative alternative. Closing, hating Third Way is not disloyalty to what might be, sooner or later a predominate outlook and action plan. It's just taking so long! If AIPAC and like kind donors would just pull the funding plug on Third Way bullshit, we'd have progress. We have to hope. For change. Beyond slogan design/usage. The real stuff.
Buttigieg’s endorsement comes as the battle for endorsements has been a central focus of the U.S. Senate race.
Her
Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, has distinguished herself
as the progressive Democrat in the race, racking up support from
progressive titans including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
She’s also won the support of dozens of state lawmakers, Attorney
General Keith Ellison and former U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.
Craig,
a fourth-term representative in the competitive Second District, has
won the support of over a dozen unions and has the backing of big name
Democrats in Washington, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Former U.S. Rep. Colin Peterson
of Minnesota, one of the co-founders of the moderate Democratic Blue Dog
Coalition in Congress, has also backed Craig.
“We
are obviously at a defining moment in the life of our democracy,”
Buttigieg said. “It’s a time when the noise and the division can feel
overwhelming, but we have leaders like Angie who reminds us what public
service is really about: Listening, solving problems and delivering
results that actually make a difference in everyday life.”
So, the future of the Democratic Party as remaining viable and sensitive to will of the people, that is behind Flanagan. Craig gets the tired old leadership, the Clinton-types. No contest. Progress rocks.
UPDATE: Any bets on who the big-buck donors prefer? Any guess on which candidate gets their money?
M$ has interjected Copilot into play, in github, which those alternatives fail to match. Try sometime to save to local storage a Copilot chat. You can even ask Copilot about it, and learn it's for your own good - insecure local storage and all.
It is easy to be of two minds about Copilot. About shifting, local reliance to THE CLOUD. That is its own story, for example. Over 5 Gb, monitized?
M$ lost to Gmail - back then - Bill wanting to monetize it by a BS cutoff/limit to free use, Google offering reasonable free mailbox storage, etc.
A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen,
New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of
Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote
to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of
government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December
vote on extending the health care tax credits.
[...]
Five Democrats switch votes
In addition to Shaheen, King and
Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of
thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on
the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat,
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto
and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.
The moderates had expected a
larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic
senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five
Democrats switched their votes — the exact number that Republicans
needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open
the government since Oct. 1.
The Beast won. The spineless crossed the line. Schumer did not keep solidarity, but at least was not one of the turncoats. One supposes New Hampshire and Maine will get SNAP money, or something.
Senator
Bernie Sanders of Vermont is wading ever more deeply into the
Democratic Party’s ideological tug of war, endorsing Lt. Gov. Peggy
Flanagan of Minnesota in her contested primary race to replace the
retiring Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat. The move is Mr. Sanders’s third
endorsement in a competitive primary for Senate.
Ms.
Flanagan, who was elected twice as the running mate of Gov. Tim Walz,
is facing off against Representative Angie Craig, a Democrat. Their race
is one of many primaries next year that will help determine the direction of the party.
In
a statement provided first to The New York Times, Mr. Sanders hailed
Ms. Flanagan as having “the guts to stand up for working people against
the billionaires and the corporate interests.”
Mr.
Sanders, 84, an independent, was the runner-up in the last two
competitive Democratic presidential primaries. Still one of the party’s
most popular politicians, he remains determined to reshape it in his
image. He has already endorsed progressive candidates in open Democratic
Senate races in Michigan and Maine next year.
His latest endorsement comes a day after moderates in the Senate struck an agreement with Republicans
to move toward reopening the federal government after the longest
shutdown in history. The deal ignited outrage on the left, including
from Mr. Sanders.
Crabgrass earlier endorsed Flanagan, and it is encouraging that Bernie is reaching out to help.
Bernie is a giant for progress for all, and curbing the billionaire oligarchy. Flanagan will fit in. Now if only something could jog Amy leftward we'd be better off for the push. Or awakening, call it either. And hope it happens sooner than later. Amy is on the righteous shutdown side of not appeasing the Beast, which is fine to see.
Out of state Republican and AIPAC money could cascade into the CD2 race, unless Craig decides to run there again. She's not an AIPAC target, those people would shoot elsewhere if she does the DFL party a favor. It seems there should not have been any filing deadline yet against Craig making the move.
If she does, she's got a primary win assured if she'd even face a primary. Otherwise, Flanagan will retire Craig from DC entirely. She should weigh her options. We'll see.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
Should Craig stay the course, Matt Kline is a good CD2 candidate, and might even be an upgrade.
If Craig defeats Flanagan it would be a major disappointment, should she stay in the Senate race, but if that happens, she's better than a complete Republican. Yes, faint praise, but if she wins the primary, she has the Crabgrass vote to replace Tina Smith. But really, Flanagan is real and progressive. Our favorite.
FURTHER: Flanagan will not accept corporate PAC money. Craig welcomes it. In office Congress critters remember who their major donors were, and grant access.
Kline seems the current CD2 frontrunner who likely will face a primary. What he'd do if Angie reverts is anyone's guess. But Crabgrass reads the mood of distressed people statewide as a Flanagan DFL win no matter what; and hence, Flanagan as Tina Smith's successor.
FURTHER: Flanagan defeating whichever Repubican, and Kline winning CD2 against whoever, are the Crabgrass picks. At a guess it will a GOP primary result, Speaker Lisa and the smarmy lawyer from the Niska firm who outspent Blaha 2022 by 150% and lost, vs Doc Anti-Vax who ran and lost last time with Matt Birk centering his ticket; with Speaker Lisa winning that primary. GOP CD2 winner is anybody's who-cares guess. Kline could lose the general election, but let's hope not.
Make Bernie happy, vote for Peggy in the primaery! Warren is onboard too, so it's gotta be her over Craig.
Click that image if you care to, but the message is -
77-year old Maine Governor Janet Mills, running for Senate (and backed by Chuck Schumer) has refused to release medical records to address questions about her age. If elected, Mills would end her first term at age 85 and would be the oldest first-term Senator in U.S. history.
The other 41 yr old front runner for Senator from Maine to Replace 72 yr old Susan Collins =
Platner enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from high school in 2003.[9] He attended the Marine Corps School of Infantry, then deployed to Iraq in 2005.[4] He served a total of eight years in the military, including three combat tours in Iraq, in areas including Ramadi and Fallujah.[10]
Asked why he served in the Iraq War after protesting it, Platner said,
"I thought I could do some good. And I wanted to play soldier. I might
have read too much Hemingway."[11]
After four years in the military, Platner enrolled at George Washington University, funded by the G.I. Bill.[9] Shortly after starting school, he enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard and served an additional tour of duty in the war in Afghanistan.[12][13] He returned to Washington in 2011, resuming classes at GWU and working as a bartender at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill.[14][15]
From 2011 to 2016 he alternated between living in D.C. and military
deployments, before withdrawing from GWU and returning to Maine in 2016
for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other military-related injuries.[13][9][11][16]
In 2018, Platner returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, for about six months as a State Department security contractor with Constellis, the private military company formerly known as Blackwater, where he provided diplomatic security to the US ambassador to Afghanistan.[17][10][18][19]
He returned to Maine the same year, saying he had quickly grown more
disillusioned with the military and what he called fraudulent funneling
of taxpayer money to private defense companies.[12][9]
[...] U.S. Senate campaign
Platner launched his Senate campaign on August 19, 2025, with a video produced by Morris Katz, a senior adviser and admaker for New York City mayor-electZohran Mamdani.[26][21]
In the video, Platner highlights his military and working-class
credentials, while criticizing his prospective opponent in harsh terms:[27]
I did four infantry tours in the Marine Corps and the Army. I'm not afraid to name an enemy. And the enemy is the oligarchy.
It's the billionaires who pay for it, and the politicians who sell us
out. And yeah, that means politicians like Susan Collins.
This video received 2.5million views in its first 24hours, sparking national media attention.[28][29] The campaign raised $1million in its first nine days, and reported amassing over 2,700volunteers.[30]
Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Platner on August30, ahead of a Fighting Oligarchy tour appearance in Portland with Platner and Maine gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson.[31][32]The event had originally been scheduled to be held in an auditorium but
had to be moved to a much larger arena due to high public interest.[33][34
[... keep reading into next block] On October 27, 2025, Platner's campaign manager Kevin Brown resigned,
citing family reasons. On October 31, Platner's campaign finance
director, Ronald Holmes, resigned.[39] His political director, Genevieve McDonald, also resigned in October, and in November his campaign treasurer, Victoria Perrone, was replaced by Ben Martello.[40]
Reddit comments and tattoo
In October 2025, various news outlets reported on Reddit posts Platner made between 2013 and 2021 in which he called himself a "communist", wrote that all cops are bastards, and agreed with a post calling rural white Americans "racist and stupid". In an interview with CNN, Platner said of those comments, "That was very much me fucking around the internet... I don't think any of that is indicative of who I am today".[41]
In a 2013 Reddit discussion about anti-rape underwear, Platner wrote
that people worried about assault should "take some responsibility for
themselves and not get so fucked up they wind up having sex with someone
they don't mean to".[42] He also referenced political violence
in multiple posts; in 2018, he wrote: "Fight until you get tired of
fighting with words and then fight with signs, and fists, and guns if
need be." Platner also wrote that "an armed working class is a
requirement for economic justice" and urged readers to "Get Armed, Get
Organized. The Other Side Sure As Hell Is."[41][43]
He has said that many of the comments do not represent his current
political beliefs, and that they were the product of disillusionment
after his military discharge and struggles with PTSD.[44][45]
Collins called Platner's internet history "terrible" and "offensive".[46]Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said that while he did not approve of Platner's comments, he did not consider them "disqualifying".[47]
In an interview on Pod Save America, Platner addressed claims that a skull-and-bones tattoo on his chest resembles the Totenkopf, a symbol worn by the Nazi Schutzstaffel paramilitary organization. Platner said that he and some other Marines got the tattoo while on leave in Croatia in 2007, not knowing its symbolism.[48]
While acknowledging the resemblance, he said he had not been aware of
it until reporters and political operatives from DC contacted him during
his campaign. He said he had recently gotten it covered up.[49][50] An unnamed acquaintance of Platner's has claimed that Platner was aware that the tattoo was a Nazi symbol.[51][52] Maine Governor Janet Mills,
one of Platner's opponents in the Democratic primary, called the tattoo
"abhorrent". She said, "I obviously vehemently disagree with the things
he's been quoted as saying and doing" but that it was "up to the
people" to decide whether he should continue in the Senate race.[53]
Political views
Platner has been characterized as a populist and a progressive.[12][21][27] He has received attention for focusing on economic issues facing working-class Americans, and for being willing to criticize the Democratic Party establishment.[54] His platform includes focusing on housing affordability, universal healthcare through Medicare for All, and ending US involvement in overseas wars.[15][31][22]
Platner has explicitly declined to be identified as progressive or liberal,
saying, "I think it's silly that thinking people deserve health care,
that makes you some kind of lefty. But I do think those working-class
policies are necessary."[15][26] He has highlighted his support for gun rights as a point where he differs from mainstream liberals,[21] and said that many of his friends and colleagues voted for Donald Trump.[26] In The American Prospect,
Austin Ahlman called Platner part of "a growing wave of populist Senate
candidates who are challenging modern understandings of political
labels by forefronting anti-establishment, anti-corporate, and
distinctly localist politics and policies".[29] Platner has cited Senator Bernie Sanders as a political influence.[15] He has also credited Frances Perkins, who served as Secretary of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and labor organizer Jane McAlevey as inspirations.[25][16]
Platner has criticized what he calls "the oligarchy",
an economic and political system controlled by and benefiting the
ultra-wealthy at the expense of everyone else. He advocates for higher
taxes on billionaires and large corporations, and more support for the
working class.[12][55] At a Labor Day
rally headlined by Sanders, Platner said, "We do not live in a system
that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it's
intended.We live in a system that has been built by the political class
to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."[55]
Platner has called the Gaza genocide
"the ultimate moral test of our time", and has strongly criticized the
Democratic Party establishment for not doing enough to counter Trump
administration policies such as mass deportation and support for Israel's war in Gaza.[12][9][56][57]He has criticized the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, and pledged not to take campaign contributions from it "or any group that supports the genocide in Gaza".[58][27]Republicans and conservative outlets[59] have called Platner "Maine's Mamdani", referencing the democratic socialist mayor-elect of New York City, and have criticized Platner's outspoken criticism of Israel and its actions in Gaza. Platner called the comments "absurd".[60]
Platner credits his military experience with forming his populist politics.[12] He has called US "military adventurism" "a mechanism of moving taxpayer
dollars into the private bank accounts of defense companies, all on the
backs of frankly working-class men and women, and on the backs of the
people living in societies that we took the wars to".[12]
Platner stated that his veterans' healthcare and disability benefits
have enabled him to run his small business, and argues that all
Americans should have access to increased social welfare regardless of
military service.[32]
He has a more moderate stance on gun regulation than some Democrats,
recognizing the importance of firearms in Maine's hunting and rural
communities. When asked about his position on gun control after the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting, he expressed support for red flag laws,
provided they are "written in such a way that they don't impede the
ability of legal gun owners to have access to their firearms".[60] Platner reportedly provided firearms instruction in the past for the Maine chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association.[6]
Asked about his stance on LGBTQ rights, Platner said, "I stand right in the fucking way of anyone who's going to try to come after the freedoms of the LGBTQIA+ community."[61]
Personal life
Platner lives in Sullivan, Maine.[23] He married his wife, Amy Gertner, in the autumn of 2024.[4]
Gertner was an elementary and middle school art teacher until 2024,
when she became the business manager for Waukeag Neck Oyster Co.[4][16] Platner is a competitive pistol shooter and firearms instructor.[21] Much of Platner's extended family is Jewish,[62] and his stepbrother lives in Jerusalem.[63]
Rather than only excerpt highlighted segments, a large quote was thought best to assure context.
Schumer, Gillibrand, and their candidate are the oligharchy Platner criticizes.
They, each separtely and together represent the system Platner described in saying:
"We do not live in a system
that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it's
intended.We live in a system that has been built by the political class
to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."[55]
An elderly Democratic candidate for Senate is under fire for not releasing her medical records as age has become a defining political consideration.
Maine
Governor Janet Mills, 77, has not committed to releasing her medical
records ahead of the state's 2026 Senate election, according to Axios.
Should
she win the competition, Mills would become the oldest freshman senator
elected in US history. Mills would take office at 79 if she wins.
Incumbent Senator Susan Collins,
a Republican who has held the seat since 1997, would take office at 74
if she were to win. Collins has not offered her medical records either.
Democrats have been dogged by criticisms over elderly candidates since the party propped up former President Joe Biden's failed presidential run.
After Biden's disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump in
the summer of 2024, and subsequent lingering in the race before
withdrawing, liberal voters have much to be wary of when it comes to
older candidates.
But that has not stopped the decidedly old lawmakers from retaining power.
Nationwide
victories for Democrats on Tuesday, including two high-profile
gubernatorial races, the New York City mayoral election and the approval
of California’s redistricting map, are fueling party optimism as it
seeks to recover from heavy 2024 losses and regain the House majority in
the 2026 midterms.
Democrat
Jay Jones' electoral victory in Virginia’s attorney general clash came
weeks after leaked text messages surfaced in which he fantasized about
killing a Republican lawmaker and his family. The texts ignited a
scandal that drew bipartisan condemnation.
Several
political strategists have said that Jones’ win despite the
late-breaking controversy could be a good sign for Maine Democratic
Senate hopeful Graham Platner, who is contending with his own backlash
over a tattoo and past social media posts. One strategist, Alex Patton,
told Newsweek that "voters forgive plenty these days."
However, another strategist, Carter Wrenn, told Newsweek, "to argue Jones winning means scandals and faux-pas no longer matter sounds like a bit of a stretch."
Newsweek reached out to several political strategists for comment via email on Wednesday.
Platner,
a 41-year-old oyster farmer and political newcomer running for Maine's
U.S. Senate seat, is under fire from some over one of his tattoos and
political social media posts that have since been deleted.
The
Jones victory comes amid a political landscape that has shifted
regarding cancel culture and the intensity and lasting effects of
political bruises.
[...] Doug Gordon, co-founder of Upshift strategies, told Newsweek in an email:
“You don’t need an advanced degree in political science to figure out
why Democrats, including Jay Jones despite his offensive texts, had such
a good night. Donald Trump and Republicans ran on, and won, in 2024 on
lowering prices and fixing an economy that is not working for the vast
majority of Americans. And instead of delivering on what they ran on, we
have secret police disappearing people off the streets, Trump’s
relentless focus on retribution against his opponents, the literal
destruction of the White House and Trump and his cronies enriching
themselves. All while the economy has not improved and prices have
increased. This election was a complete and total rejection of the
policies and the priorities of the Republican Party. And in the end,
that was more important to voters than some offensive texts.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Platner's campaign site, on the issues = https://www.grahamforsenate.com/platform
His donate page = https://secure.actblue.com/donate/platner_website
Checks can be mailed to: Graham for Maine PO Box 570, Ellsworth, ME 04605
Whether using the actblue page (where actblue takes a percentage) or using snail mail, the same rules/limitations apply -
Contribution rules
I am a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident (i.e., green card holder).
This contribution is made from my own funds, and funds are not being provided to me by another person or entity for the purpose of making this contribution.
I am at least eighteen years old.
I am not a federal contractor.
I am making this contribution with my own personal credit card and not with a corporate or business credit card or a card issued to another person.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Think you've seen enough? There is the Mills situation -
In her launch video,
Mills highlighted her recent fight with President Donald Trump over
transgender sports and accused Collins of enabling him. “I won’t sit
idly by while Maine people suffer and politicians like Susan Collins
bend the knee as if this were normal,” Mills said.
Despite initial hesitation, the governor started interviewing staff and telling local reporters she was seriously considering a bid last month.
She
addressed that long contemplation in her announcement, saying in the
video, “Honestly, if this president and this Congress were doing things
that were even remotely acceptable, I wouldn’t be running for the U.S.
Senate.”
The
race sets up the latest generational clash for a party struggling to
find its footing after losing the White House and both branches of
Congress last year.
In her launch video, [dead link? as noted below, her campaign site has a video] Mills highlighted her recent fight with President Donald Trump over
transgender sports and accused Collins of enabling him. “I won’t sit
idly by while Maine people suffer and politicians like Susan Collins
bend the knee as if this were normal,” Mills said.
Despite initial hesitation, the governor started interviewing staff and telling local reporters she was seriously considering a bid last month.
She
addressed that long contemplation in her announcement, saying in the
video, “Honestly, if this president and this Congress were doing things
that were even remotely acceptable, I wouldn’t be running for the U.S.
Senate.”
She has a campaign video linked from the opening page, with creepy music and noise, and identifying herself as a second generation politician. She's against Trump and Susan Collins, not liking bullies she says. It may be error, but no ISSUES page could be located by Crabgrass.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leadership is all-in on Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ run to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Rank-and-file
Democratic senators don’t seem as certain. Very few were eager to
instantly back the 77-year-old Mills, who will have to defeat
progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner in a primary to battle Collins
in the general, and many seemed loath to discuss a race Democratic
operatives expect to poison social media timelines for the next year.
The
unease about the race — and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee’s decision to intervene by backing Mills — extends to both
progressives and moderates, and showcases how the Democratic Party is
still torn over its ideological direction and the age of its leaders in
the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.
“I
think Janet Mills is a formidable candidate. I feel very optimistic
that we will defeat Susan Collins,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.),
the chair of the DSCC, told HuffPost. Asked if a bruising primary would
harm Democrats’ odds of flipping the seat, Gillibrand said: “My general
view is that primaries make candidates stronger.”
But
Gillibrand was not joined by many of her colleagues in unequivocally
backing Mills. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who has carved out a
lane as a leading moderate since the 2024 election, was the only
Democratic senator to explicitly endorse her.
Similarly,
many leading progressive senators — including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Chris Murphy of Massachusetts
— declined to weigh in on the race when HuffPost asked. Sen. Tina Smith
of Minnesota, who is retiring, told HuffPost the DSCC should stay out
of the race entirely.
“The
DSCC shouldn’t be engaging in primary battles,” retiring Smith told
HuffPost. “If the [DSCC] thinks that they know better than the voters of
Maine, they’re wrong. It’s up to the voters to decide.”
Both
Platner and Mills tried to claim momentum on Wednesday, one day after
Mills’ entrance into the race earned her quick endorsements from EMILY’s
List and caused political handicappers to move the race against Collins from “lean Republican”
to “toss-up” status. Mills announced she had raised $1 million in the
first 24 hours of her campaign, while Platner said he had raised
$500,000 and rolled out an endorsement from United Auto Workers, which
represents employees at Bath Iron Works in the state.
Democratic
senators, who are old enough, on average, to qualify for Social
Security benefits, did mostly brush aside concerns about Mills’ age,
even if they did not want to endorse her. Mills would be the oldest
freshman senator ever if she is elected next year. She’s pledged to only
serve one term if that happens, a move that is likely aimed at cutting
off questions about her age. [...]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mills in her video is running as not Trump, took him to court and won. Beyond that and opposing Collins, it speaks for itself.
If you want to think Dem establishment Inner Party - Think DCCC and EMILYs List. They don't take chances. They don't mention Oligarchs.
____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
One way voters in Maine, and Crabgrass readers worldwide, can think of Platner = the anti-Hegseth. Both served, both tattooed, one's a total scary creep, the other is liked by Bernie.
Do you think Palantir might feel it has a dog in the hunt? Along with AIPAC? Or would they prefer, "a dude?"
