Platner can say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Or not. This pile on has a timbre to it, believe a candidate who's fought the fight, or a late figurative assassin with no real hard evidence but crying RAPE? It rings false. To me. As a set-up. But - we shall see. Platner has a choice, and we do not know inner workings of his and his wife's weighing all.
But - Fetterman fueling the pile on? Whose loyalties does Fetterman hold highest?
How does this ring to you? Many words, where's the beef? There's much circumstantial goings on. What does it mean? Where will it lead?
What is right and what is wrong? Crabgrass feelings remain, Platner should press on. Win or lose, he does not compromise to extreme collective focused pressure.
What's the real evidence against him? Who has advanced it into the pubic arena?
I distrust mobs. Especially mobs for the status quo as superlative in a political party.
UPDATE: Bernie quitting on him disturbs me greatly. I expected it, but it still disturbs.
The suggestion of the foreground hand is one down, four more to come.
Vexingly, the local Maine report links to a subscription walled NBC item.
Leave it there. If more is to come, let it. If it is convincing, act on it. If it is more of the same, with equally thin actual evidence, screw it.
The number of accusers matters, but each accusation should be judged in terms of its own weight. Recruiting bad-mouthing is no hard thing. Having substance to charges is better than naked claims, "He raped me and 15 others," needs then 16 clear instances of separate careful attention to quality of each claim. Numbers don't carry the day outside of election voting.
If Platner caves, end of story, except for who the Maine Inner Party shifts into the race against Collins, a stiff like Schumer, or a progressive like Bernie?
The sad expectation is if it comes to Platner giving up, expect a stiff.
If Platner simply holds the line, other shoes drop, voters in Maine will have the choice of how tired and dessicated Collins is, and whether absent a progressive is there any hope.
We are on a short timeline.
UPDATE: This is the woman orchastrating the allegations against Platner.
Explore that link as much as you feel worth your time.
I do not question her dedication or sincerity, but if she's only got what she's shown so far, say so or show more. So far, one woman claiming rape, but possibly with a grudge. This woman. Ms. Hunt, knows the timing in which she dropped her load on the man, Platner.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kirsten Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to call for her colleague Al Franken’s resignation in 2017
as he faced allegations of sexual misconduct, building a profile as a
leading advocate for women that became the centerpiece of her 2020
presidential bid.
But the New York senator is taking a different
approach when it comes to sexual harassment allegations hitting closer
to home, those against her state’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo.
In
a series of statements, Gillibrand has said accusations of offensive
behavior by Cuomo are “serious and deeply concerning” and that the three
women “who have come forward have shown tremendous courage.” She has
said that the claims against Cuomo are “completely unacceptable” and
called for a full investigation — but stopped short of demanding his
resignation.
Top Democrats in New York and nationally have
similarly refrained from suggesting that Cuomo step down. That includes
New York’s senior senator and the chamber’s majority leader, Democrat
Chuck Schumer. It’s a far more cautious approach than the parade of
Democratic senators who followed Gillibrand’s lead in calling for
Franken’s resignation.
That’s fueling questions about whether, more than three years into
the #MeToo movement, the push to hold powerful men accountable for
sexual harassment and abuse is losing steam. Gillibrand paid a political
price for her role in the Franken resignation and her tone toward Cuomo
may reflect that.
“Our country needs to do better for women writ large,” said Rachel
O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, an advocacy group
that grew out of the January 2017 demonstration when tens of thousands
of women, most clad in pink, descended on Washington to protest Donald
Trump’s presidency. “Both parties and at every level of government.”
Franken ultimately resigned, but Democrats later questioned whether
they had moved too quickly to oust him. During her presidential
campaign, Gillibrand faced questions about her decision and insisted she
didn’t regret calling for Franken to give up his Senate seat. But she
acknowledged that doing so hurt her with top donors and may have
hampered her effort to win a following in the leadoff caucuses in Iowa,
which borders Franken’s state of Minnesota.
Pete Buttigieg, who essentially tied for first place in Iowa, has
said that when it came to Franken, he would “not have applied that
pressure at that time before we knew more.” The former mayor of South
Bend, Indiana, is now President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.
Carmona’s
group has gone a step farther than Gillibrand and other leading
Democrats, calling for an investigation against Cuomo but also demanding
his “immediate resignation,” noting that “conduct doesn’t have to be
illegal to be disqualifying.”
Calls for Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, to withdraw his candidacy intensified Monday after a woman accused him of sexual assault in an exclusive report by Politico.
While Platner denied the claims, many top Democratic figures quickly called on the beleaguered nominee to step down.
In
a joint statement, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Kirsten Gillibrand said
Platner should “immediately withdraw”.
“The
allegations reported today are incredibly disturbing – violence, abuse
and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable,” they said. “The DSCC
will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”
Maine’s
Democratic party leadership said Platner should withdraw from the race,
while Ro Khanna, the California representative who has been one of
Platner’s most vocal supporters, alsosaid
he should drop out. “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or
violence against women is a red line,” he wrote on X. “These allegations
are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the
race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Elizabeth
Warren, the Massachusetts senator who endorsed Platner in March, said
in a statement “there can be no tolerance for sexual assault”. She said:
“With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to
step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious
allegations outside this Senate race.”
Ruben
Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, also said on X: “The
allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I
am rescinding my endorsement.” Martin Heinrich, a Democratic senator
from New Mexico who had also supported Platner in the primary, said he
could “no longer support” his candidacy. “He should step aside,”
Heinrich said in a statement.
In the Politico
report, published on Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated
Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections.
Platner denied the claims in a statement to Politico.
“These
allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of
non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said.
Racicot
told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for
more than two years. She alleges that in late 2021, an intoxicated
Platner entered her home uninvited and forced himself on her. Racicot
said she terminated contact after the encounter.
The
report cited accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as
recent therapist emails, and messages where she warned an acquaintance
about Platner in 2023.
Platner, an oyster farmer and former marine veteran, who secured
the Democratic nomination and faces the Republican senator Susan
Collins in the general election, has faced a series of scandals before
this week.
Platner has cast himself as a populist everyman with an anti-oligarchy message. Before his run for public office, he made controversial comments on social media and got a Nazi-linked tattoo, which has since been covered up. Platner has said he did not initially understand the meaning of the tattoo.
In a video message
on Monday published after the Politico report, Platner again said the
accusations were false, but that he was mindful of the political reality
the accusation will carry.
“We are taking the
time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the
people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating
Susan Collins,” Platner said.
He thanked the voters who helped propel him to the nomination as a political newcomer.
“You
never turned your back on me, and I will not turn my back on you now,”
he said. “Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition,
and see Susan Collins defeated, and we will use every tool at our
disposal to do so. As Maine goes, so goes the nation.”
This is Gillibrand and Schumer dumping the same shit they dumped on Franken, who was the Senator I voted for and wanted in Washington to represent my State's interests, and to show the progressinve wisdom that caused me to so vote.
Cuomo, the pair, Gillibrand and Schumer, took a hike. He was a stiff they fit in with.
Franken and now Platner, they eviscerate. Are they sincere? Who the fuck knows but the Cuomo quietness suggests they are grossly inconsistent. They only judge progressives harshly.
Bottem line: Fuck the both of them. As Crabgrass sees things, Platner should stay in his bid to be a progressive voice in a Senate lacking progressive voices, but full of far too many Scuhmer/Gilllibrand bullshit clones.
Platner’s campaign said the senatorial candidate “vigorously denies” the claims.
“These
allegations are very serious and Graham vigorously denies them,” the
statement said. “They are also coached and coordinated by out of state
establishment operatives. For a year, opponents of this campaign have
thrown everything they can at Graham – calling him a Nazi, a war
criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true and this is no
different.
“It is not a coincidence that this
story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous
false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this
campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and
where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will
stop this movement from seeing that vision through.”
That is a strong statement of continuation. Crabgrass views it as proper, and hopes that it holds. This kind of last minute corruptly timed attack should not win. People see it, and it most surely is a weight against others deciding, like Platner, to run.
FURTHER: Beyond Gillibrand and Schumer possibly getting ahead of their story and outrunning actual evidence, the Politico account that launched the endorsement withdrawal landslide is:
The story is she was on a couch, Platner entered, groped, they went to the bedroom and had unprotected sex, the claims of consensual or not vary, she got cleaned up while Platner fell asleep. She did not awaken him, discussing things the next morning, and that being the last sex between them. No police report. No claims of apparent forced bodily injury, bruises or scratches. She scrubbed roughly contemporaneous web traces. After that, vague hearsay. She sought out Cheyenne Hunt who'd previously in April 2026 managed claimants against Eric Swalwell, and only after that she came out agressively against Platner, timed as it was. There is ambiguity. Whether Hunt has other claimants against Platner. It is unclear, but none have come forward with detail, and the expectation is Politico and Hunt had discussions before Politico published.That a Politico show-us-more request to Hunt did not get more shown.
That's not how Politico worded it, but this timing is suspect, and who jilted who is unclear after an extended relationship. Just that there was this ending encounter with consent disputed. I believe Platner's claim things were consensual. Others believe otherwise, apparently. Or are willing to throw Platner overboard after Politico published as it did, however they believe things.
To scuttle an otherwise popular progressive likelihood of unseating Susan Collins in a progressive campaign that resonated greatly with Dem primary voters in Maine, on this, seems too thin, to me. With Franken there was the clowning around photo that was in truth, poor humor. But something tangible. Platner and spouse show the public a solid marriage, with nothing to suggest doubt about it. It is their candicacy, not merely his. They both embrace the chance to unseat Collins and go to DC to make the nation better. In their view of what better would be. A view I share.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
has thrown her support behind Abdul El-Sayed, the doctor and
progressive Democrat seeking the party’s nomination in Michigan’s
closely watched US Senate race.
[...]
The prevailing candidate will represent the party in November’s US midterm elections, with Democrats looking to flip control
of the House of Representatives and the Senate, away from Republicans.
Obtaining a majority in the upper chamber is widely considered to be the
tougher challenge, and retaining seats like Michigan is seen as
critical to Democrats’ wider bid to regain control of the Senate.
El-Sayed’s populist economic platform
includes banning tax incentives for companies such as Amazon, imposing
new taxes on billionaires, eliminating medical debt and strengthening
anti-monopoly laws to curb corporate price-gouging. He has also called
for an end to “blank check” military aid to Israel and other countries.
Ocasio-Cortez’s
endorsement marks her first in a competitive US Senate primary during
this midterm cycle. However, it is not her first time endorsing the
progressive candidate. In 2018, fresh off her upset over Representative
Joe Crowley in the New York House primary, Ocasio-Cortez traveled to Michigan to boost El-Sayed in his long-shot bid for governor. He lost the race to Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.
El-Sayed
welcomed the support, writing on X: “AOC has spent her career taking on
the powerful on behalf of everyday people, and she has shown all of us
what courageous, smart, values-driven leadership looks like. I’m deeply
honored to earn her endorsement. Onward to victory.”
So far, NewYork, Colorado and the midwest are showing penetration into status quo Dem political middle road inner party yuck. Reform will happen, or not, now or later. Hope endures. Medicare for all could happen in my lifetime. May I live so long.
Minnesota has an August primary, so it will be as it is, no trend setting.
Homeland Security Nazis have gone ballistic because a cancer-fighting Hmong man was pardoned by the Minnesota Pardon Board, frustrating a deportation effort. The Pardon Board is a body requiring unanimous agreement among three members, the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Nazis wanted to deport him over the State crime he committed. The pardon frustrated that. The Board was, decades ago, created over citizen unrest over pardon power exercise by a past Governor then empowered to solely make pardon decisions. So, the State's decision the Nazis do not like had that solid multi-official basis to it. (And Nazi is a personal Crabgrass description judgment, the ICE goons are not officially Nazi, just mirroring that status in ICE leadership, mood and mode of operation.)
The Hmong are with us because of the recruitment role they had as fighters for the CIA secret Laos war during Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh trail went in Laos and Cambodia parallel to the Vietnam west border. The secret war was primarily to impede traffic on the trail. And to fight the Red Scare in Laos. They were a highlands people, an isolated culture at the time, and the Laotian War ran for years. It is documented on the web for any reader wanting to research it. A General Vang was the leader of the Hmong war forces during the time. He was part of the refugee bloc settled into Minnesota and the Hmong have, to use Emmer's term, assimilated.
St. Paul, MN, has a Hmong mayor. While is Seattle a home I'd occupied was sold from an estate during a crazy pricing period for a bit ovre a million dollars to a Hmong hospital emergency room physician. The Hmong in their population segment still practice organic agriculture and nationwide are regular farmers' market vendors. That part of their original Laotian culture remains.
After the Vietnam exodus reporting from time to time was about Thai refugee camps. That was the Hmong warrior families before the nation realized responsibility for making them refugees via The War, and had the conscience to allow them to emigrate here.
A similar story applies to the Somali emigration to the US. After the US embassy bombings in Africa the CIA was tasked with tracking down two key al Quada bombing masterminds who'd fled to Somalia. The Somali Americans Emmer trashes were the one clan that was willing to cooperate with the CIA, and the two perps were hunted down and are no longer alive. Cooperation with the CIA was not a popular thing and a Somali majority at the time was hostile to the segment that emigrated to the US.
They had a culture left behind, as did the Hmong, and are assimilating as an entire community, with their start on that process being decades later than the Hmong.
Back to the Hmong and assimilation needing understanding - Years earlier closer after the abandonment of Vietnam by the nation, a housing bloc in Seattle housing recent Hmong immigrants encountered scrutiny when the Hmong group there were growing opium poppies, a normal traditional medicine in their culture. No big SNAFU, it was a simple telling them it was not allowed stateside. They conformed. It made the newspapers, and the story can be found on the web, even as it is decades old. But assimilation is the main story, and Mr. Emmer can take his Somali hate and shove it.
Also, assimilation is not an instant thing, habits take time to change. But, Bottom Line, Americans are Americans, and those of refugee backgrounds of recruitment bu and service for the CIA and have encountered homeland grief over it are owed something, the CIA cannot simply be allowed to discard its service providers as no longer of value after the CIA effort has failed. These are human being groups that put themselves at a disadvantage, for CIA pranks and fronts, and we as a nation accept tnem slowly into citizenship and prosperity, electing a mayor, med school grads, etc.
And then -- there is Mr. Emmer. Mr. Short Fuse and hate-'em as a politically charged decision Emmer. Wishing we in MN CD6, had better, we presently do not. But will.
________________UPDATE______________
This is the Trump administration specifically targeting Tim Walz. See: here and here.
Do they fear Walz as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, as more genuine and less a stiff than JD? Or are they aiming to divert attention from Trump failures and Epstein, or possibly just unable to restrain themselves while the war loss consequences are working out unfavorably to Trump/JD?
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s rejection of Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship
via executive order — a blatantly unconstitutional effort that should
have been immediately rebuked by the court — right-wingers descended
into a full-blown ethnonationalist frenzy that ventured into outright
eugenics.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller,
himself the descendant of European refugees from 20th-century pogroms
and the Holocaust, told Fox News that the Trump administration would be taking “a hard look” at banning all pregnant women from entering the country.
Miller, the architect of Trump’s most draconian and inhumane
immigration policies, complained to Fox News that “people from all over
the world from third-world nations — nations that on their own would
have never invented the wheel, let alone modern technology, let alone
medicine, let alone air travel — they can just come into the country,
have a baby, and then that baby is automatically a citizen?”
“The baby can sit on a jury when he turns eighteen, and sit in judgment
of you, and sit in judgment of me,” a hysterical Miller railed to host
Jesse Watters.
The entire world in one sense does sits in judgment of that hate filled person.
That individual caused all the pardon board special effort to save a few from the intense insensible hate Stephen Miller emanates, even without speaking.
ICE agents stake out immigration hearings for people with refugee status and round up people here
with work or student visas for minor offenses like speeding tickets,
all to get the numbers up. But these actions were not enough for Miller.
"Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?” he reportedly screamed
at ICE officials. One ICE leader protested that the agency's lead, Tom
Homan, said they're supposed to be going after criminals, not people who
are just working everyday jobs. Miller reportedly hit the ceiling,
furious that arrests aren't widespread and indiscriminate. Trump has
repeatedly implied he was only targeting criminals, but as Charles
Davis reported at Salon, that conflicts with his promise of "mass deportations." Undocumented immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates
than native-born Americans. The expansive efforts to find and arrest
immigrants in California, which kicked off the protests, appear to be a direct reaction to Miller's orders to grab as many people as possible, regardless of innocence.
For Miller, the goal of "mass deportations" has never been about law and order, but about the fantasy of a white America.
But Miller doesn't seem to care about crime. Or, perhaps he thinks
having darker skin should be a crime. For Miller, the goal of "mass
deportations" has never been about law and order, but about the fantasy
of a white America. His desire to deport his way to racial homogeneity
has always been not only deeply immoral, but pretty much impossible. His
impotence shouldn't breed complacency, however. As the violence in Los
Angeles shows, petty rage can lead to all manner of evils.
Ask Tom Emmer about Miller. Crabgrass expects Emmer would say, "A nice guy." And then talk to you about crypto.
Reacting
to the Lakers’ recent moves, Smith argued Wednesday that the Lakers had
no chance of winning a championship because their top three players
were white.
Smith said:
Where
the hell the Los Angeles Lakers think they’re going with a bunch of
white dudes? Your three top players are white dudes? Really? This ain’t
golf! This ain’t baseball! Hell, it ain’t even soccer! What do y’all
think this is? This is basketball!
In
NBA history, when have you seen your three most prominent players on a
basketball team all be white, and that takes you to the promised land?
Somebody got to say it, so I’m saying it! This is basketball. I’m not
complaining. I’m simply making the point. The Los Angeles Lakers, you
ain’t going anywhere being led by three white dudes in today’s
generation of basketball!
Smith
went on to praise the Lakers’ white players, emphasizing that he still
believed they were good. He did, however, accuse Lakers general manager
Rob Pelinka of turning the team into “white central.”
In Minnesota, this resonates, back before sports were integrated likely is when an NBA team was champion with three white guys as leading players. The Minneapolis Lakers won, back before team ownership greed moved the team to LA, when the name "Lakers" made sense in the land of 10,000 lakes.
The superstar then was center George Mican, who played wearing specacles, which is of interest too in Minnesota because of Olivia Miles rookie WNBA player tearing up the league this season while also wearing spectacles while playing. Crabgrass memory is that Jabbar wore protective goggles after too many fingers to the eyes, and Rambis was the other big league player remembered as using eye glasses. Other than those two between Mican and Miles, contact lenses seem to hold use among visually impaired high school, college and big league players.
Back to Stephan A. Smith. He's right. The NBA, like the NFL but more so features top talent being black players, disproportionately so. But there is a prejudice there, as many "black" players are of mixed race ancestry, just as Tiger Woods has been noted as an outstanding African-American golfer, while not termed an Asian-American golfer. But aside from Smith's complaint, the main feature is the three-point shot changing the game these days, and Larry Bird, whiteness and all, arguably was the best three shooter of all time. If not the best player, best trash talker. Bird had all the skills aside from highlight dunking.
And where will LeBron land with his parting ways with the Lakers? It would be his 24th year, and you hope he signs a guaranteed two-year contract, wherever he goes.
And some college players make more money then if they went pro, now that nil and transfer portal have changed the college game. Miles has a foot in the portal movement, having played an extra college year after transferring her way into the new more lucretive WNBA contract this season. Playing on a far better contract than had she gone pro last year.
And, yes. The rest of the world cares more about FIFA. But --- your blog and you can post anything you want to is the way of the web.
UPDATE: Smith actually should remember the Celtic championship days, where Bird, McHale and Danny Ainge started. He's not too young to have missed it and not too old to have forgotten. Parrish and DJ were facilitator players but the three white guys were top scorers and starters. The three played real minutes. But your center and point guard are crucial, your shooting guard less so. Thus I can cut Smith some slack. Even with his Laker bias clouding his acknowledgement of Celtic ball being a character defect.
Taiwanese government agencies conducted raids on
Super Micro offices and several local affiliated companies as part of an
ongoing investigation into suspected illegal exports of Nvidia AI chips
to China.
Bloomberg reports
that Taiwanese prosecutors expanded their crackdown on technology
smuggling operations with coordinated raids targeting Super Micro
Computer and its business partners. The Keelung District Prosecutors
Office announced that investigators searched the residences of six
individuals and facilities belonging to three affiliated companies on
Monday. According to a person familiar with the situation who requested
anonymity, Super Micro’s Taiwan office was among the locations targeted
in the operation.
The raids represent a significant escalation of Taiwan’s first major
public enforcement action against AI chip diversion to China, following
years of pressure from the United States to play a more active role in
preventing Chinese access to advanced semiconductor technology. The
United States has maintained strict export controls on cutting-edge
components, including Nvidia AI chips, due to concerns that such
hardware could enhance Beijing’s military capabilities. The vast
majority of these advanced chips are manufactured in Taiwan.
Super Micro issued a statement confirming its cooperation with Taiwanese
authorities. “Super Micro is committed to protecting our advanced
technologies and intellectual property,” the company stated. “Super
Micro products continued to be targeted in these matters, and we
continue to cooperate with law enforcement and government officials in
Taiwan and other jurisdictions in which we operate to ensure our
technology is distributed as lawfully intended.”
Under current Taiwanese law, exporting AI chips to China does not
constitute a criminal offense. Local authorities can warn potential
sellers about possible violations of US regulations, but the only legal
recourse available through Taiwan’s court system involves charging
suspected smugglers with violations of other existing local laws. Taiwan
is now considering legislation that would criminalize such exports
directly, providing prosecutors with additional tools to combat illicit
technology trade.
So, Bloomberg's story, but Bloomberg is paywalled, so Brietbart, no paywall, gets Crabgrass coverage. For readers to whom "Supermicro" is a new mention, this link.
That was a early returned item from search = Elon Musk xai memphis use of super micro hardware
Supermicro is not a small player, and it's product focus goes with those AI noise farms that nobody wants in their back yard, and which Musk after his SpaceX cash grab now talks of suitable for placement in space orbit.
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said in a written statement:
The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA
or “Agreement”) requires the USMCA Free Trade Commission, composed of
government representatives of each Party, to conduct a joint review of
the Agreement on July 1, 2026. In accordance with the Agreement, the
United States, Mexico, and Canada met virtually today to discuss the
operation of the USMCA. The United States did not agree to renew the
USMCA in its current form. As a result, the USMCA is not renewed. The
United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address
the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these
countries. However, the Agreement remains in force pending resolution of
these issues or until the Agreement’s termination. As previously
announced, the United States will meet with Mexico the week of July 20
for a third round of bilateral negotiations related to the USMCA joint
review.
Wednesday’s decision means
that the USMCA will stay in effect for another ten years, given that no
member withdraws from the trade pact. However, it also means that
yearly trade negotiations could result.
A senior administration official said that Trump “chose not to rubber stamp a USMCA renewal without addressing existing issues.”
“In other words, the United States did not agree to renew the USMCA
in its current form. So, as a result, the USMCA is not renewed.”
The official said that the president’s primary concern relates to America’s trade deficits with Canada and Mexico.
[highlighting added] The story is one that will grow legs as detail emerges.
Tucker
Carlson escalated his break with President Donald Trump and the
Republican Party on Wednesday, as he announced he’s working to launch a
new political party aimed at voters who no longer feel represented by
either major party.
“I’m going to help build a third party,” Carlson told the Columbia Journalism Review. “There should be a good-faith effort to figure out what benefits the country.”
The
move comes just weeks after the former Fox News host declared there was
“no chance” he would support the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.
“How
could I or any American voter support a political party that’s not
loyal to the United States. That puts the interests of a foreign country
above those of its own citizens,” Carlson said last month. “It’s not
possible to vote for people like that, and I’m not going to.”
The
conservative commentator has spent recent months criticizing Trump’s
foreign policy, particularly the administration’s military action
against Iran, arguing that the president has abandoned the “America
First” principles that helped propel him to office. Those disagreements
have widened into a broader rejection of the GOP, with Carlson saying he
no longer sees the party as representing his political values.
I fault that for not saying "Israel" in those paragraphs where my view of traditional journalism is of a who, what, where, when, how and perhaps, why analysis. Up front that way. Why conditional, as that can get editorial, even where choosing a person to quote on "why". And CJR is put in italics, no link. If it's your primary thing, link to it.
However, Brietbart did link, early in these opening paragraphs -
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he plans
to help build a third political party, claiming the country’s leaders
have stopped focusing on the needs of ordinary Americans.
Speaking with the Columbia Journalism Review,
Carlson said he believes there should be a “good-faith effort” to
create a political movement centered on improving life for Americans
rather than fighting over foreign conflicts.
“I’m going to help build a third party. There should be a good-faith
effort to figure out what benefits the country,” Carlson said. “I mean,
if you make $60,000 a year, you’re degraded. Your life expectancy has
gone down, and the promise of your children’s lives is likely gone. No
one seems to care. It’s not even a factor.”
He also criticized what he sees as Washington’s focus on overseas issues instead of domestic problems.
I followed the CJR link, and urge readers to not do so unless they prefer very leisurely reads. My complaint - way too long to get to things, while edtorializing in the headline in a belittling way.
You can see what Yahoo does, here and here. MSN also carries a NYPost thing, that outlet being Murdoch, so akin to Breitbart. Next quote, from the Yahoo carry of an Independent original -
Both
Carlson and Green have turned from former Trump allies to frequent
critics, claiming the president is not delivering on his 'America First'
promises. However, despite abandoning the GOP they have made clear they
have no intention of becoming Democrats.
Carlson lifted the lid on his desire to "help build a third party" to the Columbia Journalism Review, published July 1.
"There
should be a good-faith effort to figure out what benefits the country,"
he said. "I mean, if you make sixty thousand dollars a year, you're
degraded.
"Your life expectancy has gone down, and the promise of your children's lives is likely gone. No one seems to care.
So, an America First theme, and links at the start. The search return early items did not include NYT or WaPo, or Guardian. Limited coverage, that way. Breitbart was the first item giving me that Tucker news, so back to it's terse coverage:
Despite saying he wants to help build a new political party, Carlson said he has no plans to run for office himself.
“I don’t want to be a candidate,” he said.
Carlson did not provide details about what the proposed third party
would look like or when any formal effort to organize it might begin.
Carlson rejected the idea that he is ‘strategically” positioning
himself against traditional conservative media, saying his editorial
decisions are driven by instinct rather than strategy.
[...] When asked if he still speaks with President Donald Trump, Carlson
said he has cut off contact with Trump since the conflict with Iran
began.
“I haven’t spoken to him since the regime-change war began. I’m not
interested in talking to him. I feel sorry for him. He’s not a man in
charge of his own life at this point,” Carlson said.
Carlson distanced
himself from the Republican Party during the Israel-Iran conflict,
saying in June he could no longer support a party that, in his view,
puts the interests of a foreign country ahead of those of American
citizens. He also criticized the Trump administration for focusing on
the Middle East instead of strengthening ties with Canada, which he
called the United States’ closest and most important ally.
So, clearly an isolationist viewpoint. The CRJ interview item did mention Israel, but had only one use of "military," not related to size, direction, or budget.
It seems that an America First budget aimed at making lives better needs to look at money. Otherwise, what? Guns and butter, after all. Cutting Eisenhower's military industrial complex, and downsizing military academy enrollment cannot be irrelevant. The personnel kicking the can down the road come from the academies and Brigham Young ROTC, and know each other and left hand helps right per the revolving door of retired generals in the complex, flexing.
So unless such isolationist third party meandering touches reform, in a real sense and not by hand waving, it's DOA. If arriving, which is a real question.
It seems a divergent distraction from the populist progressive growth going under the Democratic Socialist approach - America First, but sensible about it, and having actual policy points such as Medicare For All.
BOTTOM LINE: Tucker is unlikely to find a coallition for a conservative isolationist approach, corporatist in mood, and unlikely to be the igniting fuse of one. As in, it ain't going to happen. Meanwhile, populist progressives are on the move, and favored for the future here at Crabgrass.
If Tucker and MTG find themselves allies and a conservative isolationist corporatist third party gets ballot access, I will believe it real, but until then, NO.
Distraction from real reform oriented growth on the move would seem to be a propagandist direction against the Mamdani effect, an aim to kill.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly one third of all corporate political spending on elections since the 2010 Citizens United decision has occurred in the current election cycle – months before the general election, a new report from Public Citizen finds.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court greenlit
direct corporate spending to influence election outcomes in 2010,
corporations have spent $1.58 billion on federal elections. In the 2026
election cycle alone, they have spent $517 million, a figure sure to
soar as the November general election approaches (these totals reference
disclosed political spending, not any contributions from Dark Money
organizations that keep donors secret).
The 2026 cycle spending already far
exceeds the $461 million corporate spending during the 2024 presidential
cycle. Driving this unprecedented surge of political spending are
crypto, Big Tech and online betting corporations. Altogether, those
three sectors are responsible for 57 percent of the corporate spending
in the 2026 midterms. The new corporate spending is going primarily to
corporate supremacist super PACs, which, unlike most super PACs,
prioritize the interests of specific corporate sectors over either major
political party or any particular candidate.
The report, “The Rise of Corporate
Supremacist Super PACs,” also finds that the biggest beneficiary of
corporate contributions besides the industry-prioritizing super PACs is
the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. MAGA Inc. received $120.6 million in direct
contributions from corporations including Crypto.com, Energy Transfer
Partners, UnitedHealthcare, and Reynold’s American.
“A decade and a half after Citizens United, corporations are starting to spend on politics like never before,” said Rick Claypool, Research Director at Public Citizen and author of the report.
“Crypto corporations shattered norms against corporate spending in
elections last cycle and now many others are following suit – and still
more are sure to follow.”
[... bolding in orininal]
This is truth. Not obsequious jingoist crap you get from Speaker Johnson, to where it gets so deep ***
Too depressing to go into detail. Follow the links.
FURTHER; Politics for fucking sale. Note the AP headline, Supreme Court strikes down limits on party spending in federal elections, backing Republican appeal
It was the moneyed millionaire party, the Republicans, who wanted the change. No surprise in that, but what continues to amaze and surprise is the fact that party has MAGA low income support. Fucking dumb people.
At least there's a glimmer of light in the recent string of Democratic Socialist successes. Some of the electorate is paying attention. Listening. Figuring things out.
Here and here. One thing out of there - Trump approval holds at 37%.
How can that many people be that delusional? 5% seems the "earned" level for the war-fucker-upper, while inflation rages. BOTTOM LINE: That performance is not worth a 37% approval rating. No way.
The Shadow Docket exists, and in a sense, ProPublica pulls the curtain aside like little Toto showing the Wizzard. The item begins:
In its term that ended last October, the Supreme Court passed an
important milestone that went unnoticed: For the first time, it decided
more cases by secret ballot, and with few signed opinions, than it did
for cases argued in open court.
These decisions, which make up the court’s “shadow docket,” are a
fast-track way to get a decision from the top court. They rarely include
arguments, have limited briefings and have expedited timetables, and
justices infrequently provide explanation of how they voted or to cite
legal precedent.
The Supreme Court’s increased willingness to bypass its regular
process has empowered President Donald Trump at the same time as the
administration has increased use of executive authority. The court has
repeatedly green-lit policies of his that lower courts have blocked —
and has done so with little to no explanation.
These emergency decisions have thrown lower courts’ processes into
turmoil and have sometimes directly contradicted longstanding legal
precedent. The outcomes have been consequential: The high court has used
the process to limit federal courts from issuing nationwide injunctions
and diminished Congress’ authority over federal agencies, and it has
allowed for the detention of American citizens by immigration agents.
ProPublica analyzed over two decades of Supreme Court rulings, which
cover all of the years under Chief Justice John Roberts and go as far
back as the online archives
allow. We found that when the last court term ended, justices had
issued 63 orders on the shadow docket, as opposed to 56 orders on the
more traditional merits docket — where the court hears oral arguments
scheduled months in advance and the justices issue signed opinions.
Legal scholars and court watchers were shocked by our finding. They
told ProPublica it’s likely the first time in modern history that so
many consequential decisions were made in secret by its nine members.
“The patterns show a court going out of its way to enable Trump,”
said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University and a
Supreme Court analyst. He said that our findings reinforce the
appearance that the justices are voting on their political preferences.
“That’s the real blow to the court’s credibility,” he said.
Representatives from the Supreme Court did not respond to a detailed list of questions.
Further in the item:
For the First Time in Two Decades, Decisions on the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Outnumber the Merits Docket
Note: Supreme Court terms run from October to October.Ken Morales/ProPublica
There are two ways to get a decision from the Supreme Court. One is
to exhaust your appeals to lower courts and ask to argue your case in
front of the high court. The justices determine whether to take the case
on, and if they do, lawyers argue their case in front of them. The
other is to petition the justices directly via the emergency docket — to
freeze a lower court ruling or government policy while the case goes
through appeal.
The appeals to the emergency docket have long outnumbered those to
the merits docket, but most are procedural requests or requests to stay
execution for capital offenses. When those are removed, what’s left is
known as the shadow docket — cases that seek to skip the usual order of
things and ask for a quick ruling from the court’s justices.
The modern shadow docket was born in 2016 when the Supreme Court
issued an emergency stay against President Barack Obama’s Clean Power
Plan, experts say. Papers obtained by The New York Times
show that liberal justices at the time urged Roberts not to decide the
case on an emergency basis because it broke with longtime precedent. The
conservative justices, meanwhile, forcefully argued that the
president’s plan would eventually be overturned by the court anyway and
that it would put too much of a burden on the energy industry.
Driven by its numerous losses
in lower courts, the current Trump administration appeals to the
emergency docket significantly more often than previous administrations,
and the court has increasingly agreed to take quick action on its
appeals.
The Obama and George W. Bush administrations together filed just
eight petitions in 16 years. The Trump administration filed 32 in 2025
alone, an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice found.
Trump would not call that abusive. Everybody else would, except for the black robed shadow operators. They are okay with it, they yield to it, and that encourages it.
The italicized part of the headline is an item quote, from here.
Follow that link for the AP video and text.
The DNC - Ken Martin policy is no thumb on the scale in primary contests.
https://democrats.org/news/ --- After the solicitations lead page is toggled off, The DNC congratulates winners of Colorado primary elections held yesterday. Now that the voting is over in the primary, contestants are set, with the goal is to flip the House and Senate.
While focusing
on affordability and holding Republicans accountable for making life
more expensive, thousands of Democrats will spend the weekend
participating in canvasses, community meetings, voter registration
drives, volunteer trainings, phone banks, and service events that reach,
engage, and mobilize working families
Today, the DNC announced the launch of a nationwide Stuff Costs Too Much Weekend of Action that will train 150 new organizers, engage thousands of volunteers, and include more than 200 on-the-ground events
throughout the country today, Saturday, and Sunday. Democratic
volunteers, organizers, and campaign staff will spend the weekend having
nearly 10,000 conversations with working families during door-to-door
canvasses, innovative voter registration drives, neighborhood meetings,
Know Your Rights trainings, service events, and phone banks. While
holding Republicans accountable for jacking up costs, the weekend will
also focus on the work Democrats are doing to make life more affordable.
In response to the launch of the Stuff Costs Too Much Weekend of Action, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
“From groceries and gas to healthcare,
childcare, rent, and utilities, everything costs too damn much under
Donald Trump and the Republicans. And to stop these skyrocketing prices
that are crushing working families, we have to stop the Republicans in
November. That’s why Democrats are launching this nationwide weekend of
action to reach, engage, register, and mobilize voters who will make the
difference in races up and down the ballot. By organizing early and
organizing everywhere, Democrats will win these midterms and get to work
making life more affordable.”
The nationwide weekend of action will
feature affordability-focused events with elected officials and partner
organizations. That includes:
[... follow the link at the start for the full item]
I was born in St. Louis, lived in Ferguson, and never have yet and hope to never assimilate into Tom Emmer's world. While young, I wondered why the Russians were our friends in WWII but then a Red Scare, and J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy were telling me how to live as an American.
I will never assimilate into J. Edgar Hoover's world. Or Trump - Epstein. Those are and will be alien worlds to me until I croak. Ditto, Emmer World.
UPDATE: The group Emmer was speaking to. The Ralph Reed kind. Who the fuck would want to assimilate into that snake pit group? Not Somali people. Not me.
Assimilate to be more like Peter Thiel Palantir? Assimilate to cartoonship, like Hegseth..
She is one of the only alleged Epstein victims to
have directly accused Trump, and irregularities in the justice
department’s handling of her case files have now become a rallying point
for critics of the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, who is the US
president’s nominee for permanent appointment.
A
federal judge in Washington last week gave Blanche until 2 July to
produce unredacted versions of files the justice department has already
released, or provide an explanation for why it cannot produce the
unredacted records. The Department of Justice was also ordered to
release interview notes related to Jane Doe 4’s allegations. The
decision was part of a civil case against Blanche brought by journalist
Katie Phang.
Over 100 current and former federal judges have sent a letter to the state’s court system raising serious concerns over acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and calling for a professional and ethics investigation into his conduct in office.
The judges allege that Blanche, who
has been serving as acting attorney general after President Donald Trump
fired Pam Bondi from the post in April, is operating with a conflict of
interest because he previously defended Trump in criminal cases.
That is particularly concerning, the
judges say, because Blanche’s day-to-day responsibilities involve
overseeing investigations into the Epstein Files, where Trump, his
former client, is referenced more than 5,300
times. Additionally, Blanche oversaw the questioning of Ghislaine
Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and co-conspirator, when he served
as a deputy attorney general in 2025 before she was suddenly transferred
to a minimum-security prison, going against the Bureau of Prisons’
policy for sex offenders.
The 73-page letter to the Attorney
Grievance Committee within the state’s Office of Court Administration,
authored jointly by the judges and legal advocacy groups Democracy
Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, expresses
doubt he’s able to carry out his legal responsibility on that matter
impartially, detailing roughly a dozen instances in which they’re
concerned Blanche has acted improperly, mischaracterized something or
violated professional ethical conduct.
It also calls into question Blanche’s participation in the recent settlement agreement that would have created a nearly $2 billion Anti-Weaponization slush fund,
suggesting that while Blanche was supposed to be representing the
people of the United States against the president in the matter, they’re
concerned he was actually providing legal advice to Trump or throwing
the case in the president’s favor.
When reached for comment, the
Department of Justice charged that the judges’ complaint is a “pathetic
stunt conjured up by activist judges” who are “desperate” for a “crumb
of attention from the liberal media.”
Yes,
the 65-year-old Republican remains the elected member of the Sixth
Congressional District. He’s also the Majority Whip, the No. 3 spot, in
the U.S. House hierarchy. He’s drawing a government check, and he’s got
fabulous federal health insurance that likely covers the knee scooter he
needs to get around the Capitol.
But
Emmer’s no longer bothering to consider a portion of his district that
includes up to 15% of the state’s Somali population, all but a tiny
percentage of whom are here legally.
Emmer’s
been in Congress since 2015 and he’s never flown higher than right now,
thanks to his allegiance to every execrable utterance from President
Donald Trump.
I’m
obligated to remind you that Emmer has signed on with Trump after the
president, with a single post on social media in 2023, spiked Emmer’s
aspirations to ascend to the speakership of the U.S. House. At the time,
Trump crowed, “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him.”
In
response, Emmer transmogrified into the president’s permanent lapdog
lest he be left off the list of bootlickers welcome at Mar-a-Lago on any
given weekend.
No spine. No value. Showing a willingness to kiss Trump's ass. On cue, no questions asked. After Trump fucked him over on the speakership chance.
And the part of the headlining Strib added to the item, "[...] defies understanding." is untrue. We can understand precisely what we are seeing and called to deal with.
A willing racist demagogue barking dog, from a start years ago as a quaint local rural man.
He won Michele Bachmann's seat, and has found a way to outdo Bachmann in venomous publicly declared hate.
With Bachmann her scapegoat was gay people.
With Emmer it is Somalis. Ilhen Omar, a well assimilated Somali woman and Democratic House colleague of Emmer responded aptly, with grace, calmly noting that Doug Chapin is seeking the MN CD6 seat Emmer currently occupies.
Chapin has proven himself a gentleman in all aspects, experienced and well able to join Omar in Congress, with their joint goal being bettering the nation after Trump, Emmer and all Trump's allied others are replaced.
One final reflection back to the editorial -
Speaking
at a “conservative town hall” sponsored by the nonprofit Faith &
Freedom Coalition in D.C. last Thursday, Emmer punched down hard.
“Minnesotans
are so afraid that you’re gonna call us ‘a racist,’ you’re gonna call
us ‘an Islamophobe,’ you’re going to call us some name, that we just
don’t want to get into that fight,” Emmer said. “You know what? I would
argue that I never did care, but I’m done being careful, even the least
bit careful.”
“They
don’t assimilate,” he continued. “And if they don’t assimilate, then
they should go the hell back to where they came from.”
I
asked to interview Emmer on the topic. In response, his spokeswoman
Sally Fox said, “That would be a total waste of his time. There’s
nothing to add, and while it may come as a complete shock to the Star
Tribune, most Minnesotans agree with Congressman Emmer.”
[...] History
shows that assimilation takes time, at least a generation, and who does
Emmer think he is to tell immigrants to give up their heritage?
Emmer’s
led a good life. He grew up playing hockey in Edina and caddied at
Interlachen Country Club. He’s married with children and grandchildren.
He has a son with a high-profile job in Congress and a daughter who’s a
broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins and the Wild.
At
the peak of his professional life, with access to the nation’s highest
office, Emmer’s focused on demeaning those with less rather then giving
them a hand up.
Is
this all just cynical performance politics to maintain his proximity to
power? [...] In 2015, he and
then-Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison created the Somalia Caucus,
which sought to push for peace and defeat al-Shabab in that East African
nation.
Ellison's kept the faith. Ellison remains who he's been.
It becomes undeniably clear Emmer set conscience aside to bare his worse racist teeth, in homage to Trump and Christian Nationalism in hope of being reelected as a racist fear-mongering regular Republican stiff. Seeking to keep a House seat by sacrifice of decency, for the Trump gutter. Emmer appears not to be as personally corrupt as Trump, but choosing to be a running dog nonetheless..
I believe in those of my neighbors who maintain the aggressive masked ICE melitiamen who invaded Minnesota for Trump and murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti have to be prosecuted. With Emmer, not surprisingly, by his absolute silence absenting himself from holding that group belief that justice be served. The man is done, as a man, even if racism reelects him. He sold out cheap. Win or lose, cheap.
We're absolutely lucky Chapin is such an exceptionally fit alternative.
Chapin, win or lose, is the better and more skilled human being.
UPDATE: The latest, Emmer reads a statement that perhaps Steven Miller wrote for him. Trashing Ilhen Omar. The unsaid part, she's got brown skin too. [CORRECTION. This item is dated April 21, 2026, months ago, and not current news. Crabgrass was in error to post it as current. Nothing current seems to be online about Emmer's assertions; see also, this April 2026 link,]
“Minnesotans
are so afraid that you’re gonna call us ‘a racist,’ you’re gonna call
us ‘an Islamophobe,’ you’re going to call us some name, that we just
don’t want to get into that fight,” said Emmer, the majority whip in the
U.S. House of Representatives. “You know what? I would argue that I
never did care, but I’m done being careful, even the least bit careful.”
Emmer, who since 2015 has represented Minnesota’s 6th Congressional
District, went on to criticize what he described as a lack of
assimilation among members of the state’s Somali community.
“And if they don’t assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from,” he said.
Emmer has previously linked Minnesota’s recent public
assistance fraud cases to members of the Somali community, drawing
criticism from opponents who argue his comments unfairly characterize
the broader community.
“I’m not afraid to stand up for what is right,” Emmer wrote in recent
candidate questionnaire response to St. Cloud LIVE. “Whether it’s
demanding answers from (Gov. Tim) Walz and (Minnesota Attorney General
Keith) Ellison about their involvement in fraud or calling out Somali
fraudsters who have ripped us off for too long, I’ll always fight for
the men and women of our great state.”
Doug Chapin, a Democrat running to unseat Emmer, released a statement Thursday night criticizing Emmer’s remarks.
“If you’re more concerned about being called a racist than about
saying racist things, you’ve lost sight of what public service is
supposed to be,” Chapin said. “The problem isn’t that people might call
you a racist. The problem is that using your position of authority to
make statements dehumanizing an entire community makes you a racist.”
FURTHER: MSN reposts a Strib item with the repost, unlike the original, open and not behind a paywall. In closing it reported -
Before Trump was elected, the first-term Republican congressman defended Somalis
against community pushback in St. Cloud. Emmer argued that as long as
they moved into the community legally, “You don’t get to slam the gate
behind you and tell nobody else that they’re welcome.”
But
a decade later and now one of the most powerful Republicans in the
country, Emmer was one of the chief defenders of Trump’s crackdown on
Minnesota’s Somali community during Operation Metro Surge.
Rep.
Ilhan Omar, Minnesota’s highest-ranking Somali politician, whom Emmer
and Trump frequently denounce, shot back at the congressman’s remarks.
“I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from,” Omar said on X, urging her followers to support Emmer’s Democratic opponent, Doug Chapin, in the midterms.
Gov. Tim Walz also condemned Emmer’s remarks on social media.
“Imagine flushing your reputation down the toilet for the privilege of being Donald Trump’s skin tag,” Walz said.
The story has earned widespread coverage and for further links or future ongoing coverage readers can find more via
web search = latest news emmer remarks about somali residents in US
The Crabgrass guess is there will be a few more legs grown onto the story, but that Emmer may survive basically, with no law to back him up, on his bare opinion of Somali legal residents in the US, that they must "assimilate" with nothing further said by what he means by the word, or what authority is relies upon in pontificating "assimilation" is or should be some requirement of immigration law or that he'd like to make it so.
Emmer's mouth ran ahead of his brain. But now he willingly owns it. He is a bigot for what he said. He refuses to modify or recant. He went beyond criticizing immigrants who violate law, as problematic, to those simply not meeting has opinion of sufficient assimilation being demons. That was wrong. Wrong headed. Wrongful speech.
He was free to say it. We are free to judge from there to who Emmer really is and whether others might handle the Congressional seat better. Leave it there for now.
FURTHER: Emmer judges his intentional remarks enhance his chance of being reelected even with Trump polling numbers plunging while Trump says the same things.
What that says about Emmer's view of people in the district is vile. That one earlier quote, the spokesperson saying Emmer thinks most Minnesotans feel as he does. That hurts beyond any healing or change.
I am as upset as anyone else that criminals taking advantage of a program to see children in the nation are well fed was concentrated out of the Somali community, but there are thousands of Somali Minnesotan Americans, living and lawful, day in and day out; and to abuse and accuse each one of them, over bad conduct of tens of bad actors within their community, is to deny fairness to human beings with each as human as I am. That is not right. There is, after all, the golden rule, and a public official should never loose sight of that burden. That's a bottom line truth.
Now, leave it there. Enough has been written here, and other news exists and requires attention. There still is an unresolved war of choice.
