“The American economy grew by 2 percent during the first three months of 2026, hardly the picture of collapse that critics of the Trump administration keep promising is just around the corner. The country has not tanked under Donald Trump, not even with tariffs in place. Trump has been accused of putting black women out of work by cutting positions in the federal government, and it is true that federal cuts have hit black women disproportionately since they have historically been overrepresented in the federal workforce. But the federal government is not, and was never meant to be, a jobs program for any single demographic, and many of the positions eliminated were not economically viable in the first place. Despite this favorable record, The Washington Post published a feature on Black America to tarnish Trump’s image.” (07/09/26)
“Democrats in Maine began jockeying Thursday to become the new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he will withdraw from the race after a sexual assault allegation. Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday. These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race: Troy Jackson … Nirav Shah … Dan Kleban … Shenna Bellows.” (07/09/26)
“The Maine Democratic State Committee has voted for a 600-person nominating convention, not a statewide caucus, as the method to select a replacement nominee for Graham Platner. Five hundred of the delegates will come proportionally from Maine’s counties, and then include the 100 state committee members. While a statewide caucus was previously seen by my sources as a likely outcome, the state committee went in a different direction on Wednesday night. I apologize for what was ultimately incorrect information. This could easily torch whatever remaining goodwill exists between the party and supporters brought into Platner’s campaign, and brings back all of the unsavoriness associated with perceived backroom dealing.” [editor’s note: So the three runners-up for the Governor nomination now run for the Senate seat; nothing changes unless they unseat Collins – SAT] (07/08/26)
Source: American Greatness
by Ned Ryun & Ed McFadden
“On the nation’s 250th anniversary, the mayor of the country’s largest city sat at a desk once used by George Washington and told Americans what was wrong with American exceptionalism. The story of this country, he said, has too often been written by people told they did not belong. Its achievements were really won by the excluded, in spite of America. Dissent, not gratitude, he intoned, is the truest form of patriotism. It was a deceptive speech, and it deserves a response grounded in facts because the argument now runs well beyond one mayor. A rising movement has made the critique of exceptionalism something close to a creed. And it rests on a lie so foundational that, once revealed, the falsehood collapses. The lie is this: that American exceptionalism means Americans are exceptional people.” (07/08/26)
“Recent Breitbart headline: ‘Report: Graham Platner Accused of Breaking Into Woman’s House, Sexually Assaulting Her; Campaign Canceled Multiple Events Over Weekend; Source: Platner Dropping Out This Week?!’ Well, let’s hope that this accusation against Platner proves to be false. It would be nice to see him drop out, but that is really irrelevant; the Democrats would just nominate somebody who, philosophically and politically, is equally rotten, but who maybe could avoid all the accusations of misconduct that have plagued Platner. Regardless of that, my question for this article is how did the Democrats become so vile as to get to a point where they would nominate people like Graham Platner in the first place? How did they sink to the putrid immoral depths they have degenerated to? And screaming, ‘Look how terrible Donald Trump is!’ is not an answer.” (07/08/26)
“This week, many eyes – at least when not glued to the World Cup soccer matches onscreen – are on Ankara, Turkey. There, the heads of NATO’s 32 member countries are gathered for the transatlantic alliance’s annual summit, amid a rather fractious atmosphere. Some 1,400 miles away, in Geneva, thousands of representatives from the United Nations’ 190-plus members are attending the first all-nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The mood there, in the search for shared approaches to safeguard against potentially negative impacts from artificial intelligence, is rather more collegial. And this same week, out of the limelight, it has emerged that quiet coordination among 59 countries has produced yet another successful crackdown on global human trafficking. The BBC reported Monday that 1,024 people were arrested and at least 2,070 individuals were aided through an operation led by Interpol, the international law enforcement network.” (07/07/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It is true that there is unfathomable cruelty in this world that will bring you crashing to your knees. And it is true that we are ruled by monsters with deeply entrenched power. But it is also true that we live in a mysterious universe whose ways are almost entirely unknown to us. And it is also true that we don’t really have any idea where humanity’s adventure is headed. … Our best scientists have produced no answers to any of life’s most significant questions, having to content themselves with a humble shrug over the most basic inquiries like why anything exists, what matter is, and what is the nature of consciousness.” (07/08/26)
“Federalist No. 62, written by James Madison, outlines the nature of the Senate and the qualifications of senators — they were older, more removed from politics, with six-year staggered terms, and meant to cool the hot-tempered passions of the House of Representatives. Guess Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and the party organizers didn’t read that one. They are recruiting senators with exactly the opposite qualifications — inexperienced, reckless, flamboyant and unstable. Platner was unqualified from Day One — he had zero life accomplishments of any note, his political viewpoints were extreme, and he had no understanding of the complex issues that a senator would need to be effective. No matter — Democratic leaders showered him with support as a new kind of TikTok Democrat. And that is typically what the left is recruiting and selling to its voters.” (07/08/26)
“Some of the most peaceful moments of my life were spent standing on the deck of a US Navy aircraft carrier just before dawn. It feels like looking over the entire ocean, into endless blue water. An aircraft carrier is massive—like a floating city on the sea—and yet you can still feel the gentle rocking from the ocean’s waves through the soles of your feet. When you breathe into this moment—the salty air filling your lungs—you’re reminded of how incredibly small you are in the grand scheme of things. The realization causes a sort of lightness and fluttering within the chest, an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all that you cannot understand. Then the day begins. The launch of the first F/A-18 fighter jet tears a sonic hole through the silent morning.” (07/08/26)
“As temperatures hit 100 degrees last week, New York City’s unconventional mayor did something pretty conventional: He urged people to use less electricity. But when Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees (a past practice of both Democrats and Republicans alike), he revealed something far more harmful than the heat index: how much Albany’s policies have driven New York City’s power grid to the point of collapse. Several factors are at play every summer. About 90% of homes today have air conditioning; as recently as the 1980s, most didn’t. Portions of the electric system are extremely old by national standards, and the sheer physics of generating and distributing the appropriate voltage and amperage to every corner of such a dense and diverse cityscape borders on the miraculous.” (07/08/26)
