Bloo

Does ATRL run better or is it just me?

The Dem base did not know Graham Platner was credibly accused of r**e because no such credible allegation was released until a few days ago.

Hopefully the box office matches the critical reception.

I wish society would move on from this insufferable app and its parent company altogether.

But the AI bros were swearing to me that it was a lie data centers were a threat to water?!

Not to make this all about Platner. But this goes back to who people perceive to be acceptable victims. The people Platner killed during his multiple tours—that he described as "thrilling" in the more nefarious Reddit posts—didn't sink his campaign, him sexually assaulting a White woman did. I'm glad the latter credible allegation tanked his campaign given who he is. But, we live in this weird culture where we somehow grant a lot of excuses for military service members to do the most evil things imaginable to people "over there" as long as it's out of sight. A politician supporting a genocide in Gaza is still less outrageous and scandalous to many because it's "over there". When it comes to Haley Stevens, somehow people will not understand why it's reasonable for people to feel unmotivated to vote for an immoral genocide enabler like Haley Stevens in the same way they fully understand why women would sit out voting for Graham Platner should he still be the nominee.

There were leftists voices that were openly skeptical of Graham Platner (e.g., Humanist Report, North Star Radio, FD Signifier). Sure, others should have known better and we can discuss how patriarchy and being in the imperial core led them to ignoring many of the red flags related to Platner—such as his multiple tours and how morally implicating it is to volunteer for so many tours. I personally am a bit leery of Ryan Grim. I’ve been leery of him for a while for being so fervently anti-DEI and anti-Affirmative Action; so him (at some point) saying the allegations against Platner are due “anti-White” bias is hilarious and makes him one of the most prime examples of a White Leftist I’ve ever seen. However, electoral politics has constraints. There will always be flawed candidates. One of the challenges of electoral is that it will always ask you to believe the story presented by flawed candidates. As we move away from establishment candidates that are board approved and groomed to be politicians from a young age, we will have more openly flawed candidates with questionable Internet history. Graham Platner was flawed with many red flags. Yes, people were wrong about him and many underestimated the red flags in question—even how some of the red flags related to his alleged ideology (e.g., he had a lot of rhetoric I hated that made me think he wasn’t as anti-war as he claimed). However, the important part is that the Left was able to move on and denounce him unblinkingly when a credible allegation of sexual abuse was dropped. So, while it’s frustrating a handful of people were rushing to argue for Platner 2028 presidential ambitions, we should extend some grace because people are desperate for hope. People cannot be expected to be clairvoyant and that something was bound to come out. There are people that seem perfectly pleasant and are sexual abusers. You cannot “see” it. It would also be a mistake to expect people to assume these things are always visible. That doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to learn. We’ll continue to unpack this candidacy when the dust is settled.

About time. He needed to do this yesterday. It doesn’t matter if it secures Maine for Collins, he needed to go. Hopefully the party nominates someone that reflects the values Maine voters voted for (though I am skeptical they will).

It's utterly ridiculous for him to make this demand when his political brand is now tarnished with a credible rape allegation. Him "naming" a successor would only tarnish their chances. Either he drops out or he effectively secures Senator Collins' reelection. I don't know the best way for him to be succeeded; there frankly isn't a smooth way to do it. Maybe it should be his campaign staffers that get in contact with someone (e.g., Jackson) to install in place of Platner. But, he can't be too involved with that decision.

Me: "I personally don't like this thing." You: "Sounds like a personal problem." Please read with some patience and attention to detail. Nowhere did I say this is a "problem"; I just stated a personal opinion expressing how I feel when I hear these two incredible women referred to by their spouse's surnames.

Somewhat unrelated... but I really don't like Taylor or Beyoncé being referred to by the surnames of their spouses... it feels so wrong to me. I know Beyoncé has leaned into it in shared artistic efforts in both touring and her own musical releases (e.g., "Lemme hear you say, 'Hey, Mrs. Carter!'"), but it still feels weird. Both Beyoncé and Taylor outshine their washed purse carriers.

The Platner campaign apparently put out a new job posting today..? https://www.daybook.com/job/research-director-urgently-hiring-kwukMifZhzcDmWiAg

I am a Kelly Clarkson stan; I love my retired television talk show host.

Y’all better be ready to start 365 party girl bumpin’ that