The Call for Platner Is from Inside the Progressive House
Graham Platner was cultured, not natural. The progressive social media ecosystem manufactured his Senate campaign—and women wielding that ecosystem's own skills took it apart in days.
Eric Hensal
Happy Birthday 'Merica
The 250th highlights our failures in electing presidents. How a nation's fetish for the strongman president handed us Trump—and why the anniversary should be the year we start disenthralling ourselves from the imperial presidency.
Unwashed America
A million foreign fans are about to see MAGA America up close and unmediated. The World Cup won't sports-wash Trump—it may explain us to the world, and maybe turn some hatred into pity.
The Left, Right, Up, Down, In, Out of Politics
Why can't AI fix a 1993 Ford Ranger? The same reason progressives keep misreading the electorate — both fixate on one tidy explanation and ignore the messy permutations. Pew's new political typology points to a more useful picture, and some unexpected common ground.
Just Get it Running to Get Past Trump
Car-revival culture has a mantra: don't get it right, just get it running. It may also be the smartest way to think about rebuilding democracy after Trump.
Everyone a Sovereign: Fear and Self-Loathing on No Kings Day
Curmudgeon's take on No Kings Day: the protests are therapeutic. The real problem — a 45-year orchestrated attack on American political self-worth — is where we need to look.
Iran's Rope-a-Dope (and email test)
WWII proved bombing doesn't break police states. Iran's leaders know it. Their strategy: absorb punishment, blockade the Strait of Hormuz, and let economic pain end the war for them.