Angus Johnston

Seems to me that if you're upset that there's not more of a student movement fighting fascism in 2026, the first place to direct your anger is the people who crushed the wave of student organizing that crested in the months immediately preceding the fascists' rise to power.

Charlie Kirk was shot during an audience Q&A. I swear that the following transcript is real. Question: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?" Charlie Kirk: "Counting or not counting gang violence?" He was shot a split second later.

One thing about never-Trump Republicans, during Trump II particularly: They understand that the world they knew is dead. They have no investment in either reviving the former GOP (because they understand it's impossible) or maintaining the pre-2016 Democratic Party (because it's not their party).

“When you look at the factors weighing down Democrats, it’s not crime or trans rights or wokeness. It’s the deep-seated belief among independents and Democratic voters that Democrats are weak and feckless.”

Yep. And honestly, I feel like I deserve a medal for not publicly copyediting that monstrosity.

I've had a LOT of replies to my Platner posts over the last few days, and it looks like we're not quite done with him, so I'm just gonna say this for the record: Guys—and by guys I mean dudes specifically—nobody needs your dark sardonic rape jokes about Graham Platner. Just leave it be.

Platner is playing games with his withdrawal, as I suspected he might. But the state party and the candidates to replace him are handling that just as they should—by shrugging and saying they're not stressing about it.

My replies, any time I make even oblique reference to the upcoming Maine nominating convention:

The Graduate (1967)

Devastating NYT review of the many massive failures of the Platner campaign. And it makes clear once again that the Schumer intervention on behalf of Mills is what made it possible—in a robust multicandidate race, he would have been toast.

Yep. And though I think Kamala's ascension was both necessary and proper, given the circumstances, it's clear that that precedent was weighing on the minds of the Maine Dems here.

They want as broad-based and public a process as possible, for at least three reasons: 1. Get eyeballs on, and visibility for, the ultimate nominee. 2. Achieve the fact and/or the perception of an inclusive process. 3. Deprive Platner of a pretext for staying in.

I strongly suspect that part of the thought process behind the convention idea was that it'd allow for multiple rounds of voting in order to produce a candidate with majority support from the delegates.