Law, Power, and Justice

7/16/26 Thursday

Nicolle Wallace

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Democrats have a chance of winning Texas. As one person said, Talarico is out-bible-ing the Republicans. The race is 47% to 47% at the moment. Paxton is running a campaign where he is not on the trail. On July 4, he was spotted in London.

There is a storm coming in over the marsh. The birds are already at the bird-feeder, filling up before the rain starts. We have a lot of cardinals and a lot of titmice in our yard. We have one pair of pileated woodpeckers and from time to time some doves. The cats watch them from the catio downstairs, from the patio upstairs and from the living room window. It’s like Cat TV, they love it.

Friday Morning 17 July 2026

I got up around 3 AM, but the cats wouldn’t stop fighting and grumbling about each other so I gave up around 5 AMand fed them. Pete was so fed up with Sam, he spent probably ten minutes, ten minutes voicing his unhappiness with Sam. It was like an oration, different sounds, words, phrases. I tried to get it on video, but by the time I got set up, he had finished and curled back up on the day bed in the library where we spend our time when I get up early.

They are all outside now, hiding under limbs, ambushing each other, rolling in the dirt, in short, having a wonderful time.

Trump gave his speech last night, the prelude for his “I’m stealing the election” speech to be given in November. He went back through all the “the election was stolen” accusations citing no evidence. The man has no idea what evidence is.

Shorts:

· The cyclosporiasis outbreak that is causing serious diarrhea is evidently being caused by the supplier of lettuce for Taco Bell (Washington Post).

· Coca Cola is suspending it’s U.S. product after a cyber attack (Atlanta Journal Constitution). (Note: What’s that all about?)

· Protests continue in Ukraine over Zelensky’s sacking of the defense minister (The Guardian).

· Trump has fired another U.S. attorney (The Washington Post).

· Tillis threatens to hold up his vote until Blanche talks to the survivors. What good this does I have no idea. The survivors felt no sympathy or understanding (CBS News).

· Politico calls it “death by a thousand cuts,” the attack by Trump on voter confidence.

MAINE – PLATNER

ARTICLE: “Maine Democratic Senate candidates discuss which of Platner’s ideas they would use.” (7/17/26) (NBC News).

· Troy Jackson – Medicare for all, no tax cuts for the wealthy, prescription drug coverage, .

· Shah – Abolish ICE (“how many more people must die?”, “we must abolish ICE.”

· Jordan – Human rights, two state solution, fighting genocide, conditions on aid to Israel,

· Bellows – Democracy has been corrupted by those in power, corporations, billionaires, Medicare for all, ICE out of Maine, the harm of Oct. 7 and the genocide.

NOTE: There is something vicious, personal, and gleeful about the way many in the press have chosen to try to essentially destroy Graham Planter. In addition, there is a conflation of his political ideas and his personal behavior, people saying: “See, you nominate a left-wing candidate, this is what you get, a rapist.” I don’t like it and I especially don’t like the fact that women and Democrats are going along with it. The following article is an example of the behavior, but it is only one example.

ARTICLE: “Good Riddance to Graham Platner.” (7/9/26) Reason.

· “Platner was a deeply flawed candidate with no special qualifications to serve in office and a long history of bizarre behavior: from the Nazi tattoo to the edgy Reddit posts to the alcoholism and mistreatment of past girlfriends.”

· He was also running on a “far-left platform of dubious electoral viability.” While primary voters are willing to “select socialist and quasi-communist political figures, though that probably reflects anger at the party establishment rather than specific enthusiasm for seizing the means of production.”

· “Whether statewide voters in a general election are excited about socialism remains to be seen.”

· “Plattner did not identify as a democratic socialist, but his entire campaign was geared around supposed populist outrage at oligarchs and the Epstein class, whoever that is. Indeed, when Plattner initially came under scrutiny for alleged violence towards women, he announced that this was a concerted effort by the Epstein class to get rid of him. His platform reflected the progressive left’s notion that very wealthy people are responsible for all of the misery in society and they need to be destroyed.”

· “Working class people. Should be more than a little offended that a cabal of far left Democratic consultants. Morris Katz and Rebecca Katz (no relation) seemed to deserve most of the blame. Decided that their own idiosyncratic crusade against billionaires would serve just fine as a policy agenda to appeal to working class voters. All they needed was a rough around the edges sort of guy with a deep voice and a pinch for violence. That’s downright insulting.”

· “Set Good riddance to Plattner and, with any hope, good riddance to the class of political operatives who see socialism as both the solution to the world’s problems and the obvious winningest campaign strategy.”

Article: “Democrats have a process for replacing Graham Platner. It’s controversial.” (7/16/26) Slate.

· This is arguably the most important race in the country.

· Troy Jackson – ran for governor, progressive former state senator. Ran for governor with Sanders’ endorsement. Positioning himself as heir to Platner’s progressiveness.

· Nirav Shah – former Biden CDC official

· Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state. She got trounced by Collins in 2014.

· Dan Kleban – brewery owner, counting on outsider as best bet for him.

· David Costello – environmental consultant

· Jordan Wood – former congressional staffer, first ran for Senate, then for the House and is now back in the Senate race

· Ashley Webb – trans woman

· Joesph Leveille

· Paige Loud – already dropped out.

· The candidates must submit at least 500 signatures, including 50 from at least half the state’s counties by Tuesday.

· All 16 counties will hold meetings to elect a number of delegates based on primary turnout.

· 601 delegates including 101 from the state party’s governing body will convene on Jly 25 and vote on a nominee.

· Many people are not happy with the process. It seems insider based and many Platner supporters fear it won’t reflect Platner’s progressive policies.

· When Loud withdrew she called it a “political

· chess match” aimed at delegates rather than voters.

· People who hadn’t registered with a party could vote in the primary that chose Platner, only registered Dems can vote for or serve as delegates to replace him.

· The debate was last night.