April 19, 2026

CHANGE:

In 2017, Mark Hemingway wrote at the Federalist, “We All Need To Admit That America Has A Tattoo Problem.”

Sooner or later, it was obvious that the most visible members of pop culture would shift in the other direction, leaving everyday people who got inked up following their lead begin to look silly. Especially: New evidence undercuts Senate candidate Platner’s claims that he didn’t know tattoo was Nazi-linked.

Deleted social media comments and an interview with an acquaintance undercut Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s claims this week that he only recently learned that a tattoo on his chest had Nazi origins.

A KFile investigation has uncovered mounting evidence that Platner — a Marine veteran— was aware of and defended the use of Nazi symbolism that had come to be embraced by some members of the military.

In one thread from 2019, Platner weighed in on a conversation about the “Totenkopf” — the skull-and-crossbones emblem worn by Nazi SS units that his own tattoo would later draw scrutiny for resembling — to note that many US service members had adopted similar imagery, such as the Punisher skull used by some Navy SEALs.

Using his longtime Reddit handle P-Hustle, the former Marine infantryman and future Democratic Senate hopeful also argued in a 2020 online discussion that “SS” lightning-bolt tattoos were a “culture” marker within Marine Scout Sniper units, not an expression of White supremacist ideology.

Earlier: Far Left Maine Senate Candidate Compares U.S. Marines to Nazi Party.

Posted at 7:45 am by Ed Driscoll

SALENA ZITO: Dr. Helen Smith’s newest book His Side is a fresh look at male alienation. “Noted forensic psychologist Dr. Helen Smith’s newest book, His Side: Men Speak Out on Dating, Marriage and Life in America, is a provocative look at the male experience. Smith uses interviews to examine how straight men are forced to navigate shattered norms in a turbulent society. Smith, who has long studied the human experience, takes the conversation outside of clinical data and brings the reader into the living rooms, workplaces, and communities of everyday men. There she uncovers the cultural fraying of the male experience in this country, one that has often been narrowed, stereotyped, and viewed with hostility. She uncovers a deep-seated ‘connective tissue’ that has been unraveled by a culture that often views the male experience through a narrow, and sometimes hostile, lens. . . . Smith’s book is a central guide for both men and women who are eager to understand navigating our modern world. The book offers great insights into men’s needs and a perspective that is clear-eyed and useful for both genders.”

You can read the book here.

Posted at 7:10 am by Glenn Reynolds

April 18, 2026

OPEN THREAD: Make it special.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

A LOT OF OLD CASES ARE FALLING APART:

Posted at 9:26 pm by Glenn Reynolds

IT’S A CLOWN SHOW WITH THE IRGC, THOUGH A DEADLY ONE:

Posted at 9:13 pm by Glenn Reynolds

LEFTY LOVE BOAT: Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla rocked by sexual misconduct allegations.

They’re going to need a bigger boat!

Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona Sunday for another anti-Israel voyage to Gaza, has been rocked by scandal after one of its woke leaders was accused of “sexual misconduct” with at least three volunteers.

“A senior leader within the flotilla — a member of the steering committee, the highest governing body of the organization — engaged in sexual relations with multiple activists while on the boat heading to Gaza. Not one person. Not two. Three different individuals,” claimed Palestinian group Heart of Falastin in a social media post earlier this week.

“To do it on the boat, while heading to a nation undergoing genocide, with volunteers who are under your authority . . . is a clear violation of ethics and power.”

One Brazilian group named the alleged horndog as activist Thiago Avila.

“On a ship carrying humanitarian aid, a Brazilian shows up with his d–k swinging and the only thing he manages to do is f–k and get arrested,” Anti Esquerda Esquerda Club, a group that describes itself as criticizing the left from the left, wrote on X Tuesday, pointing the finger at Avila — and referring to the Israeli Navy intercepting the flotilla and taking activists into custody.

It’s a shame that Saturday Night Live is no longer a comedy/satire show — a parody of the Love Boat with Greta Thunberg as “your cruise director,” alongside extras shouting “death to America” would be loads of fun.

Posted at 5:44 pm by Ed Driscoll

HE HAD A PEN AND A PHONE:

Posted at 4:47 pm by Stephen Green

RUNNING UNOPPOSED:

Posted at 4:11 pm by Stephen Green

FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION REQUIRES A FRIENDLY HEGEMON:

The world would be a much different — and much poorer — place today if it weren’t the the US Navy and, before it, the Royal Navy.

Posted at 2:43 pm by Stephen Green

SO, WE SHOULD HAVE A FORMAL DEFENSE TREATY WITH ISRAEL AND STATION THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS THERE: The latest meme among Democrats (and some Republicans) is that we should treat Israel “like every other ally,” i.e., no military aid. I think US aid to Israel is a mixed blessing for both countries, but I want to focus here on the underlying dishonesty. Yes, Israel officially gets “foreign military aid” and the others don’t. But that’s an artifact of budget shenanigans, in particular Democrats historically insisting that our military relationship with Israel be put in the foreign aid budget to help get the rest of the (unpopular) foreign aid budget passed. But the US provides massive in-kind subsidies to our other allies in the form of US soldiers stationed there and mutual defense pacts, allowing countries like Canada to freeload off US defense. And then they won’t even let the US use their bases when needed.

Posted at 2:43 pm by David Bernstein

FRAMING:

UPDATE: Sorry — messed up the embed earlier. Should be fixed now.

ANOTHER UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Heh.

Has he lost weight?

Posted at 2:10 pm by Stephen Green