A Nation Divided Against Itself

/

NYC slouches towards Armageddon

Greenwich real estate agents (should) celebrate, for now, but the Red States beckon. It’s only worth staying in proximity to NYC for so long as there’s something to stick around for

Matt Vespa, PJMedia on the new face of the Democrat party:

They were expected to have a great night, and they did. The candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani all won. The socialists swept the race. While the national Democrats are Trump-deranged and focused on stopping the MAGA agenda, they have a serial killer hiding within their walls—and it’s wearing a Che Guevara shirt, with a copy of Das Kapital in its back pocket. And while this political killer is no fan of Trump, they want to take out the establishment Democrats first. This party got a reality check tonight: they might have to spend heavily to keep these people out, because the candidates that are winning these primaries are whack job city.

Good news, at least temporarily, for Greenwich real estate sales, because our Hartford Loonies seem content with running the state on a Mandamni Lite agenda, so we’ll continue to look relatively attractive to those NYC refugees who, for now, can’t flee farther away from the coming apocalypse. But down the road? These seems a good time to refer to an article posted yesterday by PowerLine’s John Hinderaker. My only quibble? He refers to “socialism”, and while that may be what the proletariat thinks it’s voting for, these DSA candidates, Platner in Maine, NYC’s new governing body, call for the abolishment of private property, confiscation of “the means of production”, and “workers rule”; that’s what’s coming, and that will be the end.

Our Socialist Fellow-Citizens

The gulf between Republicans/conservatives and Democrats/socialists has grown to the point where it may be unbridgeable. Check out these recent poll data from CNN. Democrats are now firmly in the socialist camp:

How do two parties jointly govern a republic when one of them wants to establish a completely different economic system–a system which is not only intrinsically evil, but which always leads to tyranny? We once were able to compromise our differing views of what would be optimal marginal tax rates. But how do you compromise our insistence on freedom with their yearning for socialist servitude?

The only parallel that our country’s history offers is the conflict over slavery that resulted in the Civil War. Arguably that conflict was more amenable to peaceful political resolution than the one we face now, since we theoretically could have continued for a long time as a nation composed of some free states and some slave states. That is, in fact, what happened for around 70 years. But in today’s world, there isn’t any way to have an economy and a legal system that are half free and half socialist.

There is one obvious positive resolution of the current crisis–a thorough repudiation of the Democratic Party at the polls. But that doesn’t seem to be happening. The Democrats have generally done well in elections in 2025 and 2026, and they probably will do well again in the midterms. What, then, will deter them from continuing down the socialist path? A brutal drubbing in 2028. But at present, there is no reason to expect that result.

So before long, we may have to confront the question whether a nation can long endure, half socialist and half free.

UPDATE: Just to beat this dead horse further …

JOHN FUND: The rise and rise of America’s radical left.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed three fellow socialists in the New York City Democratic Congressional primaries and all three won last night.

Democratic incumbent Dan Goldman lost to Brad Lander, who was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America until 2023. DSA Member Claire Valdez won nomination for a Brooklyn House seat.

But the eyepopper is the victory of Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old DSA member and PhD graduate student, in East Harlem and the Bronx. She defeated Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and will easily become the most radical House member since Vito Marcantonio of the American Labor Party represented the same area in the 1940s.

The night before his election in November, Zohran Mamdani filmed a video honoring his “radical” hero, Marcantonio.

Chevalier’s views would send even Marcantonio into orbit. DAC – as she will inevitably be dubbed – is so ideologically extreme that Jeff Maurer, a former writer for unrelentingly left-wing comic John Oliver’s HBO show, is gobsmacked by her. Maurer began his latest Substack post by announcing “My challenge is to find words to describe just how bonkers this Cirque du Soleil-level s—show truly is.”

DAC has called for abolishing police, prisons, and borders. As recently as last week, she refused to back down on those views when given an opportunity: “All deportations are wrong,” she says, even for those convicted of a crime.

She co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the militant student group behind the violent 2024 occupation of Columbia after the Hamas attacks in Gaza the year before. CUAD is explicitly anti-Enlightenment: “We are Westerners fighting for the eradication of Western Civilization. We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South. Our intifada is an Internationalist one…”

Chevalier called the United States “a f—— disgrace,” and referred to the US as “occupied” Native American land. She’s written favorably about communism and seizing “all properties from landlords.”

She has criticized Bernie Sanders and AOC for being too pro-Israel, and is known as a key leader in the “left of AOC” faction of Democratic Socialists of America.

Seen on X:

Moron Platner

/

Maine Democrats (all Democrats, actually) are just fine with a communist senate candidate who despises America, but not all that long ago the party at least pretended to honor veterans and their service. I don’t believe that’s still the case, so the unearthing of still more Graham Platner quotes won’t lessen their enthusiasm, but it should.

Graham Platner Endorsed Comment From 'RevolutionaryCommie' Calling America a 'Disgraceful Country': 'I'm an American, and I Can't Disagree'

The since-deleted Reddit post came in the wake of the Iranian terror chief Qassem Soleimani's death

In the wake of the U.S. strike that took out longtime Iranian terror chief Qassem Soleimani, a Reddit user posting under the handle "RevolutionaryCommie" denounced America's "ghoulish" and "disgusting" response to Soleimani's death, writing, "They are a disgraceful country." The comment earned an endorsement from left-wing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who responded, "I can't disagree."

The remark from "RevolutionaryCommie" came in response to an original post highlighting President Donald Trump's famous American flag tweet sent after the January 2020 strike killed Soleimani, then the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans during the Iraq war. The self-described communist Redditor took issue with the "responses to the tweet: the racism, the cheering death, the calling for more killings, the mocking of the dead," calling it "the most ghoulish and disgusting thing I've ever seen. They are a disgraceful country." Platner, using the alias "P-Hustle," responded with his endorsement.

"I'm an American, and I can't disagree with you tonight," he wrote.

The comment, which has not been previously reported, is the latest in a series of remarks from Platner denigrating the United States and its military veterans.

Months before his Soleimani-inspired remark, in June 2019, Platner—who also referred to himself as a "communist" on Reddit—denigrated a Purple Heart recipient, Teddy Daniels, who was shown in a then-viral video being shot by Taliban fighters amid a firefight in Afghanistan. Daniels had purposely moved into open fire to draw attention away from his fellow soldiers. Platner called him a "dumb motherf—er" who "didn't deserve to live."

"This video never gets old," Platner wrote. "Dumb motherf—er didn't deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban's part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home."

Years later, in May 2024, Platner appeared on the podcast Green Beret Chronicle Show to expand on comments he originally posted to Reddit accusing members of Task Unit Bruiser, the legendary Navy SEAL unit that included widely regarded war hero and "American Sniper" Chris Kyle. Platner suggested Kyle shot innocent civilians to inflate his kill numbers, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

"[Kyle's] stories about how many people he was shooting certainly tracked with the behavior we, I, witnessed," said Platner, who served in Iraq but said he "didn't know" the members of Task Unit Bruiser. "It's relatively easy to get high numbers like that if you're, if you're a little less discriminating in your fire than, say, a more professional unit would be."

…. …..

Indeed, Platner has said plenty, most notably in comments posted to Reddit under his since-deleted "P-Hustle" account. In addition to calling himself a "communist," Platner wrote that rural white Americans "actually are" racist and stupid and that rape victims should "take some responsibility."

….[T] he polling gap between Platner and Collins has shrunk. Platner faced a fresh wave of criticism after the New York Times reported on his troubled relationships with women, most notably quoting an ex-girlfriend who accused Platner of physical abuse and said he boasted of deliberately choosing his infamous "Totenkopf" tattoo—a skull-and-crossbones symbol associated with the Nazi SS—because he found it "relevant" to his military unit. A recent poll from Quantus Insights found that Platner now leads Collins by just 1 point.

Platner's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Oh, the HUMANITY! Except ...

/

Hey Grok, is swimming allowed in the reflecting pool?

No. Swimming was photographed in the Reflecting Pool shortly after it opened in 1926, and informal wading occurred at times (e.g. 1960s events), but it was never officially allowed as recreation. NPS rules have long prohibited swimming, wading, or bathing in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (and similar memorial waters) to protect water quality, the historic structure, and its purpose as a reflecting pool—not a swimming hole. 

Current enforcement isn't new.

— Grok (@grok) June 23, 2026

Comment to Western Lensman’s post:

I've also heard that school children are no longer permitted to ride the pandas at the National Zoo. If you needed convincing that a dark night of authoritarianism has descended upon our nation, look no further.

A land sale, unfortunately

/

The home of our late First Selectman Dick Bergstresser at 200 Old Church Road has been placed on the market today, priced at $2.150 million. Built in 1925, there doesn’t seem to be much left to preserve — certainly, the listing makes no claim that there is. The Bergstressers were in their 90s when they passed, Dick in 2025, and Jean in 2026, and the house sort of reflects that.

Our long, national nightmare is finally over

/

105 Woodside Drive, Milbrook, $6.750 million

Well, okay, that may be overstating the matter just a tiny bit, but 105 Woodside Drive has finally sold, and to a Manhattan refugee (Zip 10010). It’s been a long road.

Purchased for $5.340 million in 2007, these owners priced it at $6.550 million and placed it back on the market in 2011, where it sat, unloved, for 720 days until the listing was allowed to expire in 2013. Renovations were performed, and it reappeared on the MLS at $6.925 million in 2021. When that effort failed, they tried again in September 2025, originally at $7.950 and reduced to $6.995 this past March, when a new agent was brought in. All respect due to that agent, Ellen Mosher, who’s one of the best, but I suspect it was the price that finally produced a buyer — that’s usually the case.

I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you — who could imagine an educator looking like this would ever do such a thing?

/

NY school board VP allegedly kept videos of infants being sexually abused on his phone

The vice president of an upstate New York school board was arrested for having several videos of infants being sexually abused on his phone, according to authorities.

Travis Barr Longo, 46, of Cazenovia, was cuffed on child pornography charges after state troopers seized his cellphone and discovered “numerous” videos and photos depicting sexual abuse on Thursday, according to the US Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of New York.

Longo, who serves as the vice president of the Cazenovia Central School District’s Board of Education, received the vile content from other users on an internet-based messaging app, prosecutors said.

The sicko appeared in federal court on Saturday and was ordered held behind bars pending further court proceedings.

His mugshot, released by state troopers, captured Longo with thick eyebrows and what appeared to be makeup smeared all over his face.

And here’s more bad news: no Gay Pride festival this year; no bouncy castle where, deep in the dungeon, counselors from Cazenovia Pride’s PTA could help children discover and explore their inner selves. Bummer.

He also founded Cazenovia Pride Fest, which evolved into the organization Cazenovia Pride, WSYR reported. Members of the group have decided to cancel the upcoming Pride festival in light of the serious accusations against Longo.

“I feel betrayed,” Danielle Synborski, the group’s president, told the outlet. “This organization is because of the work that Travis did to start the festival six years ago, and we saw a need that our non-profit could meet.”

The school board vice president also performed in drag under the name Anita Buffem, and claimed to be “the 1st Drag Artist elected to official position in U.S.” on his Facebook profile, the outlet reported.

You might wonder how and why voters in Cazenovia placed this person on their school board, but I’m sure they had their reasons; I couldn’t possibly say.

Related: Syntax is everything.

Old Greenwich School Celebrates Graduating Seniors with Inaugural “Parade of Pride”

Whew! No Cazenovia here, thank goodness.

Pending on Vista Drive — no, not the Donald's former house, that's farther down the road , on better waterfront

/

tidal waterfront, so you won’t be tying up your yacht here (I suggest you make friends with your new neighbors at 21 Vista), but canoe and kayak enthusiasts will enjoy the opportunity to boat here 6-hours a day.

2 Vista Drive, now just an empty lot with a guide price of $7.995, reports a pending contract. The owners paid $6.2 million for it in 2019, tried to resell it for $6.999 in 2020 but got nowhere, and went nowhere. So they razed the existing structure and tried again in 2022 at $8.995. Four years and a price cut to $7.995 and they’ve found their buyer.

Update: Closed today (6/23/26) at $7.825

In this market it doesn't matter what you say about a house or how badly you say it; if the price, structure and location are right, it'll go

/

34 1/2 Orchard Street, a rear lot, as the address might suggest, was listed at $1.895 million in May and has sold to a Long Island City couple (hey, I’d leave there, too) for $2,022,000. The owners tried for $1.795 million in 2023 and dropped it to $1.590 before giving up that year. It was worth their wait.

The listing agent will win no Pulitzer here, unless there’s a category for real estate cliches, but she did get the commission, so what does she care?

If your wishlist sounds something like: ''Greenwich, updated, bright, great for entertaining, and close to everything'' than 34 1/2 Orchard St. in beloved Cos Cob is what you've been waiting for. Nestled on a 1/4 acre, this stone & sustainable shingle colonial feels welcoming from the moment you enter.

Just out of curiosity, what do you suppose a “sustainable shingle colonial” is?

This shrieking, howling, deranged woman and her sisters in hate are the new face of the Demcratic Party

/

David Strom, HotAir: Progressives Letting Their Freak Flags Fly Is Ugly to See

The beauty of being a communist is that you need not express yourself in a manner more intelligible than an inarticulate howl, and that is precisely what they are doing right here. 

No need even for words. All you need to do is sound like a Muslim woman in mourning while chasing somebody you dislike, and you count it a political win. And, perhaps, it IS a political win, since it succeeds in silencing your opponent and driving him off the rhetorical battlefield. 

And here’s their candidate, Darializa Avila Chevalier:

Chevalier is about as radical as you can be without having put a capitalist pig against the wall and shooting them, which explains why she was a leader for Students for Justice in Palestine as a PhD candidate at Columbia, and why she was a key figure in Zohran Mamdani's campaign. 

She doesn't believe that murderers belong in jail, and she hates the merely left-wing Democrats with almost as much passion as she does Republicans or Jews, since we are all easy to lump into the same non-communist category. Unsurprisingly, she is very much in the Graham Platner camp, and gets defended by the same people who are head over heels for him. 

It's difficult to overstate how insane her positions are, and by extension those of the Mamdani and even Bernie Sanders supporters. Mamdani and Sanders are holding rallies for Chevalier and the two other primary challengers in New York that Mamdani is trying to help get over the line, including Dan Goldman's challenger. 

The Democrat Socialist/Democrat Senatorial candidate is leading in Maine, Mamdani is already installed as mayor of the country’s largest city, and a majority of the next generation of votes have been thoroughly indoctrinated since Kindergarten and are ready to go:

According to a recent Heartland Institute/Rasmussen Reports poll, nearly 60% of likely voters age 18 to 24 want a Democratic Socialist in the White House in 2028.  

Mandani captured 78% of under-30 voters in November, per an ABC News exit poll.

The Democratic Socialists of America, once the haven of radical retirees reliving their 1960s glory days, is now powered by the young: DSA saw its membership’s average age plunge from 68 to 33 in the last decade.

Blame the leftist indoctrination in K-12 schools and in universities for this socialist and communist enthusiasm.

A staggering 62% of voters age 18 to 29 hold a favorable view of socialism, and 34% favor communism.

That’s what they’re being taught.

CoolKid Facts, a popular education website aimed mainly at elementary-age students, teaches kids that communists believe “the state should provide every citizen with their basic needs . . . and no one is above anyone else.”  

…. In New York state social studies classes, communism and socialism are presented as two economic systems that make things more equal and fair — again without discussing the atrocities that go hand in hand with property confiscation.

….

[Bernie Sanders [and most of Democrats, including CT’s Chris Murphy] want to sieze half (for now) of Elon Musks’s wealth, actual and paper, and bring it to Washington to be distributed as they see fit.]

His flimsy justification: “Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity.”

Sorry, senator — all inventions and breakthroughs are built on the knowledge that’s come before. 

The same argument could rationalize demanding half the stock of a biotech company that produces a cancer cure, or a musical composer who writes a hit. [It will, it will; remember Obama’s “you didn’t build that?]

…. Sanders’ bill is going nowhere while there’s a Republican majority in Congress — but ignore it at your peril.

It’s a warning: Outright confiscation is the left’s latest scheme to remedy inequality and pay for ever-expanding public benefits. 

….

And New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani agrees: He warned us at his inauguration that he’d introduce New Yorkers to the “warmth of collectivism.” 

His new Block by Block housing plan proposes seizing apartment buildings from their owners to give them to what he calls “responsible stewards,” including tenants — another outrageous attack on property rights.

Pay attention to how fast Democratic Socialist candidates spouting collectivism are making headway.

This week’s primaries produced outright wins or runoff advancements for more than a dozen Democratic Socialists-backed candidates in five states.

…..