Every so often in American politics, a potent issue arises that many voters feel very strongly about, but which neither major political party is willing to tackle (or even address). Call them "political orphan issues," since they have essentially been abandoned by both parties, for whatever reason.

Gay marriage was such an issue, a while back, since while Democrats were a lot more sympathetic to gay people in committed relationships than Republicans, very few Democrats were actually willing to stand up and champion full marriage equality for all until after the Supreme Court stepped in and decided the issue. Then it became politically safer to support gay marriage, but this was nothing more than volunteering for a fight that had already been won -- too little, too late, in other words. There are other political orphan issues from the past few decades that spring to mind, but the one that is currently growing like wildfire in the American electorate is opposing the so-far-unchecked explosion of data center construction.

This is currently a truly nonpartisan issue -- that's a very important thing to say, right up front. People opposed to data centers being built in their towns can be full-on MAGA Trump supporters or Democratic Socialists -- ideological labels don't matter on this issue, because the complaints people have about data centers are a lot more personal and immediate than national politics. It could be seen as a variation of the "NIMBY" reaction ("not in my back yard"), but as I said, the labels don't really matter much. What does matter is the white-hot rage people feel, from both the left and the right.

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Donald Trump has ramped up his war of choice once again, bombing Iran on a nightly basis while Iran launches missiles at U.S. military installations and other targets in the region. Sadly, four more American soldiers lost their lives as a result of all this crossfire. And the war seems to be escalating, as the Houthis in Yemen have now entered the fray by blocking the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea to any Saudi ships. All of this has caused oil prices to spike above $100 per barrel once again, and gas prices here in America to spike to over four bucks a gallon once again.

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What was expected to be a free-for-all contest among Maine Democrats instead turned into a coronation this weekend. After Graham Platner ended his campaign to take on Senator Susan Collins in November, Maine's Democratic Party only had a couple of weeks to name a replacement to appear on the ballot instead of Platner. They could have used any method they wanted to select a new nominee, and the method they settled on led to an anticipation of a messy convention fight. Instead, what happened was one candidate essentially swept the field of challengers and will now (barring any unforeseen problems) be officially named the new Democratic Senate candidate at the party convention next weekend.

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The midterm congressional elections will happen in early November, which is now less than four months away. Trump has already been making drastic moves (such as firing all the members of a federal elections security board) seemingly designed to sow chaos (or worse) when the ballots are cast. Which is why tonight's speech is so worrisome. And which is why I felt the need to run the following column again. Trump's Big Lie is poisonous to American democracy, which is why I am not exactly looking forward to tonight's speech.

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Up until now, some Democratic worries about the upcoming midterm elections have been dismissed by the "It could never happen here" crowd as unfounded nightmares. They pooh-pooh such worries as being laughably outlandish and accuse people who express these worries for overreacting about things that couldn't possibly happen right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. But this week should make such scenarios a whole lot less laughable and a whole lot more worrisome.

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Last week, we warned everyone that July was going to be a sketchy month for us, in terms of our ability to write these Friday columns. So we begin today with a program update. Today's offering is not a complete Friday Talking Points column. It is bare-bones, at best. We're not even really going to attempt reviewing the past week, and we're also not going to write out talking points at the end (although we did complete the two awards sections). Just to warn everyone up front.

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As of this writing, Graham Platner has still not officially dropped out of the Maine Senate race. That may have changed by the time you read this, however, because he is reportedly going to make some sort of announcement tonight. Everyone knows what he's going to do already, though. So the two big questions before Maine Democrats now are: who is going to replace him, and how will the replacement candidate be selected?

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Once again, the state of Maine is now on the center stage in the American political spotlight. Yesterday, a bombshell report was published with an accusation that Graham Platner -- the Democratic nominee for the Senate race who was going to face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November -- had raped his then-girlfriend only five years ago. Some are calling it "date rape," but at this point quibbling over semantics isn't the important part. The question now is when Platner will bow to the inevitable and drop out of the race, and who will replace him on the ballot?

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Tomorrow, America will celebrate 250 years of independence. That sounds like a long time, to Americans at least. It is a laughably short period to those who live in places with much longer histories, however. Travel around Europe or other foreign lands and you will see ruins and remains that sometimes date in the thousands of years. So while a quarter-millennium is impressive to us, to people who live near (for instance) Roman aqueducts that date to the time of Christ aren't quite as impressed.

Nevertheless, 250 years of one form of government that has endured throughout (well, except for the Articles of Confederation period, which is always conveniently forgotten) is something definitely worth celebrating. The question many are asking at this moment in time is how much longer the same form of government will endure in the future -- will the United States of America still be recognizable in another 100 years? Or 50? Or even five years?

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Once again, it is time for my annual remembrance of the actual facts, rather than the myth that everyone in the country celebrates (a myth that was actually created and endorsed by the Founding Fathers, but no matter...). So join me in lifting a glass in honor of John Adams (and his letter to his wife Abigail), and celebrate with me today the real 250th anniversary of America declaring its independence from the British king!

Originally published on July 2nd, 2012

Happy Second of July, everyone! Happy Independence Day!

Now, you may be thinking: "Has Chris gone bonkers? Why is he jumping the gun, two days early?" The answers to these important queries are: No, Chris has not gone any more bonkers than usual; and, in fact, the rest of you are celebrating a fictitious event on a fictitious anniversary date. So there.

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