Flotsam and Jetsam - Anthony Karemelo Guilty, Graham Platner Wins Primary

I've been largely avoiding the story of Karmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf. It's pretty much a tragic story, not unlike many around the country. The facts are not much in dispute. At a high school track meet, Karmelo went to the tent of another team where Austin Metcalf was. He was asked repeatedly to leave, and refused to, whereupon Austin gave him a shove. Karmelo then pulled a knife out of his backpack, and stabbed Austin in the heart. Austin died. There are a couple more relevant facts; Karmelo is black, Austin was white, and this occurred in Texas, so, of course, the case has become a touchstone of racial politics. Karmelo's defense argued for self defense but he was tried and yesterday convicted of murder, by an all white jury (three black teachers were struck from the jury, on the grounds that teachers are notoriously biased against the prosecution), and sentenced to 35 years in prison by the jury. This case may be the excuse Demorats use to riot all summer long. If I were on the jury I would have argued for manslaughter and a lighter sentence, but then, I wasn't on the jury, and I'm not from Texas. There were demonstrations (from both sides) at the courthouse, and a bit of pushing and shoving, resulting in arrests. Stacy McCain says GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! "Murder is still against the law in Texas." Matt Margolis at PJM, We Have the Verdict in the Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial. Sundance at CTH, Karmelo Anthony Found Guilty of Murder – Professional Black Grievance Activists Very Upset. Ace, Breaking: Psychopathic Race-Murderer Karmelo Anthony Convicted of Brutal Killing of Innocent Athlete, "Protesters," Get This, Begin Punching People; Police Are Arresting the Thugs, "Washington Times:" End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Karmelo Anthony supporter: "What do I tell my 5 boys? What do we do now!?" Uh… don't murder?" From Twitchy, 'THIS IS A WAR': Here Are More Reactions to the Karmelo Anthony Murder Verdict. Hat Hair's John Sexton cites the Washington Post: The City Where Karmelo Anthony Murdered Austin Metcalf is Bigoted. Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog, "Whether or not there is mass rioting in response to a Karmelo guilty verdict depends entirely on whether or not the Democrat Party (who would have to fund and organize it, like they always do) thinks that Karmelo is a sympathetic and useful martyr for them. I don’t think he is. Even by the very low standards established for this kind of thing." OTH, he is a much more sympathetic subject than George Floyd and Freddie Gray. 

Dave Catron at Am Spec notes Afflicted With TDS, Four Senators Kill Election Integrity "Why Murkowski, McConnell, Collins, and Tillis sided against a popular voter-ID and proof-of-citizenship bill." Jeff Charles at TownHall, This GOP Holdout Is Now on Board With the SAVE America Act, Collins. Will it help her against Platner? At News Wax, $70 Billion Immigration Enforcement Bill Clears House, goes to Trump for signature, formally ending the longest (partial) government shutdown. Also, Trump Admin Seeks to Limit Billions in Tariff Refunds.

Also at News Wax, Trump Stands by Pulte; Says Will Start DNI Role June 19. "Trump earlier Tuesday held a private White House meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., about the future of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire Friday. Democrats have threatened to vote against supporting an extension if Pulte has any connection to the DNI role." Sundance calls it Perfect – President Trump Doubles Down, Bill Pulte Will Takeover as Acting DNI on June 19th and says FISA (702) is NOT President Trump’s Problem to Solve.

Ken Blackwell @kenblackwell, "Hospitals get billions in federally discounted drugs, and aren't required to pass a penny to patients. The Trump Administration is trying to fix with a rebate model that creates a paper trail proving the savings actually reach the poor. The hospital lobby sued to stop it. Transparency shouldn't stop reform it should drive it."

Teri Christoph at RedState thinks you should Watch: NBA Commish Torches Hakeem Jeffries' Trump-Knicks Spin With a Brutal Reality Check. Atop Da Hill, Susie Wiles on reported White House departure: ‘I am not going anywhere’.

At his NYPo gig, Insty looks at The deeper agenda behind Trump’s Reflecting Pool glow-up. "It’s mirroring President Trump’s surprisingly sophisticated campaign to restore nothing less than America’s soul." Hat Hair's John Sexton sees the Washington Post Claims Renovated Reflecting Pool Looks Almost the Same. Of course, it's supposed to reflect. They show the two versions, both fresh after Obama's and Trump's efforts. The real test comes in a couple weeks as it swelters in Washington DCs summer sun. Will it revert to an algae plagued scum pit?

Cathy Salgado at PJM reports Iran's Regime Shoots Down U.S. Helicopter, Trump Says He Will Strike Back. At News Wax, Trump Says Pilots Fine After Helicopter Crashes Near Hormuz. Althouse "I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz." ""There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP" That's Trump, at Truth Social, 3 hours ago." Fox, US strikes Iran in retaliation for Apache shoot-down "Iran has 'taken too long to negotiate a deal,' 'will have to pay the price,' Trump says" "Trump says he is closer to targeting Iranian power plants, bridges." VodkaPundit at PJM says Score Two More Big Wins for Israel Vs. Iran... Maybe.

Sundance notes it was Primary Election Night in Maine, South Carolina, Nevada and North Dakota. Of course, the candidate of most interest, Nazi loving, communist Graham Platner won in Maine handily over two basically non-competing candidates. At Insty, “OYSTERGRUPPENFUHRER.” I LOVE IT. Oystergruppenfuhrer Graham Platner Says Marcus Luttrell Lied About ‘Lone Survivor’ Story. "UPDATE (From Ed): Question asked:" Hugo Gurdon @hgurdon, "Has there ever been more pronounced vocal fry?" Quote Washington Free Beacon @FreeBeacon, "Graham Platner was recruited to run for Senate by a pair of socialist political operatives, Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, who determined that another prospective candidate had “a skeleton in the closet.” The Wall Street Journal published a rare interview with the duo on Sunday." The Maine Wire @TheMaineWire, "Outside the Langley Estate in McLean, VA, which sold this year for $13.5 million. The seller, Joseph Kaempfer, is a billionaire who made his fortune operating shopping malls in Europe. He's one of the MANY billionaires maxing out to support Graham Platner." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair cites Politico: Maine Dems Suddenly Have Second Thoughts About Nazi-Tatted Creep. Too late. And, Former Platner Campaign Manager: Don't Let Him In the Senate! From Ace, Former Platner Campaign Aide: Captain Nazi Is a Monster and More Women Have Come Forward "Believe all women. Not this woman, mind you, and not the women who have come forward with new accusations against Gerald Platner. Believe all women who concoct a Law & Order: SVU pantomime allegation about Trump raping their scrawny Crypt Keeper ass in a changing room in a year TBD. Believe that woman." From NYPo, Graham Platner and ‘New Wave left’ detest Western exceptionalism. Mediaite records how a Republican Lawmaker Presses SPLC Boss On Whether Graham Platner’s Nazi Tattoo Should DQ Him From Senate. At Twitchy, Dems in Disarray: Neera Tanden Roasts Ryan Grim as His Scandal-Plagued Buddy Platner Tanks in Maine. To TBD.

Dave Strom sees through Talarico's Genius Strategy: Lie. Victory Girls, Meanwhile in NY: Mamdani’s Sovietization Plans for the City. Wesley Yang @wesyang, "The thing is — it keeps winning power in major American cities. It keeps cannibalizing the Democratic Party. It may not be popular in opinion polls, but it is unstoppable in intramural contests within institutions." Quote Jonathan Kay @jonkay, "1. Give your house to indigenous people 2. Sterilize your depressed gay kid 3. Demonize Israel 4. Replace police with neighborhood vigilantes." The Center Square WA, More than 10,000 applicants vie for 15 affordable apartments in Seattle. Yogi @Houseofyogi, "Chicago lost the Bears this week. A team that's been in the city since 1921. They didn't lose them to a bigger market or a better deal. The Bears decided they'd rather be a tenant in Indiana than deal with Illinois for one more year. Think about how badly you have to run a place for that to be the smart move."

Cathy Salgado happy California Republican Steve Hilton Advances to Gubernatorial General Election. He won't win, even if he had the votes, they wouldn't let him. But at least they have the choice, sort of. NYT whines Steve Hilton Wins Second Spot in California Governor Race, Beating Tom Steyer. Steve Soukup at Am Great calls it California’s Choice. "California’s decline was not destiny but the product of political choices that turned America’s greatest success story into a cautionary tale."

Roger Simon asks Who the Hell Is Nithya Raman? "Can't wait for the debate." Gays For Trump @GaysForTrump, "Nithya Raman even LOST her own district (CD-4) to Spencer Pratt and Karan Bass, but you expect us to believe she beat them BOTH by winning 40% of the vote in the rest of the city by mail-in ballots?" Hat Hair's Dave Strom notes Election Fraud: 'It's Against the Law, So Nobody Would Ever Do It' @LeighWolf, "The CA ballot saga just got worse! I laid a trap and a Contra Costa County government official named Helen Nolan, along with journalists @sara_dinatale + @demianbulwa, walked right into it. When they put together their hit piece on me in the @sfchronicle (link in replies), they didn't know that I received a SECOND ballot at the same address...but this one was sent to someone no one in my family has ever heard of...despite the fact that we've owned the house continuously since 1962... THREAD!" Jeff Charles at TownHall, Alaska's Democratic 'Decoy' Senate Candidate's Son's Suspicious Ties Just Got Exposed.

SFGate whines Newsom targets undocumented Californians with new healthcare cost increase "It's getting harder for undocumented people in California to get insurance." PJM's Erick Florack doesn't really wonder Why Are California Democrats Trying to Kill Off Prop 209?

Cathy Salgado read the House GOP Report that Shows How Walz, Ellison Fueled Minnesota Fraud. News Wax, Vance Refers Minnesota Gov. Walz, AG to DOJ for Fraud Probe. Congressman Gabe Evans @repgabeevans, "Colorado's Medicaid program paid millions of taxpayer dollars on behalf of nearly 9,000 deceased enrollees, according to a federal audit. Yet instead of taking responsibility, Colorado democrats fought the findings and refused repayment. @GovofCO and Denver Democrats are always asking taxpayers for more money. Maybe they should explain why they can't properly account for the money they already have. Accountability matters.

At NYPo the Divine Miranda Devine observes Democrats can’t escape the Bidens and their drama — even if they’re done covering for them.

RedState's Bob Hoge likes how Sweatin' and Squirming the SPLC Boss Wilts Under Jim Jordan's Rapid‑Fire Judiciary Grilling. Ace, The SPLC Repeatedly Invokes the Fifth Amendment to Avoid Answering Whether They Used Donor Money to Pay "Extremists" to Put On "Hate" Marches, Burn Crosses, and Recruit New Members, "I say he invoked the Fifth Amendment, which he did. But the words he kept using were "We will address those allegations in court." In other words, I will not answer questions for which I will be held criminally responsible in another court. That's his right, but: 1, why are people allowed to invoke the Fifth without explicitly invoking the Fifth? I bet you Democrats would demand to know what basis a witness has for refusing to answer..." Sundance sees Mary McCord Resurfaces Defending SPLC Following Invitation from Congress.

Matt Vespa approve of how DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin Absolutely Bodied Mikie Sherrill for Lying About ICE Detention Facility. Paul @WomanDefiner, "They used Covid to nuke small businesses, opened up commercial real estate and then brought in 20 million people in 4 years while giving them federally backed loans Americans didn't qualify for to buy up those businesses and any available housing. You should be furious about this." At the College Fix, Florida proposes rule requiring proof of citizenship for public college admission. "The Florida Department of Education is proposing a rule that requires community college applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status, which immigrant advocacy groups argue will exclude undocumented students from higher education."

As if Jolly Olde England didn't need more racial-ethnic strife after the Nowak murder, a Sudanese 'refugee' knife attacked a man in Belfast, seriously wounding him. The Telegraph telegraphs ‘Beheading’ suspect used asylum loophole to enter UK. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "Video with subtitles of yesterday’s attempted beheading of a young British man by a Somali migrant in Belfast. It’s a hard watch but Europeans must see it. Those who intervened and smashed a shovel over the attackers’ head are heroes They most likely saved that young man’s life." Dave Strom, You'll Never Guess the Nationality of the Belfast Attempted Beheading 'Suspect'. Ace, Invasion: Sudanese Colonist Uses Knife to Slash Open the Eyeballs of Northern Irish Man, Attempts to Saw His Head Off on Street in Broad Daylight "The country that fought a civil war for a hundred years to resist colonization by Britons is apparently cool with colonization by black Islamic Africans. Do you feel Culturally Enriched?" Driscoll at Insty, GIVE IRELAND BACK TO THE IRISH: Sudanese migrant arrested after ‘attempted beheading’ in Belfast. "A Sudanese man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a knifeman appeared to try to behead a man in Belfast." Sundance, Irish Police Request People Not Protest Their Beheading by Migrants Too Strongly. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "They do appear to be sending a message. Given that the government has made it clear it doesn't intend to address the issue, in fact considers any voicing of concern to be divisive dissent, these dissenters have chosen to highlight their concerns after their own fashion. I suspect it might be effective." Quote Molly Pitcher @AmericanMama "The Irish are ready to burn the entire city of Belfast down to the ground over Sudanese migrants trying to behead native Irish people. I don’t blame them for being upset." Shrodingers Borderline Normal@JeremyCordite "1. Protestors will be met with the full force of the law. 2. Beheaders will be met with sympathetic mental health specialists and woke judges who don't care if they do it again." Insty has a Driscolly post, REMOVE STARMER AND HIS GOVERNMENT: Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING: PM Keir Starmer’s office issues a call for calm in the country after yesterday’s beheading attempt in Belfast: “You can see the police acting”" Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Noticing they never call for “calm” when Islamists are rampaging through the streets waving foreign flags and calling for genocide. A Muslim tries to behead someone, though, and they’re suddenly deeply concerned about others noticing." Quote GB Politics @GBPolitcs, "NEW: No 10 has called for "calm" after a migrant was arrested over an attempted beheading in Belfast" Tome835 @tome835 "The thing about beheadings is, if too many people find out about it, they get real mad at the beheader. I fear this beheading could lead to violence." Prufrock @JAlfredJuicebox, "“It’s the billionaires” “It’s the alt-right echo chambers” “It’s the manosphere influencers” “It’s the…” Actually it’s the videos of Africans beheading people in the street that are making people more right-wing."

At Racket, Matt Taibbi writes off Britain's Great Self-Loathing Crusade. "American and European liberalism rightly campaigned against ethnocentrism once upon a time, but both versions ultimately went way too far." Brendan O'Neill at Spiked on The obnoxious hypocrisy of Starmer’s fury with JD Vance. "The same Brits who raged over the death of George Floyd are now mad at Vance for raging over the death of Henry Nowak." Elon Musk @elonmusk, "This is the way." Quote Rupert Lowe MP @RupertLowe10, "A Restore Britain Government will aim to prosecute officials and politicians who knowingly placed dangerous third world savages in our communities. This will apply retrospectively." Hat Hair Beege Welborn thinks The British Version of 'Down Periscope' Is a Real Joke: Clash Report @clashreport, "All five of the UK's operational Astute-class nuclear attack submarines are currently stuck in port awaiting maintenance or repairs, while a sixth Royal Navy boat has yet to become deployment-ready. Former naval commanders warn the situation weakens Britain's ability to deter and monitor Russian submarine activity. Source: The Telegraph"

NYPo claims CBS News boss Bari Weiss poised to oversee CNN editorial operations: report. Ace, Report: Bari Weiss Will Assume Editorial Control Over Basketcase Ratings-Disaster Partisan Spin-Shop CNN. Via Steven Miller, who's worried about Tater. And what will happen to Fake Jake? I imagine Jake Tapper is rehearsing his exiting flounce.

AwakenedOutlaw @AwakenedOutlaw, "Politico is closing its website because the Trump administration canceled its $500,000-per-year subscription. Read that again. This is but another example of the government being used by the left to help both prop up its own propaganda machine and line some corrupt POS's pockets with payola, compliments of the US taxpayer." Quote Max Tani @maxwelltani, "New: Politico is folding E&E, the energy trade publication it bought in 2020. The company says it is reorganizing its energy coverage under the Politico brand and launching a series of new state and global energy newsletters."

MAZE @mazemoore, "2023. Immediately after her interview with Trump was broadcast, Kristen Welker "fact checked" Trump about his Jan 6th claim that the Mayor of DC had called for the National Guard and that they were turned away. Welker apparently forgot about her reporting from January 5th, 2021. At Althouse, "Please! I traveled all the way to Wisconsin!... Listen, we traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview" "Wouldn't it have been funny if the all-the-way-to-Wisconsin plea had worked? Oh, yeah, poor you, going to Wisconsin, let me sit back down and yammer on with you, because you endured the ordeal of coming to Wisconsin." With an excellent video of Trump and Megan Mullally singing the Green Acres theme. He really is a showman at heart:

At the Free Bacon, Jonathan Leaf says Scott Pelley Isn’t a Serious Journalist "A personal experience reveals the fraudulent nature of fired '60 Minutes' correspondent." As the Brits would say, he's a news reader.

Still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.09.26 (Morning Edition).

The Wednesday Wetness

Bay Journal, Sewer crunch eased, development ban lifted in Baltimore suburbs. Go ahead, make more shit!

No Need to Dephrag the Bay

John Page Williams at CBM has A New Take on an Invasive Species

You’ve seen plenty of it along Chesapeake waterfronts: the common reed, with its tall, feathery seed heads. You probably even call it by the Latin name of its genus, Phragmites. If so, you probably also know that it’s considered an undesirable, invasive species scorned for crowding out native wetland plants. It grows well on disturbed soils, such as the waterfront edges of constructed sites like bridge crossings, laying down dense, tangled root mats and quickly developing thickets of tough, pale green stalks.

Although there is only one species, Phragmites australis, two subspecies live around the Chesapeake. Phragmites australis americanus is native, but here it lives only along rivers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The much more widespread subspecies, Phragmites australis australis, apparently turned up here late in the nineteenth century and took off. Today, conventional wisdom dictates removing it, but doing so turns out to be a difficult, expensive challenge. That challenge poses a serious question about what we are trying to accomplish when we talk about restoring the Chesapeake.

 

One time years ago, I asked a friend who was acting in a play at Hanover (VA) Tavern what he would “go back to” after the play completed its run. “I won’t go back,” he responded, “I’ll go on to something else.” That pretty much sums up our Chesapeake restoration efforts. We can’t ever go back to the Bay ecosystem that existed when the Jamestown colonists landed in 1607. About 50,000 people lived in the Chesapeake watershed then. We are 19 million now, and climbing, along with the ecological changes that we continue to create in the water, on the land, and in the air.

The most obvious water quality improvements we have made in the past fifty years have been with increasingly sophisticated treatment of “point source pollution” (pipe outflows), especially our sewage wastewater. That engineering has brought rivers near population centers back from the dead, including the Potomac River around Washington, DC and the James below Richmond. They are healthier today than they have been since 1870. The greater challenge, though, is more widespread and less readily controlled: rainwater runoff from land that we have modified from 1607’s old-growth forests, especially including along the shorelines of our vast network of waterways. Engineering offers some solutions here, but often they work best when carefully, artfully integrated with natural processes.

Such integration requires deep searches for, and attention to scientific details, as well as the enduring lesson that anyone looking for simple answers has come to the wrong estuary. It goes ‘way beyond blanket statements, like “Eradicate all Phragmites.” In that vein, a new study from Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources breaks down the pluses and minuses of ecosystem services provided or taken away by stands of Phragmites as opposed to native wetland plant communities.

Using cost/benefit analysis, the scientists carefully went through and compared studies from existing research of wetland community performance in the categories of carbon sequestration, nitrogen removal, and wildlife habitat. They contrasted data from natural brackish high marshes with those from stands of Phragmites australis australis. If you read the study, you’ll find that the data together provide ranges of performance, but there are clear trends. Phragmites stands tend to deliver greater carbon sequestration, while native high marshes provide greater nitrogen removal and offer better, more diverse wildlife habitat. On average, the introduced and native communities offer similar ecosystem service values, though under optimal conditions, native marsh communities are more valuable.

 

The catch comes when looking at the Chesapeake’s wetlands as they are, in June of 2026, with many, many stands of Phragmites well established all over the Bay ecosystem, and considering the high cost of eradicating the plants, which require repeated manual, year-on-year applications of herbicide. The big reed is here to stay in today’s Chesapeake, and it does offer valuable ecological benefits, especially in carbon sequestration. Those considerations bring to mind the first maxim attributed to Hippocrates: “First, Do No Harm.” As the study’s authors conclude, “it is not a net economic benefit to control for Phragmites, unless the cost is low to moderate and the benefit is high, i.e., the system can maintain or return to optimal wildlife habitat…we recommend that landscape factors and management goals be considered when making these decisions for marshes in the Chesapeake Bay Region.”

In other words, Phragmites appears to have some useful roles in the Bay and rivers of the future. One more time, there are no simple answers here, but there is fresh Chesapeake information to guide careful thinking about “going on to something else.”

I agree. 

Flotsam and Jetsam - More From the Platner Poo-Poo Plater

Somehow the lead goes again to Graham Platner, the Nazi-tattooed, Kik posting, allegedly girlfriend beating Democrat candidate for Maine's senate seat, currently occupied by that "fascist" Susan Collins. New York Post @nypost, "Fetterman vows to ditch hoodie for suit if Graham Platner proves he didn't send 'd-k pics' to minors https://trib.al/vM0kJRk" Nick Arama at RedState, Platner's Response to Fetterman's Challenge for Him to Release Texts Raises More Eyebrows. "John Fetterman seems to genuinely think that the reason no one likes him is because he refuses to wear a suit. It's not the hoodie, dude. It's because you've become a stooge for AIPAC and the Republican party." "Notice what you don't see in that response? He doesn't agree to release the texts." Matt Vespa at TownHall thinks you should Look at This CNN Host's Face When John Fetterman Said This About Graham Platner “Did you say or...did Senate Democrats discuss Graham Platner posting pictures of his...uh...you called it his dick...at...did you discuss this in a lunch?” From the Free Bacon, New York Times Accused of Omitting 'Accusations of Sexual Assault' From Piece on 'Toxic' Graham Platner. "'After the story went up I began to ask … wait, where are the stories from the other women?' Platner's ex says." Jim Treacher says I Believe Lyndsey Fifield. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, New Nazi-Tat Abuser Strategy: Threaten Defamation For, Er ... "As we like to say: discovery will be lit!" Graham Platner for Senate @grahamformaine, "This is false and defamatory. I would have thought Fox News learned their lesson after paying Dominion $787.5 million." Quote RNC Research @RNCResearch, "Maine Wire reporter, Steve Robinson on Graham Platner: “He’s proven himself to be a pathological liar...The oyster business, totally fake...Look at the date that his website for his fake oyster business was created, it was created after Graham for Maine, his Senate website.”" Kurt Schlichter at TownHall wonders Why Are Male-Identifying Democrat Candidates All Creepy Weirdos? From Twitchy, A Big Stretch: The Atlantic Reaches Across the Pond to Find a Writer Who Believes James Talarico Is Manly. Capt. Ed has Monday's Final Word Drop Site: @DropSiteNews, "A Maine voter says Graham Platner’s mistakenly obtained tattoo is not a major issue for her. An Israeli flag tattoo, however, would be a deal-breaker, because she could not support a candidate that supports genocide."

Teri Christoph at RedState wonders Is This How Democrats Will Solve Their Graham Platner Problem? "The kindling is being set by Anthony's supporters, and the trial's outcome will be the flame. And that's because, despite the outcome, the race baiters have a ready-made excuse at hand to light cities on fire – and Democrats will be holding the flamethrower. A guilty verdict or a plea deal? Another young black man has been unfairly punished by the judicial system! Let's riot. An acquittal? This faultless young black man was unfairly targeted by the judicial system! Let's riot. And the Democrat Party is rubbing its hands with glee. They love nothing more than summers of riots, and this setup is just too perfect."

From NYPo, Die-hard Spencer Pratt supporters devastated by late vote surge as faith in election falters. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Notes California Ballot Curation Likely to Eliminate Steve Hilton. Auron MacIntyre @AuronMacintyre, "Helicopters full of ballots Helicopters." Quote Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department used helicopters to fly in ballots from vote centers across the region “They're picking up ballots from 8 cities including Lancaster, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lakewood, Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Pomona, and Torrance. Once." Bill Mitchell @mitchellvii, "One thing is for sure. When Democrats are counting votes, crazy, statistically impossible things are possible. Joe Biden can lose 18 out of 19 bellwether counties. He can lose Iowa, Ohio, and Florida. He can lose massive House seats and still get the most votes in presidential history. It's MAGIC." Hat Hair's Dave Strom explains How We Know That Los Angeles Vote Was Rigged. Jarvis @jarvis_best, "LA is wild because the election will be between a Cuban trained Marxist guerrilla fighter and a woman running to her left." Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD @houmanhemmati, "As @BoredElonMusk & the data show, Raman’s late mail in ballot surge was fueled in large part by ballots from Skid Row. Tens of thousands of homeless whose ballots are sent to central addresses (not the sidewalk) & can be filled out/returned by someone else. Suspicious…" End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Mail-ins arriving before Election Day: Bass: 38.1% Pratt: 27.9% Raman: 20% Mail-ins arriving after Election Day: Raman: 37% (+17% surge) Bass: 34.9% (-3% drop) Pratt: 19% (-9% drop) Who are we kidding here? This is fraud." At the Volokh Conspiracy, Volokh asks "Why Can't California Count?" Dmitri Bolt at TownHall notes CNN's Harry Enten Says Election Fraud in LA Is 'the Dumbest Conspiracy Theory' He's Ever Heard. No need for fraud when the law allows them to cheat. Nick shirley @nickshirleyy, "Meet Doris, she lives in California and is registered as a 126 year old who has voted in 51 elections and has NO IDEA. California’s voting system is so corrupt that by simply knocking on the door of the “126 year old” proves election fraud. EXPOSE IT ALL." Bill Mitchell @mitchellvii, "You know, after watching CA count votes, I feel much more comfortable with Republicans flexing a bit in redistricting, don't you?" wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "The significance to outside observers of Spencer Pratt vs Karen Bass was not as a political race per se, but a diagnostic. A kind of recon by force they could watch from afar. If you were looking to invest in LA, or in California the fate of Pratt was likely to predict your own. How honest was city hall? How reliable was the state? None of the answers to these things are available from Google but you can infer it from observation. Thus "poor devil, he never had a chance" can also mean "don't go to that swamp. It's full of reptiles."" Amy Curtis at TownHall, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Calls for Federal Funding Cuts Until California Cleans Up Its Disastrous Elections. PJM's Vicky Taft thinks What Happened to Spencer Pratt Is Why the Supreme Court Decision on Election DAY Is Key.

PJM's Kevin Downey identifies the Filthy Pinko of the Week: Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy! Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "Democrat Chris Murphy is REFUSING to apologize after saying it was "awesome" that Iranian ships slipped past the U.S. blockade. He says it was just "sarcasm." This traitor needs to resign in disgrace." Matt Vespa thinks What This Dem Rep Said About Trump Over the Weekend Is What Cost ABC News $15 Million.

Don Surber likes how Trump ignores RNC, gets half the Hispanic vote. "Democrats are peeing their pants over losing 40-point majorities among Hispanics." DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "Turns out that @LeaderJohnThune was totally projecting when he said the SAVE Act was an influencer campaign. Senator John Thune is compromised by a company that literally exists to sell access to himself. Pass it on." Quote DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, Replying to @AndrewDesiderio, "Hello, Mr. Desiderio, Punchbowl News sells access to Capitol Hill for corporate clients. Their senior Senate reporter is you, Andrew Desiderio."

Sarah Anderson at PJM hears Are the Vances Adding More Than Just a New Baby to Their Family?. A chicken coop? "According to the Daily Wire, the Vance family is joining millions of people across the United States who are raising their own backyard flocks of chickens. More specifically, as of 2025, 11 million households in the US have their own chickens, and now, it sounds like we can add the VP's residence at the Naval Observatory to the list. The coop, which is stunning, was built by North Carolina-based, family-owned Carolina Coops, and it was "designed to match the architectural themes of the historic vice presidential residence." It's also worth noting that this was not paid for with your tax dollars, according to the Daily Wire."

From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, How Ukraine Is Hammering Russian Logistics, Sundance at CTH hears the EU Coalition of the Willing Establishes Five Terms for Direct Ukraine-Russia Negotiations "The #3, #4 and #5 points are not going to go anywhere." At the Nat Sec J, Russia Might Actually Win the War in Ukraine. That Could Be the Worst Thing That Ever Happened to It. RCD's Rebecca Grant envisions A Permanent Armored Brigade in Poland?

Sundance is pleasantly surprised to hear Congress is Getting Nervous About Reauthorizing FISA-702. Eric Boehm at Reason believes Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth Are Wildly Misleading About Section 702 Warrantless Surveillance. "Miller says it is "madness" to expect law enforcement to get a warrant before spying on Americans' electronic communications."

Shipwreckedcrew sees SCOTUS Smacks Obama/Biden Appointees With A Newspaper Across The Nose For Wrongfully Acting Like A "Roving Commission Looking For Wrongs To Right." "A very pointed Per Curiam Opinion issued this morning identifies the Fourth Circuit as a repeat offender in deciding cases on issues never raised by the parties -- THAT is judicial activism." Upstate Federalist @upstatefederlst, "I have been reliably informed that a fee is not a tax." Quote, "Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney, "JUST IN: A federal judge has ruled Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unauthorized tax on businesses and must be vacated." Cam at BA reports SCOTUS Keeps Hardware Bans on Hold, but Makes Interesting Move on Prohibited Person Case. Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy, "The cert petition filed by the federal government in a case where the Fifth Circuit ruled that the felon gun ban is unconstitutional as applied to the defendant whose "sole predicate offense... is his failure to pay child support" has been denied."

The Chronic chronicles Tina Peters’ Escape from Devil’s Island.

NYPo opines on Sneaky leftist lawsuits taking aim at US energy dominance.

Hat Hair's John Sexton is heartened that 'Protesters' Face Felony Convictions for Blocking the Golden Gate, but fears jury nullifications. Being San Francisco, it's not an unreasonable fear. "My take is that these protesters were basically taking a cue from Hamas. They essentially took a bridge full of people hostage for four hours (and would have done so for longer if the police had let them) and then complain in court that no one was harmed by the brief hostage taking. Except people were harmed."

Three different takes on Scott Pelley's interview with the NYT. From Sundance, The Alarming and Deeply Disturbing Scott Pelley Interview. PJM's Stephen Kruiser, Scott Pelley's Podcast Tears Made My Schadenfreude Cup Runneth Over. Dave Strom at Hat Hair, It's Kinda Hilarious to See Scott Pelley Expose Himself as Such a Doofus. I'm kind of in the schadenfreude camp. Also from Kruiser, OK, I Think President Trump Really Enjoys Trolling Kristen Welker.

Leslie Eastman at LI sees more Fallout from Video Release Expands: Police Sought to Cast Henry Nowak as Aggressor. "Europe Reacts with Demonstrations and “Taking a Knee” Movement while Media Deflects in Wake of Henry Nowak Killing." Bernie @Artemisfornow, "The Sunday Times reports that 3 days after Henry Nowak’s death, police wanted to issue a statement implying Henry was the aggressor. By then, they already had evidence that wasn’t the case. Only after objections from Henry’s family was the wording changed. They weren’t trying to protect Henry. They were trying to protect themselves. That was the disinformation."

At Althouse, The proposed rule would impose "a narrow, culturally specific understanding of family" that "privileges a dominant cultural framework over the lived realities of communities of color and global Christians." "I'm reading "Presbyterian Church faces revolt after proposing clergy must be in monogamous relationships — and critics blame white privilege" (NY Post).

A Tuesday Tune - Devil Wore a Lab Coat

Mary Kutter

Kentucky raised and Nashville based, Mary Kutter writes songs that live in the gray area blurring genre lines and creative narratives. Drawing from country storytelling and rock-leaning intensity, her music favors sharp images over easy answers. As both a songwriter and recording artist, Kutter gravitates toward characters on the edge, flawed, resilient, and unapologetically human.

Before stepping fully into her own voice as an artist, she built a reputation as a songwriter willing to go where others would not, with her work appearing on major-label releases and charting records by Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith, and Zach John King.

Those experiences sharpened her instincts and reinforced her belief that the most powerful songs are the ones that tell the truth plainly, without sanding down the rough edges. Onstage, Kutter brings that same intensity into the room. Her performances are direct and unfiltered, rooted in connection rather than theatrics.

Whether playing intimate venues or larger stages, she commands attention through presence, letting the songs do the heavy lifting. With “Bed of Roses,” Kutter begins a new chapter defined by confidence, clarity, and a refusal to soften the point.