Flotsam and Jetsam - Pubs Pounce on NC Killing

Yeah, we're still dwelling on the horrific crime against Iryna Zarutska, stabbed to death out of the blue on the Charlotte NC light rail, by schizophrenic and multiple violent offender Decarlos Brown Jr, out on no cash bond from previous run-ins with the law. The crime, committed on Aug, 22, was all but unreported nationally until right-wing bloggers caught on and started promoting the story. Sundance at CTH catches up with 23-year-old Ukraine Refugee Killed in North Carolina by Violent Career Criminal. Likewise, Ace, A 14-Time Arrestee and Homeless Man with Multiple Arrests for Violent Armed Muggings and a History of Schizophrenic Delusion Murders a Beautiful Young Woman on Video, and the Media Brutally Suppresses the Story. NYPo, Horrid video of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s slaughter on Charlotte train is met with deafening silence from Dem leaders, media. Brad R. Torgersen @BradRTorgersen "This incident really does combine all the kryptonite elements into one: the city hasn't had an (R) mayor in sixteen years, currently has a murder and assault rate much higher than the national average, the perpetrator is a black American male with a history of mental illness and arrests for violence, the victim was a caucasian female unrelated to the perpetrator, and she was also not native-born U.S. *And* she's from Ukraine. If you were a MAGA strategist trying to script a perfect event to inject into the culture and political war with entrenched (D)s in cities struggling under (D) policies, you could not have come up with something like this. It would be too perfect. And that's why American legacy media are paralyzed. They can only tip-toe up to the story while wearing a HAZMAT suit. They're forced by ideology to report on the story's framing in the zeitgeist. Not report the story itself. The story itself is like a SpaceX Starship lifting off, for all of M"AGA's claims about (D) dereliction. And about black (D) dereliction in particular." At Hat Hair, Duane Patterson, Three More Examples of Why You Don't Hate Media Nearly Enough, a video, Understanding Why the Media Ignored the Brutal Murder of Iryna Zarutska, and Dustin Grage, MAGA Pounces on Charlotte Horror, Matt Silver @CohibasN_Cognac, "How dare you notice what we have tried to suppress! This is just Republicans pounce but more unhinged due to the subject. Also there's the illegal who murdered a young black woman and threw her off a bridge. They don't want to talk about that either." LifeZette, Mainstream Media Completely Exposed by Refusal to Cover Murder of Ukrainian Refugee. Driscoll at Insty sees AXIOS GOES INTO FULL REPUBLICANS POUNCE MODE TO TUT-TUT ZARUTSKA MURDER: "Stabbing video fuels MAGA’s crime message. MAGA influencers are drawing repeated attention to violent attacks to elevate the issue of urban crime — and accuse mainstream media of under-covering shocking cases." Stephen Kruiser at PJM thinks the Media Blackout Regarding Charlotte Murder Is Pure Evil.

TownHall's Guy Benson says A Democratic Mayor's Disgraceful Reaction to an Avoidable Murder in Her City. Brett Jensen WBT News @Brett_Jensen, "The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police has put out another blistering statement regarding what they deem to be massive failures of Mayor Vi Lyles." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Oh, Hi, Roy Cooper, Nice of You to Finally Weigh in on the Brutal Charlotte Stabbing . Michael Knowles @michaeljknowles, "Preposterous statement from the @NC_Governor. The problem isn't that cops didn't arrest the guy. He was arrested over two dozen times! The problem is that liberal prosecutors, judges, and legislators like you refused to keep him locked up." Quote Governor Josh Stein @NC_Governor, "I am heartbroken for the family of Iryna Zarutska, who lost their loved one to this senseless act of violence, and I am appalled by the footage of her murder. We need more cops on the beat to keep people safe. That’s why my budget calls for more funding to hire more well-trained police officers .. . ." Please give me more money. Robert Sterling @RobertMSterling, "The 1619 Project creator has weighed in on the Charlotte murder, and it’s exactly the word salad you would have expected." Insty, WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A RELIABLE SOURCE: Ashley Rindsberg @AshleyRindsberg, "Wikipedia is already trying to erase it"

Nabootique @Vince_Noir77, "Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes freed Decarlos Brown Jr. in January allowed Brown who is homeless and has a litany of previous arrests - including for armed robbery and assault - to walk free on a 'written promise' that he would return for his next court appearance. FIRE HER." Margo @MargoinWNC, "THE MAGISTRATE IN CHARLOTTE HAS FIVE BANKRUPTCIES? WHAT IS GOING ON?" Quote, Sloan Rachmuth @SloanRachmuth "Why does Charlotte Judge Teresa Ann Stokes claim to also live in Lansing, MI? And, according to @TruthFinder, someone named Teresa Ann Stokes, who graduated from Capella and Thomas M. Cooley Law School and lived in Lansing, has multiple tax liens and bankruptcies." C3 @C_3C_3, "Here’s something that needs to be looked into… How many other Democrat run cities have Magistrate Judges that also run treatment centers? Releasing criminals into “court ordered” treatment centers sure could be lucrative. I bet Teresa Stokes in Charlotte isn’t the only one…" Insty, SANER AND MORE DECENT THAN THE NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATS, WHICH ADMITTEDLY IS A LOW BAR. BUT GOOD FOR HER, Joe Bruno @JoeBrunoWSOC9, "Today we heard from Decarlos Brown's mom. She spoke to @Hunt_Saenz. She is not making excuses for her son. She says "what he did was atrocious, it was horrible and it was wrong." The point of her speaking isn't to make her son out to be a victim. He's not. She says she wanted to speak about the arrest to highlight how the system failed and things got to this point. . . " Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Trump: You'd Better Believe I'm Looking Into Murder in Charlotte; UPDATE: GoFundMe Ends Perp's Pages. The White House @WhiteHouse, ""I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic. The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP."
@POTUS" Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo, "Old joke: two social workers walking down the road come across a man who has clearly been viciously assaulted: he is bruised, bleeding, and lying unconscious in a ditch. One of the social workers looks at the other and says: "We have to find whoever did this. He needs help!"

Insty, IF YOUR MOVEMENT CAN BE DESTROYED BY THE TRUTH, YOUR MOVEMENT SHOULD BE DESTROYED BY THE TRUTH: DC_Draino @DC_Draino, "BLM 2020: We want bodycams on every cop! BLM 2026: wait nevermind, turn em off". Quote Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "Understand that the war on cameras, including surveillance cameras in public spaces, body cams on cops, and your Ring, is coming. The problem for the left is they reveal the inconvenient truth, so they have to be banned." At Hat Hair, Dave Strom notes, to no one's surprise, Michael Brown's Friend Who Invented 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Hoax Is Murdered and Beege Welborn Singing a Different Tune: Chicago Rapper Shot Moonlighting as a Carjacker AppPatriotgirl @jsmith4966, "Fun fact about Charlotte's transit system - you aren't allowed to concealed carry even with a permit. They have no security on the train or buses, but you aren't allowed to protect yourself. They killer had a knife though, because no metal detectors, and didn't pay for his fare because you ride on the "honor system". Liberal utopia bullshit right there." Capt. Ed, Trump Escalates: After Six More Dead in Chicago, Why Won't Pritzker Ask for Help?

Sarah Anderson at TownHall hears Trump Hint at Escalation in Venezuela as Maduro Scrambles. CDR Salamander, So, we Now Have the "War" in "Drug War" "Operation Reciprocity is a go ... just have your get out of jail free card. . . . Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have some new ROE." Ace notes Communist Deep Staters Are Angry That Trump Has Reverted the "Department of War" Back to Its Original Name. "The name of the Department was changed, probably by liberals, for PR reasons. There is no need to euphemize it: The point of a military is to fight and win wars, not "hearts and minds." If "Department of War" was good enough for the founding fathers, it should be good enough for us." Ryan King at NYPo hears Trump ready to punish Putin, Russia after latest deadly assault on Ukraine. 

NYPo again, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens housing regulator Bill Pulte in explosive Trump admin fight: ‘Punch you in your f—ing face’. PJM's Scott Pinsker calls him ‘Sugar’ Scott Bessent: Donald Trump’s Man of Mayhem and Violence. But, he seems so calm. Leah Barkoukis at TownHall on Why Bessent Was Amused When 'Meet the Press' Host Brought Up What Goldman Sachs Said About Tariffs: “So just bottom line, Mr. Secretary, do you acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax on American consumers?” Welker asked. "No, I don't," Bessent said with a smile. "You're quoting Goldman Sachs...I made a good career of trading against Goldman Sachs." MPR News reports Postal traffic to U.S. sank 80% after Trump administration ended exemption on low-value parcels. Fox Bus, US-born workers see job gains as foreign-born employment declines, Labor Department data shows, "Labor Department report shows unemployment rates were relatively stable for both immigrants and US-born workers." The Peacock whines, Higher SALT deduction relieves homeowners, adds to national debt. "Trump raised the SALT deduction cap to $40,000: Here’s what it means for taxpayers." Cathy Salgado at PJM reports PBS Cuts 100 Jobs After Funding Slashed by Trump Administration and Congress. It's a start. Hat Hair's John Sexton cites Ezra Klein: Democrats Should Shut Down the Government (and Damage the Economy).

Katie Jerkovich claims JD Vance Crushes Lefties' Dreams After Democrats Release Alleged Trump-Epstein Birthday Note JD Vance @JDVance "The Democrats don't care about Epstein. They don’t even care about his victims. That's why they were silent about it for years. The only thing they care about is concocting another fake scandal like Russiagate to smear President Trump with lies. No one is falling for this BS." Quote Karoline Leavitt @PressSec "The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire “Birthday Card” story is false. As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. . . "

Mark Tapscott at Insty sees THE ORCS ARE COMING FOR RFK JR: "That tumultuous Senate Finance Committee hearing last week in which HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. was subjected to an unprecedented series of insults, misrepresentations, outright lies, and character assassination is just the opening of Sauron’s massive assault. The goal is to do whatever is necessary to either persuade President Donald Trump to fire Kennedy, or to render Kennedy so bloodied and distracted that he resigns." At Althouse, "I don’t think there have been successes. We’ve seen a 30- or 40-year decline in the agency because... it’s been infiltrated by the pharmaceutical companies." "And they’ve made a series of bad decisions.... What we want to do now is put an end to it, to end those entanglements — those corrupting entanglements with the pharmaceutical industry — and make this again a gold standard science agency that is protecting the American public." Said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., quoted in "RFK Jr. says he sees no successes in the agency he leads" (CNN)." Dave Strom at Hat Hair says I Am So Tired of Political 'Science'.

Spare the sob story about how the CDC is only following the science. Here's Mandy Cohen, then head of the CDC, describing how she made policy decisions - tell me what science she was following here?! pic.twitter.com/dRwfodzC8y

— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) August 28, 2025

Driscoll at Insty, with a reminder, AND NOW, A FEW WORDS FROM JOE BIDEN: MAZE @mazemoore, "1989. Senator Biden calls on George Bush to do more to fight crime and drug trafficking. Beef up border security. Build more prisons. Set up an international strike force to take out narco terrorists. Oh how times have changed." Sarah Arnold hears Biden’s Presidential Library Faces Fundraising Hurdles Amid Democratic Division. From the Center Square, EXCLUSIVE: Secret Service spent $11 million on Hunter Biden travel detail "The spending came as Biden denied protection to RFK Jr. and with two assassination attempts on Trump's life." At Hat Hair, Can Tim Walz Win Again? From Ace, With Pro-Trans Democrats Threatening a Return of Jim Crow, Can Pete Buttigieg’s Black Support Go Lower than 0%? From LifeZette, CNN’s Scott Jennings Reveals Who is Really Leading the Democratic Party. "“Well, I mean, for the foreseeable future, the person who’s running the Democratic Party now is going to be running it, and that’s Donald Trump. I mean, the only thing they know how to do is be against whatever he is for, and so there is no leader of the party except for Trump. The beating heart of the Democratic Party is, ‘If Trump is for it, we’re against it,’ and you throw a little socialism on the side. That’s basically how they’re — ” Jennings said before being cut off by interjections from Democratic panelists."

Dave Strom reports VA Governor Candidate Spanberger Invents 'News' Site to Deceive Voters "The "news" outlet is the Commonwealth Courier, which is a Facebook page that presents itself as a "Media/News" company. Only it isn't a company at all. It is, in fact, an artificial creation of the Spanberger for Governor campaign." From Da Caller, Democrats Now Like Socialism Much More Than Capitalism, New Poll Shows. Well, they mostly have government jobs. At Brackish Waters, Barren Soils, I still want that 20 million from the dems, by the way.

Susie Moore at RedState, Breaking: SCOTUS Issues Critical Ruling on L.A. Immigration Stops. John Sexton, Supreme Court: Immigration Stops in LA Can Continue. Greg Price @greg_price11, "In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court pauses a lower court ruling that had prohibited the Trump administration from conducting roving immigration arrests across Los Angeles." Ace, Supreme Court Stays Lawless Lowly District Court Judge's Injunction Against Trump Enforcing Our Nation's Immigration Laws. "A Biden judge decided that the immigration laws cannot be enforced in Los Angeles. This is insurrectionary. The Supreme Court issued a terse stay of the order, allowing ICE to conduct raids in LA again." U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong. Sundance, Supreme Court Rules 6-3 to Lift Court Ordered Restrictions on Los Angeles (CA) ICE Immigration Enforcement Raids. From Twitchy, Schiff and Newsom and Bass OH MY! SCOTUS Decision on ICE California Ops Irks All the Right People. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair VIP, BREAKING: SCOTUS Unshackles Executive Authority in Immigration, 'Independent Agency' Cases. Althouse, "The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission despite a federal law..." ""... that is intended to restrict the White House’s power to control the agency.... Trump fired both Democratic commissioners on the five-person FTC in March, [Rebecca Kelly] Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Both challenged the move, although Bedoya later dropped out of the case." Anxiously, from Anxious, Supreme Court lets Trump fire FTC commissioner for now. From LifeZette, Federal Appeals Court Rules ‘Pretend Categories’ for Trans Allowed on Passports. VodkaPundit at Insty says HMM: Trump loses bid to overturn $83.3 million judgment in E. Jean Carroll defamation case. “The panel who delivered Monday’s ruling comprised two judges appointed by former President Joe Biden and one judge picked by former President Barack Obama.” That detail doesn’t come up until the final graf of CNBC’s report."

Adam Pack at Da Caller hears John Thune To Steamroll Chuck Schumer’s Blockade Of Trump Nominees Through ‘Nuclear Option.’  As Matt Margolis at PJM puts it Chuck Schumer Tested FAFO and the GOP Is About To Make Him Pay the Price. 

Misty Severi at JTN reports Jeffries taps Swalwell to lead Democrats on new House J6 panel. "Jeffries also selected Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Jared Moskowitz of Florida to serve as the other two Democrats on the panel. House Speaker Mike Johnson gets final approval of all members." Mike should follow Nancy Pelosi's lead and nix Swallowwell and Crockoshit and appoint his own quislings. 

LifeZette reports Homan Confirms Federal Immigration Crackdown Headed Straight for Chicago. John Sexton, Operation Midway Blitz Gets Started in Chicago. At Da Fetched, Border Czar Tom Homan Warns: “Touch an ICE Officer or Make a Threat – You’re Going to Jail”. From Da Wire, Trump’s Border Czar Says Even He Is ‘Amazed’ By Success Of Illegal Alien Crackdown “We have the most secure border in the history of this nation." Fox wants you to Meet the Trump team tracking down thousands of missing migrant children "Investigation reveals Biden administration released minors to unvetted sponsors without proper screening." Dave Strom, Former Minnesota Department of Education Director and Sex Offender Arrested by ICE. Wow, an illegal alien sex offender chosen to be a high official in their educations system? ET, Trump Urges Foreign Companies to Obey Laws, Train US Workers After Hyundai Raid "South Korea’s government has chartered a plane to bring home the detained workers after negotiations with U.S. officials."

Pop Times hears the CBS Deal With Bari Weiss Sparks Panic Among Media Elites. Poor dears. NYT whines CBS Taps Conservative Policy Veteran for New Ombudsman Role. "Kenneth R. Weinstein, who will review complaints about CBS News, was head of the right-leaning Hudson Institute, a think tank, and has no experience overseeing news coverage."

From Campus Reform, University of Pittsburgh must reinstate SJP chapter after federal judge rules free speech was violated.

John Sexton hears the Idaho Trans Athlete Asks Supreme Court to Drop Case. "In June, Idaho's attorney general asked the Supreme Court to hear the case and in July the court agreed. But last week, lawyers for Hecox asked SCOTUS to drop the case saying their client didn't want to face a public backlash." and examines how The Left-RIght Divide on Family Creation Matches the Divide on Mental Health. From Breitbart, Trump Slams Democrat Abigail Spanberger for Supporting Males in Girls’ Bathrooms and Sports. 

More links at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.08.25. The Wombat has posted FMJRA 2.0: Cramming For The Draft at the usual time and place.