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).