Category: Daily Musts

The Dems have come a long way, baby, since that old “believe all women” ruse. It was made clear that it was a ruse all along last night when scandal-ridden Graham Platner triumphed in Maine’s Senate primary.

A USA TODAY headline described Platner as “unscathed” by scandals. “Unscathed” is an understatement: with 81% of the votes counted, Platner had 72%. Former Governor Janet Mills was a distant second with 35%. Platner will run against GOP moderate Susan Collins in the fall. Interesting sidelight on that old “believe all women” stuff from The Free Press: 

Lyndsey Fifield told ‘The New York Times’ Graham Platner emotionally abused her and became physical multiple times. So why is she under attack?

In addition to women, billionaires might want to watch their step. Axios has five takeaways from the Platner win. In his victory speech, Platner admitted that he is “still far from perfect.” Also, an understatement. In the running for bluntest headline of the day: “The Scum Also Rises: Graham Platner Makes History As First Vanity Oysterman With Nazi Tattoo To Win US Senate Nomination.”

In other primary elections news, California has at last counted enough votes to know that Republican Steve Hilton definitely made the finals and will face Xavier Becerra in the Governor’s race. It is hard to exaggerate the miracle that a Republican did that well in California. UK Telegraph headline: “Cameron Aide One Step from Becoming California Governor.”

South Carolina was also the scene of primary elections yesterday. Once a rising star, Rep. Nancy Mace flamed out of the gubernatorial race:

Mace did not come close — sitting in fifth place with 80 percent of the vote counted. A onetime Trump critic, she had sought to pitch herself as a Trump die-hard.

[Pamela] Evette and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson will face each other in a runoff because neither secured at least 50 percent of the vote among such a crowded field….

Lt. Gov. Evette has President Trump’s endorsement. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham received more than 50% of the vote, thereby avoiding a runoff.

Oh, What a Lovely Cease-Fire. The U.S. has launched strikes on Iran after the terror regime shot down an American Apache helicopter (the two crewmembers have been rescued). A Wall Street Journal story:

The strikes, which lasted several hours and which the military said were carried out in self-defense, were directed by President Trump.

“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a statement released around 9 p.m. Eastern time announcing the end of the operation. …

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a drone attack on the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, the IRGC said.

Many hearts sank at the words “proportional response.” An editorial in the Washington Post finds President Trump “overly eager” to reach a deal with Iran:

While Tehran’s current leadership structure remains opaque, it’s clear that hard-liners retain significant power. In recent weeks, Trump has seemed overly eager to negotiate a peace agreement to extract the U.S. from the war he started in February.

While the administration often repeats that no deal is better than a bad deal, the president also frequently announces that a final breakthrough is imminent (usually to soothe markets right before they open). He also has telegraphed that he lacks the appetite to restart full-scale bombing and pressured Israel over the weekend not to fire back when attacked by Iranian proxies.

The Middle East Forum notes that Iran’s decision to attack Israel was to protect its proxies, most immediately Hezbollah in Lebanon, part of Iran’s “Resistance Axis.” The Wall Street Journal suggests that after three days of strikes, the conflict is entering a “dangerous new phase.”

More on the Iran strikes from CBS.

Karmello Anthony, the Texas teenager who plunged a knife into the heart of another teen, Austin Metcalf, at an athletic event, has been convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years. He will be eligible for parole in 17 years. The case was clear-cut:

One of the most emotional testimonies came from Collin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr Elizabeth Ventura, who described a large, gaping wound in Metcalf’s chest and said the knife had pierced his heart.

Despite overwhelming evidence of Anthony’s guilt, “hate-filled protests” erupted outside the courtroom when the “guilty” verdict was read:

Someone raged, “This whole thing’s been racist!

Another person yelled, “Y’all used to locking up n—as any goddamn way!”

A Metcalf supporter donning a suit and tie was hauled away from the courthouse in handcuffs after he allegedly shoved an Anthony sympathizer.

The cops physically blocked the pro-Anthony mob from reaching the detained man.

“Bye b–ch! Bye p—y ass n—a!” one woman cackled.

This is such a disheartening story. Anthony’s mother made a plea for mercy for her son. In a heartrending statement, Austin Metcalf’s father demanded that Anthony look him in the eye:

Metcalf had been silenced by a gag order by the court for opposing the decision to place Anthony under house arrest while awaiting trial.

He blamed the teen’s crazed supporters for swatting his home six times.

The outraged Metcalf briefly mentioned the pro-Karmelo Anthony protesters who had formed outside the courthouse as he shot down the group’s claims that the trial was racist against a young black teen who had committed the stabbing in self-defense.

“This was never about race,” he said. “It is about right and wrong. The public’s response sickens me … The moral decay is frightening.”

A Knife Attack in Belfast. A Sudanese migrant has been identified as the suspect in an attempted beheading in Belfast. You read that right—beheading:

Stephen Ogilvie, thought to be 44, suffered injuries to both eyes after Sudanese migrant Hadi Alodid, 30, allegedly tried to behead him late Monday night, the Sun reported.

Barbaric video footage showed Ogilvie being pinned under the knifeman — with a horrified witness heard crying, “He’s trying to cut his head off. He’s slicing his head off.”

The migrant — who reportedly exploited a legal loophole to get into the UK — is also accused of threatening to kill a radiographer on the same day as Monday’s attack, the hearing was told.

Fortunately, a heroic bystander stepped in before it was too late. Belfast is convulsed by rioting. In a post headlined “The Barbarism in Belfast,” Spiked Online’s Brendan O’Neill writes that the crazed, savage knifing was a bloody byproduct of state failure. O’Neill writes:

Are we allowed to feel pure, cold rage yet? It’s what millions of us felt this morning as we watched footage of that barbarous assault in Belfast. However much the pleb-fearing thoughtpolice of Keir Starmer’s government might disapprove of such fury, it’s the emotion that swelled in all decent British and Irish people as they saw a brute rain stab after stab upon his sprawled, struggling victim. Good luck trying to curb the people’s rage over this act of wanton savagery.

It was truly obscene. On a dimly lit nighttime street in north Belfast, a kind of medieval butchery unfolded. A local man in his 40s was mercilessly pinned down by the knifeman. Each plunge of the knife was coldly, cruelly executed. The monster went for the man’s face, his neck, his back. The police announced this morning that the victim suffered ‘significant injuries to his eyes’. Was this an attempted eye-gouging? In the United Kingdom in 2026? Some are calling it an attempted beheading. Whichever it was, we now know the early media reports about a ‘knife incident’ were shamefully euphemistic, dolling up a monstrous atrocity in the garb of everyday crime.

You might remember that there was a knifing in New York’s Penn Station on Sunday. City Journal points out that there was “nothing normal” about the Penn Station slashing. New Yorkers aren’t going to riot (at least about this). Rather, the threat is that they will normalize mental illness. The slasher appears to have been mentally ill. Ho hum.

Don’t miss “The Lockdown Dissidents,” a video opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on “ a group of prominent scientists challenged the prevailing government approach to lockdowns.”

The President of the United States was booed during the national anthem last night at Madison Square Garden. No surprise, the Knicks’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs was blamed on President Trump, including an anticipatory rant from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith to the effect that if the Knicks lost, it would be President Trump’s fault:

Trump watched the Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs with his granddaughter Kai – and he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game. 

He saluted the NYPD officers carrying the American flag during the National Anthem. 

But Smith made his opposition about Trump’s attendance clear in an unhinged on-air rant.

“If it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him,” he raged, which sparked laughter in the studio.

President Trump responded. The Garden was on high alert even before the president arrived after a mass stabbing incident. We now know the identity of the Penn Station madman, suspect in a stabbing spree, injuring six, one seriously, in the transit hub that is too close for comfort to Madison Square Garden. Poor guy had been given the draconian sentence of probation after pleading guilty to a previous stabbing.

Maine voters go to the polls and weigh in on Graham Platner today. Mr. Platner is the man whose past is so colorful that his Nazi SS tattoos may be the least of his worries:

Graham Platner is the overwhelming favorite to win Maine’s Democratic Senate primary. But the question hanging over the race is whether a series of troubling revelations about his past will lead a significant portion of Democratic voters to back Gov. Janet Mills, who ended her campaign in April after being unable to overcome Platner’s strong polling.

Platner’s present appears to be colorful, too. Mr. Platner allegedly has an active account with Kik, the premier child pornography messaging app, known as the “predator’s paradise.” The Maine Senate race could affect the makeup of the U.S. House. A Republican state rep in Maine cautions about a Senator Platt’s policies.

Reality Check. Spencer Pratt has been edged out of the runoff for Mayor of Los Angeles by socialist Nithya Raman, who will oppose incumbent Karen Bass, who once had the distinct honor of outdoing famed Roman Emperor Nero. He only fiddled while his city burned.

President Trump has charged fraud in California’s vote counting. “Is California’s Election ‘Rigged’?” an editorial in the Wall Street Journal asks today. The editors comment on the “sloth-like pace” of California vote counting, but conclude:

There’s no evidence so far that fraud has affected the results of the L.A. mayoral race, but the delayed results are a disservice to democracy.

Waltzing with Fraud? Vice President Vance has referred allegations involving Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Justice Department’s fraud division for a potential criminal investigation over alleged fraud in federally funded social services programs. “They Knew All Along” is a headline on a post by the Minnesota-based Powerline blog, which has been on the Minnesota fraud issue longer than anyone else. Vance’s anti-fraud work may be his greatest asset for 2028.

The Middle East Is on Edge. Iran’s strikes on Israel reveal new and aggressive regional ambitions, while Lebanon is teetering at the abyss of a new civil war. “Israel Fights While Trump Talks” is the headline of a Wall Street Journal editorial:

Iran’s weekend missile attack on Israel was its latest act of war amid the cease-fire, another attempt to impose a new strategic reality on its neighbors. It went differently this time because the Israelis didn’t make excuses for Iran’s regime in reply. …

If the regime won’t make a deal that meets U.S. objectives, Mr. Trump needs an alternative—and soon. The war has now passed the 100-day mark, and the Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The U.S. has been helping sneak vessels through while its own blockade punishes Iran. But the regime has also gotten away with repeated attacks while it drags out talks and rebuilds its military arsenal. In recent weeks the U.S. position has been eroding.

The Free Press has two stories this morning  that are germane to the situation in the Middle East: “Why It’s Futile to Debate Israel’s Enemies,” by Sam Harris, and “Mr. President, Don’t Let Tehran Dupe You,” by Aaron MacLean.

I think Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn is warning all of us not to be duped in his latest headlined “In Newark, the Mayhem Is the Message“:

The most obvious truth about Delaney Hall—the private building in Newark, N.J., where Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds people who entered the U.S. illegally—is that the protests outside its gates aren’t about what the protesters say they are about.

They say they’re concerned with improving conditions for the detainees. ….

Over the weekend border czar Tom Homan went to the facility on an unannounced visit to see for himself. In the cafeteria, he ate a big plate of spaghetti, which he pronounced fine. It didn’t matter. The real goal of these protests has always been to shut the ICE facility down.

The protesters cheerfully admit this. So do leading New Jersey Democrats. On her official X feed, Gov. Mikie Sherrill has pinned a post that reads: “I am going to keep working for better conditions inside Delaney Hall until it is closed for good.”

USA TODAY columnist Nicole Russell read the transcript of the Meet the Press interview, conducted by Kristen Welker, that caused President Trump to exit the set prematurely. Russell’s interpretation of what happened is a little different from the MSM’s:

To many mainstream outlets and Democrats, this will read as more evidence that Trump is thin-skinned and hostile to accountability. That critique has merit. But to most conservatives, the exchange is a flashpoint in a larger conversation about America’s eroding trust in the media.

Good News. Leor Sapir suggests in City Journal that Democrats may be cooling towards WPATH, the alleged leading authority in U.S. transgender medicine. WPATH never met a so-called “gender affirming” treatment it didn’t like:

It’s possible that the failure to mention WPATH at last week’s hearing was just an oversight, but it’s more likely that the organization has become a liability for transgender advocacy groups (like Minter’s National Center for LGBTQ Rights) and their allies in the Democratic Party.

This is not, as some might think, merely fixing a citation error. In the U.S., WPATH’s authority over the field of gender medicine is all but undisputed. (For a summary, see Chapter 10 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ report on pediatric gender medicine, of which I was a coauthor.) WPATH’s guidelines and trainings define the field and are incorporated into hospital practice, insurance schemes, medical education, and malpractice litigation. It’s recommendations, as the Cass Review, the landmark British review of pediatric gender medicine, noted, are laundered through endorsement by other, more eminent and well-known medical groups, especially the Endocrine Society. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy statement of 2018 defers to WPATH and the Endocrine Society for medical recommendations.

Ms. Must’s favorite this morning is Gerard Baker’s “When ‘60 Minutes’ Is an Hour Too Long.” It’s pegged, as you might guess, to the Scott Pelley firing and subsequent drama:

Will America survive the murder of “60 Minutes”? Will the world?

The brutal homicide of America’s longest-running television newsmagazine was reported last week by its immaculately coiffed and richly compensated frontman Scott Pelley. For the crime of exposing this act of violence against journalism, truth and freedom, Mr. Pelley was shown the door after 37 years at the Tiffany network. These are dark days. If they can eliminate in plain sight an institution as central to the survival of the republic as Mr. Pelley and his carefully chewed spectacles, surely no one is safe.

First they came for the preening, powdered popinjays of television news, but I did not speak out because I am not a popinjay.

Two for the Road. A tribute to the late Gordon S. Wood, a historian who loved America, and “Update Your Assumptions,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon, who says that the norms of her childhood are long gone.

Well, well—it’s hard news Friday as the main (as opposed to Maine) news today originates in the world’s greatest deliberative society, so known. 

An embattled ICE—Immigration and Customs Enforcement—might receive funding until the end of President Trump’s term, although the Senate bill to do so required some fancy footwork:

Republican senators stopped short of using their political leverage to kill President Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, approving a critical immigration-enforcement bill without adding language reining in the controversial program.

Passage of the $70 billion package funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s second term came after a more than 19-hour session of amendment votes and intraparty negotiations. The GOP-backed measure passed 52 to 47 shortly before 5 a.m., with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting with Democrats against the bill.

The session’s votes allowed GOP senators in competitive election fights this fall—including Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida—to register their objections to the fund without derailing a bill that is a priority for Trump and the party.

The House is expected to take up the immigration-enforcement measure next week.

The party line vote, 52-47, came early this morning. The Washington Post observes:

The bill’s passage is the culmination of a months-longfight over government funding triggered by the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis in January during protests against the administration’s deportation operations there. Democrats in Congress refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and CBP, unless Republicans agreed to impose new restrictions on federal agents.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, nominated to become AG, previously gave assurances that the anti-weaponization bill is dead. The amendments were sought to put a final nail in its coffin. An underlying issue in ICE funding is whether the United States will enforce its immigration laws at all. To that point, here’s a Rorschach test. Do you see this as a sad necessity or a crime against humanity?

The hard news is certainly hard for John Bolton. Bolton, who served as a national security adviser in President Trump’s first term and then wrote a book critical of the experience (“The Room Where It Happened“), plans to plead guilty to mishandling classified documents and will pay a $2.25 million fine as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, three sources told Reuters yesterday.

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal is merciless on the Trump administration’s handling of Bolton:

President Trump may hate being the target of lawfare, but he sure knows how to wield it against anyone who crosses him. That’s the story of John Bolton, his former national security adviser, who is agreeing to a plea deal essentially for the sin of writing a critical book about his time advising Mr. Trump.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy writes in National Review:

To repeat what I explained when Bolton was indicted in autumn 2025, the Bolton investigation was always qualitatively different from other episodes in President Trump’s lawfare campaign to prosecute his political enemies. I admire Bolton, so I take no pleasure in saying his case involved concrete evidence of misconduct.

New York Times Sends Bat Signal. The New York Times published a devastating story yesterday headlined “Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior.” “Unsettling” is mild for the kind of behavior described by the Times, and the story is being interpreted in some circles as the New York Times’ signal to dump Platner. Politico reports that many Dems are rejecting this advice. Platner so far shows no inclination to get out of the race:

Platner, on MSNOW on Thursday just hours after The Times published its story, denied the allegations of violence and said they were coming from someone who’s “politically motivated.” He said he has “not once” considered dropping out of the race.

The New York Times is not the only establishment standard-bearer that has a Platner problem. Maine is a cornerstone to Democratic hopes of taking the majority in the Senate in the midterms. And won’t things be interesting in Maine this weekend?

“Rubio, Bessent Show Obsequious GOP How to Give No Quarter to Propagandists” is the headline on a delightful Federalist piece. Both men went to the circus—I mean, separate hearings on Capitol Hill—this week. They were lion tamers! No, make that masters of a three-ring circus of angry pussy cats, who, alas, were not rendered speechless. Here’s a favorite Bessent moment as captured on a Nick Sortor X post:

TILLIS TO BESSENT: Did you tell Director Pulte you’d punch him in the face? BESSENT: “No sir — I actually said I was going to kick his ASS!”

LMAOOOO

Ah, Mister Pulte. I’m afraid he has been the talk of the town this week. Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel has something to say about Mr. Pulte, a MAGA stalwart, whom President Trump wants to serve as the new Director of National Intelligence:

Job Description: Superpower seeks . . . anyone, to direct its national intelligence apparatus. Responsibilities: Whatever the CIA tells you. Qualifications: Obeisance to Donald Trump’s day-by-day agenda. Willingness to express constant admiration for the boss. Fluidity in MAGA “talk.” No intelligence experience required. Benefits: Knowing you are one Truth Social post from permanent retirement. Hours: This can be a part-time position (and please also consider our IRS opening)….

That’s a disturbing thought, though the naming of Mr. Pulte as acting director of national intelligence offers a useful contrast between the two Trump terms—and an explanation of its problems today. Trump One was drawn from experienced Republican hands who, despite initial disorganization and later disruptions, produced a record of achievement that helped get Mr. Trump a second term. Trump Two is populated from an ecosphere of MAGA think tanks, money men and political shops that was created post-2020 to cultivate and vet a pool of loyalists. That makes for a small universe, as evidenced by the growing number of multi-hatted Trump employees….

Many on the team are doing admirable work. But these requirements for club entry make for a small and self-limiting pool….

Meanwhile, Matthew Continetti, also in the Wall Street Journal, says: “End the Phony Cease-Fire with Iran.” President Trump must regain the initiative and restore U.S. credibility, Continetti argues:

Furthermore, Iran’s public rhetoric is as hostile as ever—even as President Trump and his team say Iran is negotiating in good faith. “I’d like to meet him,” Mr. Trump says of Iran’s nepo-baby ayatollah, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

The happy talk may be necessary to calm markets. Meanwhile the U.S. blockade crushes Iran’s economy. But one can walk this tightrope for only so long. Eventually, one returns to earth. The phony cease-fires strain U.S. credibility. They sap America’s deterrent. They foster mistrust among our allies, when the goal should be to sow disorder in Iran.

Alarm. Emma Camp warns in a piece entitled “Death Is Bad for Your Mental Health” that societies that have surrendered to moral relativism are giving doctors permission to help mentally ill teenagers commit suicide.

Insider Information. Juan David Rojas about “My Time Inside the Immigration Industrial Complex” for Compact Mag.

It did not take long, however, before I began to question the foundations of the immigration regime under Biden. …

Early on in my time as case manager, a sponsor originally from Honduras, Humberto, asked me what he should say at his immigration hearing. Dutifully, I explained that those persecuted due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or specific social group were eligible for asylum with some courts including fear of reprisal from criminal groups. Minors who suffer sexual abuse or forced labor during their journeys or while in the United States may also qualify for a special visa. “Does any of that apply in your case?” I asked. 

“No,” he told me. “I just want to help my family in Honduras.” 

I had many conversations along these lines, though most of those I spoke to were less overt about the dubiousness of their asylum claims.

In legal terms, policymakers have determined that those most deserving of asylum are afforded Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a determination made on the grounds that conditions in specific countries are so severe they warrant additional protections and benefits. Under Biden, protected status was granted to Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians. Recipients from Cuba and Haiti were also eligible for Medicaid and food stamps. 

This Just In: Good May Jobs report.

And MY UNCLE was not eaten by cannibals.