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The Platner Revisionism Continues; The LA Times Weeps for Taco Stand Owner ICE Picked Up on Murder Charge

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Jul 08, 2026
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Stolen Validity – AXIOS

  • Give him credit, at least he did not say BREAKING.

As we covered earlier today, Alex Thompson came out with a “hey, you guys, look what I found out” kind of report on the old news that—get this—Graham Platner is not a good dude!

We have to appreciate how Thompson gives a comprehensive dose of coverage of Platner’s problems…now that the polls show him as a liability and the Democrats want him to step down.


Low Octane gas Lighting – THE DAILY BEAST

  • You guys really thought you had him with this one, didn’t you???

The Beast had a “scathing” report on U.S. Republican Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26). At issue was Gill posting an image of himself with his kids in a promotional post, and the outlet felt that this was a harsh exclusion of his Indian American wife.

The site claimed the GOPer was getting “blasted”, which means the site was trying to gin up outrage over a non-story. Gill himself blasted the claim out of the water, noting that he had made three posts on the same topic that day, with his wife displayed beside him.

Yeah, but she was not seen in one of them, which means… uh, which means… sorry, we have nothing.


Prose & Contradiction – TAMPA BAY TIMES

  • Not exactly going out on a high note, there. Not even a mid-level one.

Lawrence Mower is leaving his position at the Tampa Bay Times, and we may have an indication that his brand of reporting may not be missed. As a farewell piece, he published a hit on Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier about the way he is acting for the special benefit of his fundraisers.

Now, lest you think the Tampa area may be left bereft of this type of trenchant investigative reporting, there is a small dose of disqualifying information; it was provided by Mower himself. Turns out there is only speculation, as presented in a court case.

  • There’s no proof the Attorney General’s office stepped in because of the donations. But questions about the blurring of political and official actions spilled into court proceedings last month in a case involving one of his donors.

So “questions about blurring” were more than enough to run with an accusatory headline.


Border-line Obsessive – LOS ANGELES TIMES

  • We are surprised there was not a positive review of the tacos.

The Times covers how ICE has detained a woman who has what it describes as a “Taco Stand Empire”.

  • Mariana Yepez climbed the ranks of the Los Angeles street food scene before building her own taco empire. Yepez and her husband toiled at various food trucks and restaurants until 2018, when they launched a series of stands named after their daughter: Ricos Tacos Naomi. Serving up heaps of fatty cabeza and sizzling al pastor, it grew to nearly a dozen locations spanning from Long Beach to L.A. to the Antelope Valley.

Those damned ICE agents! Of course, we have to read a bit further to get to the meat of what the Times is serving. Ms. Yepez is, as you can guess, an illegal. She is also facing a murder charge, in a conspiracy involving her, the victim, and another person charged, all of whom were involved in an accident settlement claim.


Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – WASHINGTON POST

  • If you make a claim boldly enough, you do not need sourcing for your data!

 At the WaPo crisis outlet, we get the latest hysteria over something President Trump is said to have caused. We get told there is a mass migration of trans individuals taking place, and a city such as Seattle is being strained by the influx. We are told that 400,000 trans individuals have relocated since Donald Trump won reelection, due to hostility in the states they reside in or other issues related to their status. 

If you have questions about that figure, those will go unanswered. Casey Parks, who is writing on this migration, cites a study from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), but when looking at the study cited, that 400K number is not to be found.

In tracking down where that figure emerged, it comes from noted trans activist Erin Reed, and it is derived from creative bookkeeping.

Reed looked at that NORC survey and saw a section that sampled 1,000 trans individuals, and came to the conclusion that nine percent of respondents said they had moved. Then, Reed applied that figure to the estimated number of trans folks in the U.S. and concluded that the resulting number was the number of trans folks who are moving.

Not only is this a flawed metric, but it does not account for how many trans individuals currently live in accepting locations — where they are surely concentrated — and do not intend to move.