The Villain

It’s hard even after all that has happened to take Donald Trump seriously. That he is a bully, a liar, a tax cheat and a thoroughly evil person is obvious, and his lack of the mental capacity to fully grasp the role of the presidency when he was in the White House is almost laughable.

Almost, except that it makes those of us paying attention angry instead.

We are living with the aftermath of his absurd presidency and his attempt to steal the 2020 election to this day. The Congressional committee probing the Jan. 6th riot is bringing it all back into sharp focus, which makes a lot of us angry once again.

And that is a good thing.

And I’m returning to the subject today because a couple friends pointed out to me that when I labeled Mike Pence a hero yesterday for refusing to obey Trump’s command to overturn the election I failed to note that Pence’s own lawyer had told him he would probably go to jail if did so.

That’s a valid point and it reduces Pence’s stature to that of a flawed hero at best. Meanwhile, politically there is nothing I respect about Pence. He supported all of Trump’s misguided policies for the four years they were in office and even today is courting Trump voters in his own quest to try and get the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

The last thing this country needs is more Trump.

Whether it was the threat of jail or a moment of true conscience that caused Pence to verify the electoral votes confirming Biden as president doesn’t really matter. He did it, thank god.

Democracy as it exists in the U.S. is both fragile and unfinished. Many of the systems, including the electoral college itself, are outdated and undemocratic. If we had a true democracy, for example, the person winning the majority of the popular votes would be president. There would be no need for the V-P to verify the electoral votes because there would be no electoral votes.

In addition, there is no excuse for tiny states like Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska or the Dakotas to continue to have two senators each when their entire populations are smaller than the city of San Francisco’s, let alone California’s, which has over ten times as many people as those five states combined. Yet they get just as many senators as California does!

There is nothing democratic about that.

Alas, we’re stuck with an imperfect system that perpetuates the inequalities that allow dangerous individuals like Trump to sneak into office. But the final line of defense in the U.S. system is the rule of law, which for the most part remains in place.

But that brings us to the Supreme Court. Don’t get me started on that topic…

Thanks to Joel Kirshenbaum and Mike Kepp for advising me on the “Pence as hero” matter.

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/18/22 — 41 stories from 25 sources)

1. Putin lambasts the West and declares the end of 'the era of the unipolar world' (CNN)

2. Putin insists West's 'economic blitzkrieg' is a failure (NHK)

3. Ukraine moves closer to joining the EU; Zelenskky says historic decision will help to defeat Russia (CNBC)

4. The Dutch intelligence service said it had uncovered a Russian military agent attempting to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine. (Reuters)

5. Ukraine’s Farmers, Contending With Stolen Grain and Mined Fields, Now Say Land Is Being Seized (WSJ)

6. UK pledges to train thousands of Ukrainian troops (BBC)

7. VIDEO: European Leaders Meet With Zelensky in Kyiv (Reuters)

8. ‘Marching towards starvation’: UN warns of hell on earth if Ukraine war goes on (Guardian)

9. What We Know About Trump, Pence, and January 6th (New Yorker)

10. For Mike Pence, Jan. 6 Began Like Many Days. It Ended Like No Other. (NYT)

11. Trump lawyer who pressured Pence to reject electors asked for pardon after Jan. 6: recap (USA Today)

12. January 6 committee wrestles with the same unsolvable question about Trump -- how to hold him to account (CNN)

13. Trump, Told It Was Illegal, Still Pressured Pence to Overturn His Loss (NYT)

14. Ginni Thomas’s emails with Trump lawyer add to tumult at Supreme Court (WP)

15. So far, Ginni Thomas has avoided answering questions under oath about her involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That could change thanks to the reports of emails between Thomas and John Eastman, the lawyer who advised Trump how to upend the election result. Thomas, the wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the Daily Caller  she “can’t wait to clear up misconceptions” about her involvement. [HuffPost]

16. The House’s endangered species: Republicans who break from the base (Politico)

17. Biden approval rating at 39% amid economic fears; 47% 'strongly disapprove' (USA Today)

18. New Mexico’s top prosecutor told a GOP-led county commission to comply with an order to certify results from its primary election on June 7, the latest development in a case arising from far-right conspiracy theories over voting machines. [AP]

19. How Elites Misread Public Opinion (Politico)

20. Afghanistan is not ours to fix (The Hill)

21. Turkey Deports Thousands to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan (VoA)

22. Nupur Sharma protests: The police brutality video that shocked India (BBC)

23. Fears Grow Over Iran’s Nuclear Program as Tehran Digs a New Tunnel Network (NYT)

24. FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 shots for infants, preschoolers (AP)

25. Covid hospital admissions rise in Europe as sub-variants fuel new wave (Financial Times)

26. Iowa court: Abortion not protected by state constitution (Politico)

27. Why cryptocurrencies have gone from the next hot thing to a full-on meltdown (NPR)

28. Recession Fears Surge Among CEOs, Survey Suggests (WSJ)

29. Americans support student loan forgiveness, but would rather rein in college costs (NPR)

30. Britain said Julian Assange can be sent to the U.S. to face spying charges. The founder of WikiLeaks. He faces 18 U.S. criminal charges related to the site’s publishing of thousands of diplomatic cables and classified files in 2010. (WP)

31. California may require labels on pot products to warn of mental health risks (KQED)

32. Could liability insurance prevent gun violence in California? (Politico)

33. Three wildfires have laid waste to 1,600 hectares of pines and bushesin eastern Spain since Wednesday as a European heatwave pushes temperatures close to record highs. In neighboring France, the Gironde department around Bordeaux banned outdoor public events and those at indoor venues without air conditioning. (Reuters)

34. The West just experienced an aspect of the climate crisis that scientists have warned of for years (CNN)

35. A string of climate disasters has hit U.S. even before summer (WP)

36. Fifty Years After Watergate, A Generation of Frightened Editors (Politico)

37. How the bluest asteroid in the solar system got its color (Space.com)

38. Some polar bears found a way to survive without sea ice. They evolved. Isolated for hundreds of years in the southeast corner of Greenland, the bears can now hunt and travel on glacial ice that sticks out from the ice sheet. (WP)

39. The Warriors' Latest Title Might Be Their Most Surprising (538)

40. McCartney marks 80th birthday with Springsteen, 60,000 pals (AP)

41. Report: (Balloon) Didn’t Pop (The Onion)

The Hero

 I have to admit that I nearly nodded off during the Jan. 6th hearing Thursday while listening to a man who frankly seemed like the most boring witness ever — Judge J. Michael Luttig (Ret.) . But I’m glad I didn’t because what he said was important.

Essentially, he testified (very slowly and deliberately) that what Trump asked Pence to do — overturn the results of the 2020 election — had no basis in constitutional law. And Pence followed the law, not Trump.

The committee also highlighted the timeline of events on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump basically incited the mob to hold Pence accountable if he did not do Trump’s bidding, which led directly to the chant of “Hang Mike Pence.”

It also emerged that the angry mob came frighteningly close to locating Pence on that awful day, before Secret Service agents escorted him out of harm’s way. You can imagine what might have occurred had they found him. The President of the United States did nothing to stop his mob as it tried to kill his ever-loyal Vice-President.

Even more than we knew at the time, Mike Pence was an American hero that day. It’s not that he did anything extraordinary; it’s that he didn’t. He did not obey an order from his boss, the Commander-in-Chief of the United States to illegally overturn the election.

And that made a difference. History will certainly view Pence kindly, at least if this is the end of the story. 

But the problem is that the crisis of Jan. 6th is not finished yet. That is what every American has to realize. This entire scenario may repeat itself in 2024, with less scrupulous characters in place lower on the electoral college pecking order than the Vice-President.

I’m confident that the current V-P, Kamala Harris, would do as Pence did and also as Al Gore did in 2001, if the Democrats lose in 2024 and certify the results honestly. But what if she is asked to approve fraudulent electoral votes submitted by the election deniers now taking office in some states? Then we would face a constitutional crisis of unprecedented proportions.

The third hearing of the Jan. 6 committee is available on CSPAN.

P.S. I would be seriously remiss if I didn’t note that the Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship last night. They were led by the greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry. But that’s not what I love about this guy. He is a person who believes in working hard to get better all the time. That might be a plan for the rest of us to consider. Just try to make ourselves better day by day.

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/17/22 — 45 stories from 24 sources)

1. Jan. 6 committee eyes Trump's pressure on Pence (CBS)

2. Panel looks at how Trump contributed to riot violence (CNN)

3. Pence’s Jan. 6 tightrope: Owning his role while courting Trump voters (WP)

4. Retired Republican judge says January 6 was 'well-developed plan' by Trump to cling to power (CNN)

5. Ginni Thomas corresponded with John Eastman, sources in Jan. 6 House investigation say (WP)

6. Jan. 6 panel leaders prepare to call Ginni Thomas (Politico)

7. Trump Lawyer Cited ‘Heated Fight’ Among Justices Over Election Suits (NYT)

8. What we know about how Pence’s day unfolded on Jan. 6 (AP)

9. New footage released by the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection shows members of a tour group hosted by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) taking pictures at the Capitol and making menacing comments about members of Congress. Meanwhile, new details have surfaced about how Pence hid from rioters at the U.S. Capitol. [HuffPost]

10. Charging Trump for fundraising off election lies would face high bar, experts say (CNN)

11. Jan. 6 Panel Says Capitol Marcher Toured With G.O.P. Congressman (NYT)

12. Afghanistan facing ‘the darkest moments’ in a generation (UN News)

13. Russia Says 'Inclusive' Afghan Government Key to Recognizing Taliban (Voice of America)

14. Afghanistan’s Warlords Prepare Their Comeback (Foreign Policy)

15. Can Neutrality Bring Peace to Afghanistan? (National Interest)

16. European Leaders Visit Ukraine as Kyiv Renews Calls for More Military Support (WSJ)

17. EU leaders back Ukraine's membership bid (BBC)

18. The West’s unity over Ukraine could be starting to crack, just as Russia’s invasion gains ground (CNBC)

19. Russian army ramps up recruitment as steep casualties thin the ranks (WP)

20. Putin just said that Russia will be raking in oil and gas profits for years to come, and 3 key data points show he might be right (Fortune)

21. U.S. and Allies Pledge Additional Arms for Ukraine, but Kyiv Wants More (NYT)

22. Tensions heighten in Taiwan Strait as China acts to extend military operations (Guardian)

23. Why Biden Shouldn’t Run in 2024 (Atlantic)

24. VIDEO: Fed Raises Interest Rates Sharply to Combat Inflation (AP)

25. Inflation could put election deniers in charge of our democracy (E.J. Dionne Jr/WP)

26. World stocks fell and the dollar regained its footing on concerns over the impact of surging inflation and an aggressive policy tightening outlook from global central banks. (Reuters)

27. Wall Street gets back to tumbling after 1-day reprieve (AP)

28. The Fed’s war on inflation is also a battle for the minds of consumers (Financial Times)

29. Recession fears grow as Dow closes below 30,000, mortgage rates spike (WP)

30. Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt (Kaiser Health News)

31. A major trend in abortion care across the U.S. has begun to reverse, with the number of abortions performed in recent years ticking up after decades of decline, according to the Guttmacher Institute. [HuffPost]

32. Criminal defense lawyers sound the alarm about mass incarceration if Roe falls (NPR)

33. Bodies found in search for Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira (Guardian)

34. Man confesses to killing missing journalist and colleague in Amazon rainforest, police say (WP)

35. Flooding Chaos in Yellowstone, a Sign of Crises to Come (NYT)

36. After Yellowstone, floodwaters menace Montana’s largest city. (AP)

37. Extreme heat and humidity kill thousands of cattle in Kansas (WP)

38. Scientists discover rapidly growing black hole (Phys.org)

39. China's Sky Eye Telescope May Have Detected Signals From Alien Civilisations (Swarajya)

40. Giant tortoise believed extinct confirmed alive in the Galápagos Islands — She’s the last of her kind, barring another discovery. So scientists are studying her while holding out hope for finding a mate. (WP)

41. John Hinckley, who wounded then President Ronald Reagan and three others in a 1981 assassination attempt, was released without conditions in compliance with a federal judge's order. He received full-time conditional release in 2016 after 30 years in a psychiatric hospital. (Reuters)

42. What If All Men Disappeared and the World Was Just Boring? — A new feminist utopian novel imagines a world without men. The problem is they’re never really gone. (Atlantic)

43. Internet Explorer Is Shutting Down in a Burst of Nostalgia (NYT)

44. Edible insect vending machine set up in Nagano Pref. (NHK)

45. BREAKING: Onion Lotto Jackpot Up To 9 Bucks (The Onion)

Breaking the Circle of Poison

It’s been over 40 years since our book, Circle of Poison, documented the spread of toxic agrochemicals around the world. As part of the research Mark Schapiro and I did for that book, we talked with numerous scientists who warned about the long-term health and environmental dangers from those chemicals.

Skeptics, and we encountered many, pointed out that most people were exposed only to small quantities of the substances we were writing about. That was true. But some of the scientists argued that it was precisely the low doses that were of concern, because they were easily absorbed by animals and plants as they moved up the food chain.

The book caused a moderate sensation after publication, more overseas than in the U.S. But one of the obvious solutions to the problem — greater government regulation — proved to be a long time coming.

That was one reason I was encouraged by reading of President Biden’s decision to try and clean up what these days are known as “forever chemicals” from our drinking water.

It’s long overdue and not nearly enough to address what is a global not a domestic issue, but a small step toward the day we may finally break the circle of poison. 

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/16/22 — 54 stories from 24 sources)

1. Biden Administration to Start Spending on Cleanup of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water (WSJ)

2. EPA warns toxic ‘forever chemicals’ more dangerous than once thought (WP)

3. EPA warns that even tiny amounts of chemicals found in drinking water pose risks (NPR)

4. Trump’s raising of $250 million for fund that ‘did not exist’ suggests possible fraud (Guardian)

5. Jim Marchant, vocal proponent of election lies, will win GOP primary for Nevada secretary of state. (CNN)

6. G.O.P. primary victories in Nevada set the stage for Trump-centered battles in the fall. (NYT)

7. Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.), one of just 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Donald Trump in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, lost his bid for reelection Tuesday. Trump endorsed frontrunner Rep. Russell Fry who won the race. Though Rice voted to impeach Trump, he also voted to support a challenge to certifying some Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021. [HuffPost]

8. GOP voters in Nevada, S.C. hew closely to Trump (WP)

9. ‘We’re Coming for You’: Man Given Tour of Capitol Complex by GOP Rep Showed Up During Riot the Next Day. (Daily Beast)

10. Bill Stepien, who told the Jan. 6 committee that he quit Trump’s campaign after the 2020 election because he could not go along with his election lies, nevertheless continues to coordinate Trump’s political operation, making lots of money. [HuffPost]

11. Pennsylvania’s vote-counting rules risk 2024 electoral chaos (Edit Bd/WP)

12. Ukraine showed no signs of obeying a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk as NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss sending more heavy weapons to replenish Kyiv's dwindling stocks. (Reuters)

13. Macron: NATO troops in Romania are a “powerful deterrent” (AP)

14. Civilians trapped in eastern city running out of water (BBC)

15. North of Kyiv, the Russians Retreated. But the War Never Left. (NYT)

16. Xi tells Putin he wants to see a settlement (CNBC)

17. Biden says US will send $1 billion more in aid to Ukraine (AP)

18. As prices rise, Europeans divided over how Ukraine war should end (WP)

19. Fed attacks inflation with its largest rate hike since 1994 (AP)

20. Biden is under pressure on gas prices. So he's putting pressure on oil companies (NPR)

21. Progressives have ruined San Francisco. Just ask this heiress (LAT)

22. The Role of "Think Pieces" — The opiate of the elite liberal masses (Copaganda)

23. This Is How Reactionary Prosecutors Thwart Criminal Justice Reform (HuffPost)

24. Biden Weighs Tariff Rollback to Ease Inflation, Even a Little Bit (NYT)

25. Israel and Egypt to boost gas deliveries to EU (Financial Times)

26. Biden launches plan to protect transgender youths’ health care (Politico)

27. Bill Gates Says NFTs, Crypto ‘100%’ Based on Greater Fool Theory (WSJ)

28. You're 18. You can't rent a car, hit the club or buy cigarettes — but you can get an AR-15. (HuffPost)

29. The Rifle That Ruined America (Atlantic)

30. US abortions rise: 1 in 5 pregnancies terminated in 2020 (AP)

31. Abortions jumped in 2020, up 8 percent over 3-year period (Politico)

32. Fastest-growing black hole may have been discovered by astronomers (BBC)

33. New Milky Way Visualizations Show the Dance of Millions of Stars in Incredible Detail (Gizmodo)

34. Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is hemorrhaging ice faster than in the past 5,500 years (LiveScience)

35. Scientists are getting closer to a vaccine for cancer. One type would trigger the immune system to pick out cancer cells from normal cells and fight them. Another would prevent cancer in high-risk patients. (WP)

36. Mystery of Black Death’s origins solved, say researchers (Guardian)

37. Black Death Plague Began in Central Asia, Study Shows (WSJ)

38. Journalist conviction in Zimbabwe a ‘travesty of justice’, say campaigners (Guardian)

39. China Says It May Have Detected Signals From Alien Civilizations (Bloomberg)

40. One Road Partially Reopens After 'Unprecedented' Flooding Strands Tourists, Residents Near Yellowstone (Weather Channel)

41. Yellowstone Park, Staggered by Rain and Floods, Will Stay Closed for Days (NYT)

42. Record heat swelled from Nebraska to South Carolina, flooding closed Yellowstone National Park and fires raged in the southwest. (WP)

43. Floods leave Yellowstone landscape ‘dramatically changed’ (AP)

44. Yellowstone flood could close parts of park all summer (WP)

45. Temperatures as high as 113 degrees are expected on Thursday in parts of Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties. (Cal Today)

46. Algal blooms: The blooms can release harmful toxins, and they’re becoming more common as temperatures rise and water systems are disrupted. (San Francisco Chronicle)

47. Brazil police arrest 2nd suspect for Amazon’s missing pair (AP)

48. R.I.P., Internet Explorer (HuffPost)

49. Lady Evelyn Cobbold - why are Muslim pilgrims visiting her Scottish grave? (BBC)

50. The Rise of the Internet’s Creative Middle Class (New Yorker)

51. Netflix is planning a ‘Squid Game’ reality show with a record $4.56 million cash prize (CNBC)

52. K-pop BTS group activity suspension sends shock waves (NHK)

53. The manager of a Northern California gas station was fired after he mistakenly set the gas price to 69 cents a gallon instead of $6.99, costing the station $16,000 after hundreds of drivers filled up. [HuffPost]

54. Man Returns To Work After Vacation With Fresh, Reenergized Hatred For Job (The Onion)

 

Our Future

President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dipped below 40 percent, according to the polling site 538, and that is provoking discussion among Democrats about whether he should run for re-election in 2024.

Biden will turn 80 this November and if re-elected would reach the age of 86 by the end of his second term in the Presidency. His age alone is an issue, regardless of his low approval rating. Should a person that old hold such an important, stressful office?

There are plenty of danger signs besides his age that getting re-elected would be a challenge for Biden. Inflation is reaching levels not seen for decades and shows few signs of slowing. The Fed will begin raising key interest rates, which may dampen the price increases somewhat, but also could help tip the economy into a recession.

Most economists seem to agree that the deteriorating economic situation is a result of the combination of the pandemic and the Ukraine War. The large relief payouts and other expenditures by the federal government to ease the effects of the pandemic, plus global supply issues arising from the war are having serious impacts on a global economy that is also being affected by climate change. 

Meanwhile, the domestic political situation remains fraught with danger. Extremist elements that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6th remain a threat, especially because the majority of Republican Party officials seem unwilling to repudiate the Big Lie that motivates them.

Trump himself remains active in the background, spreading lies and hate and raising the specter of another run in 2024.

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that the fragile victory of democracy over autocracy in 2020 could be reversed in 2024. It feels somehow surreal and alarmist to be writing these words, but I fear they are true.

I don’t know whether a decision to indict Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6th riot would make the overall situation better or worse — or whether that is even a question that will be considered by the Justice Department, given the national security implications.

But apparently, the tension over that possibility is now in danger of fracturing the bipartisan consensus that has to date held on the Congressional committee investigating that riot.

America stands at a crossroads. More than ever before we need voices of reason to emerge in leadership. If nothing else, that is what Joe Biden represents. But is he the last of his kind?

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/15/22 — 39 stories from 23 sources)

1. Jan. 6 committee abruptly postpones Wednesday hearing (NBC)

2. Suddenly the January 6 committee looks divided (CNN)

3. Jan. 6 Panel Tracks How Trump Created and Spread Election Lies (NYT)

4. New details emerge of Oval Office confrontation three days before Jan. 6 (WP)

5. How Trump Could End Up in Prison (New Yorker)

6. South Carolina congressman who voted for impeachment will fall to Trump-backed challenger, while another incumbent who defied Trump will survive primary. (CNN)

7. The War in Ukraine Has Exposed a Critical American Vulnerability — Shoring up the nation’s supply chain is the single greatest challenge to the national defense. (Atlantic)

8. VIDEO: Trump Campaign Used Election Lies to Raise Funds, Panel Finds (Reuters)

9. Russians control 80% of contested city in eastern Ukraine (AP)

10. The 19th-Century Technology Driving Russia’s Latest Gains in Ukraine: Railroads (WSJ)

11. Russia destroys every bridge leading to Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk (BBC)

12. Ukraine said its forces were still holding out inside Sievierodonetsk and trying to evacuate civilians, after Russia destroyed the last bridge to the devastated eastern city in a potential turning point in one of the war's bloodiest battles. (Reuters)

13. ‘We exist but it is not a life’: Afghan women face bleak prospects under Taliban (Guardian)

14. Departures from Afghanistan resume, but pace is worrisome for allies and Afghans (Washington Examiner)

15. She was one year away from going to college. Then the Taliban banned her from school. (BuzzFeed)

16. Taiwan: Are the US and China heading to war over the island? (BBC)

17. Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that protects patients getting abortions and medical professionals in New York from legal retaliation by other states that restrict the procedure. Here's how U.S. states are taking sides on abortion. (Reuters)

18. The Lessons Liberal Prosecutors Are Drawing From San Francisco’s Backlash (NYT)

19. Proud Boys disrupt drag-queen reading event, prompting hate-crime probe (WP)

20. An Idaho police station is receiving death threats after 31 members of Patriot Front were arrested after attempting to start a riot at a Pride event supporting the LGBTQIA community in the city of Coeur d’Alene. [HuffPost]

21. Experts: Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric could galvanize extremists (AP)

22. More than 100 GOP primary winners back Trump’s false fraud claims (WP)

23. Bear Market Sends Grim Signal of Economic Fears (NYT)

24. No bodies found in hunt for journalist and expert, Brazil police say (Reuters)

25. Coinbase is laying off 1,100 employees as Bitcoin prices continue to fall (The Verge)

26. What’s the catalyst behind the crypto crash? (TechCrunch)

27. Crypto industry fears regulatory backlash over lending crisis (Politico)

28. Wall Street wobbles a day after tumbling into bear market (AP)

29. Why some of the country's top CEOs fear a recession is coming (NPR)

30. Wall Street braced for sharp Fed rate rise to fight soaring inflation (Financial Times)

31. Allergies in overdrive as extreme weather drives higher pollen count (Guardian)

32. ‘Space bubbles’ between Earth, sun possibly could reverse destructive climate change, MIT researchers say (Oregonian)

33. The Western U.S. marked another day of hot, dry and windy weather as crews from California to New Mexico battled wildfires that had forced hundreds of people to leave their homes. Several hundred homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, were evacuated. [AP]

34. A sighting reveals extinction and climate change in a single image (NPR)

35. As California increasingly slips into extreme drought and calls intensify to reduce water use, the state’s water savings in 2022 remain bleak. (Cal Today)

36. The world’s largest trees are struggling to survive climate change (WP)

37. Smart robot helps with congestion at Narita Airport (NHK)

38. Happy the elephant isn’t a person, top New York court rules (AP)

39. Bored Defense Department Bombing Empty Cans Off Fence Out Back Behind Pentagon (The Onion)

TODAY’s LYRICS

“Twelve Thirty”

by John Phillips

I used to live in New York City
Everything there was dark and dirty
Outside my window was a steeple
With a clock that always said 12:30

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walkin'
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talkin'

At first so strange to feel so friendly
To say "Good morning" and really mean it
To feel these changes happenin' in me
But not to notice 'til I feel it

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walkin'
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talkin'

Cloudy waters cast no reflection
Images of beauty lie there stagnant
Vibrations bounce in no direction
But lie there shattered into fragments

Young girls are coming to the canyon (Young girls are coming in the canyon)
And in the mornings I can see them walkin' (In the mornings I can see them walkin')
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn (Can no longer keep my blinds drawn)

And I can't keep myself from talkin' 

Building the Case

The second day of hearings on the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol established that there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election, something most people have long since figured out.

But this wasn’t a news event; it was a legal proceeding. The Congressional committee is building a legal case.

In this hearing, the star witnesses included former Attorney General Bill Barr and various other administration insiders and Republican officials from various swing states. The witnesses testified that Donald Trump knew early on that he had lost.

Nevertheless, Trump and a few individuals, led by an (inebriated) Rudy Giuliani, escalated their claims of fraud, manipulating a large number of loyal Trump voters to believe their claims that the election had been stolen

I found it difficult to once again watch the clips of Trump and Giuliani repeating their outrageous lies during the run-up to Jan. 6th. But I can only hope that anyone who voted for Trump will not only watch these hearings, especially if they still believe Trump’s Big Lie, but consider what it did to this country. 

I fear few such people are watching, however, which is is a pity. They should be preparing themselves for the likely legal aftermath of these hearings.

It is increasingly clear that certain people could and should be indicted by the Justice Department for inciting the Capitol riot. They would then be tried, and if convicted, sentenced according to the full weight of the law.

If I were Trump or Giuliani, I’d be getting very nervous right about now. No one is above the law and treason is a very serious offense.

You can watch Monday’s Jan.6th hearing on CSPAN.

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/14/22 — 39 stories from 19 sources)

1. Jan. 6 witness Barr: Trump ‘detached from reality’ over election (AP)

2. Trump Knew Exactly What He Was Doing on Jan. 6 (Bloomberg)

3. Jan. 6 committee focuses on how Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled the insurrection (WP)

4. Jan. 6 Hearing Focuses on Trump’s Efforts to Cast Doubt on Election (WSJ)

5. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows destroyed documents after a meeting about overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election, a former aide told CNN. Alyssa Farah Griffin said a source with “first-hand knowledge” provided testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee about the incident. [HuffPost]

6. ‘Apparently inebriated’ Rudy Giuliani told Trump to declare victory after Election Day 2020 (Politico)

7. What's in the bipartisan gun deal and what's not (CNN)

8. Senators reached a tentative deal on gun-control legislation. — It would combine modest new restrictions, like stronger background checks for gun buyers under 21, with mental health and school security investments. (WP)

9. VIDEO: White Supremacists Charged With Plans to Disrupt Idaho Pride Event (Reuters)

10. Forces battle for ‘every meter’ of Severodonetsk; Ukraine desperate for heavy weapons ‘to end war’ (CNBC)

11. Russian forces swarmed into the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and pounded a zone where hundreds of civilians were sheltering, a Ukrainian official said - a scene that mirrored Moscow's brutal capture of Mariupol last month. (Reuters)

12. All bridges to key Ukraine city destroyed - official (BBC)

13. The battle of Donbas could prove decisive in Ukraine war (AP)

14. Hunting the hidden dangers that lurk in Ukraine’s lakes and rivers (WP)

15. Tough Questions for West as Ukraine Cities Teeter (NYT)

16. The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decisiondemanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war. (Reuters)

17. Thousands of Afghan families remain separated after messy U.S. exit (WP)

18. High-Ranking Afghan Officials Escaped to Luxury Homes Abroad — As Afghan evacuees struggle world-wide, some top former officials have landed in villas, beachfront homes (WSJ)

19. Afghans go hungry as U.S. and Taliban officials blame each other (WP)

20. Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups are expanding a network of staff to guide patients through what is expected to become an increasingly complex and expensive process to obtain abortions across much of the United States. (Reuters)

21. Items belonging to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira found in Amazon (Guardian)

22. Bodies found tied to tree in search for journalist and Indigenous expert (WP)

23. Crypto markets reel as trading platforms suspend customer withdrawals (Politico)

24. Markets tumble worldwide, bear market growls on Wall Street (AP)

25. The story that broke the Watergate burglary news and led to a scandal (WP)

26. The Secret Pentagon Photos of the First Prisoners at Guantánamo Bay (NYT)

27. 2 Covid-19 vaccine options for kids under 5 are safe and effective, FDA says (Politico)

28. Excessive heat brought a record high temperature of 122 degrees to Death Valley over the weekend. (NPR)

29. Yellowstone National Park closes entrances, evacuates visitors amid 'unprecedented' rainfall, flooding (USA Today)

30. Scientists map Milky Way stars using European space telescope (Financial Times)

31. A mountain in Yellowstone National Park has been renamed in honor of Native Americans who were massacred (CNN)

32. How Animals Perceive the World (Atlantic)

33. Malaysia’s ‘mystery hybrid monkey’ could be result of habitat loss (Guardian)

34. Amazon to deliver packages by drone, after a decade of promises (Politico)

35. Google Suspends Engineer Who Claimed Its AI System Is Sentient (WSJ)

36. The win/loss margin for the recall of Chesa Boudin has turned out to be less than initially reported thanks to mail-in votes. The margin is now just 10 points as opposed to 20, 55% yes vs. 45% No, and voter turnout was 46% in last week's election, not 25% as initially reported. [SF Dept. of Elections]

37. The Warriors beat the Celtics to take a 3-2 advantage in the best of seven-game NBA finals. (DW)

38. Tree climbers compete in Japan for chance to take world title (NHK)

39. World’s Great White Sharks Call For Immediate Release Of All Caged Scuba Divers (The Onion)

 

More Headlines

NOTE: The news never stops cycling, but I do from time to time. I’ll be back. — DW

TODAY’s LINKS: (6/13/22 — 30 stories from 20 sources)

1. Watergate happened 50 years ago. Its legacies are still with us. Trust in government was shattered and never recovered. Efforts at reform were successful and unsuccessful. Both political parties were affected, as was the practice of journalism. And then there was Trump. (WP)

2. Jan. 6 Committee Appears to Lay Out Road Map for Prosecuting Trump (NYT)

3. Jan. 6 panelists: Enough evidence uncovered to indict Trump (AP)

4. Trump 'Absolutely Knew' He Was Spreading Lies About 2020 Election: Raskin (Newsweek)

5. Kinzinger fears repeat of events of Jan. 6 (Politico)

6. Bipartisan group of senators announce agreement on gun control (CNN)

7. VIDEO: Demonstrators Across the U.S. Protest Gun Violence (AP, Reuters)

8. Thousands gather at March for Our Lives rallies nationwide to push for gun control (NPR)

9. Mass Shootings Can Traumatize People Who Weren’t Even There (538)

10. 31 people with ties to White nationalist group arrested for conspiracy to riot near a Pride parade in Idaho (CNN)

11. Most members of white supremacist group arrested in Idaho live out of state (Axios)

12. How Shireen Abu Akleh was killed — A Washington Post review of available visuals, audio and witness statements shows an Israeli soldier likely shot and killed Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 in the West Bank. (WP)

13. Momentum in Ukraine Is Shifting in Russia’s Favor (NYT)

14. Russia destroys bridge over Ukrainian river, cutting escape route (Reuters)

15. As fighting rages, Ukraine’s leader says troops defy Russia (AP)

16. Russia likely to seize all of Luhansk in coming weeks, U.S. official says (WP)

17. Russia says destroyed large depot with western weapons in Ukraine, Interfax reports (Reuters)

18. Exclusive: Ex-Taliban detainee secures release of American woman in Afghanistan (Axios)

19. Tougher Steps Needed Against Afghanistan’s Taliban (Human Rights Watch)

20. Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise. (NYT)

21. Rise in dollar to 20-year high costs US companies billions in earnings (Financial Times)

22. Several Ocean anomalies are creating an Atmospheric interference that will impact the weather patterns during the Fall-Winter season 2022/2023 (Severe Weather Europe)

23. China Defense Minister Says Nuclear Buildup Is Justified (WSJ)

24. Hope of finding Dom Phillips alive has gone, say mother-in-law and wife — 

    The British journalist was travelling in the Amazon with Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira when they went missing (Guardian)

25. Mysterious, ghost-like black hole may have been discovered by UC Berkeley researchers (SFGate)

26. Gujarat: How doctors saved a lion from going blind (BBC)

27. How I Learned to Eat Alone and Not Be Lonely (Atlantic)

28. Japanese scientists say large pterosaurs could not fly too far (NHK)

29. Oakland Is Down to Its Last Strike as a Sports Town (WSJ)

30. Man In Rental Car Spends 20 Minutes Trying To Find Steering Wheel (The Onion)