QAnon Creator ‘Q’ Returns After Nearly Two-Year Hiatus

In a surprise move, Q returns to tease a new “game” in cryptic posts.

From The Daily Beast:

The anonymous message board user known as “Q,” whose cryptic announcements spawned the fascist pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory, has returned to posting after a nearly two-year hiatus.

On Friday night [June 24], someone with access to Q’s login credentials posted on 8kun, the anarchic internet community where Q last posted in December 2020.

“Shall we play a game once more?” the first post marking Q’s return to the board read, signed “Q.”

The message was written in the same clue-like format as thousands of earlier Q posts, dubbed “Q Drops” by their fans, that led to the creation of QAnon in late 2017. Q’s followers believe the messages explain the world as it really is, controlled by Satan-worshipping, child-eating pedophiles in the Democratic Party, finance, and other institutions.

In QAnon’s telling, Donald Trump was recruited by the military to run for president in 2016 to take down that nefarious “cabal.” QAnon believers await “The Storm,” an event in which they believe Trump enemies like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be executed via orders from a military tribunal, or imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.

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Despite its ludicrous claims, QAnon has managed to become a faction within the Republican Party. Two current members of Congress, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO), have voiced support for QAnon in the past, and more Q backers are expected to win office in the midterms. A 2021 poll found that QAnon’s core tenets have a significant amount of support, with 15 percent of people surveyed saying they believed the world is run by a Satanic pedophile cabal.

Q stopped posting on 8kun in December 2020, shortly after Trump’s election defeat. Ron Watkins, the former 8kun administrator who has often been accused of controlling the QAnon account, is currently running as a longshot candidate for an Arizona House seat.

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Letter to the Editor: A Vote for a Republican Puts a Woman’s Health in Jeopardy

This is my rebuttal to Sen. Jim McCune’s June 16 commentary: “What the Supreme Court Draft Opinion on Abortion Means for Washington State.”

McCune’s commentary leads the reader to believe we have nothing to fear from the new Supreme Court overturning settled law of Roe v. Wade.

In McCune’s statement, “the third big misconception is that this has anything to do with us,” he implies that Washington state residents are safe from strict laws such as a prison sentence for a miscarriage or a death sentence for an ectopic pregnancy.

The only reason women in Washington are not currently at risk for draconian penalties is the fact that we have a Democratic majority in the Washington House and Senate.

Every year, Washington Republicans try to chip away at our right to health care by introducing bills like HB 1679, prohibiting abortion by medication. McCune himself sponsored SB 5053, which will restrict abortion.

Don’t kid yourself. A vote for a Republican puts a woman’s health in jeopardy — even in Washington state.

Madeline Bishop,

Olympia

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Delta throws in the towel, issues travel waiver for July 4 weekend, warns of ‘operational challenges’

“The Atlanta-based carrier has taken the remarkable step of acknowledging that it expects “operational challenges” days before the Fourth of July holiday weekend starts and on Tuesday issued a travel waiver for flights between July 1 and July 4.”

“Delta’s operation has struggled in recent weeks, particularly on weekends. Last weekend, the airline canceled hundreds of flights, by far the most of any U.S. carrier. The move underscores the broader problems the industry has had as a whole in ramping up operations since the depths of the pandemic.

“This weekend, Delta expects to break pandemic-era passenger records. In the run-up to the holiday weekend, new pandemic-era records have been set at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.

“‘Delta is expected to carry customer volumes from Friday, July 1, through Monday, July 4, not seen since before the pandemic as people yearn to connect with the world,’ the airline said in the blog post. Delta is scheduled to operate about 11,000 flights between July 1 and July 4, according to Cirium schedule data. When Delta’s regional airline partners are included, that number jumps to just over 17,000 flights.”

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Police Chief Todd Stancil’s last day was June 27th

From Mayor Joe DePinto:

Thank you Police Chief Todd Stancil for giving 27 years of service to the City of Yelm.

There was a wonderful potluck retirement party at City Hall earlier today for Chief Stancil where he shared his last call to dispatch with family, friends, and colleagues.

We are fortunate for his impact on our community and I’m thankful for his time as Chief as well as Interim City Administrator.

• Editor’s note: Congratulations and a sincere “thank you” for your service to our community, Chief Stancil. Your integrity, professional stature, and respect for all constituents set your apart. We have been enriched by someone of your caliber in this city’s leadership during tumultuous times. Wishing you well in your future endeavors. – Steve Klein, Blog Host

+ NVN: Chief of Police Todd Stancil Retires, Reflects on 28-Year Tenure in Yelm

Retro Rainier Independence Day, July 2nd

From The Olympian:

Join the community in celebrating the First Annual Retro Rainier. This is an Independence Day celebration that will be held at Wilkowski Park – Rochester St E, Rainier, WA 98576. There will be food and crafts vendors and a car show. The event will go from 2-8 p.m. Admission is free.

From Retro Rainier:

Welcome to Rainier’s fastest-growing Independence Day Celebration! We are kicking off the First Annual Retro Rainier, a Patriotic Celebration at Wilkowski Park right here in beautiful Rainier. This Free Family event has a little something for everyone. Besides scheduled games and activities for the young and old, you can expect to see a variety of vendors, a classic car show, crafters, and delicious food options. Join the community in kicking off the 4th of July weekend with friends old and new! Don’t forget to show up in your most patriotic outfit, you just might win best dressed.

Inslee Asks Voters to Reject 3rd District Candidates Joe Kent, Vicki Kraft

• Editor’s note: Joe Kent recently held a public forum in Yelm, covered here previously. Congressional District 3 covers precincts around Yelm, yet not within the city limits. Kent is running to “Primary” current Republican office holder Jamie Herrera-Beutler (R-Vancouver), who voted to impeach President Trump for violating his oath to the Constitution of the United States.

By Brennan Kauffman, The Daily News (Longview):

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is urging Republican voters in Southwest Washington to reject Joe Kent and state Rep. Vicki Kraft in the upcoming Congressional primary because of their statements and actions questioning the outcome of the 2020 election.

In an interview with The Daily News on Thursday, the Democratic governor singled out the two Republican candidates by name as a “clear and present danger to democracy.” Kent, R-Yacolt, and Kraft, R-Vancouver, are two of the eight candidates running to unseat incumbent Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler from Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

The two candidates have questioned the election results at both the national level and for Washington state specifically throughout their campaign appearances and have pushed to relitigate the state’s 2020 election count.

“We have candidates running for the U.S. Congress who are part of a continuing insurgency to ignore our election results. We are calling on all good Republicans and independents to come to the aid of democracy and reject these candidates who refuse to accept the results of the last election,” Inslee said.

No widespread voter fraud has been found in Washington, especially on the scale needed to flip the result for a reliably Democratic state. Joe Biden received roughly 800,000 more votes from Washingtonians than Donald Trump did during the 2020 election.

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+ The New York Times: Biden insists that he plans to run again in 2024. He and top aides are stung by some Democrats’ skepticism that he should.

• Editor’s note: I concur with this letter below.

Unenrolled voter wants to see field of Democratic choices in ’24

From The Boston Globe:

Re “Even Democrats now agree: Biden is too old for his job” by Jeff Jacoby (Opinion, June 22): President Biden’s age matters to this unenrolled voter. I’m 70, and I have certainly lost a step or two — that’s life. It seems obvious that Biden has lost a few more. But the party insists on honoring its more senior members and worrying about whose turn it is when it comes to fielding major candidates.

Since I may never be able to vote for a Republican again, given their actions over the last two years, I have formed strong impressions of the potential of the Democrat Party. They will not win in 2024 with Biden seeking reelection, and this country is not ready for a third-party candidate. Kamala Harris is not going to carry the 2024 ticket either — she’s not quite ready yet for prime time. I think an Amy Klobuchar-Pete Buttigieg slate would be perfect.

It could be hard to pry incumbent from perch

President Harry Truman noted that a sitting president controlled levers of power and persuasion sufficient to name himself as the nominee for reelection if he desired. Times have changed, of course, and cancel culture reigns, so the Truman wisdom may be as fungible as Joe Biden’s malapropisms. Nevertheless, big blue Democratic bosses will have to exercise Machiavellian realpolitik to pry the president’s fingers from the party favors.

Paul Bloustein

Cincinnati

Key perspectives

+ The Bulwark: Roe’s End and the Phony Doctrine of ‘Potential Life’ – Why you can’t trust the Supreme Court’s promise that contraception and gay marriage won’t be next.

+ NBC News: There’s another War Between the States coming over abortion – Before the Civil War, Northern and Southern states did battle over fugitive slaves. Once again, something legal in one state is illegal in a state next door.

+ Truthout: “Crisis of Our Democracy”: AOC Calls for Supreme Court Justices to Be Impeached – on the basis that their votes to overturn Roe v. Wade violated pledges they made under oath in their confirmation hearings.

+ The New York Times: The initial response by Biden and other party leaders to the overturning of Roe struck many Democrats as painfully inadequate.

+ The New York Times: Mitch McConnell told The Times that the fall of Roe was the culmination of his mission to reshape the Supreme Court.

Rainier auto-mechanic Joe Keeslar passed today!

Joe Keeslar, who has been an iconic auto-mechanic serving the area for over 30 years, passed away this morning outside of Mexico City. His wife Keyra was at his side. He was in Mexico undergoing treatment for his illnesses.

Joe moved to Yelm from Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1990, subsequently establishing JK Autoworks in Rainier, WA.

Further details on a Life Celebration are to be determined.

• Editor’s note: Joe was one being who uplifted everyone with whom he came in contact. I never heard one word other than joy from or about this man. What an amazing legacy he leaves. His light, laughter and love will be greatly missed. Blessings to his family during this period of grieving and loss.

Yelm Rotary Club’s 10 Weeks of Summer Food program begins this week

From the Yelm Rotary Club:

Tuesday, June 28th starts the @YelmRotaryClub’s 10 Weeks of Summer Food program.

We will be at the front gate of Clearwood from 10-12 with bags of food for school age kids who normally qualify for low-cost of free lunches during the school year.

If you have a friend or neighbor who would qualify but can’t make it on that day, feel free to pick up for them.