Trump the subject of a DOJ criminal investigation – a first for a U.S. President

+ The Washington Post: Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe – People familiar with the probe said investigators are examining the former president’s conversations and have seized phone records of top aides

+ MSNBC’s Deadline White House: DOJ investigating Trump’s actions as part of Jan. 6 probe – Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal discuss Leonnig’s reporting that DOJ is honing in on Trump’s involvement in the fake electors scheme and has also obtained phone records from Trump insiders

+ The Washington Post [accessible text]: The Murdochs and Trump Aligned for Mutual Benefit—That May be Changing

+ Truthout: Media Mogul Murdoch Dumps Trump for DeSantis. How Will This Impact the Election? [Ed. note: When will we see FOX News stars Hannity, Carlson and Ingraham distance themselves from Trump, too Murdoch’s The New York Post and Wall Street Journal already have!]

+ MSNBC’s The ReidOut Blog: Trump requests immunity (again) from Jan. 6 civil cases that could bankrupt him – Trump’s lawyers claimed in court on Wednesday he should be given “absolute immunity” from civil lawsuits stemming from his Jan. 6 actions.

+ Salon: GOP officials refuse to certify primaries: “This is how Republicans are planning to steal elections” – Election officials in three states refuse to sign off on primary results in a preview of likely November chaos

+ Brennan Center for Justice: 2020 Election Deniers Organize to Challenge Votes in 2022 – The effort by Trump advisers and January 6 supporters is an extraordinary investment in sustaining and bolstering the false narrative of widespread voter fraud.

+ The Seattle Times: Bliz of PAC money aims to defeat Trump-backed challengers to Herrera Beutler, Newhouse [Editor’s note: I support the rural Yelm area’s Third Congressional District’s Rep. Jamie Herrera-Beutler for her courageous stand to support The Constitution of the United States and vote to impeach former President Trump during is second impeachment trial. America has been shown she was correct, in that Trump violated his Oath to The Constitution is so many ways.

+ Commentary by Danny Westneat, The Seattle Times: The GOP’s Election Conspiracy Scam Has Come Full Circle in Washington – It started at the top, with Trump, who is still trying to overturn the 2020 election for his own narcissistic purposes.

+ MSNBC Opinion: Equally mean policies and insults characterize today’s Republican Party – Cruelty has become the defining characteristic of modern Republican policy-making.

Relief from the heat arrives in Yelm on Monday

Southwest ocean air (onshore flow) returns to Thurston County by Monday morning, with the National Weather Service forecasting highs for the 70s, with lows into the mid-50s, all next week.

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You’re Going to Miss the Deep State When It’s Gone

From the Daily Beast:

THE WANNABE DICTATOR

Trump’s terrifying plan to purge tens of thousands of career government workers and replace them with loyal stooges must be stopped in its tracks.

Donald Trump wants to replace the myth of a “deep state” cabal that answers to no one with the reality of a government controlled by a legion of hand-picked loyalists who answer only to him.

The plan, long apparent to those working closely with Trump, has been detailed in an Axios series by reporter Jonathan Swan as a sweeping government overhaul that could push as many as 50,000 career officials out of their jobs and move the country a giant step closer to dictatorship.

During his presidency, Trump was regularly frustrated by the fact that government officials—appointees as well as career officials in the civil service, the military, the intelligence community and the foreign service—were an impediment to the autocratic impulses about which he often openly fantasized. (Remember the time he said he wished his staff would “cower” like North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s? He wasn’t kidding.)

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Why we’ll miss the ‘Deep State’ when it’s gone

From MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

David Rothkopf writes in a new Daily Beast column about the importance of career government professionals and how they stopped some of former President Trump’s ‘really bad ideas’ while in office.

County to support local homeless with short-term funding

Project serving the homeless and homeless veterans

From The Jolt News:

[Tuesday, July 26], the Thurston Board of County Commissioners passed a motion that approved a $49,275 contract with the Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCSWW) to provide shelter services for homeless and homeless veterans and their families at the Drexel House Emergency Shelter.

CCSWW created Drexel House in 2007 to provide emergency shelter and transitional and permanent housing for the homeless, as well as case management, referrals, transportation, and supportive services.

Mark Moffett of Thurston County Public Health and Social Services explained that the funds cover the period of January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, to provide shelter services and shelter stays for the homeless.

Moffett clarified that the approved motion was a contract for reimbursement of services the CCSWW rendered to the community, including the veterans.

Moffett added CCS works with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans in getting their DD214. “If they can’t find that, we have people who can support them. We try to exercise all options to help them find their discharge” papers. “They collect a DD214, which is their military discharge paper. At the end of the quarter, they will submit an invoice to the county,” said Moffett, adding they reviewed the documents submitted to ensure that the veterans qualify for the program.

Auditor’s Office Will Conduct Random Audit of the August 2 Primary Election

From the Office of the Thurston County Auditor:

The Thurston County Auditor’s Office will conduct a random audit of the August 2 Primary Election. This test demonstrates the accuracy of the tabulation equipment.  

Observers appointed by the county Democratic and Republican parties will be on hand during the audit. Observers will be able to ask questions and learn more about the election process. Call 360.786.5408 or email elections@co.thurston.wa.us if you would like to become an observer. A livestream of the Ballot Processing Center is also available here: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/auditor/Pages/elections-live-feed.aspx

Random Audit 

9 a.m., Thursday, August 4, 2022  
Ballot Processing Center 
2905 29th Avenue SW, Suite F  
Tumwater, WA 98512 

For the health and safety of election workers, all visitors must wear masks at the Ballot Processing Center. Citizens with disabilities requiring special accommodation should contact Tillie Naputi-Pullar, 360.786.5408 or Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing:  711 Washington Relay. 

Stories of pertinence during this heat wave

National Weather Service Yelm forecast for 90s through Sunday. Click here

+ The Olympian: Brace for more near-record heat in WA with these tips, test your heat knowledge with quiz

+ The Olympian: Pets are feeling heat wave’s wallop, too. Here’s how to help keep them safe, comfortable

+ The Olympian: Forecast: Scorching heat wave extended in US Northwest

+ The Olympian: NW heat wave to drag on through the weekend, forecasters warn

Taste the Heat of the Caribbean with Scovie Award Recipient and Local Women-Owned Business HOTBABE-HOTSAUCE

Hot sauce business originated in Yelm in 2013!

From Thurston Talk:

One of the greatest things about food in America is it encompasses cultural favorites from all around the world. Even here in the Pacific Northwest, we have unique and inspired businesses creating exotic and delicious products right in our backyard. HOTBABE-HOTSAUCE is a women-owned hot sauce business offering specialty hot sauces that infuse the authentic heat of the Caribbean. Co-founders Sandra Bocas and Fiona Douglas-Hamilton have loved being able to bring such incredible flavors to the local community and are thrilled to be recently recognized as the winner of the 2022 Scovie Award. Together, they have flourished in the community with their creative and exquisite sauces.

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Local Cooling Centers

The National Weather Service is forecasting 90’s through Saturday, with upper 90’s Friday and Saturday. Cooler ocean air returns Monday.

The Yelm Timberland Library, at 210 Prairie Park St. SE, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 28 and Friday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. People can call 360-458-3374 for more information.

The Rainier Senior Center, at 108 Michigan St. S., will be open as needed throughout the week. For more information, call 360-446-2258. 

The Tenino Timberland Library at 172 Central Ave. W. will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. To learn more, call 360-539-3329.

+ AARP: How to Avoid Dehydration and Heatstroke – Doctors say older adults are more at risk for heat-related illnesses when temperatures soar

Whew! Olympia sets new heat record on Tuesday

From The Olympian:

The high temperature reached 97 degrees, setting a new record for July 26. The previous record of 96 degrees was set in 1998. Based on the National Weather Service forecast — and a heat wave in 2009 — it looks unlikely that any other records will fall this week. The record for July 27 is 99 degrees, while the forecast expects Olympia to hit 94 on Wednesday. The records for July 28 and 29 were set in 2009, when temperatures reached 101 and 104 degrees, respectively. The forecast is for 95 and 94 degrees.

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Olympia wasn’t the only record setter on Tuesday. Record-high temperatures were broken in Seattle and Bellingham as well. Seattle hit 94 degrees at 5 p.m. Tuesday, breaking its 2018 record of 92. Bellingham reached 90 degrees at 5 p.m., breaking its record of 86 set in 1988.

Kagan warns that Supreme Court legitimacy at risk if it strays too far from public sentiment

From The Hill:

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said on Thursday [July 21] at a conference that the legitimacy of the Supreme Court is tied to its conformity to public opinion, Reuters first reported.

“I’m not talking about any particular decision or even any particular series of decisions, but if over time the court loses all connection with the public and with public sentiment, that’s a dangerous thing for a democracy,” Kagan said at a judicial conference in Montana.

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Kagan said at the conference that the court earns its legitimacy by remaining impartial and nonpartisan.

“Overall, the way the court retains its legitimacy and fosters public confidence is by acting like a court, is by doing the kinds of things that do not seem to people political or partisan,” she said.

Kagan referenced times in history when Supreme Court justices failed to discipline themselves and instead “attempted to basically enact their own policy or political or social preferences,” saying that this puts court legitimacy at risk.

Support Thurston County Youth at the Annual Market Animal Sale

From Thurston Talk:

When it comes to teaching kids responsibility, economics, work ethic and self-confidence, there may be nothing better than animals. 4-H Clubs and Future Famers of America (FFA) are two organizations that work hard to support youth and animals, knowing the benefits for kids are long-term and significant. You can help support Thurston County youth in both organizations at the annual Youth Market Animal Sale that happens each year as part of the Thurston County Fair.

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The Thurston County Youth Market Animal Sale happens July 30 at 6 p.m. in the Hicks Lake Barn at the Thurston County Fairgrounds. Both purchases of animals and the add-on donations are tax deductible. To register as a bidder, go to the Thurston County Youth Market Animal Sale website or in person at the sales office on the day of the sale.

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