+ 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.

Community members celebrate raising of Pride flag at the state capitol

From the Office of Gov. Jay Inslee:

Dozens gathered at the state Capitol this week to raise an LGBTQ+ pride flag in celebration of Pride Month. The event was organized by the Washington State LGBTQ Commission. Washington is among the first states to raise this new version of the flag which represents inclusion of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), and trans and intersex communities.  

State leaders have striven to adopt policies that protect the rights and safety of people in the LGBTQ+ community. In recent years, legislators have approved bills to prohibit anti-LGBTQ bullying, ban conversion therapy, and ensure health insurance coverage for gender-affirming treatment.  

This week’s celebration comes at a time of rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and physical assaults in Washington state and around the country. Gov. Jay Inslee, legislators, and community leaders all expressed their commitment to ensuring Washington remains a state that protects the equality, dignity, and safety of LGBTQ+ individuals. 

“Raising this flag has a purpose,” Inslee said. “It’s a purpose of continued commitment, not just celebration, because we have to understand that there still are voices of intolerance. There are still those that feel threatened, and there are those who do not wish to let others be who they will be.”

Dollar General Store set to transform Rainier

+ The Olympian: A new Dollar General Store is under construction in Rainier at at the corner of Myers Street Southeast and State Route 507.

How to stay cool in a heat wave: 5 Fast Facts

From KING-5 TV, Seattle:

Here are five verified ways to help you save energy and beat the heat this summer.

1. Close your blinds

2. Make sure your ceiling fan is spinning counterclockwise

3. Know when to leave the air conditioning on or off when you’re gone

4. Set your thermostat to the right temperature

5. Put aluminum foil over your windows in an emergency situation 

Supreme Court ruling opens the door to removal of more rights

+ Office of Gov. Jay Inslee: West Coast States Launch New Multi-State Commitment to Reproductive Freedom, Standing United on Protecting Abortion Access in face of U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Roe vs. Wade

California, Oregon and Washington will continue to be a safe haven for all people seeking abortions and other reproductive health care services in these states.

+ From Governor Jay Inslee:

The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade. I am angry and horrified by this assault on the rights of every person to access a safe and accessible abortion. But anger is not enough, we need action — and that means supporting Democrats who will fight for the right to choose.

Let me be clear: While I am governor, abortion will remain legal and accessible for all people here in Washington state.

This ruling is a painful reminder that we cannot take our rights for granted — particularly as Republicans work at every level to attack a person’s right to choose, even here in Washington.

With this ruling now public, Democratic state legislatures and governors are our last line of defense to protect abortion and reproductive health care rights. Our state is only as safe as our Democratic majority is.

We must not waver. Washington state Republicans have fought furiously for the same radical anti-choice agenda as national Republicans. The only difference is that here in Washington state, we’ve taken them on and won.

So while we shore up our defenses, we also must shift from just playing defense to going on offense. We just passed the Affirm Washington Abortion Access Act to expand access and ban junk lawsuits seeking an abortion here in Washington, but we can’t stop there.

It’s time to take our righteous anger and channel it into a full-throated fight for reproductive justice for all of us.

Together, let’s keep up the fight.

+ The Associated Press: Inslee seeks abortion rights amendment to state constitution

+ Office of Gov. Jay Inslee: West Coast states unite to “fight like hell” to protect access to abortion

=====================

+ NBC News: Thomas wants Supreme Court to overturn landmark rulings on contraception, same-sex marriage – In a concurring opinion to the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, the conservative jurist called on the court to overrule a trio of watershed civil rights rulings, writing, “We have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”

Supreme Court abolishes constitutional guarantee of a woman to have an abortion

+ NBC News: Supreme Court wipes away constitutional guarantee of abortion rights, overturning half century of precedent – The ruling came in a dispute over a law passed by Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature to ban abortions after 15 weeks.

“The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion in a 6-3 vote, a momentous break from a half century of rulings on one of the nation’s most controversial issues. About half the states have already indicated they would move to ban the procedure.”

• Editor’s note: The decision tracks almost exactly as the previously leaked draft.

+ NBC News: Map: 23 states would ban abortion in a post-Roe America [Ed. note: Idaho women seeking an abortion will cross state lines into Washington.

Confidence in the Supreme Court drops to lowest-ever in Gallup polling

+ Gallup: Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low

• Editor’s note: The Supreme Court is broken with major 6-3 decisions this week.

• With the interference in the 2020 election by the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas, and major 6-3 decisions this week, there are no more Black Robes in Justice Robert’s Court, there are Red/Blue Robes.
• This Court does not represent where the country is and where it was.
• This is the first time in my lifetime that a right has been taken away.
• This Supreme Court has become partisan and lost the confidence of America!

+ MSNBC’s Joy Reid: “In a country that’s supposedly founded on the separation of church and state, we Americans find ourselves being held hostage by a far-right Christian court.”

+ President Barack Obama: Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.

+ NBC News: Supreme Court allows firearms to be carried in public in major victory for gun rights groups – Supreme Court’s [6-3] decision to expand gun rights will have deadly repercussions, gun-safety advocates warn

+ NBC News: Supreme Court rules out suing police for Miranda violations – Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority [6-3] opinion that “a violation of Miranda is not itself a violation of the Fifth Amendment.”

+ TIME: The Supreme Court Ruled [6-3] Taxpayer Dollars Can Go Toward Religious Schools. LGBTQ Advocates Are Worried

+ The New York Times: The Roberts court has ruled in favor of religious groups in more than eight in 10 cases it has heard.