A long but worthwhile read.

“ Democrats don’t have the votes right now for major Supreme Court reform. But if they pick up seats, they could have many options.”
By Ian Millhiser Jul 2, 2022, 8:00am EDT

https://www.vox.com/23186373/supreme-court-packing-roe-wade-voting-rights-jurisdiction-stripping

If the next Supreme Court term begins in October could a decision in favor of the independent state legislature theory come soon enough to affect the 2022 midterm election outcomes?

Really?

"But coups can take months or years to plan and this was a multi-pronged attempt to overthrow our democracy. It's worth reviewing that he tried so many things simultaneously. He had General Michael Flynn trying to have martial law or military intervention and he tried the trickery that happened with the Georgia Secretary of State. And when none of that worked, he went nuclear and did what autocrats have done in the past and used violence, summoned the people there to right this monstrous wrong on his behalf," she said.

Ben-Ghiat, a professor of Italian and history at New York University, is an expert on the "strongman", a figure that's central to her latest book "Strongmen—Mussolini to the present", which explores how illiberal leaders "use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power." Donald Trump is in it, together with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Chile's Augusto Pinochet, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi.

"It's interesting, what came out recently, is Trump was trying to get to the Capitol on Jan. 6. He couldn't get there," Ben-Ghiat explained, talking to CNN's Jim Acosta.

"This is consistent, if you're having a coup and summoned everybody and you expect to be anointed as the head of a new illegitimate government, you have to be there. There's a phase in coups. They're violent, quick, and then you have the pronouncement of the new order. That's why he was trying to get there."

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-behavior-jan-6-explained-expert-fascism-1714990

taking the spotlight away from the latest January 6th committee revelations and the existential threat to the rule of law and to government of the people, by the people and for the people that such treason unambiguously implies.

please vote in November.

Rachael Townsend spotted the handmade sign, stapled to a telephone pole, while on a walk with her mom near Scott Elementary School.

“Are you tired of Tinder?” it asked. “Want to meet a local? My boredom can benefit you! Let me interview you and potentially find you a perfect match!”

The sign made Townsend laugh.

“I just thought, ‘That’s hilarious – I’m going to give it a shot,’” the 37-year-old massage therapist recalled.

Townsend rarely used dating apps like Tinder, finding them “too anxiety-producing. I didn’t feel like this was the way I was going to meet somebody.”

So, following the sign’s instructions, she texted “Match” to the phone number listed.

A reply quickly arrived, assuring her, “This is no joke. I’m a real person.”

It was January 2021, and though Townsend didn’t know it, she was getting in on the ground floor of a unique Portland experiment.

Not long after that text exchange, she found herself bundled up and wearing a mask on a fold-out chair in a snow-clogged driveway. Opposite her was Autum Bird, a 33-year-old local barber. Bird, a laptop on her knees, peppered her with questions:

https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2022/06/having-trouble-finding-a-meaningful-relationship-in-portland-put-autum-bird-on-it.html

As a mystery writer wannabe - I have completed two manuscripts and have a story concept for a third novel in a series - I am really struggling with the whole butt-in-chair routine given my sense of despair and loss of bearings in the midst of our current political, social, physical and environmental states if chaos. Since it’s not how I make a living this is not an urgent problem for me, but if there was a way for me to find my way back to focusing on something positive - like good, old fashioned murder, mayhem, truth and justice - my waking hours would be much better spent than with my current pattern of worrying and doomscrolling. So please weigh in on how you’re managing to cope and stay creative and productive in the midst of so much overall misery and uncertainty.

For Moi, recreational writing is a lot cheaper than knitting.

What Is Depraved Indifference

Depraved indifference is a type of conduct that lacks so much regard for the life of another person that it may warrant criminal liability to the same degree as a person intentionally committing a crime.

When assessing a person’s act, to qualify as “depraved indifference”, it’s important to look at the risk generated by the person’s conduct and not necessarily the consequences of injuries caused by the conduct.

In the United States, a depraved-heart murder or depraved indifference murder is a type of murder caused by a person’s depraved indifference to the human life although the person may not have had an explicit intention to murder.

In this type of situation, the defendant recognizes that his or her actions can result in the death of another or there is a high likelihood that another may die but chooses to ignore the risk.

The law considers that the person’s indifference or lack of concern for the risk to the life of another is so grave that the actions should be considered as a crime as if the person had malicious intent.

https://lawyer.zone/depraved-indifference/