Reality Chex Tip o'the Day

As we discussed some while back, commenters to Reality Chex do not have the ability to set their links so the linked stories can be opened in new windows, thus forcing readers to leave Reality Chex to access the linked stories.

HOWEVER, if you right-click on a link, you'll find that in Firefox, Chrome, and (I suspect) other browsers, a pop-up menu gives you the option to open the story in a new tab, a new window or a new private (incognito) window. This last is especially handy if the link is to a story on a subscriber-limited site.

The Commentariat -- June 29, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Robin Wright of the New Yorker interviews Dr. Anne Stevens, the sister of Ambassador Chris Stevens. The family does not blame Hillary Clinton (or Leon Panetta) for the attack on the Benghazi stations. In addition, they say the aftermath has been entirely politicized. -- CW 

Drip, Drip, Drip, Ctd., Ctd., Ctd. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "... disclosures over the past several weeks have revealed dozens of emails related to [Hillary] Clinton's official duties that crossed her private server and were not included in the 55,000 pages of correspondence she turned over to the State Department when the agency sought her emails in 2014. At least 69 such emails have come to light so far, many of them through public-records lawsuits brought by the conservative group Judicial Watch.... The newly disclosed gaps in Clinton's correspondence raise questions about the process used by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and her lawyers to determine which emails she turned over to the department." -- CW

Donovan Slack of USA Today: "The National Rifle Association's political arm is launching its first ad campaign of the 2016 presidential race, with a survivor of the terror attack in Benghazi urging viewers to vote for Donald Trump. The ad, which the NRA Political Victory Fund is backing with more than $2 million, is one of the larger expenditures by an outside group on behalf of the presumptive Republican nominee." -- CW

... Plagiarist-in-Chief. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "In 2005..., Mr. Trump ... lent his name, and his credibility, to a seminar business he did not own, which was branded the Trump Institute.... As with Trump University, the Trump Institute promised falsely that its teachers would be handpicked by Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump did little ... besides appear in an infomercial -- one that promised customers access to his vast accumulated knowledge.... In fact, the institute was run by a couple who had run afoul of regulators in dozens of states and been dogged by accusations of deceptive business practices and fraud for decades. Similar complaints soon emerged about the Trump Institute. Yet there was an even more fundamental deceit to the business, unreported until now: Extensive portions of the materials that students received after forking over their seminar fees, supposedly containing Mr. Trump's special wisdom, had been plagiarized from an obscure real estate manual published a decade earlier.

Together, the exaggerated claims about his own role, the checkered pasts of the people with whom he went into business and the theft of intellectual property at the venture's heart all illustrate the fiction underpinning so many of Mr. Trump's licensing businesses: Putting his name on products and services -- and collecting fees -- was often where his actual involvement began and ended.-- CW

digby: "Once more [Donald Trump is] implying that he would behead people. That's on top of the waterboarding and the hostage taking and the torturing and killing of their families. The crowd responded with shouts of 'USA! USA!' I just saw a succession of Republicans on CNN agree that Trump is right about terrorism and that we need a 'strong[man]' leader. I feel sick." -- CW

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "With less than three weeks to go, Donald Trump's Republican National Convention in Cleveland is poised to be the most chaotic GOP gathering of the modern era.... Dozens of well-known Republicans aren't showing up. There's no word yet on who will speak. A growing number of corporate sponsors are taking a pass. Groups of white supremacists and other agitators are on the way, while the official protest routes are frantically being redrawn after being thrown out in court. And then there's the fight to dethrone the big star." -- CW

Friend to Rapists-in-Chief. Emily Heil of the Washington Post: "Was former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson going to appear at the Republican National Convention and not speak, or was he not coming at all? Despite a Bloomberg Politics report late Tuesday that the pugilist was among the big names invited to the big political event by aides to presumptive nominee Donald Trump, it seems Tyson is not -- repeat not -- convention-bound. Soon after the Bloomberg report, Trump tweeted what seemed to be a denial of the report. 'Iron Mike Tyson was not asked to speak at the Convention though I'm sure he would do a good job if he was.'"

... Akhilleus. Got that? Convicted rapist and Trump buddy (just think of the sexual assault stories they could share), Mike Tyson (oh, sorry, "Iron Mike Tyson"), won't be speaking at Donaldo's coronation, but if he did, he'd be great. Amazing, even. And that "denial" doesn't sound iron-clad either. Sounds like Tyson could show up after all. Maybe he can assault an empty chair.

North Carolina Finds a New Way to Screw Trans Citizens. Samantha Allen of the Daily Beast: "Facing backlash over the notorious anti-LGBT law they passed this March, which requires transgender people to use the restroom matches their birth certificate, legislators in the Republican-controlled House are working on a new draft of House Bill 2 (HB 2) in an effort to keep the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte." Trans individuals wanting to use a rest room would need to show "...Special 'certificates of sex reassignment,' [which] would only help about seven percent of transgender people.... Even then, the certificates would only be useful for the subset of that seven percent who have the money or the need for SRS." Pay to pee?

... Akhilleus: So this idea is so much better than out and out denying everyone. Now you have to show a Special Certificate in order to pee in the right restroom. What's next, the Genital Police?

Good thing they're not running in North Carolina. Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "For the first time in U.S. political history, an openly transgender candidate won a major-party congressional primary. In fact, on Tuesday, two did.... Misty K. Snow is a 30-year-old grocery store cashier. (If you're wondering, the Constitution says you have to be 30 to be a U.S. senator.) According to the Salt Lake Tribune, she jumped into the primary race at the last minute to give voters a progressive alternative to the conservative Democrat expected to win. She won by nearly 20 points. Misty Plowright is a 33-year-old IT worker who similarly beat out her primary opponent -- a single dad and an Iraq combat veteran -- to challenge Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) in one of the most conservative districts in Colorado.'I'm the anti-politician,' she told the Colorado Gazette shortly after getting in the race."

... Akhilleus: Ms. Snow will be facing off against 'bagger troglodyte and Ted Cruz BFF, Mike Lee. Think he'll follow her around to see which bathroom she uses?

*****

David Herzenhorn of the New York Times: "Ending one of the longest, costliest and most bitterly partisan congressional investigations in history, the House Select Committee on Benghazi issued its final report on Tuesday, finding no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: No kidding. But nonetheless ...

... Trey Gowdy Was Just Doing His Job ... No, Really. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Rep. Trey Gowdy on Tuesday defended his committee's lengthy and expansive Benghazi probe, saying that it was intended to reveal the facts and not to torpedo Hillary Clinton's presidential chances. The South Carolina Republican, a former federal prosecutor, insisted that former House speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and current speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) never 'asked me to do anything about presidential politics.... My job is to report facts,' Gowdy told reporters. 'You can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: Sure. Just the fact, ma'am. So we should pay no attention to all the ripe canards and out and out lies and smears perpetrated by committee Republicans for the last two years, like the time former committee chair "...[Darrell] Issa famously claimed that Clinton had personally issued a 'stand-down' order in which a CIA operative allegedly told his troops not to rush to the rescue of those in danger. That narrative repeatedly has been proven to lack any evidence -- including by the Washington Post's Fact Checker, which awarded the claim 'Four Pinnochios.'" ...

... Dana Milbank: "The House Select Committee on Benghazi released its long-awaited findings Tuesday and concluded that ... well, it looks as though they're going to have to empanel another select committee to iron out the dueling conclusions reached by various members of the committee.... [Trey] Gowdy, after promising his report was 'not going to come out in the middle of 2016,' released his report just before the political conventions." ...

    ... CW: The middle of the year isn't till way this Saturday. See? Gowdy kept his promise. ...

... CW BTW: I think that $7MM figure attributed to the "investigation" is a gross underestimation in that it does not appear to include the extensive costs to other federal departments & agencies, like State. For the money, it looks like the only new thing the "investigation" revealed was Clinton's misuse of a private e-mail account. But even there, there isn't much there there. So far as the public knows, there's no evidence her private account was hacked, and if you think it's a "revelation" that Clinton is secretive & arrogant, then you haven't been following her career. ...

... Mark Landler & Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "With the release on Tuesday of the committee's final report -- a compendious document that offers a handful of new details but nothing that will alter the conventional narrative about the events of Sept. 11, 2012 -- the emails now loom as the last chapter of the Benghazi saga that could still harm Mrs. Clinton's presidential ambitions. The F.B.I. has yet to conclude its investigation of Mrs. Clinton's use of a home server, a delay that is frustrating her aides because the uncertainty may extend beyond next month's Democratic convention. While some legal experts doubt that the F.B.I. will recommend indictments of Mrs. Clinton or her aides, it remains a potentially campaign-changing event." -- CW ...

... Was Benghazi the Biggest Scandal in History as Many Republicans Claim? Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog: "The Republicans have won on Benghazi. To much [sic] America, the incident in which four people died was the worst foreign policy failure imaginable. The investigations may be over now that we have today's two Republican reports -- one report, ostensibly objective, that's offered as the voice of the committee as a whole, plus one extra-tendentious report from two hard-right committee members -- but the stench will linger ... even if Americans are told that other administrations have suffered deaths of diplomatic personnel -- ..., I don't think the public can even process that notion. How could anything be worse than Benghazi? (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Akhilleus: Far more Americans stationed abroad died during the Bush II and Reagan administrations: 87 under Bush and over 300 under Saint Ronnie of Reagan. In fact, in Reagan's case, even after a congressional committee (which lasted weeks, not years) issued recommendations for improving security and safety of Americans abroad nothing was done. Three months after 254 Marines were killed by a truck bomb, a CIA station chief was kidnapped, tortured, and killed, and shortly thereafter, another US outpost in Beirut was bombed. Reagan's excuse? Well, it's like having your kitchen redone. Things never get finished on time. Seriously. That's what he said.... Just imagine the outrage if Obama had issued a flip response like that. They'd want him flayed alive on national television.

Erin Kelly of USA Today: "The Senate on Tuesday blocked a $1.1 billion bill to combat the Zika virus, giving Congress just two weeks to try to reach a new deal before lawmakers leave for a seven-week recess in the midst of mosquito season and a growing public health crisis.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., immediately made a motion to reconsider the vote, raising the possibility of another vote on the same bill next week.... Democrats opposed the bill, which they complained was negotiated between Senate and House Republicans with little input from them and was loaded with 'poison pill' riders that cut health programs, restricted funding for birth control services from Planned Parenthood, weakened clean water laws and blocked a ban on displaying the Confederate flag at U.S. military cemeteries." -- CW

Sam Stein & Jessica Schulberg of the Huffington Post: "In explosive testimony Tuesday, a witness before a Senate panel about Islamic terrorism accused the two Muslim members of Congress of having attended an event organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.... Allegations that [Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and André Carson (D-Ind.)] are secret Muslim agents with extremist leanings are usually found among fringe groups online, often discussed in dire tones on poorly designed websites. Rarely, if ever, do such sentiments get read into congressional testimony, with the imprimatur that offers.Responsibility for this rare instance lies with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who oversaw the hearing ... and whose staff likely saw the testimonies of the witnesses." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. Also, see her commentary below. -- CW

Eric Segall: "Justice Scalia was of course best known for his frequent rants about how important text and history (read original meaning) are to judges who have to decide constitutional law cases.... In the areas of affirmative action, freedom of speech generally and campaign finance reform specifically, federalism, gun rights, takings, standing, and voting rights, among many others, Justice Scalia voted to strike down laws where neither the text nor the original meaning behind the text supported his votes.... The truth is that he was a snake-oil originalist who sold a product he did not use himself.... In most of the areas of law listed above, he simply either ignored or mischaracterized historical evidence while often stridently accusing other Justices of playing fast and loose with the rules...." Via Paul Waldman. -- CW

Chisun Lee & Douglas Keith of The Atlantic: "As dark money in elections -- spending by groups that conceal their funders from the public -- has boomed in recent years, advocates of transparency have had one area of grudging relief. Super PACs, empowered by 2010's Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United and SpeechNow to spend unlimited sums, typically are required to disclose their donors.... [But] gray money is spending by super PACs that disclose other PACs as donors, making it impossible for the public to identify the actual funders without sifting through multiple layers of PAC disclosures.... Though the obfuscation caused by multilayered funding was previously known, our study for the first time reveals the remarkable growth of the problem among spenders who can technically claim to be transparent because they disclose donors." --safari

Jonathan Soble of the New York Times: "Toyota Motor said Wednesday it was recalling 1.43 million vehicles worldwide over a possible airbag fault. But it said the components in question had not been manufactured by Takata, the airbag supplier at the heart of the largest safety recall in the history of the car industry. Toyota, based in Japan, did not name the supplier of the airbags that were subject to the recall announcement.... Toyota also said it was recalling 2.87 million vehicles worldwide over fuel tank issues." -- CW

Sabrina Tavernise & Ceylan Yeginsu of the New York Times: "Suicide attackers armed with bombs and guns struck Turkey's largest airport Tuesday night, blowing themselves up in a confrontation with the police. At least 31 people were killed in the attack and 147 more were injured, in addition to the attackers, according to the Turkish justice minister, Bekir Bozdag. The governor of Istanbul, Vasip Sahin, told Turkish news outlets that three suicide bombers took part in the attack." -- CW ...

     ... The story has been updated. New Lede: "Three suicide attackers killed at least 36 people and wounded dozens more at Istanbul's main airport on Tuesday night, in the latest in a string of terrorist attacks in Turkey, a NATO ally once seen as a bastion of stability but now increasingly consumed by the chaos of the Middle East." ...

Can you imagine them sitting around the table or wherever they're eating their dinner, talking about the Americans don't do waterboarding and yet we chop off heads? They probably think we're weak, we're stupid, we don't know what we're doing, we have no leadership. You know, you have to fight fire with fire. -- Donald Trump, responding to the Istanbul attacks

It was unclear if Trump was advocating for the United States to allow the same kind of behaviors that ISIS and other terror groups employ. -- Cassandra Vinograd of NBC News, in a report

Michael Birnbaum & Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "Amid rising fears the European Union could splinter apart after the British decision to leave, leaders of Europe's 27 remaining nations met in Brussels amid divided visions for the continent's future. The breakfast was the first pan-European gathering in decades at which Britain was not represented.... But if E.U. leaders were united a day earlier in taking a tough line against British desires to pick and choose the best parts of membership, they are less agreed on how to salvage the rest of the union." -- CW ...

... ** Man who Blew up EU Tells Off EU. Heather Stewart & Jennifer Rankin of the Guardian: "David Cameron warned Europe's leaders that they will have to offer the UK more control over immigration at the end of a fractious day where politicians across Europe clashed over the meaning and consequences of last week's Brexit vote. The British prime minster used his last Brussels summit to tell Angela Merkel, François Hollande and other European heads of government that anxieties about unrestricted freedom of movement were at the heart of the decision by Britons to reject the EU.... Merkel and other European leaders ... ruled out any special favours for Britain, insisting there would be no 'cherry-picking exercise' in the exit negotiations." -- CW ...

Who's the Iron Lady Now? Whoever wants to leave this family cannot expect to have no more obligations but to keep the privileges. There must be and will be a noticeable difference between whether a country wants to be a member of the European Union family or not. -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to the Bundestag ...

James Traub of Foreign Policy: "The Brexit forces won because cynical leaders were prepared to cater to voters' paranoia, lying to them about the dangers of immigration and the costs of membership in the EU. Some of those leaders have already begun to admit that they were lying. Donald Trump has, of course, set a new standard for disingenuousness and catering to voters' fears.... The Republican Party, already rife with science-deniers and economic reality-deniers, has thrown itself into the embrace of a man who fabricates realities that ignorant people like to inhabit.... It is necessary to say that people are deluded and that the task of leadership is to un-delude them.... Maybe we have become so inclined to celebrate the authenticity of all personal conviction that it is now elitist to believe in reason, expertise, and the lessons of history. If so, the party of accepting reality must be prepared to take on the party of denying reality, and its enablers among those who know better. If that is the coming realignment, we should embrace it. ...

... CW: The willingness of right-wing American & European politicians to exploit the ignorance of the masses is disgusting. Real leaders are teachers, not demagogues. What we have been seeing in Republicans is "leadership" the way the Pied Piper was a leader. At least the Pied Piper of legend had a real grievance -- the mayor of Hamelin refused to pay him the agreed fee for removing rats from the town. Today's Pied Pipers seek only more profit and/or power for themselves. There is no evidence whatever they perform any service of benefit to the public. See also Jeet Heer's essay, linked below.

Presidential Race

Deadlock. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "A Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday found that 42 percent of voters supported Mrs. Clinton while 40 percent backed Mr. Trump. The poll represents a slight improvement for Mr. Trump, who trailed by four points at the beginning of the month, and has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points." CW: I'm linking this report only because I linked a report of a rosier poll earlier this week. Remember it's the Electoral College vote that counts, not the national poll. Also, the election is months away, & polls taken now aren't particularly predictive. But they do mean that a Trump presidency isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

Hillary Clinton responds to the release of the Benghaaazi! committee report:

Rebecca Traister of New York: "For months now, we've been hearing the moaning, so much moaning, from disaffected Democrats. This election marks a depressing return to lesser evilism; it's the year of the hated, in which two candidates, both disliked by a majority of voters, are pitted against each other.... Okay, electoral Eeyores, it is time to cheer up.... The fact is, we are in the midst of an election that should be extremely thrilling for progressives, because the possibility for change -- for progress -- is actually thrumming around us." --safari

Bernie Sanders, in a New York Times op-ed: "Could [the English] rejection of the current form of the global economy happen in the United States?... You bet it could.... Let's be clear. The global economy is not working for the majority of people in our country and the world.... But we do not need change based on the demagogy, bigotry and anti-immigrant sentiment that punctuated so much of the Leave campaign's rhetoric -- and is central to Donald J. Trump's message.... In this pivotal moment, the Democratic Party and a new Democratic president need to make clear that we stand with those who are struggling and who have been left behind. We must create national and global economies that work for all, not just a handful of billionaires." -- CW

Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump vowed on Tuesday to rip up international trade deals and start an unrelenting offensive against Chinese economic practices, framing his contest with Hillary Clinton as a choice between hard-edge nationalism and the policies of 'a leadership class that worships globalism.'... Noting that Mrs. Clinton had backed free-trade agreements like Nafta in the past, Mr. Trump warned, 'She will betray you again.' As a policy manifesto, Mr. Trump's speech was an attack on the economic orthodoxy that has dominated the Republican Party since World War II.... Mr. Trump, as president, would have significant authority to raise trade barriers, and his speech Tuesday included his most detailed account to date of his plans to do so...." -- CW ...

... Jose DelReal & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump on Tuesday channeled more than a year's worth of fiery and freewheeling protectionist rhetoric into an uncharacteristically disciplined address, putting him out of step with decades of conservative economic orthodoxy and even some of his own prior positions.... In the past, Trump has adopted a notably less protectionist posture on trade and outsourcing.... During his speech, Trump repeatedly singled out [Hillary] Clinton for criticism.... At a rally in Ohio hours later, Trump said the trade pact was being 'pushed by special interests who want to rape our country.'" -- CW ...

...Ed Kilgore: "In a speech delivered in the Rust Belt state of Pennsylvania,Trump has gone High Protectionist, rejecting not just this or that trade deal but the whole idea of globalization, which he regards as a politicians' trick on The Folks.... More generally, Trump is ignoring a free-trade tradition in the Republican Party that dates back to the very post-World War II era that he identifies as an American golden age.... But in Trump's case, he's reaching far back to a lost Republican tradition that is now the starkest heresy among most economic conservatives ... where the pure gospel of free trade has been preached for eons. Trump has now declared that gospel pure evil, and the blowback may make the embarrassment bordering on irritated hostility that his immigration demagoguery produced in the same circles look very mild by comparison." --safari ...

... Neil Irwin of the New York Times on "Donald Trump's economic nostalgia.... Trump went to a suburb of Pittsburgh ... to talk about the steel industry and ... trade.... [But what he doesn't get is that] Pittsburgh has often been viewed as the very model of a city moving beyond its heavy industrial history to find new prosperity in areas like health care, banking and professional services.... Some of [the loss in manufacturing jobs] is surely because of more open trade with places where wages are lower. But it is also because of remarkable advances in technology that mean [fewer workers are needed to produce more goods].... America's economy has kept growing because factory output has risen even as manufacturing employment has fallen.... The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers rapidly took to Twitter to blast Mr. Trump's plans as likely to lead to 'higher prices, fewer jobs and a weaker economy,' as the Chamber's official account put it." -- CW ...

... ** Greg Sargent contrasts Trump's promise with the likelihood he could (or would even try to) keep it. On the other hand, "Clinton is offering up detailed plans for spending and tax credits and economic regulations that would help workers amid large economic trends she believes can't be reversed. There is no reason to presume that Trump's simplistic tale will carry the day politically." -- CW

** Deadbeat "Donor" Donald. David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: Over the years, Donald Trump has promised to give millions to charity. "We found [he had given] less than $10,000 [to charity] over [the past] 7 years.... Records show Trump has given nothing to his foundation since 2008.... In recent years, Trump's follow-through on his promises has been seemingly nonexistent.... What has set Trump apart from other wealthy philanthropists is not how much he gives -- it is how often he promises that he is going to give." -- CW

The "Scampaign." Jeet Heer of the New Republic: Donald Trump "is pretty much guaranteed to come out richer [as a result of his presidential campaign]. That was the plan all along. And conservative voters, conditioned by decades of right-wing politicians and media exploiting and enhancing their gullibility, make the perfect victims for his ruse.... The real objective, win or lose, is relaunching his lucrative brand.... As the historian Rick Perlstein wrote in The Baffler and The Nation in 2012, the American conservative movement has become more and more amenable to get-rich-quick schemes, snake-oil salesmen, and confidence men.... The anti-intellectualism that has been a mainstay of the conservative movement for decades also makes its members easy marks.... The Republican 'war on science' is also a war on the intellectual habits needed to detect lies.... Conservative publications like National Review have spent a generation cultivating an audience of gulls. Now they're shocked that a far more talented hustler has stolen them away." -- CW

Nicolle Wallace in a New York Times op-eddy thing: "The [Republican] party establishment ... is waiting for Donald Trump to stop acting like Donald Trump. It's abundantly clear, however, that a move toward statesmanship will never materialize.... The problem with Mr. Trump's campaign lies in the solutions he proposes -- a lurch toward the isolationism, protectionism and nativism.... And the problem with the party's waiting game is that it replaces the sorts of activities that a fully functioning campaign should be doing." -- CW

Another Episode in The Life of Donald. Max Rosenthal of Mother Jones: "Marie Brenner ... profiled Trump for [Vanity Fair] in 1990, and the mogul hated the piece. 'The story was, in fact, one of the worst ever written about me,' he complained in ... The Art of the Comeback. He also noted that Brenner was an 'unattractive reporter.'... Another Trump profile, this one in New York magazine, reported in 1992 that he 'boasts about having poured a whole bottle of wine down Marie Brenner's back after she wrote a story on him that hated.' Trump was still boasting five years later: The New Yorker's Mark Singer, who profiled the mogul in 1997, relates in his new book, Trump and Me, that Trump told him he'd gotten even 'by pouring red wine down Marie's dress at a charity dinner.'" Brenner said it was a glass of wine, not a bottle, & a jacket, not a dress. -- CW

Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: Michael Cohen, "Donald Trump's longtime lawyer, published a tweet on Tuesday that accused Hillary Clinton of selling uranium to Russia through a fake charity, illegally deleting public records and murdering a U.S. ambassador.... 'I presided over $6 billion lost at the State Department, sold uranium to the Russians through my faux charity, illegally deleted public records, and murdered an ambassador,' the text above Clinton's image read. 'Elect Me!"... In an email to the Washington Post, [Cohen] sought to distance himself from the campaign. Cohen has repeatedly appeared on CNN as a Trump surrogate." -- CW

Ken Vogel & Hadas Gold of Politico: "Corey Lewandowski had a $1.2-million offer from HarperCollins to write a book chronicling his time running Donald Trump's presidential campaign, but the publishing giant backed away from the deal amid concerns about Lewandowski's non-disclosure agreement.... On Tuesday, Lewandowski said, 'I'm not shopping a book deal,' and that he doesn't have an agent doing so on his behalf. 'I would negotiate my own deal if I was looking for one.'... But the Republican operative familiar with the talks said Lewandowski personally engaged in discussions with HarperCollins, and assured the publisher that he had received clearance from the campaign to write such a book." -- CW

Donald Trump's Bizarre Fundraising Efforts, Part 1. Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "Numerous members of the British parliament have complained that they have received multiple emails from the Trump campaign asking for a donation.... The Scotsman newspaper reported that one fundraising email that appears to be from Donald Trump himself was 'received by many MPs last week.' A staff member with the Scottish National Party, Christopher Mullins-Silverstein, told Fusion that ... he has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission.... Campaign finance law bars campaigns from accepting donations from foreign nationals and from soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals." -- CW ...

... Part 2. David Corn of Mother Jones: "The subject heading on the email is eye-popping: 'Have you heard about the Hillary indictment?' But when you click on the email, which on Tuesday afternoon hit the inboxes of people on conservative lists (hours after House Republicans released their Benghazi report)..., it's Donald Trump, the apparent GOP nominee, begging for campaign cash. In this email, he calls on voters to indict Clinton.... Trump goes on to ask the recipient to donate five bucks -- or 10, or 20, or 50, or more -- to 'indict.'... In the email, Trump ... also claims that Clinton is lying when she says she is 'crushing' Trump in fundraising. He adds, 'This claim is laughable. i can write my campaign a check at any time.'" -- CW

Jennifer Jacobs & Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg: "Donald Trump's campaign aides are lining up a slate of iconic sports figures to appear at the national convention in Cleveland next month -- including ... Mike Tyson, legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight and NASCAR chief Brian France, people familiar with the planning told Bloomberg Politics. Talks are in the works with a broad slate of other celebrities and top athletes, so the list of those appearing at the convention will grow, organizers said. But much of Trump's current list of sports champs seems to be more targeted at male voters age 45 and older, rather than minority and female voters." -- CW ...

... AND This Is Reassuring. Sean Cockerham of McClatchy News: "A group of white nationalists and skinheads who held a rally in Sacramento over the weekend where at least five people were stabbed plans to show up at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next month to 'make sure that the Donald Trump supporters are defended ... from the leftist things.'" -- CW ...

... PLUS! CW: You may want to switch your vote to Trump when you get an eyeful of this bee-yoo-tee-fool convention stage, a picture of which the RNC revealed today:

... Meanwhile, I was more impressed by Trump's big announcement today that the U.S.-Mexican border wall would be built of recycled tin cans. (At least I think that's what he was talking about. I didn't feel like reading the story):

... Trump of course says Mexicans would pay for the wall. But I think it more likely they'll steal the wall to recycle into lovely tinware. But, hey, maybe if they get busy making luminarias & stuff they won't have time to come up here & take all the good jobs from would-be U.S. workers.

Beyond the Beltway

Kate Zernicke of the New York Times: "Michigan leapt at the promise of charter schools 23 years ago, betting big that choice and competition would improve public schools. It got competition, and chaos. Detroit schools have long been in decline academically and financially. But over the past five years, divisive politics and educational ideology and a scramble for money have combined to produced a public education fiasco that is perhaps unparalleled in the United States." -- CW

Ker Than of Stanford U. News: "California's drought-stricken Central Valley harbors three times more groundwater than previously estimated, Stanford scientists have found. Accessing this water in an economically feasible way and safeguarding it from possible contamination from oil and gas activities, however, will be challenging." -- CW

Way Beyond

Ben Doherty of the Guardian: "A car was set on fire outside a Perth mosque on Tuesday night as hundreds of worshippers attended a prayer service inside. No one inside the Thornlie mosque was injured when the white four-wheel drive exploded shortly after 8pm near the Australian Islamic College in Perth's southern suburbs. Anti-Islamic graffiti was also sprayed on a fence. Worshippers reported hearing a loud bang and emerged from the mosque to find the vehicle ablaze." --safari

AP in the Guardian: "Just weeks ahead of the Olympic Games, police helicopters are grounded, patrol cars are parked and Rio de Janeiro's security forces are so pressed for funds that some have to beg for donations of pens, cleaning supplies and even toilet paper, fueling worries about safety at the world's premier sporting event...Rio state has slashed budgets across the board, including that of the police...Angry civil police officers staged a strike on Monday, with one contingent greeting visitors at Rio's international airport with a sign reading, in English: 'Welcome to Hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid; Whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.'" --safari

News Lede

New York Times: "Alvin Toffler, the celebrated author of 'Future Shock,' the first in a trilogy of best-selling books that presciently forecast how people and institutions of the late 20th century would contend with the immense strains and soaring opportunities of accelerating change, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87." -- CW

The Commentariat -- June 28, 2016

Afternoon Update:

David Herzenhorn of the New York Times: "Ending one of the longest, costliest and most bitterly partisan congressional investigations in history, the House Select Committee on Benghazi issued its final report on Tuesday, finding no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead."

     ... Akhilleus: No kidding. But nonetheless...

Trey Gowdy was just doing his job...No, really. Karoun Demirjian of the Washinton Post: "Rep. Trey Gowdy on Tuesday defended his committee's lengthy and expansive Benghazi probe, saying that it was intended to reveal the facts and not to torpedo Hillary Clinton's presidential chances. The South Carolina Republican, a former federal prosecutor, insisted that former House speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and current speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) never 'asked me to do anything about presidential politics.... My job is to report facts,' Gowdy told reporters. 'You can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw.'"

     ... Akhilleus: Sure. Just the fact, ma'am. So we should pay no attention to all the ripe canards and out and out lies and smears perpetrated by committee Republicans for the last two years, like the time former committee chair "...[Darrell] Issa famously claimed that Clinton had personally issued a 'stand-down' order in which a CIA operative allegedly told his troops not to rush to the rescue of those in danger. That narrative repeatedly has been proven to lack any evidence -- including by the Washington Post's Fact Checker, which awarded the claim 'Four Pinnochios.'"

Was Benghazi the Biggest Scandal in History as many Republicans claim? Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog: "The Republicans have won on Benghazi. To much [sic] America, the incident in which four people died was the worst foreign policy failure imaginable. The investigations may be over now that we have today's two Republican reports -- one report, ostensibly objective, that's offered as the voice of the committee as a whole, plus one extra-tendentious report from two hard-right committee members -- but the stench will linger ... even if Americans are told that other administrations have suffered deaths of diplomatic personnel -- far more deaths, in many cases, I don't think the public can even process that notion. How could anything be worse than Benghazi?

     ... Akhilleus: Far more Americans stationed abroad died during the Bush II and Reagan administrations: 87 under Bush and over 300 under Saint Ronnie of Reagan. In fact, in Reagan's case, even after a congressional committee (which lasted weeks, not years) issued recommendations for improving security and safety of Americans abroad nothing was done. Three months after 254 Marines were killed by a truck bomb, a CIA station chief was kidnapped, tortured, and killed, and shortly thereafter, another US outpost in Beirut was bombed. Reagan's excuse? Well, it's like having your kitchen redone. Things never get finished on time. Seriously. That's what he said...Just imagine the outrage if Obama had issued a flip response like that. They'd want him flayed alive on national television.

*****

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico will pledge on Wednesday that by 2025 half of their overall electricity generation will come from clean power sources, according to administration officials. The commitment -- which will be a joint one, rather than an individual commitment by each nation -- represents an aggressive target given the reliance by the United States and Mexico on fossil fuels for much of their electricity supply.... President Obama will travel to Ottawa on Wednesday to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto as part of this year's North American Leaders Summit. The upcoming pledge highlights how collaboration on climate between the United States and Canada has accelerated since Trudeau ... was elected last fall." CW: AND, as much as "remembering the Supremes," this is why U.S. voters should choose Democrats.

** Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday struck down parts of a restrictive Texas law that could have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to about 10 from what was once a high of roughly 40. The 5-to-3 decision was the court's most sweeping statement on abortion rights since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. It applied a skeptical and exacting version of that decision's 'undue burden' standard to find that the restrictions in Texas must fall. Monday's decision means that similar restrictions in other states are most likely also unconstitutional, and it imperils many other kinds of restrictions. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... ** Lyle Denniston of ScotusBlog: "The task of judging whether a law puts an unconstitutional burden on a woman's right to abortion, the new ruling declared firmly, belongs with the courts, not the legislatures.... A key part of the majority opinion was that it struck down both provisions 'facially' -- that is, the very words of the provisions were invalid, no matter how they might be applied in any practical situation." -- CW

... Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "The high court reversed two major provisions in Texas' law -- first, a requirement that abortion doctors obtain 'admitting privileges' from local hospitals; second, a requirement that abortion clinics bring their standards in line with 'ambulatory surgical centers' -- siding with the plaintiffs' argument that these policies do nothing to improve patient health and safety. In the majority opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that these 'unnecessary health regulations' ultimately pose an 'undue burden' on women's right to abortion.... Monday's decision doesn't mean that those state laws will automatically be rolled back.... But it is clear that TRAP laws are now on much, much shakier ground than they were before the high court waded into this issue." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Kevin Drum: "This means that probably the most important thing we've learned today is just how far Kennedy can be pushed. He's voted in favor of several abortion restrictions over the past decade, but this one went too far. In practical terms, that means abortion opponents have tested the limits of what they can get away with, and the Texas law represents the outer boundary." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ann Friedman of New York: "In America, it's gotten surprisingly difficult to tell whether abortion is a right or a luxury. Today's Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt would seem to reinforce that it's a right.... But it also reveals a hard truth about the decades-long effort to deliberately deter women from getting abortions. Thanks to federal restrictions and state-level laws, most low-income women have to pay for an abortion out-of-pocket. " --safari...

... Olga Khazan, in The Atlantic, has a long read on "the myriad legal, financial, and cultural obstacles" faced by abortion providers operating in strongly conservative, Christain towns across America. --safari

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell's public corruption conviction, and made it harder to prosecute public officials for alleged wrongdoing. The court said it had no opinion on whether McDonnell should be retried under the stricter standards the decision imposes, but Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. described the former governor's actions as 'tawdry' in announcing the decision from the bench." CW: So we know what about Bob. But what about Maureen? I'm not sure what this means for Maureen McDonnell, who also was convicted & sentenced to jail. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Rick Hasen: "The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling throwing out the conviction of Gov. McDonnell (while leaving open the possibility of a retrial on a narrower theory of the case) is sensible and courageous, and shows the continuing important influence of Justice Scalia in this area of the law. It is hard to write an opinion letting off the hook someone whose actions were as odious as Gov. McDonnell.... But it was the right thing to do. In an earlier case, Sun-Diamond, Justice Scalia wrote a majority opinion (involving the conviction of Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy on illegal gratuity charges) in which Justice Scalia warned about the criminalization of ordinary politics." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)...

... Betsy Woodruff of The Daily Beast: "The Supreme Court just threw a lifeline to politicians looking to play and get paid -- and perhaps even to some big fish in New York who have already been caught and convicted for doing just that." --safari ...

... Ditto, Say Experts. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "As it unanimously overturned Bob McDonnell's corruption convictions Monday, the Supreme Court may have given a green light to politicians and their allies to trade access for money, according to legal experts and disappointed advocates for government ethics laws." -- CW

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "[A] quick thought on the Texas immigration case: The irony of Paul Ryan and his fellowTrump boosters celebrating U.S. v. Texas as a big win for curbing executive excesses cannot be lost on any of you. That same contingent that this week lauded the Supreme Court as a vital check on presidential overreach is also proudly maintaining that a paralyzed court is a terrific idea, all while claiming that Donald Trump -- who has never met a check or balance to which he might someday accede-- is their top choice for the White House." --safari

AP Brief: "The Supreme Court is upholding the broad reach of a federal law that bans people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns. The justices on Monday rejected arguments that the law covers only intentional acts of abuse and not those committed in the heat of an argument." -- CW ...

     ... Ann Marimow of the Washington Post has a more detailed report on the ruling. [Link fixed.] -- CW

Elijah Cummings Has Had Enough of Trey Gowdy. David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "House Democrats on Monday moved to pre-empt the findings of a two-year Republican-led investigation into the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed, by issuing their own 339-page report that cast the inquiry as a politically motivated crusade that wasted time and money. The release of the Democrats' report came amid signs that the House Select Committee on Benghazi, led by its chairman, Representative Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina, was nearing the release of its official findings." -- CW ...

     ... Update. Rachel Bade of Politico: "In their long-awaited final report, Republicans on the House Benghazi Committee have concluded that the Obama administration -- including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- failed across multiple agencies and levels to protect American diplomats in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. The 800-page report, to be released Tuesday, is the culmination of a two-year investigation that has haunted the 2016 Democratic front-runner on the campaign trail, even as Clinton's campaign has consistently slammed the probe as a political vendetta." -- CW

Alison Smale & Sewell Chan of the New York Times: "... leaders of the [European Union] member states began converging in Brussels on Tuesday to respond to what is arguably the greatest challenge ever to confront the 28-nation bloc. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain will join his counterparts to discuss the aftershocks from the British referendum on Thursday, but he will then return to London -- leaving the other leaders to ponder their response to Britain's decision. Before departing for Brussels, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said she would use 'all her strength' to prevent the European Union from drifting apart in the wake of Britain's decision." -- CW ...

... Here's the latest hoohah via the Guardian's liveblog. -- CW ...

... A Rudderless Ship of State. Steven Erlanger, et al., of the New York Times: "Leaders on both sides of the Channel said there was no viable option but to move gradually toward the withdrawal process. Yet the day's developments did little to dispel the possibility that the crisis could drag on for a long time, possibly generating enough economic and political damage to encourage negotiation of a new arrangement between Europe and Britain that would sidestep the need for a formal withdrawal or at least minimize its effects.... Leaders of the Leave campaign, including Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who is now a leading candidate to succeed Mr. Cameron, notably modulated their tone and some positions on Europe, leaving unclear exactly what issues they want to address through a withdrawal." -- CW ...

... Cameron to Spend More Time with Family Sooner than Planned. Heather Stewart & Rowena Mason of the Guardian: "Britain will have a new prime minister by 2 September, after the executive of the Conservative party's backbench 1922 Committee set a tighter than expected timetable for selecting a new leader. David Cameron announced last Friday that he would step down following the historic EU referendum result, paving the way for a new prime minister to be appointed by the time of the party's conference in October. But the 1922 executive, chaired by the MP Graham Brady, which met on Monday lunchtime, said it would recommend a more rapid process.... [Brady] added that if a new prime minister presses ahead with the crucial renegotiations, they could then call a general election to allow the public to give their verdict on Britain's new relationship with the EU.... Leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson and the home secretary, Theresa May, are seen as the frontrunners...." -- CW ...

... Griff Witte & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "By picking a new leader in September rather than October, the country could be free to move faster with its departure from the 28-member club. Outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron insisted on Monday that the country will delay the triggering of exit talks -- a point from which there will be no turning back -- until his successor is in place. The move came as markets tumbled worldwide, the pound hit a 31-year low and a respected financial agency cut Britain's credit rating. Amid the growing tumult, President François Hollande of France said his country's island neighbor needs to get out quickly to end the uncertainty." -- CW ...

... Tom McTague of Politico: David Cameron washes his hands of the international crisis he created. -- CW ...

... Simon Denyer & Renae Merle of the Washington Post: "U.S. and European stock markets stumbled again Monday as investors digested the implications of Britain's historic vote to leave the European Union." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

...Jill Treanor & Katie Allen of the Guardian: "The UK has been stripped of its last AAA rating as credit agency Standard & Poor's warned of the economic, fiscal and constitutional risks the country now faces as a result of the result. The two-notch downgrade came with a warning that S&P could slash its rating again...That downgrade was swiftly followed by a cut to the UK's credit score from rival agency Fitch." --safari...

... Hortense Goulard of Politico: "Brussels should avoid the temptation to embrace 'revengeful premises' after British voters chose to leave the European Union in last week's referendum, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday. EU leaders need to ensure that during the exit negotiation with the U.K., 'nobody loses their head, nobody goes off half-cocked, people don't start ginning up scattered-brained or revengeful premises,' Kerry said, after a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini in Brussels." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)...

... Jennifer Rankin & Philip Oltermann of the Guardian: "European diplomats have dismissed claims from Boris Johnson that the UK could negotiate access to the EU single market without obeying any of the rules. 'You cannot have your cake and eat it,' said an EU diplomat, echoing a phrase the former mayor of London used during the campaign and which looks set to come back to haunt him...EU diplomats are slowly groping towards a consensus on a Brexit timetable, following crisis talks between 27 senior diplomats on Sunday that excluded the UK. The increasingly dominant view is that Britain should trigger article 50 by the end of the year, starting the clock on two years of divorce negotiations. This would allow the UK to leave the EU before European parliament elections and the appointment of a new European commission in 2019." --safari

...Tina Brown of The Daily Beast: "There were ritual denials from the Palace last week after the Queen's (pro-EU) biographer Robert Lacey, writing in the Daily Beast, quoted the monarch as having issued this icy challenge to her dinner guests: 'Give me three good reasons why Britain should be part of Europe.' [T]here is little doubt that Her Maj was a keen Brexiteer.... Brexit has added new gradations to the class divide.... In further gradations of the new class divide, there is the now deeply divisive figure of Boris Johnson, the man who led the Brexit movement to victory...Boris, I fear, belongs to a peculiarly dangerous British type a type that in my days as the editor of Tatler in the 1980s, I christened the Gentleman Hack.... All hail the next prime minister of the United (though maybe not for long) Kingdom." --safari...

... Harriet Sherwood, et al., of the Guardian: "David Cameron has condemned 'despicable' xenophobic abuse after the EU referendum& as figures suggested a 57% increase in reported incidents. The country would not stand for hate crime, the prime minister told MPs.... Senior police chiefs have discussed how to respond amid concerns the continuing heated debate may contribute to heightened tensions. Cameron's condemnation came amid a growing chorus of concern over intolerance and hostility." --safari...

... Juan Cole: "The oil-rich Gulf Cooperation countries may see additional buying opportunities in the British market after Brexit.... In general, former British colonies often feel they have a special opportunity for trade and investment with the UK, with which EU commitments sometimes interfered. They now hope to step in to fill the vacuum left by UK departure from the EU...Meanwhile Turkey seems to be offering itself to the European Union as a substitute for the UK." --safari...

... Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "If Boris Johnson could, with a squint, be seen as Britain's answer to Donald Trump,then Jeremy Corbyn -- the opposition leader at heart of a post-Brexit revolt in the Labour party -- is best explained in an American context by comparison to Bernie Sanders.... Opinion polls suggest a Trump presidency is even more unlikely than Britain leaving the European Union once seemed. But Sanders will now be under more pressure to join Clinton and make sure the US does not follow the UK down the path of nationalism." --safari...

... Nadia Khomani of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has predicted the breakup of the European Union and warned Scotland against the risks of a second independence referendum. During a visit to Scotland hours after Britain opted to leave the EU in a historic referendum..., [Trump] said that without strict migration controls Europe would be unrecognisable within a decade." --safari

Hiroko Tabuchi & Jack Ewing of the New York Times: "Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $14.7 billion to settle claims stemming from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, in what would be one of the largest consumer class-action settlements ever in the United States. The proposed settlement involving the federal government and lawyers for the owners of about 475,000 Volkswagen vehicles, includes a maximum of $10.03 billion to buy back affected cars at their pre-scandal values, and additional cash compensation for the owners, according to two people briefed on the settlement's terms. The cash compensation offered to each car owner will range from $5,100 to $10,000." -- CW

Bethone Butler & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: Actor Jesse Williams, who costars in the television show "Gray's Anatomy," gave a powerful speech, which has gone viral, when accepting BET's Humanitarian Award Sunday night. Williams "has been a consistent presence in the Black Lives Matter movement since its beginning." -- CW Here's the audio:

Presidential Race

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: Hillary Clinton & Elizabeth Warren, "who built rival power centers on the political left but this spring gradually became allies, together electrified a crowd of thousands [in Cincinnati, Ohio,] by locking their arms, punching the air and excoriating Donald Trump. Clinton may be the one running for president, but Warren, her new surrogate and possibly future running mate, stole the show with her eviscerating takedown of Trump -- and her enthusiastic endorsement of Clinton." -- CW

Kylie Atwood of CBS News reprises the highs & lows of Bernie Sanders' campaign. ...

... CW: Is the "system" "rigged"? Well, yeah: "At one point shortly before the caucuses, [Sanders' Nevada director Joan Kato] instructed staff to buy double-sided coins -- in case coin-flips were needed to decide any of the caucuses in the event of a tie, according to staffers." ...

... Which also was evidence of not just dishonesty but also incompetence. Eric Levitz of New York: According to Jon Ralston, Nevada political guru, "ties were not decided by coin flip but by cutting cards!" -- CW

The good thing is, we have a candidate who doesn't need to figure out what's going on in order to say what he wants to do. -- Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, Sunday on 'Meet the Press'

MEANWHILE. John Amato of Crooks & Liars: "Donald Trump was interviewed by NBC News' Hallie Jackson on the telephone today and he responded to remarks made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a campaign event in Cincinnati with Hillary Clinton by calling her a 'racist' and a fraud.' Apparently Donald Trump believes the same failed strategy that was used by Scott Brown to undermine her senatorial campaign will suddenly turn into a pot of gold for him." ...

She made up her heritage, which I think is racist. I think she's a racist, actually because what she did was very racist. -- Donald Trump, Monday

This dimwit could not think his way out of a paper bag: "I'm stuck in a paper bag, which I think means I'm stuck in a paper bag. I think I'm stuck in a paper bag, actually because where I am is stuck in a paper bag." -- Constant Weader ...

     ... CW: Trump repeated his charges against Warren quite a few times. AND of course he had to call her "Pochahontas," using it as a perjorative, because there's nothing racist about that. ...

... Speaking of Dreamboat Scottie. "Fauxchahontas." Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "As Donald Trump continues to call Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas" for claiming Native American heritage, former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown -- who lost to her in 2012 -- is defending that line of attack.... 'Harvard can release the records, she can authorize the release of those records, or she can take a DNA test,' he said, insisting that Warren took a job that might have rightly gone to a nonwhite applicant. 'It's a reverse form of racism, quite frankly,'" [Brown said.] CW: BTW, I suspect that blue-haired Smurf standing next to Brown in the photo accompanying the article is Scottie's alterego. Either that, or it's his Picture of Dorian Gray.

Fredreka Schouten & Christopher Schnaars of USA Today: "Thousands of wealthy donors who helped fuel Republicans' presidential ambitions in the last two election cycles have not donated to Donald Trump's campaign or to other committees supporting his bid, underscoring the challenge the real-estate magnate faces in securing the hundreds of millions he needs to finance his general-election campaign." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... CW: This appears to me to be a place where Hillary has a real advantage over Bernie. Establishment Republicans are not afraid of President Hillary MOR Clinton; they might be digging deep if the alternative was President Bernie Socialist Sanders. ...

...Tim Mak of the Daily Beast: "After releasing fundraising reports that were anemic at best, Donald Trump's campaign announced in one single email blast he had raised at least $3.3 million. If that figure seems impossible, that's because it is.... Digital marketing experts are viewing Trump's current claims with deep skepticism." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "A slot at the Republican National Convention used to be a career-maker.... In the year of Trump: Not so much.... Politico contacted more than 50 prominent governors, senators and House members to gauge their interest in speaking. Only a few said they were open to it, and everyone else said they weren't planning on it, didn't want to, or weren't going to Cleveland at all -- or simply didn't respond." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nick Gass of Politico: "Less than half -- 45 percent -- of Republican voters say they are satisfied with Donald Trump as their party's presidential nominee, according to the latest results from an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday. Another 52 percent said they would have preferred someone else as the GOP standard bearer, while the levels of satisfaction are reversed among Democratic voters, 52 percent of which said they are satisfied with Hillary Clinton as their party's nominee in November. The results break down ideological and educational lines." --safari

Bianco Padró Ocasio of Politico: "More than nine hours after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn two provisions of a Texas anti-abortion law on Monday, the Republican Party's presumptive nominee has yet to comment.... Donald Trump, who has said in the past that he is 'very pro-choice,' has struggled to clearly explain his position on abortion during the 2016 campaign." --safari

Beyond the Beltway

Bryce Covert of ThinkProgress: "In the eight months that Michigan has been running a pilot program to drug test applicants and recipients of its welfare program, not a single person has tested positive, according to preliminary results. The program began in October in three different counties. As of May, 303 people who applied for benefits or were already receiving them participated, but they turned up zero positive drug test results. An applicant can refuse a test, forfeiting benefits if he or she does, and some argue that low positive testing rates can be due to those who abuse drugs simply declining to get tested. But no one in Michigan's pilot program refused to take a test." --safari

AP, Via RawStory: "A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas on Monday ordered former billionaire Sam Wyly to pay $1.11 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties after finding he committed tax fraud by shielding much of his family's wealth in offshore trusts...Sam Wyly, now 81, appeared on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans as recently as 2010." --safari

Way Beyond

Juan Cole: "As Shakir Jawdat, Chief of the Iraqi Federal Police, announced the complete liberation of the last, northern neighborhoods of Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), [Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi, the commander in chief of the Iraqi armed forces, called on all Iraqis to issue from their homes into the streets and to celebrate the liberation of Fallujah...That al-Abadi and his American allies were able to have Shiite militias and Sunni al-Anbar tribesmen fight on the same side was a substantial victory of its own sort..... But al-Abadi is the head of a Shiite religious party that no Sunni believes includes them. That has to change if Iraq is to survive." --safari

Krishnadev Calamur of The Atlantic: "Israel and Turkey have ended their six-year-long diplomatic disputesparked by the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed 10 Turkish nationals." --safari

News Lede

New York Times: "Pat Summitt, who was at the forefront of a broad ascendance of women's sports, winning eight national basketball championships at the University of Tennessee and more games than any other Division I college coach, male or female, died on Tuesday. She was 64.... Ms. Summitt stepped down after 38 seasons and 1,098 victories at Tennessee in April 2012, at 59, less than a year after she learned she had early-onset Alzheimer's disease." -- CW