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This evening's music features blues harmonica player Jerry McCain. Enjoy!

“Several centuries ago the greatest writer in history described the two most menacing clouds that hang over human government and human society as "malice domestic and fierce foreign war." We are not rid of these dangers but we can summon our intelligence to meet them.

Never was there more genuine reason for Americans to face down these two causes of fear. "Malice domestic" from time to time will come to you in the shape of those who would raise false issues, pervert facts, preach the gospel of hate, and minimize the importance of public action to secure human rights or spiritual ideals. There are those today who would sow these seeds, but your answer to them is in the possession of the plain facts of our present condition.”

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

News and Opinion

Military officials reportedly caught off guard by White House's warning to Syria

Several military officials were caught off guard by a White House statement Monday night that said Syria was suspected of planning a new chemical attack, The New York Times reported on Monday. ...

The apparent lack of communication among military channels appeared to be corroborated by a BuzzFeed News report that cited five defense officials who said they did not know of the details regarding a potential chemical attack and were not aware of the White House's plans to release a statement.

The White House disputed this characterization in a statement on Tuesday morning.

"In response to several inquiries regarding the Syria statement issued last night, we want to clarify that all relevant agencies," including the State Department, the Defense Department, the CIA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "were involved in the process from the beginning," a White House official said in a statement. "Anonymous leaks to the contrary are false."

Is Trump's 'Warning' to Syria a Prelude to Another Strike?

Saudi demolition of Shiite homes stokes violence

Saudi Arabia is demolishing centuries-old homes in a Shiite town, leveling a historic district that officials say has become a hideout for local militants. The destruction has sparked shootouts in the streets between Saudi security forces and Shiite gunmen and stoked sectarian tensions that resonate around the region.

The violence in the Shiite town of al-Awamiya, which is centered in the Sunni kingdom's oil-rich east coast, adds a new source of instability at a time of increasing confrontation in the Gulf. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and its Shiite-led rival Iran have spiked in recent weeks. Also, Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with neighboring Qatar, demanding among other things that it cut off ties with Iran.

Bulldozers began demolishing al-Awamiya's historic district on May 10, with plans to tear down several hundred homes.

At least six security officers, six Shiite gunmen and a number of civilians have been killed in al-Awamiya's skirmishes, shootings and bombings this year, most of them in the weeks since government contractors began tearing down the town's historical center. The old district is known as al-Mosawara, Arabic for the "walled fortress," named for its 400-year-old walls that protected the area from raiders.

Qatar crisis: "Saudi King Salman knows he has the ear of Trump, the most powerful man in the world"

Saudi Arabia says its demands from Qatar 'non-negotiable'

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that there would be no negotiations over demands by the kingdom and other Arab states from Qatar in order to lift the blockade and turn the relations back to normal.

Asked by reporters on a visit to Washington if the demands were non-negotiable, Jubeir said: "Yes."

"We made our point, we took our steps and it's up to the Qataris to amend their behavior and once they do things will be worked out but if they don't they will remain isolated," Jubeir said.

UAE ambassador threatens further sanctions against Qatar

The Gulf states demanding that Qatar ends its independent-minded foreign policy and alleged support for extremism have said they are considering further economic pressure on the tiny country, such as reducing commercial links with states that continue to trade with Doha.

The warning, the latest escalation in the three-week dispute, was made by Omar Ghobash, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to Moscow and one of the most articulate figures in the row that has racked the region. ...

The US and most European capitals have been trying to push the two sides into talks in an effort to de-escalate the row, fearing that if the dispute continues indefinitely Qatar will be forced into the arms of Iran – the country that is doing most to undermine the impact of the embargo by sending food supplies to Doha.

Speaking in London, Ghobash said expulsion of Qatar from the Gulf Cooperation Council – often raised as a possible sanction – was not the only sanction available. He added: “Their position today anyway is inconsistent with being members of the GCC because it is a common security and defence organisation. There are certain economic sanctions that we can take which are being considered right now.

“One possibility would be to impose conditions on our own trading partners and say you want to work with us then you have got to make a commercial choice.

Donald Trump considering China sanctions over North Korea, say officials

US president Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea and bilateral trade issues and is now considering possible trade actions against Beijing, three senior administration officials told Reuters. The officials said Trump was impatient with China and was looking at options including tariffs on steel imports, which commerce secretary Wilbur Ross has already said he is considering as part of a national security study of the domestic steel industry.

Whether Trump would actually take any steps against China remains unclear. In April, he backed off from a threat to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) after he said Canadian and Mexican leaders asked him to halt a planned executive order in favour of opening discussions. The officials said there was no consensus yet on the way forward with China and they did not say what other options were being studied. No decision was expected this week, a senior official said.

On North Korea, Trump “feels like he gave China a chance to make a difference” but has not seen enough results, the official said. The US has pressed China to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to help rein in its nuclear and missile programs. Beijing has repeatedly said its influence on North Korea is limited and that it is doing all it can. “They did a little, not a lot,” the official said. “And if he’s not going to get what he needs on that, he needs to move ahead on his broader agenda on trade and on North Korea.”

Brazilian President Michel Temer Charged with Corruption, a Year After He Backed Ouster of Rousseff

Venezuela: police helicopter attacks supreme court with grenades

A police helicopter launched grenades at Venezuela’s supreme court building on Tuesday evening following months of protests against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro said “terrorists” had lobbed two grenades that failed to detonate. Some reports put the number of grenades higher. Local media suggested a former police intelligence officer had carried out the attack.

Videos circulated on social media showed a man piloting the helicopter while holding a banner that read “Liberty. Article 350”, in reference to the part of the Venezuelan constitution that allows citizens to declare themselves in civil disobedience in front of “any regime that runs counter to democratic guarantees or undermines human rights”.

The incident took place just hours after Maduro warned that he and his supporters would be willing to take up arms if his government was toppled by “undemocratic forces”.

Local media quoted witness accounts describing what they said had sounded like an exchange of fire between guards at the supreme court building and the helicopter. Maduro referred to the incident as an “act of terrorism”, and called on his supporters to activate a “new phase in the revolution” should anything happen to him.

D.C. Police Accused of Using "Rape as Punishment" Targeting Some Arrested During Trump Inauguration

With Nation's Attention Elsewhere, Trump Quietly Intensifies War on Workers

In a little-discussed move that could spell disaster for unions and workers in the near future and over the long-term, President Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced the nomination of William Emanuel—a lawyer for a firm that represents large corporations—to fill a vacant seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Emanuel, as Reuters noted, is a member of the Federalist Society, an ultra-right-wing group of lawyers and donors that has been credited with producing the list of possible Supreme Court nominees the Trump administration flaunted during his presidential campaign.

If Emanuel and Trump's other nominee—Washington attorney Marvin Kaplan—are confirmed by the Senate, Republicans will control the NLRB for the first time in nearly a decade.

Since November, Republicans at the state level have been passing anti-union laws at a torrid pace, and leverage over federal employment rules will further enable them to dismantle what is left of organized labor.

As such, Republican lawmakers and business groups promptly celebrated Trump's decision to nominate Emanuel, which Huffington Post labor reporter Dave Jamieson characterized as "a big favor for employers, including his family business."

Memo to Democrats: You Need A Clear Message for Universal Health Care

In 2009, the noted Republican strategist Frank Luntz wrote a memo to GOP members of Congress, advising them on how to resist the Democrats’ health care reform bill that would go on to become Obamacare. “Stop talking economic theory,” he said, use “words that work,” and offer a viable conservative alternative. “It’s not enough to just say what you’re against,” instructed Luntz. “You have to tell them what you’re for.”

Fast forward eight years. The tables have turned and Democrats have spent the past few weeks trying to resist Trumpcare — in the form of a now-postponed health care bill from Senate Republicans that was supposed to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. ... How did we get to this point? A point where Harvard researchers are warning of 217,000 additional deaths over the next decade from a loss of health coverage? Part of the blame has to lie with the Democrats, who failed to heed Luntz’s advice to the Republicans.

First, in defending Obamacare, they lacked “words that work.” For instance, how many people know, understand or even care what an “individual mandate” is? How about insurance “exchanges”? Or the “public option”? These technical terms and phrases have obscured more than they have clarified. They have also played into the hands of the Republicans, who have worked hard to ensure that the public view health care only through a partisan lens. ...

Second, Democrats have turned down opportunity after opportunity to offer a comprehensive health care alternative that guarantees coverage to all Americans (unlike Obamacare, which leaves around 27 million Americans uninsured.) During the Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton said a single-payer “health care for all” system would “never, ever come to pass.” Inspiring, huh?

As for those on the left like Bernie Sanders and — belatedly — Elizabeth Warren, who are keen to offer a progressive alternative to both Trumpcare and Obamacare in the form of guaranteed, government-funded health care for all, they may have a clear and inspiring policy alternative but whether they have a clear and inspiring message for it remains to be seen.

The Tide Is Turning on Single Payer, With or Without Bernie Sanders

Tuesday’s WSJ op-ed by Elizabeth Warren, in which the Massachusetts senator urged Democrats to campaign on Medicare For All is a sign the tide is turning. Liz Warren is no dummy. She’s up for re-election in 2018. She knows what sells, and she knows that unlike most Republicans, Trump is entirely capable of running simultaneously to the left AND to the right of Democrats.

Newspapers like the Boston Globe explain Liz Warren’s sudden reversal on single payer by telling us that while Medicare For All was a “fringe idea” nine years ago the public might almost be ready for it now. What no corporate media outlet will tell you is that a majority of House Democrats have now signed on to John Conyers’ current Medicare For All bill. So-called progressive Democrats are known for striking courageous poses when they don’t have majorities to pass them, this is a very different political moment than nine years ago. Physicians for a National Health Plan, the foremost pro-single payer doctors organization, called the House Republican plan a meaner version of Obamacare, putting them in the same territory as Donald Trump, who now admits calling the bill “mean.” Before he became president Donald Trump was on record more than once favoring Medicare For All. it’s a position he’s entirely capable of circling back to. Trump is plenty smart enough to know that if he ca assemble a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to deliver Medicare For All before 2020, his re-election will be a lockdown certainty.

So where is the nation’s foremost proponent of Medicare For All, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders? The answer is nowhere. Early in the year Bernie’s office was telling people to expect a senate version of Medicare For All that might drop in March, or April or May. It’s the end of June now. Maybe Bernie has postponed the push for single payer because Democratic party unity is more important. ...

Whatever the reason, the fact is there exists NO Medicare For All Senate bill to which Greens, Democrats and others might demand senators affix their name to. Nobody’s holding that up but Vermont Senator and Democratic party outreach chair Bernie Sanders. The US Senate is a good old boys club, and Liz Warren despite her gender is very much a good old boy. Warren will never put Bernie on the spot by introducing her own single payer bill, and neither will any other Senate Democrat.

So the tide is finally turning on Medicare For All. But at this moment Bernie Sanders is blocking that tide.

Paper ballots are hack-proof. It's time to bring them back.

It remains true that there is no actual evidence that a single vote was changed by hackers in the 2016 election. But even the possibility of hacking has served to promote the sort of conspiracy-mongering and political hatred that led to, for example, the shooting attack on Republican lawmakers last week. In a democratic polity, people have to believe that their votes are counted honestly, or the legitimacy of the system collapses. ...

So what should we do? Well, we could try to boost our cybersecurity, but given that the NSA, the FBI and the CIA are leaking important secrets on a daily basis, maybe we’re not up to that job. So, once again, let me suggest that we return to something that, by its very nature, can’t be hacked by a guy in St. Petersburg: Paper ballots.

In some ways, paper and ink is a super technology. When you cast a vote on a voting machine, all that’s recorded is who you voted for. But a paper ballot captures lots of other information: Ink color, handwriting, etc. If you have access to a voting machine that’s connected to the Internet, you can change all the votes at once. To change a bunch of paper ballots takes physical access, and unless you’re very careful the changed ballots will show evidence of tampering. Paper ballots aren’t fraud-proof, of course, as a century of Chicago politics demonstrates, but they’re beyond the reach of some guy sitting at a computer in a basement halfway around the world. And there are well-known steps to make Chicago-style fraud harder.

Mayors of 7,400 cities vow to meet Obama's climate commitments

Mayors of more than 7,400 cities across the world have vowed that Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris accord will spur greater local efforts to combat climate change. At the first meeting of a “global covenant of mayors”, city leaders from across the US, Europe and elsewhere pledged to work together to keep to the commitments made by Barack Obama two years ago.

Cities will devise a standard measurement of emission reductions to help them monitor their progress. They will also share ideas for delivering carbon-free transport and housing. Kassim Reed, the mayor of Atlanta, told reporters he had travelled to Europe to “send a signal” that US states and cities would execute the policies Obama committed to, whether the current White House occupants agreed or not.

“Right now you have a level of collaboration and focus and sharing of best practices that I haven’t seen. I came from Brussels from a meeting of the US conference of mayors ... and more than 300 mayors signed a letter reflecting our will to deliver the Paris accord commitments.” He added: “My firm belief is that President Trump’s disappointing decision to withdraw from the agreement will actually have the opposite effect in terms of execution.

Surveillance at Standing Rock exposes heavy-handed policing of Native lands

The general public became aware of the Standing Rock Sioux’s fight to stop the Dakota Access pipeline last fall when, week after week, videos surfaced showing protesters being attacked by dogs, sprayed with water hoses and pelted with an arsenal of rubber bullets, bean bag pellets, and long-range sound devices that blast “powerful deterrent tones”. Rumored among activists but unknown to the public and much of the press, law enforcement had another tool up its sleeve that has only recently been revealed: an international private security company that infiltrated protest camps, monitored activists and waged an anti-protest messaging campaign via social media.

An ongoing multi-part investigation by the Intercept has brought to light the work of TigerSwan, the security firm held on retainer by Energy Transfer Partners, the owners of the pipeline. Documents obtained by the Intercept reveal that TigerSwan operatives monitored the movements of activists – online and physically with drones and a small detail assigned to follow movement leaders. Additionally, they provided local and federal law enforcement agencies with daily “intelligence updates” on the protests – all while likening protesters to “jihadist” fighters and describing protest camps as a “battlefield”.

Such coordination between big business and law enforcement should raise alarms regarding the state of our democracy. But it should also highlight the ongoing fight for sovereignty over Native lands and the continued use of law enforcement as a colonial tool in Indian country. The technology TigerSwan used at Standing Rock may be state of the art, but the use of policing to suppress indigenous protest and violate indigenous rights is as old as the US itself. Indeed, law enforcement officers have long served as the shock troops of colonization and, throughout history, were deployed to suppress indigenous sovereignty and open up indigenous lands to settlement and extraction. ...

When activists at Standing Rock took their stand last fall, they were not just protesting but reasserting their sovereign right to control developments that cross and have an impact on land they still recognize as theirs, a claim backed by historic treaties and the supreme court. When they asserted that right, their actions were suppressed and criminalized.

EPA seeks to scrap rule protecting drinking water for third of Americans

The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to dismantle the federal clean water rule, which protects waterways that provide drinking water for about a third of the US population. The EPA, with the US army, has proposed scrapping the rule in order to conduct a “substantive re-evaluation” of which rivers, streams, wetlands and other bodies of water should be protected by the federal government.

“We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation’s farmers and businesses,” said Scott Pruitt, administrator of the EPA. Pruitt said the EPA would swiftly redefine clean water regulations in a “thoughtful, transparent and collaborative” way with other agencies and the public.

Green groups, however, said the move pandered to fossil fuel and farming interests and was part of an agenda to weaken clean water protections. “Once again, the Trump administration has agreed to do the bidding of the worst polluters in our country, and once again it’s putting the health of American families and communities at risk,” said Michael Brune, executive director of Sierra Club.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Intercepted Podcast: The House of Trump

Russia-gate Is No Watergate or Iran-Contra

Macron’s Mission: Save the European Union From Itself

The shocking cynicism of Saudi Arabia’s Yemen war, in one quote

Those to Blame for the Grenfell Fire Victims Include Tony Blair

Fed Chair Janet Yellen Seriously Misleads in London on U.S. Banking Reform

Nancy Pelosi Sends Democrats Over a Cliff

Climate scientists just debunked deniers' favorite argument

A Little Night Music

Jerry McCain - The Jig's Up

Jerry "Boogie" McCain - Middle Of The Night

Jerry McCain - Hop Stroll

Jerry McCain - Juicy Lucy

Jerry McCain - Steady

Jerry McCain & his Upstarts - Things Ain't Right

Jerry McCain - Twist 62

Jerry McCain and His Upstarts - Bad Credit

Jerry McCain - She's Tough

Jerry McCain - Hot Nuts

Jerry McCain - I Want Somebody To Love

Jerry McCain's True Blues