As reluctant as Sens. Sinemanchema (D-UNENDEARING QUIRKS) have been to do anything to protect American democracy, you’d think Republicans in swing states might decide to hedge their bets, not poke the bear, etc. Naturally they plan to send hired goons to harass voters at their homes. 
 

• After months of spreading lies, bilking taxpayers, ruining expensive voting equipment, and making their state the mockery of the democratic world, Arizona Republicans have decided to cut their losses extend their scam-audit farce indefinitely. On Thursday, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann said Republicans would demand more documents and data from Maricopa County, and the MAGA fools they hired to conduct this propaganda campaign proposed reviving a plan to conduct a door-to-door inquisition of 2020 voters—an idea that already earned them a warning letter from the Department of Justice. By an absolutely gobsmacking coincidence, Kyrsten Sinema is also from Arizona.
   
• As if to convince the public that this joint GOP/Cyber Ninja operation is completely above board, nothing to see here, the state has rebuffed public-record requests and tried to get a lawsuit seeking release of those documents dismissed. An Arizona judge laughed that motion out of court Thursday, writing “It is difficult to conceive of a case with a more compelling public interest demanding public disclosure and public scrutiny.” Anywho, that circus continues in spite of the fact that Arizona election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential fraud out of more than three million ballots cast, according to an AP investigation.
   
• Meanwhile, the Texas Democrats who fled their state to bust quorum and slow a mammoth GOP election-subversion bill met in Washington, DC, with Joe Manchin Thursday to make the bleedingly obvious case that only federal intervention will stop election-theft efforts at the state level. The good news? All parties agree the meeting was good. The bad news? Manchin left the meeting and expressed this nonsense: “​​We [make] one piece of legislation that protects the rights of voting, the procedure of voting, democracy, the guardrails on democracy, that's all. And there shouldn't be a Republican or Democrat should oppose it." 

Then Manchin flew off to Texas, to issue an ultimatum to Republican state legislators and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
 

• Haha, just kidding, it was to headline a fundraiser with oil executives, including big-name Republican donors, in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. At least those donors are just as interested in stopping President Biden’s climate agenda as they are in preserving the filibuster and letting Republicans chew away at voting rights?
   
• The good news is Manchin has already voted to advance the For the People Act and seems on board in principle with the Democrats’ thicc reconciliation bill, which will include lots of climate goodies. Better still may be what’s happening behind the scenes. This week Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed (obliquely) that she’s “having conversations with folks" about the filibuster, and influential Biden ally Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said he thinks Biden is working Senate Dems on the issue as well. 

The window for Democrats to protect democracy in time for the 2022 midterms is quickly closing. Fortunately, civil-rights activists have taken up that urgent challenge with moral force, and the president and vice president are leaning in hard behind the scenes. The bad news is Republicans have responded to the uncertainty by dialing their authoritarianism up to 11 and hoping Dems can’t get it together before it’s too late.

After Giannis Antetokounmpo’s timely block helped the Milwaukee Bucks even the NBA Finals, Jason Concepcion breaks down all the Game 4 moments that got us here. Plus, Jason Gallagher explains why play-by-play announcer Mike Breen has overextended himself; and we'll take a close look at: Zalia Avant-Garde’s game, Boban Marjanovic’s peculiar weight lifting routine and a special Olympic makeover. Watch and subscribe at youtube.com/takelineshow.

A House subcommittee advanced President Biden’s spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services without the Hyde Amendment this week, for the first time since the provision was introduced. The Hyde Amendment has banned federal funding for most abortions for more than 40 years, limiting accessibility for millions of women who rely on Medicaid and disproportionately affecting women of color. The Hyde-less spending bill would probably be doomed in the current Senate even without the filibuster—Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said last month that he’ll continue to support the Hyde Amendment in “every way possible.” But its progress through the House is the latest promising sign of how quickly Democrats’ thinking on the provision has changed: Biden reversed his support for Hyde on the campaign trail in 2019, after supporting it for decades.

• Two men have been charged with conspiring to attack the Democratic headquarters in Sacramento after the 2020 election. Federal authorities said the men planned to use explosive devices in the attack, and sought support from a militia group in the hopes of sparking a movement to overthrow the government.
   
• President Biden was asked about his message on vaccine misinformation to platforms like Facebook, and replied, “They’re killing people.” (Somberly) Hell yeah.
   
• Africa has recorded one-million new coronavirus cases in the past month alone, according to the WHO, which urged rich nations to donate more vaccine doses. Only about one percent of Africans have been fully vaccinated.
   
• Investigators with the New York attorney general’s office will question Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) on Saturday as part of their probe into the sexual-harassment allegations against him.
   
• A jury has rejected the mental-illness defense of the gunman who killed five staffers at the Capital Gazette in 2018, finding him criminally responsible.
   
• A natural wobble in the moon’s orbit combined with rising sea levels will cause rapid increases in severe flooding along U.S. coastlines by the mid-2030s, according to a new NASA study.
   
• French people booked more than 2.2 million vaccine appointments in less than 48 hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that proof of vaccination would be needed to participate in public life. Seems like vaccine mandates just might be worth a shot? (Or, you know, millions of shots.)
   
• Donald Trump charged the Secret Service $18,699 in June for rooms at his Bedminster property. In his first six months since leaving office, Trump has used those rent bills to rake in more than $72,000 in taxpayer dollars.
   
• Time to update the Florida Man rankings.

The American Dental Association has come under new pressure to pull funding from Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), loyal friend to both dental interests and abhorrent white nationalists. Gosar’s one of five dentists in Congress, and the American Dental Association has donated over $75,000 to him since he was elected in 2010, making them his top donor. The organization has largely turned a blind eye to Gosar’s involvement with the right-wing extremist fringe, but his role in the Stop the Steal moment and his ties to Nick Fuentes have pushed some prominent dentists to call on the ADA to cut him off. A coalition of Arizona activists also organized a pressure campaign earlier this year under the hashtag #CallYourDentist, which may be moving the needle: The ADA has since hired a reception service to field calls from Americans wondering why the dental community is supporting an enemy of democracy.

In 2021 mental health is finally a thing, especially as people are not feeling like their normal selves. Let’s support one another and talk openly. Whether or not therapy is your thing, knowing it’s available and affordable is important, for you or perhaps a loved one.  

Millions of people are trying and loving online therapy. It doesn’t have to be sitting around just talking about your feelings.

So, what is therapy, exactly? It’s whatever you want it to be.

You can privately talk to someone if your stress is too much to manage, you’re battling a temper, having relationship issues, anxiety, depression, etc… Whatever you need, there’s no more shame in these normal human struggles. We take care of our bodies, why not our minds, too? Without a healthy mind, being truly happy and at peace is HARD.

BetterHelp is customized online therapy that offers video, phone and even live chat sessions with your therapist, so you don’t have to see anyone on camera if you don’t want to. It’s much more affordable than in-person therapy and you can start communicating with your therapist in under 48 hours.

It’s always a good time to invest in yourself, because you are your greatest asset. See if online therapy is for you by heading to BetterHelp.com/crooked for 10% off your first month.

Greenland will stop issuing new licences for oil and gas exploration.

The Tokyo Olympics will feature a record number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes.

California has become the first state to allocate funding specifically for training public school teachers on LGBTQ issues.

Virginia plans to invest $700 million in American Rescue Plan funding to connect every household to high-speed broadband by 2024.