When you've lost Junior…

It's been a rough few days for Mark Meadows. On Sunday, it was revealed that the former White House chief of staff assured an unnamed individual that the National Guard would be present on Jan. 6 to "protect pro-Trump people," and that many more would be available on standby. On Monday, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol recommended that the House hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena. And today, everyone is talking about those text messages. On Jan. 6, it seems everyone—from Sean Hannity to Laura Ingraham to Donald Trump's own eldest son—was begging Meadows to intervene and convince Trump to stop the insurrection. We all know how that went. —The New York Times

• — Much more to come. Two key organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6 have lost faith in Trump, and they're ready to spill the tea. Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lynn Lawrence will testify before the committee next week, when they are expected to turn over documents, including text messages, that indicate the extensive involvement members of Congress and the Trump Administration had in planning the rally and the scheme to overturn the results of the election. —Rolling Stone
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• — Extremist groups sued for "gutless attack." Thirty-one members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are being sued by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine in an effort to recover the millions of dollars the city spent to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court today, accuses members of the far-right extremist groups of "conspiring to terrorize the District," calling their actions "a coordinated act of domestic terrorism." —CNN
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• — The. Election. Was. Not. Stolen. An AP review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) has found fewer than 475—a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election. Further, of those 475 disputed ballots, some were cast in favor of Trump, and the majority were caught and removed from the count. The review also showed no collusion intended to "rig" the voting. —Associated Press

Shull: In perilous times, we can't take civilian rule for granted

"[I]n the more than 245 years since its founding, the U.S. military has never overthrown an American civilian government. Indeed, just last year, the military's top official, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, unequivocally reaffirmed the principle of civilian control to Congress. Unfortunately, he did so in reference to the upcoming 2020 elections—something that is hard to imagine a military official having to do in decades past, before our escalating culture wars. But it was a prescient move given that after the elections, some of then-President Donald Trump's past advisers openly began discussing U.S. military involvement to resolve their disputes. The aftermath of the 2020 elections shows that perhaps we cannot take the military's spirit of deference to civilian rule for granted. Sustaining this tradition, which traces back to America's birth, requires attention." —Thomas Shull on The Unpopulist

Thomas Shull is a Michigan-based writer and editor.

MORE: Jim Jones: Republican extremism is damaging the national interest —The Hill

USPS tested, then abandoned, mobile voting app

The U.S. Postal Service reportedly worked on a secret project to test a blockchain-based mobile phone voting app ahead of the 2020 elections. The system would have allowed individuals to cast votes via a mobile app similar to an online shopping cart or survey. The votes would be recorded in multiple locations at the same time to provide accuracy, in the same way bitcoin transactions are made. The effort was apparently conducted without any involvement from agencies focused on election security, alarming agency officials, who worried that news of it could spark conspiracies and stoke distrust in the U.S. election system. The project was ultimately abandoned. An assessment released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI determined that mobile voting systems have risks to "confidentiality, integrity, and availability of voted ballots." —The Hill

'There is no question that we will reach 1 million deaths'

The U.S. has reached a once-unthinkable milestone—800,000 deaths from COVID-19. Worse, many were preventable. Now, public health officials worry about what to expect this winter. Seasonal influenza is already spreading through some communities; the Delta surge still hasn't peaked, with about 100,000 new cases being diagnosed every day in the U.S.; and here comes Omicron. Masking, vaccinations and booster shots, and prompt testing if sick or exposed may be the only hope for avoiding the looming triple threat. There is some positive news—more and better coronavirus treatment options are being developed every day, giving cautious promise that the overall mortality risk can be lowered in the face of more dangerous variants still to come. In the meantime, the best defense remains the vaccines, with a booster dose now considered part of the "fully vaccinated" course. —USA Today

MORE: Data indicate Omicron is milder but better at evading vaccines —Associated Press

Ignatius: Putin barrels toward conflict, with support from some Americans 

"Trump supporters blame Biden for making [Russian President Vladimir] Putin think America is in retreat. There's no question that the world is worried about U.S. resolve after the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, but in the Ukraine crisis Biden has behaved with the right mix of firmness and diplomacy. Putin and Trump share the same playbook. Defy and disrupt; plead innocence when confronted; negotiate through intimidation. They act like pro-wrestlers with fake theatrical bluster, but the danger is all too real. The rule of law is a noble concept, but it needs to be enforced." —David Ignatius in The Washington Post

David Ignatius is a columnist covering foreign affairs at The Washington Post.

MORE: Trump praises Putin, Kim during Florida tour stop with O'Reilly —Newsweek

Focus on China and Russia

Last week, China and Russia teamed up to condemn the Summit for Democracy, a global gathering to which they were not invited. This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet virtually with Russian President Vladimir Putin in another sign of the two autocratic countries' growing coziness. The meeting comes as rising tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border have caused international concern. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine with up to 175,000 troops.

• — "Massive consequences." The U.S. and other Group of 7 leaders on Sunday issued a statement condemning "Russia's military build-up and aggressive rhetoric towards Ukraine" and threatening consequences such as harsh sanctions and other defensive measures if Putin attacks Ukraine. The Kremlin denies it plans to invade, accusing the Western alliance of Russophobia.
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• — An attack on one is an attack on all. Ukraine has wanted to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 2002. In a virtual meeting with President Biden last week, Putin said Washington should reject Ukraine's NATO membership in return for assurances that Russian troops would not carry out an attack. Biden said Washington would not accept such a demand.
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• — What is China's position on Ukraine? That remains unclear at the moment. China, which shares a long border with Russia, has focused much of their bilateral relationship on trade, especially in energy. Amid a coal shortage this year, China bought significant amounts of coal and other fuel from its northern neighbor. Though Xi spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July, he is far less likely to jeopardize relations with Putin to defend the former Soviet republic. Stay tuned. —CNBC

Leonhardt: Pushback against the anti-democracy movement must come from Republicans

"An anti-democratic movement, inspired by Donald Trump but much larger than him, is making significant progress, as my colleague Charles Homans has reported. In the states that decide modern presidential elections, this movement has already changed some laws and ousted election officials, with the aim of overturning future results. It has justified the changes with blatantly false statements claiming that Joe Biden did not really win the 2020 election. The movement has encountered surprisingly little opposition. … The pushback within the Republican Party has been so weak that about 60% of Republican adults now tell pollsters that they believe the 2020 election was stolen—a view that's simply wrong." —David Leonhardt in The New York Times

David Leonhardt writes "The Morning" daily newsletter and contributes to the Sunday Review section at The New York Times.

MORE: 'This is a charade': Key Republican calls for end to election review —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Once again, Bill T. of Arizona has presented some cogent, thoughtful views. I too weary of those who haphazardly toss the "Constitution" into discussions when they (a) don't really know what the Constitution says, and (b) think that somehow it was designed as a fixed, completely clear, never-meant-to-be-changed document. In fact, the 2nd Amendment itself changed the Constitution. —Read G., Utah

Bill T. of Arizona: Great letter on guns. The only problem is it is full of logic and common sense. Something that waved bye-bye to this culture a long time ago. —Tom A., Oregon

Rich Lowry has been so wrong about so many important things over the years that it's almost refreshing to see him criticize the dismaying right-wing embrace of Putin. But he (and his magazine) bear some responsibility for fostering the conservative ecosystem that has led to this sorry state of affairs.

Furthermore, the snide reference to "woke insanity" is really unnecessary given that the vast majority of examples of "wokeness" are merely common courtesy—or to put it in explicitly Christian terms, the Golden Rule, treating others as you wish to be treated. It mystifies me that so many "conservatives" have a problem with that. As Jefferson famously said, "it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg" to allow for different beliefs or—gasp—lifestyles. —Scott K., California

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.