1. The Devil’s Advocate
Time Stamp: 8:07
- What Is The Meaning of Life?
- There is no divine meaning
- Individual happiness
- Connection to each other
- Stewardship of the planet
- Propagate the species
- Economic success
- Random chaos
2. Infernal Informant
Time Stamp: 30:36
- ‘Historic corruption’: 2 Republican senators denounce Trump’s commutation of Stone
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/11/republicans-denounce-roger-stone-commutation-357259- Sens. Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey condemned Donald Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone — the first elected Republicans to denounce the president’s Friday night move
- “Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,” Romney (R-Utah) wrote on Twitter Saturday.
- Stone was convicted on seven felony charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, including obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements.
- Toomey (R-Pa.) noted that the president “clearly has the legal and constitutional authority to grant clemency for federal crimes,” but said commuting Stone’s sentence was a “mistake” due in part to the severity of the charges against him.
- Toomey also noted that Attorney General William Barr earlier this week called the prosecution of Stone “righteous” and said his prison sentence of three years and four months was “fair.”
- Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump in his impeachment trial in the Senate, and has openly criticized Trump in ways that his fellow Republicans have avoided. Toomey has occasionally broken with the president, in particular over trade policies.
- Barr expressed rare frustration with Trump, saying the president’s public comments on Justice Department cases, including Stone’s, were making his job more difficult.
- Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was supportive of the sentence commutation in part because “this was a nonviolent, first-time offense” for Stone.
- Shortly after Romney and Toomey commented, Mueller himself spoke out in rare form, writing a Washington Post op-ed in which he defended his investigation from Trump’s frequent attacks and said Stone “remains a convicted felon, and rightly so,” despite Trump’s move.
- “I feel compelled to respond both to broad claims that our investigation was illegitimate and our motives were improper, and to specific claims that Roger Stone was a victim of our office,” Mueller wrote, calling Stone a “central figure” in the investigation.
- “When a subject lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government’s efforts to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable,” Mueller said of Stone making false statements to Congress. “It may ultimately impede those efforts.”
- Missouri couple’s gun rights defended in letter to AG Barr from 12 GOP lawmakers
https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-couples-gun-rights-defended-in-letter-to-ag-barr-from-12-gop-lawmakers- Twelve Republican members of Congress have written to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, arguing in defense of the Second Amendment rights of a Missouri couple whose rifle and handgun are now in the possession of local authorities.
- Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who made national headlines in late June when they took up arms to defend their home from protesters who stormed into their gated St. Louis neighborhood, had their rifle seized Friday when local police executed a search warrant.
- Then on Saturday, a lawyer — who represented the couple until recently – surrendered to police a handgun that Patricia McCloskey held during the June incident, FOX 2 of St. Louis reported.
- “It was my duty and obligation to make sure that evidence was preserved to maintain the integrity of the defense of Mr. and/or Mrs. McCloskey in the event, in what I believe the highly unlikely event, of any charges being brought,” Watkins said, according to KSDK-TV of St. Louis.
- Watkins said the gun was “inoperable” prior to the June incident, and Patricia McCloskey knew it was inoperable. But he said there were some potential legal issues with the way Patricia McCloskey held her weapon versus the way Mark McCloskey held his, making the weapon’s condition an issue, KSDK reported.
- In a statement June 29, Gardner wrote that protesters had First Amendment rights that needed to be protected from “intimidation or threat of deadly force,” and said any such behavior would “not be tolerated.”
- In their letter to Barr, dated Friday, the dozen Republican lawmakers claimed that any charges filed against the couple would have “a chilling effect” on an American populace whose rights to bear arms are guaranteed in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
- Watkins said he was no longer representing the McCloskeys because his decision to hold the couple’s handgun in his office had made him a potential witness in any court case involving the couple, KSDK reported. The couple’s new lawyer is Joel Schwartz.
- The protesters claimed they marched past the McCloskeys’ home on the way to a planned gathering outside the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.
3. Creature Feature
Time Stamp: 56:49
- Down to Earth with Zac Efron
https://www.netflix.com/title/80230601
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_to_Earth_with_Zac_Efron- American web documentary series that was released on Netflix on July 10 2020.
- Stars Zac Efron along with Darin Olien.
- revolves around Efron and his travels around the world focusing on themes of travel, life experience, nature, green energy and sustainable living practices
- My Thoughts
- Zac is a douche
- American Exceptionalism is a blatant lie
- Being eco minded is common sense