What must no longer be doubted after today's Jan 6 hearing is that Trump directly (rather indirectly) tried to overthrow the US government. The testimony by Mark Meadows's former aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, was, to quote Fox News, "stunning." Trump knew his MAGA mob was armed and prepared to kill and die for him. He also apparently wanted to lead the charge into the Capitol Building. He also "tried to grab [the] steering wheel to go to U.S. Capitol" and basically allegedly assaulted a Secret Service agent. And he threw "his lunch against the wall because he was so upset that his aides and the Secret Service hadn’t taken him to Capitol." (The wall dripped with ketchup.) We also learned that Trump wanted more MAGA troops for the storming of the building. In short, he was at the heart of all of it. He and his team planned it, expected it to explode into violence and to plunge the US into a political crisis from which he would emerge as a dictator, as president for life.

If the multi-world hypothesis proposed in the mid-1950s by the physicist and Cold War technocrat Hugh Everett is true, I'm happy to be the world where, so far, Jan 6 failed. 

The GOP is beginning to feel the heat just might be real and cause some damage. 

Keep in mind that Dan Rather has been in this civilization, which is clearly in decline, for 90 years:  

Because there's no doubt about Trump's role and goal on Jan 6, we must also ask this question: Why is Postmaster General Louis DeJoy not under investigation? Clearly, he was placed into the position by Trump to kneecap the institution and improve the chances of defeating Joe Biden. But DeJoy is still the Postmaster General, and, to make matters worse, he is actively blocking the full electrification of its 21st Century fleet. At present, 10% of 180,000 new vehicles will be electric. The rest will be gas guzzlers. Biden wanted 100% electrification,  but "DeJoy went ahead and awarded the first contract to Oshkosh Defense for gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles." Biden can't fire him for this? Indeed, DeJoy recently and brazenly gave a new and important Postal Service position, chief logistics officer, to an old buddy and confidant, Kelly Abney. Biden? I suppose you want us to vote about this in November, too.

Today, I saw for the first time one of Amazon's new electric delivery trucks. The Seattle-based corporation "contracted Rivian to produce 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2030." The first 10,000 of these wonderful machines (I believe in electric trucks far more than electric cars) were supposed to hit the streets at the end of the year. But it seems they are already entering in the middle of the year. But, for rizzle: Why is DeJoy still running USPS?

A Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship is returning to Seattle for repairs. While traveling in a fog, the massive monster of middle-class consumption hit "an iceberg off of the Alaskan Coast [on] Saturday." The kind of iceberg that caused the damage is called a "growler."  

In case you missed this episode in capitalist collapse and waste:

The ban of fireworks in unincorporated King County "is going into effect." The ban, according KIRO 7, includes "not only aerial fireworks, but also sparklers and smoke bombs." I can understand how large parts of unincorporated King County will still break the law and celebrate the birth of the United States of America. But how is this at all possible for most in Seattle? The progressive city? How can we fuck with fireworks in a time like this? Our city should be silent on July 4. 

Ghislaine Maxwell, who is 60, was sentenced to 20 years in Federal prison for assisting a pimp for the billionaires, Jeffrey Epstein, in a profitable scheme that resulted in the sexual abuse of underage girls. CNN reports the prosecutors in the case "had asked the judge to sentence Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison."

The present mayor of the greatest city on earth, Eric Adams, said today the former mayor of that city, also called the Big Apple, Rudy Giuliani, should be investigated for breaking the law on Sunday, June 26. He accused the pro-choice ShopRite worker, Daniel Gill, of assault, when what actually happened, by all appearances, was a mere pat on the back. Giuliani got the worker arrested and charged "with second-degree assault, a felony charge." When the video became public, however, Gill was released and the charge reduced. This is how Adams saw the situation as it presently stands:

“I think the district attorney, he has the wrong person that he’s investigating. To falsely report a crime is a crime. If that video wasn’t there, then this person would’ve been charged with punching the former mayor.” 

I will end PM with a slamming pop techno track brought to my attention by Julie MontĂŠ, an art critic and bartender at one of the best new joints on Capitol Hill, Post Pike Bar & Cafe. It's Tinashe's "HMU For A Good Time":