Loyal Defender: Interesting Links From June 2026

Iran attacks damage 20 US military sites since start of war, satellite images show (others besides the British Broadcasting Corporation have reported essentially this)

House Republicans on X: "AMERICA IS BACK. We’re so lucky to live in the most powerful nation in the history of the world. https://t.co/otAJfNXe4C" / X (embarrassing and inaccurate hot air)

The Intellectualist on X: "Trump: We stopped the conflict between Cambodia and Armenia. It was just starting and it was a bad one. Fact-check: This never happened. He is making this up.(2025) https://t.co/0TgRDMPW4l" / X

Norman Ornstein on X: "Even North Korea might find this malignant narcissism going a bit too far" / X (Donald J. Trump posted a doctored photo of himself on Mount Rushmore, on the Truth Social media platform)

James Surowiecki on X: "Pete Hegseth on March 13: "Never before has a modern, capable military, which Iran used to have, been so quickly destroyed." Trump now: "We've actually left their military alone."" / X

Iran Embassy SA on X: "The United States is abusing its role as a World Cup host. They issued heavily restricted visas to the Iranian team, which is scheduled to play on U.S. soil. They also failed to issue visas to @BafanaBafana in a timely manner. Either they are incapable of managing the process" / X (for information purposes)

June 2

Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least 16 : NPR

After several artists drop out of Freedom 250 concerts, Vanilla Ice says he'd "play for anybody" including Putin and Iran - CBS News

My new job is official! – The Way of Improvement Leads Home (Dr. John Fea, an acclaimed historian, got a new appointment with the Madison, Wisconsin-based Lumen Center)

Trump Spiritual Adviser Franklin Graham Says President Needs God

Jay in Kyiv on X: "Trump's aim now is to get Ukraine's drone tech by withholding the Patriot air defense ammo and pass that tech to his sons' newly setup companies. Anyone doubting that Trump's kids will immediately pass that drone tech to the Russians is smoking crack." / X

The White House on X: "Rampant fraud is being identified, prosecuted, and extinguished across America under the Trump Administration. https://t.co/HiGbWpKzQV" / X (President Donald J. Trump is quoted as stating, “JD (Vice President J. D. Vance) is doing a great job with his team. They’ve already caught hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud. If we find half of the fraud that’s going on in this country, and we will, we’re going to have a balanced budget very soon.” How much of this alleged fraud, all of it in Trump’s view committed by Trump opponents of course, has been proven or even formally charged? This statement is frankly not credible, in my opinion.)

June 3

America's Bipartisan Birthday Commission Is Losing to Trump - NOTUS — News of the United States

It’s Time the US Got Serious About Canada | Opinion - Newsweek

Pentagon hires convicted Jan. 6 rioter for sensitive counterterrorism job - The Washington Post

DOJ is investigating George Santos for insider trading on Kalshi : NPR

Elderly Christian among 31 sentenced in China house church crackdown - ChinaAid

Large-Scale Strikes on Kyiv Leave Christians Counting the Cost - Christianity Today

Tommy Vietor on X: "BRUTAL indictment of @bariweiss by Scott Pelley: "For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified." Then it gets worse... https://t.co/SZkcaiHFG5" / X (for information purposes)

Anders Åslund on X: "Since the US threatens Denmark's territorial integrity, it has defined itself as an enemy & must be treated as such. The US has stopped being an ally of Denmark." / X (for information purposes)

🇨🇦 Henri A 🇨🇦 on X: ""...the trust and friendship between the peoples will take decades to repair" There will be no repair Americans have had long enough to remove their fascist regime and haven't done a thing (aside from a protest here or there). It can be assumed that this is the regime they want" / X (for information – comment from a Canadian)

Reuters on X: "Russian drones and missiles struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, following days of warnings about ‌Moscow's plans for a major assault https://t.co/RZjbJYupmp https://t.co/UY6FOwNne7" / X

Lauren on X: "I'm so upset & frustrated seeing these horrific Russian attacks on Kyiv & other Ukrainian cities killing civilians. We're doing far too little under this admin to support Ukraine. The President hasn't strongly condemned these strikes, let alone delivered any new aid. Shameful 🥺" / X

Doug Ford on X: "I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale. While I’m at it, here’s the truth: in April, Ontario created 680 per cent more jobs than the U.S., adjusted for population. That’s how we protect Ontario." / X

Dave Hale - Concerned Republican on X: "Russia has destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian churches, in its brutal invasion, you disgraceful propagandist." / X (reaction to Candace Owens praising Moscow)

Darth Putin on X: "The war would end today if Ukraine just stopped defending themselves. https://t.co/oBmVlrJypE" / X

Joni Askola on X: "Trump and his administration are doing a lot to legitimize Putin’s regime, its war on Ukraine, and its illegitimate, insane demands. This is unforgivable https://t.co/OWILr3Xkty" / X

Joni Askola on X: "Just a reminder for the few who forget: Michael Flynn does not work for the US. He defends the Kremlin’s interests, and we know that he has been officially paid by the Kremlin’s proxies, including Dodik, to push Kremlin interets in the US, going against American interests https://t.co/xN4XxaK4qp" / X

June 5

Museum of the Bible launching new exhibits ahead of America 250 | U.S.

Christian, Your Speech May Be Free in America — It’s Just Not Free in Heaven - Baptist21

Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them - The Washington Post

Colleges in Denver must provide abortion medication by 2027 - Axios Denver

Donald Trump just tripled the size of his personal army inside government. It was illegal.

Trump strips job protections from 8,000 federal workers : NPR

Bolton's Guilty Plea Makes Media Attacks On DOJ Look Ridiculous

Trump Posts Doctored Image of Hunter Biden Calling Him 'Greatest President' - Newsweek

MAGA Freaks Out After Trump Ally Registers as Foreign Agent | The New Republic

George Santos threatened me after I wrote about him : NPR

Some Republican governors are rebranding Pride Month with conservative alternatives | PBS News

Trump gold coin draws scrutiny from judge in Portland hearing - oregonlive.com

Reuters on X: "Thousands of Albanians again took to the streets of Tirana protesting against a development planned by a company linked with Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast https://t.co/LwrK86esUD" / X

Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 on X: "Trump has received new orders from Putin. The US is scrapping plans to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany due to concerns that Russia might view the deployment as an escalation – Politico. https://t.co/WdcfYfF50U" / X (it has not been established that these are “orders from Putin,” – it is a commentary – but there are reports like this all the time, mostly from European sources, less so from U.S. sources, especially those that are sympathetic with Trump)

Trump's Iran war has us all paying the price | Opinion

Opinion | Bring back the calls for deficit reduction - The Washington Post

The Republican lawmakers who tried to modify abortion bans and became political targets • North Dakota Monitor (good that North Dakota stands generally strong against legal abortion, though some (and maybe even many) support it – the North Dakota Supreme Court barely upheld North Dakota’s statutes against abortion – Fargo, North Dakota closed its abortion clinic, but Moorhead, Minnesota (which borders Fargo) opened one)

June 6

Hegseth takes six of his kids to France on official trip - The Washington Post

Dept. of War removes about 180 belief systems from religion list | Politics

June 7

Episcopalians prepare to celebrate 50 years since LGBT resolution | Church & Ministries (for information purposes)

US killed over 200 people in boat strikes that experts deem illegal (important issue that too many brush off, it appears)

Real-world skills, no homework: Inside Brevard’s adulting camp

Trump pardons ex-Congressman Steve Buyer

Even Trump says he doesn’t know ‘where the hell’ his own false claim about Black unemployment came from | CNN Politics

Opinion | ACA enrollment fraud is worst in states that didn't expand Medicaid - The Washington Post

June 8

Pastoral Meanderings: God's voice is always musical. . .