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You may have missed the recent story on the resignation of Washoe County Registrar of Voters Deanna Spikula, who departed after 15 years on the job.

Prior to her announcement, Spikula had taken a leave of absence after receiving threats at her office from promoters of baseless claims of voter fraud. The pressure faced by Spikula and other county registrars and clerks responsible for election security in Nevada has been intense and continues even as Donald Trumps big lie continues to collapse in scandal.

In a week that saw a former White House insider calmly tell the House Jan. 6 committee that former President Trump knew many of his supporters were armed on the day they stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, the departure of a respected protector of one Nevada countys election didnt rate as a top-line news event.

Maybe it should have.

It was one more troubling reminder that Trumps big lie about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election continues to take a toll in Nevada. Its a fever that shows little sign of breaking as the 2022 campaign grinds on.

Not when sour grapes also-ran candidates can still attract crowds for their angry laments about how the primary vote was tainted. Not when Republican Party candidates for Nevadas top offices continue to tout their Trump endorsements and fail to distance themselves from a parade conspiracy of enablers.

Nor can we expect a better day when Nevadas role in Trumps fake electors scandal continues to hit close to home. Beyond Republican State Party Chairman Michael McDonald recently having his cell phone confiscated by federal investigators in connection with the Jan. 6 investigation, fellow phony elector signatory Durward James Hindle III managed to get elected clerk-treasurer in Storey County. That means one of the promoters of Trumps voter fraud scheme will be in charge of that countys election security.

Other imbibers of potent conspiracy swill include Jim Marchant, who sees a ghost in every Dominion voting machine and yet easily prevailed in his partys primary for secretary of state. He continues to campaign on the big lie throughout the rurals.

Say that Hindle represents a county populated by fewer voters than fit into a busy Walmart, that nearly empty Esmeralda Countys recent ballot hand count was kind of quaint, and that Marchant has canaries circling his head, but admit these numbers are adding up.

Its easy to laugh at super Trumper gubernatorial candidate and former boxer Joey Gilbert declaring I wuz robbed due to voter fraud and demanding a self-funded recount in the recent Republican primary. He lost to Joe Lombardo by only 26,000 votes!

Democrats seem confident its a sign that Lombardo is struggling to rally the partisans. Nevada Democratic Victory spokesperson Mallory Payne: With Joey Gilbert dead set on overturning the election, Lombardos own party is ensuring he faces a brutal general election.

That makes sense. But just remember Gilberts continued whimpering about fraud also keeps the fires of conspiracy stoked in the GOPs big lie base. And when candidates are constantly jawing about rigged elections, it erodes faith in the system and as weve seen makes grievance litigation no matter how specious a lot more likely.

Perhaps it was all to be expected from a party that ate one of its own when it censured Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske for displaying the courage of her convictions by not going along with the GOPs voter fraud charade. Surely Cegavske feels Spikulas pain.

Maybe this shouldnt be surprising at a time Nevadas top-of-the-ticket Republicans continue to trumpet their Trump endorsements even as his criminal behavior comes into sharp relief.

As if U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalts unwavering fealty toward Trump werent enough, the state GOPs super star doesnt appear to have distanced himself from the endorsement of big lie soldier Mike Flynn. Thanks to the efforts of the Jan. 6 committee, weve learned Flynn repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in connection with the failed coup attempt.

Flynns endorsement of Laxalt was a dog whistle to all those who still imagine the election was stolen and that the violent attempted insurrection was a price paid in the name of liberty. Or some such hogwash.

Somewhat perplexing is the political holding pattern of gubernatorial nominee Lombardo, who is in the awkward position of being endorsed by Trump and embraced by former cop McDonald, the walking ethics scandal. So far top lawman Lombardo has, politically speaking, invoked his own right to remain silent. Well see how long he can keep smiling while holding his nose.

Deanna Spikula will move on, and I hope enjoy brighter days when right-wing extremists and gutless social media trolls tire of menacing her.

We owe her and others who professionally secure our elections a debt of gratitude and a promise to stand up for them.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his familys Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR.

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Big lie harassment continues to take its toll in Nevada The Nevada Independent - The Nevada Independent

President Joe Biden announced that womens soccer player Megan Rapinoe will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor for individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

Rapinoe, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Womens World Cup champion is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights, the White House said. More famously, she has repeatedly kneeled in protest during the playing of the National Anthem.

President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities. These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation hard work, perseverance, and faith, the statement continued. They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities and across the world while blazing trails for generations to come.

Another controversial pick for the medal is late AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who took the Fifth Amendment to not incriminate himself in his role in the 1996 Teamster election, which was tainted with corruption.

Trumka in 2010 in Anchorage said that there was something just not right with former Gov. Sarah Palin.

Trumka said Palin would go down in history like McCarthy, a reference to Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

Palinism will become an ugly word, Trumka said at an AFL-CIO convention in Anchorage. Who is this woman, anyway? What happened to her?

She used to have a job, your governor. You knew her. Or thought you did. I know I thought I did. She seemed like a decent person, an outdoorswoman. Her husbands a steelworker. She seemed to take some OK stands for working families.And then things got weird. After she tied herself to John McCain and they lost, she blew off Alaska. I guess she figured shed trade up shoot for a national stage. Alaska was too far from the Fox TV spotlight, Trumka said in Anchorage.

Instead, shes hanging out on cable TV, almost a parody of herself, coming out with conspiracy theories about Obama and his death panels. Talking about the real America. Talking about building schools in our neighboring country of Afghanistan. Writing speech notes to herself on her hands. Sometimes about Sarah Palin you just have to laugh. But its not really funny, he said.

He also attacked those who supported Palin: To me, it just doesnt seem OK to go where shes going. It sits wrong with me. The Mama Grizzlies, Sarah Palin says, just sense when somethings not right. Well I wonder if those Mama Grizzlies can sense somethings just not right with her.

He then blamed Palins crazy magnet for pulling Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to the right.

The National Right to Work Foundation issued a fact sheet about Trumkas history with violent strikes.

As president of the United Mine Workers (UMW) union, Trumka led multiple violent strikes. Trumkas fiery rhetoric often appeared to condone militancy and violence, especially against workers who dared to continue to provide for their families by working during a strike. As a Virginia judge ruled in 1989, violent activities are being organized, orchestrated and encouraged by the leadership of this union,' NRTW wrote.

Take the murder of Eddie York, a nonunion contractor, who was shot in the back of the head and killed while leaving a worksite in 1993. Trumka and other UMW officials were charged in a $27 million wrongful death suit by Eddie Yorks widow. After fighting the suit intensely for four years, UMW lawyers settled suddenly in 1997 just two days after the judge in the case ruled evidence in the criminal trial would be admitted.

Later, as Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, Trumka pleaded the Fifth Amendment before Congress and a court-appointed election monitor over his role in an illegal fundraising schemeto benefit the Teamsters president Ron Careys re-election. Trumka has remained in his position ever since despite an AFL-CIO rule (adopted in 1957) which held that union officials who plead the Fifth have no right to continue to hold office in the union umbrella organization, the group wrote.

Read more about Trumkas history of condoning union violence and corruption in the FoundationsFact Sheet.

The others being awarded the medal, as described by the White House, are:

Simone Biles

Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Biles is also a prominent advocate for athletes mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.

Sister Simone Campbell

Sister Simone Campbellis a member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a prominent advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and healthcare policy.

Julieta Garca

Dr. Julieta Garca is the former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville, where she was named one ofTimemagazines best college presidents. Dr. Garca was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region.

Gabrielle Giffords

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, serving first in the Arizona legislature and later in the U.S. Congress. A survivor of gun violence, she co-founded Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention.

Fred Gray

Fred Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction. As an attorney, he represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, who called him the chief counsel for the protest movement.

Steve Jobs(posthumous)

Steve Jobs (d. 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.

Father Alexander Karloutsos

Father Alexander Karloutsos is the former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After over 50 years as a priest, providing counsel to several U.S. presidents, he was named by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Khizr Khan

Khizr Khanis a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. He is a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom and served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under President Biden.

Sandra Lindsay

Sandra Lindsayis a New York critical care nurse who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. She was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and is a prominent advocate for vaccines and mental health for health care workers.

John McCain(posthumous)

John McCain (d. 2018) was a public servant who was awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He also served the people of Arizona for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.

Diane Nash

Diane Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20thcentury. Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King, who described her as the driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters.

Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During his public service, he has been a prominent advocate on issues including campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality.

Wilma Vaught

Brigadier General Wilma Vaughtis one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, repeatedly breaking gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also served as National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.

Ral Yzaguirre

Ral Yzaguirre is a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for thirty years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Barack Obama.

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Biden bestows Presidential Medal of Freedom on radical soccer player and deceased union thug - Must Read Alaska

News Editorial Board

Americans who love their country have something both frightening and reassuring to contemplate today, as the nation celebrates the 246th anniversary of its unlikely birth. Playing out before them in dramatic fashion is clear and credible evidence of both the fragility of our democracy and of the kind of steadfast courage that has rallied patriots for almost 2 centuries.

From the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to the hearings of the Jan. 6 House committee, Americans with open minds are being shown how the democracy won by the soldiers of 1776 can be swept away by an authoritarian who cares only for himself.

But they are also seeing the extraordinary determination of Americans who are in a position to stand up for the country and who then do it. Those individuals are risking their careers, their safety and, in some cases, their reputations, as former President Donald Trump attempts to smear them. Some, as the committee revealed last Tuesday, are telling their truth, despite intimidation by Trumps pack of wolves.

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Look at the courage of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Shes 26 years old and, last Tuesday, was the committees first live witness who was inside the West Wing on Jan. 6. She brought viewers of last Tuesdays hearing into the White House, to the edge of the insurrection and to its immediate aftermath.

She told the committee and the country that Trump knew the crowd at the Jan. 6 insurrection was armed before he sent it streaming to the Capitol, pumped up with lies about a stolen election. She heard Meadows tell White House Counsel Pat Cipollone that Trump agreed with protesters calling to hang Vice President Mike Pence, who had enraged the president by refusing to illegally block the certification of electors for Joe Biden.

She testified that she saw Trumps incendiary tweet attacking Pence at 2:24 p.m., in the midst of the riot. As a staffer that works always to represent the administration to the best of my ability to showcase the good things he had done for the country, I remember feeling frustrated, disappointed ... I was really sad, she told the committee.

As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.

Thats a patriot. Imagine the pressures she set aside to do her duty, not as a Republican or a White House staffer or a defender of Trump, but as an American. Anyone paying attention to the committee has seen that kind of courage before from others who worked for, or were smeared by, the former president. They saw it in two Georgia poll workers whose lives were upended by Trump and his acolytes. Any of them maybe all of them could face new threats because they had the courage and the patriotism to tell the world what they know.

Thats what defending a democracy takes, when the president cares nothing for the democracy. Not everyone has been as brave. Some are too cowardly even to appear. Others show up only to invoke their right against self-incrimination. Among them was Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Once a general in the United States Army, Flynn couldnt even bring himself to say that he believed in the peaceful transfer of power. As he did with questions about whether the violence on Jan. 6 was morally or legally justified, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment. OK, but not even the peaceful transfer of power? Thats fundamental to the U.S. Constitution. Flynn swore fealty to it in his oath as a soldier. We fought a revolution so we could have it.

This is how our democracy one for which millions have laid down their lives can be lost. Its how this one can still be lost, with the former president continuing to command the loyalty of millions who are willing to be misled willing to support a would-be American despot who lied in an effort to illegally maintain power, who was reluctant to call off the mob that surged into the Capitol and who was content to see his vice president threatened with murder. It was a dark moment in our history.

Thankfully, Americans are also seeing how a democracy can be preserved: by public airing of evidence; by a determined effort to peel back layers of lies and deception; by courageous devotion to the Constitution.

Thats what Americans are seeing in the members of this bipartisan committee and especially among the witnesses who are brave enough and patriotic enough to testify truthfully before an audience of millions, despite the threats many of them have reported.

With them, Americans are being reminded this Independence Day of who they are, where they came from and what they should be celebrating.

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.

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The Editorial Board: There are patriots among us this Independence Day - Buffalo News

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

BRI Resources

What is the Significance of the Free Exercise Clause?

How has Speech Been Both Limited and Expanded, and How Does it Apply to You and Your School?

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

BRI Resources

What are the Origins and Interpretations of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms?

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

BRI Resources

Liberty and Security in Modern Times

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

BRI Resources

How Does the Fifth Amendment Protect Property?

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

BRI Resources

Gideon v. Wainwright

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

BRI Resources

Due Process of Law

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

BRI Resources

How Do Due Process Protections for the Accused Protect Us All?

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

BRI Resources

What is the Scope of the Bill of Rights?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

BRI Resources

State and Local Governments

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. James Madisonwrote the amendments, which list specific prohibitions on governmental power, in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties. For example, the Founders saw the ability to speak and worship freely as a natural right protected by the First Amendment. Congress is prohibited from making laws establishing religion or abridging freedom of speech. The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the requirement of a warrant.

The Bill of Rights was strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason. Other precursors include English documents such as the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.

One of the many points of contention between Federalists, who advocated a strong national government, and Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments, was the Constitutions lack of a bill of rights that would place specific limits on government power. Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government. Anti-Federalists held that a bill of rights was necessary to safeguard individual liberty.

Madison, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, altered the Constitutions text where he thought appropriate. However, several representatives, led by Roger Sherman, objected, saying that Congress had no authority to change the wording of the Constitution. Therefore, Madisons changes were presented as a list of amendments that would follow Article VII.

The House approved 17 amendments. Of these, the Senate approved 12, which were sent to the states for approval in August 1789. Ten amendments were approved (or ratified). Virginias legislature was the final state legislature to ratify the amendments, approving them on December 15, 1791.

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Bill of Rights (1791)

The January 6 committee revealed on Tuesday that former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked whether he believed the violence on January 6, 2021, was justified.

The revelation came amid former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the committee during a discussion about a pre-January 6 meeting taking place at the Willard Hotel near the White House. Flynn was present at the meeting.

During that line of questioning, committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming aired a clip of Flynn appearing to struggle with the question.

"General Flynn, do you believe the violence on January 6 was justified?" Cheney said in the clip.

Flynn's lawyer immediately asked to consult with Flynn privately, which lasted for 1 minute and 36 seconds.

"Could you repeat the question please?" the lawyer then asked.

Flynn and his lawyer then asked Cheney to clarify whether she meant the question legally or morally.

"I'm asking both," she tersely replied.

14 more seconds passed before Flynn responded.

"I said, I said the Fifth," he said.

Flynn, the country's former national security advisor and a retired three-star Army general, also declined to say whether he believed in the peaceful transfer of power.

In the Trump administration's final weeks, Flynn publicly advocated for Trump to impose martial law and to use the US military to seize voting machines across the US; the US military has no constitutional role in state or federal elections.

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Video: Mike Flynn pleads the 5th when asked if Jan. 6 violence was justified - Business Insider