Blue 812 News Issue 73 - June 14

follow blue812news: facebook | instagram | bluesky | blue812.news

Today, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is Trump’s 80th birthday, and the White House South Lawn has become a UFC octagon. The event is called UFC Freedom 250, it cost upwards of $60 million and used (allegedly) “significant resources and manpower” of federal agency staff. It’s being framed as the kickoff to America’s 250th birthday celebrations, though it actually has nothing to do with the nonprofit organizing America’s birthday. The first WrestleMania president is hoping this carnival of violence and greed will convince us he’s still got that big beefcake energy.

Trump’s team drew significantly from the public coffers for the event, with one lawsuit describing the fight as a “volcano of corruption.” Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped the private money from flowing in: VIP packages reportedly cost $1.5 million, Polymarket and Bud Light line the octagon, Dodge is promoting Ram trucks, Crypto.com bought the literal steps onto the stage and put up a $1 million crypto bonus pool for the fighters, and there’s official “USA 250” merch made with Fanatics. The White House. Covered. In. Sponcon. For crypto and betting. The Trump family has made $2.3 billion from four crypto ventures since Trump entered office last year — while more than one million investors lost a combined $2.3 billion, according to a Reuters analysis. Another stunning statistic: “Since the 2024 election, the Trumps have, as a family, generated more profit from crypto than any U.S.-listed company,” the outlet writes. It’s a good thing they’re all so famously squeaky clean, or I might have some concerns about all this money pouring into a sitting president’s family!

Okay, so the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a 1978 law that establishes rules governing the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence information, has one particular part – Section 702 – that is highly contentious, as it allows for the warrantless surveillance of American citizens, which the ACLU and other orgs have flagged as a potential civil rights violation. As attentive readers may know, it needs to be reauthorized, and Congress is gridlocked over whether to extend it. Trump, for his part, badly wanted them to, but Democrats refused to vote to extend it unless Bill Pulte was removed as acting Director of National Intelligence - and Dems held the line: Thursday, the House failed to pass an extension, which means Section 702 expired Friday night (to be clear: it could get revived later this month; it’s not permanently dead. Plus it has a special certification to actually keep going until March 2027. But still, poor Mike Johnson, once again gone limp).

But THEN, after the vote failed, Trump gave up on Pulte anyway and nominated Jay Clayton – the current US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former SEC chairman (and Epstein coverup lawyer)– as Director of National Intelligence. Dude can’t stop losing. While Clayton’s nomination is a step in the right direction for Democrats, it still wasn’t enough to convince them to extend the spy powers. Pulte is expected to become acting director on June 19th (a whole thing by itself), and the House is on recess until June 23rd.

Wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain by 7.5 percent. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

For a dead pedophile (the best kind!), Jeffrey Epstein is really busy. Earlier this week, The New York Times published excerpts from Johnathan Swan and Maggie Haberman’s explosive forthcoming book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, about the Trump team’s scramble to contain the Epstein files. Here’s what we learned:

How has the White House responded to all this? Exactly as you might expect: they claim Trump has been fully exonerated re: Epstein. Men will literally brag about a high inflation rate to distract from the Epstein files.

The state of Indiana has rejected or canceled the voter registrations of more than 60% of immigrant Hoosiers challenged under a recent proof of citizenship law — not including several hundred with pending cases. The League of Women Voters of Indiana, Common Cause Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power and Exodus Refugee Immigration hired an election methodology expert to crunch state challenge data before Submitting it to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana as part of their request for a pause on enforcement of the statute.

House Enrolled Act 1680, which took effect July 1, 2025, requires county voter registration officials to request proof of citizenship from everyone who uses a temporary credential number as part of their voter registration application. People with temporary lawful status can obtain temporary learner’s permits, driver’s licenses or ID cards using valid visas, asylum applications, temporary protected status applications, conditional permanent residency and other documents. The credentials can remain valid for up to six years, even if a person’s citizenship status changes.

Officials identified 3,234 people to scrutinize for proof of citizenship, according to an analysis by Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida. They rejected 644 prospective voters and canceled the registrations of 981 existing voters — or about 62% of the people processed. Those figures include people who didn’t respond to the notice for any reason, including if the U.S. Postal Service returned the notice as undeliverable.

The court hasn’t yet made a decision on the injunction request. The state hasn’t filed a response either. A spokesperson for Secretary of State Diego Morales — the state’s elections chief and a naturalized citizen himself — didn’t respond to a request for comment. Morales posted on Wednesday, however, that he was “extremely hopeful that this challenge to our PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP requirement will be soundly rejected.”

The future of the Vigo County Community Corrections residential center is uncertain after officials revealed a $200,000 funding issue during Tuesday night’s Vigo County Council meeting. During the meeting, Vigo County Community Corrections Executive Director Bill Watson asked council members about $200,000 that appears to have been removed from the agency’s supplemental fund. County Council Attorney Samantha DeWester said the money may never have been properly appropriated during the original budget process. Without the funding, Watson said Community Corrections will be forced to begin shutting down its residential center and eliminate up to 20 positions tied to its operation.

The elimination of the $200,000 supplemental fund was not an accident, Councilman Randy Gentry said at the council meeting. The reduction, he said, “… was not an error; it’s not been omitted by error. It was omitted by actual vote of the budget committee and by vote of the of the entire council,” also specifying because the council previously voted the measure down, it could not be revisited for one year. The council's attorney concurred, and the matter died there — for the evening.

On Wednesday, Ellis said that does not mean the matter is forever closed. “We simply have a rule in place that says we can’t vote on it, so what I’ve proposed is, let’s change the rule,” Ellis said. “By changing this to a 90-day window, this will allow us — it’s just a more reasonable amount of time to revisit items, and honestly, it’s probably something that should have been done a long while back.” No surprises there, Republicans love to change a rule when it doesn’t serve them. The emergency meeting is tentatively set for 5 p.m. June 23 at the Vigo County Annex.

Officials stressed that keeping the residential center open is critical because it currently houses roughly 100 inmates who cannot be accommodated at the Vigo County Jail. The mention of moving 100 inmates to the county jail did not delight Sheriff Derek Fell, as the jail has been at legal capacity (80% of actual bed space) since it opened in 2022. Per Fell, the county pays other counties $42 per day per inmate incarcerated. Last year, it paid $600,000 to other counties. As of Wednesday, there were 24 Vigo County inmates being held in other counties. “At the end of the day, while they want to cut $200,000 here, they’re going to spend $500,000 to a million dollars on the back end for individuals to be incarcerated [elsewhere],” Fell said.

Other local leaders also cast a wary eye at Tuesday evening’s developments. “Vigo County has perhaps one of the best locally funded residential treatment programs in the state of Indiana,” said Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer. “I’m not sure why the money was pulled from the 2026 budget.” “As an advisory board member for Community Corrections and mayor of the city of Terre Haute, I am flabbergasted that this situation has quickly spiraled,” said Mayor Brandon Sakbun, “Shouldn’t we as a society and government support an organization that offers a pipeline to employment instead of a pipeline back to prison?” Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard said, “The County Commissioners have no plans to close Community Corrections, as it serves a vital role in the community.”

Folks in the know in the Haute have heard about the carbon sequestration project that’s been brewing in the background since 2016. Indiana Public Media released a comprehensive look into the project this week. Carbon sequestration is profitable thanks to a Bush-era tax credit, giving companies $85 per ton of the greenhouse gas captured. Some climate scientists believe carbon removal is necessary to stem climate change. Nathan Moodie, a research assistant professor at the University of Utah, said the Wabash Valley area has ideal conditions for carbon capture, with several hundred feet of porous Potosi dolomite sitting under a deep cap of dense, low-permeability limestone. “That’s like very, very, very, very high porosity and permeability in that dolomite, which makes an excellent reservoir to inject into,” Moodie said.

Injection projects do come with risk. Pressure buildup can lead to seismic activity, and carbon moving upward through cracks acidifies water on contact, dissolving rock that may contain heavy metals such as arsenic. Two years ago, a facility in Decatur, Ill., leaked around 8,000 metric tons of liquid carbon dioxide out of its authorized injection area. Still, the leaked material was trapped several thousand feet below groundwater sources, and the affected well was plugged. Hazards also are associated with the transport of carbon dioxide through pipelines. A 2021 rupture of a pipeline used for oil recovery in Satartia, Mississippi hospitalized 49 residents.

But it’s not just the risks that bother the neighbors; it’s the way the project is being handled. Former Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined the Wabash Valley Resources as vice president of external affairs, and told Vermillion County Commissioners the company would sue if they passed an ordinance against carbon sequestration. The commissioners pushed ahead, but a 2023 state law gave regulatory authority over carbon capture and sequestration to the DNR, meaning its rules can’t be overruled by local government. The state is also seeking enforcement authority for Class VI injection wells from the federal government, administered by the state’s natural resources commission. Normally, the EPA oversees such projects.

Some of the people who would be responsible for that enforcement are the same folks involved in launching the Vigo and Vermillion CCS project, an a very fox-henhouse situation. Secretary of the Natural Resources Commission and current head of DNR Alan Morrison is a former state representative who sponsored legislation in 2023 allowing Wabash Valley Resources to inject CO2 deep under private property. Morrison received a $5,000 campaign contribution from the company in 2020. One of the bill’s co-authors, former state Sen. Jon Ford, now heads the Indiana Office of Energy Development, which provides guidance and administers grants related to energy projects such as carbon capture. His campaigns received $25,000 from Wabash Valley Resources between 2020 and 2022 and $10,000 from Quasar Syngas in 2018.

The project and the pushback against it have been ongoing for years, but the company has yet to break ground.

The National Park Service is asking for comments on Trump’s arch, and the comment period is almost over. This part of the process has already been revealing, as we’ve learned NPS intends to have construction crews working 20 hours a day every single day for two or three years, in order to finish this project before Trump leaves office. One way they’re speeding it up: using concrete clad in granite, rather than natural stone… which most monuments in the capital use.

We can find a sample letter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to work from here and submit our objections here. Last day to comment is TOMORROW - June 15.

A Bloomington resident independently launched an online hospital price tool for patients to shop for more affordable healthcare. Hospitals have been federally required to publish a standard list of charges since 2019, and recent noncompliance warnings issued by the Trump administration were given to 34 Indiana medical facilities — the third highest number of facilities per state. Alex Leykin, Bloomington resident and computer scientist, said he coded the site in his spare time after he realized machine-readable files are not accessible to the average consumer. The site uses data from those files to aggregate price information.

The tool allows consumers to search by hospital, procedure name and code, insurance plan and general location. Leykin said the site uses artificial intelligence to describe medical jargon in layman’s terms, and the site also provides estimates for other items typically billed with a procedure. Leykin plans to expand his tool to all 50 states and hopes to include price information for independent medical facilities and standalone surgery centers, which he said are often cheaper than hospitals.

Patient Rights Advocate, a nonprofit focused on improving hospital price transparency, released a similar tool geared toward Indiana hospitals - the Indiana Hospital Price Finder with Governor Mike Braun in May.

School may be out for summer, but politics is everyday, and what’s past is prologue. Amanda Nelson (founder of Y’All Vote and amanda’s mild takes) has put together a comprehensive resource list of books, podcasts, documentaries and Youtube videos, covering three broad topics: political science (the bones of the American body politic), civics (the muscles that move us), and American history (the beating heart) all to help us understand how we got here, and how do we get back on track to the real American Dream: the one with liberty and justice for all.

It is behind a paywall, but you can get a 7-day free trial to test it out.

visit the Blue812News Local Events calendar to see all upcoming events

Tuesday, June 16th at 6pm: Indivisible Wabash Valley CommUnity meeting. Every big change starts with a local conversation. Whether you want to share a new concept, listen in, or find ways to get involved locally, there is a place at the table for you! At the Vigo County Public Library (Rooms AB&C) 6-7:30PM. Bring a friend, bring your thoughts, and let’s build a stronger Wabash Valley together. More info here.

Friday, June 19th at 1pm: Juneteenth program. Dr Crystal Reynolds and others, including Indiana Senate candidate Kacey Blundell, will be at the Vigo History Center on 6/19 for a program on Juneteenth. For more information, click here.

Monday, June 22nd at 6pm: Nasty Women of Vigo County meeting in Room A of the Vigo County Public Library from 6-7:30pm. This month features special guest Rebecca Mayfield: the Democrat running in District 45, the district previously represented by everyone’s least favorite Elvis impersonator, Bruce Borders.

Tuesday, June 23rd at 5:30pm: Summer Showcase feat. 1st district candidate Kim Curley at the Sandcut Firehouse

Get Free and 50501 are holding a national day of action on June 27th called All of U.S. 250. While the Trump regime plans a whitewashed, anti-American celebration of our 250th anniversary, we will mobilize together to tell our nation’s story truthfully, celebrate the progress we have made through struggle and commit to the work to ensure liberty and equality for All of U.S. We can learn more, find events already on the books in our area and get involved here.

Solar power produced more of the United States’ energy than coal last month, according to a report from an energy think tank. It’s the first time in history that solar has surpassed coal as the dominant fuel, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to boost fossil fuels.

In primary news, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) came in fifth place in her bid for South Carolina governor. Ouch! A very Riley Gaines placement.

A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 price tag on H-1B visas, which aimed to prevent foreigners from working in the U.S.

Trump’s name is off of the Kennedy Center!! There was a double rainbow shortly before it happened, too!

The Trump administration was indefinitely barred from setting up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people claiming they were persecuted by the government.

New federal test scores, released this week, show that younger students are gaining ground in both reading and math after years of decline.

A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration to restore all signs that were changed or removed at national parks across the country as part of Trump’s directive against “woke signage” last year.

Trump’s oil leasing scheme in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has flopped.

After a Somali referee was denied entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, despite having all the necessary paperwork, Canadian leaders invited him to officiate their World Cup matches.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said that Trump and many of his allies should be considered “traitors to the American people” for fighting against the release of the Epstein Files. She’s awful, but I’ll take it.

Platypuses glow under UV light. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.