The State of State: Writing for Politico about the gutting of the State Department under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former State official Max Bergman says that, “This is how diplomacy dies. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. With empty offices on a midweek afternoon.”

Tillerson cancelled the incoming class of foreign service officers, blocked lateral transfers within State, and ordered that for every new hire, three people must depart. Bergman says there aren’t enough people to conduct everyday business.

Bergman says, “The building is being run by a tiny clique of ideologues who know nothing about the department but have insulated themselves from the people who do. Tillerson and his isolated and inexperienced cadres are going about reorganizing the department based on little more than gut feeling.”

He writes, “Perhaps he thinks he is running State like a business. But the problem with running the State Department like a business is that most businesses fail—and American diplomacy is too big to fail.”

Your Papers, Please: About 25 states controlled by both Republicans and Democrats are refusing to cooperate with the President’s Commission on Election Integrity, which asked the 50 states for detailed information about all registered voters.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann tweeted, “They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico & Mississippi is a great State to launch from”

President Trump, using the logic of the totalitarian, tweeted, “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?”

This is the same President who won’t release his tax returns. So, to answer his question, what they are hiding, and protecting, is the right to privacy and the free exercise of the right to vote.

The Malignant Presidency: Trump made his comments about the fraud commission in a spate of tweets in which he also complained again about CNN, the hosts of “Morning Joe,” and the firing of Greta Van Susteren by MSNBC.

Reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame said on CNN, “We are in the midst of a malignant presidency. That malignancy is known to the military leaders of the country. It’s known to the Republican leadership in Congress who recognize it, and it’s known to the intelligence community.”

Bernstein continued, “That has got our leaders worried. They are worried about his character. They are worried about his capabilities. They are worried about his temperament and state of his temperament, to use kind words here.”

Much of Trump’s abnormality and non-Presidential behavior is revealed in his Twitter rants. But yesterday he tweeted, “My use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!”

Unbudgeted: On the 4^th of July weekend, more than 50 New Jersey state parks, historic sites and recreational areas are closed because of a budget impasse in the legislature. Gov. Chris Christie is demanding that as part of the budget deal Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield must spend some of its reserve fund on public health initiatives. The Democrats say no.

Closed facilities are posted with a sign that says, “This Facility is CLOSED Because of This Man,” showing a picture of Vincent Prieto, the Democratic Speaker of the State Assembly.

Maine and Illinois are also without budgets. The Land of Lincoln hasn’t had a budget agreement out of its legislature in three years.

Nation: The Washington Post reports that fatal shootings by police officers are on track to hit 1,000 for the third year in a row. Shootings of unarmed people are down this year. As in previous years, police most frequently killed armed white males. Police kill a disproportionate number of black males, who account for nearly a quarter of the deaths, but are only 6 percent of the population. — The family of a 78-year-old man who died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident with tennis star Venus Williams is suing for wrongful death. Witnesses said Williams ran a red light in the June 9 accident and the police found her at fault.

South of the Border: Seventeen people died in a wild shootout between a gang of Mexican gunmen and police supported by security forces and the military 15 miles southeast of the resort city of Mazatlán. Five police officers were wounded and possibly all of the gunmen were killed. As such clashes increase, human rights groups have questioned whether the police are performing summary executions.

-30-