SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

A WARNING – FROM DAILY MAIL:   Russia's defense ministry has announced it sank an aircraft carrier just 35 miles off the coast of Hawaii in a huge war games exercise that has alarmed the US.   At least 20 Russian warships, submarines, and support vessels, flanked by 20 fighter jets, are taking part in the exercises - the biggest since the Cold War.   Russia says that they are 300 miles off the coast of Hawaii, yet unconfirmed satellite images from June 19 appear to show them much closer - within 35 miles of the U.S. state.  Russia says their forces are at a distance of about 2,500 miles southeast of the Kuril Islands.   The location would correspond broadly with reports from U.S. media channels that Russian warships were conducting their maneuvers between 300 and 500 miles west of the main Hawaiian islands, The Drive reported.  Their actions have alarmed the Pentagon.  Twice this month - on June 14 and 18 - the U.S. scrambled F-22s from Hawaii in response to Russian bomber flights.  Neither time did the bombers enter the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) perimeter, and so they were not intercepted.  On June 17 the Navy admitted that the USS Carl Vinson and her strike group were operating near Hawaii, without revealing when they had arrived, or why.   Anyone in Washington interested?  Or are we still fighting over voter I.D.?  Russia now joins China as a threat to the United States in the Pacific.  Notice the deep concern in the American media.  This news report came to us from Britain's Daily Mail.

IS IOWA AN INDICATOR?  FROM FOX:  President Biden's approval rating among voters in the state of Iowa has plummeted in recent months.  More Iowans disapprove of the job Biden is doing than approve – Biden has a 43% approval rating and 52% disapproval rating, according to a recent Des Moines  Register/Mediacom Iowa poll. Five percent of people polled said they are not sure whether they approve or disapprove.  Vice President Harris faced similar numbers. Fifty percent expressed disapproval of Harris' job performance compared to 42% who approved.  Biden's job approval numbers among Republican versus Democratic Iowans are miles apart. Eighty-nine percent of Democrats approve of Biden compared to just 6% of Republicans, according to the June Iowa poll.   Iowa is an early primary state.  State polls are often indicators that presidents or candidates are in some trouble.  National polls can take time to catch up.

June 22, 2021