SINGLE PAYER, SINGLE DECIDER: Unneeded Drugs Killed Hundreds at U.K. Hospital, Inquiry Finds.

From 1989 to 2000, doctors at Gosport War Memorial Hospital — and one doctor in particular — routinely prescribed heroin, also called diamorphine, and other opioids for patients who were not in any pain, and for others whose pain should have been handled with much milder drugs, in blatant violation of accepted medical practice, the panel found.

“There was an institutionalized practice of the shortening of lives through prescribing and administering opioids without medical justification,” John S. Jones, an Anglican former bishop of Liverpool who headed the government-commissioned investigation, told reporters.

Perhaps most disturbing was that while many of the patients were elderly, most were not seriously ill.

But they had become burdens to the State.

OIL LEAK: Steyer Memo Shows Coordinated Effort to Attack ExxonMobil.

According to a leaked memo, obtained by Chris White of the Caller, Steyer used three of his organizations to conduct an effort “leveraging the ExxonMobil investigation” against the oil industry.

White reports, “Fahr LLC, Next Gen America and TomKat Foundation hashed out ways to ‘weaken the political influence of the oil industry by leveraging the ExxonMobil investigation’ during a strategy meeting in November 2015, the memo notes.”

But the revelations go further, showing that Steyer himself may have worked with disgraced former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and pressured then-New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster to support the case

Read the whole thing.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: A turbulent week for immigration. “So, let’s get this straight. President Trump decided to prosecute all immigrants who cross the border illegally. The U.S. government would not prosecute children, so they were held separately from their parents. Democrats complain that families are being separated. Now, Trump reversed course, saying that children will be detained with their parents. So Democrats … complain that families will be kept together.”

Yeah, that about covers it.

MINNESOTA DREAMIN’: Trump Stakes Claim On State With Longest Dem Winning Streak.

Can Trump win Minnesota in 2020? I wouldn’t necessarily bet against it, but let’s remember the confluence of circumstances that brought him within 1.5 points of victory in 2016. Hillary Clinton was a uniquely poor campaigner, one who not only focused nearly entirely on her own entitlement to the job but also went out of her way to insult millions of voters. On top of that, rather than learn from Barack Obama’s groundbreaking grassroots campaigns, she ended up running the Mitt Romney 30,000-foot messaging strategy and ignored any data outside their own constructs.

It’s possible that Democrats could find a worse candidate, or an equally bad one, to run against Trump in 2020. I wouldn’t bet against that either, but the odds aren’t terribly good for that outcome. If Democrats run a reasonably competent candidate that doesn’t go out of his/her way to insult people outside the urban-core power base of their party, then Minnesota might be a long shot — and for that matter, so might Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It becomes a matter of prioritization again, and it seems foolish to bet on a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office in a dozen years.

That may be what Trump hopes to change by coming to Duluth, however.

We’ll see. While the economy is strong, it makes sense to stay on the offensive.

On a side note, Reagan could possibly have won Minnesota in 1984 if he’d tried. My impression however is that he wanted to leave George Washington as the only President to sweep every state elector.

SHOT: Thanks To NATO Infighting, the Future of the F-35 Is Shrinking.

On Monday, the Senate amended its version of the 2019 defense authorization act to block the sale of the fifth-generation fighter jet to Turkey. The reason: the NATO ally’s purchase of the Russian S-400, a radar and missile battery with a lethal range of 250 km. In routine operation, the sensor- and transmitter-packed jet exchanges electronic data with friendly anti-air systems and sensors, and if Turkey were to do this, data collected by the Russian-built weapon might find its way back to Moscow.

CHASER: Lockheed to deliver advanced F-35 jet to Turkey despite US rift. “Despite opposition in Congress, US defence contractor Lockheed Martin will deliver its first F-35 stealth fighter jet to Turkey today.”

Congress moved at its typical Glacier Speed, potentially making the world a deadlier place for our F-35 pilots.

DAVID HARSANYI: Democrats Have Zero Tolerance For Illegal Immigration Solutions.

Now, I realize Democrats have gotten used to the idea of a president ruling with a pen and concocting immigration law unilaterally. It also looks as if Trump will sign an executive order. But Dems know executive action is not “easy.” Democrats know that the administration will likely be stopped by the courts, and that the long-standing Flores consent decree makes it difficult to enforce border laws and keep families together. They know that only legislation can allow both to happen, and they’re more interested in returning to the status quo — which though better than child separation, continues to ignore the problem.

As Gabriel Malor explained in detail, the proposed legislation cosponsored by every Senate Democrat was so carelessly written that it would prevent “federal law enforcement agencies almost anywhere inside the United States from arresting and detaining criminals who are parents having nothing to do with unlawfully crossing the border and seeking asylum.”

So someone should ask leading Democrats if they believe anyone with children should be detained at the border for any reason, at all? Has a leading Democrat explained how we can possibly know if those kids are ok if we have no way of ensuring their parents’ compliance to a court?

Or as I said on yesterday’s Right Angle segment, Schumer “is holding these kids hostages to make the situation worse so that Democrats don’t join in ‘rescuing’ Donald Trump for enforcing a Democrat law.”

HMM: Erdoğan “open to coalition” in parliament.

“If we don’t get 300 (seats, in a 600-seat parliament), then the search for a coalition could be on,” Erdoğan told radio host Mehmet Gezegen during a recorded interview.

The AKP lost its majority in elections in June 2015, but on that occasion neither a coalition government was formed, nor did the ruling party follow legal guidelines turning over the mandate to form a government to the opposition.

Rather, snap elections were held in November that year amid severe security threats from the extremist jihadist Islamic State and groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that has sought Kurdish self-rule through armed struggle since the mid-1980s.

The AKP reclaimed their majority that November, and went on to win a tightly contested referendum in 2017 that will grant vastly enhanced powers to the president chosen on Sunday, when the presidential election will also be held.

An unexpectedly strong performance by the four parties in the opposition Nation Alliance has led to speculation that the ruling party could face unforeseen trouble in one or both elections.

Either Erdoğan is trying out a “kinder, gentler” look to help his election chances, or he’s seeking the broadest possible parliamentary support as the Sultan Apparent, or something has him spooked.

PHIL BAKER: Facebook Will Harass You Mercilessly if You Try to Break Up.

Set up a dummy email account, change your Facebook email setting to it, delete your Facebook account, then ignore the dummy account.

Half-measures like ignoring Facebook can be as much of a hassle as actively using Facebook.

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: Future ‘A Star Wars Story’ Spinoffs on Hold at Lucasfilm.

Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy ought to have a long talk with corporate cousin Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios about how to build a franchise.

Or resign before she completely destroys Disney’s four-billion-dollar golden goose.

GIVE BUNKER-BUSTERS A CHANCE: ISIS Proving Elusive by Tunneling, Staying in Small Groups, Blending Into Towns.

JOHN DANIEL DAVIDSON: 4 Things The Media Won’t Tell You About The Border Crisis.

I’M OK WITH THIS ONE: Pabst Blue Ribbon shortage may be looming.

CASCADE: ‘About 60 Organizations’ Are Considering a Lawsuit Against the SPLC Following $3M Nawaz Settlement.

BLUE WAVE? Kentucky Democratic voter registration below 50%.

SECOND-GEN TILTROTOR: We Got a Closer Look at the Flying V-280 Valor.

Bell is keen to show off the V-280’s fixed engine nacelles. This is a departure from the V-22 which has tilting nacelles where the engines and rotors pivot together when switching between cruise and hover mode.

The downside to the V-22’s design — when in hover mode — is that the intensely hot exhaust jets from the nacelles direct downward toward the ground. This limits disembarking troops’ room to maneuver (on the Osprey, they exit down a rear ramp), can spark an occasional grass fire, and can contribute to brownout conditions which have caused crashes.

Not so on the V-280. The Valor’s rotors adjust into vertical and forward positions for vertical and cruise flight, but the wingtip engine nacelles don’t move, keeping the hot engine exhaust directed high up and rearwards. Lower disk loading — the weight the rotors must lift — further helps reduce downwash.

It’s an engineering feat, and adds a lot of space for disembarking troops for whom every second — and inch — matters when setting up a perimeter or returning fire at an enemy after exiting from the aircraft’s six-foot-wide side doors. Similarly, fast-roping from the V-280 should be a smoother ride given the direction of the exhaust.

And with a cruising speed of 280 knots, the venerable UH-60 helicopter it’s replacing in some roles will get left in the dust.

BREAKING: Trump to Take Executive Action on Family Separation TODAY.

WINNING? Germany’s Largest Auto Makers Back Abolition of EU-U.S. Car Import Tariffs. “The U.S. ambassador to Germany is expected to relay the industry offer in meetings with Trump administration.”

Their proposal, people familiar with the situation say, is simple: Abandon all import tariffs for cars between the European Union and the U.S.

That would mean scrapping the EU’s 10% tax on auto imports from the U.S. and other countries and the 2.5% duty on auto imports in the U.S. As a prerequisite, the Europeans want Mr. Trump’s threat of imposing a 25% border tax on European auto imports off the table.

Over the past few weeks, Mr. Grenell has held closed-door meetings with the chiefs of all major German automotive companies, including bilateral meetings with the CEOs of Daimler AG , BMW AG and Volkswagen AG , which operate plants in the U.S. Overall, Germany’s auto makers and suppliers provide 116,500 jobs in the U.S., according to the Association of German Automotive Manufacturers.

During these talks, which the ambassador initiated, the managers said they would back the scrapping of all import tariffs on trans-Atlantic trade in automotive products as the keystone of a broader deal covering industrial goods. The German government is on board and Mr. Grenell promised to support the idea, according to U.S. and German officials.

Excellent.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: Clinton Emails: What the IG Report Refuses to Admit.

In explaining themselves to the IG, Obama Justice Department and FBI officials contended that the make-or-break issue in the case was whether they could prove mens rea — criminal state of mind. In this instance, that involved former secretary of state Clinton’s knowledge and intent regarding the unauthorized transmission and retention of classified information. Investigators say it dawned on them at a very early stage that they could not. Hence, they urge, their decisions to allow the election calendar to impose a time limit on the investigation, to limit the amount of evidence they considered, to be less than aggressive in obtaining evidence, and to draft an exoneration of Clinton months before interviewing her (and other key witnesses), were entirely reasonable.

Yet their analysis left out the best intent evidence, namely, Clinton’s willful setting up of a private, non-secure server system for all official business.

For his part (as I discussed in Friday’s column), IG Horowitz took the position that it was not his job to question the correctness of the investigators’ legal conclusions and exercise of prosecutorial discretion. He blithely accepted the investigators’ crimped construction of knowledge-and-intent proof, making it a foregone conclusion that he would find their decision-making defensible — much as their adoption of this crimped standard, uncalled for by the applicable law, made it a foregone conclusion that Clinton would not be charged.

DOJ concluded what they wanted to conclude because they wouldn’t look for what they didn’t want to find.

GALLUP: Everyone except Democrats is feeling unusually optimistic about the country’s direction right now.

I wonder why that is…

PAULA BOLYARD: Corey Lewandowski Mocks Down Syndrome Migrant Separated from Mother: ‘Womp, Womp.‘ “They’re not pawns in your little game of political one-upmanship — they’re children.”

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): WOMP WOMP: Turns out ICE *RESCUED* the 10-year-old with Down syndrome from smugglers.

Our politics is stupid.

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BLOG: Clinton Corruption Update for June 19, 2018.

AITAN GOELMAN: Donald Trump is wrong. My client Peter Strzok is a patriot, not a ‘sick loser.’

Interfering with elections is a serious crime, except when badge-wielding Democrats do it.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Peter Strzok Has Left the Building and Much, Much More. “The media/Democrats/spineless GOPers are wailing and lamenting about humanity of it all and are blaming the administration for enforcing the US borders and they are not blaming the migrants who are putting their children at risk while they illegally transgress our borders.”

THEY’RE CERTAINLY WOKE; LET’S SEE HOW LONG BEFORE THEY GO BROKE: 100% renewable energy omnibus clears Massachusetts Senate.

CHANGE: Merkel, Macron announce plans for new eurozone budget. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her French counterpart have vowed to introduce a single eurozone budget and emergency funding as part of far-reaching reforms.”

Moving national budgets to Brussels means even less accountability to voters.