Today's Takes: Monday, June 21

The big news at the end of last week was the Biden administration's declaration that Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of American slaves, be treated as a federal holiday. To state the obvious, the end of slavery warrants celebration. That is not up for dispute and no sensible person would say otherwise. What's driven people up the rails is that it sits closely to July 4th and appears in direct competition to it. It's often referred to as Black Independence Day, and the title of the bill to introduce it was "Juneteenth National Independence Day Act".

We'd offer our own angle on Juneteenth, but Dan McLaughlin, writing for the National Review, did a thorough job of it. You can read his column here. McLaughlin tackles the particulars of the holiday and contextualizes it well. Curiously, he picks the biggest bone with the addition of an 11th holiday to the federal calendar and the tax burden of that choice. In an era of infinite deficits and 24/7 money printing, it's a trite point. It's more likely the Biden administration needed a bone to throw to voters after a subpar international tour and swelling police forces in response to a bloody 2020 and an even bloodier 2021.

• 🛩 Trump announced

  his intent to travel to the border on June 30th in response to Kamala Harris' curious refusal to venture down there herself. In other Trump news, his recently announced national tour with Bill O'Reilly has thrown a wrench in QAnon supporter's belief that he will again summit the throne in December.

• ⛪️ Roman Catholic bishops

  in the US want to deny President Joe Biden communion because of his stance on abortion. The Vatican issued a statement to "not to use access to the Eucharist as a political weapon."

• 🗳 Ron DeSantis

  edged Trump in the Western Conservative Summit’s straw poll for the 2024 Presidential election.