The Conversation -- January 1, 2024

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Isabelle Kershner, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel's Supreme Court on Monday struck down a law limiting its own powers, a momentous step in the legal and political crisis that gripped the country before the war with Hamas, and pitted the court against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government. The court's 8-7 ruling has the potential to throw Israel's national emergency government, formed after the Oct. 7 attacks, into disarray and reignite the grave domestic turmoil that began a year ago over the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul plan.... The court, sitting with a full panel of all 15 of its justices for the first time in its history, rejected the law passed by Parliament in July that barred judges from using a particular legal standard to overrule decisions made by government ministers."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: takes a look at Donald Trump's preposterous argument that he cannot be prosecuted for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election: Article I.3.7 of the Constitution reads, "Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States: But the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law." Now, I would say you and I know what that means, but in Trumpsidedown World, they disagree with us: "The clause 'presupposes that a president who is not convicted may not be subject to criminal prosecution,' Mr. Trump's brief said." Trump also argues that "A president who is acquitted by the Senate cannot be prosecuted for the acquitted conduct."

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Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "Even if its extremes are ultimately eclipsed, as seems inevitable, 2023 will mark a point when humanity crossed into a new climate era -- an age of 'global boiling,' as United Nations Secretary General António Guterres called it. The year [was the hottest on record and] included the hottest single day on record (July 6) and the hottest ever month (July), not to mention the hottest June, the hottest August, the hottest September, the hottest October, the hottest November, and probably the hottest December. It included a day, Nov. 17, when global temperatures, for the first time ever, reached 2 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial levels. Discomfort, destruction, and death are the legacy of those records.... This year, then, will wind up as the first -- and almost surely not the last -- in which temperatures were at or near 1.5 Celsius above preindustrial levels, a threshold the Paris agreement has aimed to avoid."

Don't Know Much about Clarence T., Don't Know Much about Donald T. But I Do Know Some Technology.... What a Wonderful World It Would Be. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. devoted his annual year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary, issued on Sunday, to the positive role that artificial intelligence can play in the legal system -- and the threats it poses. His report did not address the Supreme Court's rocky year, including its adoption of an ethics code that many said was toothless. Nor did he discuss the looming cases arising from ... Donald J. Trump's criminal prosecutions and questions about his eligibility to hold office.... Chief Justice Roberts acknowledged the promise of the new technology while noting its dangers." Politico's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the report, via the Supreme Court. MB: I wonder if "artificial intelligence" doesn't describe John Roberts: someone who excelled in school and got a first-rate education, yet cannot fathom general concepts like the nature of society.

Presidential Race 2024

Kelly Garrity of Politico: "The constitutional amendment that election officials in Colorado and Maine are relying on to block ... Donald Trump from the ballot is clear -- and isn't undemocratic, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) argued Sunday. 'Is it undemocratic that [former California Gov.] Arnold Schwarzenegger and [Energy Secretary] Jennifer Granholm can't run for president because they weren't born in the country? If you think about it, of all of the forms of disqualification that we have, the one that disqualifies people for engaging in insurrection is the most democratic because it's the one where people choose themselves to be disqualified,' Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, said Sunday during an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union.' (Schwarzenegger was born in Austria, Granholm in Canada.) 'Donald Trump is in that tiny, tiny number of people who have essentially disqualified themselves,' [Raskin said].... '... If you don't like the rules of the Constitution, change the Constitution.'"

Soo Rin Kim & Quinn Scanlan of ABC News: "Three women who served in ... Donald Trump's White House are now warning against a possible second Trump term, with one of them saying it could mean 'the end of American democracy as we know it.' For the first time, former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson sat down together with ABC News 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl to discuss their roles in speaking out against Trump in the wake of Jan. 6.... The Trump campaign responded to ABC's interview with a statement calling the women 'ungrateful grifters' who 'used the opportunities given to them by President Trump' and had gone 'full Judas.'" Classy!

Football Isn't Just Dangerous; It's Corrupt. David Fahrenthold & Billy Witz of the New York Times: "... using cash from fan 'collectives' to woo and keep [football] players -- has gone from an anomaly to a necessity in big-time college sports. These 'name, image and likeness' payments through collectives -- permissible under N.C.A.A. rules since July 2021 -- along with the loosening of transfer restrictions, have shifted how powerhouse teams are built. But they have also prompted red flags from the Internal Revenue Service, threatened to create a sense of imbalance within teams, and fostered a culture of secrecy and an uncomfortable push-pull between collectives and schools. They have also undermined the push for gender equity by immensely favoring male athletes.... [All] four football playoff schools: Michigan, Texas, Washington and Alabama ... have reached this point by adapting to -- and exploiting -- this flood of cash from fans to players."

Abby Livingston & Pooja Salhotra of the Texas Tribune: "Retired U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has died, her family said Sunday on social media. She was 88. A towering Dallas political figure -- once a nurse, state legislator and congresswoman -- Johnson was the dean of the Texas Congressional delegation before retiring from office in 2022. She proved effective at her work due to her long tenure serving in the U.S. House -- nearly 30 years at the time of her passing -- and a pragmatist streak that made her open to working with Republicans."

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Adeel Hassan of the New York Times: "A spate of new state laws, including on guns, minimum wage and gender transition care, went into effect as the calendar flipped to 2024. Perhaps the most significant change bans programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion at publicly funded colleges and universities in Texas.... Here are some other new and noteworthy state laws[.]"

California. Colbi Edmonds of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Saturday allowed California's ban on the carrying of firearms in most public places to take effect in 2024, halting a lower court judge's ruling that had blocked enforcement of the law.... Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California blocked enforcement of the law in December, saying that the ban.... 'is sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.' But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals paused the injunction, allowing the law to go into effect on Monday while the court takes more time to decide on the constitutionality of the law." The AP's report is here.

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Denmark. Jasmina Nielsen & Alan Yuhas of the New York Times: "Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, the longest-serving monarch in Europe, unexpectedly declared that she would abdicate her throne after more than a half-century, announcing in her New Year's speech on Sunday that her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, would succeed her. In her speech, Margrethe, 83, said that her age and health were factors in her decision after more than 50 years as queen."

Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari closed out the year with a warning that Israel's war objectives "require prolonged fighting" and that the IDF is 'preparing accordingly' as it heads into 2024." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Monday are here.

News Lede

CNN: "A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck western Japan on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey and the Japan Meteorological Agency. Tsunami warnings have been issued along coastal regions of western Japan and people have been urged to evacuate. The first tsunami waves of 1.2 meters (4 feet) and under hav hit a number of areas along Japan's western coast. The earthquake had a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), and struck at 4:10 p.m. local time northeast of Anamizu in Ishikawa prefecture, according to USGS. Several aftershocks have been reported, with Japan's weather agency warning they could continue over the next three days to a week." This is a liveblog.

The Conversation -- 123123

Thanks to RAS for the new page name. Marie: This is a rarer date than I realized. Europe didn't start widely using the Hindu-Arabic numeral system until the 14th century C.E. So this is, at best, only the eighth time in history the date 123123 has popped up on a Western calendar. Before that, I guess the date was IIIIIIIIIIII. P.S. Because of the date, Las Vegas wedding venues are expecting a surfeit of brides and grooms.

"Mistruth & Consequences." Ben Terris & Monica Hesse of the Washington Post look back at the year in government, starting of course with "Week 1: Kevin McCarthy submits to some sort of hazing ritual to secure the gavel as speaker of the House, lining up for 14 smackdowns before limping into power on the 15th ballot."; And ending with "Week 52: A few weeks after submitting his letter of resignation, Kevin McCarthy leaves the House of Representatives."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors asked an appeals court on Saturday to reject ... Donald J. Trump's claims that he is immune from criminal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election.... 'The presidency plays a vital role in our constitutional system, but so does the principle of accountability for criminal acts -- particularly those that strike at the heart of the democratic process,' wrote James I. Pearce, one of [Jack] Smith's deputies. 'Rather than vindicating our constitutional framework, the defendant's sweeping immunity claim threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office. The founders did not intend and would never have countenanced such a result.'... [Mr. Trump's] appeal is legally significant because it centers on a question that has never before been asked or fully answered. That is because Mr. Trump is both the first former president to have been charged with crimes and because he has chosen to defend himself in this case with a novel claim: that the office he held at the time should shield him entirely from prosecution." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, is here. The DOJ brief, via the U.S. Courts, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Stand Up to Trump. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), in a New York Times op-ed: "Being in [Donald] Trump's tunnel of hate is not enjoyable.... Like many of my colleagues, I have received hostile calls, antagonistic mail and death threats, and I have had people outside my home with weapons. And it reflects the vitriol, bullying, rage and threats we are witnessing across the country today -- from our exchanges on social media to dialogue with each other and with those in our workplaces, schools, gathering places, families and communities. It's a real danger to our democracy and our safety.... What Mr. Trump is doing isn't honesty or candor, it's ruthless and deliberate viciousness.... What I would encourage people to do, if attacked by Mr. Trump or his supporters, is to not be afraid to challenge the attack."

Presidential Race 2024

Maeve Reston, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump uses dehumanizing rhetoric to describe undocumented immigrants before largely White audiences.... Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended part of his state's African American history curriculum standards that claimed some enslaved people developed skills that 'could be applied for their personal benefit.' And Nikki Haley omitted any mention of slavery when she was asked to explain the cause of the Civil War at a town hall event this past week.... [Comments by] the Republican Party's three leading presidential candidates ... have stoked outrage among many Americans and risk alienating wide swaths of voters.... But their rhetoric is also appealing to many Americans who lean conservative.... " MB: This article is a good example of both-sider "journalism," where the writers "criticize" bigoted language by couching it in "some liberals say" qualifiers and "balance" what "some liberals say" with citations from "average Republican voters" who are fine with the language. The reporters, all women, might want to take some advice from Debbie Dingell.

Kayla Gallagher of the Messenger: "... Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that droves of migrants are crossing the border into the U.S. to cast ballots for 'crazed' Democrats. 'It's becoming more and more obvious to me why the "Crazed" Democrats are allowing millions and millions of totally unvetted migrants into our once great Country. IT'S SO THEY CAN VOTE, VOTE, VOTE,' Trump wrote in his post Friday. 'They are signing them up at a rapid pace, without even knowing who the hell they are ... Republicans better wake up and do something, before it is too late,' he added. 'Are you listening Mitch McConnell?' People who aren't citizens can't vote in federal and almost all local elections -- and the process for an immigrant to become a citizen typically takes several years." (Also linked yesterday.)

Another Reason Nikki Haley Should Not Be President*. Nicholas Kerr of ABC News: Haley answered a voter's question by saying she would pardon Donald Trump "for the good of the country" and because it would be wrong for "an 80-year-old man [to be] sitting in jail." MB: Do you suppose she means to pardon all 80-year-old jailbirds? I don't think so. Update: Patrick is concerned there will be a "geriatric crime spree that will ensue when men (women too?) realize that at 80 its ollie ollie in free." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Florida. Still Longin' for de Old Plantation. A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics: "Ron DeSantis ripped Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan in the wake of the Mayor;s Office compelling the removal of the Women of the Southland structure from Springfield Park, equating Confederate statues with those honoring American heroes. 'I'm opposed to taking down statues. The idea that we're going to just erase history is wrong. You've seen it now where they tried to take down Thomas Jefferson, they tried to take down George Washington off schools. It just gets so out of hand. So I don't support taking down statues, particularly if you don't have legal authority to do it,' DeSantis said." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When you treat Donald Trump like an American hero, it is not a stretch to treat other traitors as heroes. Interesting that Rhonda chastised Nikki about her not-slavery answer to the question of what caused the Civil War. He said, "It's not that difficult to identify and acknowledge the role slavery played in the Civil War." He forgot to add that slavery was a good thing because slaves learned trades like blacksmithing.

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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel must take control of the Philadelphi Corridor -- the area along the border of Gaza and Egypt -- to 'guarantee the demilitarization' of the Strip, and that the war 'will continue for many more months.' U.S. Navy helicopters on Sunday morning exchanged fire with Houthi militants who were attempting to board a container vessel in the Red Sea, U.S. Central Command said.... Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the State Department for circumventing Congress to approve the sale of arms to Israel for the second time this month." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Sunday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Ukraine, et al. Constant Méheut & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "The Russian authorities said on Saturday that a Ukrainian attack on the city of Belgorod had killed at least 18 people and injured more than 110 others, in the deadliest strike against a Russian city since the beginning of the war nearly two years ago. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine had hit Belgorod -- a regional center of around 330,000 residents about 25 miles north of the Ukrainian border -- with two missiles and several rockets, adding that the strike was 'indiscriminate' and would 'not go unpunished.'... The strike on Belgorod was in response to Russia’s air assault on Friday against Ukraine, said an official from Ukraine's intelligence services, who spoke on the condition of anonymity...." A CNN report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- December 30, 2023

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors asked an appeals court on Saturday to reject ... Donald J. Trump's claims that he is immune from criminal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election.... 'The presidency plays a vital role in our constitutional system, but so does the principle of accountability for criminal acts -- particularly those that strike at the heart of the democratic process,' wrote James I. Pearce, one of [Jack] Smith's deputies. 'Rather than vindicating our constitutional framework, the defendant's sweeping immunity claim threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office. The founders did not intend and would never have countenanced such a result.'... [Mr. Trump's] appeal is legally significant because it centers on a question that has never before been asked or fully answered. That is because Mr. Trump is both the first former president to have been charged with crimes and because he has chosen to defend himself in this case with a novel claim: that the office he held at the time should shield him entirely from prosecution." ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, is here. The DOJ brief, via the U.S. Courts, is here.

Kayla Gallagher of the Messenger: "... Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that droves of migrants are crossing the border into the U.S. to cast ballots for 'crazed' Democrats. 'It's becoming more and more obvious to me why the "Crazed" Democrats are allowing millions and millions of totally unvetted migrants into our once great Country. IT'S SO THEY CAN VOTE, VOTE, VOTE,' Trump wrote in his post Friday. 'They are signing them up at a rapid pace, without even knowing who the hell they are ... Republicans better wake up and do something, before it is too late,' he added. 'Are you listening Mitch McConnell?' People who aren't citizens can't vote in federal and almost all local elections -- and the process for an immigrant to become a citizen typically takes several years."

Ukraine, et al. Constant Méheut & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: “The Russian authorities said on Saturday that a Ukrainian attack on the city of Belgorod had killed at least 18 people and injured more than 110 others, in the deadliest strike against a Russian city since the beginning of the war nearly two years ago. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine had hit Belgorod -- a regional center of around 330,000 residents about 25 miles north of the Ukrainian border -- with two missiles and several rockets, adding that the strike was 'indiscriminate' and would 'not go unpunished.'... The strike on Belgorod was in response to Russia's air assault on Friday against Ukraine, said an official from Ukraine's intelligence services, who spoke on the condition of anonymity...." A CNN report is here.

Florida. Still Longin' for de Old Plantation. A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics: "Ron DeSantis ripped Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan in the wake of the Mayor's Office compelling the removal of the Women of the Southland structure from Springfield Park, equating Confederate statues with those honoring American heroes. 'I'm opposed to taking down statues. The idea that we're going to just erase history is wrong. You've seen it now where they tried to take down Thomas Jefferson, they tried to take down George Washington off schools. It just gets so out of hand. So I don't support taking down statues, particularly if you don't have legal authority to do it,' DeSantis said." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the link.~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When you treat Donald Trump like an American hero, it is not a stretch to treat other traitors as heroes. Interesting that Rhonda chastised Nikki about her not-slavery answer to the question of what caused the Civil War. He said, "It's not that difficult to identify and acknowledge the role slavery played in the Civil War." He forgot to add that slavery was a good thing because many slaves learned trades like blacksmithing.

Another Reason Nikki Haley Should Not Be President*. Nicholas Kerr of ABC News: Haley answered a voter's question by saying she would pardon Donald Trump "for the good of the country" and because it would be wrong for "an 80-year-old man [to be] sitting in jail." MB: Do you suppose she means to pardon all 80-year-old jailbirds? I don't think so.

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Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "For the second time in a month, the appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled once again that Donald Trump is not immune from lawsuits brought against him by police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On Dec. 1, three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Trump in a case brought by Capitol Police Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, as well as lawmakers including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.... Now, in a ruling released Friday, the appeals court ... concluded that a different lawsuit first brought in August 2021 by USCP Officer Conrad Smith and seven of his colleagues, was virtually 'indistinguishable' from the Blassingame case. MB: It is notable that in both of these cases, the appeals court judges ruled against Trump's argument that he was immune from the suits because all that incitement stuff constituted "official acts." (Also linked yesterday). ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I had to do a little checking (here and here), but I found that two of the three judges heard both cases. The CBS News report is here.

Benjamin Weiser & Jonathan Bromwich of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, the onetime fixer for ... Donald J. Trump, mistakenly gave his lawyer bogus legal citations concocted by the artificial intelligence program Google Bard, he said in court papers unsealed on Friday. The fictitious citations were used by the lawyer in a motion submitted to a federal judge, Jesse M. Furman. Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and served time in prison, had asked the judge for an early end to the court's supervision of his case now that he is out of prison and has complied with the conditions of his release. The ensuing chain of misunderstandings and mistakes ended with Mr. Cohen asking the judge to exercise 'discretion and mercy.'... The episode could have implications for a Manhattan criminal case against Mr. Trump [-- the Stormy Daniels hush-money case --] in which Mr. Cohen is expected to be the star witness." A new attorney for Cohen could not verify the citations and so informed Judge Furman....

"The issue of lawyers relying on chatbots exploded into public view earlier this year after another federal judge in Manhattan, P. Kevin Castel, fined two lawyers $5,000 after they admitted filing a legal brief filled with nonexistent cases and citations, all generated by ChatGPT. Such cases appear to be rippling through the nation's courts, said Eugene Volokh, a law professor at U.C.L.A..., said he had counted a dozen cases in which lawyers or litigants representing themselves were believed to have used chatbots for legal research that ended up in court filings." An ABC News report is here. MB: Wow, fake law! This AI stuff sounds perfect for Sam Alito. He no longer has to crib from imperfect amicus briefs filed by Friends of Leo; he and his clerks can sit at their computers generating "original" fake case law that totally supports whatever preconceived opinion or prejudice he has in mind.

Presidential Race 2024

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's advisers are preparing as soon as Tuesday to file challenges to decisions in Colorado and Maine to disqualify Mr. Trump from the Republican primary ballot because of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter. In Maine, the challenge to the secretary of state's decision to block Mr. Trump from the ballot will be filed in a state court. But the Colorado decision, which was made by that state's highest court, will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court...."

David Sharp of the AP: "The decision [to remove Donald Trump from Maine's primary ballot] exposed [Secretary of State Shenna] Bellows to hate and vitriol on social media -- along with posts showing support -- and her office said Bellows and members of her staff were subjected to threats, something she called 'unacceptable.' At least one [Maine] Republican lawmaker has vowed to pursue impeachment against ... Bellows despite long odds in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.... Among Maine's congressional delegation, only Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, who represents the liberal 1st Congressional District, supported Bellows' conclusion that Trump incited an insurrection...." U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D), & Senators Angus King (I) & Susan Collins (R) all expressed variations on the let-the-people-decide theme song. MB: Golden voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection, and King & Collins voted to convict him.

Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "As the former head of the state's American Civil Liberties Union, [Maine Secretary of State Shenna] Bellows did not shy away from divisive issues. But her ballot decision on Thursday was perhaps the weightiest and most politically fraught that she had faced -- and it sparked loud rebukes from Republicans in Maine and beyond. In an interview on Friday, Ms. Bellows defended her decision, arguing that [Donald] Trump's incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol made it necessary to exclude him from the ballot next year.... 'The United States Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Maine election law required that I act in response.'... After holding a hearing this month in which she considered arguments from both Mr. Trump's lawyers and his critics, Ms. Bellows explained her decision in a 34-page order issued on Thursday night.... Ms. Bellows said it was not uncommon for secretaries of state to bar candidates from the ballot if they did not meet eligibility requirements, and noted that she refused to allow Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, to appear on the state's Republican primary ballot after he failed to get enough signatures." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have heard pundits arguing on the teevee that (1) one person shouldn't be allowed to decide who's on the ballot, (2) that Bellows isn't a lawyer, (3) that she should have recused herself because she's "political," (4) that her hearing did not meet criminal or even civil courtroom standards, included hearsay evidence, etc. (5) And of course the commonplace "let the people decide at the ballot box." BUT (1) That's the law in Maine. (2) So what? (3) Secretaries of states are all either elected officials or are appointed by elected officials, so they're all "political." (4) If you are convicted in court of a crime, you may lose your liberty; if you lose a civil case in court, you may have to compensate the winner. If you don't get to run for president*, you haven't lost a thing. You and I don't get to run for president, either; are we whining? (5) The people decided long ago that officials who represent will make some decisions for us: like who qualifies to run for office. And besides all that, those who are disqualified from the ballot have the option to sue -- which is exactly what Donald Trump is doing. Everybody needs to calm down a little.

Perry Bacon of the Washington Post: Arguments against removing Donald Trump from the ballot "fail to grasp the threat that he poses and the gravity of his previous actions.... Democracy is not just elections; it's also a broader system of rules, laws and norms.... Trump ... only supports elections if he is declared the winner. It cannot be a requirement of democracy that you allow the election of leaders who will then end free and fair elections -- and therefore democracy itself.... Officials [in Colorado & Maine] are only stepping in now to enforce democratic principles because for three years, so many others haven't.... The real affront to democracy is Trump, not officials following laws intended to keep people like him from gaining power." Bacon cites Republican senators, the DOJ/Merrick Garland, & Republican voters as slackers. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, and there's a glaring mistake in Bacon's column. I'll let you find it.

Steven Portnoy of ABC News takes a look at the adoption of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. MB: I get the impression that Portnoy thinks his historical perspective casts doubt on the use of the amendment to remove Trump from the ballot. I think the opposite is true.

Angelo Fichera of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has repeatedly tried to appeal to Christian voters in recent weeks by accusing the Biden administration of criminalizing Americans for their faith. On multiple occasions this month, Mr. Trump has claimed that President Biden has 'persecuted' Catholics in particular. Mr. Biden himself is Catholic." Fichera looks at three categories of Trump's tall tales and finds one false, one misleading and one lacking context.

What do you want me to say about slavery? -- Nikki Haley, after she stumbled over a question about the cause of the Civil War & failed to mention slavery ~~~

~~~ Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "I thought Donald Trump's description of Abraham Lincoln as 'a man of great intelligence' who 'did something that was a very important thing to do, and especially at that time,' couldn't be topped, but I guess I was wrong. Ah, the Republican Party! Unofficial slogan: We Refuse to Learn History, and We're Eager to Repeat It.... But, look, 'What caused the Civil War?' is just one of a whole host of straightforward questions that no GOP presidential candidate can hope to answer. I have taken the liberty of predicting Haley's responses to analogous questions. Try this at home and you, too, can enjoy a fun, alarming word salad where 'capitalism' and 'limited government' are thrown in at intervals, like pecans. Happy 2024!" Here's one example Q&A: Q: "Was it good or bad that a mob descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, yelling 'Hang Mike Pence' and trying to prevent certification of the presidential election?" A: (laughs) "Don't go easy on me! I think the Capitol is certainly, in the hearts of Americans, a place, and capitalism itself is so important. What do you think?"

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If you live in a state spelled with only four letters and barely a hint of consonant, then yesterday was a pretty good day for the kids in your neighborhood.

Iowa. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Iowa temporarily blocked on Friday the enforcement of a law backed by Republicans that banned books describing sex acts from public school libraries. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Stephen Locher said that the law 'makes no attempt to target such books in any reasonable way.... Instead, it requires the wholesale removal of every book containing a description or visual depiction of a "sex act," regardless of context,' the judge wrote. 'The underlying message is that there is no redeeming value to any such book even if it is a work of history, self-help guide, award-winning novel or other piece of serious literature. In effect, the Legislature has imposed a puritanical "pall of orthodoxy" over school libraries.' The publisher Penguin Random House and the best-selling authors John Green and Jodi Picoult were among the plaintiffs who challenged the measure on free-speech grounds. Judge Locher, who was appointed by President Biden to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, also blocked a portion of the law that imposed limits on instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity before seventh grade." The AP's report is here.

Ohio. Amy Harmon of the New York Times: "Mike DeWine, the Republican governor of Ohio, vetoed a bill on Friday that would have barred transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries, a rare rejection in what has been a concerted effort by the Republican Party to mobilize cultural conservatives around transgender issues for the 2024 primaries.... On Friday, Mr. DeWine said that if the bill were to become law, 'Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents.' The governor reached his decision after visiting hospitals and meeting with families 'both positively and negatively affected' by gender-affirming care last week, a spokesperson said.... The Ohio legislature, where Republicans hold a supermajority, could override Mr. DeWine's veto." Politico's story is here.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "As Israel's military campaign in Gaza intensifies, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved a $147.5 million arms sale to Israel through an emergency authority that bypasses the standard congressional review process. In a Friday announcement, the State Department said the proposed sale of 155-mm artillery shells and related equipment is consistent with the U.S. commitment to Israel's security and efforts to help it 'develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.' UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said Friday that IDF soldiers fired on a U.N. aid convoy returning from a delivery in northern Gaza, an incident U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths condemned as 'unlawful.'... South Africa on Friday called on the International Court of Justice to find that Israel's war in Gaza is a violation of the Genocide Convention of 1948. The filing accused Israel of engaging 'in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza.' Israel's Foreign Ministry called on the court to dismiss the filing, which it 'rejects with disgust.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Saturday are here. CNN's live updates are here: "The UN has expressed alarm after more than 100,000 displaced people arrived in Rafah in recent days, a southern city that is the most densely populated in Gaza. It warned disease and food shortages were worsening already 'dire living conditions.' The influx comes as Israel expands its operations in southern Gaza, where its military said it was fighting Hamas with snipers and tank fire. But battles are also underway in the north, the initial focus of Israel's campaign to destroy the militants."

Adam Goldman, et al., of the New York Times: "... a New York Times investigation found that [on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel,] Israel's military was undermanned, out of position and so poorly organized that soldiers communicated in impromptu WhatsApp groups and relied on social media posts for targeting information. Commandos rushed into battle armed only for brief combat. Helicopter pilots were ordered to look to news reports and Telegram channels to choose targets. And perhaps most damning: The Israel Defense Forces did not even have a plan to respond to a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli soil, according to current and former soldiers and officers.... Much of the military failure was due to the lack of a plan, coupled with a series of intelligence missteps in the months and years before the attack."

Ukraine, et al. Constant Méheut and Daria Mitiuk of the New York Times: "Russia targeted Ukrainian cities with more than 150 missiles and drones on Friday morning, in what Ukrainian officials said was one of the largest air assaults of the war. At least 26 people were killed, and more than 120 were wounded, according to Ukrainian authorities, and critical infrastructure was damaged.... For several hours on Friday, missiles, drones and debris slammed into factories, hospitals and schools in cities across Ukraine, from Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the east.... Thanks to its powerful air defense systems, Ukraine has often been able to shoot down most, if not all, Russian weapons targeting cities in recent months. But on Friday the Ukrainian military said it had shot down only 114 missiles and drones out of a total of 158... The Ukrainian authorities had warned for months that Russia was stockpiling high-precision missiles to pound Ukrainian cities when cold weather began to bite....

"Yet Republican lawmakers in Congress have declined to pass a new $50 billion security package for Ukraine unless the law also imposes new restrictions on migrants trying to cross the southern U.S. border, and negotiations are continuing. Washington said on Wednesday that it was releasing the last Congress-approved package of military aid currently available to Kyiv. Ukraine's supply of surface-to-air missiles -- key ordnance needed to down incoming Russian missiles -- is now running short." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden on Friday issued a scathing statement against Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine, the largest aerial assault since the war began. 'It is a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin's objective remains unchanged. He seeks to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped,' Biden said.... The president called on Congress to provide more aid for Ukraine, noting Ukraine used air defense systems from the U.S. and other allies to fend off the attack. 'The American people can be proud of the lives we have helped to save and the support we have given Ukraine as it defends its people, its freedom, and its independence. But unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems Ukraine needs to protect its people. Congress must step up and act without any further delay,' Biden said."

News Ledes

CNN: "Massive waves and coastal flooding are wreaking havoc for a third day in many of California's coastal communities, where extreme conditions have forced water rescues, washed away cars and injured a handful of enthralled onlookers. The unusually large surf -- often towering over 20 feet -- has prompted beach closures along the California coast and sent damaging deluges of water into several beachside streets, homes and businesses."

New York Times: "Tom Wilkinson, the actor who could turn a manic lawyer, a steel-foreman-turned-stripper and parts small and large into mesmerizing turns, winning Oscar nominations and plaudits for his performances in movies like 'Michael Clayton' and 'The Full Monty,' died on Saturday, according to The Associated Press. He was 75."