12/04/23
Good morning! It’s Monday, December 4th.
National cookie day.
Yummmmmm
And now, the news.
Israel-Hamas War
Let’s start with the Israel-Hamas war where, on Friday, negotiations to continue to pause on fighting broke down over terms for releasing women still held in Gaza. In the first 24 hours after those talks stalled, Israel launched more than 400 strikes into Gaza, while Hamas said there are “no negotiations now,” nor will there be any more hostage exchanges until there is a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, news broke late last week that last year, more than a year before the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas, Israeli officials obtained a 40-page document code-named “Jericho Wall” outlined exactly, point by point, how the attack would happen. And because they believed the attack to have been aspirational and too difficult to carry out, the document was dismissed.
It was obtained by NY Times and while the exact date wasn’t listed, everything else appears to have been followed with what they call “shocking precision.” This is all new news, and I’m recording this on Saturday, so… it’s not great. It’s also early still to see what happens next. Doesn’t feel good though, that’s for sure!
Also, a really unfortunate update on the Palestinian student that was shot while walking with two friends in Vermont apparently simply because they’re Palestinian – the 20-year-old Brown University student is now paralyzed from the chest down.
Georgie Did, in Fact, Go Buh-Bye
-via NY Times
As I mentioned a few times last week, the vote to expel George Santos did, in fact, go down on Friday. And with the vote of 311 members, including 105 Republicans, George Santos became just the sixth member of the House to be expelled.
And with that – the saga of George Santos is over… ish. Over as in “His Time as a House Rep.” Hard to believe that he’s truly out of our lives. It sort of seems like he’s going to spill the beans on everyone in the House, for no other reason than the plot. But still – that’s fun.
He left us with these beautiful parting words though: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
Classic Santos.
Newsom v DeSantis
-via Politico
Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom debated on Friday night. I don’t know why DeSantis said yes, when it was very clear that dude never stood a chance. Did I watch it? No. Did I root for Newsom? No, I rooted against DeSantis. As I do in any and all ventures.
But it did happen, and people might talk about it today. So if they do, and you want to be a part of the conversation, you can just be like – “I don’t really get why either person participated, but it was pretty cool when Newsom said the only thing he has in common with DeSantis is that neither of them will be their party’s candidate in 2024.”
Anyway, that happened.
Sandra Day O’Connor
-via NBC News
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court, on which she served from 1981 to 2006, died on Friday. She was 93.
93! Impressive.
She was a moderate conservative who voted to end the 2000 recount in Florida, which gave Bush the presidency, but also joined with liberals to do things like affirm abortion rights and uphold affirmative action.
Interestingly, in 2013 she said actually the court never should have been in the Florida recount case.
Legacies are complicated, but a moderate conservative is unheard of these days. In 1988, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Which she later said, “fostered a desire in me to make each and every day a good day.”
Which is not too shabby of an outlook to have.
Trump Can Be Sued
-via Politico
So technically this could be Trump Crime Update Time, but it’s also just super interesting to me as a nerd who owns many books about the Constitution, as well as just straight up a buncha copies of the Constitution.
On Friday a three-judge panel ruled that Trump can be personally sued over claims that he incited violence when he told a group of insurrecting insurrectionists to go march on the Capital on January 6th.
Originally he said that he couldn’t be sued, because he was acting as the president at the time. But that panel of judges ruled that actually, dude was actually as the candidate. And therefore can be sued.
Bad news for him. Good news for members of Congress and Capital police officers, who are already trying to sue him for exactly that.
Interesting news for history – because as the profit Lin Manuel Miranda promised us – Ev'ry American experiment sets a precedent. So this effects Trump, duh, but it also effects every future President whilst they run for a second term.
Isn’t that so interesting? Specifically one of the judges wrote: “When a first-term President opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act. The Office of the Presidency as an institution is agnostic about who will occupy it next. And campaigning to gain that office is not an official act of the office.”
But then it’s like – okay some things are very clearly done as a candidate. Some things are a little murkier, and this ruling doesn’t clarify how to determine where that line is.
Trump was a terrible president, and is a genuinely bad person. What he did to this country was awful.
This case is so interesting though!
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Like I said, I’m recording this on Saturday night. No one let any news break on Sunday (your past, my future: WHOA).
I’m proud of cookies. I make em. I eat em. I eat what I make. It’s a nice little system I have.
But more than that… more than the pistachio cookies I make every year because I found the recipe once randomly and they turned out to be some of the best cookies ever… because you are also sweet but a little nutty… I’m proud of you.