Rocky Mountain Sigh

Colorado's SCOTUS Notice, France Chooses Choice

Even in the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, no one was high enough to think that this Supreme Court would let Colorado kick Donald Trump off the primary ballot. And so it was: Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot. "The court held that states may bar candidates from state office. 'But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,' the court wrote." It's notable that Court chose not to disagree with Colorado's conclusion that Trump incited an insurrection. The overall ruling was unanimous, but there was also a 5-4 ruling that was more extreme. "Five justices—Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh—went further: They declared that only Congress may enforce the insurrection clause against federal candidates. How, exactly?" Slate: The Supreme Court’s 'Unanimous' Trump Ballot Ruling Is Actually a 5–4 Disaster. Judges were never going to save America from Trump. Only a jury can do that; specifically the jury whose verdict is due on November 5, 2024.

+ Philip Bump in WaPo (Gift Article): "One would assume that a democratic system predicated on checks and balances would have some process in place to enforce punitive measures when democracy itself was threatened or undermined, but it does not." The institutions of government aren’t going to protect democracy.

+ Meanwhile ... Trump’s Allies Ramp Up Campaign Targeting Voter Rolls, Ex-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty to perjury, and AI's latest trick is making fake photos of Black Trump supporters. (This is the one time AI's depiction of weird, small hands actually looks pretty accurate.)

2

Choix

"Out of 925 MPs and senators eligible to vote, 780 supported the amendment, which will give women the 'guaranteed freedom' to choose an abortion. There was thunderous applause in the chamber as the result was announced on Monday; in central Paris, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated to mark the occasion." France makes abortion a constitutional right in historic Versailles vote. (France is the first country to make abortion a constitutional right. But many countries in the world are going in the opposite direction of the US and increasing women's rights.)

3

Bacon Bits

"Pig butchering — a scam named after the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter — often starts with what appears to be a wrong-number text message. People who respond are lured into crypto investments. But the investments are fake, and once victims send enough funds, the scammers disappear. As far-fetched as it sounds, victims routinely lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. One Kansas banker was charged this month with embezzling $47.1 million from his bank as part of a pig-butchering scam." Bloomberg (Gift Article): Pig-Butchering Scams Net More Than $75 Billion, Study Finds.

4

The Unbearable Lightness of Biden

"For decades, there was a lightness about Joe Biden—a springy, mischievous energy that was hard not to like, even if it allowed some people to classify him as a lightweight. For better and worse, he is a more solemn figure now. His voice is thin and clotted, and his gestures have slowed, but, in our conversation, his mind seemed unchanged. He never bungled a name or a date. At one point, he pulled out a white notecard inscribed with some of Trump’s most alarming comments: his threat to terminate the Constitution, his casual talk of being a dictator on 'Day One,' his description of immigrants as 'poisoning the blood of our country.' Biden tossed the list on his desk and gave a look of disbelief. 'What the hell!' he said. 'If you and I had sat down ten years ago and I said a President is going to say those things, you would have looked at me like, ‘Biden, you’ve lost your senses.’" Evan Osnos in The New Yorker: Joe Biden’s Last Campaign. "The biggest bet of all is that good governing actually can get you reëlected in 2024, when all of the forces seem to be arrayed against it." (That bet doesn't sound like a sure thing these days...)

5

Extra, Extra

The World's Open Wound: VP Harris called for an immediate, temporary ceasefire ahead a meeting with Benny Gantz. And a United Nations team "found convincing evidence that hostages in Gaza were raped, Pramila Patten, the UN special envoy on sexual violence and women, told reporters on Monday. Patten said there is 'clear and convincing information' that some hostages were taken to Gaza and subjected to sexual violence and 'reasonable grounds' to believe the sexual violence is ongoing." AP: After 10 years of trying, a Palestinian woman had twins. An Israeli strike killed them both.

+ Private Chat: "Perhaps the most insidious calamity we face is one of doubt: we cease to believe in ourselves, as human beings with values, who deserve to rule themselves in the system we call democracy. For most of this century, democracy has been in decline, and this decline has been accompanied by a discourse of passivity and a lack of resolve. Russia's attack on Ukraine -- the rare event of an armed autocracy seeking to destroy a peaceful democracy by military force -- was a turning point in this history. Which way we will all turn remains to be seen." Timothy Snyder on what's at stake as Mike Johnson delays Ukraine aid. The apocalypse we choose. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s troops are rationing ammunition.

+ Defense Mechanisms: "Well aware of Israel’s intelligence methods, Hamas members fed their enemy the data that they wanted to hear, using informants they knew would report to the Israelis. They signaled that the ruling group inside Gaza was concentrating on improving the local economy by gaining access to the Israeli job market, and that Hamas had been deterred from action by Israel’s overwhelming military might. Such reports confirmed that Israel’s intelligence system had rigid assumptions of Hamas behavior, overlaid with a racial arrogance that considered Palestinians incapable of such a large-scale operation. AI, it turned out, knew everything about the terrorist except what he was thinking." Andrew Cockburn with a contrarian look a tech's promise and limitations when it comes to defense. It begins with a look at Israel's Oct 7 failure, but the main focus is the US. Harper's: The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Problem.

+ Oregon Wrong: "Backers of the 2020 ballot measure, which passed with 58% support, successfully convinced their fellow residents of the left-leaning state that decriminalization would mean fewer nonviolent drug addicts in prison and more in treatment. But while the first part of the prediction proved true, the second didn’t." Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs. Now It’s Reversing Course.

+ Port Au Wince: "Haiti's government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major prison. At least 12 people were killed and about 3,700 inmates escaped in the jailbreak." BBC: Haiti gangs: The spiralling power of criminal groups.

+ Money For Nothing: "Five years after Spotify first complained about Apple’s App Store practices, the European Commission has issued a decision... and a $2 billion fine." (Well, at least someone is finally making money off music streaming...)

+ Caitlinsanity: "Honestly, if you would have told me that before my college career started, I would have laughed in your face and been like, 'No, you’re insane.'" Iowa's Caitlin Clark passes Pete Maravich for scoring record. Oklahoma's softball team lost to Louisiana. Why is that big news? The Sooners had won 71 straight games before the loss. And at the NFL Combine, Xavier Worthy sets 40-yard dash record of 4.21 seconds.

6

Bottom of the News

"The young model reclined on a white sofa, dressed in pink lace, pearls and tiara, the striking centerpiece for a fashion shoot with a Parisian theme. The photographer’s only worry was whether the model would poop her pants." WSJ (Gift Article): The $10,000 Baby Photo: ‘We Spent Less Than This on Our Wedding!’

+ Speaking of weddings, for a major party in India, "there were so many private jets landing at the local airport that Indian government officials had to set up a special passport-control center to keep up." One of India’s most epic parties went down over the weekend. (Oh, and this wasn't the wedding. It was a pre-wedding.) Anant Ambani's pre-wedding: Rihanna, Gates and Zuckerberg at India tycoon's gala.

+ "The runway is just 900m long and the stroll, which would normally take just 10 minutes, took more than half an hour due to the force of the wind blasting her backwards." How to fix a runway in Antarctica. (It's a process that often includes getting penguins to move out of the way.)

Thanks,

Dave Pell, Duke of URL