The Belly of the Beast

Damn…

In the still dark hours of the morning as I curled up in the fetal position listening to the sound of my heart pounding in my pillow, Rye, one of my beagles, stumbled off the bed, gagged a couple times, and threw up on the carpet. After a brief pause, he consumed what he had just coughed up. Unbeknownst to him, Rye had manifested the perfect metaphor for this moment in American history when voters, for some reason I'll never understand, took the opportunity to re-elect a person that 154 presidential scholars from across the political spectrum unanimously agreed was the worst president in American history. And that was before the indictments, the convictions, and the Supreme Court ruling that presidents deserve near total immunity. It turns out we are going back. So yes, this was a bad morning. Really bad. It's taking everything I've got not to puke on the carpet myself right now.

We certainly can't say we weren't warned about our options. The AP summarizes just how weird and awful this moment is: "Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts ... The victory validates his bare-knuckle approach to politics. He attacked his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in deeply personal – often misogynistic and racist – terms as he pushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent migrants. The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, resonated with angry voters – particularly men – in a deeply polarized nation."

When my mom was ten years old, she had a much worse morning. She was jarred awake by the sound of breaking glass on the ground floor of her family's apartment. She lived through Kristallnacht, survived the Holocaust, moved to America, and has developed and funded college level courses to help people better understand the root causes of hate and genocide. This week, my family is taking my mom out for her 96th birthday. I'm convinced that one of the reasons America and other democracies are so susceptible to fascism is because those who experienced it firsthand are fewer and fewer in number. But we won't talk about that at the birthday dinner. We'll remind ourselves of the really important things in life and, I imagine, there will be a fair share of dark humor. And when the election comes up, I'm guessing my mom will say the same thing she always says at moments like this: We shall overcome. She means it. She's proved it. She said it to me this morning on the phone. She also said there would better days ahead - but in fairness, she also joked, "Maybe buy a gun..."

Look, this was a sound beating. There's no sugar-coating the fact that Americans said yes to the xenophobia, hate, and the punching down indecency at the very core of the Trump sales pitch. I'm not going to tell you not to feel angry, hopeless, or overwhelmed. I feel all of those emotions. But I will strongly suggest that you don't let those emotions stick around for long. First, because they're not good for your mental or physical health. And second, because those are the very feelings that fuel autocrats. I can't stand the president-elect and his enablers, but I refuse to hate my fellow Americans. Doing so is simply feeding the beast. Divisiveness and hate are what got us into this mess. More of it is not going to get us out.

2

This Is Who A Lot of Us Are

"Donald Trump told Americans exactly what he planned to do. He would use military force against his political opponents. He would fire thousands of career public servants. He would deport millions of immigrants in military-style roundups. He would crush the independence of the Department of Justice, use government to push public health conspiracies and abandon America’s allies abroad. He would turn the government into a tool of his own grievances, a way to punish his critics and richly reward his supporters. He would be a 'dictator' — if only on Day 1.This was a conquering of the nation not by force but with a permission slip. Now, America stands on the precipice of an authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its 248-year history." NYT: America Hires a Strongman.

+ "Trump’s victory is a grim day for the United States and for democracies around the world. You have every right to be appalled, saddened, shocked, and frightened. Soon, however, you should dust yourself off, square your shoulders, and take a deep breath. Americans who care about democracy have work to do." Tom Nichols in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Democracy Is Not Over. And we owe it those who were particularly attacked during this campaign to step up and be there. As Dahlia Lithwick writes: "This campaign was run on the express promise to inflict maximal pain and suffering on a whole lot of disfavored and marginalized people. I trust them to keep that promise. Try to keep your heart soft because that will be the work."

+ "Above all, we must learn to live in an America where an overwhelming number of our fellow citizens have chosen a president who holds the most fundamental values and traditions of our democracy, our Constitution, even our military in contempt. Over the past decade, opinion polls have showed Americans’ faith in their institutions waning. But no opinion poll could make this shift in values any clearer than this vote. As a result of this election, the United States will become a different kind of country." David Frum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Won. Now What?

+ Dan Pfeiffer: Some Initial Thoughts on a Brutal Defeat. "I know most of you reading this are angry, scared, frustrated, and in shock. I share all of those reactions. I am heartbroken that Kamala Harris won’t be our next President. She would have been a great president. I was so looking forward to telling my daughter that America had just elected its first woman president. I am dreading the conversation about why we didn’t."

+ CNN: Eight takeaways from the 2024 election.

+ The Dow Jones jumps over 1,300 points after Trump wins the election.

+ As it stands now, the GOP has the White House and the Senate. The House is yet to be decided. Kamala Harris has conceded the race in a call to Trump (and you think you've had some hard conversations today...) and is expected to deliver her concession speech soon. Here's the latest from CNN, NBC, and AP.

3

Global Village People

Think you're stressed about the election results? Imagine how our allies are feeling right now. Most notably, the Ukrainian fighters on democracy's front lines. Bloomberg (Gift Article): America Deserves Donald Trump. The World Doesn’t. "Every country gets the government it deserves, it has been said, and America now gets a second administration led by Donald Trump. But the rest of the world did not vote in the US election. Does it deserve what comes next?"

+ Trump’s victory could mean US withdraws support for Ukraine in war with Russia. (And Ukraine says its forces just clashed with North Korean troops for first time.)

+ From tariffs to terrorism, what Trump’s victory means for the world.

+ Global reactions to Donald Trump’s election victory: Allies brace, Israel and Europe’s far right celebrate.

4

Oligarch of the Covenant

"It feels strange to suggest that the second-most memorable thing that happened on a stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, this year was the former president of the United States getting shot in the face. But if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, the image that will be seared in my mind is that of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, jumping around the same stage a few months later—eyes weirdly vacant, a black MAGA hat splayed awkwardly on his head, his legs and arms outstretched in the shape of a knotted and overgrown X." MoJo: The Oligarch Election. "American billionaires have long placed their thumbs on the scale of democracy—but never like this." (And the election results mean there are gonna be a lot more of the billions.)

5

Extra, Extra

Abortion Rights: One of the most stark splits in the election was how many people voted against abortion restrictions but seemingly for Trump. Trump won, but so did seven ballot measures protecting abortion rights. Florida's abortion rights measure lost with 57% of the vote. There was a 60% threshold. That's how minority rule works, folks.

+ A Positive Trend: Two Black women will serve together in the Senate for the first time.

+ BiBi's Gun: "The suspicion is that Gallant’s military superiority and respect from within the armed forces grated with his boss. In Israel’s hard-line government, the most right-wing in the country’s history, Gallant was less hawkish than some of his fellow ministers. But he was no dove." Israel's Netanyahu shows who calls the shots with Gallant sacking. (I don't think all those Gaza protestors at Harris campaign events are going to like what they see from Bibi with Trump in the White House.)

+ You Are the Keymaster: Next time you encounter the products you want being locked behind a glass door, you might have the key. Walmart’s Antidote to Locked Up-Products: A Key on Your Phone. (They're asking criminals to please not download the app...)

+ Shohei Can You See: The World Series drew a massive audience in Japan.

+ Wood That I Could: "Space has a major sustainability problem. When satellites made mostly of aluminum die fall back down to earth, they combust and create harmful chemicals called aluminum oxides, which can damage the ozone layer. And more and more satellites are being sent into orbit." The first satellite made of wood, yes, wood, made it to space.

6

Bottom of the News

The whole damn day is the bottom of the news. Let's do a couple cute animal stories. Baby black-footed ferrets first to be born to a cloned mom (maybe we can clone democrats). And, How Billy met Molly - the orphaned otter who is now part of the family.