December 20, 2023

Vol. 12, No. 2069

TRUMPED: In an historic first, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump cannot be on the state’s primary ballot next March because of his actions involving the January 6^th insurrection. The court ruled that the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution passed after the Civil War disqualifies people who engage in insurrection against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it.

  The court’s 4-3 decision said, “We agree that President Trump intended that his speech would result in the use of violence or lawless action on January 6 to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.” It says, “A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president.”

  The Trump campaign issued a statement saying, “”Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group’s scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump’s name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice.”

  Hmmm … who do you think wrote that?

  Trump’s people immediately said the ruling would be appealed to the US Supreme Court and his campaign sent out a fundraising appeal spring boarding off the decision. 

  Similar lawsuits to exclude Trump from the ballot have been filed in many states. The Colorado court put their decision on hold until January 4^th, just before the state ballot names are certified. If the Supreme Court takes up the case, issues a stay, and takes months to make a decision, Trump could be on the primary ballot, but this does threaten whether he will be on the state’s ballot next November. 

MEIN TRUMPF: Speaking at a rally in Iowa last night, Donald Trump continued railing against immigrants but altered his language a bit. Instead of saying immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country, Trump said immigrants from Africa, Asia, and South America are “destroying the blood of our country.”

  “That’s what they’re doing. They’re destroying our country,” Trump said. “They don’t like it when I said that. And I never read ‘Mein Kampf.’ They said, ‘Oh, Hitler said that.’”

DETOUR: With Houthi rebels out of Yemen firing missiles and threatening piracy, the world’s largest shipping companies are beginning to reroute traffic south away from the Red Sea around the tip of Africa. 

  About 12 percent of world shipping trade passes through the Red Sea connecting to the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean. A detour around Africa adds close to two weeks to a voyage and is sure to affect oil prices.

  “This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement released just after midnight in Bahrain. The US announced the establishment of a regional naval task force to protect shipping, but so far only tiny Bahrain has signed on. The US and British navies have been busy shooting down drones and missiles aimed at commercial ships.   

FROM THE FRONT: Leaders of Hamas are reported to be in talks with several countries about a cease-fire in Gaza with the purpose of negotiating the release of hostages taken on October 7^th. Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to hold talks with Egyptian officials about a possible truce.

  A senior Hamas official, Basem Naim, told The NY Times in a text exchange, “No negotiations under fire.” Naim said Israel would have to honor the cease-fire and allow unlimited aid to enter Gaza before discussing hostages. “Stop the aggression first,” he wrote, adding: “Allow all the needed aid to enter. Then we can start a comprehensive negotiation.”

NORTHERN LIGHTS: A spectacular volcanic eruption continues on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland not far from the evacuated town of Grindavik. Fountains of lava are spewing into the air and flowing downhill. The town was evacuated. 

THE SPIN RACK: Several Texas civil rights groups filed a lawsuit to stop a new immigration-enforcement law that would make unauthorized entry over the Texas southern border a state crime. — Eleven four-star military promotions were approved by the Senate after Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville finally dropped his objections held since February in protest of military policy offering travel money for service women to obtain abortions. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill to create a task force to examine the possibility of making reparations for slavery. — Former NY Giants running back Derek Ward, who won a Super Bowl ring, has been arrested in connection with a string of robberies in Los Angeles. — The pilot and photographer aboard a Philadelphia local news helicopter were killed yesterday when the chopper crashed in New Jersey woodland. — Minnesota unveiled a new state flag that does away with the old design featuring a white farmer and a spear-carrying Indian on horseback. The very modern new flag has a bright North Star against a dark blue shape of the state with light blue representing the state’s waters.  

BELOW THE FOLD: The NY Times notes that in the legislative chaos of 2023, the Republican led House took 724 votes and passed only 26 bills. The House has not passed bills to grant more military aid to Israel and Ukraine, but you can’t say they aren’t working.

  Among the bills passed are:

– Requiring the treasury secretary to mint coins in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.

– Designating the clinic of the Veterans Affairs Department in Indian River, Michigan as the “Pfc. Justin T. Paton Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.”

– Designate the clinic of the Veterans Affairs Department in Gallup, NM, as the Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura VA Clinic.

– Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act.

– And finally, a measure to authorize use of electronic federal duck hunting permit stamps in lieu of physical stamps.