In a week in which Donald once again dismissed the findings of American intelligence, supported and defended a brutal regime the CIA judged as having murdered a citizen, neglected to exhort followers to “lock her up” after his daughter was found to have used private email for government business, suggested on a visit to a wildfire-ripped city whose name he could not remember that the answer to forest fires lay not in addressing climate change but raking, and named himself when asked what he was thankful for, amid other unhinged comments from Mar-A-Lago on Thanksgiving, believe it or not there was still plenty to feel optimistic about.
Two weeks after the midterms, good election news keeps trickling in: another Democrat edged out a Republican, adding to the Dems’ sweep of the House as final election results trickle in—this one in Utah, with a GOP candidate Donald decried as a “loser” for not sufficiently embracing him. And Texas State students who demanded more access to polling places may have played a decisive role in swinging Hays County blue.
Republicans Against the Law
Don John threatened to revoke Jim Acosta’s press pass to the White House the moment the court order restoring it expired at the end of the month—until CNN threated a lawsuit. The White House subsequently announced the full restoration of Acosta’s pass.
A federal judge blocked Donald’s ban on migrants seeking asylum at our border after a challenge in court by immigrant rights groups.
In Mississippi, a federal judge blocked a state law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks.
A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit against Donald for misuse of funds in his personal charity can proceed.
The FBI now classifies the white nationalist far-right group the Proud Boys as an extremist group for its history of misogyny and glorifying violence.
Environmental Advances
The Coast Guard has ordered a company that has spilled more than a million barrels of oil into the gulf since 2004 to clean up its ecological disaster.
The first climate report authored by several different agencies within Donald’s own GOP administration say they are more certain than ever that climate change poses a severe threat to Americans’ health and pocketbooks, as well as to the country’s infrastructure and natural resources.
Your Feel-good Stories for the Week
Just in time for the holidays, read this lovely piece on how we might talk about difficult issues with the ones we love from a place of shared humanity and connection. Silence in the face of racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and fear is acquiescence—but shaming and rage don’t change hearts.
Seventy percent of Americans think Mueller should be allowed to complete his investigations; 52 percent want legislation passed to protect it.