Top Items:
Zeynep Tufekci / The Atlantic:
‘This Must Be Your First’ — On the evening of September 11, 1980, my mom was approached by a neighbor who held rank in the Turkish military. He told her to stock up on bread and rice. “Oh, another coup,” she immediately groaned. The neighbor was aghast—he wasn't supposed to tell anyone what was coming.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, Conservative News Today, New York Times, Scripting News and Election Law Blog
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Kelly Loeffler disqualified herself at Sunday night's debate — Of all the vile ways that Republicans have sought to justify President Trump's effort to overturn his election loss, one of the worst is the ubiquitous claim that Trump is merely pursuing his legal right to contest the results.
A.B. Stoddard / The Bulwark:
What If Trump Is Trying To Break the GOP? — The future of the Republican party is an endless series of loyalty tests and Trump family vendettas. Good luck. — It's hard for Republicans to think straight these days. Stop the count, no, wait—do a recount. Elections are rigged and fraudulent.
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Daily News, ABC News, Politico, HotAir, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, New York Times and Daily Kos
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Why Kemp won't call a special session to illegally overturn Georgia's election — Gov. Brian Kemp has already defied President Donald Trump's calls to illegally overturn Georgia's election results. Now he and other Republican leaders are shooting down an effort by pro-Trump legislators …
Discussion:
New York Post, secure.campaigner.com, Wall Street Journal, UPI, Bloomberg, The Week, Washington Examiner, BuzzFeed News, The Hill and Washington Times
Jeff Amy / Associated Press:
Georgia governor again rejects lawmakers replacing electors
Georgia governor again rejects lawmakers replacing electors
Discussion:
Business Insider, Mad Mimi, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, HotAir, Washington Times, Townhall, Washington Post, Washington Examiner and CNN
Dave Boucher / Detroit Free Press:
‘The people have spoken’: Michigan judge rejects lawsuit from disavowed Trump attorney — A Michigan federal judge has ruled against a sweeping legal bid to overturn election results in the state, determining the lawsuit brought by an ally of President Donald Trump was riddled with “theories …
Discussion:
The Hill, HotAir, CNBC, Associated Press, Reason, WXIA-TV, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, The Right Scoop, Forbes and Lucianne
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Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Judge Removes Tentacle of ‘Kraken’ Election-Toppling Bid in Michigan: ‘The People Have Spoken’ — Slapping down one of the so-called “Kraken” cases pushed by pro-Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, a federal judge in Michigan cut off one of the arms of their efforts to overturn battleground elections.
Discussion:
Business Insider, TheBlaze and The American Independent
David Wickert / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia court rejects latest Trump lawsuit over faulty paperwork
Georgia court rejects latest Trump lawsuit over faulty paperwork
Discussion:
UPI, Raw Story, The Federalist and Washington Times
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Federal Judge Dismisses Georgia ‘Kraken’ Suit Hours After Sidney Powell Failed in Michigan
Federal Judge Dismisses Georgia ‘Kraken’ Suit Hours After Sidney Powell Failed in Michigan
Discussion:
Business Insider, POLITICUSUSA and The American Independent
Pete Williams / NBC News:
‘Nothing but speculation and conjecture’: Judge swats down GOP lawsuit to decertify Biden's Michigan win
‘Nothing but speculation and conjecture’: Judge swats down GOP lawsuit to decertify Biden's Michigan win
Discussion:
Detroit News, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Axios, Forbes and Accountable.US
Stephen Fowler / Georgia Public Broadcasting:
Judge Finds ‘Kraken’ Election Challenge Lacking, Dismisses Lawsuit
Judge Finds ‘Kraken’ Election Challenge Lacking, Dismisses Lawsuit
Discussion:
The Daily Beast
Lev Facher / STAT:
Leading Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna decline invitations to White House ‘Vaccine Summit’ — Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump …
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Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump to sign coronavirus vaccine executive order prioritizing Americans over foreign nations
Trump to sign coronavirus vaccine executive order prioritizing Americans over foreign nations
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, CNBC, Townhall and American Military News
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
How Kelly Loeffler got backed into admitting Donald Trump lost — (CNN)Since coming to the Senate in January, Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler has been the single biggest supporter of President Donald Trump's agenda. But even she knows the jig is up when it comes to his ongoing attempts to contest an election that he quite clearly lost.
Discussion:
Georgia Recorder, Business Insider, The Nation, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, IJR, National Review, CBS News, The Guardian and Politico
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Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Kelly Loeffler Did Her Best Robot Rubio Impression at the Georgia Senate Debate
Kelly Loeffler Did Her Best Robot Rubio Impression at the Georgia Senate Debate
Discussion:
CNN
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Hawley urges Trump to veto Covid bill absent stimulus checks — Sen. Josh Hawley is not happy that the leading coronavirus proposals lack another round of direct payments to Americans — and he's taking his case straight to President Donald Trump. — The Missouri Republican lobbied Trump …
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Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Bob Dylan Sells His Songwriting Catalog in Blockbuster Deal — Universal Music purchased his entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs in what may be the biggest acquisition ever of a single act's publishing rights. — Bob Dylan's memoir “Chronicles: Volume One” …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week, Variety, The Daily Caller, Althouse, The Wrap, New York Post, KVIA-TV, Boing Boing and EconomicPolicyJournal.com, more at Mediagazer »
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
The ‘Safe Harbor’ Deadline Is upon Us — On the menu today: As of tomorrow, under U.S. law, the 2020 presidential election is really, really, really over, under something called the “safe harbor deadline.” The Supreme Court might weigh in on Representative Mike Kelly's suit …
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, LifeNews.com, Law & Crime, TheBlaze, Israpundit, POLITICUSUSA and The Gateway Pundit
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Nicholas Rowan / Washington Examiner:
Supreme Court declines to hear transgender bathroom case
Supreme Court declines to hear transgender bathroom case
Discussion:
Politico
Jordan Libowitz / CREW:
CREW obtains receipts for Pompeo's notorious “Madison Dinners” … Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent more than $40,000 in taxpayer money on a series of “Madison Dinners” attended by major donors and figures in the Republican party, according to documents obtained by CREW.
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Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Pompeo to speak in Georgia as Senate run-offs loom
Pompeo to speak in Georgia as Senate run-offs loom
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios and Political Wire
Daniel Barbarisi / Outside Online:
The Man Who Found Forrest Fenn's Treasure — The decade-long hunt captured the world's attention, but when it finally ended in June, everyone still wanted to know: Who had solved the mystery? This week, as legal proceedings threaten his anonymity, a 32-year-old medical student is ready to go on the record.
Discussion:
CBS News, Washingtonian and INSIDER
Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Georgia Recertifies Its Results After 2nd Recount Affirmed Biden's Victory — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill face a set of looming challenges this week: breaking a stalemate on coronavirus relief negotiations, pushing through legislation needed to keep the government funded past Friday and neutralizing …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, The New Arab, IJR, CNN, The Intellectualist, The Week and Political Wire
Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Federal watchdog finds Peter Navarro violated Hatch Act — The Office of Special Counsel issued a report on Monday finding that White House trade adviser Peter Navarro repeatedly violated the Hatch Act — which restricts government employees from engaging in partisan political activities …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Forbes and Political Wire
Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:
Armed protesters alleging voter fraud surrounded the home of Michigan's secretary of state — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had just finished wrapping string lights around her home's portico on Saturday evening and was about to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Business Insider, MLive.com, The Root, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and TheGrio
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Miriam Marini / Detroit Free Press:
Protesters descend on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's home after dark
Protesters descend on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's home after dark
Discussion:
Fox News, CBS News, NPR, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Political Wire, The Hill, Axios and Genevieve
Bryan Alexander / USA Today:
Matthew McConaughey criticizes Hollywood ‘far left;’ says the right is in election ‘denial’ — Matthew McConaughey is doing his best to demonstrate during his current, seemingly unending book promotional tour that he is different from other Hollywood stars who discuss politics.
Discussion:
Twitchy, Mercury News, The Federalist and Summit News
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Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
McConaughey criticizes Hollywood for ‘arrogant’ attitude toward Trump supporters
McConaughey criticizes Hollywood for ‘arrogant’ attitude toward Trump supporters
Discussion:
Sara A. Carter and Page Six
David A. Weaver / The Hill:
Social Security Administration is preparing to bar 500,000 Americans from getting benefits — Over the weekend, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sent the Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget a proposal that — if similar to a version leaked earlier this year …
Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
No, The Georgia Vote-Counting Video Was Not ‘Debunked.’ Not Even Close — A Big Tech-backed ‘fact’ ‘checking’ outfit claimed to debunk explosive evidence for Republicans' claims of significant election problems in Georgia. It didn't. — A Big Tech-backed “fact” “checking” …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, National File, WXIA-TV and Washington Post
New York Times:
The Places That Had the Biggest Swings Toward and Against Trump — Education was a key dividing line, but other things mattered, too. — With most of the slow-to-report votes tallied, we finally have a clearer picture of last month's presidential results.
Wilson Wong / NBC News:
Former Alabama senator dies of Covid at age 78, and in his last words warns, ‘We messed up’ … A former Alabama state senator died of Covid-19 last week at age 78, officials said. — Former Sen. Larry Dixon, a Republican who also served as the executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners …
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Millions of Americans are heading into the holidays unemployed and over $5,000 behind on rent — Economists warn many unemployed families won't be able to pay rent and utilities without more stimulus aid from Congress — Millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic …
Discussion:
The Week and The Intellectualist
RFE / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Iranian Official Rejects Rumors Of Supreme Leader's Failing Health — An Iranian official has rejected online rumors that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is gravely ill, saying that the 81-year-old cleric was going about his business as usual. — “By the grace of God and with the good prayers …
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: The government funding plan — UPDATE ... AS WE REPORTED SUNDAY NIGHT, it's now certain that Congress is going to pass a one-week stopgap funding bill, which will avert a shutdown at the end of this week, and give negotiators time to continue to try to cobble together an omnibus bill and Covid relief package.
Discussion:
KVIA-TV, Roll Call, Forbes, The American Independent, The Nation and Washington Post
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The Rudy Giuliani of the '90s Would Be Appalled at What He's Become — As Rudy Giuliani writhes in his bed at Georgetown University Medical Center, his mind might well be leafing through the storied chapters of his life and how it came to this—the hero of 9/11, “America's Mayor,” …
Discussion:
The Week, Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Ryan Browne / CNN:
Member of Pentagon advisory board resigns in protest at recent purge — Washington (CNN)A member of the Defense Business Board has resigned in protest at the Trump White House's recent purge of the board's membership, replacing members with arch Trump loyalists and campaign staffers.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Forbes
U.S. Department of Justice:
Cameroonian Operator Charged in Fraudulent Online “Puppy Scam” that Exploited the COVID-19 Pandemic — A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh charges Desmond Fodje Bobga for his alleged involvement in a puppy fraud scheme perpetrated against American consumers.