‘The president-elect is once again obsessing over the petty aesthetics of his inauguration…’ (Nikki McCann Ramirez via Rolling Stone)

‘Justice Juan Merchan, in an 18-page opinion and order, rejected a number of trump’s arguments against his sentencing, including that a president-elect is entitled to the same immunity as a president. He also rejected a motion to dismiss trump’s case in the interest of justice. Among the factors the court found weighing against dismissal was trump’s character: “Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.” In a related scathing footnote, Merchan accused trump’s lawyers of engaging in “dangerous rhetoric” in attacking the integrity of the court.

The footnote might also signal something about the peculiar timing of the ruling, so close to trump’s reascent to the presidency and with no time left for any sentence to be carried out. In it, Merchan all but accuses trump’s attorneys, led by trump’s nominee for deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, of attempting to intimidate the judge in their recent pleadings. The implication could be that Merchan is laying down a marker that he will go ahead with the sentencing at this late date to demonstrate that the judiciary will not be intimidated by the incoming president.

Merchan notes specifically that trump’s filings “accuse … this Court of engaging in ‘unlawful’ and ‘unconstitutional’ conduct,” adding that such terms are synonymous with “criminally punishable.” Merchan then cited Chief Justice John Roberts’ recent paean to the sanctity of judicial independence. “Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed.”…’ (Richard Hasen and Jeremy Stahl via Slate)

Advice for defeating the authoritarian threat

‘It is hard to compete with Woody Guthrie’s timeless list of New Year resolutions from 1943, which includes these ever-relevant goals:

• Work more and better.
• Read lots of good books.
• Keep hoping machine running.
• Help win war – beat fascism.
• Wake up and fight.

But here’s a list of FrameLab resolutions as we head into 2025:

• Be Brave.
• Cultivate empathy.
• Stay focused.
• Be Proactive.
• Foster real connections.
• Avoid brain rot and lies.
• Share a positive message when possible.
• Demand accountability.
• Engage young people.
• Don’t help Trump.
• Don’t argue with his supporters.
• Remember: This is a regime.
• Learn from history.
• Support artists and the arts.
• Celebrate victories. 
• Persist! Persistence is the best resistance….’ (George Lakoff and Gil Duran via FrameLab)

‘The business of measuring big waves is a tricky one. There’s multiple entities with their own calculation methods, there’s debate about where waves bottom out and where they peak, and there’s the endless stream of keyboard warriors speculating, arguing, and offering armchair analyses.
Unlike other, more objective world records, computing wave size is a byzantine science.
Nevertheless, there’s a new contender for the Guinness World Record of “Largest Wave Surfed,” as tossed into the ring by Alessandro “Alo” Slebir with his monster ride at Maverick’s from December 23rd, 2024. It’s speculated, potentially, that Alo’s wave measured 108 feet. And that would smash the current record held by Sebastian Steudtner and his 86-footer at Nazaré, Portugal in 2020….’ (via surfer.com.)