Rising This Week: Holiday lights
The Ukrainian government says: “Even in the longest darkness, light endures.” Amen.
On the first night of Hanukkah, Australian Jews celebrating the holiday on Bondi Beach were gunned down in a mass murder that killed 15 people.
Nearly simultaneously, another gunman shot two students to death at Brown University, later also killing a professor and himself. Meanwhile, the son of legendary Hollywood couple Rob and Michelle Reiner allegedly stabbed his parents to death.
I learned about the three horrific events en route to Milwaukee, Wisc., away from the first night of my own holiday celebration. As a Jewish-American journalist, the latest of a series of antisemitic mass murders was fresh in my mind while en route to cover a case with potentially profound implications for the constitutional separation of powers.
Against this backdrop in my consciousness, the Ukrainian government’s official account posted a profoundly moving message amidst the destruction wrought by Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
“Even in the longest darkness, light endures,” the Ukrainian government wrote, above the image of first candle lighting of a menorah.
As the New Year approaches, Ukraine’s message has stayed with me throughout the week. A war-torn country, led by a Jewish president, spoke of light as an act of defiance.
However urgent the moment the United States finds itself in may be, it cannot compare to Ukraine’s struggle against the onslaught of an expansionist Russian dictatorship.
The United States has peace despite the best efforts of Donald Trump’s government to declare us in an internal state of war. A judiciary under strain remains strong enough, for now, to call off military troops from the streets in three separate cities. The government’s attempts to silence the press and protests through litigation, intimidation, and prosecution largely failed, even though certain media executives chose to compromise the reputations and independence of powerful conglomerates. Historic demonstrations of defiance have cropped up throughout the country.
Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. Whatever holidays you and yours may celebrate, may we each do what we need to do to preserve the light in our lives, families, communities and nation.
As Trump ratchets up his attacks on constitutional checks and balances, many observers keep a mental ledger of perceived wins and losses to draw their conclusions about the rule of law.
Is there reason for optimism or pessimism?
In a recent interview with Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez for their podcast “Law and Chaos,” I argued that the question itself is wrong. There is reason to believe in the power of engagement.
Yes, in the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Trump appears to have the Supreme Court on “speed dial” when he needs a favorable emergency docket order, but he appears primed to lose on the constitutionality of tariffs. A defeat on birthright citizenship is also widely anticipated.
There have been few, if any, consequences for Trump’s Justice Department ignoring orders by Chief U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg and others, yet other federal judges’ orders have yielded consequential results. Federalized troops have been removed from the streets of three U.S. cities.
After a series of orders upholding due process, Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been reunited with his family in Maryland. Judges prevented the government from deporting several student activists for exercising their First Amendment rights. Major law firms that fought back against retaliations blocked executive orders threatening their business.
None of these legal victories may be the final word, but the biggest defeats came from capitulation. That was true for Trump’s attacks on academia, BigLaw, and mass media. Abstractions like institutions didn’t deflect attacks on protest, free speech, and due process. Civil society, civic engagement and mobilization did.
In the podcasts below, I explain why All Rise News has sought to step up the legal beat to include opportunities for civic engagement.
If you can afford to support that mission at this time, consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock full access to weekly previews of the week ahead.
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Will Abrego remain home for the holidays?
Also, a street theater group plans to visit an immigration detention center on Christmas Eve, and Congress ignores pressure to extend healthcare insurance subsidies.
