Also on today’s menu:
Funding In Pipeline For School Safety
Colorado Bans Trump From State Ballot
Gunstock Mountain Resort, Cannon Mountain, Crotched Mountain, King Pine Ski Area, Mount Sunapee, and Pats Peak were able to continue operations after heavy rain forced the shutdown of other New Hampshire ski areas.
Waterville Valley Resort suspended alpine skiing on December 19 after five inches of rain fell during a 24-hour period, but expected to reopen today. Other ski areas that closed Tuesday but expect to resume operations today are Loon Mountain, Bretton Woods, Cranmore Mountain Resort, and Ragged Mountain Resort
Several others closed for indefinite periods while they reassess the terrain, according to Ski NH: Attitash Mountain Resort, Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, Jackson XC, and Wildcat Mountain.
Discussion: It was cold enough earlier in the season for ski areas to make artificial snow, but the warmer temperatures and now the rain have depleted that base. It is surprising that any of them are able to recover so quickly.
Funding In Pipeline For School Safety
The New Hampshire Department of Education has recommended the allocation of an additional $9,668,202.68 for safety projects at 163 schools after previously awarding $13.9 million in Security Action For Education (SAFE) grants.
Among the grants are $100,000 for surveillance cameras at Ashland Elementary School; $200,000 for access control at Franklin high and middle schools; $41,095 for access control at Laconia Middle School; $42,700 for emergency alerting and $28,867 for access control at Gilford schools; and $44,126 for surveillance, $48,925 for emergency alerting, and $6,200 for access control at Hill’s Jennie D. Blake School.
Before the projects receive the recommended funding, the allocations will have to be approved the Executive Council and the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee during the first quarter of 2024.
Governor Chris Sununu said, “New Hampshire remains committed to providing as many resources as possible to communities across the state to improve security. Our community-first, hands-on collaboration between the state and local school districts is the right approach to maximize our efforts.”
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said, “The implementation of crucial school security projects is paramount, and these recommended grant awards underscore the ongoing commitment to help ensure the security of New Hampshire’s children.”
Discussion: It is unfortunate that schools have to become fortresses, but that’s the world we live in today. Fortunately, the government is taking it seriously enough to provide the financial resources to help make schools safe.
Colorado Bans Trump From State Ballot
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year because he had engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021. The ruling applies only to Colorado, and Trump plans to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
As our detailed recitation of the evidence shows, President Trump did not merely incite the insurrection. Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling Senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes. These actions constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection.
Moreover, the record amply demonstrates that President Trump fully intended to — and did — aid or further the insurrectionists’ common unlawful purpose of preventing the peaceful transfer of power in this country. He exhorted them to fight to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election. He personally took action to try to stop the certification. And for many hours, he and his supporters succeeded in halting that process.
Our independent review of the record in this case brings us to the same conclusion: President Trump incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. The tenor of President Trump’s messages to his supporters in exhorting them to travel to Washington, D.C. on January 6 was obvious and unmistakable: the allegedly rigged election was an act of war and those victimized by it had an obligation to fight back and to fight aggressively. And President Trump’s supporters did not miss or misunderstand the message: the cavalry was coming to fight.
Having made that determination, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies, making it unlawful for someone who swore allegiance to the US Constitution and then engaged in insurrection to hold the office of president. Colorado’s lower court found that, although Trump did, indeed, take part in the insurrection at the US Capitol, he could do so because a president is not an “officer” of the United States. The Supreme Court shot that argument down.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the majority wrote. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Discussion: America witnessed the insurrection on January 6, but many have become convinced that the riot was merely a peaceful protest. To be sure, not everyone marching to the Capitol that day intended to riot, but people get caught up in a crowd’s actions and tend to follow along. What is clear is that Trump incited the mob and did nothing to stop them when things got out of hand. If the US Supreme Court affirms Colorado’s decision, it would prevent Trump from appearing on any state ballot. However, the high court has demonstrated a willingness to bend the constitution, and Trump’s appeal may succeed there, especially if Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife is among the election deniers, does not recuse himself from participating in the case. We can only hope that the court, rocked by revelations about its lack of ethics in the past, will view the case on its merits. After all, the majority adheres to “originalism” — viewing the Constitution as its framers intended. The 14th Amendment was aimed at ensuring that no one who participated in the insurrection during the Civil War or any future insurrection would be allowed to become president.
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