New Hampshire primary voting will not end until 8PM ET.   Donald Trump should beat Nikki Haley by double-digits.   The  next contest will be in Nevada , which is rather confusing, and I should stop here, but won't.   Democrats and Republicans couldn't agree on primary or caucus, and this is now a mess. For those citizens choosing the primary system (which means to vote by showing up at a polling place), early voting begins on January 27 and runs through February 2.   Here is the list of who is running .  20 individuals, including Biden and Haley, but no Trump. This I'm not certain, but I think Democrats will only use the above system, while Republicans have the option to do one or both. The matter of who is running does not matter, and candidates had the option of being in the primary or caucus, but only one. And, get this, Republicans can either vote only, or also show up at a caucus, which will occur on Thursday, February 8 between 5PM and 7:30PM. You with me so far? It 

Before science day, a couple of news items: Nothing to seriously worry about, but  our U.S. Congress has to act by 11:59PM Friday night before government funding runs out .   First, there is an announced compromise, which is shaky, and there seems to be no way for the full Congress to act until next week. Anyway, this stopgap measure is only until very early March, when they need to pass another stopgap bill. But not to worry anyway, for  since 1976 the Congress has had 22 funding gaps . Each time, the nation survived. Congressional leaders  met with President Joe Biden  today in the White House, and tried to work out something to combine immigration with Israel/Ukraine war funding. Easy to blame Republicans for what is happening. Let's see if Speaker Mike Johnson survives this mini-crisis, for he committed the cardinal sin of actually working out a deal with Democrats, and will need them to actually pass the needed legislation in the House. About that circus called the Republican

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday, and also the kick-off to the voting for the U.S. president on November 5.  How important is the Iowa caucus? This caucus will only select 1.6% of Republican delegates to Milwaukee in mid-July. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans in Iowa are either white evangelical or white born again Christians. Since 2000, no Iowa Republican winner has ever become president .  However, in 2016, Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump.  Then Trump in 2000 beat off challengers, but lost to Joe Biden. Only Barack Obama in 2008 won the Democratic vote and went on to become president. In 2020, Biden lost to Pete Buttigieg, made a recovery in South Carolina, which will be the third primary site, and will probably determine which Republican will become the party nominee for president. Why? The way these caucuses/primaries are organized, independents can sometimes determine the winner. While all states generally allow anyone to show up and say they are Republican,

The following calendar from JustSecurity is a  list of all upcoming Donald Trump trials . While the full calendar below tracks hundreds of events, here are the   top 25 legal and political dates   as of now:  Monday, January 8, 2024   –   GA: Motions (other than motions   in limine ) due (for all defendants except Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark and David Shafer) Tuesday, January 9, 2024   –    DC Trump Case: Oral arguments in Trump D.C. Circuit appeal of Judge Chutkan order denying his motions to dismiss based on Presidential Immunity and constitutional grounds, at 9:30 AM ;   MAL: Joint discovery status report due ;   Oregon 14A: Parties supplemental briefing due on (1) whether the plaintiffs have standing, and (2) what authority the Oregon Secretary of State has in the matter Thursday, January 11, 2024   –   NY Civil Fraud: Parties closing arguments Monday, January 15, 2024   – Iowa Republican Presidential Caucuses Tuesday, January 16, 2024   –   MAL: Defendants motions to compel discov