Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican primary race, and endorsed The Donald.  Note the GOD OVER GOVERNMENT sign.  That is a surprise.  I thought both he and Nikki Haley were planning to hang in to the end, hoping Donald Trump would be judged so guilty that he couldn't continue his campaign.  Trump should win the New Hampshire vote over Haley on Tuesday, and crush her in South Carolina on February 24.  Thus, as she was governor of that state, look for her to drop out before or soon after that date. In case you were wondering what this fuss was about Biden not being on the New Hampshire primary ballot,  Democrats bypassed Iowa and New Hampshire, and will count South Carolina as the first primary state , even though no one of any substance is running against him.  New Hampshire, however, got pissed off about being sidestepped--although they say they are required by law to do this--so went on with the ballots anyway, showing his absence.  Thus, if Democrats choose to show up,

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

Time   magazine had three articles on Donald Trump's blow-out win in Iowa last night: Trump Dominates in Iowa . How Trump Took Control of the GOP Primary. In Iowa, Ron DeSantis Takes His Loss as a Win . Also,  Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchison dropped out , leaving three Republican candidates. You might wonder why DeSantis and Haley are continuing to run. They mostly harbor hopes that Trump will be prevented from running for president this year.  The Supreme Court could still make their dreams come true.  Clearly, court cases won't be any factor.  And Trump is in a New York court today. Odds are fair that Haley could beat Trump in New Hampshire, with DiSantis a distant third. However, the Donald will embarrass Nikki in her home state of South Carolina, and the end result will be similar to Iowa, with DeSantis this time in third place.  That will occur on February 27. So if Trump remains eligible to run, he will be officially nominated in mid-July. One reason will be states like

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