'In 2024, climate will be on the ballot in a way we've rarely seen'

'Far too few places show a decent chance of accelerating the transition to clean energy'

David Fickling at Bloomberg

A "sober reality is looming" for the fight against climate change next year, says David Fickling at Bloomberg. After the "legalistic niceties of environmental diplomacy" at the COP28 climate summit, "voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world's population — and roughly the same share of emissions — will go to the polls" by the end of next year. Some places might "break gridlocks on climate and energy policies." Others might see "a climate-denying backlash."

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'We should take advantage of America's federalist structure to tackle debt'

Chris Edwards at National Review

The federal debt has soared to more than $26 trillion, "or $200,000 for every household," says Chris Edwards at National Review. That's a "dangerous" level that could trigger a "financial crisis." The federal government "has never been required to balance its budget," so "imposing tighter federal spending controls" will only go so far. Moving "funding for state and local activities down to the states," could help "tackle debt," because states "have built-in layers of fiscal restraint."

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'Any well-funded third-party candidate would be a disaster for our republic'

Jim Messina in Politico

The idea that a third-party candidate can win the 2024 presidential election "is worse than a political fiction," says Jim Messina in Politico. The last half-century of elections showed third-party presidential candidates can only be spoilers in our two-party system. The No Labels group insists a "unity ticket" with a Republican and a Democrat has "a clear path to victory." That's "a dangerous lie" that would just "put Trump back in the White House." 

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'Humiliating Palestinians in revenge'

Daoud Kuttab in The New Republic

The killing of civilians came after years of Israel's dehumanizing of Palestinians, says Daoud Kuttab in The New Republic. Israeli soldiers have long made men picked up in raids strip down to their underwear, ostensibly to see if they were hiding explosives. In years of occupation, Israel has "humiliated" Palestinians "at checkpoints" and "by taking their land and dignity." This is "ugly and immoral, but also counterproductive." It plants "anger, hatred, and, eventually, a desire for revenge."

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