Not here: Henry Grabar looks at American cities’ recent track record of noncompliance with federal immigration measures and wonders whether these stances can endure the Trump administration. The answer could be yes—but cities and towns might pay a steep price.
Unlikely hope: Could John Roberts be the one to disrupt the Supreme Court’s conservative majority in the coming years? Lara Bazelon hopes the justice will have a care for his historical legacy if the court shows signs of becoming a partisan mouthpiece.
One more take: Yes, yes. You’ve probably read too much about Friday’s Hamilton-Pence kerfuffle by today. But don’t miss Mark Joseph Stern on Pence’s history of denying treatment to AIDS patients and Mark Harris on what the incident tells us about our present-day culture war.
Meanwhile, in Arkansas: People who work in poultry processing factories are winding down the brutal Thanksgiving rush, with wrenched backs, fingers wrecked by carpal tunnel, and very little power to change their situation, Gabriel Thompson finds.
A joy: Thanks, in large part, to a trickster character voiced by future president Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Disney’s Moana is a delight, Dan Kois writes. Kois’ kids loved it too.
For fun: Mermaids? Are you kidding me?
Mer-merch,
Rebecca
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