The Slatest for Aug. 3: Why You Might Be Feeling So Much Election Ennui

The Slatest

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Does thinking about the 2024 election fill you with listlessness and looming dread? Is coverage of the campaign so far giving you strong feelings of déjà vu? You’re not alone!

The Trump vs. Biden rematch really does seem to be happening—but this time, it’s even more cursed. Christina Cauterucci homes in on what feels so off about the coming presidential election.

Are lawyers OK?!

Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Ty Wright/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images, Tom Williams/CQ/Roll Call via Getty Images, and Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images.

All six of the unnamed co-conspirators referenced in Donald Trump’s indictment appear to be lawyers—and this raises some serious questions about the state of the legal profession, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern write. They explain how this case represents a kind of red line for the practice of law itself.

Plus: Robert Katzberg argues that there is a fatal flaw in Trump’s best legal defense.

Profiles in note-taking

A profile in courage, Mike Pence sure ain’t—but his contemporaneous notes, which are all over Jack Smith’s indictment, might still send Trump to jail. Alexander Sammon considers what Pence’s notes reveal about him.

California loses its superpower

Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Getty Images Plus.

California was built around permanent population growth—but now it’s losing its residents. The fundamental assumptions underlying how the state is run don’t make sense anymore, William Fulton writes, while laying out what state leaders must do to adjust to this new reality.

DOJ virtue signaling

Merrick Garland sought the death penalty in prosecuting the Tree of Life shooter—and on Wednesday, the jury indeed voted to sentence Robert Bowers to death.

The verdict “adds a new wrinkle to the already confusing picture of the Biden administration’s position on the death penalty,” Austin Sarat writes. “Specifically, the administration doesn’t actually want to see Bowers executed.” He lays out what he thinks is really going on.

Reading is a lifeline

For those in solitary confinement, reading is often the only escape. The problem is that not everyone can. Incarcerated writer Kwaneta Harris shares a troubling thing she learned about her neighbors in solitary.

Lizzo’s bombshell lawsuit

Dave Simpson/WireImage

Some of Lizzo’s former dancers have filed a workplace harassment lawsuit against her—and the allegations are bananas (literally). Nadira Goffe tries to make sense of the accusations against the star and of the public’s reaction.