Welcome to Friday, December 20th, solids and liquids...

Seven Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in Los Angeles Thursday night, one day after the (D)-controlled House impeached President Donald Trump.

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There was the usual debate talk: of healthcare, of taxes, of climate change.

But there were also multiple references to a "wine cave."

We pop a bottle of Hall Wine and look at some of the finest quotes of the final Democratic debate of 2019 here (including a pic of the cave-in-question). For now, here's a sample flight:

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "We made the decision many years ago that rich people in smoke-filled rooms would not pick the next president of the United States. Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States."

(This was a dig at South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who's been taking heat for a fundraiser held in a wine cave in Napa Valley. Buttigieg retorted: “You know, according to Forbes magazine, I’m literally the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or a billionaire.")

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang: “It is both an honor and disappointment to be the lone candidate of color on the stage tonight. I miss Kamala and I miss Cory, although I think Cory will be back."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: "I came here to make a case for progress. And I have never even been to a wine cave. I have been to the wind cave in South Dakota, which I suggest you go to. So what is making a case for progress about? That is what unites us up here instead of what divides us, which is campaign finance reform."

What do you think of the 2020 Democratic contenders?

On the Radar

Withholding Impeachment Articles

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has suggested she’ll delay sending the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate until Democrats are guaranteed a “fair trial.”

Pelosi said she’ll move forward “when we see the process set forth in the Senate."

“So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us,” Pelosi told reporters after the lower-chamber approved two articles of impeachment. “That would’ve been our intention, but we’ll see what happens over there.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who will oversee the upper-chamber’s trial, has said he has no plans to act as an “impartial juror” and will coordinate with the White House.

In response to Pelosi’s comments about delaying delivery, McConnell accused the House speaker of “shoddy work” and derided Democrats as being “too afraid” to send the articles to the Senate.

Do you support delaying delivery of impeachment articles until Democrats are guaranteed a fair trial?

Under the Radar

Individual Mandate Unconstitutional?

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate” is unconstitutional, though it’s left the law intact for now.

By a 2-1 vote, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Obamacare's individual mandate - directing Americans to obtain health insurance - was unlawful, properly eliminated by Congress, and therefore the entire ACA could not be enforced.

"The most straightforward reading applies: the mandate is a command. Using that meaning, the individual mandate is unconstitutional," Wednesday's ruling states.

The panel sent the issue back to the lower court to decide whether other aspects of the ACA must also be eliminated.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), who’s leading the coalition of states defending the law, argued: "Americans don't need to be jerked around when it comes to their health care."

"For California, and I think millions of Americans, it is indispensable to get clarity and certainty. And the best way to get certainty is to go to the Supreme Court," Becerra said.

Do you support ending Obamacare's individual mandate?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Replace NAFTA?

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Also Worth a Click

Congress Raises Age to Buy Tobacco, E-Cigarettes to 21

And, in the End...

I'm typing this and you're reading this because of what happened on this date in 1990:

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On December 20th, 1990, the world's first website and server went live at CERN. It's recreated here: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

May your voice not crack as you celebrate this Go Caroling Day,

—Josh Herman

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