It’s a dead news day, so this is my only article, and I won’t be sending links messages on Care2.  I have a busy night, because I’ll be doing my grocery shopping at Amazon Prime Now.  I hope your Christmas, or _______, was whatever you hoped it would be.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:53).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Update:

Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

Playoffs:

Congrats to Patty Monster and Seth for beating Vivian and I in the semis.  Next weekend, they play in the finals, Vivian plays me in the third place game, and Wendy plays the Squatch in the fifth place game.  Good luck to all!

Short Takes:

From Newsweek: The U.S. will cut its 2018 contribution to the United Nations by $285 million—nearly 25 percent—an announcement that comes days after more than 120 nations criticized the United States for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Ambassador Nikki Haley made the announcement Sunday, but specifically blamed the world body for its budgetary excesses without making a specific reference to last week’s vote on President Donald Trump’s controversial Jerusalem decision.

This is the act of a deplorable bully! RESIST!!

From Salon.com: In a scathing editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune is calling on on Orrin Hatch — the longest serving Republican senator in history, to retire upon the completion of his seventh term, and also sharply criticized his staunch support for President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Hatch was named The Salt Lake Tribune’s 2017 Utahn of the Year, and while "the criteria are not set in stone," the award is bestowed upon a Utahn who has "made the most news" or has "had the biggest impact" either "for good or for ill."

Hatch’s can proudly wear his new title for his "part in the dramatic dismantling of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments," the editorial board wrote. Other reasons included the role Hatch played "as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in passing a major overhaul of the nation’s tax code," and "his utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power."  [emphasis added]

The SLT is spot-on in their description of Hatch, but the last statement applies equally to every Republican in office. RESIST!!

From Washington Post: Grit your teeth. Persevere. Just a few more days and this awful, rotten, no-good, ridiculous, rancorous, sordid, disgraceful year in the civic life of our nation will be over. Here’s hoping that we all — particularly special counsel Robert S. Mueller III — have a better 2018.

Many of us began 2017 with the consoling thought that the Donald Trump presidency couldn’t possibly be as bad as we feared. It turned out to be worse.

Did you ever think you would hear a president use the words “very fine people” to describe participants in a torch-lit rally organized by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan? Did you ever think you would hear a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations thuggishly threaten that she would be “taking names” of countries that did not vote on a General Assembly resolution the way she wanted? Did you ever think the government of the world’s biggest military and economic power would reject not just science but also empiricism itself, preferring to use made-up “alternative facts” as the basis for major decisions?

We knew that Trump was narcissistic and shallow, but on Inauguration Day it was possible to at least hope he was self-aware enough to understand the weight that now rested on his shoulders, and perhaps grow into the job. He did not. If anything, he has gotten worse.

And he has not hit bottom yet! RESIST!!

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Who would have imagined it.  Here in Portland, Oregon, infamous for liquid sunshine, we have a white Christmas.  I bet every Republican in town expects minorities to disappear.  My feast with Wendy was delicious, and we prepared a plate for the desk clerk who was stuck here for Christmas Eve.  She gave me a new bathrobe.  I gave her a necklace and jewelry for her piercings, some of which I’ll never get to see worn.   When we saw the snow was sticking, I sent her home early to keep her safe.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:22 (average 8:13).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Agony:

We’ll get the best draft order we’ve had in years.

Short Takes:

From Politico: House Republicans are in trouble heading into 2018.

President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, voter distaste of Washington and a highly energized Democratic base have combined into a toxic brew for the GOP and its 24-seat House majority. A record number of Democratic candidates are piling into swing districts from Southern California to northern Maine and from the Florida Keys to suburban Seattle, and Republicans trail by double-digits in many national House polls.

But ultimately, the battle for the House is a district-by-district affair. And a handful of seats scattered across the country reveal the trends that will dominate those battleground races for the next year, including huge Democratic primaries, Republicans’ growing suburban problem, and the outbreak of sexual misconduct allegations roiling more and more campaigns every week.

Here are POLITICO’s 10 most important House races of 2018 — and why they matter in the battle for the House:

Illinois’ 6th District: Revenge of the suburbs

GOP Rep. Peter Roskam won reelection handily in 2016, but his Chicagoland district saw a big shift, with President Donald Trump losing it by 7 points after Mitt Romney carried the seat by 8 points in 2012. And since Trump took office, elections in Virginia, New Jersey and a handful of congressional special elections around the country have seen local candidates fall to or even below Trump’s levels in the suburbs.

That’s a big warning sign for Roskam and other Republicans in suburbs of New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Kansas City and more heading into 2018. Democrats have to wade through a crowded primary before they face Roskam. Kelly Mazeski, who picked up an EMILY’s List endorsement and raised the most money last quarter, is leading the pack, though anything can happen in a field of seven candidates. But even a bruised Democratic opponent may not stem the tide against Roskam and other suburban congressmen.

“Increasingly socially progressive, suburban voters have been drifting away from the GOP for years,” said Ian Russell, former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee deputy executive director. “Trump dramatically accelerated this movement, and the tax bill will only further alienate them.”

I shared one. Click through for the other nine. RESIST!!

From BuzzFeed: Turns out, a guy named Robert Strong sent the Mnuchins a large wrapped box filled with horse poo in the name of the American people. Good, ole, organic horse shit that he "borrowed" from some friends to make a political statement…

…Strong also attached a hand-written card that read: "Dear Misters Trump and Mnuchin, we are returning your Christmas gift of the Republican tax plan because it’s complete horse shit. Sincerely, the American people."

Now you know who the hero is and what he looks like.  RESIST!!

From Common Dreams: In an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Donald Trump for "bragging" about a provision in the GOP tax bill that could leave 13 million more Americans without health insurance and argued that the U.S. should instead be working toward guaranteeing healthcare to all Americans as a right.

"Instead of bragging about more Americans without health insurance, we should join every other major country on Earth, guarantee healthcare for all people, and end the absurdity of paying twice as much per capita for healthcare as every other major nation," the Vermont senator said.

Amen Bernie! Thank you! RESIST!!

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