Although I did get some sleep last night, this morning I feel totally shot, and I have a bunch of chores this afternoon, so I need to take a one day vacation from the Republican Rectumite Rampaged and get some rest.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:50 (average 4:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
I’m happy to report that I finally slept about seven hours last night. It wasn’t enough to repair the damage from over a week of Reich Induced Insomnia, but it’s a start.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:27 (average 6:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: A little over a month from now, the 538 Electoral College members will come together and throw in their “votes” to choose our next president. By that time, Hillary Clinton will have somewhere around 2,000,000 more citizen votes than Donald Trump. David Wasserman over at the Cook Political Report has been keeping an up-to-date tally of the 2016 presidential election vote counts here. As of this diary, Hillary Clinton has 61,964,263 votes while Donald Trump has 60,961,967. Using my fingers, that comes out to a 1,002,296 vote lead for the Democratic nominee. That number will continue to grow.
There are a few things to take away from this fact.
The last time we had a president voted in without popular support from the citizens of the United States, we ended up with two wars, axis of evils, a destabilized Middle East that has turned into ISIS, and a bankrupted economy being supported by the most disproportionate income gaps since the Great Depression.
The last time this happened, I called it the Fourth Reich. The Reich was searching for a way to keep Crawford Caligula in power beyond his second term, but the Republicans tanked the economy so badly that the Reich failed. The Fifth Reich is pending, God help us!
From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): Real or Fake: Extra Special Announcement
Her new season is the best news I’ve hears this week. Hey Squatch!! Send us a few more Canucks like Thunder!!
From YouTube (GQ Channel): No, This is Not Normal Pre-Presidential Behavior | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann
Amen, Keith, except for one thing. Calling Giuliani a whore is just too insulting. Prostitutes don’t deserve such a vile comparison. RESIST!
Cartoon:
The Republican will never find its way to sanity. To complete the maze, it would have to turn left.
It’s not only a cold muggy day, but also very busy. I’m waiting for a grocery delivery, and will have to put everything away, when it arrives. Later Wendy is coming to scour the stinky TomCat, and do some light housework. I’ll feed her chili dawgs. Sleep is still slow in coming.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:47 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Media Matters: In the wake of the 2016 election, one thing has become increasingly clear: there is a huge problem with the news that tens of millions of Americans get from Facebook.
According to a recent Pew poll, 62% of Americans now get news on social media, with Facebook overwhelmingly being the most popular platform. And yet too often it was not news that Americans found on Facebook, but rather fake stories dressed up as the news.
Evidence shows that Facebook is riddled with lies. One report even found that teenagers in Macedonia were able to game Facebook and get their Trump propaganda posts shared into the news feeds of millions.
Earlier this year, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sat down with conservatives who complained that right-wing news was suppressed on Facebook. It was after that meeting that Facebook fired their human editors and replaced them all with algorithms. This decision further unleashed fake news on Facebook.
A new bombshell report revealed that Facebook knew about the fake news problem and had the ability to do something about it, but declined to fix the issue out of fear that the right-wing would complain.
If we have learned anything from the past two decades, it is that it is crucial not to cave to right-wing bullying and manipulations.
Despite overwhelming data and insider reporters, Mark Zuckerberg refuses to even acknowledge the problem publicly. (Which is odd given that he was willing to sit down with discredited right-wing misinformers over totally unsubstantiated cries of bias)
Join us in asking Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to take two concrete steps:
It’s high time that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook fix their fake news problem and address the fever swamp/cesspool of misinformation that Facebook has become.
If that hurts liberals, so be it. If that hurts conservatives, so be it. If that hurts teenagers publishing fake news in Macedonia, so be it. Let the chips fall where they may.
It’s time for the truth to have its day. That’s all we’re asking for.
I am sharing the entire article, because Media Matters want'[s it shared. Considering that Facebook, which I quit many years ago, is owned by a collection of Billionaires, Banksters, and Vulture Capitalists, is this any surprise? Please click through and sign the petition.
From Daily Kos: Share this article
That didn’t take long. Not even a week has passed, and the president elect’s team is already warning Trump critics to be "careful" about the way they criticize Trump.
[Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid] on Friday had said that "the election of Donald Trump has emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry in America" and that "white nationalists, Vladimir Putin and ISIS are celebrating Donald Trump’s victory, while innocent, law-abiding Americans are wracked with fear." […]
Then, she added: "He should be very careful about characterizing somebody in a legal sense. He thinks — he thinks he’s just being some kind of political pundit there, but I would say be very careful about the way you characterize it."
Donald Trump’s minions seem to be confused about this, so let’s fill them in on something they’re going to need to know going forward: The President of the United States has the least legal protection against criticism or libel of anyone in the country. As the ultimate public figure, courts are obliged to grant public citizens wide leeway. This is why, for example, elected public officials, private citizens, and the Fox News channel have been repeatedly able to peddle 100% false information about Barack Obama for a decade with absolutely no repercussions.
With the takeover of SCOTUS by SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD) virtually guaranteed, that is likely to change.
From YouTube (GQ Channel): Should We Give Donald Trump a Chance? | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann
Amen!
Cartoon:
I had another restless night. I’m trying, but as I lay in bed, it’s often hours before sleep comes. I guess I just need more time to wrap my mind around how to oppose the rectum Reich.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:14 (average 5:18). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Fantasy Football Report:
Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football league (Lefty Blog Friends).
Scores:
This week, it was Rob’s turn to stomp my poor Kitty Dingles.
Standings:
Congrats to Rob for sole possession of the lead. I now have sole possession of the cellar.
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: We’re immediately seeing how our nation’s First Amendment will "change" under Trump. Anti-Trump protesters were “hired,” Trumpites say; public opposition to his administration is not just illegitimate, but itself a conspiracy by elites against his movement. His potential Homeland Security chief, David Clark, said the protests had no "legitimate reason" and "should be quelled."
Trump can’t do these things himself. Bill O’Reilly, however, can do these things. Sean Hannity or Fox & Friends can do these things. By spreading the message that dissenters themselves are a conspiracy against Trump fueled by dark forces, they can help Trump not just demonize those opponents but take unprecedented steps against the press and the public.
A Trump administration may declare that they cannot allow the press access that is traditionally allowed because—as Trump has already tweeted—the press is "inciting" protests
I have no doubt that the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, would love to dismantle the First Amendment for their Fuhrer.
From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): New Cabinet Installation: Part 1
ARGH!!
From YouTube: New Cabinet Installation: Part 2
As much as I love Sam, I’m just not laughing. I hope you can.
Cartoon:
I'm still very tired, because I have had almost no sleep over what is happening to our nation.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today's took me 2:48 (average 5:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: …But then I thought, Maybe not. There’s a strong argument that there’s nothing more hilarious to a child than the notion of adults screwing up. The cliché of the bumbling sitcom dad, as well as every Kevin James movie ever made, relies on this principle. When kids see adults do something stupid, it makes them feel smarter and more secure about their own place in the world. Finally, I had something I could work with.
When my daughter came home, I sat her down at the kitchen table, gave her a Kit Kat from her hoard of Halloween candy, and offered this explanation of the election: “Imagine the stupidest thing you could ever do, like peeing on a stack of pancakes. Now, imagine that the United States is a stack of pancakes. Millions of grownups just peed on it.”
She started giggling. This explanation made sense to her. As she ran off to play, I was relieved, and grateful for the alacrity with which children laugh at their elders. But I am still waiting for someone to explain the election to me.
Wow Andy! What a perfect way to explain the election of Fuhrer Drumphenfarten to a child. This is the end of the article, Everyone, please click through for the beginning.
From YouTube (SNL Channel)(Hat-Tip JD): Election Week Cold Open
This brought me agonized tears for my country.
If you cannot access this SNL video because you're in Canada or elsewhere, try http://globalnews.ca/news/3063982/kate-mckinnons-hillary-clinton-sings-leonard-cohens-hallelujah-in-post-election-snl-skit/?sf42252769=1
From Think Progress: On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Steve Bannon as “Chief Strategist to the President.” Bannon is the proprietor of Breitbart, a website that promotes and caters to the alt-right, a euphemism for people who promote white nationalist and white supremacist ideologies.
Ben Shapiro, who worked alongside Bannon as Editor-at-Large of Breitbart, said that under Bannon’s leadership “Breitbart has become the alt-right go-to website… pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate response to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.”
In short, Fuhrer Drumphenfarten's right hand man in the White House is a Nazi. The Alt-Right are calling Bannon "Trump's Minister of Propaganda" and celebrating.
Cartoon:
That's what Republican Supply-side Jesus (the opposite of the real Jesus) promised. That's what he did.
I wakened early today from a too brief fitful sleep. I dreamed that I was basking in sunshine on a warm day with a cool breeze. Suddenly a storm rolled in and blotted out the sun. Lightning flashed threateningly and hail battered everything. Then the storm coalesced into an image of Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten. I woke up screaming. Wendy will be coming in just a few minutes to de-stink the TomCat, help with cleaning, help with cooking, and do some repairs on my power chair. It’s a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos and the Saints will be televised in the early game, so this won’t be published until after it is over. My the Orb shine it’s blessed light on every team but one.
We made enough of my green cloud chili to declare war on US voters.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:38 (average 4:25). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Religious Decrease in Horror:
The impending rectum Reich prevents ecstasy, but what a finish.
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Speaking to reporters late Friday night, President-elect Donald Trump revealed that he had Googled Obamacare for the first time earlier in the day.
“I Googled it, and, I must say, I was surprised,” he said. “There was a lot in it that really made sense, to be honest.”
He said that he regretted that the frenetic pace of the presidential campaign had prevented him from Googling Obamacare earlier. “You’re always running, running, running,” he said. “There were so many times that I made a mental note to Google Obamacare but I just never got around to it.”
Trump also told the reporters that, now that the campaign was over, he had finally found the time to Google Mexico.
Dang, Andy! Do you think that fool will decide to keep part of Mexico too?
From Think Progress: Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., a prominent Trump campaign surrogate and Fox News regular, is reportedly under consideration to be Secretary of Homeland Security in the new administration. But his obsession with shutting down the mostly peaceful anti-Trump protests across the nation seems to be his top concern at the moment.
Seizing on reports that there was some violence at protests, Clarke unleashed a series of tweets denouncing the actions of “goon anarchists” and calling for the the National Guard to get involved.
There are few things uglier than Republican abuse of power by a race traitor.
From TPM: Florida state Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had endorsed Donald Trump presidential bid, said on Friday that she has joined the President-elect’s transition team.
"I’m honored to serve President-elect Donald J. Trump in making this historic transition and assisting in finding the best individuals to bring change to Washington on day one, grow our economy, protect our children and families, and be unafraid to stand up for Americans," Bondi told Politico.
Bondi’s connections to Trump stirred controversy during the campaign when it was revealed that a political group backing Bondi solicited a donation from Trump’s charity as Bondi was considering a lawsuit against Trump University. After the group received the donation from the Trump Foundation, Bondi decided against taking up the lawsuit. Trump’s campaign has insisted that the donation to Bondi was a mistake.
Mistake my ass!! It was a crime!! The list of incompetent criminals on Fuhrer Drumphenfarten’s transition team is growing.
Cartoon:
I’m still extremely tired. I had little sleep last night, because I inadvertently participated in a riot, and did so from the edge of my bed. See my lead article today.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:31 (average 4:46). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes (all from Real Time Channel):
From YouTube: Lessons for Democrats
He sure made a point about being too nice.
From YouTube: Eric Holder: Abolish the Electoral College
I disagree with needing a Constitutional Amendment, Visit National Popular Vote to see how to do it.
From YouTube: New Rule: We’re Still Here
I wonder if the North Korean immigration website crashed from attempts by Americans to escape the Fifth Reich of Fuhrer Drumphenfarten. Like most of us, I’m still here. Like far too few of us, I’m fighting back.
Cartoon:
Not the ear.
I am still so upset, that sleep does not come. ARGH! I feel exhausted.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:55 (average 6:11). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Washington Post: Russian government officials conferred with members of Donald Trump’s campaign team, a senior Russian diplomat said Thursday, a disclosure that could reopen scrutiny of the Kremlin’s role in the president-elect’s bitter race against Hillary Clinton.
The statement came from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who said in an interview with the state-run Interfax news agency that “there were contacts” with the Trump team.
“Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Ryabkov said.
There’s the proof. Not only is Herr Reichsfuhrer Drumpfenfarten (R-#NotMyPresident) is Putin’s dog, but also, he seditiously conspired with a foreign government to hoodwink US voters.
From The Last Word: Electoral College turns a win to a loss
Lawrence provided fascinating history to explain how the people’s will has been overcome by the loser to install a Republican, again.
From The Rachel Maddow Show: Anti-Trump protests grip cities nationwide
I’m proud that Portland is among them.
Cartoon:
