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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Wendy is due any minute now.  This is my only article today, and I will not be sending links messages on Care2.  I will have articles tomorrow.  Today is a holy day in the Church of Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos play the Foreskins, but it’s not televised here.  It’s big time cooking and eating today, and our first Winter Weather Advisory of the season.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:55).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): We Made It Through 2017

Thanks for a great year, Sam! RESIST!!

From Washington Post: Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director who has been the target of Republican critics for more than a year, plans to retire in a few months when he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

McCabe spent hours in Congress this past week, facing questions behind closed doors from members of three committees. Republicans said they were dissatisfied with his answers; Democrats called it a partisan hounding.

McCabe, 49, holds a unique position in the political firestorm surrounding the FBI . He was former director James B. Comey’s right-hand man, a position that involved him in most of the FBI’s actions that vex President Trump and in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, a matter that still riles Democrats.

McCabe won’t become eligible for his full pension until early March. People close to him say he plans to retire as soon as he hits that mark. “He’s got about 90 days, and some of that will be holiday time. He can make it,’’ one said.

He has done an excellent job. If the Republican Reich has any say in replacing him, the FBI will suffer for it. RESIST!!

From CBS News: Police on Saturday investigated a suspicious package addressed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, CBS Los Angeles reports. The package was found on Bel Air Road, near Mnuchin’s home, in Los Angeles.

The package was gift-wrapped and filled with manure, police say, CBS Los Angeles’ Cristy Fajardo reports.

The package was found at a neighbor’s home but was addressed to Mnuchin, which police say raised alarm bells.

LAPD officers, the bomb squad and the Secret Service poured into the area.

A neighbor, Prince Frederick von Anhalt, said he and others who live above the home were trapped for about two hours, until police found out it was filled with manure and cleared the scene.

Woooo Hoooo!! I call that a case of sweets for the sweet! RESIST!!

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Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  WWW and I will be celebrating the day with roast ham, cheese baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts hollandaise, and a surprise dessert from Wendy.  If news is as scarce as I anticipate, I may publish only an Open Thread tomorrow, and send no links on Care2.  I wish Happy Holidays to all Republicans, and Merry Christmas to everyone else, even if you don’t celebrate it.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:09).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MoveOn Channel): Senator Gillibrand​ Will Not Be Silenced

I fully agree. Hold those who devalue women, especially Putin’s Pussy Grabber, accountable! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: [O]n Tuesday, in a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, amid chants of “USA!” and “The wall is going to be built!,” Donald Trump, Jr., kicked off a three-day annual summit for Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit. Based outside of Chicago, Turning Point’s aim is to foment a political revolution on America’s college campuses, in part by funnelling [sic] money into student government elections across the country to elect right-leaning candidates. But it is secretive about its funding and its donors, raising the prospect that “dark money” may now be shaping not just state and federal races but ones on campus.

Turning Point touts its close relationship with the President’s family. The group’s Web site promoted Don, Jr.,’s appearance for weeks, featuring a photo of him raising a clenched fist. Its promotional materials include a quote from the younger Trump praising Turning Point: “What you guys have done” is “just amazing.” Lara Trump, the wife of Don, Jr.,’s brother Eric, is also involved with the group. In West Palm Beach on Wednesday, she hosted a luncheon promoting Turning Point’s coming Young Women’s Leadership Summit. The group’s twenty-four-year-old executive director and founder, Charlie Kirk, told me that he counts Don, Jr., as “a personal friend.”

Turning Point casts itself as a grassroots response to what it perceives as liberal intolerance on college campuses. Kirk has called college campuses “islands of totalitarianism”; he and his supporters contend that conservatives are the true victims of discrimination in America, and he has vowed to fight back on behalf of what he has called his “Team Right.” Kirk is a frequent guest on Fox News, and last summer he was invited to give a speech at the Republican National Convention. That was where he met Donald Trump, Jr., and “hit it off” with him, Kirk said. After the convention, Kirk divided his time between Turning Point activities and working for the Trump campaign as a specialist in youth outreach. “I helped coördinate some rather successful events with him,” Kirk told me, referring to Don, Jr., “and I also carried his bags.” When friends threw Kirk a surprise birthday party earlier this year, Don, Jr., attended, as did Sebastian Gorka, the former Trump White House adviser.

As Turning Point’s profile has risen, so has scrutiny of its funding and tactics. Internal documents that I obtained, as well as interviews with former employees, suggest that the group may have skirted campaign-finance laws that bar charitable organizations from participating in political activity. Former employees say that they were directed to work with prominent conservatives, including the wife of the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in aid of Republican Presidential candidates in 2016. Perhaps most troubling for an organization that holds up conservatives as the real victims of discrimination in America, Turning Point USA is also alleged to have fostered an atmosphere that is hostile to minorities. Screenshots provided to me by a source show that Crystal Clanton, who served until last summer as the group’s national field director, sent a text message to another Turning Point employee saying, “i hate black people. Like fuck them all . . . I hate blacks. End of story.”

Click through for the rest of this fine article about the Republican War on Student government.  It’s an eye-opener!  RESIST!!

From NY Times: More than 700 people have left the Environmental Protection Agency since President Trump took office, a wave of departures that puts the administration nearly a quarter of the way toward its goal of shrinking the agency to levels last seen during the Reagan administration.

Of the employees who have quit, retired or taken a buyout package since the beginning of the year, more than 200 are scientists. An additional 96 are environmental protection specialists, a broad category that includes scientists as well as others experienced in investigating and analyzing pollution levels. Nine department directors have departed the agency as well as dozens of attorneys and program managers. Most of the employees who have left are not being replaced.

The departures reflect poor morale and a sense of grievance at the agency, which has been criticized by President Trump and top Republicans in Congress as bloated and guilty of regulatory overreach. That unease is likely to deepen following revelations that Republican campaign operatives were using the Freedom of Information Act to request copies of emails from E.P.A. officials suspected of opposing Mr. Trump and his agenda.

Who can blame them? It’s like chickens resigning over the way foxes run the Henhouse Protection Agency! RESIST!!

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