Sociotard

It looks like there really was voter fraud. Arrest made! http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-supporter-iowa-arrested-voter-fraud-article-1.2850101

I thought this was at least interesting in passing: The Trump Cabinet contains an unusually high number of people from the old Confederacy. Again, this isn't a bad thing. There are fine, qualified people in the South, though I think some of Trumps picks are not fine or qualified. We have no attainder of the blood, as required by the Constitution. I just thought it was unusual, and unusual is interesting.

It's not uncommon for ambassadorships to "easy countries" to be given as political gifts. The actual work gets done by the staff, and the "ambassador" lives it up in the embassy, and for the rest of their life they get to use the honorific 'ambassador'. "The reservation is under Smith. No? Maybe Ambassador Smith. Ah, there it is."

Trump keeping 50 Obama appointees. Part of that is that Trump had to scramble a little bit to fill posts. Part of it is that it just isn't all that weird to keep some lower posts from the last administration. Obama did it. one I did find amusing was *snicker* so the GOP couldn't stand to confirm him, but they're happy to keep him on? Oh, politics.

This troubles me. I am opposed to violence in protest, including self-violence. Not least because the emotions and logic required to make one individual do that to themselves would cause another individual to enact violence on others. I don't like Trump. I dislike violence in politics even more. No assassinations please. No hoping for assassinations. Lets just get through these next four years together. Man set himself on fire as act of protest outside Trump's DC Hotel And more troubling, in searching for details on this self immolation, I found out it had happened elsewhere.

Yeah, it looks like that follow through won't happen after all. Assange lawyer: Manning commutation doesn't meet extradition offer's conditions I'll admit to being surprised. I thought Assange was going just a little crazy being stuck in the embassy. I thought maybe he was almost looking for an excuse to leave it. I am a sucker.

55 at night, 60 at day (12.8 C and 15.6 C) in the winter. The missus likes her blankets. A lot.

Looks like Chelsea Manning got commuted, and that's one call Trump can't reverse. If Assange follows through with his offer, that will make for an interesting news cycle.

I didn't know foxes had goths.

And, as much as I hate to defend Trump, there is a real chance some of this is fake news. Some of it appears to have origninated as an erotic story on 4chan. Besides, I really don't think Trumptylumkins CAN be blackmailed, just because what is already out is what would normally be blackmail material for a politician. If he had done that stuff in a Russian hotel, he would've been fine with it getting released.

The political equivalent of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor?

Hundreds of people go up that dress every day. I'd be shocked if none of them tried it.

Aaand Carrie Fisher didn't make it. Too bad. She wasn't old at all. not even retirement age.

Evidently, NPR may have overstated things a bit. NYT says the memo to the State Dept. just asks for the names of Positions, groups, committees, and budgets that work on violence against women. Not like when they actually asked for Energy Dept names that worked on Climate science. So not quite as Chairman Mao as I thought.

Maybe its a good list?

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has asked the State Department to list its workers who focus on gender equality and ending violence against women, in what's being seen as an echo of an earlier request for the Energy Department to list employees who work on climate change.

Sort of anyway. Donald Trump to China: Keep Our Drone

China just captured a US aquatic drone in the South China Sea. US: The drone was there to collect scientific data on salinity and ocean currents, and it was in international waters. Give it back. China: The drone was conducting espionage in contested waters. We won't give it back. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/china-seizes-naval-drone-south-china-sea-161216172602149.html

Governor Jerry Brown: If NASA, under Trump, is unable to perform its Climate Science mission, including launching satellites and sharing the data, then California will launch satellites on its own. http://www.businessinsider.com/ca-gov-jerry-brown-california-could-launch-its-own-damn-satellite-2016-12

"Like this" is the wrong sentiment, but dang, way to put a face on it.

An observations from these boards from a few years back: "Voters put more stock in the threats of their enemies than the promises of their friends." That is, they know that the person they vote for probably won't deliver what they promised, but the other guy, who promises things they don't like, would deliver all that and more. And suddenly I see this from the other side. This Trump voter didn't think Trump was serious about repealing her health insurance Tribalism run amok: Now Donald Trump voters are worried he might take their Obamacare away Trump promised to repeal Obamacare, but it turns out Americans like most of it, a poll finds Talk about your buyer's remorse. I have pretty good insurance. I hope lower-income Trump supporters are taken care of.

And, of course, groups have offered to pay the fines the states levy against faithless electors.

I for one found this endearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrxfxmRIVmQ