Trump to Nominate Gen. Kelly to DHS, Scott Pruitt to EPA, Terry Bransted to China Ambassador, Philly Judge Rejects Jill Stein Request to Digitally Audit Voting Machines, Days Are Getting Longer: P.M. Links

• 

  storm crypt/flickr

  Donald Trump will nominate Gen. John Kelly, the third retired Marine general Trump has picked for a high-level position, to head the Department of Homeland Security. Trump will also nominate Oklahoma attorney general and Environmental Protetection Agency critic Scott Pruitt to the EPA. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, meanwhile, a friend of China President Xi Jinping, will be nominated as U.S. ambassador to China.

• A judge in Philadelphia rejected a request by Jill Stein to inspect some of the city's voting machines.
• Two juveniles have been arrested in relation to the wildfires in Tennessee that killed 14 people.
• The Syrian army retook the old city in Aleppo, with rebels trying to plan an exit.
• A flight in Pakistan carrying 48 people crashed, leaving no survivors.
• A magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Indonesia has killed nearly 100 people.
• The days on Earth are getting longer.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, meanwhile, a friend of China President Xi Jinping, will be nominated as U.S. ambassador to China.

THIS IS THE WORST THING TRUMP HAS DONE YET.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[waffles]

Hi Rufus!

[DOOMco]

howdy!

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Yoha broha.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Best response yet from this crowd!

[Jimbo]

We're all feeling GREAT again!

[C. Anacreon]

Here's something the Iowa guy knew that the know-it-all blogger didn't-- in China, their first name is their last name, and their last name is their first name.

Rather inscrutable, right?

[BigT]

Mousie Dung

[Juvenile Bluster]

A Think Progress writer tweeted sarcastically about sending "a governor from a landlocked state" to be the ambassador to China before deleting it after everyone called him out on it.

[Injun, as in from India]

But a community organizer can be President.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

But a governor from a landlocked state full of white people can be president. And his wife should have been, too.

Ambassador to China is a more demanding position.

[CampingInYourPark]

a milky white state at that, per the thinkprogress fellow

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Uhh. This one is going over my head.

[This Machine]

Obama was governor of Illinois.

[Mad Scientist]

Senator

[This Machine]

FUCK me, I'm an idiot. Thank you, doc.

[Injun, as in from India]

Okay, I thought you were being sarcastic with the governor thing.

[This Machine]

Nope, just temporarily retarded. Been a long day.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Oh, he's not a doctor.

[(((Renegade)))]

He's an honorary doctor.

[Injun, as in from India]

But Illinois isn't landlocked if you consider Lake Michigan.

That's less delusional than Obama being governor.

[Austrian Anarchy]

International border too! Almost ...

[CampingInYourPark]

David Burge aka iowahawk has some hilarious replies to his tweet

"@imillhiser I'm sure the "Justice Editor" of a DC leftist clown website knows a whole lot about Iowa, and stuff"

https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog

[Juvenile Bluster]

He's the reason I knew about it in the first place.

For all Twitter's faults, it's worth being there just to follow him.

[Atanarjuat]

I'm sensing a bit of sarcasm.

[Sevo]

The chart was FUNNY!

[CatoTheChipper]

Thanks for the heads up on great iowahawk tweets.

David Burge knows how to do Twitter.

Ian Millhiser not so much ... the guy is clearly a moron.

[jack sprat]

"have used their mutual love of agriculture to bridge the gap " So that's what they are calling it these days?

[Injun, as in from India]

I guess they mutually love the process of planting seed.

[Rich]

Yet another excuse to post this.

[Tres_Cool]

Hi. Relevance?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvj4SS_MwMk

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

But what could a simple Iowa boy know about China?

[kinnath]

Brandstad is actually a pretty decent governor. And he has a long and cordial relationship with the president of China.

Iowa exports megatons of corn and soybeans to China. There are also some high tech joint ventures between Iowa companies and China.

This is not a particularly terrible choice from Trump.

[dschwar]

Also, Grinnell College has had a study abroad program in China for a fairly long time. He can find experts close by if he wants.

Class of 1989.

[Austrian Anarchy]

I am not at all sure I like a suckup to ChiComs in that job. Not like I got a vote in any of this or anything. Just sayin'

[Gadfly]

Actually, you kind of do want a suck-up in the ambassadorship job: ambassadors don't make policy, they just deliver the news. I'd rather bad news delivered by a suck-up who will say everything possible to soften the blow and soothe bruised egos, while the clear-eyed straight shooters need to be the ones actually making the policy.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Okay, I am on board, like that matters either. However, I am still anti-Trump. Let me be clear, still anti-Trump!

[BigT]

It's actually fuckin brilliant. Trump just got a title 'leverage' on the ChiComs by talking to Taiwan Prez. That's their soft spot - they are sensitive about being illegitimate. Branstad is good cop to Trumps bad cop. It's genius.

[Juvenile Bluster]

A 4:21 PM post (from Robby no less!) *and* on-time lynx? This is incredible!

[Rich]

DONATE!!

[grrizzly]

There was a moment when this was the only comment, and only later Fist's comment appeared.

[bacon-magic]

"Let's do the time warp again!" ??? - RHPSC

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Hacks confirmed for like the millionth time. If Fist is juicin' I wanna too.

[Juvenile Bluster]

A cheater, he is.

[Pompeius the Quant Retard]

Trump's pick for EPA head is outSTANDING. I am drinking NPR tears right now, so salty but so so sweet. Like honey roasted peanuts. If he keeps up with more quality cabinet picks I could see myself caring less about his shitty AG choice.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Meh. What is up with these boring ass nominees? When is Trump gonna grab this thing by the Busey?

[waffles]

Search your heart. Do you really want that?

[Citizen X]

That whole season of Celebrity Apprentice was like a really bad acid trip. Shorter answer: yes.

[RBS]

Gary Busey as Press Secretary would be outstanding.

[Rich]

LOL

[Tres_Cool]

Busey to the U.N. would be even more comical.

[This Machine]

Wholeheartedly agree. What other cabinet positions could he do this with, I wonder?

[Lee Genes]

He could just get rid of a couple. Wouldn't bother me if both the DOEs went away.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Has he gone in with DoE yet? This is the prog homeland, the nexus where the tribes of Unions, Non-profits and Student Organizers meet and dole out patronage.

[Juvenile Bluster]

He did nominate a charter school backer as Secretary of Education.

Karen Lewis, everyone's favorite union leader, is displeased.

[Zero Sum Game]

The left says she's a religious wackaloon who will push bible readings and creationism into schools and get rid of evolution education.

Is it a fair appraisal?

[jesse.in.mb]

I haven't read anything that's filled me with confidence that she'll be an effective advocate for charter schools or school reform generally. It's nice that she's an advocate for them at all, but if things get shitty over the next four years it'll be charter schools that are blamed not her incompetence at implementing them so I'm wary.

I don't know how accurate the picture they're painting of her as a loon is although she comes by social conservatism honestly.

[Austrian Anarchy]

The left rarely gives fair appraisals. But if that is what they said, she should be awesome.

[This Machine]

Hmm. Who would be the biggest opponent of DoE he could find and appoint to the position? I'm legitimately curious.

Not curious enough to google it or do research or anything. Curious enough to bullshit about it in the comments though.

[Atanarjuat]

Don't know, but he should definitely place Peter Schiff as Federal Reserve chairman.

[Austrian Anarchy]

Glenn Reynolds, Professor of Law, University of Tennessee. And he writes for Popular Mechanics (or Science, or something) too.

[BigT]

I applied for Sec of DOE. I've been in energy R&D for 35 years. No call yet.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

Mein schadenfreude was getting limp, so this is a needed kick.

[This Machine]

Mein schadenfreude was getting limp, so this is a needed kick.

Agreed. Was about to lapse into a hangover from all the salty ham tears, but this is just keepin' the edge off.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

This guy don't smoke the reefer.

*ahem* I mean, are you cool man?

[Fist of Etiquette]

A judge in Philadelphia rejected a request by Jill Stein to inspect some of the city's voting machines.

They're already back at DNC headquarters for preprogramming.

[WhatAboutBob]

Not to worry. Jill Stein will target Time Magazine next to demand a recount of the Person of the Year vote.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The days on Earth are getting longer.

I know, right?

[Ted S.]

Actually, in 48 states latitudes, we're at about the earliest sunsets. Due to the orbit around the sun, "local noons" (when a sundial would show noon) aren't exactly 24:00:00 apart from one day to the next, and the amount of time from one local noon to the next is more than the amount of daylight we're still losing. The latest sunrises will also be several days after the solstice.

The nearly identical lengths of equatorial days exacerbate this effect, so in Quito, Ecuador, the earliest sunsets are in late October, while the latest are in February.

[Sevo]

"The latest sunrises will also be several days after the solstice."

About two weeks; just like the earliest sunset Is ~ 2weeks before the solstice.

[Microaggressor]

Well hurry the fuck up, Earth. There are never enough hours in a day.

[Flakfizer is Ballet, Jr.]

The days on Earth are getting longer.

And Leon's getting laaaaarrrrgerrrr!

[Rich]

Beautiful.

[Lee Genes]

+1 Tylenol with wings

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Two juveniles have been arrested in relation to the wildifres in Tennessee that killed 14 people.

The full story is waiting on the kids racial identities to be confirmed.

[Injun, as in from India]

A judge in Philadelphia rejected a request by Jill Stein to inspect some of the city's voting machines.

Don't worry, Jill.

The machines don't really have a Carbon footprint.

[Pi Guy]

They have been vaccinated, though.

[Rich]

Donald Trump will nominate Gen. John Kelly ... to head the Department of Homeland Security

and disband it, right? RIGHT?!

[Injun, as in from India]

Two juveniles have been arrested in relation to the wildifres in Tennessee that killed 14 people.

"Trump supporters" narrative to begin in 3.. 2.. 1..

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Let me start by saying thanks Obummer... Ya done fucked us again.

(if black)

Another one of Obumble's sons just playing in the park!

[Jerry on the sea]

They tried to bake some pizza over a camp fire?

[SugarFree]

Two juveniles have been arrested in relation to the wildifres in Tennessee that killed 14 people.

The comments are hilariously bloodthirsty.

[RBS]

I know an EMS guy, he takes everything like this personally, so I can imagine how bloodthirsty the comments are.

[Rich]

These two should have to meet with families of the victims, looking at photos and hearing stories about those whose lives their actions took.

*** shudders at the thought ***

[BigT]

...and then burned at the stake!

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Indonesia has killed nearly 100 people.

If a link can't be tastefully snarked on than it should not be a link.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I got nothing.

[Ted S.]

I blame climate change.

[dschwar]

Don't overlook fracking. It is all just one big interconnected globe now, right?

[RBS]

Seen on Trump's nightstand.

[Injun, as in from India]

Okay, I was expecting porno.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

That comment works about 95% of the time around here.

[Injun, as in from India]

H&R is porno in a way.

We get to watch govt f***ing people.

[Flakfizer is Ballet, Jr.]

The Syrian army retook the old city in Aleppo, with rebels trying to plan an exit.

[Citizen X]

What's Aleppo?

[bacon-magic]

It's where Bill Weld needs to go. Short answer - Hell.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

It's the must-have Christmas toy this year: Tickle Me Aleppo. Each time you tickle him, a body part falls off.

[Austrian Anarchy]

One of the saddest things during the election was right after Johnson's Aleppo 'answer.' Limbaugh had the perfect libertarian answer to the question: something to the effect of - that is a foreign entanglement. the US should not be involved there. Maybe not Limbaugh's position, but he knew the correct libertarian position.

On the forced cake decorating issue, on Glenn Beck's show for crying out loud, EVERYBODY knew the libertarian answer, except Gary Johnson.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

The Syrian army retook the old city in Aleppo, with rebels trying to plan an exit.

Forward onto victory fellas. God Speed.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

You know who didn't have an exit plan?

[Citizen X]

Most teenaged fathers?

[bacon-magic]

Obama?
2nd answer: Hillary?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

101st Airborne?

[Crusty Juggler]

NUTS!

[Haybob]

SOB beat me to it I wasn't logged in.

[BigT]

"You know who didn't have an exit plan?"

Every penis ever.

[Crusty Juggler]

Donald Trump will nominate Gen. John Kelly, the third retired Marine general Trump has picked for a high-level position, to head the Department of Homeland Security

You know, I'm worried that with so many retired Generals in high-level positions we will get involved in foreign wars.

[Citizen X]

Heaven forfend!

[Crusty Juggler]

Also, Michael Flynn was in the Army, not the Marines. I know, I know - who cares Crusty? The Army and the Marines are essentially the same - but I am a pedant.

[Chipwooder]

Essentially the same? You shut your whore mouth!

[Austrian Anarchy]

Ditto!

[Rich]

I'm sure the top General heading the General Services Administration will rein them in.

[GILMORE?]

I'm worried that with so many retired Generals in high-level positions we will get involved in foreign wars.

Would it be surprising if the net result was a reduction in military conflict? - and should it be?

(*i'm not suggesting that military people are necessarily any better or different than civilian leadership; just that there is maybe an undue assumption that military people *want* conflict)

[Crusty Juggler]

It was sarcasm. A guy with a BA in English and a MFA in Creative Writing has had the president's ear for the past eight years and we have been involved in more foreign countries. I don't know if all the generals will be that much better, but I don't know how they could be that much worse.

[GILMORE?]

A guy with a BA in English and a MFA in Creative Writing has had the president's ear for the past eight years

To be fair = Ben Rhodes job is not to recommend any foreign policy decisions, but rather to *explain* other people's decisions to the press.

He cooks up "narratives" that make the president look smart no matter what's happening. If there's any "most useful application of an MFA in creative writing, ever", its either that, or someone who made millions in advertising.

[Crusty Juggler]

He claims to spend a few hours every day talking with Obama, so he has to be doing more than just crafting the public message. Substitute Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Condoleezza Rice, Ash Carter, Leon Panetta, Robert Gates, or Donald Rumsfeld for Ben Rhodes and my point stands.

[Episteme]

Nah, we won't have any generals left to lead an army, since they'll all be busy filling out paperwork!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Trump will also nominate Oklahoma attorney general and Environmental Protetection Agency critic Scott Pruitt to the EPA.

Well, that doesn't make any sense!

[jack sprat]

Another General!

[Jerryskids]

Philly Judge Rejects Jill Stein Request to Digitally Audit Voting Machines

Maybe the Philly judge is familiar with the Philly PD's "digital audits" and doesn't want to think about where them fingers has been.

[esteve7]

If you haven't already, it's really worth a trip to visit the election night thread. So much deliciousness

http://reason.com/blog/2016/11.....pd#comment

[Injun, as in from India]

I just searched for AmSoc and it was fun to read his posts.

[SugarFree]

I called SIV a "queef bucket." I stand by that.

[Injun, as in from India]

LOL.

[Citizen X]

[hums "America the Beautiful"]

[Brett L]

With your... wherever?

[Citizen X]

I'm no second coming of Le Petomane, but thank you for the vote of confidence.

[Col. Chestbridge]

Hopefully not right by it. Maybe give yourself a few feet of breathing room.

[SugarFree]

It smells like a giant scallop took a shit in a Long John Silver's.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Serious question. Do chickens fart?

[SugarFree]

Video evidence.

[Citizen X]

Dude, quit posting that SIV-porn.

[RBS]

That chicken isn't wearing pantaloons.

[Citizen X]

Chickens have cloacas, which is a single terminus for the urinary, genital, and digestive tracts, so any chicken fart would also be a queef and vice versa.

[SugarFree]

Ths article suggests that they can fart, but don't normally have to do it like many animals.

[TheZeitgeist]

People addicted to cocaine look at a snowstorm and dream.

People addicted to prog-tears do likewise gazing at a rainstorm. And on election night, the dream came true.

[Sevo]

And I didn't see mention of Kruman:

"It really does now look like President Donald J. Trump, and markets are plunging. When might we expect them to recover?
Frankly, I find it hard to care much, even though this is my specialty. The disaster for America and the world has so many aspects that the economic ramifications are way down my list of things to fear.
Still, I guess people want an answer: If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never."
http://www.nytimes.com/interac.....ic-fallout

Yep, the market is really gonna suck for, uh, 3-4 hours?!

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

Over 2000. Impressive.

[Krabappel]

Wow I made 36 posts that night.

[Crusty Juggler]

'Melania was slut-shamed': Megyn Kelly slams critics of Donald's wife and is then BOOED when she tells Women in Hollywood audience that there are things to admire about Trump

Melania Trump was slut-shamed and called a trophy wife,' said Kelly, who then turned her attention to the President-elect.

'I have high hopes for him. Despite the tweets and all the rest of it, there is much to admire about Donald Trump,' said Kelly, which immediately elicited booing from a few people, the loudest being comedian Kathy Griffin.

'There is. Stop that, stop that. There's room for the loyal opposition in this country,' said Kelly at that point, a comment which resulted in Griffin screaming, 'F*** him.'

Kelly then responded: 'Guess who that is? Kathy Griffin.'

Watch out - Kathy Griffin escaped from her kennel!

[Citizen X]

I always get Kathy Griffin and Andy Dick confused. I don't know why.

[SugarFree]

They have a timeshare together with the same dick.

[Brett L]

Andy Dick has his real hair.

[Austrian Anarchy]

I kee confusing Andy Dick and Tom Green. Now there is a new one in the mix.

[Juvenile Bluster]

As terrible as Kathy Griffin is, nobody is as bad as that piece of shit Andy Dick. I hate him more than anyone else that has ever appeared on television. I hate him with every fiber of my being.

[Crusty Juggler]

JB is Jon Lovitz

At the Laugh Factory, Lovitz demanded an apology from Dick, who refused and accused the comic of blaming him for Hartman's death. Lovitz then smashed Dick's head into the bar.

[Juvenile Bluster]

That's been one of my favorite stories for years. And Andy Dick is more or less responsible for Phil Hartman being dead, which is why my hatred levels are so high.

[Ted S.]

Phil's wife killed him. (He's a domestic violence victim.) What did Andy Dick have to do with it?

[Juvenile Bluster]

The story goes that Andy Dick is responsible for Hartman's wife relapsing on cocaine.

[kinnath]

yup

[Crusty Juggler]

What did Andy Dick have to do with it?

If only I had provided a link.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I wouldn't mind if John Lovitz and Kathy Griffith took turns pissing into Andy Dick's ocular cavity.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

BTW, that look that John Hartman gives Mike Myers at the end of that speech is the greatest look ever filmed in a motion picture.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wouldn't mind if John Lovitz and Kathy Griffith took turns pissing into Andy Dick's ocular cavity.

Well aren't you a kinky bird.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

It's a movie reference, Jesse. Gawd!

[jesse.in.mb]

Whatever, it's been 20 years since I watched So I Married an Axe Murderer.

You'll always be a sex pervert in my heart though, CMW.

[Citizen X]

Jon Lovitz kicking Andy Dick's ass in a bar is a great Hollywood story, though.

[????? ????]

https://youtu.be/b0TQ_vuZtcs?t=72

[TheZeitgeist]

Wasn't Kathy Griffin the one who tried to blow Anderson Cooper at New Year's a while back?

[A Thinking Mind]

That's, like, every New Year's.

[Austrian Anarchy]

She was the one on Seinfeld who used his messages on her answering machine in her crap standup act.

[????? ????]

Kathy Griffin keeps name in news by being obnoxious -- what an exciting twist!

[Juice]

Kelly got the biggest applause however when she began speaking about the current Fiost Lady during her remarks.

Foist Lady? Their editing is the woist.

[This Machine]

"I first heard Personville called Poisonville by a red-haired mucker named Hickey Dewey in the Big Ship in Butte. He also called his shirt a shoit. I didn't think anything of what he had done to the city's name. Later I heard men who could manage their r's give it the same pronunciation. I still didn't see anything in it but the meaningless sort of humor that used to make richardsnary the thieves' word for dictionary. A few years later I went to Personville and learned better."

[Sevo]

"The days on Earth are getting longer."

We need a government program to stop this! And what does Trump do? Appoints a 'day-shorter' to the EPA!

[Austrian Anarchy]

Since Obama stopped the tides, maybe he will give Trump the magic wand for this.

[Brett L]

Another Theory of Gravity that does not require dark matter. I love those.

[Ted S.]

It's only remarkable if it's confirmed.

[Brett L]

Emergent Gravity has a lot of nice qualities, in that it is the only "fundamental" force outside of the GUT. And this, if confirmed, would also solve the GR/QT problems. Unfortunately, it does not appear to allow for time travel, yet.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Gravity is indeed a fundamental force on the GUT.

[Brett L]

Sorry, I meant to say that we can relate nuclear strong, nuclear weak, and electromagnetics through quantum theory. Gravity is the fourth "fundamental" force that would need to be integrated for a Theory of Everything. If gravity is not fundamental, but rather an emergent property, then there are only 3 fundamental forces already tied together by QED.

[Jerry on the sea]

I'm just fine with Emergent Gravity as long as it does not identify itself as transgender.

[A Thinking Mind]

Perhaps. Fully vetting and gaining acceptance for a model like this could take a decade. Keep in mind that the current model which accepts dark matter is based on the complete lack of evidence of dark matter, but merely an attempt to fill in the blanks when the rules don't seem to work the way they should.

[Brett L]

Keep in mind that the current model which accepts dark matter is based on the complete lack of evidence of dark matter,

Let's say direct evidence. If the modified inverse square law applies everywhere like GR says, there must be matter we can't directly observe out there. So the very fact that galaxies should fly apart, but all other predictions are verified AND there is correlating cosmological evidence from the CMBR that (if GR is the final word) also indicate a reason to believe there might be some non-interacting matter, act as evidence. But it is all based on "if this is true", which has not been directly verified.

[A Thinking Mind]

A fair correction. I'm not really a physicist, just a dilettante, so I don't always speak as precisely as I'd like.

I'm still amused that gravity is one of the most easily observable forces for humans, and yet it remains really difficult to pin down. I'm sure 90% of the world doesn't understand how gravity ties into GR, and it's absolutely a huge step forward when you look at the mechanical theories of gravitation that existed before then (Cartesian physics had some weird-ass models). But there are always more questions left to be answered.

Science is kind of awesome.

[TheZeitgeist]

Went down rabbit hole with some Slate puppets while back over this, about dark matter being inferred from gravitational anomalies alone, and how enmeshed the whole idea is with GR validity. I compared dark matter to the old 19th century aether.

Particularly virulent puppet said galactic rotation curves were a Newtonian effect with no relation to GR. I told him GR covers gravity-anything. He replied that a classic Newtonian experiment like a cannonball's flight was stupid as test of GR(?). I replied it was perfectly valid, and at high enough precision would yield a more accurate prediction than Newtonian mechanics. I was then informed I had obviously never taken a 'GR class in college.'

The interaction was teachable moment of the lib-love for charts and science-y stuff combined with lack of thinking and appeals to authority for validation.

[Protagoronus]

Have you seen the lensing evidence - the proof is better than rotation alone: http://scienceblogs.com/starts.....sing-show/

[TheZeitgeist]

Yes, the lensing is interesting effect - and just like anything else dark matter a gravitational anomaly vs. what lensing value 'should be' from the visible matter.

The Slate puppet I referenced understood lensing as a 'GR effect' but perceived something like just orbital motion (rotation curve) as being exclusively 'Newtonian,' like there's some distinction that matches the chapter flow in any general-interest book on physics.

[Suthenboy]

Yeah, I always thought 'dark matter' should have a cooler name. Something ethereal. Give me a few minutes and I will think of one.

[A Thinking Mind]

Ghostbusters (2016)

[TheZeitgeist]

Hidden Agenda

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Bizarro space dust?

[Austrian Anarchy]

Unicorn farts aren't just for terra.

[Citizen X]

+1 GUT

[Rich]

Yep. DM is the new ether. Phlogiston, even.

[Ted S.]

"Dark matter" (like "dark money" in politics) should always be sung to the tune of Cher's "Dark Lady".

[bacon-magic]

That's some heavy shit right there. *takes another toke

[Emmerson Biggins]

I'm fully for any theory that doesn't do Dark Matter. It's just always bugged me.

So all you emergent-gravity deniers can just fuck right off.

[Hamster of Doom]

Donald Trump will nominate Gen. John Kelly, the third retired Marine general Trump has picked for a high-level position, to head the Department of Homeland Security.

We're not really in trouble until he changes his Twitter title to Arch-Generalissimo, the First of His Name.

[This Machine]

+27 medals of varying import on his chest

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

"Coming this winter to TropicoTV: El Presidente, all day, every day."

[Tres_Cool]

..this one's for typin', and this one's for surfin'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpgPD5M9AJs

[DOOMco]

make america spin again?

[rts]

RCMP decides not to outfit officers with body-worn cameras

In a force-wide memo to staff that was obtained by CBC News, Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brosseau said the current technology isn't durable enough and its batteries don't last long enough.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Well duh. Everready doesn't last long!

[Injun, as in from India]

"We won't let cameras mount us."

[Ted S.]

They don't want to do it because it would make them more like America.

[Crusty Juggler]

SunPower Says It's Laying off 25% of Its Workforce

SunPower, the No. 2 U.S. solar panel maker, said on Wednesday it would lay off about 25% of its workforce, or 2,500 employees, and close one plant as part of a cost-cutting plan announced last month to counter slumping prices.

Solar companies have been hard hit after stiff competition pushed prices of solar panels lower and as customers held off purchases in the hope of a further decline in prices.

[DOOMco]

damn trump.

[Ted S.]

Not because of potential cuts in subsidies?

[Suthenboy]

Potential?

[Juvenile Bluster]

NEEDZ MOAR SUBSIDIES

[Brett L]

as customers held off purchases in the hope of a further decline in prices.

Also can be read: as customers wait for ROI to improve to some positive rate of return.

[Suthenboy]

Obama's solar panel and biofuel cronies know that the subsidy gravy train is off the tracks. More deliciousness. I don't know how much more I can stand. I am starting to feel like I do after thanksgiving dinner.

[Hamster of Doom]

The days on Earth are getting longer.

As is my face. Is Ed in a mood? These are some tough links to funny-up.

Now to check out all the Jill Stein jokes.

[Crusty Juggler]

Starbucks to open 12,000 new shops, add more food to menu

Starbucks, looking to the future as its longtime CEO moves to other projects, plans to open 12,000 new locations within five years to boost its number of coffee shops worldwide by almost 50 percent.

About 5,000 of the 12,000 stores Starbucks plans to open by 2021 will be in China. The company said again that it expects China to eventually overtake the U.S. as its largest market, but didn't say when it expects that to happen. Today there are about 2,500 stores in China and more than 13,000 in the U.S.

Starbucks also wants to get more customers to buy lunch at its shops by offering organic soups and adding more sandwiches and wraps. An app update next year will use artificial intelligence technology to let customers order by voice and have the app respond immediately with a message.

China 'bout to get basic af.

[Rufus The Monocled]

All named after SJW terms.

[Injun, as in from India]

All named after SJW terms.

Shrieking Feminist Taco.

[To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C]]

I think you've finally figured out what Trump meant by "her wherever"

[BigT]

Shrieking Feminist Taco.

Taste fishy?

[????? ????]

Starbucks also intends to ruin Cuba by opening 1000 of the shops there.

[Rich]

"*** nudges ????? ???? ***

Hey, embed some color-changing text or something."

is *too* written in an English script!

[????? ????]

It's all going according to plan...
???

[RBS]

But how many are they going to open in Havana?

[Aloysious]

Erf. It's spelled E-R-F.

[Rich]

Authorities have seized 100 snakes, lots of rats, two miniature pigs and a few dozen birds from a New York home where dozens of creatures were found dead.

I'll never understand how some people can live like that. 8-(

[Crusty Juggler]

I went to school with a girl who lived near me. They took horses and ponies and pigs and every other animal you can imagine out of the house she lived in with her family. She did not last long on this planet.

[Brett L]

I went to school with a girl who lived near me.

This was different for you?

[Episteme]

XTEMRE bussing?

[Rich]

So, what happened to her? Crushed by a horse?

[Crusty Juggler]

Her adoptive father was murdered by her adoptive mother's internet boyfriend. Her adopted brother set the family's house and many barns on fire after the murder. She was in and out of jail. Then her boyfriend attacked and killed her with a machette.

[Mad Scientist]

Metal

[Zero Sum Game]

If this were the plot to a movie, we'd call it unrealistic.

[TheZeitgeist]

Her adoptive father was murdered by her adoptive mother's internet boyfriend. Her adopted brother set the family's house and many barns on fire after the murder. She was in and out of jail. Then her boyfriend attacked and killed her with a machette.

Thanks Obama.

[Xavier T. Sexington]

Were they Juggalos?

[Atanarjuat]

Buried in dung.

[Mazakon]

The days on Earth are getting longer.

Great, so 2016's going to be even longer.

[Juvenile Bluster]

During the leap second, Reason will post the announcement that Tony has purchased Reason.com.

[Mad Scientist]

He'll show us! He'll show us all!

[Juvenile Bluster]

Not sure if Hearthstone reference or coincidence...

[Episteme]

The leap second is when the Democrats sneakily vote on Merrick Garland.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Is everyone else in agreement that 2016 sucked?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

c'mon baby

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

*Flips hair, twirls cloak, and vanishes into the night*

[This Machine]

Kid: Dad tell me all about 2016
Dad: ok hold on
*dad pounds three shots of tequila*
Dad: it all started with this fucking gorilla

[Mr Drew]

Nice!

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

My hero! Ty for the text save.

[The Fusionist]

"A judge in Philadelphia rejected a request by Jill Stein to inspect some of the city's voting machines."

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to see it."

[AlmightyJB]

I would really like to inspect your vault mechanisms said the safecracker.

[Juvenile Bluster]

My prog friends have taken to posting the Hitler and Trump Time Man of the Year covers side by side.

And it's 5 PM and I'm at work without booze.

[Mad Scientist]

So post up the Obama Person of the Year cover in response.

[DOOMco]

and the one where every person on earth won.

[Mr Drew]

Ugh, I 'member that one. So so lame.

[waffles]

Only people with reflections you vampire-othering shitlord.

[DOOMco]

A ghost cup!

[bacon-magic]

Next to Daniel arap Moi, right?

[Injun, as in from India]

So post up the Obama Person of the Year cover in response.

Fight snark with snark.

[Col. Chestbridge]

Sharks do make excellent close-quarters fighters, especially when you give them hunting knives.

Oh wait, snark. Well, my point stands.

[GILMORE?]

Rolling Stone gets its wish = Judgement in Eramo Defamation Case Put on Hold

[Mr Drew]

Rigged!

[DOOMco]

How?

[Crusty Juggler]

Attorneys for the magazine asked the judge Monday to overrule the jury's verdict.

Judge Glen Conrad said Wednesday that the enforcement of the jury's verdict is on hold while he considers the magazine's request.

Then why have the jury trial?

[DOOMco]

"oh, those little guys? I wouldn't worry about those little guys."

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

Saw this yesterday, finally found the link.

Fake US embassy operated for a decade

The State Department said the embassy provided some customers "fraudulently obtained, legitimate US visas" as well as counterfeit visas, false identification documents (including bank records, education records, birth certificates, and others).
It says the operation paid corrupt officials to obtain legitimate blank documents to be doctored.

And a hilarious admission of incompetence from the journo class:

Why are we talking about this now?
According to the time stamp, the State Department published the news of the arrests on 2 November.
The BBC's Thomas Naadi in Ghana's capital, Accra, says the arrests took place a few months earlier than this, in June.
It is a bit of a mystery why it was not picked up by media until 2 December. But when it was, it was widely shared on social media.

[Suthenboy]

It's a mystery. A real puzzler.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

I bet State didn't even tweet out the news release. There we have the true tragedy of this story - how can media operate in the environment where information is not on Twitter?
And just a reminder: Hiter never used Twitter, either.

[Suthenboy]

It is going to be fine. Obumbles ordered Trump to maintain a commitment to transparency.

[DOOMco]

well, there's only so much space on a newspaper.

[Episteme]

I'm still assuming that this was a Sidney Blumenthal operation, discussed in the emails that Hillary deleted from the bathroom server...

[GILMORE?]

Man Accused of Murdering Bipedal Bear Sues Everyone

[bacon-magic]

STEVE SMITH KNOWS BEAR, KNOWS BEAR REAL WELL. BEAR IS ALIVE AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF.

[Pan Zagloba "The Stickler"]

"I was hunting the long pig, not bipedal bears!"

[GILMORE?]

Armed Cops in Schools = Maybe Need Reminding their Mandate is to *Protect* Students

I was 'friends'* with some real jerks in HS who beat the shit out of everyone. The 'enforcement' Dean (every school has - or rather, *had* - one in my day) regularly got into situations where he'd tackle these guys and put them in headlocks. I talked to him about it once, and he loved his job. He even gave some of these same jerk-kids a hug when they graduated.

(*"friends'" = 'not enemies'. we grew up together. it was either you were on their side, or you were their victims)

at least 3 of those "bad kids" became cops, fwiw.

[To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C]]

Random Vent:

I've been working on selling my house FSBO for the last month or so. We're under contract, but this is the second offer we accepted. We had this offer when we accepted the other, and we chose the other primarily because this Realtor seemed like a prick. A month later, I've confirmed that he is a prick, a liar, and extremely argumentative. Every little provision has to be negotiated, and he's in full force advocacy mode for each one. I've caught him flat out lying to me more than once, but we're at a point where we can't afford to go back on the market and find another offer before we do our cross-country move.

Anyway, after he lied to me once again today, I just stopped giving a shit, and wrote him an email that effectively said "either you accept our offered concession for the inspection repairs or GTFO." Thankfully, my post-graduation job has a location here in town, so we have a backup plan if things don't go through. Anyway, I just needed to vent because this guy has been an asshole from day one, and it makes planning a cross-country move really fucking hard when you don't know whether he's gonna torpedo the deal for his clients.

[The Fusionist]

That's awful, but at least you have options. Sorry to hear about it.

[Brett L]

Don't have much use for those guys. The first realtor I had to sell my house wanted me to drop $25000 into my house so I could sell it for $125k, maybe 130k. I put maybe $6500 in it and sold it for $117k. He wanted me to drop a bunch of cash so he could have an easy sale and make an extra grand. Now, the guy who sold me that house, Andy second realtor who sold the house, they were good guys who worked on my behalf.

[Rhywun]

After last night's Rangers "performance", hockey can suck it.

[Ted S.]

Fuck the Rangers, and the Most Overrated Arena on Earth.