Wednesday Link-Off: Can’t It Just Be Christmas

meg-turney-tracer16-01It’s the last link-off before Christmas and all through the blog… You know, I try this rhyme every year and it’s a pain in the arse to rhyme something with blog. Maybe I should try rhyming something with “Lowdown HQ.” That “u” sound rhymes with other words. Remind me to try that next year. It might be worth an effort.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re here for the links. Since Overwatch is on sale and it’s a definite lock for our top games of the year list, here’s Meg Turney cosplaying as Tracer.

The GOP have shut down the investigation into the Flint water crisis and blamed the EPA. Basically, they’re just trying to sweep a crisis that could replay itself nationwide under the rug. Congress in a microcosm. (Salon)

Kleptocracy: a government with corrupt rulers that use their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political power; what Newt Gingrich thinks Congress should functionally authorize by changing ethics laws so that PEOTUS can keep running his business. (Think Progress)

Is there a record for the quickest time from swearing-in to impeachment? There’s been a lot of talk about Trump and impeachment before he’s ever taken the oath of office. (Daily Intelligencer)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Interference

anna-kendrick-playboy16-10We’re less than a week away from the Electoral College casting votes that almost certainly will cement Donald Trump as the President-elect of the US but it seems so odd that everyone will continue ignoring the potential issues of conflicts of interest and Russia’s hands in the Trump campaign, victory and now White House. The extra layer of review by the Electoral College is needed here but it’s not looking like any review will be done.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re here for the links. Let’s kick off with Anna Kendrick.

President-elect Trump doesn’t seem to worry about conflicts of interest but his and his family’s business interests are ripe for conflicts with foreign powers. (Newsweek)

The Canadian Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation has given the government the thumbs-up to legalize pot. It comes with scads of recommendations about regulation but we’re getting close now. (Bloomberg)

People suspected it during the campaign but the CIA has concluded that the Russians interfered in the US Presidential Election to aid Donald Trump. (Washington Post)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Running the Country with Twitter

jennifer-lawrence-vanityfair16-01I know the title is only a quote from China’s equivalent to Twitter but that comment does feel a little on the nose. I mean, Team Trump took away his Twitter in the dying days of the Presidential campaign fearing what he would write on it. In the midst of his transition, I’m sure there are diplomats and folks at the State Department hoping that they’d take Trump’s phone away again.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for the links. Let’s kick things off with Jennifer Lawrence.

The Canadian Supreme Court is weighing a BC Court decision that could have international internet implications. A BC Court ruled that an injunction preventing a website from appearing on Google search results extended beyond google.ca and should apply worldwide. The Supreme Court has to determine the reach of the Canadian legal system on the internet. (Toronto Star)

Edward Snowden isn’t missing the irony of President-Elect Trump considering David Petraeus for Secretary of State. Snowden says that Petraeus leaked more highly classified info than he did. (Yahoo News)

A German nuclear fusion reactor actually works which could change the future of clean energy. (Science Alert)

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Sunday Link-Off: Tweet Me a River

morena-baccarin-gqmexico16-06Remember when we all had a laugh about Donald Trump’s campaign taking away his Twitter? Now that he has Twitter back, his White House team should be looking to do the same before long. I’m sure they’ll control the @POTUS Twitter account but they really need to take away his cellphone before he causes some trouble.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that you’re here looking for the links. Let’s kick things off with Morena Baccarin which reminds me that I’m well behind on Gotham.

Donald Trump had a doctor’s note saying he’d be the healthiest President ever but was he tested for irony deficiency. Less than an hour after an SNL skit about Trump tweeting too much, Trump was tweeting a complaint about it. (Vox)

China isn’t too happy that President-elect Trump is taking calls from Taiwan. They passive-aggressively let the world know about it. (The Guardian)

Also in questionable Asian diplomatic relations, apparently Trump is a backer if Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte who launched a drug war in his country leading to 38 deaths per day. (Think Progress)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Distraction

nina-dobrev-menshealth16-01It looks like the easiest way to help the American people cope with fraud lawsuit settlements, conflicts of interest and filling the swamp? Just distract them with things like Broadway casts, alleged voter fraud and going after the First Amendment. When you look past the distractions, that’s were the real scary story lies.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re here to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Nina Dobrev.

Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of the Presidential election in the run up to it and is now questioning its legitimacy now that he’s won. (Vox)

Of course, accusations of voter fraud could all be distraction from ongoing voter suppression. (Huffington Post)

Today in irony, Donald Trump, who wanted to jail Hilary Clinton over deleted emails, is considering appointing a man who leaked secret government files as his Secretary of State. (Politico)

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Sunday Link-Off: Recount

kristen-bell-emmy16-08So this week was a mildly interesting one in politics. I don’t think that anyone was actually expecting the election results to be challenged and certainly not by a third-party candidate. I doubt that anything will change but it plays into this ongoing concern over Russia’s influence in the election to support President-elect Trump.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Kristen Bell.

The ethics lawyers for both President Bush and Obama say that the Electoral College should feel obligated to reject President-Elect Trump as his business interests leaves him in violation of the Constitution which forbids elected office holders from taking payments from foreign states. (Think Progress)

Speaking of which, Trump’s national security advisor has allegedly taken money from both Russia and Turkey. That wouldn’t be concerning at all. (The Independent)

Some writers have even less faith in a Trump presidency than most. (Foreign Policy)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Conflict of Interest

chrissy-teigen-ama16-01The Trump Transition Team should be spelled with a $ given the number of issues that have been raised since November 8th. If you thought there were serious issues before the election, it doesn’t seem to be getting better since the vote.

Anyway, it’s Wendesday which means that we’re doing the links. Let’s kick things off with Chrissy Teigen whose AMA dress she was almost wearing certainly got some attention.

After spending an election campaign slamming Hilary and the Clinton Foundation, the Trump Foundation admitted to self-dealing in a filing that’s only come out after the election. (Washington Post)

And now top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway says that he doesn’t want Hilary to be prosecuted. (CNN)

Trump continued his adversarial relationship with the Fourth Estate by bringing top members of the press into Trump Tower to berate them. (New York Post)

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Sunday Link-Off: Faux News

isla-fisher-nocturnalanimals16-02So the election is over and life is somewhat moving on as people attempt to mount some sort of resistance to the President-elect. It sounds very Star Wars. Perhaps like Vietnam inspired George Lucas, who, apart from Oliver Stone, will be inspired by this election and presidency.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we’re here to do the links. Let’s kick off with Isla Fisher.

There has been a lot of talk about fake news since the election but for a good reason. More people read fake news on Facebook than real news stories. (Vox)

Donald Trump said that he doesn’t settle lawsuits. He just settled the Trump University fraud lawsuit for $25 million. (The Daily Beast)

It might be time to start panicking but fracking is causing earthquakes in Canada. (New York Times)

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Wednesday Link-Off: What’s After Acceptance?

daisy-ridley-theeaglehuntress16-03So if the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, is there something that comes after acceptance? Considering the stories out of the President-Elect’s camp, perhaps fear is the most logical feeling right now.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re here to do the links. Since we’re one month from more Star Wars, let’s kick things off with Daisy Ridley.

With journalism and the press under attack before, during and after the election, we need to remember that an independent press is an important asset to society. (The Guardian)

Drain the swamp? No, it just got higher. Team Trump isn’t the anti-establishment group that his voters wanted. (Salon)

Yes, Trump and company are outsiders but maybe a bit too outsider to quite appreciate the scope of what they’re in for. (Business Insider)

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Sunday Link-Off: Recovery

emmanuelle-chriqui-ema16-04You know what? I’m still not ready to get back to doing the links. After spending the last couple of months trying to save America from itself (and the World from America), 26.4% of eligible Americans gave the world President Trump. God help us all and God help the United States of America.

Anyway, the road back to some sort of healing has to start some time and we may as well carry on with the Sunday edition of the links. Let’s kick off with Emmanuelle Chriqui.

So the Democrats were defeated. Though not resoundingly, it was a complete defeat. Bernie Sanders explains where they go from there. (New York Times)

But not all Democrats or supporters look inside the party to reflect on what went wrong. Some are looking at the likes of the FBI and the Wikileaks/Russia connection. (The Hill)

By the way, some folks from Wikileaks did an AMA on Reddit but dodged any questions about questionable ethics, motivations and ties when it came to their coverage and influence of the US Presidential Election. (/r/IAmA)

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