Election 2016

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Election Link-Off: The End is Here

jennifer-lopez-clinton16-02So here’s a new one. We’re doing a special Election Day linkdump for the 2016 US Presidential Election. When you have pundits concerned that this could be the last time that they could vote for a President, I think we should probably round up the news before any possible changes to America’s First Amendment are made. That might be the tip of the iceberg of things that would change depending on who wins 270 or more electoral college votes.

Anyway, it’s Election Day so we’re doing the links. Let’s kick off with J-Lo from a recent Hilary rally.

You’ve heard about the possibility of the Russians interfering with the election. Just how are they already doing that without actually hacking the vote. (CNN)

Donald Trump claims to have a winning temperament but not when it comes to libel lawsuits. (Poynter)

Speaking of temperament, the Trump team has such faith in The Donald’s temperament that they took away his Twitter so he couldn’t tweet in the days leading up to the vote. (Talking Points Memo)

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Sunday Link-Off: The End is Near

katy-perry-clinton16-01This morning, America turned the clocks back by one hour for Daylight Savings Time. On Tuesday, there’s a possibility that America can turn the clock back by 40 or 50 years with this year’s US Presidential Election. It’s Clinton vs. Trump in a battle of the two most disliked candidates in democratic history. That’s an important statement since Republican voters are voting against Clinton instead of for Trump. Any other candidate on either side would have made this election pretty boring.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time for the links. Let’s kick off with Clinton supporter Katy Perry.

Irony deficiency is a serious medical condition. Someone should check on Melania Trump because she said her work as First Lady would be to fight online bullying. It didn’t seem like she got the irony of that statement. (The Gaily Grind)

By the way, the AP said that Melania was paid to model while in America before she got a work visa. (The Associated Press)

At a rally last night, The Donald was whisked off-stage by the Secret Service. There was no assassination attempt. It was a man holding a Republicans Against Trump sign that caused a ruckus with Trump diehards and he got beaten for it. (The Guardian)

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Wednesday Link-Off: One More Week

In what can only be considered the best news we’ll have until this time next week, there is only one more week until the votes are counted and the US might have a new leader. Of course, there might be a few legal challenges from either side depending on the outcome. And for all Trump talks about World War III if Hilary wins, there’s the real possibility of Civil War II if she wins. At least the US and Russia will get along if Trump wins.

While FBI Director Comey was willing to disclose an investigation into Hilary Clinton’s emails via Anthony Weiner’s sexting, he’s not as quick to disclose the FBI’s investigation into the Republican candidate. For example, the FBI is investigating Trump’s former campaign manager. (NBC News)

Meanwhile, the FBI was made aware that Putin and the Kremlin were cultivating Trump and he seems to be playing into their hands. (Mother Jones)

The Times is digging into Donald Trumps taxes again and found how he was able to not pay taxes and loans from his casinos in the 1990. It turns out that it may not have been in the most kosher manner possible. (New York Times)

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Sunday Link-Off: Nearing the End

We’re just over a week away from Election Day in the US and hopefully we’ll be done with it by then. Of course, with the Trump campaign openly talking about voter suppression and with Trump and supporters claiming the election is rigged, will anyone be happy enough to let the election end quietly next week?

What does it say about a campaign when they’re talking about “voter suppression operations?” That’s the plan inside Team Trump. (Bloomberg)

Donald Trump claims to be charitable but David Fahrenthold’s latest look at the Trump Foundation just backs up all the other assertions that Trump is stingy with his money (he’d prefer the term “efficient” so watch for that) and has used the Trump Foundation as his personal funds. (Washington Post)

It not just charity that Donald isn’t giving to. He pledged $100 million of his own money to his presidential campaign. If he came through on his claim that he gave $10 million more to his campaign, he’s still be something like $34 million short of that pledge. (Talking Points Memo)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Basket Full Of

Two more weeks! There are only two more weeks before we should all be done with this edition of the US election and can move on with our lives. At least, we hope that’s the case but with Donald Trump claiming to only accept the results if he wins, this election might drag on through the courts until the next election. And, until then, we’ll have a daily assortment of scandals to peruse and wonder how American politics got to this point.

An undercover investigation showed a Trump-supporting super PAC willing to bring a foreign donation despite that being illegal in US elections. (Daily Telegraph)

Remember Silvio Berlusconi’s infamous bunga-bunga parties? The term has regained traction with reports that a similar party or parties happened with Donald Trump and associates which involved cocaine, underage models and rich, old men. (The Daily Beast)

And here’s testimony from the rape lawsuit that has been filed against Trump and Jeffery Epstein. Some may find the testimony disturbing. (The Proud Liberal)

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Sunday Link-Off: Puppet

amy-adams-elleuk16-01We’re almost at the end of the 2016 US Presidential campaign. The world will be a better place when it’s done and we can all move on with our lives, assuming that there won’t be any legal challenges or civil wars. It’s sad that this is a legitimate possibility in an American election but here we are.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we’re doing the links. Let’s kick off with Amy Adams.

Donald Trump has been talking about rigged elections so let’s talk about Congressional district gerrymandering and how that might mean four more years of the same. (Salon)

“Trump Won’t Inherit the Land, So He’s Sowing It with Salt” (Foreign Policy)

If you’ve been having trouble keeping track of all the women accusing The Donald of sexual improprieties, here’s a primer on 17 of them. (Vox)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Round Three

It’s Round Three of the Presidential Debates tonight. It’s Clinton vs. Trump III from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The margin between the two candidates is such that Trump needs a big surprise to turn momentum and a statistical error from the polling to draw level without even factoring the distribution of votes in the electoral college. Basically, Hilary is playing not to lose tonight while Trump’s got nothing left to lose.

What’s a scarier prospect for November 8th, 9th and beyond? The fact that militias are recruiting in preparation for a Clinton presidency… (The Guardian)

Or that Trump is advocating for Republican supporters to “observe” polling stations on November 8th. It’s authorized voter intimidation and it’s very illegal. (Mashable)

The Donald has gone so far as to say that Hilary has to be “taken out.” He’s not even trying to promote some hidden meeting. He explicitly said that his political opponent needs to be “in jail or shot.” (Talking Point Memo)

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Sunday Link-Off: Assault

Here we are again. The election isn’t getting any better. Remember when we all thought that it would be over at building a wall to keep Mexicans out? It wouldn’t be nearly as sad or entertaining, would it? If either party has a different candidate, this election would be finished already. Instead, we have a cult of personality on the right and someone too establishment to continue the message of hope and change on the left. God help America, especially if Trump wins.

If you’ve been out of the loop, here’s a list of women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, sexual harassment and other improprieties. (Mother Jones)

Trump’s response to many of those accusations? They’re liars and ugly so he wouldn’t consider sexually assaulting them. (New York Times)

Trump’s repeated accusations that the election is rigged against him has started a ground swell of supporters who are openly discussing civil war if The Donald doesn’t win. (Boston Globe)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Abandon Ship

brie-and-nikki-bella-twins-muscleandfitness16-02Republicans are abandoning ship over Donald Trump’s sexist comments. It took many of them this long to come to grips with the fact that he doesn’t represent them. It makes me wonder if there is a baseline of racism, xenophobia and misogyny that’s tolerable but at least bragging about sexual assault is a place where the line is drawn. How about being a Russian sympathizer? 

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re doing the links. Since Trump is a WWE Hall of Famer, let’s kick off with WWE stars Brie and Nikki Bella.

Donald Trump claimed to know nothing about Russia but he’s sure doing a good job of reading Russian propaganda at rallies. (Newsweek)

A US Intelligence official says that Donald Trump is fully aware of Russia’s hack of the Democrats and their intentions to influence the election. So why would he deny it? (NBC News)

The question has been asked about whether WikiLeaks is acting intentionally or unintentionally working for Russian interests. Now, Julian Assange has become a key part of the Trump campaign strategy. (Bloomberg)

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Sunday Link-Off: Beyond Unfit

Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen Donald Trump go from being considered unfit for the presidency to proving himself unfit for the presidency to showing himself for far beyond that consideration that it’s amazing that he’s not polling at 0%. He wanted to promote the Trump brand with this campaign but he might have just nuked it for he and generations of Trumps to come. Without the brand, what do they have?

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we’re here for the links. No pictures to kick off the links this week. I trust that’s understandable given the context of the post.

The latest week of the campaign ended with another should-be campaign ending scandal as a tape was released of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women and being able to do so with his star status. (New York Times)

And here’s Trump’s non-apology. If he could have dropped the politics for a moment (like not pivoting into “but my opponent’s husband is worse”) and been honest (like that he’s a different person when he’s just spent last week fat and slut shaming Alicia Machado), maybe it would have been somewhat effective. (NBC News)

Don’t expect these sorts of stories to end any time soon, a producer on The Apprentice says there are “far worse” tapes out there. When those drop, could that finally be it? (The Hill)

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