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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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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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Wednesday Link-Off: Use the Force

daisy-ridley-starwars15-01I’m not sure whether I should start this post by saying after a ten-year wait or a thirty-two-year wait. It’s been ten years since the prequel trilogy ended but we’re 32 years past the conclusion of the original trilogy that The Force Awakens picks up from. I’ve basically sequestered myself from all things Star Wars since the trailer in October so I’m going in nearly blind. As I mentioned earlier this week, we’re planning a movie review podcast at some point soon to talk Star Wars.

There are no Star Wars links in today’s set of links. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t start with Daisy Ridley who stars in the new movie.

A former Romney staffer got into a Donald Trump focus group and found his party completely broken. (The Daily Beast)

Ted Cruz is vaulting up the Republican primary polls but is he any better than either Trump or Carson? (Rolling Stone)

For the next few weeks, the battle will be between Trump and Cruz. I’m still hoping that Rubio surges up the polls. He seems like one of the more sensible candidates now that Christie skewed hard right to make up for getting along with Obama post Hurricane Sandy. (Vox)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Great Debate

karen-gillan-afifest15-01Sometimes, it’s best not to overdo things because it doesn’t mean as much any more. For example, take the Republican primaries. They have debates so often that they’re about as newsworthy as a cat up a tree. Then you have the Democrats who just had their second or third debate. If the GOP’s debates weren’t car crash TV, I doubt anyone would care at this point.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s change things up and kick things off with Karen Gillan.

Before anyone starts talking about terrorist attacks, you should note that sometimes intelligence works. For example, the CIA knew for months about a major attack coming on American soil. The reports were ignored and 9/11 happened. That was before everyone’s privacy was forfeit so we could be secure. (Politico)

Good news! The TPP is about as bad as everyone expected! (Daily Dot)

When economic plans are mostly based on half-truths and gorilla dust, you know that you’re in trouble. (Salon)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Baloney

morena-baccarin-emmys15-01I love when a good linkdump theme comes together. Today, we’re talking about people that are full of baloney. Normally I would use a stronger word but “baloney” was handed to me in one of the links today and who am I to argue with such a perfect word.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick off with Morena Baccarin.

Carly Fiorina was the big star of the most recent Republican Presidential candidate debate. It’s too bad she doesn’t actually have that good business record to stand on that she claims to have. (New York Times)

One would normally associate the GOP with the religious right but they’re planning to boycott and denounce the Pope’s visit to Washington. What is going on? (Salon)

Elections Canada is warning people to watch out for voter suppression tactics. It would be nice if their mandate and funding wasn’t neutered so they could do something about this. (iPolitics)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Lost

Well, this was an odd week. A Malaysian airliner has disappeared off the face of the earth and no one knows where it is and whether it actually crashed or not. Things in Crimea could spark a war because neither Russia nor NATO want to back down over this farcical “referendum.” Basically, I’m rebuilding the bunker again. It’s been a while since I mentioned that, hasn’t it?

Anyway, I think Jackie focused on the wrong movie star at the start of his ELO. He has Kristen Bell. I have Scarlett Johansson.

The Crimean referendum is a farce and doesn’t give voters an option to not vote to join Russia. Good luck having anyone besides Russia consider this a legitimate exercise in democracy. (Reuters via Huffington Post)

Former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych didn’t just up and run away. He planned his departure well in advance. (Kyiv Post)

A former Politico writer explains what it’s like going from covering a Presidential campaign to being thrown into the depths of retail hell. (The Atlantic)

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Is Ronald Reagan Actually a Hero of The Tea Party?

If you talk to Republicans, one of their greatest heroes is actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan. The 40th President of the United States is an icon for Conservatives. However, is it possible that Reagan’s policies of the 1980s would be politically left of those who claim him as a sort of demigod, the Tea Party? Could it be that the Tea Party is so out of touch with the policies that led to American prosperity under Reagan that he couldn’t win the Republican Presidential nomination if he ran in 2012? Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Check Your Facts

It’s the middle of the week which means it’s time to catch up on some of the more interesting headlines and news from the week so far. For the second week running, let’s kick off with Canadian actress Nina Dobrev. See, I checked that fact before writing.

It turns out that the Bush White House had plenty of lead time with warnings about a potential terrorist attack ahead of 9/11. For some reason, these warnings from CIA were ignored. (New York Times)

Mitt Romney is starting to change tactics when it comes to his campaign. Now, he’s taking baseless personal shots at Obama over religion. (Talking Points Memo)

The Romney/Ryan campaign wants to cut spending overall but increase defence spending. So isn’t it funny that Congressman Ryan voted for $1 trillion of defence cuts in 2011? (Think Progress)

After the jump, more political lies, the return of Iron Chef and the origin of internet memes. Continue reading →