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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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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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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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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