Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Everybody saw this coming.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Let me file that under fuck it.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

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On The Road – Albatrossity – New Zealand #4

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Albatrossity

The birds of the oceans around New Zealand have not been nearly as impacted by humans as the land birds, although that is changing rapidly as humans begin to impact the oceans more and more. It is still possible to see lots of seabirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl there, and some of them are unique to that country. Since I live in a part of the country that hasn’t had beachfront property for the past 70 million years, I really enjoy seeing seabirds when I get the chance. And New Zealand offers you lots of chances, so this post and tomorrow’s post will feature just a few of those.

Map here.

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On The Road - Albatrossity - New Zealand - #4 9
Stewart IslandDecember 27, 2015

There are 22 species of albatross in the world, and 16 of these have been seen in New Zealand waters. I’ve seen six of them there, so obviously I have some work to do. One of the most spectacular is the Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi), a New Zealand endemic species. The Maori name for this species, and for all the other species of albatrosses, is toroa. When one of these approaches the boat, that 3 m (10 ft) wingspan gets your attention. This one was near Stewart Island, in the company of these two White-capped Albatrosses (aka Shy Albatross depending on which taxonomic authority you subscribe to), which have a wingspan of 8 ft, but obviously are much smaller than their huge Wandering companion.

Things That Get Done in the Darkness Open Thread: More (Predictable) Trump Pardons

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… The pardons extend Trump’s streak of wielding his clemency powers for criminals who are loyalists, well-connected or adjacent to his family. While all presidents issue controversial pardons at the end of their terms, Trump appears to be moving at a faster pace than his predecessors, demonstrating little inhibition at rewarding his friends and allies using one of the most unrestricted powers of his office.

The pardons of Manafort and Stone reward two of the most high-profile and widely condemned former advisers of the President, both of whom were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, went to trial and were convicted by juries of multiple crimes…

Charles Kushner, meanwhile, had been prosecuted by then-US Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie in the early 2000s for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.

He eventually pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness — his brother-in-law — and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission…

Beyond the high-profile pardons, Trump also pardoned more than 20 other individuals, including those who had pleaded guilty to various cyber crimes, firearm possession and mail fraud. He also commuted the sentences of three others…

But not, yet, Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht, marketplace disrupter.

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Ghosts of Holidays Past: Raven Edition

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Ghosts of Holidays Past, Raven Edition 3
Family Christmas Dinner in the mid-1950s

 

Ghosts of Holidays Past, Raven Edition 4
Get your hands off my sister bubba.  (editor’s note: classic raven!)

 

Ghosts of Holidays Past, Raven Edition 2
Even the 7th Infantry DIvision in 1967 was part of the “War on Christmas.
Season Greetings indeed!

Ghosts of Holidays Past, Raven Edition
Christmas Tree in Southeast Asia

 

Ghosts of Holidays Past, Raven Edition 1
Daniel Boone and the pups.

 

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Holiday Recipes and Pets

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The week, which I was hoping was going to be quiet, has been ridiculously busy. So this will be a brief post, but cute puppehs to make up for it:

Holiday Recipes and Pets

This was last year, in front of my half-decorated tree, LOL. There just hasn’t been time this year. How is that possible? The days are years long, but I guess so is my list of things to do.

Holiday Recipes and Pets 1

Merlin, in his incarnation as Xmas Cat in the Middle of Everything.

Tomato Queen sent a Merlin update. Look at that cutie!

Okay, some food photos with links to recipes because if I had to actually post the recipes, it just wouldn’t happen.

Starting with this year’s Sweet Holiday Gifts:

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies (recipe here)

 

Sesame Brittle (love this stuff, and great addtion to ice cream sundaes) Recipe here.

 

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Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: The Son-In-Law & His Cronies

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My old man used to say, “Those guys get their suits tailored with rubber pockets, so they can steal soup.”

… Federal Election Commission records show that the Trump campaign has made no salary payments to chief strategist Jason Miller, who came on board in June, or to campaign manager Bill Stepien, who joined the campaign in late 2018 and took over the top job from Brad Parscale in July. Kushner agreed to both arrangements, and personally directed the payments to Miller, the person involved said…

Instead, the campaign has paid these top-tier advisers through intermediaries — some of which are still unknown.

For instance, according to the source, after salary negotiations with Miller, Kushner directed the campaign to route the top strategist’s $35,000 monthly payment through Jamestown Associates, a media and production firm where Miller once worked, and which the campaign contracts for video production. Miller, who is currently contesting child-support payments in court, requested the anonymous arrangement for the $420,000 annual rate, for unclear reasons. Communications, court documents and FEC filings reviewed by Salon make clear that the money was paid to by way of Jamestown. President Trump himself was aware of the deal, a person involved said.

To this point, the campaign has not told government that it has paid Miller anything. Instead, it has stated that all payments to Jamestown are for “video production,” without mentioning Miller’s name or strategy work. Furthermore, Miller’s official role means that he has often directed how and when the campaign uses Jamestown Associates, the company that technically pays him…

Getting paid off the books to screw over your baby mamas will no doubt resonate with a certain portion of Trump’s (Very) Base, but it remains legally… dubious.

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Trump Vetoes The National Defense Authorization Act

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The NDAA is the funding act for the military and a lot more. This year it also includes some serious anti-money-laundering provisions. Trump vetoed it, as he threatened, because it removes Confederate generals’ names from military bases and because it doesn’t revoke Section 230. Don’t ask me what Section 230 is. It has something to do with Trump’s love-hate relationship with social media.

https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1341841378406445057

Both houses of Congress passed the NDAA with enough votes that they will be able to override the veto.

Trump has also threatened to veto the COVID bill, which contains many things besides COVID relief. His ostensible gripe with it is that the checks it will send to people will be only $600, and he prefers $2000. He’s been able to get that into the negotiations since June or earlier, but it’s more attention-grabbing to do it now.

He’s set up an interesting problem for the Republicans with the $2000 demand. It’s what the Democrats wanted initially, and the Republicans knocked it down. Much of the kerfuffle has to do with the Georgia Senate runoffs, and it should be an advantage for Warnock and Ossoff.

https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock/status/1341798270188793856

Open thread!

Update: Whoops, it’s Authorization, not Appropriation. I’ve changed the heading. It’s an important distinction. Authorization says this is what may be spent for the various categories. Appropriation actually makes the money available.

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