John Oliver gives the New Years Eve sendoff that we all deserve.

God I love this show.

And have no fear kids it will return in February.

Now if you will excuse me I am currently in the middle of "Die Hard With a Vengeance" and if I don't stay on schedule I will never be in bed by 11:45.

Nancy French, playing the part of Bristol Palin, claims that Ken Ham's Ark project lost funding because it was "too religious."

Courtesy of Brancy's blog: 

I just get so sick of hearing about the “separation of church and state.” Because it usually means the state is pushing Christians around. Here’s the latest example. 

Answers in Genesis is building a life-sized Noah’s Ark in Kentucky and a theme park to go with it. “Ark Encounter” will bring hundreds of jobs and millions of visitors to boost Kentucky’s economy. The state has a program to encourage tourism that refunds sales tax to big parks like this for the first 10 years they’re open. The plans for “Ark Encounter” were approved by the state in 2011 along with the tax credits. 

But now, out of the blue, Kentucky officials say they’ve changed their mind! Answers in Genesis won’t be approved for the program unless they agree to hire people who aren’t Christians and unless the exhibit doesn’t talk about Christianity. 

Okay well that part about not talking about Christianity in order to get the tax credits is all bullshit, but yes refusing to hire workers based on their religious faith is totally against state law when it comes to granting tax incentives.

Now of course there is NO way that Nancy French or that Wasillabilly drunken brawler is going to ever understand this, but the Friendly Atheist tries to explain it anyway: 

Answers in Genesis was approved for the tax rebates because they were building a for-profit theme park and they agreed to play by the rules. 

Like every other business that wants these government subsidies, they had to follow the law and not discriminate in hiring. Six Flags can’t do it. Kentucky Kingdom can’t do it. And Ark Encounter can’t do it. 

But then they posted a job listing for Ark Encounter that required you to be a Christian. While that’s fine for, say, the non-profit Creation Museum, they can’t do that if they want the tax rebates. 

Kentucky officials finally realized this and denied Answers in Genesis access to that money. It was the right move and it prevented a lawsuit from church/state separation groups in the future.

So as the Friendly Atheist points out this decision is not anti-Christian it is pro-following-the-law.

Of course in French/Palin's view of the world legality is only important when it supports something Christians want to do do, and completely unimportant if it stops them from receiving special privileges over other religious groups.

Hey I have a question. Is this another example of Bristol Palin living a private life?

USA Today's Year in Review chose 50 stories from 50 states. Guess which one they chose for Alaska.

Courtesy of USA Today:  

It was a birthday party gone bad, starring former governor Sarah Palin and her family. According to reports, the clan got into a big fight at a party in Anchorage, and Palin was even said to have screamed, "Don't you know who I am!?" In October, Radar Online and Extra unearthed what they say is the police recording from the scene. Listen for yourself. Palin eventually addressed the brawl on Facebook, pointing us to her daughter Bristol's version of what went down. Bristol said someone messed with her little sister.

That last part of course we all know is bullshit.

We know the true story and thanks to those police audio tapes so does anybody else willing to take the time to listen. 

Seriously, in my opinion it was the feel good story of 2014.

And do you know what? It's still paying dividends.

New York Congressman, and felony tax evader, Michael Grimm finally resigns.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Rep. Michael Grimm announced late Monday night plans to resign from Congress, after pleading guilty to a felony tax evasion charge last week. 

The announcement came just hours after a source familiar with Grimm's thinking told CNN he would resign "sooner rather than later," after the New York Daily News broke the news of Grimm's plans to step down. 

"After much thought and prayer, I have made the very difficult decision to step down from Congress effective January 5th, 2015. This decision is made with a heavy heart, as I have enjoyed a very special relationship and closeness with my constituents, whom I care about deeply," Grimm said in a statement issued shortly before midnight by his office. 

The Staten Island congressman was indicted in April on 20 counts relating to his health food restaurant, Healthalicious, including charges that he filed false tax returns; engaged in mail fraud, wire fraud and perjury; and knowingly hired undocumented workers. 

House Speaker John Boehner called Grimm's decision to step down "honorable" in a statement on Tuesday.

You know there are a lot of slimy politicians in Congress, but this guy was one of the slimiest. 

And it is somewhat unbelievable that despite the fact that he certain to be convicted he was still reelected.

And don't forget this is the same shit heel who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony and break him in half "like a boy." 

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out douchebag.

Just a few photos of our fearless leader throughout 2014.

Charming the Aussies

Well somebody didn't like the joke.

I hear the Republicans are your new fan boys. You can have'em.

Going 3D

Never turn your back on kids.

Speaks for itself.

There are a whole lot more over at The Obama Diary if you want to see them.

These next two years are going to be really tough for the President, so I hope we get to see that infectious smile of his in spite of that.

Mark my words history is going to judge him as one of the best this country has ever produced. Of that I have no doubt.

A little shot of optimism from our favorite astronaut Chris Hadfield.

I love this guy.

And I appreciate hearing such hopeful talk from a man who has seen this planet from a perspective that few others will ever experience.

We are moving forward, getting better, and improving our lives.

There are many battles yet to wage, and adversaries yet to defeat, but what we have learned is that in the end those who are moving us forward leave those trying desperately to stop us dead or turn us back in the dust.

Two year old accidentally shoots woman with her own gun. Sadly she was killed and therefore unable to return fire.

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

A two-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a woman after he reached into her purse at a northern Idaho Walmart and her concealed gun fired, authorities said Tuesday. 

The woman was shopping with several children, and it is unclear how they are related, Kootenai County sheriff’s spokesman Stu Miller said. Authorities originally said the boy was the woman’s son. 

The woman, whose identity was not released, had a concealed weapons permit. 

Miller said the shooting was accidental and occurred in the Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, a town about 40 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington.

First off a woman who carries a concealed weapon while out with a bunch of children deserves to be shot.  I know that sounds insensitive but since one of the alternatives is that a child is shot, I stand by my statement.

Secondly have you ever noticed just how many people are shot in Wal-Mart these days?

And thirdly this is just another example of having guns on your person placing you and your loved ones in more, not less, danger.

I feel badly for this two year old child, and the other children who were there to witness this.

But once again I am finding it impossible to feel badly for this woman.

I watched The Interview so that you don't have to. Assuming you are too un-American to sit through an hour and fifty two minutes of red, white, and blue awesomeness!

(Warning, title might be a tad hyperbolic.)

So I kind of accidentally found a Google video link online. (I am not sure it will work for long, but until it doesn't it is a free way to see the entire movie.) And I thought, what the hell?

So I sat down and watched the movie. It took some time as it takes a butt load of bandwidth and I kept getting that still loading spiral that I hate so much.  But eventually I made it to the end.

By the time I saw the credits start to roll I had an epiphany which seemed to have escaped many of the reviewers who trashed the film.

This is a Seth Rogen movie. No seriously, it is.

So if you liked "Knocked Up," "Superbad," and "Pineapple Express" you are going to LOVE this movie.

If you don't like those movies, then no you are not going to like this one either.

And if you have never seen a Seth Rogen comedy before, then well you probably ought to start off with "Knocked Up" or "Neighbors" first. Those are movies that have a wider appeal than the straight up stoner Rogen vehicles, like "This is the End" or "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

As for "The Interview" itself it had some really good laughs in it, and a whole lot of over the top stuff that kind of makes you cringe, and absolutely tons of toilet humor.

In other words it is a Seth Rogen film.

Now I love movies so I have seen a whole lot of bad ones, as well as a whole lot of buried gems that I am glad that I discovered. If I had to categorize "The Interview" I would put it somewhere in between.

In my most humble opinion if you like comedies, and you are not easily offended, then yes you should probably take the time to watch this.

However if you are a Fundamentalist Christian, an old prude, or a person under the age of sixteen or seventeen, then no this is not the movie for you.

P.S. By the way as we are still trying to make sure we know who the real culprits were behind the Sony hack, does anybody remember what the big news was BEFORE the hack?

Sarah Palin is planning to run for office again. But "shhh" don't tell anybody.

"Wait, nobody is supposed to know yet."

Well I just got a call from a very well placed source who tells me that Palin is working overtime to head off a potential scandal that she is terrified will leak to the press.

Apparently that scandalous bit of information is that Todd's brother JD did not pass a recent urine test and is about to lose his job. (I have not heard what substances he tested positive for, but my source says alcohol has to be at least one of them.)

So worried is Palin that she has had Todd hire.....you might want to sit down for this....Rex Butler.

I know right?

So gee I guess all of that talk about Rex and Tank being paid off by the Palins in order to destroy Levi's credibility and drain his bank account, does not sound quite so far fetched anymore does it?

According to the source this company wants JD gone but Sarah and Todd are desperate for this not to explode onto the headlines.

Why are they so concerned you might be wondering?

Because the big surprise that Chuck Jr. has been hinting at is that Sarah is about to announce her candidacy for some political office.

Which one is still unclear, but she is DEFINITELY getting ready to make an announcement.

And my response to that is, good! If she does that I am certain to attract national attention for my source and to possibly even get her a book deal.

Speaking of my source I am pushing back my post until January 5th.

The reason is because that is a Monday which is always a better day for big news, and also because now I have quite a lot more information to work with than I did before.

Rex Butler, can you believe that shit?

President Obama has a message for Republicans in 2015. I have a veto pen and I am not afraid to use it.

"Nice try Boehner."

Courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times:  

Warning from President Barack Obama to congressional Republicans: I have a veto pen and, come January, I won’t be afraid to use it. 

Since taking office in 2009, Obama has only vetoed legislation twice, both in fairly minor circumstances. But with Republicans set to take full control of Congress next year, Obama is losing his last bulwark against a barrage of bills he doesn’t like: the Senate. 

“I haven’t used the veto pen very often since I’ve been in office,” Obama said in an NPR interview airing Monday. “Now, I suspect, there are going to be some times where I’ve got to pull that pen out.” 

He added: “I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made in health care. I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made on environment and clean air and clean water.”

Yeah I have a feeling that the President might want to stock up on pen refills, because there is little doubt that the Republicans are going to try to repeal Obamacare repeatedly and pass all kinds of crazy legislation that he cannot let stand.

If we thought there was a contentious relationship between the President and the Congress before, I believe we have not seen anything yet.

Fox News affiliate "apologizes" for selectively editing and misrepresenting protester's chants to make it seem they were calling for the murder of police officers.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

A Baltimore Fox affiliate station apologized to a Black Lives Matter protester on Monday after the station deceptively edited a chant by protesters to say “Kill a cop.” 

According to Talking Points Memo, the chant, led by protester Tawanda Jones, actually said, “We won’t stop, we can’t stop, ’til killer cops, are in cell blocks.” 

On Monday, Gawker noted the deceptive editing, juxtaposing Baltimore Fox station WBFF’s footage against actual footage from the protest event, which the site acquired via C-SPAN. 

The Fox station apologized to the protesters and to Jones both on its Facebook page and in an interview with Jones. 

The Facebook post claimed that the station’s engineers misheard what the protesters were chanting and called it an “honest misunderstanding.”

"Honest misunderstanding?"  Seriously?

As I reported before it appears that the Fox affiliate went out of their way to make the protesters appear scary and bent on violence.

Below you can see the interview with Tawanda Jones, during which the affiliate plays an unedited video of her chants, which is NOT the same footage shown on WBFF originally which also featured a voice over completely misrepresenting what she was saying, and then attempts to make it sound like it was an honest mistake.

It clearly wasn't.

Robert Reich gives us all hope for 2015.

You know when you really think about it, despite attempts by the Right to obstruct progress at every turn, we are really moving forward at a fairly impressive pace.

The Dish Network enters its second week of Fox News free satellite TV. Okay now I'm jealous.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Dish Network subscribers who are fans on Fox News’ “fair and balanced” reporting are entering the second week of not being able to watch their favorite Fox hosts, as the war between the network and the cable provider shows no sign of letting up. 

Dish Network pulled the plug on both Fox News and the Fox Business Network on Dec. 20, after the two sides could not agree on a new contract, with Dish claiming Fox was using their popular news shows as leverage to overcharge for other Fox programming the provider was less interested in. 

The resulting blackout led Fox to unleash their loyal viewers on Dish, via Facebook, with threats of cancellation unless Fox News was made available to Dish’s 13 million subscribers again.

In response the CEO of Dish has accused Fox of extortion, which sounds just like something they would do actually.

In the meantime Dish subscribers are getting completely away from conservative conspiracy theories and misinformation as they have replaced Fox News with Glenn Beck's crazy ass network The Blaze.

Yeah, I'm not sure that's any actually better.

Well here's a magazine I will never subscribe to.

Abortion, Euthanasia, ISIS, and Hollywood are all comparable to one another?

Really?

I actually had never heard of this magazine until I found this image on Reddit.

After a little digging I found that it is a magazine put out by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. And that many of the articles are written by Sarah Palin's look but don't touch boyfriend Franklin Graham.

From what I can determine it is a magazine filled with dire predictions for the end of the world as we know it and the only cure for all of that is.....wait for it.....God.

Oh yeah and on the magazine's webpage they also beg for donations, because though God is all powerful he does not work for free dammit!

Once again President Obama and Hillary Clinton top the list of most admired.

Courtesy of Gallup:  

Americans continue to name Hillary Clinton as the woman living anywhere in the world whom they admire most, and name Barack Obama as the man they admire most. Clinton has held the top women's spot in each of the last 13 years and 17 of the last 18, with that streak interrupted only by first lady Laura Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks. Obama has been most admired man in each of the last seven years, beginning with 2008, the year he was elected president.

 Okay well I have a few problems with this list.

While I have no bone to pick with who they picked as the top in both the female and male category the fact that Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and Ben Carson are included calls in to question the intelligence of those being polled.

Though I do find it somewhat satisfying that Hillary, Oprah Winfrey, Malala Yousafzai are the top three on the women's side and that Obama, the Pope, and Bill Clinton are on the top for men.

In preparation for his 2016 campaign for president, Jeb Bush resigns from board of healthcare company that made huge profits due to Obamacare. Oh did he now?

Courtesy of CBS News:  

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is resigning from the board of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a company that has significantly profited from the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and that has touted the economic benefits of the controversial health law. 

Last month, Tenet reported that its third-quarter revenue was up $4.18 billion over the previous year, as the Washington Post notes -- and the company attributed 40 percent of those gains to Obamacare. Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter has repeatedly credited the ACA for his company's growing business. Last year, he said he expects every state to eventually embrace the expansion of Medicaid, a core component of Obamacare that only about half the states have adopted.

So if the Affordable Care Act proved profitable for a company he was associated with then Jebbie must kind a like it, right?

Wrong:

"ObamaCare, flawed to its core, doesn't work."

Try telling that to the millions of people who now have health insurance for the first time, and the shareholders of a company that made billions of dollars due to its implementation.

Wait until his fellow GOP presidential hopefuls get a load of this.

Boy 2016 is going to be bloodbath.

Our friend Dennis Zaki has a new, very informative page about all things Alaska.

So Dennis has been working on this rather incredible website for awhile now and late last night he decided to launch it publicly.

It is called Alaska Trekker, and it is chock full of interesting facts, amazing original photos and video of the Alaska outdoors, and even information on travel to and within the state.

Dennis did this purely out of frustration that there wasn't already a page that had all of the things that people are looking for when they are thinking of making a visit to our fair state.

Personally I am just happy that now people will get to see some of the amazing pictures that Dennis has been sharing with me for years.  The guy is really good!

Anyhow if you have a moment head on over and leave a comment. I know he will appreciate it.

Nobody explains the problem with stupid people better than John Cleese.

I am not a mind reader but I know for a fact who most of you were thinking of while he was describing how stupid people are too stupid to realize that they are stupid.

You ever have one of those nights?

For those confused as to what happened with the simple little Happy Birthday Tripp post on Saturday night, let me explain.

Originally I had the Sea of Blue post scheduled for that last slot at the end of the night.

However when I visited Facebook to see what my family was up to I happened to see a post from Mercede wishing her nephew a happy birthday.

"Oh yeah it's Tripp's birthday" I thought so I quickly put up a simple post wishing him a happy birthday, which I have done several times in the past. No biggie.

After that I kind of turned away from my computer and started doing other work while watching Netflix in the background.

At around 8:04 I received a comment suggesting that Tripp's birthday is actually two days away.

Wait, what? So at this point I have also had a glass or two of wine and am exhausted and not thinking at all clearly.

So I Google Tripp's birth date and find this. In my somewhat bleary eyed state all I do is read the date, which is December 29th, and think "Oh crap I might be premature." (The article actually says that Tripp was born on Saturday which would have made it the 27th. But hey. who reads the articles?)

I then went to my post on the day that we all learned that Bristol gave birth, and once again only read the date it was posted, December 29th. (The actual ADN article listed the birth date on the 28th. More confusion.)

So at this point I have confused myself completley since I am literally running on fumes. In response I quickly write a post saying that I might be wrong, and how weird it is that Mercede would have Tripp's birthday wrong.

Then I post that and go back to Facebook to ask Sadie about it. When I get there I see that Sunny has also wished Tripp a happy birthday and talked about spending the day with him to celebrate.

After that I changed the post once again to what most of you saw Saturday night and Sunday morning.

When I woke up in the morning I went back to see where I had screwed up and was able to figure out where I had, if you pardon the term, tripped up.

Tripp's birthday is, and always has been, December 27th. Which is something I have known because I have wished him a happy birthday several times in the past.

So let me apologize for my rather confusing post, and remind all of you that drinking and posting never mix.

I would also like to mention that though I may have bungled my birthday post for Tripp, at least I took the time to make one.

As of right now neither Bristol nor Sarah have bothered to do the same.

P.S. For those of you who are curious about the next post coming from my source, I will let you know that I sent her a list of the questions that many of you left in the comments and she has responded. I am still working on followups and clarifications, but the post is planned for January 2nd which will place it outside of the holiday slow period when blog traffic is traditionally down.

In the category of "This should not be news to anybody" a recent Nielson poll tells us that only 1% of Fox News viewers are black. What, that many?

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Nielsen’s annual look at the racial breakdown of cable news viewers has arrived and once again there are some seriously sharp difference between the big three networks when it comes to the diversity of their viewers. 

During the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m., MSNBC’s audience is 24% black, CNN’s audience is 16% black and Fox News’ audience is just 1% black. By comparison MSNBC’s primetime audience is 67% white while CNN’s is 73% white and Fox News’ is 92% white. 

Gee I don't know why this would be unless of course it is somehow connected to the fact that the network made a hero out of George Zimmerman, have been attacking the first black president since before he even took the oath of office, took the side of Darron Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting, and was among those blaming the recent shootings of the NYPD cops on protesters.

It could also be due to their ties to a well known racist organization.

The Republican party.

If only we would have listened.

Chuck Todd admits that he does not ask tough questions because if he did he would no longer be able to book certain guests.

Click sell out in order to play video

Courtesy of Politicususa:  

During a roundtable discussion with several comedians Meet The Press’s Chuck Todd made excuses for why he lets Republicans get away with saying things that aren’t true. Lewis Black asked Todd how he put up with guests who babble on with their talking points without barking at them, and Todd’s answer revealed why people don’t trust the media. 

The Meet The Press host said, “We all sit there, because we all know, the first time we bark is the last time that they do the show. You say something, and sometimes it is last time they will ever come on your show. There is that balance.”

To be fair Todd does not identify Republicans as the people he is unable to "bark" at but it is quite obvious.

Especially since comedian W. Kamau Bell follows that up by saying this:  

"Comedy gets to bark. But the weird thing is that Fox News also gets to bark. And I think sometimes the Left, you know the left leaning media, is afraid of barking."

That is so well put, and so absolutely true.

So in other words Fox News gets to tear into politicians (I think all of us remember how disrespectful Bill O'Reilly and Bret Baier were to President Obama when he subjected himself to Fox News interviews.), while more mainstream media types tiptoe around conservative politicians as if they are afraid that they won't like them on Facebook after the show if they dare to ask them a tough question.

And that's why once great shows like MTP are a joke these days. Because they are filled with bullshit softball questions that never challenge the conservative interviewee in any way.

North Koreans really excited about prospect of watching "The Interview." North Korean government kind of the opposite of excited.

"Wait is that a DVD? No, never mind that's just a bird."

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

More and more North Koreans are becoming aware of the North Korea-mocking movie “The Interview,” and the government is doing everything to block it from getting smuggled in to the country. 

According to Free North Korea Radio, an online radio network made by North Korean defectors, demand for “The Interview” has been shooting up among North Koreans. It says people are willing to pay almost $50 a copy of the movie, which is 10X higher than what a regular South Korean TV show’s DVD would cost in the black market. 

In response, North Korea’s State Security Department and The Ministry of People’s Security held an emergency meeting recently, and told its officers to make sure the movie doesn’t make it into the country under any circumstances. 

The report says the North Korean government has beefed up its border security inspection level, and even told black market dealers to not bring in any kind of US movie for the time being. 

Well good luck with stopping your people from seeing this North Korea, especially since there are already plans to send them over the border with balloons. 

Okay look I know that a lot of you are not going to want to hear this, but at some point people are going to start referring to Seth Rogen and James Franco as geniuses.

I mean Sony and North Korea may not agree, but what they have managed to stir up with this little movie of theirs is nothing short of amazing.

Just in case you failed to realize that Sarah Palin's favorite Fox News talking head is a moron.

The MSM spent weeks covering the riots.You'd think they could spare a few hours to cover a police officer's funeral. #PoliceLivesMatter
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) December 27, 2014

The above is a tweet from Todd Starnes Fox's pudgy little Christo-fascist warrior in the "War on Christmas."

And as you can see he is foot stomping mad that other cable networks did not cover the funeral of murdered NYPD officer Rafael Ramos adequately.

Except you know what, they kind of did.

This from Mediaite:  

Now, before going any further, we should make several things clear. Firstly, Fox News did cover the memorial multiple times over the course of the morning. Fox & Friends covered it in several segments and they had live shots outside the church where the service was being held. There were a few live reports scattered throughout Fox’s Cost of Freedom business block, and right after that two-hour block they did cover what happened at the memorial service in detail. 

Fox also made live streams of the memorial service available online for people to watch the speeches by Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, but that wouldn’t exactly come close to the kind of reach it would have for Fox to cover the service live. 

But both CNN and MSNBC devoted more live, on-air coverage to the memorial service than Fox did. It was the only thing that CNN was covering for several hours, and that network carried the entire memorial service live. MSNBC only carried Biden’s speech live, but they also featured various live shots from reporters and interviews talking about the memorial service and the issues raised by it. 

Fox, again, covered the memorial service before it started but did not cover any of it live. Its regular programming went on as usual, interrupted briefly by various short updates.

What a tool.

No wonder Sarah Palin only phoned in her appearance on his truly terrible Christmas special. 

Pastor decides to spend a year "living without God." Guess what happened.

Courtesy of NPR: 

At the start of 2014, former Seventh-Day Adventist pastor Ryan Bell made an unusual New Year's resolution: to live for one year without God. This, reflecting his own loss of faith. He kept a blog documenting his journey and has a documentary crew following him. 

After a year, Bell tells NPR's Arun Rath, "I've looked at the majority of the arguments that I've been able to find for the existence of God and on the question of God's existence or not, I have to say I don't find there to be a convincing case in my view. 

"I don't think that God exists. I think that makes the most sense of the evidence that I have and my experience. But I don't think that's necessarily the most interesting thing about me."

Well that might not be the most interesting thing, but a pastor suddenly realizing there is no god is definitely an interesting thing about them. 

And that's another newly freed mind to welcome to the fold.

I think this is what really terrifies religious people about Atheism. Once you try it, well you kind of want to stick with it.

A sea of blue.

Courtesy of ABC News:  

New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton called slain New York City Police Officer Rafael Ramos "a hero" and gave the officer a posthumous promotion during Ramos' funeral today. 

"The men and women who hear that blue and wear that badge, we know who Rafael Ramos was," Bratton said at Ramos' funeral. "He was a New York City Police Officer, and he was, he is a hero." 

Thousands of uniformed police officers gathered for the funeral at Christ Tabernacle Church, in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, standing outside the church where it was broadcast on large screens. 

Bratton was just one of many high level government officials who spoke, including Vice President Joe Biden and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. 

Biden called the New York Police Department the finest in the world. 

"They were a part of New York's finest, and that not an idle phrase," he said. "This is probably the finest police department in the world, the finest police department in the world. They earn that praise."

I posted this partly to because I wanted to affirm the fact that for the most part I support the police, and I think what they do is both heroic and necessary to keep all of us safe.

My beef is not with the honest cop on the beat, and I do know they exist. My beef is with power hungry assholes and the over militarized police departments that are equipping their officers as if they expect to be invaded by China at any minute.

And yes I do realize that we live in a society with numerous citizens that are so heavily armed that the average police officer is ill equipped to neutralize them WITHOUT having access to the kind of weaponry one might expect to find during a zombie Apocalypse.

But that of course is a whole other argument for a whole other post.

And besides I thought that was what we had SWAT teams for.

But just like we should not lump all cops together we also should not excuse them for blaming the protesters and Mayor de Blasio for these murders.

And scenes like this of the police turning their back on the mayor while he gives the eulogy are inexcusable in my mind. You know I hate to disagree with Vice President Biden but it does not seem to me that the "best police force in the world" would behave in this manner.

There are deleted scenes from "Jesus Camp" that may be even creepier than the actual documentary.

So Rachael's "gifts" are conversing with imaginary beings, speaking gibberish, and seeing things that are not there.

Yeah we have a definition for that in the secular world as well, and it's called "Schizophrenia."

Man accidentally saves wife's life by shooting her. Only in America.

Courtesy of the New York Daily News:  

The son of a 75-year-old woman who was struck with birdshot by her husband while sitting in a recliner says the accident might have been a blessing because doctors treating her found a previously undiagnosed heart problem. 

Charlene Ross' 77-year-old husband told authorities the shotgun went off Sunday at their home in York Township, in northeast Ohio, when he was checking to see if it was loaded. He told deputies he was getting the gun from a closet because he wanted to use it to scare off geese from a pond on their property. 

Ross was taken to an Akron hospital, where she was listed in serious condition Friday. 

Steve Ross told The Medina County Gazette his family considers the outcome "a blessing on two fronts" - that his mother was nicked in the neck by only one tiny pellet and that doctors then discovered she had an abnormal heartbeat, or arrhythmia, that can be dangerous and now can be addressed with a pacemaker. 

"Had this accident not happened, my mom could have been gone at any time," he said. "You hate to use cliches, but this is a Christmas miracle."

Okay seriously I know we are a nation of gun owners, but when we start using them as diagnostic tools I think it may be time to consider moving out of the country.

"Look your honor I was not shooting my wife in an attempt to kill her, I was shooting her to find out if she was suffering from anything terminal. Good news, she's fine. I mean besides the bullet holes."

Can't let the day go by without wishing a Happy Birthday to this little guy.

Breeze, Levi, and Tripp Johnston

You know for being so young this kiddo has certainly been the center of a lot of conspiracy theories, arguments, and, at least this year, brawls.

Here's hoping that in 2015 the legal battle between his parents finally comes to an end.

Gee I wonder what happens next?

Update: For those confused about the date of Tripp's birthday, according to Facebook posts by Sunny and his Aunt Mercede it's today.

However according to every other source, including this blog, it is not for two more days.

Oh crap! Do we have another mystery?

Femen "sextremist" is arrested in Vatican City for stealing baby Jesus while topless.

Courtesy of News.Mic:

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the woman, Ukrainian citizen Iana Alexandrovna Zhdanova, stands accused of vilification of religion, obscene acts in public and theft. A Vatican policeman stopped Zhdanova, who had "God Is Woman" written on her bare chest, after she seized the statue of the Christ Child and attempted to make off with it shortly after Pope Francis had finished reading his Christmas greeting to the faithful assembled. The policeman attempted to cover Azhdanova with his cape (Vatican police have capes!) with mixed success. 

Femen, for its part, is unrepentant, even putting up a gallery of images of the attempted Jesus-napping on its website. In a statement, the feminist collective proudly described itself as "persona non grata" in Vatican City: 

"This morning the Holy Vatican court reviewed the case of the kidnapping of baby Jesus Christ commited [sic] by FEMEN sextremist and recognizing the absolute legality of her arrest, however, it has ordered to release Zhdanova. Sextremist Zhdanova will be extradited from Vatican, followed by a ban on enter the territory of the Holy See. The infant, which have been kidnapped by FEMEN, became a symbol of necessity of taking away a woman's right on reproductive function and sexual freedom off the Church. A sacred duty of every woman is to take away the child from Vatican!'

The organization describes itself as "fighting patriarchy in its three manifestations — sexual exploitation of women, dictatorship and religion," and has stated that its goal is "sextremism serving to protect women's rights."

You know I actually started to write this post, which i put off for a few days, with the idea that I would condemn their actions at the end and suggest that there are better ways of getting their point across. 

However after reading through this article and few others on the incident I find myself agreeing with them to some degree.

So now I am all conflicted and junk.

So I will leave up to you dear readers. What do you think? Over the top, or reasonable response to an oppressive anti-female organization?

Egypt bans movie "Exodus." Gee I wonder what they found offensive?

Courtesy of the BBC:  

Egypt has banned a Hollywood film based on the Biblical book of Exodus because of what censors described as "historical inaccuracies". 

The head of the censorship board said these included the film's depiction of Jews as having built the Pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the Red Sea to part. 

According to the book of Exodus, Jewish slaves were led to freedom by Moses after God inflicted a series of plagues on Egypt. 

The Pyramids are believed to have been built about 1,000 years before the story of the Exodus. 

The Biblical story tells how the Red Sea was parted by a miracle performed by God through Moses, allowing the Jewish people to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army.

So being accused of enslaving the Jewish people, having a god drop toads on the heads of your people, and having many of your forefathers drowned in the Red Sea for trying to murder a religious icon. all of which is completely false, apparently rubs some people the wrong way.

Go figure.

North Korea complains about the release of "The Interview," blames America for their own internet outage, and calls the President "a monkey in a tropical forest." Really know how to make friends don't they?

Courtesy of USA Today:

North Korea's National Defense Commission, the country's top governing body led by Kim, blamed Obama for the release of The Interview, which it described as illegal, dishonest and reactionary, the Associated Press reported. 

"Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," an unidentified spokesman at the commission's Policy Department said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. 

The spokesman said the U.S. was behind the interruptions to North Korean Internet connections this week.

Look at this point I don't know exactly WHO hacked Sony, but I shed no tears for North Korea.

My favorite conspiracy theory right now is the idea that the entire thing is a giant publicity stunt pulled off by Sony in order to promote a movie that they feared would not do well at the box office.

Yeah like they were willing to reveal the sexism, racism, and overriding greed running through the veins of the company just to make sure a Seth Rogen film did not tank.

Not even remotely likely.

However if North Korea wants people to stop painting them as the bad guy in all of this they need to stop making threats and insulting our DEMOCRATICALLY elected President.

Let's talk about George H.W. Bush's hospital visit.

Courtesy of MSNBC:  

President George H.W. Bush will remain in a Houston hospital Thursday night, but his spokesman said the 90-year-old “is in great spirits.” 

The 41st president of the United States was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital Tuesday after suffering from shortness of breath. A spokesman said the hospital trip was just a precaution. 

“President Bush had another terrific day and is in great spirits. He was visited by Mrs Bush as well as his son Neil and daughter-in-law Maria Bush, and has received well wishes from family, friends and fellow citizens,” his office said in a statement Thursday. “He asked that his sincere wishes for a very Merry Christmas be extended to one and all.”

Okay first off let me say that I really don't hold any ill will toward the senior Bush. 

In the Bush family of fuck ups and misfits he seems relatively harmless. I mean sure he is partially responsible for W and Jeb, but I blame most of their character flaws on Barbara. (I don't know why I just do.)

But I think George the first is not such a bad egg all in all.

So I want him to get better and leave the hospital. I want him to live.

And he is freaking 90 years old too. So leaving the hospital is by no means a given.

If I were 90 years old and I heard I was on my way to the hospital I would quickly finish off that bottle of 50 year old wine I had been saving for a special occasion, while frantically clearing the porn off of my computer, because I would not be expecting to make it back home ever again.

So yeah I hope the old guy does indeed make it back home.

But I have to admit my reasons are not completely unselfish.

You see if George senior kicks the bucket before 2016, that means all of the sudden there will be this incredible flood of good will directed at the Bush family. And as a result people will stop talking about the Iraq war, the bad economy, and the domestic spying programs that resulted from the second Bush administration, because that will be deemed "insensitive," and instead the focus will be on the first George Bush presidency.

So if that happens you just KNOW that Jeb will be the guy giving his dad's eulogy in front of the TV cameras, and the guy that will go on talk shows to reminisce about his dad, and the guy who will do everything he can to connect himself to the positive coverage that the old man's death will attract.

And THAT cannot help but give him a better shot at beating Hillary in the election. I mean I think he will still probably lose, but it could really tighten things up. 

So yes I want George H.W. Bush to make it home safely from his hospital stay.

I also want him to live the next few years without incident.

But after that he is free to kick the bucket anytime he wants. You know, anytime after November 4th, 2016 that is.

I mean he will be 92 years old by then for God's sake! That is a full life, and then some!

Are the police using too much force? Gee, ya think?

Courtesy of The Washington Post:  

Recent deaths at the hands of police in Ferguson, Mo., and on Staten Island, N.Y., have rightly raised questions about illegal force and racial bias in law enforcement. But a more basic question also needs to be weighed: Should police be permitted to initiate force when confronting misdemeanors and other non-serious crimes? The answer should be no. 

The existing rules of engagement for police in the United States invite violence, not just when officers act abusively but also when their conduct falls clearly within the limits of the law. There is no question that police in the United States can lawfully arrest anyone they see jaywalking or selling single cigarettes. And there is equally no question that any American who refuses a police order to come to the station can be forced by violence to comply. 

But should police be permitted to initiate force in such cases?

Well considering that our police now look, act, and equip themselves as if they are on the battlefield I think the fact that they seem to be constantly initiating conflict, and then overreacting with excess force, is really not that hard to understand.

If you dress like a warrior you expect to be in a war. It's just that simple.

You know when I began my martial arts training as a kid, the very first thing that was drilled into my brain was that I was never allowed to use more force than was absolutely necessary. And that I could only use that force in self defense, either in response to aggression directed at myself or at somebody else who could not defend themselves.

Simple right? That should be the mantra of law enforcement as well, don't you think?

I currently work with troubled kids, many of them suffering from some debilitating mental or behavioral problems. It is not at all uncommon for one or more of my charges to act out in a violent manner.

In response to those clients I am ALWAYS expected to attempt deescalation before putting my hands on them. And every time it does get physical I am expected to fill out reams of paperwork to justify my actions.

So trust me when I say it rarely gets physical. And if you do your job right, no matter who you are working with, you should rarely ever have to put your hands on anyone.

And certainly never have to use deadly force. 

I think it is time to return to the not so distant past when a cop was there to protect and serve, not shoot first and ask questions later.

I need one of these.

If I get one I'm going to wear it when my brother comes over on Superbowl day.

He is always pissed that I not only have not picked which team to support, but I often don't even know who is playing.

If he cops and attitude I just remind him that I am the only one of us to actually play on a football team. That usually shuts him up.

Well guess which Wasillabilly family is nominated for TPM's Golden Dukes ward, under the category "Best Scandal -- Sex and Generalized Carnality." Did you peek?

Here are the categories according to Talking Points Memo:

Best Scandal -- Sex and Generalized Carnality -The Palin clan for the brawl of the century (no, no sex but nominated for just generally gettin' down and dirty when everyone's good and drunk.) 

-Gov. Tom Corbett who was Attorney General when members of his staff exchanged pornographic emails. 

-Carl Demaio for multiple sexual harassment allegations. 

-Investigator David Nieland, who conducted the internal review of the Homeland Security Department's prostitution scandal, and then resigned himself over an incident involving a prostitute in Florida.

Aww, come on! Those other scandals cannot hold a candle to the Throwdown at the Hoedown!

I mean we have both pictures AND audio.

You can actually HEAR the drunken stupidity, and threatening behavior for yourself.

Okay look according to Josh Marshall of TPM the decision will not be rendered until December the 31st, so that gives us quite a few days to let him know that there is NO scandal more deserving of that award than the Palin drunken family brawl.

Don't just stand there, go leave a comment. And make sure to leave links to the police audio too.

No way can we let those scandal wannabes Tom Corbett of Carl Demaio walk away this thing.

Federal judge throws out challenge from Joe Arpaio calling the President's immigration reforms unconstitutional.

Courtesy of Reuters: 

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought against Barack Obama by an Arizona police chief who called the U.S. president's sweeping immigration reforms unconstitutional, saying the plaintiff lacked legal standing in the case. 

Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the demand by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a preliminary injunction to halt the policies. 

Arpaio, who calls himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," filed the case last month, saying Obama had overstepped his powers by bypassing Congress and ordering the changes himself.

No the President did not overstep his powers, but you sure did you pink underwear pimping piece of shit.

Well SOMEBODY sure had a great Christmas.

Courtesy of USA Today: 

For a movie that wasn't even coming out at the beginning of the week, The Interview is ending it in style. 

 The Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy at the heart of the controversy involving Sony hackers racked up nearly $1 million on Christmas Day in 300 independent movie theaters around the country, according to Variety. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain, one of the staunchest supporters of screening the film, sold out all of its Christmas screenings in its 17 locations. 

It's a decent haul for a movie that, due to threats of terrorism, was pulled by major theater chains such as AMC and Regal. 

The Interview has also done well on video-on-demand platforms since its Wednesday release. While none of the sites has disclosed download or streaming numbers, Variety reports The Interview is the best-selling film on Google Play and YouTube Movies. And according to CNN, there were also 750,000 illegal downloads of the film on Thursday. 

"The audience reaction was fantastic — the limited release, in under 10% of the amount of theaters originally planned, featured numerous sell-outs and a first-day gross over $1 million," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, in a statement to CNN.

You know every once in awhile you recognize that you are in the middle of a pivotal moment in history. 

And we have had a lot of them recently. The first black president. The Affordable Care Act. The Climate Change agreement with China. The reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba. The newly released Senate torture report. I could go on.

And this is another one.

It is the first time that we have seen hackers impact a major studio, or ANY large corporation, in such a dramatic fashion.

Even yesterday there was still disagreement over who exactly hacked Sony, and there was yet another hack on online gaming platforms yesterday as well.

So while The Interview may have ultimately benefited from all of the attention and goodwill that resulted from the Sony hack, it is unlikely that this is the last time this is going to happen.

I have no idea what this ultimately means going forward, but I am willing to bet that it will result in increased security and less internet freedom down the road.

After 18 months Rep. Darrell Issa finally releases his report which finds, hold on for a shocker folks, NO connection between the White House and the IRS "scandal." What?

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) wasted enormous congressional resources over the last 18 months trying to inflate the IRS "scandal" into a mountain. The release Tuesday of his final, petulant report on the affair marks what may be its final decline into a mouse. 

The bottom line: Contrary to his assertions in countless appearances on Fox News, there's no evidence that the Obama White House directed -- or indeed was involved in any way -- in the supposed targeting of conservative nonprofit groups for special scrutiny by the IRS. There's no evidence that "tea party" groups were exclusively targeted, as opposed to tax-exempt "social welfare" organizations from across the political spectrum. 

The evidence set forth in the report, which was issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's GOP majority without sharing it first with the Democratic minority, instead depicts an IRS struggling to apply complicated rules for nonprofits engaging in political activity, all without guidance from Congress. 

Issa launched his investigation last spring with the charge that the IRS had screened c-4 applications for words such as "tea party" in their names in an effort to deprive conservative organizations of a tax exemption.

Of course that turned out to be bullshit as the report  reveals that the IRS also applied scrutiny to various liberal groups seeking the c-4 exemption as one of the keywords they were looking for was "progressive."

In fact the ONLY group applying for the exemption, who did not receive it, was a group called Emerge America, which trains Democratic women to run for office.

So in other words there was a wild goose and Darrell Issa spent millions of taxpayer money to chase it around for a year and a half. 

And let's not forget that Issa wasted similar amounts of taxpayer money in his "Fast and Furious" and Benghazi investigations.

God what a tool.

President Obama's poll numbers on the rise. Just in time to ruin the new year for Republicans.

Courtesy of CNN:  

Improving views of the economy have helped hike President Barack Obama's approval rating to a 20-month high, a new CNN/ORC poll showed Tuesday, as markets climbed to record levels at news of an economy in overdrive. 

More Americans still disapprove of the job Obama is doing as President. But at 48%, Obama's approval rating is at its highest point in CNN polling since May 2013. 

The gains were driven by newfound backing among women, independents and millennials — groups where Obama's approval numbers jumped 10 percentage points from a month ago.

You know the only thing better than good news, is good news that you know will irritate the GOP.

I have a feeling that if the President continues his new "Fuck you I'm going to do it anyway" attitude that his poll numbers will probably keep right on climbing.

And if he manages to get Gitmo closed....well then all bets are off.

You know when it comes to mocking Sarah Palin and other conservatives, I bow to the master. Bill Maher.

That may be an oldie, but it is also a goodie.

By the way did any of you notice my gift to you yesterday?

No?

Well it was a whole day without a Sarah Palin post.

You're welcome.

Now for those who have been pestering me about my next post with information from my source, that is in the works right now.

Today I am sending off an e-mail with a list of the questions that you all suggested in a previous post.

When she responds, and after a phone call or two for clarification, I will post more information.

I don't have a timeline right now, but I expect it will be within the next week or so.

Tweeted by NDT yesterday morning. Update!

On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 25, 2014

Well at least he was actually born on December 25th.

Personally I would love to see Christmas changed to celebrate the birth of Sir Isaac Newton rather then the mythological birth of the Christ child.

Update: Apparently Professor Tyson's tweets did not go over well with everybody.

Of course that just makes me like them all the more.

President Obama wears crown. Republican heads heads to explode in 3..2..oh let's face it they're still all 'sploded from the last thing he did.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Sporting a tiara in a photo posted Wednesday, President Barack Obama seems to have broken his own rule of “you don’t put stuff on your head if you’re president.” 

But that’s the power of the Girl Scouts.

White House photographer Pete Souza shared a photo on Instagram on Wednesday of the president donning a tiara with a group of Girl Scouts from the White House Science Fair earlier this year in May. In the caption, Souza wrote the girls from Tulsa “convinced” Obama to join in on the fun. 

Yeah let me tell you as the father of a daughter of my own, little girls can talk dads into doing ANYTHING.

I myself have attended more than one tea party where the only other attendees were my daughter and her stuffed animal collection. (Sat in chairs so tiny that my knees were up my nose the entire time.)

Personally I like Michael Cohen's take on this:

There's really no getting around the fact that Obama no longer gives a f**k: pic.twitter.com/NVtjsUD9Uj
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) December 24, 2014

And let's hope he spends the rest of his presidency not giving a f**k. (You know about conservative opinions, not the American people.)

P.S. Don't bother pointing out the difference between tiaras and crowns, like I said I have a daughter.

I just thought the word "crown" made a better headline. 

Well it's Christmas, and this IS the Immoral Minority, so let's stick a pin in the virgin birth story shall we?

Now I am sure that I have already covered this in the past, but I recently stumbled across an interview on Raw Story of Dr. Tony Nugent, scholar of world religions, and a symbologist.

Oh, and he is also an ordained  Presbyterian minister.

And I really liked his no BS explanation for why so many ignoramuses stick giant Nativity scenes on their lawns at Christmas.

On why we think Mary was a virgin:

The familiar Christmas story, including the virgin conception and birth of Jesus, is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Scholars have pointed out that these stories are somewhat disconnected from other parts of these Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. In fact, by the time he is a young boy in the temple, Jesus’s parents seem to have forgotten the virgin birth. They act surprised by his odd behavior. There is never any other mention in the New Testament of these incredible events! These stories seem to be an afterthought, written later than the rest of the gospels that contain them. To make matters more interesting, the stories themselves have inconsistencies and ambiguities – contradictory genealogies, for example. Our Christmas story (singular) is actually a composite. 

Or consider the idea that Mary is a virgin. The Greek writer of Matthew quotes Isaiah as saying: “a parthenos shall conceive and bear a child.” The Hebrew word in Isaiah is “almah,” which means simply “young woman.” But the Greek word parthenos can mean either a virgin or a young woman, and it got translated as “virgin.” Modern Bible translations have corrected this, but it is a central part of the Christmas story.

You know for the "inerrant word of God" this book is certainly full of historical inaccuracies, and mistranslations. 

So did early Christians believe in the virgin birth?

Jewish Christians, the first Christians, didn’t believe in the virgin birth. They believed that Joseph was the biological father of Jesus. Part of their Christology was “adoptionism”–they thought Jesus was adopted as the unique son of God at some time later in life. There were disagreements about when – Mark suggests the baptism, Paul suggests the resurrection. 

Over time, gentile Christianity replaced Jewish Christianity. There were Jewish-Roman Wars. The Jewish Christians were marginalized and oppressed. The Gentile branch became dominant. Eventually we get the gospel of John which pushes the sonship of Jesus back to the beginning of time. This writer is at the other end of the spectrum from the Jewish Christians.

So apparently all of the relatively rational early Christians were told to shut up, and that left the less than rational ones to interpret the story of Jesus. Well that figures.

So just how should we view stories in the Bible? 

We need to be able to appreciate these stories as myths, rather than literal histories. When you understand where they come from, then you can understand their spiritual significance for the writers and for us.

Well good then I have been doing it right since I was just a boy.

I apologize if this interferes with your ability to enjoy the holidays. But take heart!

I mean sure the Biblical stories about Jesus are complete horse pucky, but at least we know Santa Claus is real. Right?

Right?

New TLC show about gay Mormon men, refusing to admit they are gay. But you know, they are.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

"My Husband's Not Gay," a TV special about a group of Mormon men living in Salt Lake City who are attracted to other men but have chosen to marry women is headed to TLC. 

The special will follow couples Jeff and Tanya, Pret and Megan, Curtis and Tera, and a 35-year-old bachelor named Tom, according to The Wrap. 

Quotes from the trailer include "With our faith in God we believe we believe we can overcome anything," "I like to say I've chosen an alternative to an alternative lifestyle" and "I'm interested in men I'm just not interested in men."

This almost cries out for a Jeff Foxworthy like bit called "You might be gay if..."

You might be gay if....you like to nibble the batter off of your corndog before swallowing it whole.

You might be gay if...the first thing you notice when you see your beautiful totally nude wife emerge from the shower is that she's done something different with her hair color.

You might be gay if...you cannot quote any football stats but have memorized every episode of "This Old House."

And you might be gay if....you are the male half of any of these couples.

I swear leave it to religious people to convince themselves that by denying the love they so desperately seek that they are somehow making God love them more.

Just goes to show that denial is not simply a river in Egypt.

The Interview is coming to Alaska!

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

In the wake of controversy surrounding "The Interview," a comedy about the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, the Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage has announced it will begin screening the film Jan. 2. 

The independent, second-run theater will not publicize show times for the film until Monday evening, according to Rand Thornsley, film buyer for the Bear Tooth. Tickets will go on sale the following day, he said. 

“This was the only opportunity for (Sony Pictures) to have an opening in Anchorage theatrically, so they are allowing the Bear Tooth to run the film within our normal programming,” Thornsley said. 

Thornsley said he confirmed Tuesday evening that “The Interview” would play on the Bear Tooth's single screen. 

He said theater managers expected to arrange “extra security measures” for its showings, though he did not have specifics. 

“Since we don’t have the issue with having a multiplex, we will only be running ‘The Interview’ at one particular time,” Thornsley said. “That makes it a little bit easier. People can make their choice, whether or not they want to see it. It won’t be hurting other films.”

Somehow I doubt that Alaskans will be terribly intimidated by any threats from hackers or North Koreans. 

After all we survived Sarah Palin. What could Kim Jong Un do to us that was worse than that?

By the way the movie might also be coming to Netflix a few days after Christmas and that is most likely how I will end up watching it. 

Merry Christmas everybody!

To all my IM friends, here is wishing you the all time best Christmas day imaginable.

And in honor of Bishop Shrewsbury, who hates John Lennon, here is your Christmas song of the day.

Let us hope that we all live to see a day when there is no more war, no more hatred, and no more reason not to love everybody on this planet as if they were your brother or your sister.

Because you know what, they are. 

President Obama brought an early Christmas present for the Democrats, and the rest of the country.

Courtesy of The Hill:  

Democrats on Tuesday received a gift high on their wish list — an invigorated economy that they believe will give President Obama much-needed clout when he faces off with a Republican Congress next year. 

Current and former Obama aides say they expect the White House to get a year-end boost from the 5 percent expansion rate of the economy in the third quarter, and expect the president to aggressively talk up the gains in the months to come. 

The growth figures also could give the White House new leverage as it seeks common ground with Republicans on a range of policy areas, such as trade and taxes, and as it prepares for battle in others, like changing the healthcare law. 

"The proof is in the pudding," one former senior Obama administration official said. "There's really nothing else to say."

Yeah there really is nothing left to say is there?

It seems the minute that the polls closed on November 4th, and before the Republicans could even uncork their champagne bottles to celebrate what they thought was a victory, the President was already opening the can of whoopass that he was planning to present them with for the next two years.

God I love the holidays, don't you?

Sarah Palin literally calls in her appearance on Todd Starnes big Fox News hyper Christian, military loving, Ronald Reagan corpse masturbating, Christmas special.

Okay so the other day I was poking fun at the Pillsbury dough boy here and his upcoming Christmas special, and I described his lineup as follows: 

As you can see the program features a who's who from the "I have never heard of these people" list. And of course Sarah Palin, who is only a handful of years away from being added to that list.

So as all of you know I just say stuff. I really don't think that anybody is paying attention most of the time.

Especially the person who is the subject of my posts.

But this time I may have been wrong about that. Because as it turned out Palin herself may not have wanted to be included on a list of "I have never heard of these people."

So instead of flying out to the Fox News studio, Palin simply phoned it in. Literally.

Here is how Wonkette covered it:

Sarah Palin, phoning it in from Wasilla, Up-There-In-Alaska. Because Jesus might be the reason for the season, but he’s not reason enough to hop a plane to show up in person. 

The other reason for the season, besides Jesus, is a reminder to buy Sarah Palin’s book about the “War on Christmas,” which apparently was inspired by none other than Todd Starnes and his coverage of those who would “take Christ out of Christmas” — by failing to buy Sarah’s book, we assume. (Wonkette also has the video.)

So to be clear not only did Palin NOT show up in person for the "special," but she also took up valuable airtime hawking last year's ghostwritten Christmas book that nobody bothered to buy in 2013.

Now I have to admit that I don't watch Christmas specials anymore, but my memory of them were that they had actual people who showed in person up to perform, like the Mandrell Sisters, Jose Feliciano, Johnny Mathis, Mariah Carey, and so on. All dressed up in suits and beautiful gowns to entertain the audience.

I simply cannot think of a single incident where a guest simply phoned in their appearance so that they could stay home in their pajamas and drink instead.  Can you?

I think that indicates just how little Palin thought of Todd Starnes and his "Christmas special" jam packed with people nobody had every even fucking heard of.

And trust me, if you cannot even get Sarah Palin to show up at your event you have really sunk to a new low. That woman once showed up at a bowling alley trade show for fuck's sake, and yet she would not show up for this.

Damn, that's gotta hurt!