210 Americans were killed or injured by gun violence on the first day of 2017.

Courtesy of Vox:

In the first 24 hours of the new year, 264 separate incidents of gun violence happened across the United States, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive and Vox. 

At least 64 people were killed, and another 146 were injured. 

The incidents include 24 shootings apiece in Chicago and Jacksonville, Florida; seven shootings in New York City; six shootings each in Baltimore and Buffalo, New York; and five each in Cleveland and Indianapolis. 

Generally, New Year’s Day — which is associated with drinking and partying — is a bit more violent than the typical day of the year. But looking over the incidents reveals a pattern of gun violence that is commonplace in America.

Just in case anybody thought that increased gun violence had anything to do with President Obama.

No the violence will surely continue, if not increase under a Trump administration, because despite what some Right Wing conspiracy theorists might have you believe this is not about President Obama, it is about America.

Ten days after the birth Sarah Palin has an actual post welcoming the arrival of Sailor Grace Palin NOT written on Bristol's ghostwritten blog.

Courtesy of grimacing, teeth grinding grandmother's Facebook page:  

Ahhhh. Relief. A new season... this new year. My resolution time includes specific goals I know I'll meet because I hold on. Like Dierk Bentley sings: 

"To the things I believe in - my faith, your love, our freedom... to the things I can count on to keep me going strong, I hold on." 

One thing - I'll enjoy a lot more music, a lot less plugged-in tech time. Passing on that online time that enables broken people to try to break others is a way to live life vibrantly without inviting their hate to cloud my home. More music, less blue light, less white noise = refreshing! 

(Sounds like somebody is saying that since nobody is listening any more she will spend less time attacking the President and bitching about politics online. I am not exactly sure what this "blue light" is that she speaks of, but if she sees a bright white light she might consider walking towards it. Okay that's mean, right?) 

And no matter what 2016 brings, I'll teach my children to really grasp Jeremiah 29:11; to know that in all things, if it's good, it's God. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

(And that my friends is very much how psychopaths typically babble when their prescriptions run out.)

Happy New Year 

- Sarah Palin

After that Palin attempts to link to something Bristol supposedly wrote but it goes to a GMail account that I certainly cannot access.  (Let me know if you have better success.)

Now I know that virtually every time that Palin posts one of these putrid pools of Facebook vomit that I say that she seems to be losing it, so this time I will skip that and simply let all of you judge for yourself.

Having said that I think we can all agree that Granny Grifter had a VERY disappointing year.  After all this is the year her Sarah Palin Channel closed down, her arranged marriage between Bristol and Dakota fell through, she permanently lost her gig on Fox News, she was forced to put her Arizona house on the market, and of course this little bundle of Palin family mythology destroying joy was born.

Oh yeah, I would suggest that Palin has had more than a few visits from the Insanity Claus. Ho, Ho, Ho.

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.

Sarah Palin added a new New Year's resolution, alert the media. Oh right, they don't care.

Courtesy of the Wasilla Wendigo's Facebook page:  

Happy New Year! We had a glorious few days to ring it in at our remote cabin near the base of Mt. McKinley. No cell service, no TV; 'twas nice! (Twas also mooseshit! She was seen in Wasilla just a day or two ago.) I recommend getting back to some simplicity that includes just chilling with friends and family like that every once in awhile. Now we’re back home in civilization (which ironically many Outside would characterize as merely more simplicity in yet another, albeit larger, "remote cabin" with indoor plumbing and electricity at least!). First sight upon our return? A mama moose in the yard keeping watch while we were away. 

Now to tackle a snowy bon fire (Actually in Alaska we eschew the French spelling, and simply spell that "bonfire.") to clean up that wonderful clutter of Christmas and our 20' tree! S'mores for dinner, anyone?! I hope you had great holidays! 

I'd publicly announced New Year's Resolutions on Fox the other night, but found out technical difficulties prohibited responses to audio, so the interview didn't jib well. (Actually Hasselbeck and Hemmer were stunned into a slow response by the sheer stupidity of the interview. And what the hell is "jib well?") So resolutions shall be repeated here to hold myself accountable in 2014: 

1) Eat more meat. 
2) Help others make the Federal Government as irrelevant in our lives as possible. 
3) Live out Coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success", encouraging everyone to do our individual part to live with industriousness, self-discipline and selflessness so we, collectively as a nation, can restore America to her exceptionalism. Certainly don't wait for politicians or cultural icons to do it – it's imperative we do our own individual part. 

Finally, quite glad to hear the new political year kicked off with Sen. Rand Paul suing the President for violating our rights. With that, I'll add another resolution besides the aforementioned that result in encouraging a growing entitlement-leaning populace to value work ethic and independence, thus being able to live life vibrantly. 

Here's #4: Be even more aggressive in calling out media for practicing lapdog laziness. (I do, everyday. Take that Fox News! Oh she didn't mean them did she?) Hey reporters, we know that once Barack Obama got elected you bailed on keeping government accountable; you've been abject failures there. Case in point: Nixon's presidency was over once reporters busted him for allowing his people to spy on political opponents. Today, the Obama Presidency's hallmark is spying (in addition to violating economic and Constitutional liberties), for which you celebrate Barack Obama. Transparently hypocritical, much? (Uh pay attention to history much? That NSA program was not started by Obama, but by George W. Bush. Funny how Palin never said boo about it back then.)

Take a stand, America! You deserve better. Resolve to live life vibrantly by looking to family, faith, and freedom in this new year!

Is she ever going to stop talking about her vibrator? I assume that's what the term "living vibrantly" means, right?

By the way perhaps OUR New Year's resolution should be to get our hair done in Wasilla's newest hair boutique, Forget Me Not Hair. Featuring new hair school graduate Willow Palin.

Hmm, I wonder if  the rumors are true that Mama Grizzly bought this shop especially for her little cubs, with Bristol soon to join her sister after she finishes up HER hair raising education in Arizona?

Well I guess the only way to prove that would be if Bristol shows up as an employee someday as well. Kind of obvious then don't you think?

You know, my hair's getting a little long.  Hmmm.

Yesterday was the first day to purchase legal pot in Colorado. There was some excitement.

Iraq war veteran Sean Azzariti making Colorado's first legal marijuana purchase.

Courtesy of USA Today:

The new year got a little happier for pot smokers in Colorado on Wednesday as the nation's first retail outlets for recreational marijuana opened their doors. 

"Marijuana does not have to be a burden to our communities," said Betty Aldworth, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. "Today in Colorado we shift marijuana from the underground into a regulated market." 

The first sale, orchestrated as a news media photo opportunity, was made to Sean Azzariti, an Iraq War veteran who has lobbied publicly for legalization and says pot helps mitigate problems stemming from his post-traumatic stress syndrome. Azzariti, who served six years in the Marine Corps and two tours in Iraq, spent about $60 at 3D Cannabis Center for an eighth of an ounce of "Bubba Kush" and a pot-laden truffle. 

"Today I was fortunate enough to be the first recreational cannabis purchase in the world," Azzariti tweeted. "We did it!!" 

Aldworth said pot sales in the state are expected to reach $400 million this year. More than $40 million in tax revenue is targeted for public schools. Dozens of shops are opened or will open soon. She spoke of jobs, tax dollars and peace of mind for marijuana smokers.

Hundreds of people lined up to purchase the newly legal pot.

Many of the customers turned up before dawn.

So much for the old adage about pot users being lazy.

This is actually one of the issues that I do not always see eye to eye with my liberal friends.

Personally I have never been a drug user.

Oh I dabbled a little when I was a young man, but it as never my thing.

I don't have any serious problems with it, however I did have a number of family and friends who started with pot before taking the plunge into more dangerous recreational drug use.

Some did not come out the other end. 

However to be fair my family historically has a much bigger problem with alcohol than with drugs.

For me it is one glass of wine a night, and that is about the extent of it. Hopefully that does not damage my liberal creds too badly.

"Eat more meat." Sarah Palin's New Year's resolution is the same as the family dog's.

So Palin made a brief appearance on Fox's truly laughable New Year's eve show, and she brought word salad for the masses.

Bill Hemmer and Elizabeth Hasselbeck are the hosts of the gaffe ridden program and they had the not so enviable job of pretending to understand what in the hell Palin was saying.

Their first question was an easy one, does she have any New Year's resolutions.

Palin: "Heck yeah, I take them real seriously, and ..uh..I have three this year.  First one is eat more meat. Don't worry they get deeper as I go..the next resolutions. Um..I am going to try to help America (Please don't!), all of us as individuals, make our federal government as irrelevant in our lives as possible. And then the third resolution is to take former UCLA coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success and live it out, because it is imperative you guys that we as individuals do all we can to live with industriousness, and self discipline, and selflessness, so that together as a whole our nation can be restored to her exceptionalism."

I cannot tell if there is a time delay after Palin finishes her remarks or if Hemmer and Hasselbeck are simply stunned by the mooseshit. However they recover relativity well and immediately suggest they start drinking in response.

Then Hasselbeck pretends to warm herself on the pretend fire in the pretend backdrop behind Palin.

Hasselbeck asks Palin if she and Todd have any New Year's traditions. (Todd? Todd who?)

Palin: "Yes absolutely, as soon as we wrap up this hit we're going to go jump on our Ski-Doos (There's some product placement for you.) head out to the base of Mt.McKinley (Real Alaskans call this Mt. Denali.), out to our cabin, and ring in the new year with buddies out there, and it'll be nice and chilly and uh..exactly the way that we want it, being out there in the great outdoors enjoying God's creation." (Yeah Palin is well known to hate the cold, and this was filmed around 6 PM last night. It is a three hour drive to Denali Park, so I imagine it is close to that on a snowmachine, which means that Palin is saying she is going to spend around three hours driving in the cold to arrive at their cabin about two, two and half hours before midnight? Sure, why not?)

Hemmer then pretends that Palin's book was a success and asks her if there was a moment in 2013 that she would take forward into 2014. (Benghazi!)

Palin: "Uh you know I think..uh..something that we all should be able to take forward is the thankfulness we should be feeling for..um..this notion that the eyes of the nation are really opening up, we're becoming more and more aware of how important it is that we do pull our own weight, and we respect work ethic, and we not rely on the Federal government to do anything for us cause they keep screwing things up. So we have a thankfulness that I think we should bring forward into 2014, we felt a lot of that in 2013 as people became more aware of the potential for us as powerful individuals to pull our own weight." 

This last part is SO stupid that even Palin looks stunned at what came out of her mouth. 

However Hasselbeck calls it a great message, because you know..Fox News, whose watching at this time of night anyhow.

That is essentially the end of interview though Hemmer mentions that Palin once gave up chocolate as her resolution once, and stayed off of it for an entire year. And if you believe THAT I have a cold snowmachine trip to Denali park I'd like to sell you.

By the way, for those who are interested, this is John Wooden's Pyramid of Success.

Loyalty, Honesty, Reliability, Self control, how much of that have you EVER seen Sarah Pal;in demonstrate? Just more moosepoop to start the new year.

I would bet money that instead of hanging out in that cabin in Denali that Palin is right now winging it back to Arizona so that she can get warm again. Now that her book tour is over, and the Alaskan facade is less necessary, I do not see her spending much of her time up here in the near future.

Which by the way is just the way we Alaskans like it.

Sarah Palin to make appearance on Fox's New Year Eve special. Not enough champagne in the world to get me drunk enough to watch that.

"Let me know when to drop the two plastic orbs to ring in the new year!"

Courtesy of Mother Time's Facebook page:

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Gear up for a great new year, and I'll see you on Fox's New Years Eve Special to talk about joyous resolutions for 2014!

Oh yeah THAT'S the way you want to welcome the new year, by scheduling an appearance by the person who helped demonstrate what was wrong with the last year. 

And by the way who is even going to see her? After all considering the demographic for Fox News unless they drop the ball by 6:30 pm the vast majority of their audience will be passed out in their Barcaloungers before Palin shows on their TV screens in her hooker shoes and fright wig.

I saw part of some special on Fox the other day that essentially featured the hosts interviewing each other and trying to convince the viewers they are not a propaganda wing of the Republican/Tea Party.

The whole thing was kind of sad.  And not just a little bit creepy.

P.S. Oh by the way the rest of Palin's post was an attempt to pimp Bristol's blog ghostwriter's attempt to smear a MSNBC host.  Not really worth my time to refute their pathetic attack however.

Starting January 1st the Boy Scouts will be just a little bit gayer.

Courtesy of The Big Story: 

The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year's Day, a historic change that has prompted the BSA to ponder a host of potential complications — ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades. 

Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units because of the new policy and some families are switching to a new conservative alternative called Trail Life USA. But massive defections haven't materialized and most major sponsors, including the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches, are maintaining ties. 

"There hasn't been a whole lot of fallout," said Haddock, a lawyer from Wichita, Kan. "If a church said they wouldn't work with us, we'd have a church right down the street say, 'We'll take the troop.'"

Of course the Boy Scouts have already openly accepted the idea of LGBT members as demonstrated by the fact that Sand Lake City Boy Scouts brought pizza to city workers who were working through lunch to process marriage licenses for gay couples.

I think this is going to be a REALLY big year for progressive agendas. 

I just feel that in my bones.

My liberal, liberal bones.

2012 A Memory or Two.

Well my friends THAT was quite a year!

I am very proud of what we all did together, and am very grateful that so many of you helped to create a little community here at the Immoral Minority.

We had ourselves some lows that's for sure, but damn did we have some highs or what?

Here's hoping that the year that starts tomorrow has just as many highs, and far fewer lows. 

Though I have to say, that when it comes to "highs" it is going to be quite a challenge finding anything to compare with the reelection of Barack Obama.  But hey, ya never know.