President Obama today expelled 35 Russian alleged spies and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies for meddling in the 2016 Presidential election by hacking political groups.

The FBI and Homeland Security blame Russia both for hacking and meddling in the U.S. election. Here is the report by Homeland Security and the FBI on the Russian hacking

This Joint Analysis Report (JAR) is the result of analytic efforts between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This document provides technical details regarding the tools and infrastructure used by the Russian civilian and military intelligence Services (RIS) to compromise and exploit networks and endpoints associated with the U.S. election, as well as a range of U.S. Government, political, and private sector entities. The U.S. Government is referring to this malicious cyber activity by RIS as GRIZZLY STEPPE.

The Report confirms: [More]

Very sad. One day after Carrie Fisher died, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, had a stroke and died this afternoon at the hospital. She was 84.

The third most watched cable channel in the U.S. is HGTV. Only ESPN and Fox News have more viewers. It even beats CNN.

Why? Apparently, the HGTV shows are happy shows, that allow people to escape the real world. And that's what viewers (including me) want.

The escapist appeal of looking at other people’s beautiful homes turned Home & Garden Television into the third most-watched cable network in 2016, ahead of CNN and behind only Fox News and ESPN. Riding HGTV’s reality shows, parent company Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. has seen its shares rise more than 30 percent this year, outperforming bigger rivals like Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Viacom Inc.

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Carrie Fisher has died. George Michael died on Christmas day in London. Both deaths are heart-related.

News that makes you want to take another shower: The UnPresident Elect has named his family's lawyer of 20 years to the position of "special representative for international negotiations." He is expected to focus on Israel and Palestine.

As the president’s special representative, Mr. Greenblatt is likely to focus on peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, renegotiating trade agreements and the relationship between the United States and Cuba, among other international issues.

His experience for the position:

“He has a history of negotiating substantial, complex transactions on my behalf, as well as the expertise to bring parties together and build consensus on difficult and sensitive topics,” Mr. Trump said.

This is probably the most Un-Merry Christmas I can recall in 14 years of blogging. I'm studiously avoiding news of the UnPresident-Elect and his family so he can't rob us of any more joy than necessary over this supposed holiday season.

I am not going to report on the UnPresident Elect over the holidays, he's not the President yet, nothing he does has any significance, and the only thing I feel like doing after I read or hear his name is taking a shower. [More...]

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

The Electoral College is poised to pick Donald Trump today.

Buckle up and hold on tight, it will be a rough ride for the next four years, if he doesn't get impeached or quit before then.

#GrabYourWallet. Don't shop at stores that sell Donald or Ivanka Trump products. Don't stay at Trump Hotels or Resorts. In other words, #BoycottTrump.

From SNL last night. I liked it better than the Alec Baldwin/Vladimir Putin cold open skit which you can see here.

More drama over the Colorado electors who want to vote for someone other than Hillary or Trump. The 10th Circuit denied their Emergency Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal yesterday. Some are taking hope from a footnote about the 12th Amendment. The case is Baca v Hickenlooper, Tenth Circuit, Case No. 16-1482. [More...]

The FBI agrees with the CIA that Russia's goal in interfering with the election was to help Donald Trump win.

James Comey should still resign. His own behavior during the weeks before the election permanently tarnished the FBI's integrity and reputation.

Donald Trump lost the popular vote by a margin greater than any U.S. President in history.

That (2.8 million) deficit is more than five times bigger than the 544,000 by which George W. Bush lost to Al Gore in 2000 - the second biggest popular vote deficit in history for a candidate who has still gone on to become President.

#Boycott Trump. Get the Free App. #GrabYourWallet.

Praise to Hulu, which pulled its ads from running on Breitbart News.

I made these cookies last night, they were seriously very good. And they only took 10 minutes to put together. They looked just like the pictures.

Very busy today, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The United States announced today it was increasing the reward for information on the whereabouts of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi to $25 million from $10 million. The same amount is being offered for al Qaida leader al-Zawahiri.

The reward is part of the Rewards for Justice Program, administered by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

ISIS has had a surge this week by retaking Palmyra and a Syrian army base near Mosul (Tiyas or T4). Today ISIS claims it has surrounded the largest military base east of Homs, called The Altifor Airbase, from the north, east and south. It released a statement saying it used an ATGM to hit a 57mm cannon north of #Tiyas/#T4. It is also attacking near Deir Ezzor. The US conducted 10 airstrikes in Palmyra yesterday.

Is a former Army brat now an American leader of the Islamic State? See this article in the Atlantic.

In Aleppo, the Iranian Shia militias blocked the evacuation today. In Idlib the past few days, the crowds have been cheering ISIS and protesting the rebels.

Excepting Aleppo, which is a human tragedy of epic proportion, worst of all, in a month, Donald Trump will be commander in chief.

There is no chance the Electoral College will show a conscience and some gumption and reject Donald Trump. Hillary now has almost a 3 million vote lead but that ship has sailed.

Rather than spend time discussing what electors could do, since they won't, I'd rather talk about something each of us can do: This holiday season and thereafter, we can reward retailers who don't sell Donald Trump or Ivanka Trump products. We can refuse to buy from those that sell them. Via GrabYourWallet, just say no to: [More...]