Worried About Executive Power?

Here's a little satire from the YouTube user We The Internet.  Trigger Warning: Their stated purpose is "offending pretty much everyone".

The video may also be watched directly on YouTube.

Debbie Reynolds 1932-2016

Debbie Reynolds, the actress, singer, businesswoman and film historian, died earlier today after being rushed from her son Todd Fisher's house to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.  She had reportedly suffered a stroke.  She passed away one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher.

Mary Frances Reynolds was born in 1932 in El Paso, Texas to Raymond Reynolds and the former Maxine Harmon.  The family moved to Burbank, California in 1939.  She graduated high school in 1948 and won the Miss Burbank beauty contest.  She appeared in many movie musicals during the 1950's, most notably Singin' in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly.  In 1957, she starred in Tammy and the Bachelor, and recorded the movie's theme song Tammy, which went to #1 on the Billboard pop charts.

Reynolds was married three times, first to Eddie Fisher, with whom she had her children Todd and Carrie, then to businessman Harry Karl, and finally to real estate developer Richard Hamlett.  She is survived by her son Todd and her granddaughter Billie Lourd (Carrie's daughter).

Read more at TMZ, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, Consequence Of Sound and Yahoo Celebrity.

Thomas Sowell Writes His Last Columns

Conservative writer and economist Thomas Sowell has announced his retirement from writing columns.  Long admired by the right side of the blogosphere and by conservatives in general, he has decided to call it a career, writing farewell columns in Creators Syndicate and National Review.

Dr. Sowell's "Random Thought on the Passing Scene" columns were the inspiration for my own sincere attempt to flatter him, my "Random Musings" posts.  Here's some reaction to his retirement:

Townhall recalls twelve of Sowell's best quotes.

American Enterprise Institute has 18 quotes from Dr. Sowell.

Michelle Malkin just wants to express her gratitude.

And last but really first, The Daily Caller recalls Sowell's first column, in which he took on the belief, common in the 1970's, that a new ice age was on the way.

Carrie Fisher 1956-2016

Actress and writer Carrie Fisher, famous for portraying Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies, has died at the age of 60, four days after suffering a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles.  You might say that Leia is now one with the Force.

Carrie Frances Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California to singer Eddie Fisher and actress/singer Debbie Reynolds, who divorced when Fisher was two years old.  Her first movie role was in the comedy Shampoo in 1975.  She appeared as Princess Leia in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).  She reprised the role in The Force Awakens (2015) and completed filming for the as-yet-untitled Episode VIII.  In 1987, she published the novel Postcards from the Edge, loosely based on her own life, which was made into a film in 1990.

Fisher was briefly married to singer Paul Simon, and had a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd.  Fisher is survived by her mother, her daughter Billie Lourd, her brother Todd, and her half-sisters Joely and Tricia.

Read more at People, The New York Times, TMZ, Entertainment and the Los Angeles Times.

Links For The Feast Of Saint Stephen

According to a certain Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslaus looked out, on the Feast of Stephen", which is the day after Christmas.  Stephen was one of the Christian church's first deacons, and is regarded as the first Christian martyr, for being stoned to death after being accused of blasphemy.  See Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 6 and 7.

Here are some things going on out there, on this year's Feast of Stephen:

With just a week left, 2016 continues to be sad for musicians and their fans.

However, one noted singer has not left us.

One Trump campaign staffer might have turned down a job in his administration, for allegedly acting like Trump's rival's husband.

In California, get ready for the new traffic laws.

In Tennessee, four inmates escape on Christmas.

In Belgium, an NATO auditor general is shot dead.

In Indonesia, police fatally shoot two suspected terrorists in a floating house.

In Iraq, ISIS is just being ISIS.

In England, some people find treasure in riverside mud.

At the Chiefs-Broncos game, the best tackle was made by a non-player.

Sadly, this is one time I would agree with our lame duck president.

The aforementioned lame duck gets a request from another Illinois politician.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States claims that the Obama administration was behind the U.N. anti-settlement resolution.

Here's the latest thing considered sinful by Muslims.

Donald Trump, in one writer's opinion, is right to acknowledge a connection between terrorism and immigration from terror-spawning countries.

Trump prepares to defend his cabinet picks.

Scientists plan to send greetings to aliens.

And to finish, here's a boy who really got a truck for Christmas.

Merry Christmas And Happy Hanukkah

This year, in a rare coincidence, Christmas and the first full day of Hanukkah both occur today.  (According to the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah started yesterday at sundown.)  While these two holy days commemorate different events, and are celebrated by two different religions, they are still linked.  From the Gospel of John, Chapter 10 (NIV):

22 Then came the Festival of Dedication^[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

The footnote [b] is in the original.  To learn what it refers to, click the link and scroll to the bottom.

The baby whose birth is celebrated at Christmas grew up to observe Hanukkah, which recalls the burning of candles for eight nights, when there was only enough oil for one night.  This came after the Jewish Temple had been desecrated by pagan soldiers under the Hellenistic king Antiochus IV, and was later cleaned out and re-dedicated by the Jews.

"The Sun" Warns About The Sun

According to a British media outlet, the sun let out a flare yesterday that could "wreak havoc" here on Earth.  Who would warn us earthlings about what's happening with the sun?  It's the appropriately named (for this story, anyway) website called The Sun:

EARTH is being blasted by a flare soaring from a hole in the sun's atmosphere – and it's bringing huge geomagnetic storms with it.

The super-fast stream of solar wind hit the Earth’s magnetic field just in time for the winter solstice on Wednesday.

And it's whipped up a "moderately" strong geomagnetic storm that could last for several days, according to the US' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

There is, however, a bright side:

It's good news for Aurora watchers, as the long nights mean more time to watch the incredible plumes of colour across the northern hemisphere.

If you live in Canada, Alaska, Siberia or northern Europe, and there aren't too many clouds, there could be a show above you tonight.  Meanwhile, read the full story about the sun at The Sun.

Links For The Year's Shortest Day

Today is the first full day of winter.  I think the solstice occurred some time yesterday.  When we say "shortest day", what we really mean is the day with the shortest amount of time between sunrise and sunset.  With that in mind, here are some things going on out there:

From The Times Of Israel, an Israeli aid group is trying to help Yazidi victims of ISIS.

From the Express, a protest breaks out just outside the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and an asylum seeker disrupts a nativity play in Austria.

From NPR, the Berlin attack causes European's fears to rise.

From Breitbart London, in Germany, providing for migrants can get expensive.

From FrontpageMag, Europeans have had enough.

From ABC News, North Carolina legislators meet to reconsider the "bathroom bill".

From WGN, the New York police have identified the suspect who stole a pot of gold.

From USA Today, the north pole gets a (relative) heat wave.

From PoliZette, the Census Bureau unveils the population clock.

From Philly(dot)com, Obama's oil pipeline rules might be changed under Trump.

From Legal Insurrection, The Washington Post blames the Electoral College for global warming.

From The American First, Trump's campaign manager takes on the guy with the tingle up his leg.

From Reuters, residents of northern China travel to avoid smog.  The Guardian also reports on this story.

From The Washington Post, the prime suspect in the Berlin truck attack had been the target of an earlier investigation.

From Newsgram, those who want Islamic law can go to Syria, Somalia or Nigeria, says a Canadian Muslim.

From Romania-Insider, Romania might soon get a female Muslim prime minister.

From Emirates Woman, it appears that one American celebrity has moved out of America - but not to Canada.

From The Whistler, the results of the recent election have not been accepted by the president - of Gambia.

From Time, the top 25 NCAA football teams, ranked by academics.

And from National Geographic, Ethiopian children learn about healthy living, from a hand puppet.

Presidential Election Produces Unexpected Milestone

Faith Spotted Eagle has never been a presidential candidate.  She is a tribal elder of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.  She has been an opponent of oil pipelines, such as the Dakota Access pipeline.  And due to the actions of one of Hillary Clinton's electors in the state of Washington, Ms. Spotted Eagle, as far as anyone knows, has become the first Native American to receive a vote for president in the Electoral College.

Read more at Seattle PI, KOMO News, The Seattle Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Three Attacks In Three Countries

Today there has been some violent crime, possibly terrorism, in Turkey, Germany and Switzerland.

The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was assassinated in Ankara by an off-duty policeman.  During the attack, the assailant reportedly shouted "Don't forget Allepo!" and "Allahu akbar!"   Read more at CNN, The New York Times and Reuters.

In Berlin, Germany, a truck was driven into a Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.  So far, nine people have been killed and over 50 injured.  Read more at the Daily Mail, Politistick and The Guardian.

In Zurich, Switzerland, three people have been shot and wounded near an Islamic center.  Read more at CBS News, ABC News and BBC News.

UPDATE:  The Daily Mail and The Guardian now indicate that 12 people have been killed in the Berlin attack, as does the Evening Standard.