Meet Erick Mullen:

http://www.mercuryllc.com/leadership/erick-mullen/

"Erick was a consultant to Bill Bradley's presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton's first campaign for the Senate."

And his charming wife, Kelly:

http://freebeacon.com/democracy-alliance/kelly-craighead-president-of-the-democracy-alliance/

"Craighead is the president and managing director of the exclusive, invitation-only Democracy Alliance, a clearinghouse that connects liberal billionaires to a select group of endorsed organizations, such as the Center for American Progress and the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA, without threat of disclosure.

...

Craighead has no need for anonymity. She served as a top aide to former First Lady Hillary Clinton and later worked for her U.S. Senate campaign. The Secretary of State even presided over her wedding to Erick Mullen, a top aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.)."

Among the things Mr. Mullen is paid to do is this:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/ugandan-government-hired-us-public-relations-firm-following

"Uganda Hires D.C. PR Firm Following Sanctions Over Anti-LGBT Law

The $600,000 contract with Mercury LLC is to monitor coverage and lobby on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni and Uganda."

That story refers to the original $600,000 one-year contract.

The current contract with Mercury LLC is for $150,000 per quarter, on an advance paid basis each quarter:

http://www.fara.gov/docs/6170-Exhibit-AB-20151124-14.pdf




This is really cool - get Hillary Clinton to preside over your wedding, and get paid to protect the interests of people who want to kill LGBT persons.

Like leftover kimchi,revenge is a dish best served cold, and after spending an hour and a half on this gem, you might be looking for some revenge of your own.

A fascinating study of the impact of the Uber economy on human trafficking, this film is about exploitation on several levels. But given the other choices on Netflix, aren't you really the one being exploited?

The lackluster cast is almost redeemed by a guy who kind of looks like Vin Diesel and by a guy who kind of looks like that guy who was In a bunch of other movies. And it's hard not to think of other movies when you reflect on how you might have otherwise spent your evening.

That said, this film delivers more than it promises, but after all, it only promises two things - Asians? Check. Schoolgirls? Well, okay, that's part of the movie magic which psychologists call "suspension of disbelief". But it does tick both boxes and four, oops, three times! Think of it as quadrophonic stereotypes. As they study, dance, and kill their way into your heart, Your disbelief will get a pretty good workout.

There are moments of decent soundtrack and cinematographic flair including a clever homage to Hitchcock, in what is best described as the shower scene from Psycho without the psycho. Or at least without one on screen. Your condition at that point may vary. Frankly, this film will not appeal to all viewers. But if you're the kind of viewer who would watch something titled "Asian Schoolgirls" on Netflix, then this is the sort of film you'd watch.

When she was doing her "I ate through the umbilical cord and raised myself better than wolves" routine, I thought I heard her say, "I buried a child."

While I certainly hope the child was deceased at the time, Carson then launched into "I cut kids' heads open" in response to whether he would bomb Syrian cities.

What's next, Marco Rubio claiming he eats them?

http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/merle-haggard-reassures-fans-during-bout-with-pneumonia

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — County music great and Bakersfield native Merle Haggard shared a message with his fans via social media as he recovers from pneumonia.

Haggard, 78, was hospitalized last week in California and postponed his December tour dates to January and February.




Thank you all for your kind words and prayers! This picture speaks for itself on how I'm doing. See y'all soon!

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-12-08/story/navy-fires-rear-admiral-after-inebriated-naked-walk-outside-ponte-vedra

According to the 20-page Navy investigation, Baucom was at a dinner with about 70 senior military officers and corporate executives and consumed all or part of a gin and tonic, wine and five scotches. The investigation stated that security camera footage showed Baucom falling as he stood up just after midnight, then hitting his head on a bar stool.

Another video camera recorded him stumbling and falling “head first” into a couch or a side table, then falling “to the ground,” the investigation stated. At 1:30 a.m. a bellman took Baucom to his room, calling him an “intoxicated older gentleman” in a statement to the hotel security department, the investigation stated.

Baucom showered, then took prescription medications. He told investigators he woke up later and went through a door, thinking it was to the bathroom. But it led outside, and the door locked behind him.

About 5:45 a.m. he ended up at the front desk.

“I’m looking for is something to cover up with,” he states in the investigative report. “So I’m looking for just something, if I can find a spare towel anywhere or something laying around so I can get to the lobby, get a key and get back to my room.”

-------

Well, damn. I've locked myself out of hotel rooms before, though not right after a shower. Sounds like he just got himself into an unfortunate situation.

Well, remind me to scratch the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club off of my list of preferred accommodations. I don't mind a front desk staff that's stuffy, but I certainly expect a little professional discretion on their part from time to time.

That's an actual headline... reason unknown.

He is reported to have said "No more baby parts" when taken into custody.

What possible meaning could that have had?

It's a real mystery what on earth could have motivated someone to do such a thing.

Old Man Winter is awakening, scratching his balls, and wondering what's in the refrigerator for breakfast.

#4thprecinctshutdown

According to reports on Twitter, several armed white men were asked to leave the BLM protest over the Jamar Clark shooting and, while leaving, turned and shot at the crowd, injuring several protesters.

There is a fair amount of bullshit and fake accounts among the reports, making it difficult to discern what is going on.

Trump has a number of interesting sources of "information", and he seems to have adapted this little fun fact from something else.

There is no question that Trump gets fed a lot of conspiracy nonsense from the internet, through whatever channel he trusts. For example, he was certainly up to date on various aspects of Obama birtherism, including the "forged birth certificate" claims that circulate in the internet fever swamps.

Then, there are the "crime statistics" originally sourced from a neo-nazi website, which he tweeted this weekend.

His identification of "Jersey City" as the location of people allegedly celebrating the 9/11 attacks is actually more revealing of where he gets his information, since it is one of the variants of the "five dancing Jews" 9/11 myth:

http://www.911myths.com/index.php/Dancing_Israelis

"Witnesses saw them jumping for joy in Liberty State Park after the initial impact (5). Later on, other witnesses saw them celebrating on a roof in Weehawken, and still more witnesses later saw them celebrating with high fives in a Jersey City parking lot."

It's of passing interest that he seems to have pulled this story, with a change from "Jews" to "Muslims", out of the same well of internet conspiracy theories where he tends to get most of his other "information".

Can anyone recall a situation in which someone made a telephone call stating that a bomb was at a location, and a bomb was actually detonated or found there?

This business of "the building was evacuated because a bomb threat was phoned in" seems like an open invitation to cause disruptions at very low cost.

Who goes through the trouble of constructing and planting a bomb, and then makes a telephone call to conveniently state where it is?

Clearly suicide bombers don't do it, and vehicular bombs arrive shortly before detonation.

So I'm wondering why these types of telephone threats are given any credence, unless there are some number of reported bombs which turn out to be bombs.