The top lawyer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff last month advised Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine on how best to handle an illegal order from war criminals Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth: Submit a retirement request rather than resign or attempt to get fired on purpose, CNN reports, adding that this came right after Caine saw the “double-tap” video of American taxpayer missiles being wasted for the purpose of wasting two helpless men clinging to wreckage after their “drug boat” – which had actually been headed to Suriname – was blasted by Naval combat aircraft.

That option, per counsel Brig General Eric Widmar, would be seen as less “political” than the other options. Being a “request” obviously it can (hopefully) be rejected and serves as a marker to future inquiries as well as prevent some fucking extremist MAGA freak from assuming that role – which is the real reason why nobody should want these guys to walk when they know something is wrong.

It’s horrible that people who may or may not actually be willing drug traffickers are being summarily obliterated in the Carribbean and Pacific. But if there’s ever going to be a reckoning for it then it’s on the brass to record their objections to these relatively low-consequence war crimes while staying on the team to prevent worse shit from happening. The way to prevent a reckoning is for them to quit and be replaced by Nazis who will cancel elections and establish a permanent Trump dictatorship that by 2055 will be ruled by a 400 lbs alcoholic chain-smoking Barron who spends his free time shooting hoops with the laminated corpse of Dennis Rodman and executing military officers with anti-aircraft guns on suspicion of passing intel to the capitalist scum of the California Republic.

So not great. Could end with retirements accepted anyway. Still better than no acts of protest at all.

The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country. 

In 2017, President Trump…

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 19, 2025

“Democrats Approval numbers in Congress are the Worst Ever – Negative 55! Harry Enten,” posted convicted felon President Trump at 12:34 AM on Friday, evidently after seeing CNN polling/election geek Harry Enten go on with his characteristic hyper-emphasis about this week’s Quinnipiac University survey finding that, on the question of “Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job,” Hill Dems are indeed 55 percent underwater at 18 percent approve to 73 percent disapprove while Republicans are at a relatively less though still shitty 35 to 58 approve/disapprove, putting them “only” 23 percent underwater among all respondents.

The problem, and there’s always a problem, with fapping to the lousy Dem approval number is that among their own respective partisans Democrats are at 42 to 48 percent approve/disapprove while Republicans are at 77 to 18 percent approve/disapprove. Among indie voters both are in worse shape but more so Ds at 15 to 76 approve/disapprove vs the GOP’s 26 to 66 approve/disapprove.

Can probably chalk that up to leaners who still identify as independents who, along with their actual officially Democratic compatriots, don’t approve of the party’s Congressional leadership and want to see more out of them. Also note that Dem respondent approval/disapproval of Republicans at 4 to 93 percent is ALMOST identical to the Republican approval of Dems at 4 to 92 percent.

This really is just between elected Democrats and the people that vote for them, which naturally leads to the most important reason why Trump looks so fucking pathetic highlighting the “Dems 55 percent underwater” talking point: Dems lead the generic ballot by 47 to 43 percent (which is almost certainly lowballing their support). More Republican respondents – 5 percent – said they’re voting blue than Dem respondents – 2 percent – will vote red. Among indies Dems lead 46 to 38 percent.

“Consumer sentiment inched up a scant 1.9 index points from November, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Buying conditions for durable goods fell for the fifth straight month, whereas expectations for personal finances and business conditions rose. The outlook for labor markets lifted a bit this month, though a solid majority of consumers expect unemployment to continue rising during the next year. Despite these improvements, sentiment remains nearly 30 percent below December 2024, in large part due to continued concerns about pocketbook issues, particularly the strain of high prices and the prospect of further weakening of labor markets, said U-M economist Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys,” says the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers in a statement on the ongoing failures of the Trump Regime.

“About 47 percent of consumers spontaneously mentioned that high prices are weighing down their personal finances, unchanged from November and well above the 35 percent seen a year ago. High prices as well as the impact of tariffs continue to be top issues for consumers when it comes to major purchases. Buying conditions for durable goods worsened 6 percent from November and are more than 40 percent below conditions from a year ago. For vehicles, buying conditions remain at historically low levels and are little changed from last month. For both types, consumers cited prices and tariffs as negative factors,” the release continued, making it clear this is self-inflicted.

Some egghead on CNBC said the 50.4 number for “current conditions” is indeed at an all-time low.

This guy’s supposed to be a smart lawyer and have something better than just outright lying to Fox News fans and saying that his client, convicted felon President Trump, “has said for years that he wants full transparency” when Blanche himself tried to intimidate Lauren Boebert into backing out of that discharge petition last month and then when that didn’t work he posted “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk – and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!” which also didn’t work as it then passed almost unanimously.

Bonus Blanche suckery for spewing those same canned talking points about how the Biden Administration and Congressional Dems would have released the files if they knew they contained damning info on Trump. That’s between Dem voters and Biden/Merrick Garland/congressional Dems, lefty PACs funding oppo research, etc for being such limp dicks and not making moves that in retrospect could maybe have swung the election for Kamala Harris if done smartly. But what’s done is done and they didn’t know there was anything damning in there because they didn’t even bother to look – and the only reason this nightmare for the Trump Regime is happening now is because Trump for months reneged on his previously half-assed pledges to be transparent on this.

In a Thursday fundraising email with subject line “I’m heartbroken. It’s Trump and this isn’t like you” and sent by a contact whose card says “Trump is SAD <contact@win.donaldjtrump.com>,” and reads “I’m heartbroken. It’s Trump and this isn’t like you. Your name is missing from the MAGA Petition to mandate Voter ID:” and then a large red HTML button saying “MISSING – Add your name.”

Not sure which sticks out more, the plainly freaking weird appeal to sympathy (?) from a movement that made “Fuck Your Feelings” its anthem or just the low effort going into these things nowadays.

The donation portal (not a “petition”) the email leads to reads “Your name is NOT on the Official MAGA Voter ID Petition. If we don’t MANDATE Voter ID nationwide RIGHT NOW, the Democrats will flood the 2026 midterm elections with illegal votes and steal the House, the Senate, and MAGA will CRUMBLE overnight! That is why I have opened my official MAGA Petition to mandate Voter ID, and I need YOU to stand with me today and save the 2026 elections.” That’s muuuuuuuch more like it.

A modal saying “Wait, before you go… I am Donald J Trump. FEAR NOT! I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again” pops up if you hover on your browser tabs.

Singapore’s government on Friday announced a crackdown on fraud and the buttcheeks of those convicted of fraud through new enhanced corporal punishment penalties of up to 24 strokes of a cane while those convicted of aiding fraud face up to 12 strokes, the AP reports.

The small city state’s Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishments “ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges… Fighting scams is a top national priority. The number of scam cases and scam losses remain concerning.”

Formerly Chinese-control shortform video platform TikTok has been sold to a group controlled by Trump-allied firms Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, CNBC reports on more Orwellian control of the information sphere by malevolent authoritarian actors.

“NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will recap his recent mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 3:30 pm EST Friday, Dec 19, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Kim returned to Earth on Dec 9, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. He logged 245 days as an Expedition 72/73 flight engineer during his first spaceflight. The trio completed 3,920 orbits of the Earth over the course of their nearly 104-million-mile journey. They also saw the arrival of nine visiting spacecraft and the departure of six,” says a NASA press release about Korean-American DEI hire astronaut Jonny Kim‘s big media tour.

Just because Kim’s a Harvard Medical School grad, licensed physician, a Navy SEAL, and a Naval aviator doesn’t mean the astronaut job went to the most qualified candidate, libtards. Get real.

Lol. In all seriousness if you’re Asian-American, have married into an Asian-American family, or have just spent a lot of time around them then you know who some of the most miserable people in the world are: The adult children of Kim’s mother’s friends. Those poor bastards – especially the ones who went to Harvard Medical School too, having to hear about how Jonny’s also a Navy SEAL, a pilot, and a fucking astronaut so why can’t they build out their resumes like he’s done?

Whoops. That’s Commerce Secretary Howard Nutlick back in March saying “in the fourth quarter of 2025 this economy is going to be humming.” Got so many of these clips sometimes that shit happens.

Surprising no one, staffers and lawyers at the Justice Department are, with technically eight hours to go until they have to release the documents, still working on redacting the Epstein files, CNN reports without being more specific about what is being redacted beyond victims’ names/identities.

Though this is worth flagging: “A substantial number of redactions are needed, one of the sources said, and the documents each attorney is processing since Thanksgiving week can number more than 1,000 – a time-consuming task that likely will come down to the wire. The sensitivities of executive and legal privacy, victims’ protections and other concerns all could play in to the choices the lawyers must make when it comes to potential redactions,” emphasis added on “executive.”

Which “executive” are we talking about here? Why does he merit any privacy in this situation?

In related news earlier this week Fox News reported that the House GOP is floating around a talking points memo that reads “Throughout the Oversight Committee’s review of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell criminal investigations, Democrats have demonstrated a sustained pattern of misconduct – misrepresenting witness testimony, selectively leaking cherry-picked documents, and manipulating emails and images – to fabricate yet another politically motivated hoax targeting President Trump. As a result, nothing Democrats post or leak on this matter can be taken at face value,” almost as though they’re bracing for some really damning shit.

Sources tell CBS News that cops in Providence, Rhode Island have identified a person of interest in the shooting that killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University last weekend. The individual is still being sought. No word yet on any connection to the murder of an MIT nuclear science professor in Brookline, Massachusetts though police are looking into that too.

“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future!”

“The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” the information minister tweeted on Thursday. With that transmission concluded, citizens are now urged to resume their labor producing goods and services crucial to meeting quotas and sustaining our current economic prosperity, the goal ever more important as the nation prepares to enter a turbulent and lengthy period of shared sacrifice and suffering that will be experienced by most classes.

The Great Leader’s love will provide spiritual endurance for those who will suffer during this period in which a New Leap Forward will be achieved. “Divisive” elements of the culture can expect increased scrutiny and consequences of their continued spiritual subversion of the Great Leader’s vision for our nation. Updated mandates will be transmitted to party functionaries on how best to identify and quarantine these elements. The Ministry of Information instructs all to await this guidance.

Brazilian President Luiz Lula said thanks for the suggestion but fuck off on Thursday after the country’s senate passed a bill that would lop 20 years off of convicted felon former President Jair Bolsonaro’s 27 year bid following his conviction on his 2022 coup attempt, the AP reports.

“With all due respect to the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it,” Lula told reporters, adding that those who sought to destroy democracy “will have to pay for their acts.”

And before you say it, just cheer up and remember that Bolsonaro’s former friend in Washington is worried he could face trial at the Hague after 2029. No self-pardons for ICC war crimes charges.

The Champion Forest Baptist Church’s annual Christmas Spectacular in Houston, Texas have decided to dial back on the whole marching live animals down the aisles component of the performance after one of the actors, a camel, decided to kick a female audience member in the head and rendering her unconscious during one of the shows this month, NBC News reports.

Church spokesman Steve Miori acknowledged in a statement that “an unexpected incident occurred when a camel used in the production struck a guest in the audience. Champion Forest regrets that this happened. Our team responded immediately, and emergency services were engaged,” Miori added, saying the church has remained in contact with the family. The brevity of the reporting suggests that the woman’s injuries were not especially serious. It also omits any specific reason why the fuck this church needed a live camel to do the job that two actors and a decent costume could.

Who need context here? It’s not like it’s going to do them any good anyway. Probably worse.

“It’s a holiday miracle for Taco Bell fans: Starting on December 18, the iconic Quesarito is officially returning to menus nationwide for a limited time, thanks in part to a basketball star who’s never tried it. To make amends for one of the most unexpected internet moments of the last decade, Taco Bell is calling on three-time MVP and Denver Nuggets center, Nikola Jokić – whose 2014 draft announcement famously aired during a Quesarito commercial – to finally try Taco Bell and the Quesarito for the very first time. The accidental overlap has since become a viral chapter in sports and Taco Bell lore. Now, Taco Bell is embracing the moment fans made famous, calling on Jokić to finally settle the score and offering a friendly apology for the coincidence that paired the Quesarito’s ad with his draft moment,” says the Big Bell in a press release heralding this most blessed miracle.

“The Quesarito’s bold build helped define an era of Taco Bell innovation, becoming one of the brand’s most talked-about mashups and a staple order for an entire generation of fans. It’s back on menus for $4.99*, but the first 30,000 Taco Bell Rewards Members can score a $1 Quesarito during a special Tuesday Drop on December 23 at 2 pm PT – exclusively in the Taco Bell app**,” the release continued, the asterisks denoting that it will be closer to $8.99 in certain markets because of what we understand to be Joe Biden’s policies preventing Trump from making Taco Bell more affordable.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of New York, United States of America, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M Dolan. The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Ronald A Hicks as metropolitan archbishop of New York, United States of America, transferring him from the diocese of Joliet in Illinois, United States of America,” said the Vatican in an announcement on Thursday, closing the book on Dolan’s career.

At first glance some might take issue with “fires” in the headline when the announcement made it sound like Dolan did this of his own volition. The truth isn’t all that difficult to understand though: When every bishop turns 75 they’re required to submit a letter of resignation to the Pope, which Dolan did when he reached that age on February 6th, sending it to the now-late Pope Francis. The acceptance of the resignation then becomes a matter of the boss’s discretion – up until a cardinal turns 80 and retirement becomes mandatory. Francis chose not to exercise it with Dolan, possibly due to indisposition and declining health being obviously a bigger deal in Francis’s final weeks.

It’s harder to come up with a more charitable read of why Francis’s successor Leo XIV pulled the trigger on Dolan, now only the fourth cardinal between 75 and 79 to be canned since Leo’s ascendance. About 40 percent of all the currently serving cardinals are in that age range and a gentleman’s agreement from 1983 that the 75-79s be allowed to continue was honored to varying degrees by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Maybe Leo XIV is cleaning house and it’s simply a human resources matter of screening the right successors for the 40-odd cardinals in that range.