“That block was already messed up.”

Just a few items to discuss on America’s last day as a respectable nation:

1. President-Elect Says Nation Was Divided Long Before Election — You ever see “Rush Hour?” My favorite line is when the captain, chewing out Chris Tucker, yells, “You destroyed half a city block!” Tucker shrugs it off: “That block was already messed up.”
2. Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ is being extradited to the United States — What!?! I thought that at the very least, Trump would keep out a guy like that! So what did we elect him for? No, seriously: What did we elect him for?
3. At least this time we don’t have to pretend the president is good — I’m sharing this Washington Post opinion piece because it’s written by Columbia’s own Barton Swaim, the former speechwriter to Mark Sanford. Most provocative line, which he attributes to a left-of-center friend: “the rhetoric of consensus is always coercive.” As a big believer in consensus, I’d like to discuss that with Barton.
4. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Nominee, Failed to Disclose $100 Million in Assets — As I said on Twitter this morning, if this guy’s so loaded, why doesn’t he go out and buy himself another vowel?

Yo, Mr. President: Commuting Manning’s sentence is a BFD — and not in a good way.

Have we done one of these this year? Well if we have, we haven’t done it enough:

1. President Obama Commutes Chelsea Manning’s Prison Sentence — Well, I suppose that’s all right. What would be outrageous and utterly unthinkable would be if he commuted the sentence of Bradley Manning, because that little slimeball betrayed his country big-time, and is lucky he wasn’t shot. Just to be clear about it. And let me say now that if the president is even thinking about dismissing charges against Edward Snowden, I may have to take back every good thing I’ve said about POTUS. That would be completely beyond the pale.
2. Dollar Tumbles on Trump Comments — Welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Trump. Well, I don’t exactly mean welcome. That’s just what the worldwise major-leaguers say to the bushers when they do something stupid, right? If only we could send him down to single-A ball soon after the season starts Friday.
3. British Leader Commits to a Clean Break From the E.U. — I’ve been seeing stories about this since early in the morning, starting with The Guardian, and I keep thinking, Isn’t this what we thought she’d say? Isn’t that what the referendum decided? I mean, I see that she says that in the future, British courts would hold sway, not E.U. courts. And I’m like, duh! They’re be NO point to a Brexit without that particular point of sovereignty. That’s minimal!
4. Leatherman wants ‘dark-money’ groups to have to disclose donors — I’m all for that, and I’ve yet to hear a good argument against it.
5. White Knoll standout, USC baseball commitment dies — A very sad story about a local kid who had his whole life ahead of him. I want to know more about what happened; I hope subsequent stories tell us.

Something I received just now from Lindsey Graham…

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan pause for a moment of silence following a wreath laying at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 27, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Sorry, I hadn’t posted the last day or two. I got a cold or something that hit me like a ton of bricks Christmas night, and just started feeling noticeably better today. Since I’m off from work this week, I’ve just been kicking back in sickbay mode.

But here are some things to discuss:

1. Shinzo Abe visits Pearl Harbor in what Barack Obama calls ‘historic gesture’ — I wonder if Burl was there. After all, the Arizona Memorial is only a couple of hundred yards from his workplace. Anything to report, Burl?
2. Israel intensifies battle with U.S. over U.N. resolution on settlements — The conflict we discussed at length on Friday continues.
3. White House prepares covert action, sanctions to punish Russia for election hacking — Yeah, OK, but I have a question: Can we get this done before Putin’s biggest fanboy takes over the White House?
4. Russian Sports Officials Admit to Systematic Doping Effort — On top of everything else, the Russians have to cheat at sports, too.
5. U.S. Accuses Three Chinese Traders of Hacking Law Firms — Reminding us that the Rooskies aren’t the only bad actors we have to deal with.
6. Aiken legislator charged with felony domestic violence of his wife — The only real news on the local front today, from what I’ve seen. Sorry it’s not happier…
7. Carrie Fisher, Actress Beloved For Playing Princess Leia, Dies At 60 — This was the shock of the day for me. First Han Solo dies on screen, now this. Particularly shocking since I think of her as the Lolita-like character she played in “Shampoo,” two years before “Star Wars.”

Carrie Fisher as provocative teen in “Shampoo,” in 1975.

Some quick topics:

1. How Moscow Aimed a Perfect Weapon at the U.S. Election — Wow. This currently leads the NYT site. It takes the story well beyond where The Washington Post had advanced it. This is a huge accusation — and an assertion that not only did Russia attempt to sabotage our election, they got it done. Heads up — Trump is really not going to like this one.
2. Deals With Putin Helped Fuel the Rise of Tillerson at Exxon — And this one, somewhat less lurid but still serious food for thought, is leading the WSJ. No wonder Marco Rubio says he has “serious concerns” about the SecState nominee.
3. 2 doctors assaulted at maximum-security S.C. prison, official says — Another security failure in our underfunded prison system.
4. Florida court says iPhone passcode must be revealed — The guy’s accused of being a voyeur. Not exactly the terrorism case we discussed previously, but interesting nonetheless.
5. Wave taller than a six-storey building sets ‘remarkable’ world record — Looks like I gave up surfing about four decades too soon. Thank God…

File photo from Wikimedia Commons. I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to attribute it, so I’m linking you to the source…

Some possibilities:

1. Obama orders review of Russian hacking during elections — Well, I don’t know how much they had to do with it, but their guy did win, so…
2. Russian state doped more than 1,000 athletes and corrupted London 2012 — I think maybe a certain Eurasian country needs to get an “Unsatisfactory” grade for deportment for this quarter-century.
3. Jurors, families hear Roof’s voice as taped confession is played in court — I’m just glad I’m not on that jury, and forced to see and hear all this horror.
4. U.S. Kids Far Less Likely To Out-Earn Their Parents, As Inequality Grows — I’m not a bit surprised at this, are you? But I don’t see it as an inequality thing as much as I do the fact that we just don’t have the broad growth that we need. Oh, but wait: Trump stopped from Carrier jobs from going to Mexico, so it’s all cool…
5. Goldman Sachs President Eyed for Economic Post — Refresh my memory: Didn’t this populist madness that produced Trump sort of get started with everybody hating Goldman Sachs? Or am I confused?
6. Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent to Step Down Next Year — The company is having troubles. They should ask Trump to help! First thing he’d probably say would be, “You shouldn’t have hired a guy named ‘Muhtar’.”

It occurs to me there have been several interesting things happening the last few days that we haven’t talked about:

1. Dylann Roof allowed to hire lawyers back, for now — Strange goings-on in Richard Gergel’s court.
2. Mistrial declared in black motorist’s shooting by officer — We’re not there viewing all the evidence. But yeah, to those of us who have only seen the infamous phone video, this is hard to fathom.
3. Trump chats with Taiwan — Remember how China was cheering for Trump to win the election? I wonder whether they’re kicking themselves now. Personally, I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, it just isn’t done. Harrumph, etc. On the other, there might conceivably be an advantage to having a president dumb enough to do something like this, just as a way of provoking a conversation about the whole one-China diplomatic fiction. But don’t worry. I haven’t lost my mind. I’m not about to say, as Marc Thiessen did, that “Trump’s Taiwan call wasn’t a blunder. It was brilliant.” I think the truth is somewhere between that and “bottomless pig-ignorance.” I’m just not sure exactly where….
4. Trump’s Carrier deal could permanently damage American capitalism — Let’s use the headline from Larry Summers’ piece to kick off our discussion of this thing, which Trump’s supporter think was just awesome. Then we can segue into a discussion of his protectionist threats over the weekend.
5. Ben Carson has been named to be the head of something — Doesn’t much matter what it is; I’m not sure I’d put him in charge of anything. But it might have seemed marginally less strained to put him over HHS rather than HUD. Maybe Trump figured, based on his assumptions about how black folk live, that Carson must have grown up in the projects. That’s what Mike Huckabee thought. Well, he didn’t.

Anybody have anything else to bring up?

When Trump and Carson first bonded: Remember THIS special moment?

“That’s a fargin’ trick question!”

OK, since y’all didn’t want to talk about cosmic coincidences, before I leave the office, here are some other possible topics:

1. Trump, Putin agree on phone to improve relations, Kremlin says — Here we go with the bromance. Who do you think is going to get the upper hand in this negotiation — the ex-KGB man who’s been ruthless running the Once and Future Evil Empire, or the guy who was easily flattered when Putin gave him a backhanded compliment?
2. Obama at press conference will not say if Trump is qualified to be president — “That’s a fargin’ trick question!” he cried.
3. Pro-Trump rally planned for Saturday at SC State House — What? What do they need a rally for? They just won the election — something about which I wish people would stop reminding me, by the way…
4. Schools chief should be a cabinet post, Haley urges lawmakers — Well, yeah… Something I’ve only been saying for what, 25 years now? Be nice if it actually happened. It’s ridiculous for the state’s largest executive function to be walled off from the state’s chief executive. Watch for Democrats to resist this, as always, since they continue to consider superintendent to be their best shot at a statewide position.
5. SC Democratic leader Harrison considering a bid for party chair — That’s national party chair. Hey, who better for such a hopeless job than the guy who’s been doing it in South Carolina? Seriously, Jaime’s a good man. He should go for it.

Sorry I couldn’t post today. Busy in the morning and away from both laptop and iPad this afternoon (posting on a phone is possible, but tedious). Here you go:

1. HOW ABOUT THEM CUBBIES? — Sometimes, cliffhangers turn out right. Nothing against the Indians, but wow, what a great Game 7! I almost missed the end. I was so tired (after 7:30 a.m. speaking engagement), I turned it off when the rain delay started. Then I came back and turned it on. I sat down, saw the Cubs build a two-run lead, then saw the Indians score and turned it off again assuming it would be all night. Doused the lights, left the room, came back and turned it on just in time for the winning out. Wow!
2. Baseball ratings rise as NFL ratings fall — More good news for the country. I don’t know why, but it does seem like an outbreak of sanity, which flies in the face of what we’ve been seeing in the political sphere all year. Seriously, this is one of the most promising trends I’ve seen in this country in some time.
3. Walter Scott’s passenger in traffic stop: ‘He was murdered’ — Well, that’s what it looked like on the video. Weird trial. Did you see the thing yesterday about the defense attorney taking the stand to offer his opinions?
4. Court ruling means act of parliament would be needed for Brexit, says May — This gives me an idea — could we make the result of the U.S. election contingent on Parliament approving? No? Dang. Thanks a lot, George Washington! And King George loved us so…
5. Anderson woman found alive, chained ‘like a dog’ in Woodruff — What a bizarre, horrible story…

The 1908 Chicago Cubs

I need to run to an appointment, so very quickly:

1. Obama is critical of Comey decision: ‘We don’t operate on innuendo’ — OK, we’re treading on very sensitive ground here…
2. Suspect In ‘Ambush-Style’ Killings Of 2 Iowa Police Officers Is In Custody — Here’s hoping we don’t read any more headlines about incidents such as this.
3. Haley to campaign with SC Senate candidate in vulnerable seat — I include this not because it’s remarkable in the grand scheme, but because this year, we’ve seen so little about politics on the state and local level. True, we don’t have many competitive races on the local level, thanks to the scandal of reapportionment, but it’s just sort of eerie…
4. The World Series — Yes! America got what it needed, at just the right moment! A seven-game Series! Featuring the Cubs and the Indians! I take great comfort from this…

And that’s about it. Perhaps you’re seeing something else that interest you…

I was going to give you a post on Life, Baseball, and Everything, but it just got out of hand…

I hate it when I give you back-to-back Open Threads, with no intervening sole-subject posts. And I started to give you something earlier today, inspired by the World Series. But it began to morph into one of those meandering Baseball and Life things with Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox Scandal, and the 1927 Yankees, and Satchel Paige, and Ring Lardner’s You Know Me Al, and Roy Hobbs wanting to be the best player there ever was, and playing catch with your Dad and the smell of a baseball in a glove, and it just got totally out of hand and I didn’t finish it. I think it was in about the 12th inning when I stopped.

So here’s an Open Thread:

1. The State endorses Susan Brill over Mia McLeod — I’m guessing this was a tough one for the paper, based on the debate I moderated the other day. Cindi writes of Mrs. Brill being a consensus-builder, which the Senate badly needs after losing Larry Martin, Wes Hayes and now Joel Lourie. Similar themes were sounded in the paper’s endorsement of Nikki Setzler this morning.
2. Some Trump Voters Warn of Revolution if Clinton Wins — Oh, gimme a break, people. I think we’ve all been through enough already this year, don’t you? Yes, I know: The next four years will be uglier than anything we’ve ever seen — as bad as partisanship has been in the Bush and Obama years, neither of them had already been hated by the opposition for decades. But spare us the revolution talk, OK?
3. Russia’s: Kuznetsov battle group refuels off North Africa — To give you something serious to think about. I well remember when the Med was our pond. But on the upside, this is Russia’s only carrier, and apparently its crew is made up of landsmen who don’t know how to do underway replenishment — they’re at anchor for the operation. Here’s the way real seamen do it.
4. Uber won’t build flying cars but they sure want someone else to — Hey, I’m up for it, because then we’ll know it’s the future, for which most of us have been waiting our entire lives. The Star Trek communicators that have become the centers of our lives are pretty cool, but the future, by definition, must have flying cars.
5. Vine Withers, Reminding Us That Nothing Is Forever — Yeah, especially when it only lasts six seconds. Did y’all look at it much? Neither did I. Maybe that’s why.
6. ‘Southern Charm’ will return for fourth season — I’m just telling you in case the current election hasn’t fully convinced you that our culture has gone to a warm place in a handbasket, and we are in the End Times.

Weirdly, the Tribe didn’t play any of these guys last night — and still won!

Sorry I haven’t posted anything new today. It’s not like I’ve been neglecting you — I probably set a record in the comments sections for number of words in one day — but I like to keep giving you something fresh, and I’ve fallen down on that. So here you go:

1. How about them Cubbies? — Boy, the home team didn’t give them a chance last night, did they? Did y’all watch the game? If not, why not? Do you hate America? Of course you do! Why don’t you go hang with Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London? (Deep breath, back to baseball…) Looking forward to tonight, hoping it doesn’t get rained out…
2. SC House panel suggests strengthening dam safety law — Absolutely. And then we need to fix the dam state pension, and the dam tax structure, and all the other stuff our dam lawmakers keep kicking down the dam road.
3. GOP Rode Waves of Populism Until They Crashed the Party — I share this not just because of what it says, but because it’s from The Wall Street Journal, and they’re leading with it! It’s under the kicker, “THE GREAT UNRAVELING.”
4. House Republicans are preparing for years of investigations of Clinton — Which is, you know, just what we’ll need after this horrific election year. Sheesh. Some people threaten to leave the country if he wins. They might want to think about leaving if she wins. This is what I was on about earlier today.
5. Researchers Clear ‘Patient Zero’ From AIDS Origin Story — Interesting medical detective story.
6. Afghan Woman in Famed National Geographic Photo Is Arrested in Pakistan — They’re talking about the picture below. You probably remember her. I hope NG considers this Fair Use; I certainly do — there’s little point in sharing the headline without the photo. And if you click on it, you go straight to the National Geographic site, so I’m doing them a favor…

It’s another slow news day with every news outlet reaching in a different fruitless direction for a lede. So forget important; today I’m looking for interesting:

1. Big debate about Shakespeare finally settled by big data: Christopher Marlowe gets his due — Yeah, you know what? I’ve never really gotten into the whole “Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays?” debate. It’s always seemed pointless to me. Whoever it was, he or she or they (if, as this story says, it was a collaboration), was a genius, and we call that genius “Shakespeare.” It’s not like there’s an actual guy around to claim the credit today. He, she or they is/are dead. And a rose by any other same, etc. Anyway, this finding only applies to Henry VI, and I’ve never read or seen a dramatization of those three plays. They mean nothing to me. It’s not like they’re saying Marlowe helped write the “Band of Brothers” speech in “Henry V,” or something awesome like that…
2. Exclusive: leaked recording shows what Theresa May really thinks about Brexit — Or rather, what she really thought, back before the vote. Hint: She didn’t like it. But didn’t we know that? The Guardian thinks it’s a big scoop.
3. Why Some Clinton Fans Think She Just Might Win Texas — Whoa. Next thing you know, we’ll be talking seriously about South Carolina.
4. GOP Congressional Ads Pitch Candidates as Check on Clinton — You know what? Again, I wish people, including Republicans, would stop acting like her election is a foregone conclusion. It is not.
5. In Pickens County, first elk sighting in state for centuries — Just to give you something sort of local. I don’t think this is accurate, though. I seem to recall my cousins going to swim at the Elks Club in Florence, back in the ’60s…

Didn’t I top another post recently with pretty much this same image? No matter. It’s still money…

Another slow day. Some possible stuff to talk about:

1. ‘Vegas, baby, Vegas!’ — I’m kinda dragging at the moment, and I’ve got a meeting to go to before I head home, but if I can possibly keep my eyes open that long, I’ll be live-Tweeting the debate, as per usual. So join me, just once more. Soon, very soon, it will all be over…
2. Want to write in Mickey Mouse for president? In SC, you can’t — Good. Because every vote for Mickey Mouse is actually a vote for Trump. The same goes for Goofy. Actually, especially for Goofy…
3. The greatest role of Bill Murray’s life has been playing Bill Murray — I actually enjoyed this piece more than anything else I’ve read today. So I’m sharing it. And this counts as local, since he lives in Charleston — although I don’t think the piece mentioned that. Be sure and read the companion piece, written shortly after this one posted: I tried reaching Murray for weeks. He finally called back today.
4. WikiLeaks founder Assange was Ecuador’s guest of honor. Then he wore out his welcome. — Yeah, I know — Assange again. Except this piece isn’t about Assange as much as it’s about Ecuador, and that interests me, since I lived there longer than anywhere else growing up. Short version — Ecuador (all South America, in fact) is shifting politically, and poking Uncle Sam in the eye isn’t as much of a winning formula as it may have been before.
5. Times Names A.G. Sulzberger as Its Deputy Publisher — Yeah, I know — inside-baseball newspaper stuff. Doesn’t really interest me, either. I’m only sharing it because the picture the NYT ran with this cracked me up — a major newspaper (the Gray Lady, no less!) executive being presented to the world with a three-day beard growth and an open-necked shirt with no tie. Message: We’re young; we’re hip; we’re happ’nin’; we’re now. We know all about the Interwebs. If this were the ’60s, I suppose they’d have pictured him holding a Pepsi. Strikes me as desperate.

Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, 36 — he’s hip, he’s happening, he’s now…

A few possible topics before I step away from the laptop for the day:

1. Clinton holds clear advantage in new poll of battleground states — You know what? I wish people would stop saying she’s got a no-hitter going. Which I said on Twitter today in response to a truly blatant attempt to jinx her, headlined “Trump’s path to an electoral college victory isn’t narrow. It’s nonexistent.” I mean, come ON, dude… shut up! Meanwhile, more on her emails.
2. 5 Reasons (And Then Some) Not To Worry About A ‘Rigged’ Election — This is from NPR. Like yeah, right — anyone who listens to Trump’s paranoid predictions is going to be reassured by public radio…
3. After Losses, ISIS Moves the Goal Posts — Which is to say, ISIL is now a bit like the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” saying “Have at you!” as he is hacked to pieces. BBC is warning of another possible consequence, saying, “EU ‘should prepare for jihadists‘”…
4. Something something about Julian Assange — This is weird. Remember yesterday I reported on the Wikileaks creep saying Ecuador had cut off his internet connection, so yay Ecuador? I could have sworn I heard on the radio this afternoon that they were back up, and planning more efforts to get Donald Trump elected. But I can’t find any references to that via Google. Everybody’s still reporting the internet complaint like it’s new. Did I just dream the newer developments?

5. Columbia Mayor Benjamin on Clinton’s possible VP list, hacked email shows — Hey, it’s local!

6. SCGOP chair calls on Democrats to disavow Fanning — Also local. This almost, but not quite, made the VFP yesterday. Seems kind of weird that these 1993 charges emerge now, but hey, that’s what Trump says, too…

Busy today, so this will have to hold you for now:

1. Obama Eases Special Limits On Cuban Products, From Drugs To Rum And Cigars — You know what this means, don’t you? Kramer won’t have to go to such lengths to obtain his “Cubans.“
2. Storm recovery focus directed to river near Grand Strand — They mean the Waccamaw. Headline writer was trying to help the geographically challenged, I suppose. The surge could hit its height next week.
3. Trump wields new conspiracy theory: This time he is the target — It seems a “Global Power Structure” is out to get him. Oh, if only that were true; they’d have gotten him by now. Anyway, here’s his speech.
4. Michelle Obama Calls Trump’s Comments ‘Intolerable’ — The First Lady hit a nerve or two with this speech. See the whole thing below.
5. Pickens GOP state Rep. Collins goes on anti-Trump tweetstorm — So, with Lindsey Graham, we now know there are two South Carolina Republicans willing to stand up to Trump. This story doesn’t provide a link to Collins’ feed, but here it is.

You’ve got to watch the video of Nikki’s presser if only to see the dude doing the sign language. I had no idea it involved such dramatic facial expressions….

See how you like these:

1. Here comes Matthew — My wife is scrambling because she’ll have four grandchildren at the house with schools closing. How is it affecting you so far? Meanwhile, the effect in Haiti is described as “catastrophic.”
2. In their only debate, Pence and Kaine prepare to defend running mates — I suppose I’ll watch this, and I suppose I’ll live-Tweet it. Unless I think of something else to do.
3. Fact-Checking Family Lore With DNA Tests — I read this with great interest for two reasons — 1) I’m spending all my spare time working on my family tree; and 2) I got an AncestryDNA kit for my birthday, and can’t wait to send my spit off and see what they tell me. Have any of y’all done this? Did you find out anything cool?
4. British Pound Hits Three-Decade Low on Brexit Concerns — So don’t tell me there’ve been no negative effects of Brexit…
5. Report: Russians slipped ‘roofies’ to U.S. diplomats — No, really. There’s a news story about it and everything.

I’ll stop on that note. Y’all have anything else?

President Barack Obama attempts his best split with the gold medal 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team with First Lady Michelle Obama watching in the Map Room, prior to an event to welcome the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House to honor their participation and success in the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept. 29, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

We’re almost in my favorite month (which I learned to spell for a school program in kindergarten because it was my birth month, and I can still do it, see: O-C-T-O-B-E-R), and wasn’t that nice cool air lovely this morning? Some topics for your consideration:

1. Family: Jacob Hall on life support after Townville Elementary shooting — That’s the precious, innocent 6-year-old boy who was shot. Meanwhile, the 14-year-old was charged with one count of murder and three of attempted murder.
2. Trump berates ‘disgusting’ Alicia Machado on Twitter — Seriously: Four days after the debate, this yo-yo is getting up before 6 a.m. to attack this young woman, with allegations of a “sex tape” among other things. We’re getting way past merely being unqualified for the presidency. I’m starting to wonder why someone this unhinged is walking around loose. Maybe Howard Dean is onto something.
3. Citing Hitler, Duterte Says He Would Kill 3 Million Addicts — Meanwhile, from the Trump of the Philippines…
4. The ‘beating heart of Myrtle Beach’ went silent 10 years ago with closing of Pavilion — I don’t normally go in for “10 Years After” stories, but I don’t think we discussed this at the time. I just could not believe MB would close this, although friends who live there told me at the time I didn’t realize what a drag it had become on the town. Any of y’all have belated thoughts? Perhaps you’d like to go watch “Shag: The Movie” (which is NOT an Alicia Machado sex tape) and then get back to me.