The LuLac Edition #3389, December 28th, 2016

TOP TEN NATIONAL STORIES

10. JUSTICE DEAD, JUSTICE STALLED......Antonin Gregory Scalia died in early February. After he was buried, hell even before the body was cold the partisanship set in like vultures. The President named his replacement, Merrick Garland but GOP Senators refused to even take his calls saying that the next President should appoint the next Justice. Scalia's death – only the second death of a serving justice in a span of sixty years – left eight justices remaining on the Supreme Court, split 4–4 between being fairly conservative and fairly liberal, during a presidential election year. It was a dereliction of duty but nothing new for the GOP Senators.
9. THESE GUYS AGAIN.......The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with the South calling it "maniacal recklessness".
8. TECHNOLOGY AND TERROR.....The Obama administration announces an alliance with tech companies—including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter—to block the recruitment of Americans to Islamic extremist groups, specifically the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), via social media.
7. TERROR.......Two people are killed and ten others are injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
6. SILLY SOUTHERNERS......The Department of Justice informs North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory that a new state law limiting restroom access for transgender people violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It demands a response by May 9 on whether the state will correct the violations.
5. POLICE VIOLENCE.......During a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas, a sniper later identified as Micah Xavier Johnson opens fire, killing five Dallas police officers and injuring another eleven people in the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since September 11, 2001. Johnson is later found to have targeted white people (specifically white police officers) and to have been interested in several black nationalist groups. He is killed by a C-4 bomb delivered by a robot, the first use of lethal force by a robot by an American police department.
4. COMEY INSERTS HIMSELF IN ELECTION......After FBI Director James Comey recommends against indicting Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Lynch announces that the federal investigation of Clinton will be closed with no charges. Comey will play a large role in the election first clearing Clinton and then sending a letter 11 days before the election saying he had issues to resolve. He then sent another letter two days before the election essentially clearing her again. It only muddied the waters for Clinton.
3. DONNIE AND BILLY'S EXCELLENT MISADVENTURE....The Washington Post releases a 2005 videotape of Donald Trump making lewd comments to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush about a married woman and commenting on how he can grab women "by the pussy" without repercussions because he is "a star". The comments are met with reactions of disgust and disbelief from the media and mainstream Republicans, as well as numerous Republicans rescinding their endorsements of his campaign. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan disinvites Trump from a Wisconsin campaign event in response. Trump issues an apology video online shortly after. Trump became President, Billy Bush got fired. He didn't even have to go on "The Apprentice" to do it either! 
2. THE DEBATES, DEFYING TRUTH......Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take part in their three televised debates, with an estimated audience of up to 200 million viewers total. The debates were pure theater. Consensus was the Clinton was the better debater, knew more and was poised. Trump though connected more with average voters. Here are two views of those debates.


1. TRUMP WINS IT......Donald Trump wins the President election. Even though he was underestimated, Donald Trump became President by running a campaign that was in full attack mode. Right from the start, he attacked his own party, the establishment, Wall Street, everything he was a part of.
Trump won by appealing to middle class voters who had felt left behind in their struggle in what they perceived for them was a losing economy. Trump eroded the blue wall of traditional Midwestern states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania which have not gone red since the 80s. Trump has said himself that he was surprised he won. But it came as no surprise to some in this year where the only predictable thing was the unpredictable.