WHAT, AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE HE WENT THROUGH TO CHEAT HIMSELF INTO IT?  What are the odds of Franken actually leaving the Senate?

BECAUSE PEOPLE GETTING TO KEEP THEIR OWN MONEY IS THE WORST THING EVER:   Tax Reform Angst on the Left.

REMEMBER NOT TO LET THEM HAVE POWER TO GET FUNNY AT MIDTERMS, GUYS:  Gentle Reminder: Anyone Democrats Don’t Like is Unfit for Office.

THIS IS MY SHOCKED FACE:  Collusion: Obama Let Hezbollah Terrorists Off The Hook For Iran Deal.

DON’T YOU HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS?  Tiger proves to be the ultimate wedding crasher.

I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED:   Researchers thought this creature was extinct for 100 years.

IT’S CALIFORNIA:  Public health officials are genuinely worried about cell phone radiation.

DIANNE FEINSTEIN WANTS YOU TO #SAVEMARINMANSIONS:  DO WUT? Dianne Feinstein’s latest attack on the GOP tax bill is VERY unusual.

NOT, WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE THIS, CTHULHU:  Something is rising from the depths.

NEWS YOU CAN USE:  Gifts for co-workers or anyone needing a little career guidance.

THAT WOULD SEEM LIKE A DANGEROUS POSITION:  Meet the man behind those magical Rockettes heels.

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I LOVE THIS PICTURE SO MUCH: A sailor meets his child for the first time following the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf’s (CG 72) return to homeport.

Bumped, because just look at it.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Some Real Talk For Conservatives About 2018. “We conservatives need to get our heads right about the mid-terms or liberals will end up guzzling patriot tears and their gloating will be flat-out intolerable. We’re not doomed in 2018 – I mean, it’s not like tax reform or pulling out of the Paris Climate Scam, which have already killed millions of people, including me and you. But, if we fail to get on course for victory then we’re going to see Nancy Pelosi and the Gropeocrats back in charge and trying to make America into California. Trust me. You do not want to live in the United States of California. . . . Let’s talk about what we did wrong. Let’s talk about what we need to change, because if we don’t change The Swamp is going to swamp us. Our opponents are motivated. They are organizing. They are targeting the weakest Republicans, and in Virginia and Alabama they snatched seats we should have kept or taken.”

THIS IS GOOD NEWS: Study: More teens opting to vape as fewer smoke cigarettes; Researchers also report in the same study that teen use of marijuana has stayed steady, while misuse of opioid-based painkillers has gone down.

PAUL KRUGMAN ON ELECTION NIGHT: “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.”

CNBC Today: Dow rises 5,000 points in a year for the first time ever.

JONATHAN HAIDT: The Age of Outrage: What the current political climate is doing to our country and our universities.

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MY USA TODAY COLUMN: 2018: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? When we thought the world couldn’t get crazier after 2016, 2017 blew it out of the water. Chances are good we’re in for more.

IT MUST BE EXHAUSTING TO BE A LEFTIST: Liberals Are Incensed That Taylor Swift Won’t Be Political or Miserable.

ANN ALTHOUSE: “If Democrats care about the future of Kirsten Gillibrand, they need Franken to shut up and go away.” Because:

I’ve already posted today on the topic of the potential for Franken to “un-resign.” He’d always only said he would resign in the coming weeks, so I presume it would be procedurally easy to decline to follow through on his earlier statement. What I’m putting up this post to discuss is the political future of Kirsten Gillibrand, who I think wants to run for President. She chose to elevate her profile over the Franken scandal and she succeeded dramatically — getting an “avalanche of Democratic senators” to join her in calling for Franken’s resignation, which seemed to force him into abruptly acceding to her imperious demand.

If Franken turns around and says he won’t resign, he will be talking about fairness, due process, and evidence-based judgment. Whatever he says will be critical of the way power was exercised under the leadership of Kirsten Gillibrand. This is her signature issue, and she made a grand show of flexing her muscle, and her fellow Democrats behaved as if she were their leader on this issue. If what they did is portrayed as ill-considered and rash, Gillibrand looks like someone who should not be trusted with great power.

Yes, and it’ll undercut her gender-warrior stance, as critics can say even her fellow Democratic Senators think she’s too quick to indulge the man-hate.

ROGER KIMBALL: Trump’s Doctrine: ‘Principled Realism’ Comes to the Fore.

SO THEY’RE ON DRUGS? THIS EXPLAINS A LOT, FRANKLY: ESPN President John Skipper resigns citing substance abuse issue.

I REMEMBER THOSE: ORIGINAL 80S TIME OUT ARCADE FOUND IN A DEAD MALL IN VIRGINIA.. Wish I had a vintage 1985 Star Wars or Mach 3 game.

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