Billboard recaps: There’s no two ways about it: 2016 was a crap year. How crap? Just ask Stephen Colbert, Michael Stipe and James Franco, who got together on “The Late Show” on Thursday night (Dec. 15) to remake R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” as a eulogy for a rough 12 …

JMG reader David points out that the latest holiday ad from Ace Hardware begins with a woman selecting a circular saw and saying to herself, “This takes care of my son AND my son-in-law.” While it could be argued that the son and the son-in-law are not married to each other and that each guy is getting a saw, this …

CNN reports: Russian cyberhacking activity has continued largely unabated since the November election, including against US political organizations, US officials briefed on the investigation told CNN on Thursday. Among the attempted cyber breaches are phishing attempts targeting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign, one official says. The attempt to breach the Clinton campaign was unsuccessful, investigators tell CNN. The attempts …

Seeker reports: Gay conversion therapy aims to turn gay, lesbian or transgender individuals into heterosexuals. Patients are predominantly minors or young adults and many are forced or pressured into it. Just this month, the tiny island of Malta became the first European nation to outlaw gay conversion therapy. Evidence increasingly shows that it can cause serious medical and psychological harm, …

Erasing 76 Crimes reports: The parliament in the north-central African country of Chad has adopted a new penal code that makes homosexual activity a crime. By this blog’s count, that action, assuming that it is not blocked by the country’s president, increases to 77 the number of countries with anti-homosexuality laws. Chad’s new law provides for violators to be fined …

Irish Central reports: Irish American former billionaire Chuck Feeney and his Atlantic Philanthropies group have announced their final gift, a record $600 million to combat health issues, racism and inequality in South Africa, Australia and the United States. The last round of gifts brings Feeney’s total of philanthropic giving to $8 billion spread out over 35 years, in 23 countries …

Via Mediaite: Michelle Malkin had some strong words on Fox News tonight for any electors going against Donald Trump. She told Sean Hannity that clearly a lot of liberals are “still suffering from post-election trauma,” saying she has more pity than anger for them at this point. But as for any electors planning on going against Trump, Malkin had this …

And anybody pro-gay must be “ferreted out” of the State Department. Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: What does the State Department have to do with abortion and sexual behavior-based policies? Unfortunately, a whole lot. Over the last eight years, the State Department under Hillary Clinton and John Kerry has elevated the promotion of the Left’s view …

It was a dark and stormy night in Eugene Delgaudio’s warehouse full of long-haired men. He writes: With the stroke of a pen, Obama unilaterally issued dozens of Executive Orders to reward the Homosexual Lobby for their loyal support in his elections. Acting as a one-man Congress, Obama’s decrees are taken directly from the Homosexual Lobby’s radical Agenda. Every federal …

TMZ reports: Scott Baio has filed a police report claiming the wife of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer went nuts on him at a function with their elementary school kids … physically attacking him over his support of Donald Trump. Law enforcement tells TMZ, Baio says he was at an event with his daughter Saturday in Thousand Oaks, CA, …

Politico reports: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s assessment that President-elect Donald Trump may have known about Russian cyberattacks targeting the U.S. electoral process was “breathtaking” and “very unfortunate,” Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Thursday. Speaking at his daily press briefing, Earnest referenced a remark Trump made at his most recent formal press conference, held in July, when he …

The Associated Press reports: The Pittsburgh City Council has unanimously voted to ban mental health professionals in the city from using on minors a therapy that attempts to change sexual orientation or how people identify their gender. City spokesman Timothy McNulty tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Mayor Bill Peduto plans to sign the legislation. Numerous medical and psychiatric groups oppose …

Raw Story reports: A new commercial from Denmark contains a heartwarming message for the holidays about acceptance and the power of familiar love. HelloGiggles.com said that the ad is for electronics company Elgiganten and is called “Let the gifts speak.” It begins with a family at Christmas opening presents. One member of the family, a teenaged trans daughter looks uncomfortable …

CNN reports: Dylann Roof, was found guilty on Thursday on multiple federal charges after taking the lives of nine parishioners at a black church in Charleston, SC in 2015. Roof will find out his sentence for the crimes early in 2017. Deliberations began Thursday afternoon in the Roof murder trial after attorneys made closing arguments. Shortly after deliberations began, the …

CNN reports: Before President-elect Donald Trump heads to the White House on January 20, he will find himself back in the witness chair for questioning in his ongoing contractual dispute with celebrity chef, Jose Andres. DC Superior Court Judge Jennifer A. Di Toro ruled Wednesday that Trump must sit for a deposition in New York City the first week of …

The Jerusalem Post reports: The first center in Israel dedicated to handling legal issues regarding hate and incitement on the Internet as well as a general struggle against hate and racism opened its doors on Wednesday with a conference on tolerance. The center, hosted by IDC’s Radzyner Law School in Herzliya and in cooperation with the Berel Katznelson Fund, will …

The Washington Post reports: The Kremlin has denied a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed how hacked data from U.S. Democrats was used during the U.S. presidential election. NBC News on Wednesday quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying that Putin “became personally involved in the covert Russian campaign.” Asked about the report, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday …

SB Nation reports: Ah, the holiday season is here. A time for joy, family, gift giving, and debating over what qualifies as a Christmas movie. It’s also that time of year when athletes do absurd things in support of their team’s social media hijinks. The South Carolina Stingrays from the ECHL are one such team, who upped the ante this …

Via Raw Story: Sean Spicer, the RNC strategist who’s advising the transition team, said Trump has been “unbelievably transparent” about his business dealings and the roles of his children in his administration — but he suggested that shouldn’t even matter. “The American people have understood exactly what they’re getting, and they voted overwhelmingly for him,” Spicer said Thursday. “He has …

Buzzfeed reports: Students on a public school bus in regional Victoria have been handed gift-wrapped flyers railing against marriage equality and the Safe Schools Coalition. The flyers, made by the anti-marriage equality group Marriage Alliance, argue against the Safe Schools Coalition’s LGBTI anti-bullying program, linking it to marriage equality. Natalie*, the older sister of a 13-year-old student at Kyabram P-12 …