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Author: Kemberlee Kaye

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Kemberlee Kaye

Kemberlee Kaye is the Senior Contributing Editor of Legal Insurrection, where she has worked since 2014 and is the Director of Operations and Editorial Development for the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She also serves as the Managing Editor for CriticalRace.org, a research project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation.

She has a background working in immigration law, and as a grassroots organizer, digital media strategist, campaign lackey, and muckraker. Over the years Kemberlee has worked with FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, James O'Keefe's Project Veritas, and US Senate re-election campaigns, among others. 

Kemberlee, her daughter, and her son live a lovely taco-filled life in their native Texas.

You can reach her anytime via email at kk @ legalinsurrection.com.

Forget the New Year's ball drop in Times Square. Brasstown, North Carolina celebrates with their annual Possum Drop. A plexiglass box containing a live possum is lowered when the clock strikes twelve and then there is much rejoicing. Or at least there was before PETA came to town. Participating possums were released back to the wild after their fifteen minutes of fame. Yet PETA claimed the annual Possum Drop would create a "zone of lawlessness" wherein anything could happen to the possum of the hour. According to the Wall Street Journal:
The community of Brasstown, population 240, has been lowering a plexiglass box containing a live opossum from a pole at Clay’s Corner Convenience Store at midnight on Dec. 31 for the better part of 20 years. Organizers call the Brasstown Possum Drop a hillbilly homage to the ball drop in Times Square. Animal-rights advocates say it is a cruel act to a shy creature that not only must be left out in the cold mountain air but also can be easily startled by the festival’s fireworks and brass band.

United Airlines and the popular travel site Orbitz, joined mega corporation forces to sue a 22-year-old Brooklynite. Aktarer Zaman created and runs the site Skiplagged.com. He claims he makes no money on the venture. Skiplagged utilizes hidden city ticketing. While not always the cheapest way to fly, often times hidden city ticketing can produce a significantly cheaper flight. Suppose you want to fly to Denver. A direct flight might be pricey depending on where you're coming from. But, if you were to book a flight to San Francisco that connects in Denver, and simply get off in Denver (hence, "hidden city") ditching the last leg of your flight, you may find you are able to reach your desired destination with a little extra cash in your pocket. Caveats do apply. For hidden city ticketing to work, flights must be booked one-way, and unless you want your bags to have their own vacation, checking a bag isn't optional either. Needless to say, airlines are not fans of the gimmick. All kinds of stipulations and contractual obligations listed in the fine print of plane tickets explain why. Hidden city ticketing is an old trick, but Skiplagged succeeded in making the little known 'discount' readily available. So much so, air travel behemoths are out to crush the site. CBS This Morning reports:

Kids these days. Students who neglected their studies to protest the Michael Brown grand jury decision were disappointed when their appeal to the administration for special accommodations during finals was rejected. According to Fox News Cleveland:
Over 1,300 Oberlin students signed a petition for college administrators asking for understanding and “alternative modes of learning” as they continue to cope with what’s happening across the country. They asked for the normal grading system to be “replaced with a no-fail mercy period,” and said “basically no student …especially students of color should be failing a class this semester.” In response, Oberlin President Marvin Krislov said that he understands their concerns and that he and the Academic Deans took the request seriously, however “we are in firm agreement that suspending grading protocols is not the way to achieve our shared goal of ensuring that students have every opportunity and resource to succeed,” he said in a statement. Administrators did offer students some assistance in the form of counseling and other support services. They also added increased flexibility in terms of students making “incomplete requests.” They also extended the deadline for students to change from “a grade to the pass/no pass” option.

Sextremist (evidently, this is a thing), Iana Zhdanova kidnapped baby Jesus from the nativity scene in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City Thursday. Zhdanova had "God is a woman" scribbled on her naked torso as she accosted the infant and attempted to flee. Vatican police intervened, returned baby Jesus to His manger, and then covered and arrested Zhdanova. RT captured the whole ordeal: Zhdanova is a FEMEN activist. According to FEMEN's website, the sextremist act was premeditated and part of a larger plan to "hunt for Bethlehem babies":

This story came across my Twitter feed the other day and my eyes might have leaked a little bit. And by a little bit, I mean I cried like a baby because this story is just that kind of story. Brandon Finnigan over at Ace of Spades shared this incredible story about a hardship he and his wife endured recently. Finnigan began:

Life is Beautiful

On Twitter a few nights back, I shared a very trying experience the wife and I endured this year. I want to share it here, expand on it, and direct it, a bit, at a very specific reader.

Yesterday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report on the IRS targeting of conservative organizations. Republican Representative Darrell Issa (CA-49), the outgoing Committee Chair, released the report that reviewed over 1.3 million pages of documents and 52 transcribed interviews. The report is the most extensive to date. The report's conclusion found:
Conservative organizations were not just singled out because of their political beliefs—they were targeted by IRS officials and employees who expressed a general loathing toward them even while begrudgingly admitting that those organizations were in compliance with the only thing the IRS should care about: the federal tax code. Documents and interviews show IRS officials failed to limit their professional judgments to enforcing the tax code and instead inserted their own beliefs and judgments into federal matters to influence outcomes and decisions. One IRS agent wrote about an organization applying for 501(c)(4) status that donated to other organizations that engaged in political activity, “I’m not sure we can deny them because, technically, I don’t know that I can deny them simply for donating to another 501(c)(4).” Another agent responded, “This sounds like a bad org . . . This org gives me an icky feeling.”
The most concerning piece of information gleaned from the report is that targeting individuals or groups for ideological reasons appears to be a widely accepted tactic among IRS employees, not simply a directive from above. Based on some of the emails included in the report, it seems as though individuals were actively looking for reasons to deny conservative applications. One employee wrote in an email, “It appears that the org is funneling money to other orgs for political purposes. However, I’m not sure we can deny them because, technically, I don’t know that I can deny them simply for donating to another 501(c)(4). . . . Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.” 

Tis the season for giving. Retailer JC Penny has an ad campaign this season called #JustGotJingled. To kick off the event, they asked shoppers whether it was better to give or receive. Not only are the responses heart warming, they're a great reminder of what this season is all about.

I'm an avid online shopper, particularly during this time of year. I also think Amazon Prime is one of God's greatest modern gifts to mankind. A few weeks ago I was perusing through the endless Amazon offerings when I stumbled upon an option to view the best selling items by category. Both horrifying and delightful, I've compiled a list of what are some of the most, shall we say "interesting", Amazon best sellers.

Home and Kitchen

While a nice little wine bottle vacuum sealer is Amazon's top seller in this department, enough people are buying Obama toilet paper for the item to be listed as the 17th best seller in the entirety of home and kitchen wares. Interestingly enough, this same item is the 13th best seller in the Bedding and Bath department. In sum, people like Obama toilet paper. Obama Toilet Paper

There are plenty of deep and meaningful reasons to enjoy the holiday season. And then there are the small holiday hallmarks like Christmas lights, which happen to be one of my favorite parts of this time of year. christmas lights blinking Interestingly enough, NASA says you can actually see Christmas lights from space. According to their study, light intensifies 20% - 50% in large metropolitan areas this time of year. Which makes perfect sense when you watch the light displays on these awesome houses.

There are many, many reasons I adore Governor Perry, the least of which is his penchant for engaging in cultural activities. This little gem dates back all the way to the turn of the decade when Governor Perry met with a delegation of Texas Jewish leaders on the first full day of Hanukkah. It's one of those moments that deserves a yearly refresher because it's just that good. And this is my Hanukkah gift to you, that you may always enjoy dancing around a desk like Governor Good Hair: But once simply isn't good enough. Friday, the good Governor was spotted outside of the Texas State Capitol celebrating. Again:

The incident occurred in Victoria, Texas, a suburb of Houston. A dash camera captured officer Nathaniel Robinson tasering 76-year-old Pete Vasquez. Vasquez was driving a vehicle owned by the car dealership where he works. Officer Robinson pulled him over when he noticed the vehicle's inspection sticker had expired. When Vasquez exited the car and attempted to show Robinson the dealer plates---which would've exempted the necessity for up to date inspection tags---that's when the altercation happened. "I don't know what his deal is," Vasquez told an officer that arrived on the scene later. Vasquez went on, "he came over here and got nasty with me and I'm not going to put up with it, I don't care who it is. Then he grabbed me and threw me on the pavement there and I almost knocked my head on that damn poll and then he start [sic] Tasing."

Even the Free-Market Jesus Paradise has regulatory issues once in a while. Wednesday, three Texan craft breweries joined with the Institute for Justice to file suit against the state of Texas and specifically, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Passed in 2013, Senate Bill 639 faces a Constitutional challenge because it, "strips breweries of their traditional right to sell their distribution rights and instead forces them to surrender those rights to distributors without compensation," according to the Institute for Justice. “It is unconstitutional for Texas to force brewers to give distributors property that they never earned and don’t deserve,” said Matt Miller, managing attorney for the Institute for Justice's Texas office. More specifically, the plaintiffs claim:
Texas cannot force them to give away their territorial rights—a part of their business—for free to distributors. They bring two claims: a takings claim under Article I, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution,[xii] which protects private property rights; and a substantive due process claim under Article I, Section 19 of the Texas Constitution, which protects economic liberty—the right to earn an honest living free from unreasonable government interference.
“For the last 18 years, I’ve poured my life into this business,” said Chip McElroy, president of Live Oak Brewing. “I’m proud to have been part of the Texas craft beer Renaissance. When Texas passed this law, not only did it give away part of what my employees and I built—it took my beer off the shelves in Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and other parts of Texas where Live Oak beer would otherwise be available.”

Yeah, they went there. "The killings of Michael Brown and Treyvon Martin clearly shows that we don't live in a post-racial society as many expected when you were elected," Ramos says. Obama chuckled, "Well, I didn't expect that. You probably didn't either." "But many people expected you to do more on race relations, dealing with white privilege. Do you get angry with this? Is it your responsibility?" Then President Obama claimed Americans experience more equality now than before he took office, and also that Eric Holder was awesome. When Ramos pressed on saying, "but there's not really been a lot of improvement," Obama retorted, "The folks who say there's not a lot of improvement, I don't think were living in the 50's and remembering what it was like to be black or Hispanic and interacting with the police then." Take a look:

Fact Check:

Flashback to November 2, 2008. The Washington Post had this to say: