A Personal Appeal to the Republican Members of the Electoral College from Michael Moore  —  Dear Republican Electors:  —  Ok, if you've read this far, knowing that it's me, Michael Moore, writing to you -\-\ well, thank you for having an open mind and the willingness to listen to someone you don't agree with.

Russian ambassador to Turkey killed in Ankara shooting  —  Gunman reportedly killed by police after firing at least eight times while Andrei Karlov was giving speech at art gallery  —  The Russian ambassador to Ankara has been killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital …

Trump private security force ‘playing with fire’  —  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — President-elect Donald Trump has continued employing a private security and intelligence team at his victory rallies, and he is expected to keep at least some members of the team after he becomes president, according to people familiar with the plans.

To Rehabilitate Democratic Party, Obama Plans To ‘Coach’ Young Talent  —  President Obama sees a role for himself in rebuilding the Democratic Party after he leaves office — coach.  —  “What I am interested in is just developing a whole new generation of talent,” Obama told NPR's Steve Inskeep …

Bill Clinton: Trump knows how to get ‘angry, white men to vote for him’  —  President-elect Donald Trump “doesn't know much,” former President Bill Clinton told a local newspaper earlier this month, but “one thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him.”

How Republics End  —  Many people are reacting to the rise of Trumpism and nativist movements in Europe by reading history — specifically, the history of the 1930s.  And they are right to do so.  It takes willful blindness not to see the parallels between the rise of fascism and our current political nightmare.

UK prof: Singing a Beach Boys' tune got me punished for ‘sexual misconduct’  —  The University of Kentucky has punished me in a “sexual misconduct” case, in part, for singing a Beach Boys tune covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks.  —  Under Administrative Regulation 6:1, Discrimination and Harassment …

Merrick Garland Will Be On The Bench — But Not The Supreme Court — In January  —  President Obama announces Judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court on March 16.  —  Judge Merrick Garland will not be joining the US Supreme Court after months of Senate inaction on the nomination.

Gov. Pat McCrory calls for special legislative session to repeal HB2  —  Following a surprise move by the Charlotte City Council, Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday he would call a special session to consider repeal of House Bill 2.  —  The governor's statement came in a rapidly unfolding series …

In Poland, a window on what happens when populists come to power  —  WARSAW — The Law and Justice Party rode to power on a pledge to drain the swamp of Polish politics and roll back the legacy of the previous administration.  One year later, its patriotic revolution, the party proclaims …

The Terrifying Aftermath of Hillary's Election Victory  —  In the midst of our joyous celebrations, and as we savor the delicious schadenfreude left in the wake of Hillary's humiliating rejection by normal Americans, it's easy to forget that there is a much darker timeline where things could have gone very differently . . .

Trump advisers spar over new political arm  —  Donald Trump's top advisers are jousting over control of the new political group they are forming to help press the president-elect's agenda, as rival camps have formed with repercussions for who ends up as senior staff at the White House.