Rand Paul Gets Into The Holiday Spirit With A Festivus Tweetstorm 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Timothy D. Easley/AP Timothy D. Easley/AP 
 
 Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took to social media to poke fun at his political colleagues including an "airing of grievances" about government waste, President Trump, Fox News and Washington politics overall in a tweetstorm on Saturday. 
 
 In a nod to the classic Seinfeld episode, the onetime presidential candidate, wished his 1.86 million Twitter followers a "Happy Festivus" — a made-up holiday meant to shine a light on the hypercommercialization of Christmas and to confront those who have disappointed throughout the year. Festivus, for those who "celebrate" it, typically falls on Dec. 23. 
 
 Paul kicked off the day with a simple tweet: 
 
 "Good morning and #Happy Festivus! Later today I will help you celebrate with some #AiringofGrievances." 
 
 Trump, who is at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, was the subject of a number of Paul's tweets including: 
 
 "I want to pause to wish @realDonaldTrump a Happy Festivus. We told him to take today off, since he airs his grievances on here every day. " 
 
 It got better from there. 
 
 Before he got rolling though, he issued a warning tweet at Fox News, seemingly to playfully ensure that the network didn't issue a bulletin saying he was attacking Christmas. 
 
 "Before we get started, I need to alert @FoxNews and someone in DC that this is NOT a war on Christmas. It's a war on everything else," another tweet said. 
 
 Paul also poked fun at fellow Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for his Twitter beef with Mark Hamill, the actor who played the iconic Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, tweeting, "There are how many millions Americans who've wanted to force-choke Ted, and he picked on the one who could do It. Brave, he is," Paul said in another tweet, followed by: "I'm KIDDING, Ted. You're likeable enough." 
 
 He also blasted former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Paul's grievance on this issue stems from the news this week that the Pentagon secretly spent more than $20 million on UFO research, a program Reid secured funding for, according to reports. 
 
 In all caps, Paul tweeted: 
 
 "HOW IS IT YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THE ALIENS, HARRY??!!" 
 
 Paul goes on to tweet about Hillary Clinton's book What Happened, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and what Paul says was $563,421,523 in federal government waste among other things. 
 
 Then Paul pivoted back to the president about wanting funding for his wall along the southern border, tweeting: "And @realDonaldTrump thinks there is a chance in hell someone is going pay for that border wall." 
 
 Attached to that tweet was a gif from the 1994 movie Dumb and Dumber that read: "So you're telling me there's a chance." ||||| The Kentucky senator and one-time Republican presidential candidate released a storm of tweets in an ‘airing of grievances’ inspired by the Seinfeld tradition 
 
 Rand Paul picks on Trump, the media and Peter Thiel in annual 'Festivus' rant 
 
 The Kentucky senator and one-time Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul staged his annual Festivus “airing of grievances” on Friday, releasing a storm of tweets critical of government waste and other Republicans, in tribute to the sitcom Seinfeld. 
 
 'Let it be an arms race': Trump appears to double down on nuclear expansion Read more 
 
 Paul began with an explanation of the event, which takes its name from a holiday celebrated as an alternative to Christmas by the character Frank Costanza. “The airing of grievances” is one of the traditions of Festivus. 
 
 “On the media & #fakenews,” Paul wrote, “Festivus is real, media, so don’t try 2 fact check it.” 
 
 In reference to a recently suspended and rehabilitated NBC News anchor, he added: “And @TheOnion is more accurate than a Brian Williams report.” 
 
 “New administration is lookin [sic] good,” he continued. “Haven’t seen this many billionaires in 1 place since I staked out Bilderbergs w/ [conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter] Alex Jones. Good times.” 
 
 Subsequent tweets were critical of the tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who shares some of Paul’s libertarian views but who has been supportive of Donald Trump, and potential Trump appointments. 
 
 Of the George W Bush-era UN ambassador and noted foreign intervention hawk John Bolton, much to Paul’s dismay touted as a possible undersecretary of state, the senator wrote: “I know I’ve said a lot about @AmbJohnBolton so you’re probably expecting me 2 say something nice for the holidays. Nope. #AiringofGrievances.” 
 
 Of Rick Perry, who famously failed to name the Department of Energy as one he would abolish but who has now been nominated to lead it, Paul wrote: “My favorite cabinet pick is what’s his name, umm it’s that guy who wanted to eliminate the Dept of @ENERGY. Hang on I’ll think of it...” 
 
 Lest proceedings become too riotous, Paul proceeded to aim a barrage of tweets at what he alleged to be examples of federal government profligacy with taxpayers’ dollars. 
 
 Such targets included a state department grant to develop a Pakistani superhero, a study of Ugandan gambling practices, and a National Parks Service study of “Knowledge, Experience and Beliefs of the Supernatural Environment”. The last tweet came complete with a cat gif. 
 
 Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) The national Park Service announced a grant 2 study “Knowledge, Experience and Beliefs of the Supernatural Environment.” #AiringofGrievances pic.twitter.com/8XVRwhdKe3 
 
 With what may have been a nod to another Costanza family tradition, the trials of strength, Paul also promised tweets about “nonbinding resolutions against my Senate colleagues”. 
 
 Rand Paul celebrates Festivus with 'airing of grievances' against 2016 rivals Read more 
 
 Subsequent targets included Tea Party Republicans Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, the New Jersey Democrat Corey Booker, and the retiring Democratic minority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. 
 
 He also took a balanced shot at a favourite bugbear of Republicans and Trump himself, the supposed failure of liberal Americans to accord the proper respect to Christmas. 
 
 “I’m gonna have to stop tweeting about Festivus soon, @FoxNews just asked me to come on & talk about my own personal #WaronChristmas. Rude. 
 
 “For the folks at @MSNBC, that was a joke.” 
 
 Lest anyone grow too excited, the senator also had a message for members of the press looking for something to write about on the last Friday afternoon before Christmas. 
 
 “For those of you ‘media’ writing serious stories about my Festivus jokes,” he wrote, “I don’t even know what to say, just stop...” ||||| U.S. Sen. Rand Paul took to Twitter on Saturday for his annual “Airing of Grievances,” which is a nod to the “Festivus” episode of Seinfeld. Twitter ||||| Hundreds of pages of email and text message correspondence made public last week shed new light on the infighting and organizational disarray that have plagued America’s leading conservative Christian political consulting firm in recent months. 
 
 As BuzzFeed reported in June, the Columbus-based Strategy Group for Media — which has represented dozens of tea party and religious right Republicans, including Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich — has been mired in lawsuits and internal tumult since last spring, when seven of the firm’s managers staged a religious intervention with their CEO, Rex Elsass. After the managers made their demands in a dramatic meeting that culminated with them laying hands on their boss and praying for his soul, Elsass fired three of his top lieutenants, including his longtime protégé and Strategy Group President Nick Everhart. 
 
 The series of emails and text messages, made public on the Franklin County Court website in the ongoing lawsuit between Everhart and Strategy Group, adds further detail to that meeting, and shows the extent to which the company’s managers were worried about Elsass’ psychological and spiritual health. They also reveal potentially embarrassing anecdotes for the company, including one incident in which an executive said Elsass accidentally mailed a “female pleasure machine” to Rep. Michele Bachmann. 
 
 A transcript of text messages sent among the managers prior to their April 1 intervention with Elsass suggest they were nervous about confronting him, and even concerned for their physical safety. 
 
 “At least you have baby bird wings that can fly away if Rex goes nuts,” one of them texted to the others a few days before the intervention. “It might be like game of thrones. All our heads on spikes and then a celebration!” 
 
 “I just personally don’t think it’s safe to be in that empty building with him waiting for us,” said another. “Call me crazy…” 
 
 A third manager attempted to ease the others’ concerns: “Men, don’t be anxiety filled pray about it, but the group confrontation is biblical & what must be done. We know where he’ll be we meet him there in love & the reaction is in his hands.” 
 
 The text messages show that the managers planned to begin their intervention with a prayer, “to set the tone in a loving way” because they “had to do all possible to convey genuine love.” Everhart said they needed to let him know they were “there to help him.” 
 
 But the managers also outlined a list of personal and professional demands for Elsass, including their insistence that he seek psychiatric help, change churches, give up his hiring and firing power, and forfeit the ability to make unilateral financial decisions for the company. Below is a draft of the document the managers would present to Elsass the day after their intervention: 
 
 Personal Action Items 1. Dr. Weiss — Renew weekly sessions, should at least be under consideration if Dr. Weiss is the correct long term fit. Question whether he is the right fit considering he was on a medicine regiment that was working, but because it didn’t allow him to cry enough he simply took himself off of it. That’s not the sort of strong Doctor he needs in his life. This person can not be pushed around by simply doing what he wants. 2. Find a Christian Counselor — While Dr. Bada could be considered, would like for Matt and Mitch to work with Rex to find the correct Christian counselor to begin visiting weekly. 3. Updated/New Psychological Evaluation — Needs to be an updated evaluation on his condition, whether Dr. Weiss or a treatment center (What does Cleveland Clinic offer?), we need to ensure we have correct diagnosis and thus the correct medicinal treatment schedule is in place. 4. New Home Church — Needs to find and begin attending a new home church, if that home is Northwest Bible Church…great…if not needs to be a joint decision by he and Laurie. 5. Holding him to Family Time Accountability — Being home, finding time to be with family, this has to become a major part of his renewal, again his wife is going to have to be instrumental in letting us know if he’s keeping his promise. Business Action Items 1. Rex is removed from the EastGatePAC (Or whatever the final name of this entity becomes) project as well as all public affairs client day to day execution. 2. This remains a confidential internal SG matter, discussion is limited to those individuals in the room today. 3. Weekly accountability and prayer time with the people in room today and Rex on Monday’s at 8:00AM 4. Legacy Business Timeline — If this is really a legacy business, what is the hard timeline transition plan, doesn’t really make sense for an “interim CEO” (I.E Rob Phillips). It was always clear when it was simply the Strategy Group for Media, but with the broader Strategy Group Companies…what’s the bigger vision/plan for transferring that legacy business on? Has never been laid out, this isn’t an overnight action item but there is no reason for us not to chart a path of the next 5 months to a year. Also, separately, based upon all the internal SG company changes a new organizational chart seems in order. 5. Counseling on Big Decisions — No unilateral decision making on personnel hires/fires or major financial decisions. Needs to be a set process of discussion with senior management. 
 
 Rick Tyler, the recently installed president of Strategy Group, told BuzzFeed the emails “demonstrate a measure of delusion that remains unfathomable to me. The idea that employees could present to the owner of a company a list of demands with which they would take ownership of the company is a delusion that I can’t reconcile with reality.” 
 
 Everhart’s lawyer, James Mowery, has said Everhart had no desire to stage a coup within the company, and that he only wanted to help his longtime mentor and keep the business on track. 
 
 The documents contain other correspondence that illustrate the discord within the company. 
 
 In February, for example, Elsass wrote to several employees reiterating his request for a daily update memo from his managers, insisting that the process would not be used as “a tool of judgment” but rather as a way to “focus, coordinate, and know what was in your mind and heart.” He added, “Papa wants to know that his boys and girl will share their heart and mind with him for a literal moment each day from EVERYONE of you.” 
 
 But a month later, Elsass had apparently grown suspicious that some of his employees were talking about him behind his back, and sent an email putting his request for daily updates in stronger terms: “This is what is essential for me….and to disregard this simple request is disrespect which I will not tolerate!” He added, “If you think I am not worth this five minutes daily just come nock [sic] on my door and let me know and we will deal with it. If you have a problem don’t talk to one another, your staffs, or anyone else.” 
 
 And an email thread from May 29 — after the three managers were fired — featured Strategy Group’s former voter-contact consultant P.J. Wenzel making reference to Elsass sending “female pleasure machines” to Bachmann. The emails don’t elaborate on the incident, but one person familiar with the story told BuzzFeed that Elsass had intended to give Bachmann a vibrating head massager to help alleviate her migraines, and that the employee he sent to buy the gift accidentally purchased something that more closely resembled a sex toy — and sent it to her office. 
 
 Tyler said the item in question was purchased at Brookstone and was not a sex toy, but he declined to provide further information about the product. (Brookstone announced in 2011 that it had begun selling “pleasure objects.”) 
 
 The person familiar with the story said the firm successfully retrieved the gift before Bachmann could open it. 
 
 The emails also show Everhart, Wenzel, and Matt Parker — another top executive fired by Elsass in what they refer to as the “Saturday Night Massacre” — discussing future plans and making arrangements to call former and current Strategy Group clients. 
 
 Elsass had made them sign non-compete agreements shortly before he fired them (though Everhart had signed a scaled-down version of the contract years earlier). The three men compared their contracts to determine whether they had any legal standing, and they agreed each individual agreement — Everhart’s was actually labeled a “covenant” — was too different to be enforceable. They continued to work to maintain the relationships they had built at Strategy Group until July 9, when a preliminary injunction was issued to stop them. 
 
 A month after his termination, Parker wrote to Everhart and Wenzel, “We are no longer working for an evil, narcissistic and perhaps mentally ill man. We are free in Christ and I don’t know about you guys, but God has dealt with me in some major ways… I love both of you guys and I know God is going to work all of this for good. Not because I see some great resolution coming, but because His word says so.” 
 
 Meanwhile, Wenzel has filed his own suit against Strategy Group in an effort to work for his father’s political consulting firm, Wenzel Strategies. He’s also claiming that Elsass is holding personal items of his hostage in the office, including a computer and a harpoon. Strategy Group has countersued, arguing that Wenzel’s work with his father would violate his non-compete agreement. The Strategy Group also claims the firm has already returned the harpoon to Wenzel. ||||| Prime Minister Tony Abbott, facing growing pressure to call early elections, is expected to take a far more cautious tack in the conservative government's second budget on Tuesday after a politically disastrous plan last year. Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey were savaged in 2014 for handing down a budget that aimed to slash spending on social welfare programs in order to reign in spiraling deficits. Both have promised that Tuesday's budget will be "boring" in comparison, favoring tax breaks for small business owners and new family benefits over big-ticket structural items to address a collapse in revenue as a decade-long mining boom winds down. 
 
 Australian Conservatives Readying for DO OR DIE Second Budget 
 
 Two and a half years after a video of a band of Louisville teens posted an all-percussion version of Ozzy Osbourne 's "Crazy Train" on YouTube – racking up over 800,000 views in the process – the Black Sabbath singer has finally gotten around to watching the video. Osbourne was so moved by the performance that instead of simply hitting "like" on the unique version of his Blizzard of Ozz single, the Courier-Journal reports he sent a $10,000 check to support the Louisville Leopard Percussionists. 
 
 You'll Never Guess What This Youtube Video Inspires Ozzy Osbourne to Do! 
 
 When Philip Astley started the first circus in England in 1768 , he used the ring to exhibit his horse tricks, with a few jugglers, acrobats and clowns on the side. Circuses grew from a small traveling show to a three ring affair in 1881, when P. T. Barnum debuted P.T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus, which featured many different acts and the world's largest elephant. 
 
 Kanye West made a surprise on-court appearance at Chicago's United Center during his hometown Bulls' Game Four matchup versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the rapper announced the contest's starting lineup prior to tip-off, Bleacher Reports writes West staged an impromptu performance of his latest single "All Day" at center court during a timeout with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter. West, a huge basketball fan, was also shown sitting next to Bulls great Scottie Pippen during the game. 
 
 You'll Never Guess What Kayne Did at Sundays Chicago Bulls Game 
 
 Hope Solo' s husband Jerramy Stevens caught a huge break Sunday getting released from jail. JUST 3 Days after surrendering for a 30 day sentence for his Team USA soccer van DUI. Stevens was arrested in Manhattan Beach, CA in January while driving a team USA soccer van with his wife Hope Solo in the vehicle. Stevens is now on 4 years probation and must complete a 2-year outpatient alcohol treatment program in Washington. 
 
 British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday ruled out giving Scotland another independence referendum despite spectacular gains by Scottish nationalists in a UK-wide election, saying Scots had "emphatically" rejected a breakaway only last year. Cameron, who was re-elected with a surprise outright majority last week, said he would ensure that further powers would be granted to Scotland according to an existing plan. "There isn't going to be another referendum," he said, saying the pro-independence Scottish National Party, which won 56 of 59 parliamentary seats in Scotland last week, had made clear that election was not about securing another vote. 
 
 Film and theater director Mike Leigh's operatic debut with Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" immerses us in a world of innocent fun where the morals of Britain's Victorian era are gently lampooned while avoiding tiresome moralizing. The comic opera features tender-hearted pirates who will not attack anyone who claims to be an orphan while our hero Frederic joined their ranks as a small boy after his hard-of-hearing nursery maid was told to have him apprenticed as a pilot. 
 
 Like mother, like daughter! Beyoncé was one of many celebrities to share heartfelt messages and family pictures on Mother's Day Sunday afternoon. But being the Queen Bey that she is, the "Crazy in Love" singer decided to step it up in her own unique way. On the left side of her split photo just posted, Beyoncé worked pigtails at a very young age while standing next to mom Tina Knowles. Fast-forward decades later and Mrs. Jay Z shared the same pose with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter. 
 
 Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Look Like Twins in Mother's Day Throwback Post. 
 
 Tom Brady is finally getting some support from an NFL player who's NOT his teammate -- with Jacksonville Jaguars star Marcedes Lewis saying he hopes the league goes easy on him because he's "America's Child." The Wells report was released last week implicating Brady as a main culprit in the DeflateGate scandal which came to light before the Super Bowl this past season. 
 
 A powerful typhoon is heading toward Tokyo after lashing southern Japan, where it killed at least one U.S. airman on Okinawa island and left two others missing. The Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Phanfone was off the coast of Shikoku in southwestern Japan on Sunday night, local time, packing winds of up to 90 miles per hour, after hitting the southern regions of Okinawa and Kyushu. Reuters reported the typhoon was downgraded from the status of super typhoon. Air Force members were washed away by high waves Sunday, with one found dead and the other two still missing. 
 
 Strong typhoon Phanfone slammed into Japan Monday, packing gusting winds and huge waves that swept three US military officials out to sea in another stark reminder of the country's vulnerability to nature. 
 
 Just over a week after a volcano killed dozens of hikers when it erupted without warning, winds of up to 180 kilometres (112 miles) per hour whipped ashore, bringing heavy rain and travel chaos throughout a swathe of the archipelago. 
 
 The storm whirled over Tokyo at around 11:00 am (0200 GMT) and then headed northeast, dumping rain further up the coast of Honshu while its eye moved out over the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Seven people were left dead or missing, including the three US military officials who had been photographing the storm, Japanese police and coast guards said. 
 
 Typhoon Phanfone grounded more than 600 flights, and caused the cancellation of dozens of bullet train services, leaving travellers stranded in stations. 
 
 The leading edge of the storm brought a nasty commute to Tokyo's morning rush hour, with hundreds of thousands of office workers caught up in the driving rain that lashed the streets. 
 
 Localised flooding was reported while television footage showed around 15 of the 20-metre (66-foot) high poles holding up the netting at a golf driving range had collapsed, crashing into houses in Chiba, east of Tokyo. 
 
 The storm also battered Japan's auto industries. 
 
 Toyota Motor temporarily suspended operations at its 12 factories in Aichi, central Japan, due to the impact of the typhoon on its parts supplies, a company spokeswoman said, adding that production lines reopened by Monday evening. 
 
 View gallery Vehicles advance through a flooded street in Chiba, near Tokyo, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. A powerful typ … 
 
 - Risk of further flooding - 
 
 The weather agency warned that even as the storm passed out to sea landslides and floods were still a risk in a country where a relatively wet summer brought numerous landslides, including in Hiroshima where more than 70 people died. 
 
 In the central Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka, more than 50,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes, while around 1.7 million others were advised to take refuge, local authorities said. 
 
 Three US military officials were engulfed by high waves triggered by the storm on the southern island of Okinawa. 
 
 "Three officials were taking pictures with high waves whipped up by the typhoon in the background," a local police spokesman said. 
 
 "One has been found dead, with the two others still missing," he said early Monday. 
 
 A 21-year-old surfer was also missing in the Pacific off Fujisawa, southwest of Tokyo, a coast guard spokesman said. 
 
 And rescuers were searching through the mess left by two separate landslides in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, where two people were missing. 
 
 A junior high school boy had also disappeared after being swamped by high waves on the coast at Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, a city official said. 
 
 About 57 people were injured across the country in storm-related accidents, public broadcaster NHK said. 
 
 Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the northeastern Pacific coast, said it had halted ground and sea operations, and bundled away cables and hoses. 
 
 "We are also patrolling and checking where water may flow in," a company spokesman said. 
 
 In the mountainous centre of the country, the typhoon meant the suspension of the search for the bodies of at least 12 hikers believed to be lying on the still-smouldering Mount Ontake. The mountain has already yielded 51. 
 
 The volcano was packed with walkers when it burst angrily to life on September 27, with many there to witness the spectacular colours of the countryside as summer turned to autumn. 
 
 The eruption was Japan's deadliest in almost 90 years and nearly 1,000 troops, firefighters and police have participated in a search made treacherous by the gases still rising from the peak, as well as a knee-deep layer of sticky ash. 
 
 "We want to resume operations as soon as possible when weather permits," said an official of the crisis management office of Nagano, where the volcano sits. ||||| Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke participates in the 2018 National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House. (Oliver Contreras/Pool/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 
 
 Today in low-blow moments in Washington, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke shot back at a congressman’s criticism by attacking his struggles with alcoholism. 
 
 Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling on the scandal-plagued Zinke to resign. The secretary’s defense was not on the merits of Grijalva’s argument, but to dredge up a three-year-old settlement paid to a former female staffer who accused the congressman of being drunk and creating a hostile work environment. 
 
 Grijalva, who is slated to become the next chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, which oversees Interior Department programs, was known to be a drinker. Zinke’s Tune Inn reference is to a beloved Capitol Hill bar that was frequented by Grijalva. The bar at one time had a cartoon of him shirtless on the beach admiring a sand castle that spelled out PUBLIC OPTION, according to the HuffPost. This was during the health-care debate, when Democrats had to concede that the Affordable Care Act would not include a government-run health-care program. 
 
 That HuffPost article posted after the bar caught fire in 2011. It was filled with remembrances, including about the night the ACA passed and Democratic members, staffers and journalists descended on the bar for late-night imbibing. (The Democrats to celebrate and the Hill reporters to witness the spectacle, as this Fix reporter can attest.) 
 
 Grijalva was there and was described as having “a bottle of Bud and a shot of whiskey in front of him.” 
 
 In an interview this year with News 4 Tucson, Grijalva admitted that he once had a drinking problem, but said he had gotten it under control. He did not say how long ago that was. 
 
 “I dealt with it, and I feel comfortable that I got past that,” he said. 
 
 “Once you wrestled the demons and you beat them, you beat them. And I — and I — feel very comfortable that demon’s beat,” he added. 
 
 The Trump White House and Congress have taken addiction seriously, at least as it pertains to opioids, treating it as the disease it is rather than a moral failing. One of the hardest parts of any addiction is the stigma associated with it. A study published in Clinical Psychological Science argued that “shaming people for difficult-to-curb behaviors may be exactly the wrong approach to take” and leads to worse health outcomes, including relapse. 
 
 [Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke remains defiant amid ethics probes] 
 
 Grijalva responded to Zinke in a statement: “The American people know who I’m here to serve, and they know in whose interests I’m acting. They don’t know the same about Secretary Zinke.” 
 
 He also issued this tweet: 
 
 The allegations against Secretary Zinke are credible and serious. Instead of addressing the substantive issues raised in this morning’s op-ed, he's resorting to personal attacks. https://t.co/QRiVPAjxPv — Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) November 30, 2018 
 
 Zinke has faced some 17 investigations into his conduct, several of which are ongoing. President Trump has said he plans to review the ethics investigations involving Zinke. 
 
 The tactic of attacking rather than defending or owning up to mistakes when being confronted with them is a strategy employed and perfected by Zinke’s boss. Trump calls it “counterpunching” and examples of him practicing that abound. ||||| Ew, Dad! That’s gross! 
 
 With his two young daughters just feet away from him, Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz told the bizarre story of how he watched porn with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. 
 
 THE ONE TIME TED CRUZ TRIED TO BAN SEX TOYS IN TEXAS 
 
 The Texas senator, his wife Heidi and their daughters — 8-year-old Caroline and 5-year-old Catherine — all took the stage at a CNN town hall Wednesday night, which also featured a strange story about Cruz's love of canned soup. 
 
 Before discussing his relationship with his wife and Caroline’s upcoming birthday party, Cruz discussed how he once had to watch porn as part of his duties as a law clerk for the Supreme Court, a strange tale he first recounted in his 2015 memoir. 
 
 Ted Cruz, his wife Heidi and their daughters spoke at a CNN town hall Wednesday night. (CNN) 
 
 “The chapter begins with me watching pornography on the Internet with Sandra Day O’Connor, which was a bit of a bizarre experience,” he told Anderson Cooper, adding that the court librarians prepared a lesson for the justices and their clerks to demonstrate how the abundance of Internet porn ahead of a case considering the regulation of such graphic material. 
 
 CRUZ CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEGATIVE RADIO AD TO RIP DE BLASIO 
 
 The librarians switched off Internet filters and quickly found hardcore videos by searching the term “cantaloupe,” he said. 
 
 “And Justice O’Connor — I still remember — she leaned forward, and she squinted, and she said, �?Oh, my!’” Cruz continued. 
 
 New York Daily News front pages on the presidential election 
 
 Little Caroline and Catherine were seated in the first row of the audience as their dad told the cringe-worthy story. 
 
 The retelling wasn’t the only awkward moment: Cruz’s wife and daughters had more strange stories to share about the family patriarch. 
 
 Heidi Cruz told the audience how her husband perplexingly bought 100 cans of soup after they returned from their honeymoon because he was afraid she wouldn’t cook. 
 
 “I was completely shocked to see that he arrived back at our apartment with literally 100 cans of Campbell’s Chunky soup,” she said. “We had a tough conversation about it. I said, �?You don’t buy 100 of anything, much less canned soup. We can’t do this. I’ll be making things.’ He said, �?No, I know you. You won’t be making things.’” 
 
 Cruz talked about the time he watched porn with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images) 
 
 The newlywed wife promptly returned the stockpile of stews and called her mother to gab about her husband’s strange shopping spree — but her mom told her she should have let Cruz keep his coup. 
 
 CRUZ RIPPED FOR HIS 'NEW YORK VALUES' INSULT IN THE BRONX 
 
 “So when Ted opened the pantry, I had to quickly tell him that I would go back and buy those cans again,” she added. 
 
 Cruz’s daughters also had some not-so-flattering stories about their dad. 
 
 Heidi Cruz also told a strange story about how her husband once bought 100 cans of soup. (BILL WECHTER/AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 Caroline — who turned 8 on Thursday — said she has a video of her dad in a pink feather boa and granny panties. The Texas dad put on the goofy getup as part of a dress up game at a father-daughter picnic, she said. 
 
 “It was on a videotape the whole time,” the oldest Cruz daughter said. “And that was a class video that they’re sending out to all the parents.” 
 
 Caroline also talked about her upcoming birthday party — a Build-a-Bear bash featuring a chocolate cake — and her love for Taylor Swift. Younger Catherine was mostly silent as she sat on her mom’s lap. 
 
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– “Before we get started, I need to alert @FoxNews and someone in DC that this is NOT a war on Christmas. It’s a war on everything else.” Sen. Rand Paul opened his yearly Festivus Twitter rant with this poke at Fox News, then continued to air his grievances Costanza-style. Made popular in the 1997 Seinfeld episode “The Strike,” Festivus is a parody holiday aimed at the commercialism of Christmas. The Kentucky senator has made it a Festivus tradition on December 23 to partake in the "Airing of Grievances," but with a focus on government spending. Per the Lexington Herald-Leader, the libertarian took shots at everyone from Hillary Clinton to President Trump to UFOs, but focused most of his 20-minute tweetstorm on government spending. “It may not seem like a lot of money, but we spent just under $100k to make sure Kenyan farmers knew how to use Facebook,” he wrote. Along with his takedown of spending, the Kentucky senator made time for a few playful jabs at Trump: “I want to pause to wish @realDonaldTrump a Happy Festivus. We told him to take today off, since he airs his grievances on here every day.” According to NPR, Paul also tweeted about Harry Reid ("HOW IS IT YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THE ALIENS, HARRY??!!), Hillary Clinton, and Ted Cruz. Paul capped off his rant with a link to a 42-page document detailing this year’s grievances.