Check Out Kay Hymowitz, Marriage and Caste in America

Ms. Hymowitz is one of the most penetrating writers on the culture, especially the devastating effects of the destruction of the intact American family.

Here's her book, at Amazon, Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age.

And at City Journal, "Did Mass Incarceration Destroy the Black Family? No, and Here's Why."

She destroys far-left shibboleths like nothing.

The Left's Endless Struggle for 'Equality' and 'Social Progress'

From James Surowiecki, at the New York Review, "Why the Rich Are So Much Richer."

It's a review of the recent work of collectivist economist Joseph Stiglitz.

See his books:

* The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them.

* Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity.

* Creating a Learning Society: A New Approach to Growth, Development, and Social Progress.

Fifteen Percent of Democrats Say Barack Obama is Muslim (VIDEO)

Here's the poll, "Misperceptions persist about Obama's faith, but aren't so widespread."

And check the raw internals here.

Yep, 15 percent of Dems say we've got a Muslim interloper in the White House.

Remember, in a nationally representative sample, that means tens of millions of Democrats don't trust Obama's protestations that he's Christian. Frankly, it's hard to tell. I mean, shoot, little Ahmed's coming to the White House!

And hey, that's not a statistic the leftist media are even mentioning. It's all about those crazy Republicans.

Watch, at CNN, "Trump dodges questions about Obama's citizenship."

The Pentagon's Baltic Battle Plan Against Russia

From Julia Ioffe, at Foreign Policy, "Exclusive: The Pentagon Is Preparing New War Plans For A Baltic Battle Against Russia":

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Department of Defense is reviewing and updating its contingency plans for armed conflict with Russia.

The Pentagon generates contingency plans continuously, planning for every possible scenario — anything from armed confrontation with North Korea to zombie attacks. But those plans are also ranked and worked on according to priority and probability. After 1991, military plans to deal with Russian aggression fell off the Pentagon’s radar. They sat on the shelf, gathering dust as Russia became increasingly integrated into the West and came to be seen as a potential partner on a range of issues. Now, according to several current and former officials in the State and Defense departments, the Pentagon is dusting off those plans and re-evaluating them, updating them to reflect a new, post-Crimea-annexation geopolitical reality in which Russia is no longer a potential partner, but a potential threat.

“Given the security environment, given the actions of Russia, it has become apparent that we need to make sure to update the plans that we have in response to any potential aggression against any NATO allies,” says one senior defense official familiar with the updated plans.

“Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine made the U.S. dust off its contingency plans,” says Michèle Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense for policy and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security. “They were pretty out of date.”

Designing a counteroffensive

The new plans, according to the senior defense official, have two tracks. One focuses on what the United States can do as part of NATO if Russia attacks one of NATO’s member states; the other variant considers American action outside the NATO umbrella. Both versions of the updated contingency plans focus on Russian incursions into the Baltics, a scenario seen as the most likely front for new Russian aggression. They are also increasingly focusing not on traditional warfare, but on the hybrid tactics Russia used in Crimea and eastern Ukraine: “little green men,” manufactured protests, and cyberwarfare. “They are trying to figure out in what circumstances [the U.S. Defense Department] would respond to a cyberattack,” says Julie Smith, who until recently served as the vice president’s deputy national security advisor. “There’s a lively debate on that going on right now.”

This is a significant departure from post-Cold War U.S. defense policy.

After the Soviet Union imploded, Russia, its main heir, became increasingly integrated into NATO, which had originally been created to counter the Soviet Union’s ambitions in Europe. In 1994, Moscow signed onto NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Three years later, in May 1997, Russia and NATO signed a more detailed agreement on mutual cooperation, declaring that they were no longer adversaries. Since then, as NATO absorbed more and more Warsaw Pact countries, it also stepped up its cooperation with Russia: joint military exercises, regular consultations, and even the opening of a NATO transit point in Ulyanovsk, Russia, for materiel heading to the fight in Afghanistan. Even if the Kremlin was increasingly miffed at NATO expansion, from the West things looked fairly rosy.

After Russia’s 2008 war with neighboring Georgia, NATO slightly modified its plans vis-à-vis Russia, according to Smith, but the Pentagon did not. In preparing the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Pentagon’s office for force planning — that is, long-term resource allocation based on the United States’ defense priorities — proposed to then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to include a scenario that would counter an aggressive Russia. Gates ruled it out. “Everyone’s judgment at the time was that Russia is pursuing objectives aligned with ours,” says David Ochmanek, who, as deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development, ran that office at the time. “Russia’s future looked to be increasingly integrated with the West.” Smith, who worked on European and NATO policy at the Pentagon at the time, told me, “If you asked the military five years ago, ‘Give us a flavor of what you’re thinking about,’ they would’ve said, ‘Terrorism, terrorism, terrorism — and China.’”

Warming to Moscow

The thinking around Washington was that Mikheil Saakashvili, then Georgia’s president, had provoked the Russians and that Moscow’s response was a one-off. “The sense was that while there were complications and Russia went into Georgia,” Smith says, “I don’t think anyone anticipated that anything like this would happen again.” Says one senior State Department official: “The assumption was that there was no threat in Europe.” Russia was rarely brought up to the secretary of defense, says the senior defense official.

Then came the Obama administration’s reset of relations with Russia, and with it increased cooperation with Moscow on everything from space flights to nuclear disarmament...

Keep reading.

Lily Aldridge's Perfectly Simple Slip Dress

Come to think of it, Lily Aldrige might wanna put on a couple of pounds.

At the New York Times, via Google.

.@LilyAldridge wore @ProtagonistNyc to celebrate @TabithaSimmons_ at #TheApartmentByTheLine last night. #Protagonist pic.twitter.com/YqHRWLwInD

— PR Consulting (@PRConsulting) September 17, 2015

Mark Steyn Explains Presidential Primary Politics

At Fox News:

Tiger Kills Zookeeper in New Zealand

A woman zookeeper.

She had a good run, but then, I suppose one thinks they're soul mates with these animals, and after a while you put your guard down.

At London's Daily Mail, "Pictured: The 43-year-old woman zookeeper who was mauled to death by a tiger at a New Zealand zoo while cleaning the enclosure... who listed 'interacting with animals' as her great love."

And at the Sydney Australian, "Oz the Sumatran tiger kills zookeeper in Hamilton, New Zealand."

Also at the New Zealand Herald, "Hamilton Zoo's tiger won't be put down."

Tens of Thousands Lose Power Across San Diego (VIDEO)

Pretty major.

At the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Outages hit countywide; 115K without power":

About 115,000 customers endured a power outage Sunday afternoon after a failed generator put stress on a power grid that was already under heavy demand on a sizzling summer day.

Communities from Mission Valley to San Clemente were left without power when the outages first struck about 1:20 p.m. About an hour later, nearly 44,500 customers, mostly in North County, were still affected. Power was restored by 3 p.m.

The outages knocked out traffic signals, causing traffic jams, and businesses left suddenly without the power were turning customers away.

San Diego Gas & Electric initiated the outages after a generator in the region went off line about 11:50 a.m. causing transmission lines to overload. The California Independent System Operator, the state's main grid operator, had SDG&E drop 150 megawatts of load in order to avoid overloading other lines, said Anne Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the state operator. One megawatt powers approximately 650 homes.

Only SDG&E customers were affected...

Victoria Beckham Slammed for Using Models Who Are Too Skinny — And Too Young

Hmm... I think they have a point, especially about their age.

At the Guardian UK, "Victoria Beckham under fire over ultra skinny models in New York."

#VBSS16 x vb pic.twitter.com/iU0EPoSNt0

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 14, 2015

#VBSS16 x vb pic.twitter.com/noZeS0jrZF

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 13, 2015

Obsessed with Varya! x vb #VBSS16 pic.twitter.com/iLtRd8lL8P

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 13, 2015

#VBSS16 x vb pic.twitter.com/gfecMNBgDU

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 13, 2015

The VB bag of the season - The Half Moon x vb #VBSS16 pic.twitter.com/gQ8kv5KHf3

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) September 13, 2015

Doesn't An Apology Mean Saying You Were Wrong?

This is perfect, from the letters to the editor, at the Wall Street Journal, "I remember when apologizing meant saying, 'What I did was wrong. I am sorry'."

Photos from the #Emmys

Photos and more.

At London's Daily Mail, "John Hamm FINALLY gets his gong, Amy Schumer dedicates hers to her sister and Viola Davis makes history - just some of the reasons why the 67th Emmys was a VERY emotional affair."

And at LAT, "Emmys 2015: Red carpet arrivals."

Plus, "'Game of Thrones,' Viola Davis, 'Veep' and all of the Emmy Awards' big winners," and "Emmy Awards: Complete list of 2015 winners."

Also at Vogue, "All the best #Emmys fashion—straight off the red carpet."

Heidi Klum Big Yellow Dress at the #Emmys

"Big" as in "Big Bird," heh.

At Twitchy, "‘Made out of Minions fur’: Heidi Klum getting trashed over yellow #Emmys dress."

Nonstick Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Cookware

Shop bestselling items, at Amazon, T-fal C067SC Metallics Nonstick Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Cookware Set, 12-Piece, Bronze.

Plus, from Michael Wolff, Television Is the New Television: The Unexpected Triumph of Old Media in the Digital Age.

Obama Administration Finger-Pointing, but Few Answers, After Syria Solution Fails

Here's Pamela Geller with the background, "‘The devil made me do it’: Obama’s foreign policy just reached a new low":

It took the NY Times seven years after I wrote my Obama book to tell the truth about Obama. But the NY Times and their fellow thumb-suckers in the media are as much at fault as he is for scrubbing, whitewashing and promoting the deeds of this cretin.

Obama just threw his entire administration (and his party) under the bus for his catastrophic failures in Iraq and Syria.

Once again Obama is refusing to take responsibility for the unfolding, unimaginable disasters suffered at his hand. The devil made him do it? He is the devil...

And here's Peter Baker's report, at the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — By any measure, President Obama’s effort to train a Syrian opposition army to fight the Islamic State on the ground has been an abysmal failure. The military acknowledged this week that just four or five American-trained fighters are actually fighting.

But the White House says it is not to blame. The finger, it says, should be pointed not at Mr. Obama but at those who pressed him to attempt training Syrian rebels in the first place — a group that, in addition to congressional Republicans, happened to include former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

At briefings this week after the disclosure of the paltry results, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, repeatedly noted that Mr. Obama always had been a skeptic of training Syrian rebels. The military was correct in concluding that “this was a more difficult endeavor than we assumed and that we need to make some changes to that program,” Mr. Earnest said. “But I think it’s also time for our critics to ‘fess up in this regard as well. They were wrong.”

He never, ever, takes responsibility for his own administration's massive failures. He is the devil.

Greek Voters Return Marxist Syriza to Power in Sunday's Snap Elections (VIDEO)

At the Guardian UK, "Greek election live: Alexis Tsipras celebrates victory - as it happened":

Here’s a quick closing summary, as another gripping chapter in Greece’s debt crisis closes, and another one opens.....

Greece’s leftwing leader Alexis Tsipras has emerged triumphant from a snap general election after securing a dramatic victory over his conservative rival, despite a turbulent first term in office and predictions that the race was too close to call after he accepted a crushing eurozone-led austerity programme during his first term in office.

The charismatic leader looked set to be returned to power with a near repeat of the stunning win that catapulted his Syriza party into office in January.

With most of the ballot papers counted, Syriza is leading with a 35.5% share of the vote compared with 28.2% for the centre-right New Democracy party. Speaking in Athens, Tsipras declared the election a victory for the people. “This victory belongs to the people and those who dream of a better tomorrow and we’ll achieve it with hard work,” he said.

Jubilant supporters, clearly relieved at the result, took to the streets in celebration, with many singing and dancing outside Syriza’s main election marquee in central Athens.

Tsipras told supporters that he would tackle endemic corruption in the country. “The mandate that the Greek people have given is is a crystal clear mandate to get rid of the regime of corruption and vested issues,” he said. “We will show how effective we will be. We will make Greece a stronger place for the weak and vulnerable, a fairer place.”

More, "Syriza returns to power in Greek general election: Conservative rival New Democracy concedes defeat to leftwing party led by Alexis Tsipras."

And at WSJ, "Tsipras’s Syriza Set to Return to Power After Resounding Greek Election Victory."

Carly Fiorina Rockets to No. 2 in Latest CNN Poll (VIDEO)

At CNN, "Poll: Fiorina rockets to No. 2 behind Trump in GOP field."

And here's the video from Jake Tapper's Sunday roundtable, "Fiorina and Rubio surge in new CNN poll."

Also, at Hot Air (via Memeorandum):

Is this finally the beginning of the end for Trump which everyone has incorrectly predicted over and over and over again? Or is this just where the tough sledding starts and he has some real competition in his lane from Carly? And on the establishment side of the house, has Marco just hit the moment where the student passes the teacher and sent Bush to the bench?

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



More at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

Also at Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup...", and Lonely Con, "Saturday Funnies."

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco.

Pope Celebrates Mass in Havana, Cuba (VIDEO)

At PuffHo, "Pope Celebrates Mass In Havana, Warns Against Dangers of Ideology."

Yeah, warning against the "dangers of ideology" after meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana. That oughta work.

Kids' Halloween Store

I've added the widget to my sidebar, but might as well post a link to the main page.

At Amazon, Halloween Deals.

And ICYMI, from Vox Day, SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police.

SJWs are monsters, so it's a unified theme here.

Socialize This, America: Bernie Sanders on the Cover of Time Magazine

He should be on the cover of Time.

At least Sanders is running a real campaign, with real grassroots support, unlike some other Democrat in the race.

See, "The Gospel of Bernie":

With each twist and wrinkle of this election season, which is as wide-open and unscripted as any presidential cycle in living memory, we see more clearly that these are special times in American politics, baffling times, times to challenge categories and scramble expectations. The Internet has killed the kingmakers. Freshness beats incumbency, while the perception of sincerity beats all. There is no room for focus groups in the elevator to the top of the polls; America wants its candidates straight up and packing a kick. This is how a squinty-eyed New Yorker goes from shooting his cuffs and hawking condos to the head of the GOP pack. It’s how Bernie Sanders can join the Democratic Party in April and by August be battling for first place in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Without a single TV ad–or a single congressional endorsement–Sanders has exposed the weakness of the party’s Clintonian establishment while at the same time spotlighting its hunger for an ideological savior. Polls now indicate that if the nominating contests were held tomorrow, Sanders would edge out Clinton in Iowa and beat her in New Hampshire by 10 points. Nationally, he has cut Clinton’s lead from an impregnable 46 points to a crumbling 21 points in just two months.

But even those metrics don’t convey the extent of the Sanders phenomenon. At Clinton events, campaign staffers section off floor space before her speeches to make her crowds look densely packed. Sanders needs no barriers. His audiences are authentically huge–28,000 in Oregon, 11,000 in Arizona, 7,500 in Maine. His volunteer army, meanwhile, though mostly self-organized online, numbers more than 182,000 people spread out from rural Alaska to the Florida Keys, people who have asked the campaign how to improvise events, knock on doors and spread the gospel from campus quad to living room to farmer’s market.

Win or lose, Sanders seeks to transform his party and redeem American politics through an epic battle against some of the wealthiest powers in human history. “A lot of people have given up on the political process, and I want to get them involved in it,” he tells TIME. “In this fight we are going to take on the greed of the billionaire class. And they are very, very powerful, and they’re going to fight back furiously. The only way to succeed is when millions of people stand up and decide to engage.”

This is not just a campaign, says Sanders. It is a “movement,” a “revolution.” He is not only after delegates; he plans to “raise the political consciousness.” Contrast this with the message Clinton conveyed during a meeting this summer with a group of activists. Consummate political engineer, virtuoso of the knobs and dials of public opinion, Clinton said, “Look, I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate.” David Axelrod, the onetime guru to Barack Obama, brutally mocked the plodding story line. “Hillary: Live With It,” tweeted Axelrod, “is no rallying cry.”

RTWT.

Isla Vista Rebranding Campaign

School starts next week at UCSB, so local Isla Vista boosters are launching a community rebranding campaign.

I can see why, after leftist Elliot Roger's murder rampage last year.

At the Santa Barbara Independent, "Ad Campaign Seeks to ‘Rebrand’ Isla Vista."

And watch John Palminteri, at KEYT News 3 Santa Barbara, "ISLA VISTA REBRANDING."

Jacob Thomas Brewer, Husband to Mary Katharine Ham, Has Died

Honestly, it's a sad story, but it's practically devastating when you know the survivors.

Mary Katharine Ham is expecting with the couple's second child.

At Instapundit, "JAKE BREWER, RIP."

And Mary Katharine's statement, posted to her Instagram account, is at Ed Morrissey's post, at Hot Air, "Jake Brewer, RIP":

We lost our Jake yesterday, and I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies. I don't have to tell most of you how wonderful he was. It was self-evident. His life was his testimony, and it was powerful and tender and fierce, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye. I will miss him forever, even more than I can know right now. No arms can be her father's, but my daughter is surrounded by her very favorite people and all the hugs she could imagine. This will change us, but with prayer and love and the strength that is their companion, we can hope our heartache is not in vain-- that it will change us and the world in beautiful ways, just as he did. If that sounds too optimistic at this time, it's because it is. But there was no thought too optimistic for Jake, so take it and run with it. I will strive and pray not to feel I was cheated of many years with him, but cherish the gift of the years I had. In a life where nothing is guaranteed, Jake made the absolute, ever-lovin' most of his time with all of us. This is a family picture we took a couple weeks ago. It was taken because Jake, as always, was ready with a camera and his immense talent. All four members of our little, growing family are in it. I can never be without him because these babies are half him. They are made of some of the strongest, kindest stuff God had to offer this world. Please pray that he can see us and we'll all make him proud. God, I love him. Psalm 34:18, Philippians 1:3.

Sugar Baby of the Year (VIDEO)

Watch, via London's Daily Mail, "Young women strip for chance to be Sugar Baby of the Year."

BONUS: At Instapundit, "21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Sugar Daddy Secrets: Men reveal what it’s REALLY like to shower younger women with money in return for sex."

The New Left Won the Cold War

A great piece --- and I mean truly great, in forcing a new interpretation of the world historical problem of leftist tyranny --- from John Schindler, at the Federalist, "Who Really Won The Cold War? America’s New Left has swallowed up Communism’s Old Left, and now it’s masticating us all."

Do yourself a favor. Grab a cup of coffee and savor this piece. It's worth it.

The American Project Is Dead

By "the American project is dead," it's asserted that the world historical experiment of American exceptionalism and the U.S. standard of world freedom and opportunity is dead, thanks to the left.

A podcast, at the Federalist, "Charles Murray Says the American Project Is Dead Unless We Fix It."

And see Murray's newsbook, at Amazon, By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission.

Also, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010.

Fleeing Syria: A Desperate Migration

The top story at today's Los Angeles Times:

The gray rubber dinghy that carries Huda Malak, pregnant with her first child, sags to sea level as it approaches Lesbos. The overloaded raft has been taking on water since it launched from a crag off the Turkish shore, about six miles away.

The 18 Syrians on board desperately try to bail water from the sinking craft. Weight, they need to shed weight. They start jettisoning backpacks that hold most everything they still own. A trip that should have taken 45 minutes has lasted double that, and they are still a mile from the Greek island.

Suddenly, Malak’s husband, Tarek Sheikh, stands up.

“I’m doing this to save you, our child, and everyone on board,” Sheikh tells her.

Then he jumps overboard.

His weight makes the difference, and the raft chugs toward land as Malak looks back to where her husband disappeared into the Aegean.

Finally, the boat makes one last thrust and scutters onto a pebble beach.

“Thank God, we are alive!” shouts Firas Gharghoori, a thick, compact man in shorts and a straw fedora, kneeling on the polished stones in a prayer of gratitude.

The new arrivals begin to wander away from the shore, but Malak remains. She crouches with knees bent, face cradled in her hands, her eyes focused on the sea. Fellow migrants approach to offer support to the 23-year-old schoolteacher, their elation at having made it to Europe tempered. She waves them off.

Without warning, Sheikh’s younger brother, Mohammed, takes off his shirt and plunges into the surf in a bid to rescue Sheikh — soon followed by a grizzled Greek restaurateur who has wandered to the scene. The Greek later swims back, his leg bloodied from the rocks. He gamely tries to maneuver a white paddle boat to sea as a makeshift rescue craft. It doesn’t get very far.

A Greek coast guard vessel appears offshore, but far from where Sheikh disappeared. Gharghoori frantically signals at the cutter to move to the left. A coast guard officer in aviator sunglasses, who is in radio contact with the cutter, arrives in a pickup. In broken English, he tries to calm everyone. A few minutes later, he approaches Malak and gives the thumbs-up sign.

Her husband, the hero of the gray rubber boat, is safe. His brother has been rescued too.

This year, more than 2,500 refugees and migrants have died trying to reach Europe in an armada of flimsy rubber dinghies and rickety fishing boats.

Tens of thousands of others are willing to take the risk. But they make it...

Keep reading.

Cindy Crawford on Turning 50

At London's Daily Mail, "'My waist is thicker and my boobs are a little less perky': As Cindy Crawford prepares to turn 50, she reveals how the fashion industry really treats older women."

Yeah, she's a fine woman.



Plus, flashback to 1992, "Pepsi Cindy Crawford (VIDEO)."

Ahmed Mohamed's Clock 'Sure sure doesn't look like any clock I've seen...'

Following-up from last night, "Ahmed Mohamed and the 'Islamophobia' Clock (VIDEO)."

See the comments at the letters to the editor, at the Los Angeles Times, "Readers React, Ahmed Mohamed: The kid with the funny-looking clock":

I guess it's “damned if you do, damned if you don't.” Ahmed's clock sure doesn't look like any clock I've seen.

In fact, it looks like an incendiary device. What if the school officials, wanting to be politically correct, ignored this unusual invention and it turned out to be an explosive? Thankfully it was only a clock, and thankfully the school was wise enough to check it out.

I doubt that Ahmed's ethnicity or religion had anything to do with how he was treated. Please don't let accusations of racism overshadow security precautions.

Ahmed has shown the most maturity so far by his response to events that went out of control.

Jeanette A. Fratto
Laguna Niguel

Plus, from Kyle Smith, at the New York Post, "How Ahmed's clock became a false, convenient tale of racism."

'Is the media trying to get rid of Trump and seizing on Fiorina only because she's useful for that and because their real aim is to cause the Republicans to lose the election in the end...?'

A long entry from Ann Althouse, "'I'm interested in the Althouse reaction to Rush on Friday, about Fiorina being the agreed Trump destroyer between both establishment Dems and Republicans...'":

I do think that much of the media (but certainly not all), wants to help Democrats win in the end. But the general election is a long way away, and for now, the media want ratings, and Trump has been great for ratings. He's very exciting and entertaining, but a lively challenger to Trump is also good for ratings, and Fiorina is a feisty, forcible speaker, unlike all the others, some of whom are almost ludicrously low key. In the end, I think the party is better off with someone who seems normal and has normal credentials — probably Bush, Kasich, or Rubio. But these people aren't much fun for now...

Still more.

Marine Corps Pushes Back Against Decision to Ignore Study About Women in Combat

From Fuzzy Slippers, at Legal Insurrection.

Also at the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Why Marines have a problem with women in combat."

And see the editorial at the Washington Post, "Women in combat."

BONUS: From Julie Pulley, at WSJ, "Women in the Infantry? No Thanks."

Bestseller Levi's 501 Jeans

I don't think I can fit into these anymore. I need the more generous style with more space in the hip and butt area, shall we say.

But if you're a fit young stud, check these out at Amazon, Levi's Men's Jeans 501 Original Fit.

BONUS: From Victor Davis Hanson, The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost - From Ancient Greece to Iraq.

ISIS Exposed

I keep meaning to pick up a copy of Erick Stakelbeck's new book, ISIS Exposed: Beheadings, Slavery, and the Hellish Reality of Radical Islam.

So don't be like me. Get your copy today!

Ahmed Mohamed and the 'Islamophobia' Clock (VIDEO)

From Pamela Geller, "Pamela Geller, Breitbart News: Ahmed Mohamed and the ‘Islamophobia’ Clock":

A Muslim teen, fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, bought a strange ticking device to his school, MacArthur High School. His device caused alarm and fear, and he was detained for having what his teacher perceived as a bomb. Police officers said the electronic components and wires inside his Vaultz pencil case (which is the size of a briefcase) looked like a “hoax bomb,” according to local news station WFAA.

When questioned about what the device was, Mohamed wouldn’t answer. Now terror-tied Islamic groups like the Hamas-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), their media lapdogs, and even Barack Obama are waging jihad against the school and the local police.

When police questioned the boy, WFAA reports, they said he was “passive aggressive” and didn’t give them a “reasonable answer” as to why he had brought his contraption to the school. “We attempted to question the juvenile about what it was and he would simply only say it was a clock. He didn’t offer any explanation as to what it was for, why he created this device, why he brought it to school,” said James McLellan of the Irving Police Department.

This whole thing smells like a setup. With ISIS in America, and young moderate Muslims fleeing to Syria to join the terror group, the response of MacArthur High School officials was rational and reasonable. At my website, PamelaGeller.com, I run news stories on a weekly basis of American Muslim teens who have been arrested for trying to join ISIS. Just this week, a Muslim teen from Philadelphia was arrested for an alleged plot to assassinate the Pope during his visit to the United States.

Every day we are warned of new terror threats, increased threat levels. But trying to protect school children is “Islamophobic.” And President Obama agrees, of course. Yes, he has weighed in; Barack Obama himself got into the act, tweeting to Ahmed: “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”

When I first heard about this story, I wrote at my website that it smelled fishy. Now, as more details have emerged, it positively stinks. The plot has considerably thickened. In what has become one of the most egregious of the faked hate narratives, the bomb hoax clockster turns out to come from a family that has a history of supremacist stunts.

The New York Daily News reported this Wednesday about Ahmed Mohamed’s father, Mohamed ElHassan Mohamed:

One of the earliest instances of the standout citizen making national news was in 2011, when he sensationally stood up to an anti-Islamic pastor and defended the Koran as its defense attorney. That mock trial at a Florida church ended with the book’s burning, to ElHassan’s claimed shock. In an interview with the Washington Post at the time, the devoted Muslim said he’d take on Rev. Terry Jones’ challenge because the holy book teaches that Muslims should engage in peaceful dialogue with Christians.

Also in 2011, ElHassan debated Robert Spencer on the questionf of “Does Islam Respect Human Rights?” Clearly, he was trying to score a victory against a famous “Islamophobe” and thus win a name for himself. ElHassan has been looking for publicity and chances to fight against “Islamophobia” for a considerable period. Now he has seized it, going so far as to claim his son was “tortured” by school and law enforcement officials.

He finally has the cause he has been seeking for so long. School officials were being prudent, protecting the children. Irving, Texas has had its share of jihad and sharia. Two Muslim sisters, Amina and Sarah Said, were honor murdered by their father, execution-style, in Irving several years ago. He is still at large. And Irving, Texas is only half an hour from Garland, Texas – the site of a jihad shooting on a free speech event last May. And the news is regularly riddled with stories of young Muslims, all lovely, sweet achievers, who suddenly — go jihad...

More.

FLASHBACK: "The Left's Attack on Pamela Geller Sanitizes Terrorism and Facilitates Murder."

Changes to Republican Party Primary Rules May Backfire

Seems to me this isn't a new problem. The GOP doesn't want a conservative. Party leaders wanted a streamlined caucus and primary schedule to quickly produce a nominee (a centrist nominee), as they always do. And of course Donald Trump's throwing a monkey wrench into the process.

See, "Party Rules to Streamline Race May Backfire for G.O.P.":

In the starkest sign of how unsettled the situation is, what once seemed unthinkable — that Mr. Trump could win the Republican nomination — is being treated by many within the Republican establishment as a serious possibility. And one reason his candidacy seems strong is a change by the party in hopes of ending the process earlier: making it possible for states to hold contests in which the winner receives all the delegates, rather than a share based on the vote, starting March 15, two weeks earlier than in the last cycle. Ten states have said they will do so.

If Mr. Trump draws one-third of the Republican primary vote, as recent polls suggest he will, that could be enough to win in a crowded field. After March 15, he could begin amassing all the delegates in a given state even if he carried it with only a third of the vote. And the later it gets, the harder it becomes for a lead in delegates to be overcome, with fewer state contests remaining in which trailing candidates can attempt comebacks.

“Somebody like Trump, who is operating in a crowded field, could put this contest away early if the crowd doesn’t thin out,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, who was a senior adviser to Mr. Romney...

Keep reading.

Sources: U.S. and China Negotiating Agreement to Refrain from Using Cyberweapons to Cripple the Other's Critical Infrastructure During Peacetime

Yeah, that oughta work, because we can really trust China.

At the New York Times, "U.S. and China Seek Arms Deal for Cyberspace."

Dozens Murdered as Pakistani Taliban Attack Mosque at Badaber Air Base, Outside Peshawar (VIDEO)

Pakistan, that bastion of peaceful bliss. Let's all sing John Lennon's "Imagine"!

At the New York Times, "Taliban Attack Kills 30 at Pakistan Air Force Base."

'Modern Family' Actress Ariel Winter Shows Off Her New Figure After Breast Reduction Surgery

Well, she looks pretty good, although I guess she turned this into some kind of social justice campaign.

At London's Daily Mail, "The littler mermaid! Ariel Winter wears first low cut dress since her breast reduction surgery from 32-F to 34-D."

But see the Los Angeles Times, "'Modern Family' actress Ariel Winter's breast reduction puts the procedure in a spotlight."

Donald Trump Responds to 'Obama's Muslim' Outrage on Twitter

At CNN, "Trump Tweets about Obama Muslim Silence Criticism."

And check the tweets, at Fire Andrea Mitchell!, "Boom! Donald Trump responds to Obama-Muslim whiners."

FBI Using Retweets as Evidence Against Islamic State Terror-Wannabes

Heh.

I guess the FBI's so overwhelmed by the allure of ISIS that they've lowered the bar to sweep up every wannabe who even RTs Islamic State.

At Gizmodo, "The FBI Says Retweets Are Endorsements."

Greeks Expect Little from Latest Elections (VIDEO)

Greek voters go to the polls -- again!

At WSJ, "Disillusioned Greeks Hope for Stability, and Little Else, From Sunday’s Elections":

NAOUSA, Greece—Greeks are going to the polls for the third time this year on Sunday, but fewer of them than ever believe their politicians will end the country’s long economic crisis.

After a turbulent year including elections in January, a referendum in July, a showdown with Europe and the imposition of crippling capital controls, the only thing many Greeks hope for from Sunday’s new parliamentary elections is some calm that would allow them to get on with their lives and searches for prosperity.

“These constant elections bring everything to a halt in business. Nobody is hiring, everyone is waiting to see what will happen,” says Panagiotis Fountoulakis, a former information-technology manager who says he needs to find work again by this winter before his family’s savings run out. “Political stability is my big wish, but I’m not confident we will get it.”

Disaffection with politics and a potentially low turnout could decide who wins Sunday’s contest: Syriza and its leader, Alexis Tsipras—who stepped down as premier last month to trigger snap elections—or their conservative challengers New Democracy under Vagelis Meimarakis. The two parties are neck and neck, according to most opinion polls.

The victor will probably have to form a coalition government. In Greece such pacts are usually fractious and short-lived. Policies will be heavily constrained by the bailout agreement with Europe that Mr. Tsipras signed this summer, which imposes further fiscal retrenchment after five years of unpopular austerity...

Keep reading.

Kristen Keogh's Weekend Forecast

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Obama Administration Targets Innocent Chinese Americans in Massive Violation of Civil Liberties

From Joyce Xi, at USA Today, "To get my father, Xiaoxing Xi, FBI twisted America's ideals":

My father’s case reflects some of America’s most cherished ideals gone wrong. My father is a hard-working, innocent American who was presumed guilty. He devoted his life to academic research, for the sake of understanding the world around us better and contributing to his university and country — America. He had all that taken away from him in an instant.

There is no escaping the geopolitics of our time and the influence that tensions between the U.S. and China have in our society today. Recently, the government has raised the specter of economic espionage with much attention on China. But as our country faces increased anxiety over China, the government is targeting innocent Chinese Americans...

More, via Instapundit, who writes:

I know, sorry, you thought you lived in America. You’re not the first Asian to make that mistake in the Obama era. But, you know, we’ve been “fundamentally transformed.” Hopey Changey!

Joey Fisher and Stacey Poole

Beautiful brunettes.

At Zoo Today, "Joey Fisher and Stacey Poole are Britain's Bustiest Duo!"

Brazen Coyotes in Irvine

I've seen coyotes plenty of times around here, once right in my apartment complex.

They get used to being around people and they attack pets.

At KCAL News 9 Los Angeles, "Animal Control Officers In Irvine Use Paintballs to Turn Back Brazen Coyotes."

Lawrence W. Reed, Ed., Challenging the Myths of Progressivism

Hey, thanks to the reader who picked up a copy of Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism through my Amazon links.

I appreciate the commission, of course, but I also appreciate learning about this book. It's a great topic.

Remember, I picked up a copy of Mark Bauerlein's similar edited volume, The State of the American Mind: 16 Leading Critics on the New Anti-Intellectualism. He's also the author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don 't Trust Anyone Under 30), which is a classic.

And see The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking.

I can't begin to tell you how big an issue this is. I think (and worry) a lot about basic student knowledge, for example, about knowledge about American history, things like the Civil War or the Bill of Rights. I mean, what really do they teach kids this days? Or, even if they teach this stuff, what are kids actually learning? In far too many cases, it's just not enough. And it's sad.

Web Developer Marco Arment Pulls Best-Selling Ad Blocker Off Apple's App Store

At WaPo, "Why the maker of a chart-topping ad blocker just pulled it off the App Store."

This is especially interesting, considering the recent posts at Legal Insurrection, where William Jacobson's trying to work out a fix to the loss of revenue from many readers using ad blockers. See, "You’re killing us – one ad block at a time (Update)," and "Advertising Networks Abuse Their Users."

Tourists Disrupt Sea Turtle Nesting in Costa Rica

And those turtles are so adorable too.

But then, can't let a few hundred thousand nesting sea turtles ruin late-summer tropical party plans, right?

Be sensitive to nature and the environment? Pfft.

At the New York Times, "Tourists Thwart Turtles from Nesting in Costa Rica":

MEXICO CITY — The day-trippers swarmed onto the beach to watch one of nature’s most extraordinary sights, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles crawling out of the ocean to lay their eggs in the sand.

The turtles did not want the company. Scared off by the thousands of tourists massed along Ostional Beach on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast, snapping selfies and perching their children on the turtles’ backs, the ancient reptiles simply turned around and retreated into the sea.

“It was a mess,” said Yamileth Baltodano, a tour guide who was at the scene when the turtles were scared away two weeks ago.

What happened during the first weekend in September was a one-time event, when a confluence of factors allowed the utterly unexpected to take place. But it was a cautionary tale for the conservationists charged with protecting the turtles, which are classified as vulnerable, not to mention a social media sensation. Now Costa Rican officials are scrambling to make sure it does not happen again.

“We are reassessing the way we work and the way we tackle the issue,” Mauricio Méndez, deputy director of the Tempisque Conservation Area, which includes Ostional Beach, said in a telephone interview on Friday.

The olive ridley nesting season, from August through October, coincides with Costa Rica’s rainy season, which ordinarily provides a natural barrier that protects the turtles. During that time, the beach is all but cut off by the flood tide of the swollen Nosara River, which blocks access on bridges. Even in the dry season, the beach is accessible only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle driven by a local guide.

But this year, low rainfall caused by El Niño left the river all but dry, making passage to the beach easy.

Mr. Méndez said officials were working on changes before the next arrival, expected on Oct. 4. He said he hoped to double the number of police officers and security guards, and even to bring in the Coast Guard. Groups will only be allowed in with guides and will be limited to the edges of the nesting area...

 More.

California Wildfires Highlight Risks to Elderly, Less Mobile, Residents

Actually, some of those killed last week refused to leave their homes, although I agree the elderly are going to be more vulnerable.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Five wildfire deaths highlight vulnerability of isolated seniors in disasters":

Some were pulled from the fire zone by relatives or neighbors, with or without their wheelchairs. At least a handful made the bumpy ride out in the back of a pickup through heavy smoke and fire-blackened debris — thanks to a former paramedic who breached the blockades.

They arrived at area shelters with oxygen tanks, without their medications, anxious and in some cases disoriented. Then there were the ones who stayed behind —intentionally or not.

Of the three deaths reported so far in Lake County's devastating Valley fire, all were senior citizens, among them 72-year-old Barbara McWilliams, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis. Two other men who are believed to have died were in their late 60s.

The aging are woven into the fabric of Lake County, where 18% of residents have passed their 65th birthdays, versus 11% for the entire state. Some have flocked here to retire, drawn to the independent streak that favors community over government; others have aged in place, their grown children gone in search of better job opportunities.

And though it was unclear in the disaster's aftermath how many were living in the evacuation zone, officials said about 2,300 county residents rely on state-funded in-home care or delivered meals.

In the Rocky and Jerusalem fires, which burned to the north and northeast of the Valley fire in August and July, staff of the county Office of Adult Services were able to contact those living in "advisory evacuation zones" and offer transportation to shelters, program manager Todd Metcalf said.

But the Sept. 12 blaze "moved too quickly for us to perform outreach as we normally do," Metcalf said...

Some folks just want to go. At the accompanying photo, the caption reads, "Winnie Pugh was evacuated from her home by her sons after she refused to go with firefighters."

Keep reading.

Andrea Tantaros Photo from New York Fashion Week

She's quite the active Instagram user, as it turns out.

Here, "Enough politics. Time for some fashion. #nyfashionweek."

She's the hottest woman on Fox News.

Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire Town Hall Sparsely Attended

Funny how the media reports I saw didn't mention that Hillary's event was mostly half full, if that.

See Ed Henry, on Twitter, ".@hillaryclinton town hall tonight in New Hampshire #concord #emptyseats," and "Wide shot @HillaryClinton event in #concord -- on positive side crowd enthusiastic, Clinton finding voice on message."

Hat Tip: Legal Insurrection, "Hillary New Hampshire Town Hall Empty."

Kimberly Guilfoyle Says Obama Basher at Donald Trump Event 'Was a Complete Plant' (VIDEO)

Watch, "Kimberly Guilfoyle: Muslim Basher at Trump Town Hall 'Was a Plant'."

Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit.

PREVIOUSLY: "Donald Trump Responds to Man Saying Obama is Muslim During New Hampshire Event (VIDEO)."

Donald Trump Supporter Paula Johnson Speaks Out Against Attacks and Media Double Standards (VIDEO)

Watch, at CNN, "Supporter fed up with attacks against Trump's actions."

Victoria’s Secret Angel Stella Maxwell in Fall 2015 Sport Campaign (VIDEO)

Watch, at Victoria's Secret, "Go Ahead, Try Me: Stella Maxwell for Victoria’s Secret Sport."

House Votes to Strip Planned Parenthood Funding

At the Hill, "House votes to freeze federal funding for Planned Parenthood." (Careful the auto-play video.)

And watch, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood."

And ICYMI, "Death-Cult Leftists Spew Lies Attacking Carly Fiorina After Wednesday's GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)."

Donald Trump Taking Heat from Both Left and Right (VIDEO)

Watch Charles Krauthammer and Megyn Kelly, at Fox News, "Krauthammer on why Trump is taking heat from both sides."

RELATED: At the Hill, via Memeorandum, "Trump drops out of Heritage event after birther backlash."

45 Photos of Bikini Babes

At Radass, "Happy FIll My Cup Thursday (45 Photos)."

Police Take Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr., Into Custody: Suspect in Series of Shootings on Interstate 10 (VIDEO)

Watch, at ABC News 10 Phoenix, "Police arrest suspect in string of Phoenix freeway shootings."

And at the Arizona Republic, "Phoenix freeway shootings suspect identified as Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr."

Jackie Johnson's Beautiful Weekend Forecast

I love this weather. A little hotter, and thank Heaven for it.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Fight Breaks Out as Japan's Parliament Approves Overseas Combat Role for Military (VIDEO)

At the New York Times, "Japan Approves Overseas Combat Role for Military":

TOKYO — In a middle-of-the night vote that capped a tumultuous struggle with opposition parties in Parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan secured final passage of legislation on Saturday authorizing overseas combat missions for his country’s military, overturning a decades-old policy of reserving the use of force for self-defense.

The legislation had been expected to pass; Mr. Abe’s governing coalition controls a formidable majority in the legislature. But analysts said the grinding political battle and days of demonstrations that accompanied the effort could hurt his standing with a public already skeptical of his hawkish vision for Japan’s national security.

The debate often doubled as a forum for airing views about Japan’s most important ally, the United States. Many were hostile.

“If this legislation passes, we will absolutely be caught up in illegal American wars,” Taro Yamamoto, a leader of a small left-leaning opposition party, said in a committee debate on Thursday. The debate ended with lawmakers piled on top of one another in a melee for control of the chairman’s microphone.

On Friday, Mr. Yamamoto held up the voting by taking a slow-motion “cow walk” to the podium to cast his ballot. Other opposition groups entered symbolic censure motions against Mr. Abe and officials in his Liberal Democratic Party or made long, filibuster-like speeches, often repeating the conviction that a military with expanded powers would end up being dragged into an unjustified American war.

“We must not become accomplices to murder,” said Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party. Similar sentiments have been echoed — usually in less provocative terms — by newspaper columnists, political scientists and members of the general public.

The opposition’s obstructionist tactics delayed Mr. Abe’s victory until after 2 a.m., but could not prevent it.

." Mr. Abe’s critics have a variety of grievances against the defense legislation. Not least is the question of its constitutionality: In multiple surveys of constitutional specialists, more than 90 percent have said they believe that it violates Japan’s basic law, laid down by the United States in the postwar occupation, which renounces the use of force to resolve international disputes.

But a less abstract fear of being “caught up in war” has been just as important in fueling opposition to the legislation, exposing a strain of public unease about the United States-Japan alliance that is usually kept out of view...

The war ended 70 years ago. I think Japan can change its constitution and join the status of normal countries who defend their own national security.

Still more.

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. and Japan Tighten Alliance in Face of Surging Threat from China."

Jessica Simpson Drunk on Home Shopping Network? (VIDEO)

I didn't know she was a lush.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Jessica Simpson's slurred speech on HSN sparks Twitter accusations of drunkenness."

And watch, at Entertainment Tonight, "Was Jessica Simpson Drunk During Her Live HSN Appearance?"

Sponsors Drop 'The View' After Disrespectful Nurse Jokes

Countdown to cancellation.

At Instapundit, "WHEN CATTY PUTDOWNS BACKFIRE: Two sponsors drop ‘The View’ after nurse jokes."

And from Michelle Malkin, "Why 'The View' Is Bombing":

You would think that a groundbreaking TV show for women hosted by women would do its best every day to respect and uplift women.

Instead, ABC’s “The View” — originally created by veteran journalist Barbara Walters to represent women “of different backgrounds, different generations and different opinions” — has devolved into an ear-splitting bickerfest of elite divas who scoff and sneer at those who do not enjoy their celebrity privilege or share their left-wing ideological values.

This week, the bratty, catty co-hosts’ targets included the young women who competed for the Miss America title. Michelle Collins, a “comedian” who recently joined the show after establishing herself as a Tinseltown “gossip queen,” savaged Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson. As the other anchors giggled out loud at Johnson’s video clip, Collins mocked the Rocky Mountain beauty not for her looks or her politics, but for a lovely, earnest monologue she performed during the pageant’s talent competition.

Wearing her hospital scrubs, sneakers and a stethoscope, the registered nurse recounted her conversations with a patient named Joe in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. When he requested changes in medications and treatments, Johnson explained to him that she couldn’t because she was “just a nurse.”

What she could do was provide kindness and comfort. One night, after discovering him in tears as the condition wore his spirits down, Collins told him he was “not just Alzheimer’s. You are still Joe.”

Joe responded gratefully: “Nurse Kelley … you are not ‘just a nurse.’ You are my nurse, and you have changed my life because you’ve cared about me.” With her voice cracking, Johnson shared her takeaway: “Patients are people with families and friends. You are not a room number or diagnosis in the hospital. You’re a person. … And Joe reminded me that I am a lifesaver. I am never going to be ‘just a nurse.'”

Using her two minutes on a national stage to give voice to her underappreciated colleagues, Kelley made the three million nurses in her profession and their families justifiably proud. And she prompted viewers like me to reflect on our gratitude for the countless nurses in our lives who’ve benefited from their talent, dedication and compassion...

But not the disgusted, mean-spirited moral reprobates on "The View."

 But keep reading.

Russia Moves First Fighter Jets to Syria (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Russia Moves Its First Tactical Fighter Jets to Base in Syria":

Russia has moved jet fighters to a base in Syria for the first time, U.S. defense officials said Friday, a major military escalation that heightens fears Moscow is set to play a more direct role in propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The deployment of a small number of tactical jets came just hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke to his Russian counterpart about Moscow’s deepening role in Syria, a call that ended a long pause in high-level military communication between the U.S. and Russia.

U.S. defense officials said the nearly hourlong conversation was designed in part to help avert a confrontation in Syria between the U.S. and Russia, which have long been on opposite sides of the 4½-year-old civil war.

Russia’s decision to send in jets, however, is the clearest indication Moscow is preparing to use military might to help Mr. Assad as he clings to power.

U.S. policy in Syria, which has for years sought to avoid getting drawn into the protracted and bloody conflict, is at a turning point, prompted by the flood of refugees into Europe and the surprising Russian escalation.

In addition, the Obama administration is considering whether to scrap its troubled plan to arm moderate Syrians to battle the extremists of Islamic State, which controls much of Syria.

The direct involvement of Russian forces in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Mr. Assad would mark a new twist that could put American pilots, who regularly fly surveillance flights and airstrike missions, in substantially greater danger...

Keep reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Syrian Refugees Lose Faith in Finding Solution to Country's Civil War."

Top Dollar Trade-In for Your Phone

At Amazon, Trade-in: Get Top Dollar for Your Phone.

Plus, check out Mark Steyn's edited collection, "A Disgrace to the Profession" The World's Scientists - in their own words - on Michael E Mann, his Hockey Stick and their Damage to Science.

Syrian Refugees Lose Faith in Finding Solution to Country's Civil War

At Der Spiegel, "Abandoning Syria: Few Options Left for Stopping the War":

An exodus of tens of thousands is hemorrhaging out of Syria and into Europe. After four years of civil war horrors, people have given up completely on their country. Is there a shred of hope left for stopping the conflict and rebuilding?

Both men were Syrians -- a taxi driver and his passenger. They met during an hour-long drive in April from the airport in the southern Turkish city of Adana toward the east. Within a few minutes, they realized that they were from the same place, the northern port city of Latakia, which is controlled by the Syrian regime.

Things got tricky when the two men began to wonder whose side the other had been on.
They avoided direct questions for a while. Before, on the other side of the border, they may have shot at each other. But now they were sitting in the same car. Eventually, the driver began to tell his story. He had been a bank manager and had told jokes about Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. After an informer betrayed him to the government, a man from Syrian intelligence gave him a warning, saying: "Get out now. They're coming to get you in half an hour."

Then the second man told his story. He had been an architecture student. "I had nothing against Assad," he said. But checkpoints had been erected everywhere in recent weeks, where young men were forcibly recruited into the army. "I didn't want to die," he explained. The driver chuckled briefly, and then the two men went silent for a while.

"It's over," the driver finally said. "Yes," his passenger replied. They spent the rest of the trip discussing the best routes to Europe.

Can the Horrors Be Stopped?

A country is hemorrhaging people. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are on the road, traveling to Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, or they have already arrived, and millions will follow suit. The exodus is putting a long-ignored question back onto the political agenda in the West: What can be done to stop the horrors in Syria?

Four years after the beginning of the uprising, a quarter of a million are dead and the political proposals by the United Nations, the German foreign minister, the United States government and others sound very much like proposals in 2011: Negotiate, apply pressure and seek a political solution. The situation is complicated by announcements from France and Great Britain of their intention to participate in air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. But what they overlook is that the overwhelming majority of Syrians are not fleeing from IS, but from Assad's barrel bombs, the Syrian Air Force and the generally hopeless situation.

IS primarily controls sparsely populated desert areas in eastern Syria. According to reports by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Assad's soldiers killed about 11,500 people between January and August, while IS killed 1,800. Among civilians, at least 10 times as many people die as a result of the regime's attacks than at the hands of IS.

IS has made adjustments to cope with the air strikes. Its troops now tend to operate in towns, in which they prevent the residents from fleeing by erecting checkpoints and imposing draconian punishments. This prevents Western forces from effectively attacking IS.

The Assad Question

The refugees are responsible for growing political pressure to find ways out of the war, but their plight does nothing to change the status quo, which has led to the failure of every negotiated solution to date. Russia and Iran want to keep Assad in power, and the West is unwilling to overthrow him and oppose the Russian veto in the UN Security Council or jeopardize Iran's compliance with the nuclear treaty. Two UN special envoys have already failed to resolve this conflict situation, and a third one is heading in the same direction. Staffan de Mistura has announced new negotiations for October and wants to introduce decentralized task forces, but he has not even mentioned the central issue: Should the goal be to remove Assad or to allow him to remain in power?

The world had already made more headway in earlier negotiations. When influential Syrians from both camps met for secret negotiations at Château de Bossey on Lake Geneva in October 2013, everyone, after initial difficulties, was surprisingly in agreement. Even an advisor to Assad was acquiescent and was not opposed to a peaceful solution. "We will fight down to the last building in Damascus. But what happens after that? The country is ruined. No side can win or stop fighting."

The meetings were hosted by Switzerland's Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. As one participant recalls, both sides were exhausted and prepared to make extensive compromises. In the end, the negotiations failed because of one person: Assad. Everything was negotiable, but he had to go, the representatives of the opposition demanded. The participants agreed that a solution was in the hands of the Americans and the Russians.

If there is any solution for Syria anymore, it would have to be similar to the tentative plans suggested in 2013, which called for exiling Assad, his clan, key generals and their families. Those also included extensive amnesties for combatants on both sides, power to be handed over to local authorities -- and a common fight against IS. But this type of solution would have required military pressure on Assad, which Washington was never willing to agree to. Even a proposal to install no-fly zones in several Syrian border regions, so that people there could survive without air strikes, was repeatedly rejected...

Still more.

Suspect Dead After Deputies Open Fire from Helicopter During Pursuit on I-215 in Devore

Man, this is rad!

At the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "DEVORE: Deputy shoots man to death during wrong-way I-215 pursuit (UPDATE)."

And at ABC News 7 Los Angeles, "CAR CHASE CRASH SHUTS DOWN NORTHBOUND 215 FREEWAY."

Dana Loesch: 'Because holding up arms and legs for sale to the camera wasn’t enough...'

Heh.

At Twitchy, "This Dana Loesch tweet says ALL about ghastly media reax to Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood truths."

Media is circling the wagons on Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood remark. Because holding up arms and legs for sale to the camera wasn’t enough.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 17, 2015

PREVIOUSLY: "Death-Cult Leftists Spew Lies Attacking Carly Fiorina After Wednesday's GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)."

'It's totally fake outrage from frauds who want to continue the dump of third-worlders on the country, including Muslim Jihadists, and voted for the guy who just gave a nuke to Iran...'

Heh.

That's Ann Coulter's quote, at the Hollywood Reporter, "Ann Coulter Calls Fury Over Jewish-Debate Tweet 'Fake Outrage': 'I'm Pro-Israel'."

And watch, via NYDN, "Ann Coulter Sparks Outrage Over ‘anti-Semitic’ Tweet, Rant About ‘Jews’ During GOP Debate." Also at Memeorandum.

And here's her book, Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.

Death-Cult Leftists Spew Lies Attacking Carly Fiorina After Wednesday's GOP Presidential Debate (VIDEO)

They're diabolical death-cult leftists, spewing despicable lies attacking Carly Fiorina for her comments --- her 100 percent accurate comments --- criticizing the Democrats on abortion during Wednesday's debate.

Here's the clip of Fiorina's comments, "Fiorina: Shame on us if we don't force Obama to veto Planned Parenthood."

Okay, now, you can see a 19-week-old baby placed in a metal surgical bowl after a botched abortion, kicking his legs, clearly still alive, kept there while technicians prepare to cut his face off to extract his brain. Watch, at 5:56 minutes, "Human Capital - Episode 3: Planned Parenthood's Custom Abortions for Superior Product." (Also at the Fresno Bee, "Anti-abortion video claims wrongdoing at Fresno, Stockton clinics.")

That's the left for you, the lying diabolical left.

At the Federalist, "Who’s Really Lying About the Planned Parenthood Videos? Carly Fiorina or the Factcheckers?"

And some of the links to the left's hateful, diabolical liars:

* At RH Reality Check, "Debunking Five Absurd Comments About Planned Parenthood From the GOP Debate."

* From the disgusting feminist slut Amanda Marcotte, "What Was Up With Carly Fiorina’s Grisly Abortion Rant?"

* From Caitlin MacNeal, at Josh Marshall far-left stink hole TPM, "Fiorina Stands by Her Bogus Debate Description of Planned Parenthood Vids."

* And from the congenitally stupid Sarah Kliff, at that other far-left stink hole, Ezra Klein's Vox, "Carly Fiorina is wrong about the Planned Parenthood tapes. I know because I watched them."

Now, see Mollie Hemingway, "The aborted baby the media claim does not exist."

And she writes:

The media have consistently failed to cover the Planned Parenthood footage, and now they are covering up the truth. The reality is that babies of the same gestational age are having their organs harvested every day. These videos feature graphic footage of abortionists mangling babies to harvest organs to sell. They feature abortionists admitting that babies often survive those abortions. They show high-level Planned Parenthood officials encouraging this organ-harvesting scheme, acknowledged that it is happening, and attempting to skirt scrutiny from it.

The videos Carly Fiorina referenced do indeed exist, and they reveal the barbaric realities of the abortion industry.

 Lots more at Memeorandum.

Carly Fiorina Jumps Out to First-Place, Tied with Donald Trump, in Post-GOP Debate Poll

This is not unexpected, at all.

From Nice Deb, at Pajamas, "Post-Debate Poll: Fiorina Surges to First Place, Tied With Trump":

A post-debate poll conducted by Gravis Marketing for One America News Network (OAN) shows Carly Fiorina jumping to first place at 22%, tied with Donald Trump. In their previous poll, Fiorina ranked 7th with 2.7% of the vote.

The poll, taken immediately after Wednesday night’s GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Library, has Marco Rubio rising to third place with 15 percent...

Keep reading, via Instapundit, who writes, "It’s a real (robo-)poll, not an online poll."

PREVIOUSLY: "Carly Fiorina Should Expect Greater Scrutiny After Powerful Debate Performance (VIDEO)."

Carly Fiorina Should Expect Greater Scrutiny After Powerful Debate Performance (VIDEO)

At the Los Angeles Times, "Carly Fiorina's post-debate moment is just a start: She needs support but faces more scrutiny":

Carly Fiorina fought and scraped her way to the top of the male-dominated business world, becoming chief executive of one of the tech industry's iconic companies.

She fought and scraped her way from an afterthought in the crowded Republican presidential field to the hands-down winner of Wednesday night's Reagan Presidential Library debate.

The question, now that Fiorina is having her moment: Does her underfunded campaign have the capacity to reap the benefits of her newfound momentum?

“We'll see if she capitalizes ... meaning raising some money so she can go out and begin making her case in the early states and beyond,” said Scott Reed, a veteran GOP strategist who is neutral in the Republican race. “The calendar has not changed. This is still a marathon and only candidates with the financial means are going to be able to go the distance.”

The first nominating votes in the contest are set for just over four months from now in Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Then comes a sprawling succession of primaries and caucuses.

Larry Gerston, a longtime Fiorina watcher and emeritus professor of political science at San Jose State, said after her widely acclaimed debate performance that the hard part is just beginning.

“This will be her moment. Not [Wednesday] night, really, but the next two-three weeks, assuming the next few polls show she's moved up,” he said.

Fiorina had won positive reviews after the first debate in August and has been well-received in the early-voting states. But that has not translated into strong fundraising, key endorsements or the organizational strength needed to seriously compete for the nomination.

Republican donors, notably in California, have been intrigued by Fiorina's rise from an asterisk in the polls to the top tier of candidates, but many have held off on opening their checkbooks. Her debate performance could convince them to donate.

Fiorina's campaign declined to provide details about fundraising, but the candidate headlined a fundraiser Thursday night in Los Angeles hosted by notable GOP donors, including former Univision chief Jerry Perenchio.

“Mr. Perenchio is very proud of her; he thinks she won the debate and he will continue to support her,” said Cassandra Vandenberg, a political advisor to Perenchio, who has donated more than $1 million to the super PAC backing Fiorina.

The super PAC, Carly for America, said Thursday that it had already seen an uptick in donations since the debate.

“We have definitely seen an increase in fundraising, an increase in Web traffic and an all-around surge of support,” said spokeswoman Katie Hughes, though she declined to provide details.

For all the raves, there is the risk of getting too carried away...

Keep reading.

Jennifer Lawrence for Christian Dior

At Vogue Australia, "Poppy Delevingne designs shoes with Aquazzura; Jennifer Lawrence’s new Dior campaign."

And watch, "Dior Addict, the new lipstick – Jennifer Lawrence’s Interview."

Donald Trump Responds to Man Saying Obama is Muslim During New Hampshire Event (VIDEO)

Watch, at AP, "Trump: No Correcting Man Saying Obama is Muslim."

And at CNN, via Memeorandum, "Trump declines to correct questioner who says Obama is a Muslim."

Maxboost iPhone 6 Screen Protector

Shop at Amazon, iPhone 6 Screen Protector, Maxboost® iPhone 6 Glass Screen Protector (4.7")- [Tempered Glass] World’s Thinnest Ballistics Glass, 99% Touch-screen Accurate, Round Edge [0.2mm] Ultra-clear Glass Screen Protector Perfect Fit for iPhone 6 6S (4.7 inch ONLY) Maximum Screen Protection from Bumps, Drops, Scrapes, and Marks (Lifetime No-Hassle Warranty).

Plus, Ann Coulter's in the news, so here's a link to her new book, Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.

Hottest Surfer/Singer Catherine Clark (VIDEO)

At Playboy, "Catherine Clark is the Hottest Surfer/Singer You'll Meet."

And on Instagram.

Hot-Rodding Qatari Sheikh Flees the Country (VIDEO)

Good riddance.

At LAT, "Qatari sheikh at center of Beverly Hills speeding case flees the country."

While the Getting's Hot: Carly Fiorina, Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey

She made mention of the themes in her book at last night's debate, but if you haven't read it you wouldn't pick up on them.

So, since she'll no doubt be dominating the news today, here's another plug for her book, at Amazon, Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey.



IMAGE CREDIT: O.C. Register.

More blogging tonight.