Breitbart Senior Editor Joel Pollak Told Staffers to Stop Defending Michelle Fields (VIDEO)

When I first started checking out this story, I tweeted, "Video or it didn't happen."

I still haven't seen what you'd call "conclusive" video evidence that Fields was assaulted --- and there's been all kinds of conflicting reports claiming to have such evidence, although nothing I've seen is definitive either way.

Sadly, Ms. Fields doesn't come off as a persuasive victim. She appears "clingy" and "whiny." In other words, she's not a sympathetic individual, especially considering the hateful "purity" wars we're having right now over Ted Cruz vs. Donald Trump.

I haven't been on Twitter that much lately. It's been too ugly.

In any case, see BuzzFeed, "Breitbart Editor Ordered Staffers to Stop Defending Michelle Fields." (Via Memeorandum.)

Pollack ordered:

“EVERYONE. STOP tweeting about the story. Stop speculating about the story. Stop answering queries about the story. Stop retweeting other people's comments about the story. You were given explicit instructions. If you have new information please DM me.”

Plus, watch Ms. Fields' interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News from a couple of nights ago, "Trump campaign manager accused of assaulting reporter."

Deal of the Day: Omron Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor

At Amazon, Omron 7 Series UltraSilent Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor.

Also, today only, Save on Select Harry Bosch Novels by Michael Connelly.

Plus, from Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead.

BONUS: From Arthur Brooks, The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America.

GOP Majority Voters in Primary are Wayyyyyy Beneath Cruz, So Says Cruz

From Sarah Palin, on Facebook (via Memeorandum):

Calling GOP frontrunner supporters "low information" disengaged voters, Ted Cruz's insinuation reeks of all the reasons America knows "the status quo has got to go." The arrogance of career politicians is something at which the rest of us chuckle, but Cruz's latest dig strays from humorous into downright nasty. Cruz is right, though - independent, America-first, commonsense conservatives supporting Donald Trump ARE "low information" when it comes to having any information on Cruz's ability to expand the conservative movement, beat Hillary Clinton, unify and lead the nation...

More.

Plus, from Terresa Monroe-Hamilton, at Right Wing News, "Trump Supporter, Sarah Palin Just RESPONDED To The Cruz Attacks – And WHOA!":

Let’s address this, shall we? In the end, I may wind up voting for Trump simply to keep Hillary out. But I will never, ever have any use for Sarah Palin ever again. She has lied about Ted Cruz and slandered him relentlessly in order to protect Trump, who I suspect is paying her handsomely to do so. The full quote from Cruz is, “Donald does well with voters who have relatively low information, who are not that engaged and who are angry and they see him as an angry voice. Where we are beating him is when voters’ get more engaged and they get more informed.” Tell me how that is not true. If you look at the issues and you believe in the Constitution, that is exactly right. Trump’s supporters are running on anger and vengeance, not the issues...

Keep reading.

Violence at Donald Trump Campaign Events (VIDEO)

Watch, at ABC News, "Trump Under Fire for Violence at Campaign Events."

And from Sam Stein, at PuffHo (via Memeorandum), "Donald Trump Encourages Violence At His Rallies. His Fans Are Listening."

Donald Trump Plays It Safe at GOP Debate in Miami (VIDEO)

From Dan Balz, at the Washington Post (via the O.C. Register), "Trump drops big shtick, speaks softly: Few fireworks as Trump plays it safe":

MIAMI – Through 12 Republican debates, there has been one consistent dynamic: Donald Trump has held center stage literally and figuratively. He is the alpha politician who has fended off multiple opponents with cutting insults, timely interruptions and only an occasional exploration of the substance of policy.

Trump shared a debate stage Thursday night with his three remaining rivals: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and he found a different way to control the evening: by deflection and adaptability.

Ahead in the race for the nomination, he adopted a more restrained and subdued demeanor, even passing up opportunities to strike back when his opponents tried to engage him. It was a strategy common to any front-runner – play not to lose, avoid mistakes or eruptions, and force the opposition to change the dynamic.

For much of the evening, the four candidates carried on a generally civil discussion on the issues. They avoided the kinds of clashes that had created a downward spiral in their dialogue over the three previous debates.

Thursday’s encounter in particular seemed a direct reaction to the universal criticism of their debate a week ago, a forum that took the GOP campaign into the gutter. But in the more subdued environment, Trump was challenged anew to move beyond generalities, and he still struggled to explain where he really stands on a range of issues, from education and trade policy to Social Security and the federal budget deficit to dealing with ISIS and Iran.

That Trump has certain skills as a candidate is without question. He can dominate a debate or a news cycle with relative ease. His ability to keep opponents at bay and off balance has been stellar. But there is much more to being president than that, which is why there are so many doubts about him among the electorate at large. What the debates have shown is that Trump’s lack of depth on issues continues to be a key part of the story of his quest for the presidency.

Trump arrived at Thursday’s debate at the University of Miami nearing what could be a key turning point in the Republican campaign. By Tuesday night, after a round of primaries in big states, he either will be seen in full command of the nomination process – virtually unstoppable – or facing competition that could carry on all the way to the floor of the GOP convention in July in Cleveland with no certain outcome...

Keep reading.

P-22 Mountain Lion Suspected of Killing Koala at Los Angeles Zoo

If this story holds up, I doubt this poor koala's going to be the last animal killed at the zoo.

The mountain lion knows where to find dinner.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 suspected of killing koala at L.A. Zoo":

In the legal world, it’d be called circumstantial evidence.

On March 3, one of the Los Angeles Zoo’s koalas went missing. Down the road from its enclosure, a tuft of its hair was found. About 400 yards farther down, zookeepers made a grisly discovery: bloody marsupial parts.

Something must have been able to carry it that far, park employees figured. So they examined the park’s “trap cameras” — surveillance devices with motion sensors — in an effort to spot the culprit. Though the attack wasn’t recorded, they did find still photos of the likely perpetrator: P-22, Griffith Park’s famous mountain lion.

Zoo officials don’t know how the mountain lion is getting in and out of the park, but said it was spotted on cameras stationed around the zoo the night the koala was killed.

The zoo also released a black-and-white video taken by surveillance cameras place him near the scene the night before the koala was discovered missing.

“The evidence is circumstantial. We don’t have any video of it taking the koala. We can’t say 100%,” L.A. Zoo director John Lewis told The Times on Thursday.

About a month ago, cameras stationed around the park to record the behavior of smaller wild animals, like bobcats and coyotes, roaming the park at night showed P-22 also on the premises.

“It was kind of like ‘Whoa,’ ” Lewis said when they saw the 6-year-old puma on camera.

P-22 has been seen on camera a few other times since then, and once left the remains of a devoured raccoon in its wake. Sometime between the night of March 2 and the morning of March 3, the predator visited the koala enclosure, Lewis thinks.

That’s where it probably found Killarney, the oldest koala in the exhibit at 14 years old, on the ground, unprotected from the elevation the trees provide. Koalas live to be 12 to 15 years old, Lewis said.

“She was very individual,” Lewis said of the koala, which had no offspring and hailed from Australia. “At night, for whatever reason, it was typical for her to walk around. … The other koalas were up in the trees.”

There was no blood trail in the enclosure, and no fur to indicate a violent attack, he said. The koalas were kept in an open enclosure surrounded by an 8-foot high wall...

More.

ADDED: There's a video report at ABC News 10 San Diego, "Famous mountain lion suspected in death of koala at LA Zoo."

Kindle Paperwhite on Sale

Take 20 percent off through Friday, at Amazon, $20 off Kindle Paperwhite - 6" High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers.

Also, from Steve Coll, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power.

More, from Bing West, The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines, and No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah.

BONUS: From E.J. Dionne, Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism - From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond.

And Don Watkins and Yaron Brook, Equal Is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality.

Donald Trump Leads John Kasich in Ohio, 41-to-35 Percent (VIDEO)

Now this is interesting.

Trump's already pulling out a huge lead in Florida, so it's going to be pretty amazing if these numbers hold up and he wins both the Buckeye and Sunshine states.

At CNN, "CNN/ORC Poll: Trump, Clinton leading in Florida, Ohio."

Victoria's Secret Swim Special: Lily Aldridge (VIDEO)

It's coming up at 9:00pm on the West Coast, heh.

Here's Ms. Aldridge, at CBS This Morning:

Jackie Johnson's Warm Sunny Skies Forecast

I'll be at a teaching conference this weekend, at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott. The warm sunny skies aren't going to be too warm on the coasts, with temperatures in the low 60s.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

New Claudia Romani Bikini Pics in Miami

Nice.

At Egotastic!, "Claudia Romani Strips Down to Thongtastic Bikini in Miami."

Previous Claudia Romani blogging here.

Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points: The Left's 'Fascist' Smear Against Donald Trump (VIDEO)

An outstanding commentary:

Frauke Petry Is Germany's Anti-Angela Merkel

Pretty interesting.

The Donald Trump comparisons are obligatory, with the implication of Nazism, of course.

Oh, keep in mind that the "far-right" is used as a smear. People like this aren't "far-right." They're mainstream populists that scare the bejesus out of idiot establishment hacks.

At NYT, "Germany’s Embrace of Migrants Spawns Rise of Far-Right Leader":

MANNHEIM, Germany — In the current tussle for the future of Germany, Frauke Petry is what you might call the anti-Angela Merkel.

Where Ms. Merkel, the chancellor, has welcomed refugees, Ms. Petry, a rising far-right leader, has said border guards might need to turn guns on anyone crossing a frontier illegally.

Where Ms. Merkel has urged tolerance, Ms. Petry has embraced the angry populism now running through Europe and the United States.

“The preachers of hatred” was how the news weekly Der Spiegel characterized the new German right on its cover last month, emblazoned with a portrait of the petite Ms. Petry.

But this brisk, garrulous 40-year-old is more than Ms. Merkel’s foil. She is a disruptive, new force on the German political scene.

She and her party, the Alternative for Germany, have ridden a wave of discontent over the chancellor’s embrace of more than one million refugees to their strongest poll ratings ever...

Keep reading.

Deal of the Day: 65% Off Boss Audio Speakers

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And ICYMI, from Dana Loesch, Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been To.

Iran Fires Missiles Marked with 'Israel Must Be Wiped Out' (VIDEO)

Obama's nuclear peace partner.

Video via the Telegraph UK.

And at AP, "Iran fires 2 missiles marked with 'Israel must be wiped out'."

Samantha Hoopes Intimates Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 (VIDEO)

She's so sweet.

Watch, "Samantha Hoopes Intimates Swimsuit 2016."

BONUS: "Win a Date with SI Swimsuit model Samantha Hoopes."

The World Is Getting Worse, But This Time America Won't Save It

From Dennis Prager, via Blazing Cat Fur:

I cannot imagine any thinking person who does not believe the world is getting worse.

The number of slaughtered and the number of refugees from slaughter is immense and growing.

Islamic State now controls territories from Afghanistan to West Africa. Libya is in the process of being added to that list. And other sadistic Islamist movements hold additional territory.

According to Pew Research, approximately 10 percent of world Muslims have a favorable opinion of the Islamic State and terror against civilians.

That’s more than 100 million people...

Keep reading.

Ed Morrissey, Going Red

From Captain Ed, Going Red: The Two Million Voters Who Will Elect the Next President - and How Conservatives Can Win Them.

And from Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox, Running from Office: Why Young Americans are Turned Off to Politics.

Also, from Kristen Soltis Anderson, The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up).

Donald Trump Takes Three of Four States in March 8th Primary Elections (VIDEO)

Video below via CBS News This Morning.

And a great summary of last night's events, at the Los Angeles Times, "Trump rolls on, winning 3 of 4 states; Cruz takes Idaho":

Another Tuesday, another series of victories and the prospect of Donald J. Trump as the Republican presidential nominee grows ever more likely.

By carrying Mississippi in the Deep South and Michigan in the upper Midwest, Trump has already demonstrated a broader appeal than either of the last two GOP standard-bearers — who both happen to be among his major detractors.

Not the withering criticism by Mitt Romney or John McCain, a widely disparaged debate performance nor a growing bombardment of negative ads were enough to slow a steam-rolling Trump, as he noted at a gloating news conference Tuesday night.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had so many horrible, horrible things said about me in one week … but that’s OK,” he told reporters at his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla. “It shows you how brilliant the public is, because they knew they were lies.”

Later, he added sarcastically, “I want to thank the special interests and the lobbyists, because they obviously did something to drive these numbers.”

The spending is likely to continue unabated, as the results offered at least a sliver of hope to the stop-Trump forces.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz were in a close race for second in Michigan; Kasich hoped his respectable showing would give him a lift ahead of a must-win primary next Tuesday in his home state.

Cruz finished second in Mississippi, dissipating some of the momentum he picked up with two wins over the weekend, but he easily won the Idaho primary.

The last remaining challenger, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, placed a distant fourth in Mississippi and Michigan, third in Idaho, and was headed to a third- or fourth-place finish in Hawaii. He faces elimination next week if he fails to carry his home state. Polls there give Trump, a part-time resident, a big lead...

Still more at that top link.

Dana Loesch, Flyover Nation

It's out June 21st.

I'm looking forward to it. Dana's really nailed down the problem facing the political system.

At Amazon, Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been To.