Nik Wallenda Survives Tightrope Walk Over Gorge Near Grand Canyon

I didn't like the daredevil view camera, looking down toward the canyon floor. That was making me queazy.

 In any case, at LAT, "Wallenda walks wire near Grand Canyon."

West Coast Hooters 2013 Swimsuit Finals in Santa Ana

Here's more of the Hooters girls.

And see Daley Gator for more, "Your Sunday Night Salute to Great Blogs and Hooters Girls."

PREVIOUSLY: "Hooters Girls of Orange County."

Waiting on Proposition 8 and DOMA Decisions: In Plain English

From Amy Howe, at SCOTUS Blog:

The fate of California’s Proposition 8, before the Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry, seems murkier than DOMA’s. Proposition 8 was a response to a 2008 decision by the California Supreme Court ordering the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Before the end of that year, California voters had passed Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage. A few months later, Boies and Olson filed a lawsuit challenging the ban on behalf of two same-sex couples who wanted to get married. (My earlier “Plain English” posts on the case are available here, here, here, and here.)

The sponsors of Proposition 8 defended it in court, because the State of California refused. The two couples prevailed in the federal trial court and then in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with the latter holding that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional because it took the previously granted right to marry away from gays and lesbians just because people didn’t like them.

There is a threshold question of “standing” that piqued the interest of several Justices – the Chief Justice and the Court’s four more liberal Justices in particular – who seemed inclined at oral argument to hold that the sponsors of Proposition 8 lacked the legal right to defend it in court. Justice Kennedy, who had recently suggested that the Court was deciding too many hot-button issues that should be decided by the legislature instead, seemed skeptical about a potential problem with the sponsors’ “standing” but offered another path to avoid deciding whether Proposition 8 violates the Constitution: the Court could simply dismiss the case on the ground that it had made a mistake in taking it on.

Pretty straightforward review. More at that top link.

PREVIOUSLY: "The Supreme Court's Blockbuster Week Ahead."

The Supreme Court's Blockbuster Week Ahead

Well, it could be blockbuster, if the Court were to strike down affirmative action at the University of Texas, and especially if the Court were to uphold DOMA and Prop.8. But either way, the rulings expected this week will have deep political repercussions. And I'm not optimistic toward any big conservative rulings, especially with Anthony Kennedy likely to be the swing vote on some of these cases, but we'll see.

In any event, here's some analysis at the Los Angeles Times, "Supreme Court decisions test chief justice's moderate approach," and at the New York Times, "Supreme Court Weighs Cases Redefining Legal Equality."

I'll be doing some legal blogging throughout the week. I've been waiting over four years for some kinda resolution on Prop. 8, especially. Weird.

Added, from Twitter:

"Equality" always means whatever liberals say it means. http://t.co/cyx95AE7GY @jamestaranto @instapundit

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) June 24, 2013

Lee Stranahan Rips Glenn Greenwald — And His Sycophants on Left and Right

On Twitter today:

"I don't want to live in a country where you're spied on all the time" said the guy who fled to Russia.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

I hope we use the PRISM program to track Snowden down.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Conservatives have been manipulated into defending Snowden. Now he's on a world tour giving away America's state secrets. Not. Good.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

ICYMI MUST READ : Bush Official Defends Obama on NSA Scandal http://t.co/NMwncbyXno via @BreitbartNews

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Some conservatives better man up on the NSA thing quickly and admit they got played. They let hatred of Obama cause them to lose judgment.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Because the real NSA scandal is turning into how many conservatives have been supporting or distracting from Snowden's acts.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

@AmPowerBlog But you know what I'm talking about...

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

If you hate America and love the idea of it being at risk, Snowden is your guy. So is Greenwald. If you don't hate America, you bet wrong.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Snowden is no friend to the U.S. Constitution. Full. Stop. If believe that and you're conservative, you've been played. Wake up.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

If you're a radical lefist or libertarian anti-war type, I totally understand why you idolize or excuse Snowden and Greenwald. Carry on.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Should be pointed out : Greenwald's bullying has put off many liberals for years now; but his bullying works. People afraid to speck up.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

So Greenwald took advantages of liberals afraid to challenge him and conservatives in full Obama scandal mode for this timing on this.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Even Time's Joe Klein has been forced to back down from his harsh (and accurate) 2009 criticism of Greenwald to lame tame critique

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

And when conservatives say "I don't care about Snowden's motivation' you sound JUST LIKE ends-justify-the-means leftists. Stop it or switch.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Oh, wait -- maybe ignoring Snowden is part of some sort of conservative outreach to traitors. Get Sen. Rubio on the phone!

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

There is no NSA scandal. This is what happens when you follow the 'News Cycle'; a cycle driven by the left. Wake up, conservative media.

— Lee Stranahan (@Stranahan) June 23, 2013

Rule 5 Sunday

I'm watching baseball all day. Lots of blogging throughout the day.


Meanwhile, here's some babe blogging, via Wirecutter.

And at Pirate's Cove, "If All You See……is a super awesome non-fossil fueled bike, you might just be a Warmist." And the Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup is not loading for me, so just click on the homepage for the goodness.

Also, at Pitsnipes and Gripes, "Tiffani Amber Thiessen." Plus the Right Way has "Friday Babe."

And at Blackmailers Don't Shoot, "Pretty Girls on a Thursday, Booth Babes Edition."

And at Drunken Stepfather, "CHRISSY TEIGAN IS NUDE IN GQ OF THE DAY."

From Animal Magnetism, "Animal’s Rule Five News." And at Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 Saturday: Miriam Gonzalez."

More at Proof Positive, "See, "Best of the Web* Linkaround," and "Friday Night Babe – Odette Annable!"

Now at 90 Miles From Tyranny, "Marilyn Monroe - In Pictures," and "Morning Mistress."

Soylent Green has hot "OverNighty: Rebecca," and "Afternooner Twofer."

Plus, at Dana Pico's, "Rule 5 Blogging: Mostly Marines."

At Egotastic!, "Lais Ribeiro Bikini Pictures Drop So Much Sexy in Miami, the Ground Shakes."

Also from EBL, "Paula Deen Nude Rule 5 Insane Democrat Edition."

And from the source of our tribulations, "Rule 5 Sunday: Father’s Day."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

And see Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – All Ears." More at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Night Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

With Newsmen Like You, 'Who Needs Government to Criminalize Reporting?'

That's Glenn Greenwald tearing into David Gregory on "Meet the Press" this morning.

See, "Glenn Greenwald DESTROYS David Gregory."

And on Twitter:

Who needs the government to try to criminalize journalism when you have David Gregory to do it?

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 23, 2013

I have never seen a "journalist" be so anti-journalism as @davidgregory interviewing @ggreenwald on Meet the Press.

— Judy Berman (@judyberman) June 23, 2013

David Gregory asks journalist @ggreenwald if he's a criminal for doing journalism: http://t.co/GHTDc2hUjD

— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) June 23, 2013

.@DavidGregory Not sure you should be suggesting criminal charges for a journalist. http://t.co/AkOIvnVkry #irony http://t.co/nJeSwPMYf2

— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) June 23, 2013

Has David Gregory ever publicly wondered if powerful DC officials should be prosecuted for things like illegal spying & lying to Congress?

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 23, 2013

Edward Snowden Seeks Asylum in Ecuador

At the Guardian UK, "Edward Snowden asks for asylum in Ecuador: live updates."

I'll have more...

Alan Chambers, Former President of Exodus International, Admits 'Same-Sex Attraction'

This is one extremely confused man.

And admitting same-sex attraction? So what. What guy hasn't thought for a moment he was attracted to another guy? Turning that into some kind of big political statement is essentially meaningless. Frankly, the dude's "pray away the gay" ministry just couldn't keep up with the changing leftist culture, and he through in the towel. What a loser.

At LAT, "Exodus leader admits 'same-sex attraction,' urges talks with gays."

And the dude says he has an amazing relationship with his wife. Well, you'd better hope so. Wouldn't want to be bonking some bathhouse brothers on the side. Idiots.

Edward Snowden Flees Hong Kong

He's got a one-way ticket to Moscow.

At the New York Times, "N.S.A. Leaker Leaves Hong Kong on Flight to Moscow":

While waiting for Snowden to touch down in Moscow, read this if you want to know why he has to flee the US http://t.co/YuTVMapbBk
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 23, 2013

FLASH: WikiLeaks has assisted Mr. Snowden's political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers ans safe exit from Hong Kong. More soon.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 23, 2013

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government announced on Sunday afternoon that it had allowed the departure from its territory of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has acknowledged disclosing classified documents about United States government surveillance of Internet and telephone communications around the world.

The government statement said that Hong Kong had informed the United States of Mr. Snowden’s departure.

A Moscow-based reservations agent at Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, said that Mr. Snowden was aboard flight SU213 to Moscow, with a scheduled arrival there a little after 5 p.m. Moscow time. The reservations agent said that Mr. Snowden was traveling on a one-way ticket to Moscow.

Mr. Snowden's final destination could not be determined. The ticket out of Hong Kong did not appear to include a destination beyond Moscow, the Aeroflot agent said, while cautioning that Mr. Snowden might have a separate reservation or ticket. Mr. Snowden is traveling with one other person, with the surname Harrison, but the agent declined to release the other traveler’s first name, saying that she did not have the authorization to do so. The Hong Kong Bar Association Web site does not list any lawyers with the family name Harrison.

His departure is a setback for the United States, which had been pressing Hong Kong to surrender him to American law enforcement officials. The Hong Kong government said on Sunday, in its first detailed statement about Mr. Snowden, that the United States had made a legal request for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr. Snowden, but that the Hong Kong government had concluded that the request “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.”

The statement said that Hong Kong had requested more information from the United States but had not received it. Because the government “has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong,” the statement said.

This is huge, an epic slap in the face to the Unites States government, who reportedly put heavy pressure on Hong Kong to relinquish Snowden. Expect updates.

More: Memeorandum is a little slow today, but some links are starting to show up.

Clint Eastwood Continues to Make Great Films

And Robert DeNiro doesn't, according to Betsy Sharkey, at the Los Angeles Times, "Brad Pitt is a model for aging actors":

So what is to be done as the years tick by?

For the bible on how to do it right, there is no place else to start but with Clint Eastwood, who at 83 is turning out to be the best closer in Hollywood history. He keeps making great movies — directing, starring and collecting awards. A screen version of "Jersey Boys" is rumored, so apparently Eastwood's ambition — and energy — isn't dimming.

Robert Redford is another. He hasn't had Eastwood's consistent success behind the camera since the Oscar for his 1980 directing debut, "Ordinary People." But like his brilliant "Quiz Show" in 1994, the actor-director commits to projects he loves and stories he believes are important to tell. Not a Focker in the bunch. About to turn 77, his acting is getting a serious second wind too in J.C. Chandor's new film, "All Is Lost." The role was a risk, Redford goes solo, alone in a boat with nothing but his intellect and the elements. The camera — notably — in someone else's hands.

Whether by choice or circumstance, Warren Beatty, 76, hasn't starred in a film since the 2001 bomb "Town & Country." It may be nothing more than adopting the Jack Nicholson approach — leave the work behind and spend the days playing elder statesman. After a series of great performances, "About Schmidt" in 2002 when he was 65 and 2006's "The Departed" when he was 69, the 76-year-old Nicholson has drifted into the forgettable.

For Michael Douglas, 68, the right role was on television. His recent glittery turn as Liberace in "Behind the Candelabra" was his best performance in years. It's not so much TV but surprising us. Tom Hanks, most memorable in the last 15 years for giving voice to "Toy Story's" Woody, tried out Broadway this year — "Lucky Guy" got him a Tony nod. Bill Murray completely changed his acting persona at 53 with "Lost in Translation." Suddenly the funny goof was introspective, edgy in a new way.

But that sort of sea change is rare. Douglas is up next in "Last Vegas," an old-boys buddy comedy with Robert De Niro, 69, and Morgan Freeman, 76. Are old guy buddy comedies becoming Hollywood's version of retirement living? Nicholson had a room with a view alongside Freeman in 2007's "The Bucket List." Last year, Al Pacino, 73, Alan Arkin, 79, and Christopher Walken, 70, got together as aging mobsters for "Stand Up Guys."

Sadly, the book on what not to do is being written by De Niro. One of our greatest working actors has lost himself in crummy, mindless comedy. I honestly believe the Oscar nod for "Silver Linings Playbook's" crusty dad was a part of the academy's positive reinforcement program so he wouldn't do another Fockers film. Because if you look closely, the distance between the dads is mostly the pedigree of the movie.

RTWT for the discussion of Brad Pitt.

I watched "Trouble With the Curve" yesterday, an enjoyable film, if not all out excellent.

Either way, Clint Eastwood has aged well in the movies.

Netroots Nation 2013 Obsessed With Michelle Malkin #NN13

Wow, just saw the buzz on Twitter.

See Twitchy, "Netroots Nation struggles to counter ‘Michelle Malkin effect’."

Well, it seems like NetrootsNation invokes @michellemalkin at every panel event I attend #nn13 @watchdogorg

— Tori Richards (@NewsWriter2) June 22, 2013

Hooters Girls of Orange County

Some nice ladies:

And some West Coast Hooters here, "2013 Girls of the Month."

Pilot and Wing Walker Dead in Ohio Air Show Crash

At the Columbus Dispatch, "Two die in plane crash at air show near Dayton."

Graphic footage, with moment of impact, here: "Horrific Plane Crash Dayton Air Show."

Monkey Attacks Texas Cop During Traffic Stop

Protective little guy.

At Death and Taxes, "Carnival monkey bites police officer during routine traffic stop."

Sarah Palin With Eric Bolling on Fox News

I'm really glad she's back at the network.

Netroots Exploits Emerging Technologies to Block the 'Corporate-Funded, Right-Wing Assault' on Americans

From Francesca Chambers, at Red Alert Politics, "Lefty activists at Netroots concede the Right is killing it on Twitter."

The photo's of a woman attending the panel on "Fighting Together to Block the Right-Wing Agenda":

Labor unions, women’s rights organizations, environmental watchdogs, voting rights groups and activists across the progressive movement must work together to withstand the corporate-funded, right-wing assault on all of our rights.

Sounds like a plan.

Here's Glenn Greenwald on the Espionage Charges Against Edward Snowden

As always, readers should know that few people can out anti-American Glenn Greenwald's anti-Americanism. I just love his tenacity for beating back against the bear, and right now, Barack Obama is the biggest bear in the woods.

See, "On the Espionage Act charges against Edward Snowden." (At Mediagazer.)

For a politician who tried to convince Americans to elect him based on repeated pledges of unprecedented transparency and specific vows to protect "noble" and "patriotic" whistleblowers, is this unparalleled assault on those who enable investigative journalism remotely defensible? Recall that the New Yorker's Jane Mayer said recently that this oppressive climate created by the Obama presidency has brought investigative journalism to a "standstill", while James Goodale, the General Counsel for the New York Times during its battles with the Nixon administration, wrote last month in that paper that "President Obama will surely pass President Richard Nixon as the worst president ever on issues of national security and press freedom." Read what Mayer and Goodale wrote and ask yourself: is the Obama administration's threat to the news-gathering process not a serious crisis at this point?

Few people - likely including Snowden himself - would contest that his actions constitute some sort of breach of the law. He made his choice based on basic theories of civil disobedience: that those who control the law have become corrupt, that the law in this case (by concealing the actions of government officials in building this massive spying apparatus in secret) is a tool of injustice, and that he felt compelled to act in violation of it in order to expose these official bad acts and enable debate and reform.

But that's a far cry from charging Snowden, who just turned 30 yesterday, with multiple felonies under the Espionage Act that will send him to prison for decades if not life upon conviction. In what conceivable sense are Snowden's actions "espionage"? He could have - but chose not - sold the information he had to a foreign intelligence service for vast sums of money, or covertly passed it to one of America's enemies, or worked at the direction of a foreign government. That is espionage. He did none of those things.

What he did instead was give up his life of career stability and economic prosperity, living with his long-time girlfriend in Hawaii, in order to inform his fellow citizens (both in America and around the world) of what the US government and its allies are doing to them and their privacy. He did that by very carefully selecting which documents he thought should be disclosed and concealed, then gave them to a newspaper with a team of editors and journalists and repeatedly insisted that journalistic judgments be exercised about which of those documents should be published in the public interest and which should be withheld.

That's what every single whistleblower and source for investigative journalism, in every case, does - by definition. In what conceivable sense does that merit felony charges under the Espionage Act?

That post is chock full of other interesting links, but you'll have to RTWT, and take your time perusing through them.

Greenwald's sounding the tocsin on this administration. Whether he's right about the gravity of danger to American liberty remains to be seen.

Corker #Amnesty Amendment Gives Secretary of Homeland Security Power to Waive Deportation of Illegal Aliens

William Jacboson has been doing some homework on the Senate's immigration bill. This is interesting, to say the least, "Loophole in Gang of 8 bill gives Napolitano wide discretion to allow almost anyone to stay in U.S."

And see Twitchy, "‘Child abusers get amnesty’: Sen. Vitter reads 1,170-page amendment to find out what’s in it."

Americans Worked Less, Watched More TV in 2012

Shoot, I blogged a lot in 2012. But I'm watching more TV this year.

But check WSJ:

With the economy struggling to find its footing, Americans spent less time at work last year and found more time for leisure activities such as watching television, a new government survey finds.

The average American aged 15 or older spent three hours, 32 minutes a day doing work-related activities last year, according to the American Time Use Survey released by the Labor Department on Thursday. That is down from 2011, when time spent on work jumped from three hours and 30 minutes to three hours and 34 minutes. While such changes may not seem big, average yearly changes in time spent on different activities tend to be small, and even minor changes are significant.

The survey, which has been conducted annually since 2003 and includes both employed and unemployed persons, suggests America's sluggish recovery continues to hamper workers. While the U.S. unemployment rate fell last year from 8.3% to 7.8%—it is now at 7.6%—other trends are likely holding down average hours spent at work. The number of part-time workers was higher in 2012 than the year before, for example.

"The recovery has basically been a recovery for a tiny fraction of the population," said Geoffrey Godbey, professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of "Time For Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time." "What you're seeing is people who might want more work but aren't getting it," he said.

Meanwhile, the share of the population working or looking for a job dropped to 63.6% at the end of last year, compared with 64% in December 2011. That number, known as the labor force participation rate, has been falling as a result of a combination of discouraged workers dropping out of the workforce and baby boomers retiring.

The aging of America's population means fewer people are working and more retirees are at home watching TV, Mr. Godbey said. At the same time, women have become a larger share of America's labor force, but tend to work fewer hours than men do. And there's a growing informal economy, he said, that might not be captured by government surveys.

I'd work more if I could.

Watching television's nice though, and blogging, so what the heck?

More at the link.

Death of Christine Calderon Recalls Hollywood's Crime-Ridden Past

I'm not up there often, but I noticed that things were much cleaner and more upscale when I was covering some of the protests up there about three years ago or so.

But this piece at LAT puts the recent murder of Christine Calderon by homeless scum in perspective.

See, "Fatal stabbing a reminder of gussied-up Tinseltown's darker past":

The death of Christine Calderon left the Hollywood tourist district stunned and on Friday prompted Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti to call for increased patrols, including by horse-mounted units.

We "don't want to lose any of the ground that's been gained in Hollywood," Beck said. "What we don't want is for this tragedy to go unrecognized."

Hollywood's transformation over the last decade or so has been dramatic. The once-glamorous district had been in steep decline for decades, bottoming out in the 1990s when crime reached new highs and many of the old theaters that once dominated the boulevard closed down.

The Hollywood & Highland complex where Calderon was found stabbed — an imposing shopping center that includes the theater where the Oscars take place each year — was the first of several mega-developments that transformed the area. The most recent is the luxury W Hotel development at the iconic corner of Hollywood and Vine.

These days, tourists dominate during the day. After the sun sets, Hollywood's nightclub scene kicks into high gear.

Few argue with how much Hollywood has changed. But those who live and work in the area said there are gritty remnants, with a sizable homeless population and plenty of opportunities for petty crime.


Despite its makeover, crime remains a daily occurrence in Hollywood, according to a Times analysis. Recent weeks show no unusual increases, but thefts are common in high-traffic areas and more than 300 major violent crimes were reported in the neighborhood over the last six months.

Adjusted for population, its violent crime rate ranked 30th and its property crime rate 33rd among more than 200 neighborhoods policed by the LAPD or the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

"You get some of everything here," said Dylan Watson, assistant manager of the American Eagle store at Hollywood & Highland. "Nothing is really surprising."

It's not uncommon, he said, for someone to approach him during a smoke break outside of the store and ask for cigarettes. If he refuses, he said, the response is often aggression.

"They always seem like they want to fight," he said. "Some of them are clearly crazy."

The First Music Video Shot Atop the Empire State Building

Well, the lines were down the block when I tried to go up there with my kid in 2007, so no surprise no bands have been able to get up there.

Just kidding.

Anyway, at the New York Times, "Video: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Perform Atop Empire State Building":

In its 82-year history, the top of the Empire State Building has been the site of countless family outings, marriage proposals and, of course, one very memorable date gone awry. But as near as we can tell, it had never been the site of an indie rock performance, not a preapproved one anyway.

Then one windy night in April, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the New York trio led by the glittering dervish singer Karen O, positioned themselves on the observation deck 86 floors up. Brian Chase had his drum kit, Nick Zinner his guitar. From 2 a.m. until just past sunrise, they performed one of their latest songs, as a crew of just two dozen watched.

The group was recording the video for “Despair,” the second single off their new album, “Mosquito.” For logistical and creative reasons, the shoot was a well-kept secret. It began with a sort of cinematic preparty in a nearby Irish pub and ended with a helicopter buzzing the skyline. A clip is above; the full video will premiere on Monday on Noisey, Vice.com’s online music channel.

It’s the first music video shot atop the Empire State Building. And to hear Anthony E. Malkin, the president of Malkin Holdings, operator of the Empire State Building, tell it, it’s about time. “The way I look at it is, why hadn’t this been done before?” he said. “Credit to them for having the gumption to ask.”

More at the link.

L.A. Times Pooh-Poohs Border Security

See, "Border Surge Proposal Has Many Skeptics":

BISBEE, Ariz. — When George Joyal saw a group of people who appeared to have crossed the border illegally sneak by his land recently, his first call was to the Border Patrol.

Joyal, 67, a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, gave the agent his location, then hurried outside with the cellphone to his backyard and made himself visible to a border surveillance camera perched atop a tower half a mile away.

"I see you," the agent said.

Moments later, Border Patrol agents zoomed up in a cloud of dust to detain the group. Joyal said there's no need for Congress to spend billions beefing up border patrol.

"I don't see that as giving us more security," Joyal says. "It's impossible to be 100% secure. Just how safe are you going to get and at what price?"

The Senate appears ready to approve immigration legislation next week providing a $30-billion boost in security along the U.S.-Mexico border, doubling the number of Border Patrol agents, but some experts and border residents like Joyal are skeptical that the buildup would pay off — even those who supported similar surges in the past.

The Border Patrol already has more than 20,000 agents. Last fiscal year, border-related agencies received about $18 billion in funding — more than the FBI, Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives combined.

In Arizona, the federal government has spent billions fortifying the border with fencing, drones and more than 5,100 Border Patrol staff. It has paid off, with border apprehensions all along the border down to an all-time low of 356,873 last year, compared with 1.6 million in 2000.

Joyal said federal authorities needed to better manage staff they already had by moving agents from northern checkpoints closer to the border and relying less on fencing.

"We don't need more people," he said. "We need the proper employment of resources."

Bisbee Mayor Adriana Zavala Badal says most people in town think there are already too many border agents.

"You feel like you're always being looked at and watched. It's a nuisance," she said.

She still can't get used to the Border Patrol helicopters that hover overhead.

"You feel like you're in a war zone. It's noisy," she said, and "that's just with one helicopter."

Well, hey, they keep coming.

At the video, a secret camera shows drug smugglers coming over the border, although that $4.8 million figure sounds a little astronomical.

The border's not secure.

This is all pro-amnesty baloney. Even the Wall Street Journal's got the fever. See, "The Border Security Ruse."

Kim Kardashian Gives Birth in Designer Heels?

Crazy.

At Gossip Cop, "CLAIM: Kim Kardashian Gave Birth in Heels and Full Makeup, Now Getting Tummy Tuck":

Kim Kardashian appears on the cover of Star this week, with the tabloid lazily portraying her as a “Delivery Room DIVA!” because it doesn’t have any actual details about the reality TV queen giving birth last weekend.

The magazine, most recently seen embarrassing itself with a 100 percent FALSE story about Kanye West cheating on Kardashian with a model, now pretends to have insight into her “outrageous antics” during and after the arrival of her baby daughter.

Motorcycle Couriers Catch Falling 2-Year-Old in China

At London's Daily Mail, "Heart-stopping moment 2-year-old Chinese girl falls from a fifth-floor window and is caught by passers-by."

Bruce Springsteen Dedicates 'Born to Run' to James Gandolfini

At LAT:

Actor James Gandolfini had long been a big fan of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and the feeling was mutual, in particular for guitarist Steve Van Zandt, who worked closely with Gandolfini on “The Sopranos” in his role as mob lieutenant Silvio Dante.

So it was no surprise when Springsteen, Van Zandt and company played “Born to Run” Thursday night at their concert in Coventry, England, and dedicated it to Gandolfini, who died Wednesday of a heart attack at age 51 while vacationing in Rome.

Not just the song, but the entire album, which the E Streeters played in its entirety in the middle of their three-hour show.

More at the link.

The clip's apparently from last month.

Gandolfini Fat-Shaming

Hey, he was a big man who died young.

I can see where people are coming from, but see Althouse, "Gandolfini’s death prompts rampant fat-shaming'."

Chicago's 'Gaystapo' Bullies Attack the Catholic Church

At HillBuzz, "How the Left Uses Gays to Dismantle, Undermine, and Toxify the Catholic Church…the Gaystapo in Action in Chicago!"

PREVIOUSLY: "Government Redefinition of Marriage is Not Inevitable."

Prosecutors Charge Edward Snowden With Violations of Espionage Act and Theft of Government Property

At the Guardian UK, "US files criminal charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden."

And see Mandy Nagy, at Legal Insurrection, "NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Charged with Espionage and Other Offenses — Updated: Complaint Added."

The United States of America No Longer Exists

From Diana West, "No Constitution, No Borders, No USA":

At what point does it become clear that we no longer inhabit America?

When we “Press 2,” not “1,” for English?

When a national Social Security Number syncs an electronic identity that the government hospital provided us at birth to track us till death?

When borders are no more, but the Surveillance State always knows where we are?

Ours is the age of dislocation before realization: The United States of America no longer exists. Why? How? The answer is simple, tragic and outrageous: Government officials, elected and unelected, with precious exceptions, no longer preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Instead, they do whatever it takes to beat it, flout it and ignore it. Worse, We, the People, let them.

This can’t go on. Otherwise our-country-’tis-of-thee becomes a melody to be forgotten, a mirage of a tradition more storybook than real every day. Nowhere is this more the case, of course, than in Washington, D.C., where absolute unaccountability corrupts absolutely, where echoing down the cool, white marble halls of power, hollow men and women trample sovereignty and citizenship in a pathway to American betrayal. And I haven’t even gotten to Congress, busy “reforming” the illegal-alien crisis they antiseptically refer to as “immigration,” while considering passage of a $940 billion “farm bill,” 80 percent of which will fund food stamps. These two laws alone can institutionalize the lawlessness of the land and make countless more Americans wards of the state.

Meanwhile, there is in Washington a faceless power-mongery that lives and works in the shadows. City by city, rural state by rural state, its mechanisms of “immigration,” “refugee resettlement” and socialist government programs overwhelm a near-impotent citizenry with alien cultures, religions, languages and traditions.

There is no “melting pot” out there, nor is there even residual belief in one – particularly not on the part of the State. Most of our new peoples will never embrace American constitutional virtues en masse to perpetuate them because their own sponsor, their own lifeline, is the mega-state that brought them here and supports them.

Wow.

Continue reading.

HAT TIP: Blazing Cat Fur.

'Know Your Place and Shut Your Mouth...' — Radio Show Host Bill Cunningham Erupts at Democrat Analyst Tamara Holder

Here's this morning's panel with Martha McCallum discussing last night's Sean Hannity segment with a finger-pointing Bill Cunningham attacking Tamara Holder:

And see the Blaze, "‘KNOW YOUR ROLE AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH’: HANNITY SEGMENT DEVOLVES INTO FINGER-POINTING, NAME-CALLING SCHOOLYARD FIGHT."

Paula Deen's Abject, Groveling YouTube Apology

I posted on this yesterday: "Face of Southern Cooking is a Southern Cracker? Paula Deen Admits to Using Racial Slur."

And she's apologizing for comments she admitted she'd made in a deposition, over 10 years ago. Oh boy, paying the progressives' price now.

And at CNN, "Paula Deen asks for forgiveness; Food Network won't renew her contract at the end of the month."

And at Twitchy, "Report: Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract," and "How original: Twerps suggest Fox News hire Paula Deen because racism."

Added: At the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Paula Deen's YouTube apology: 'I beg for your forgiveness'," and at BuzzFeed, "Here’s the first apology Paula Deen posted on Friday..."

Earlier in the day, the butter-lovin’ star cancelled an appearance on Today, then tweeted that a “video statement” was coming.

More than three hours later, the above video was posted to an unofficial Deen YouTube account. It toggled between public and private for an hour before it was completely removed, replaced by a longer version.

More on Twitter:

Paula Deen SACKED from Food Network hours after she makes groveling apology & begs the public for forgiveness http://t.co/tJqm6zk4vj #tcot

— slone (@slone) June 21, 2013

Sexy Lucy Pinder Slideshow at Nuts

She the "best-loved lady" at the magazine.

On Twitter, "PHWOAR! The Queen of Nuts herself Lucy Pinder."

PREVIOUSLY: "Lucy Pinder for Loaded Magazine April 2013."

Plus, "Some Overdue Lucy Pinder Rule 5."

And, "Lucy Pinder's Floating Breasts."

BONUS: "Bodacious Brunette Goodness."

Bodaciously bodacious!

Homosexual Rights Activist Calls for Final Solution to the Christian Problem

Boy, this person is an excellent poster ghoul for the regressive-left's homosexual agenda. Here's the Twitter feed for QueerSpring2013.

From Jeanette Victoria on Twitter.

The Democrat homosexual rights agenda in a nutshell.

UPDATE: At the Other McCain, "The Eliminationist Rhetoric of @QueerSpring2013, Twitter Psychopath."

You gotta love it!

Schumer-Rubio Immigration Reform Would 'Surrender to Illegality...'

Here's Senator Jeff Sessions slamming the Schumer-Rubio shamnesty legislation:

Check my amnesty tag for all the latest on this.

Marco Rubio: 'Legalization First...'

And he campaigned as a staunch border security conservative.

Ouch.

PREVIOUSLY: "Legalization Will Come Before Border Security."

CAIR-Washington's Omar Abdelbadie Arrested for Raping Twelve-Year-Old Girl

Hmm, a radical Muslim child rapist pervert.

But hey, NO SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS!

R.S. McCain reports, "Stereotype: Neurobiology Majors Just Can’t Resist Those Sexy Seventh-Graders."

Also at Atlas Shrugs, "CAIR-WASHINGTON'S OMAR ABDELBADIE ARRESTED FOR CHILD RAPE, CLAIMS THE 12-YEAR-OLD WAS DRESSED 'PROVOCATIVELY'":

There are many, many cases all the time of sexual predators taking advantage of underage girls. This one, however, has two elements that show traces of the effects that Islamic supremacism can have on a human mind. Abdelbadie claims that this 12-year-old girl "seduced" him -- an idea that might occur easily to someone who, following Muhammad's example, sees girls as young as nine as sex objects. Also, he claims she was dressed "provocatively." Many Muslim clerics have justified sexual abuse of women by saying that they brought it on themselves with their immodest dress. If they had covered up, nothing would have happened. Muslim men in Islamic cultures have no obligation to control themselves. Women have to make sure they don't get attacked by not "provoking" the men. This little girl was a victim of that mentality.

Islamic freaks.

Marriage Solidarity Statement

It's from the Liberty Counsel political action committee, seen at this press release, "Christian Clergy, Pastors, Leaders, Sign Statement in Solidarity to Defend Marriage." (Via Memeorandum.)

See, "We Stand in Solidarity to Defend Marriage and the Family and Society Founded Upon Them."

22 Excellent Reasons to Drink More Whiskey

A quick diversion from immigration, at BuzzFeed "As If You Needed Any..." (Via Instapundit.)

That's Famous Grouse, seen at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa.

Corker-Hoeven Border Amendment 'Not a Serious Public-Policy Proposal...'

Here's the background to the amendment, at the Hill, "Senate immigration bill gets major boost with border security agreement":

The Corker-Hoeven amendment would double the number of border patrol agents from 20,000 to 40,000 and authorize the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the southern border, twice as much as authorized in the base bill.

Well, it's a sham, at total smokescreen for Republicans to vote for amnesty.

Here's William Kristol from yesterday's Special Report All Stars on Fox:

Legalization Will Come Before Border Security

At the video, Charles Schumer confesses that border security takes a backseat to legalization in the Schumer-Rubio immigration clusterf-k:

Also at Townhall, "Senate Kills Cornyn Amendment, New "Breakthrough" Touted by Schumer, Rubio":

Remember the Cornyn Amendment? That would be Sen. John Cornyn's (R-TX) bare bones border security package that was supposedly the big "breakthrough" a few weeks ago. As you may recall, it offered some genuinely welcome improvements over the 'Gang of Eight' legislation, but kept the basic sequencing intact: Provisional legalization first, then a number of hard security triggers (certified by both DHS and GAO), followed finally by round two (green cards, etc) of legalization. Very tepid stuff -- but a bridge too far for Senate Democrats and certain Republicans, evidently. The upper chamber voted to table -- ie, kill -- Cornyn's plan yesterday, and it wasn't especially close...

Plus, from M. Stanton Evans, "IMMIGRATION SCo at Townhall, "Senate Kills Cornyn Amendment, New "Breakthrough" Touted by Schumer, Rubio":

... even if border security could somehow be established, that wouldn’t remedy the countless defects of the legislation. It is shot through with provisos that would swell the number of aliens on a “path to citizenship” to three or four times the 11 million illegals now in the country (if that is in fact the true number) . Most obvious of these are “chain immigration” aspects that will bring in and legalize the spouses and children of illegals, but there are many others of like nature.

One such is a “blue card” (temporary, eight-year) work visa, which might not be a problem in itself, but links to other features. Once here, these workers could qualify for “provisional” immigrant status, just like the illegals, and thus get on the citizenship pathway also. Further, if a future illegal gets apprehended, he can escape removal by requesting “blue card” status for up to two and a half years after the rule is final. Thus, hesto-presto, would future illegals be made legal.

The bill is otherwise riddled with clauses that would help illegals avoid removal, get into the country to begin with, seek “provisional” status, apply for naturalization, ask stays of judgment, and game the system in general. One of the words appearing most often in the bill is “waiver,” closely followed by “appeals” “stays,” “reviews” and “exceptions” : A thicket of legalisms that could and undoubtedly would be used to thwart enforcement.

Boy, we're really cracking down on immigration!

'Rubio-Free' Senate

Boy, Coulter really wanted to talk about immigration!

Here's a write-up, at Politico, "Ann Coulter waits for ‘Rubio-free’ Senate."

PREVIOUSLY: "Marco Rubio Interview With Dana Bash on CNN Yesterday."

Marco Rubio Interview With Dana Bash on CNN Yesterday

I was never one to get on the Rubio bandwagon. And he is reviled now among conservatives on Twitter. I watched this yesterday and he just looks like the most pathetic weasel.

More at Legal Insurrection, "Moving to final stages of Senate #amnesty push."

And see Mark Krikorian, "CBO: Schumer-Rubio Bill Will Be a Failure," and "Mass Immigration Crowd Achieves Self-Parody."

I'll have more on immigration throughout the day...

Amputee Veteran Alex Minska Becomes Hot Dude Underwear Model

I was watching this the other morning on GMA, "Wounded U.S. Marine Now an Underwear Model, Hopes to Inspire Amputees - Alex Minska Interview."

And see Red Alert Politics, "Amputee vet Alex Minsky returns from war, becomes underwear model":

Alex Minsky isn’t your average underwear model.

A former Marine, Minsky lost part of his right leg to a roadside bomb while fighting in Afghanistan in 2009. The explosion left the now 24-year-old decorated veteran in a coma for 47 days as he recovered from traumatic brain injuries and severe burns sustained in the bombing.

But this Purple Heart recipient would quickly prove that his amputation didn’t have to be a handicap.

When Minsky first returned home after the accident, he became depressed and, like many other vets returning from combat, ultimately turned to alcohol to manage his pain.

“I was down,” Minsky told ABC News. “I was numb and I was running away from everything…especially myself, my own head.”

But the war hero quickly decided he didn’t want to live his life this way and started pumping iron again as a healthy outlet for his frustration.

“I didn’t want to run anymore,” Minsky said. “I wanted to face my problems instead.”

Continue reading.

Liz Cheney Slams Obama's 'I'm No Dick Cheney' Idiocy

Awesome.

Background at Flopping Aces.

I hope she runs for Congress.

A Shouting Ingraham Destroys O’Reilly After His Uninformed, Laughable Endorsement of Senate Immigration Bill

That's Pat Dollard's headline.

And at the Washington Post, "Border deal greatly improves chances for immigration bill":

Prospects for the contentious immigration bill that has been working its way through the Senate for months vastly improved Thursday after senators agreed to spend several billion more dollars to fortify the U.S.-Mexico border.

The agreement calls for doubling the number of federal border agents at a cost of about $30 billion, the completion of 700 miles of fencing, and expanded radar and aerial drone surveillance at a time when the domestic use of unmanned aircraft is the subject of an acrimonious national debate.

The deal is expected to secure at least a dozen more Republican “yes” votes for the measure and could help ensure its passage by the sizable margin that proponents have said they need to make it viable in the House.

However, supporters say the chances of immigration legislation advancing in the GOP-controlled House remain a source of concern, and that concern has shaped the Senate negotiations from the outset.

Supporters have insisted that approval by a significant bipartisan majority of senators would politically compel House Republicans to vote on the Senate bill even as its members debate more limited and conservative proposals. But that is an untested proposition, and Thursday’s failure in the House of a federal farm bill, after the Senate passed its version 66-27 last week, only deepened the concerns.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) sought Thursday to tamp down expectations about immigration, saying that “regardless of what the Senate does, the House is going to work its will.”

Still, there was optimism in the Senate on Thursday following the announcement of the border security agreement. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the overall bill “is gaining Republican support” and that the new agreement “will be very helpful.”

Continue reading.

John McAfee Spoofs McAfee Antivirus

Trippy.

At Guardian UK, "John McAfee's tips for un-installing McAfee software":

Tech entrepreneur McAfee releases spoof – and NSFW – video and mocks firm which made him rich and famous.

Joe Manchin Hits Back at NRA

A great post at This Ain't Hell..., "Manchin; I come to bury him":

Sorry, Joe, but I won’t vote for you again if you are in the pockets of the northeastern liberals who have destroyed that part of the country with their “beware the boogeymen” legislation. I came to West Virginia to get away from those effete pricks.

More at Memeorandum.

Michelle Malkin Slams 'Source Chilling' Obama White House on Fox & Friends

Michelle continued her D.C. media appearances on Fox News yesterday:

Insperity's 'We Are Ready' TV Commercial

Saw this during yesterday afternoon's Fox News Special Report.

Watch  it here.

More on Yesterday's Federal Reserve Fallout

At WSJ, "Turmoil Exposes Global Risks":

Worries about China and the Federal Reserve's plans rattled global markets for a second day, sending U.S. stocks to their biggest loss this year and hammering bonds and many commodities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 353.87 points, or 2.34%, to 14758.32, on big volume, marking its first back-to-back decline of 200 points or more since Nov. 1, 2011. Yields on Treasurys hit their highest since August 2011 as bond prices fell.

he turmoil exposed vulnerabilities in the financial markets and the world economy that had been mostly ignored because central banks were willing to ride to the rescue with huge amounts of money.

Investors said Thursday they were buffeted by two distinct forces: worries about the health of China's economy and financial sector, and the prospect that the beginning of the end of the Fed's extraordinary stimulus could reverse the huge rally in assets ranging from "junk" bonds to dividend-paying stocks. Gains in many of those assets had been fueled by ultralow interest rates and expectations that the Fed would continue to pump money into financial markets.

The rout underscored persistent worry about the health of the global economy at a time when the U.S. and Europe are struggling with high unemployment. Adding to the wrenching action is a cash squeeze in China, which is trying to tighten the spigot on credit without causing problems, and a report that financing for cash-strapped Greece could be in danger.

The declines came a day after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank expects to begin to pare its huge bond-buying program later this year and that it could end sometime next year, provided the economy unfolds as the Fed expects. The prospect of the Fed weaning the economy off unusually easy credit at a time when the pace of U.S. economic growth is modest and inflation is below the Fed's target jolted markets around the world.

At the same time, many investors believe the shakeout heralds a shift toward higher interest rates and sustained, healthier U.S. growth, following a long period of superlow rates that helped feed investor funds into higher-yielding investments. Those investments have declined sharply in recent weeks as the market has begun preparing for more-normal rates.

The action showed investors continue to grapple with the impact of an eventual reduction of the Fed's $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. U.S. bonds and stocks have broadly risen this year, with few sizable declines until the past month.

The main thing is that the investors and speculators expect interest rates to go up, and that could destabilize markets in all kinds of housing and mortgage-related sectors.

More at the link.

PREVIOUSLY: "Dow Jones Tanks."

'Maybe' John Boehner Will Lose His Job Over Immigration Reform

Well, there's certainly some hopes for that among tea party conservatives unhappy with establishment Republicans, so we'll see. But listening to Boehner at this clip it appears the Speaker's got a good handle on the politics of immigration reform.

And see Politico, "John Boehner: ‘I get a lot of hatchets’":

Speaker of the House John Boehner is confident he will retain the speakership despite party challenges over immigration.

“I fully expect to be Speaker,” Boehner told CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo on Thursday, according to a transcript released before the interview aired on “Closing Bell.”

“As the Speaker I take a lot of hits, I get a lot of hatchets thrown at my back every day. Listen, it’s — it comes with the territory,” Boehner said, responding to a question about recent challenges to his speakership over immigration.

POLITICO reported on Tuesday that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) called for Boehner to be removed from the speakership if he, as Boehner had suggested he might, pushed the immigration bill through the House without support from the majority of his party. Later that day, Boehner assured members of his party that he would not be violating the so-called “Hastert rule” to pass immigration reform.

Christopher Dorner and Tamerlan Tsarnaev on Mayors Against Illegal Guns Victims' List

At New York Daily News, "California Cop Killer Dorner Included on List of Gun Victims Used by Bloomberg Group."

And at BuzzFeed, "Bloomberg Group Named Christopher Dorner, Other Murder Suspects On List Of Gun Violence “Victims”," and Blazing Cat Fur, "Tamerlan Tsarnaev memorialized at Mayors Against Illegal Guns rally."

Plus, at Twitchy, "Blooming outrageous: Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ list of shooting victims includes ten murder suspects."

They're depraved:

Our moral betters w Bloomberg gun-control group put Tamerlan AND Chris Dorner on their gun violence victims list: http://t.co/jKthmK2JP4

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) June 20, 2013

Dow Jones Tanks

At the Wall Street Journal, "Dow Sinks 353.87":

Stocks fell to their biggest-one day slide of the year as anxiety mounted over the potential for the Federal Reserve to pull back its stimulus efforts. Investors also fretted about a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Worries about the Fed rattled across other markets, with gold dropping and yields on Treasury bonds marching to nearly two-year highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 353.87 points, or 2.3%, to 14758.32, the biggest percentage drop since November 2012 for the blue chips and the largest point drop since November 2011.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 40.74 points, or 2.5%, to 1588.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 78.57 points, or 2.3%, to 3364.63.

Stocks began their decline at the opening bell, extending losses first kicked off after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated Wednesday that the central bank could start winding down its $85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program later this year.

Traders said the selling Thursday was being led by short-term investors such as hedge funds and accelerated when the S&P 500 broke through the 1600 level. Some pointed to a single account selling a large number of futures contracts during the afternoon as fueling the decline. Others pointed to heavier-than-usual volume in exchange-traded funds as reflecting aggressive trading by hedge funds.

"Every fast-money [investor] wants out, and we're not seeing any [longer-term] funds saying 'we're buying this dip,' " said Matthew Cheslock, a trader with brokerage firm Virtu Financial.

Despite the upbeat view for the economy, the prospect of the Fed curtailing the bond-buying efforts that have helped the Dow and S&P 500 hit records this year has sent jitters through the market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, reached 2.419%, its highest since August 2011.

Home builders were slammed over concerns that rising bond yields would translate into higher financing rates for buyers. PulteGroup, PHM -9.10% D.R. Horton DHI -9.09% and Lennar LEN -7.69% slumped. All 10 of the S&P 500's sectors fell more than 2%, and every Dow industrial traded in the red.

Gold was hit hard, as its appeal as a hedge against inflation and currency weakness faded. Gold slid 6.4%, to settle at $1,285.90 a troy ounce, dipping below $1,300 for the first time since September 2010.

Continue reading.

Also at LAT, "Fed's mixed messages roil markets," and Business Week, "Gold Walloped (Along With Pretty Much Everything Else)."

Some Quick Afternoon Rule 5

At Egotastic!, "Sofia Vergara Cleavetastic Red Carpet Performance Brings Hope to Mankind."

And a video from TMZ, "Kate Upton — SUPER TOPLESS ... On a Horse." And, "Kate Upton’s Bustiest Moments."

More later...

About Those 32 Revealing Photos of New York City in the 1970s

Louise Mensch tweets:

Buzzfeed calls these photos of #NYC in the 70s "stunning". I say thank God for Reagan and the Republicans #tcot http://t.co/bsUzanJ5YZ

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) June 20, 2013

Deaf Three-Year-Old Grayson Clamp Hears for First Time

I love this story.

I tweeted it here, here, and here.

Saw it this morning at CBS News, "Deaf boy with auditory brain stem implant stunned after hearing dad for first time."

UPDATE: At NBC News, "Deaf boy, 3, hears father's voice for the first time":

Grayson was born without cochlear nerves, the “bridge” that carries auditory information from the inner ear to the brain. He’s now the among the first children in the U.S. to receive an auditory brainstem implant in a surgery done at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., led by UNC head and neck surgeon Dr. Craig Buchman.

The device is already being used in adults, but is now being tested in children at UNC as part of an FDA-approved trial. It’s similar to a cochlear implant, but instead of sending electrical stimulation to the cochlea, the electrodes are placed on the brainstem itself. Brain surgery is required to implant the device.

"Our hope is, because we're putting it into a young child, that their brain is plastic enough that they'll be able to take the information and run with it," Buchman told NBCNews.com.

Buchman says Grayson was a great candidate for the implant because other than his hearing, he's a healthy kid. Plus, Buchman adds, "he has great parents who were completely committed to the process -- the entire surgical process, the educational process. We really wanted to provide it to a child who had all the potential to do great."

And so far, Grayson really is doing great, his father says.

“Never one time did he show any fear about that new sensation,” says Clamp. He and his wife, Nicole, adopted Grayson in 2010; the couple also has a biological son, Ethan, who is 2. “It was a lot more excitement. And he’s really curious to begin with.” And he’s discovered a new love: music.

“He claps his hands, he bobs his head. At his daycare, they have a stereo, and he loves to run over and turn it on,” Clamp says.

Grayson is now working with a speech therapist, and has started babbling. He also tries to mimic the mouth movements of people when they’re talking to him. But he still has a "massive amount" of work ahead of him, Buchman cautions. "He needs intensive speech therapy -- in his mind, he has to convert this new signal into something he current knows as, basically, signs," Buchman says.

Teen Feminists Face Hate Campaign of Their Own Imagination

No one denies that women face difficulties in modern life, but achieving full equality isn't one of them.

A few anecdotal examples of idiot boys saying mean things and acting like untrained children is not evidence of a "hate campaign" against women.

But see Jinan Younis, at Guardian UK, "What happened when I started a feminist society at school."

Also, from Jill Filipovic, "Serena Williams, like the rest of us, lives in a woman-hating world."

We live in a political and cultural climate that is hostile to women and still toxic for rape victims. Just listen to Rush Limbaugh.

Disagreeing with women is sexism.

Okay. Got it.

Should We Use Airpower to Attack Syria?

I say no, because as noted I don't trust the alternative to Assad.

But Max Boot has an interesting piece up at Commentary, "A Poor Argument Against Syria Intervention":

The argument against this is essentially Realpolitik on steroids: the notion that both Assad and the rebels are bad news and we should just let them fight it out indefinitely, providing only enough aid to fuel the conflict but not enough to allow the rebels to win. That is a deeply amoral argument—it suggests that we should allow thousands more Syrians to be slaughtered every month—and its strategic rationale is, at the very least, questionable. Given the progress Assad is making on the ground, absent more American aid the government could very well win this war—and that in turn would represent a big victory for Iran. Conversely, if Assad were to fall, that would be a big blow for Iran.

Do we have cause to be concerned about what kind of government will take over after Assad’s downfall? Of course. But, as suggested above, our best bet to shape the post-Assad Syria would be to help the moderate rebel factions now. Otherwise the Islamist extremists will be in control should Assad be toppled—and even if he stays in power the extremists might continue to exercise sway over a significant chunk of Syrian territory, as they do today.

Nah.

That was the argument 18 months ago. I think we're going to be helping al Nusra terrorists gain power by intervening.

RELATED: At the Guardian UK, "Syrian war widens Sunni-Shia schism as foreign jihadis join fight for shrines."

And from Barry Rubin, "Brothers in Arms: The Muslim Brotherhood Takes Over the (Sunni) Arab World," and "New Moderates! Syrian Rebels, Iranian President, and the Taliban!"

British Leftists Push to Block Travel Visa for Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer for EDL Rally in Woolwich

The anti-speech thugs are kicking things up in Britain.

At Atlas Shrugs, "Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer to Speak at EDL Rally in Woolwich, Campaigners Call For UK Entry Ban."

Face of Southern Cooking is a Southern Cracker? Paula Deen Admits to Using Racial Slur

At Hollywood Gossip, "Paula Deen Admits Using Racial Slurs, Denies Being Racist":

The 66-year-old Food Network star and restaurant owner was peppered with questions about her racial attitudes and actions in a May 17 deposition.

Lisa Jackson, a former manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House, is suing Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, who own the restaurant.

Jackson claims that she was sexually harassed by Paula Deen and worked in a hostile environment rife with innuendo and rampant n-word use.

A transcript of the deposition shows Deen being asked if she has used racial slurs.

"Yes, of course," Paula replied, although she added: "It's been a very long time."

Asked to give an example, Deen recalled the time she worked as a bank teller in southwest Georgia in the 1980s and was held at gunpoint by a robber.

The gunman was black, Deen told the attorney, and she thought she used the slur when talking about him. "Probably in telling my husband," she said.

Deen said she may have also used racial slurs when recalling conversations between employees at her restaurants, but couldn't recall any specifics.

"But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on," Deen said.

That's not "racist." That's normal. People use off-color language all the time, and she says it was a long time ago. Looks like a disgruntled employee shakedown scam to me.

Damn leftists. Sheesh.

Dash Cam Captures Journalist Michael Hastings' Final Ride

This is kinda freaky, a commentary on today's techno/social media ubiquity. And clearly, Hastings' wasn't fit to be driving at 4:25am. Look at that ball of fire at the end there.

Via R.S. McCain, "Michael Hastings ‘Was Hauling Irish Ass’."

PREVIOUSLY: "Remembering Journalist Michael Hastings."

'World War Z' May Rise From the Dead

Looks pretty cool.

At the Los Angeles Times, "'World War Z' could rise from the dead."

Also at the Verge, "'World War Z' review: Brad Pitt’s zombie thriller is a scary summer surprise: Buckle up and get ready for a ride."

Silicon Valley and #NSA Joined at the Hip

At the New York Times, "Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders":

WASHINGTON — When Max Kelly, the chief security officer for Facebook, left the social media company in 2010, he did not go to Google, Twitter or a similar Silicon Valley concern. Instead the man who was responsible for protecting the personal information of Facebook’s more than one billion users from outside attacks went to work for another giant institution that manages and analyzes large pools of data: the National Security Agency.

Mr. Kelly’s move to the spy agency, which has not previously been reported, underscores the increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the agency and the degree to which they are now in the same business. Both hunt for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions of Americans.

The only difference is that the N.S.A. does it for intelligence, and Silicon Valley does it to make money.

The disclosure of the spy agency’s program called Prism, which is said to collect the e-mails and other Web activity of foreigners using major Internet companies like Google, Yahoo and Facebook, has prompted the companies to deny that the agency has direct access to their computers, even as they acknowledge complying with secret N.S.A. court orders for specific data.

Yet technology experts and former intelligence officials say the convergence between Silicon Valley and the N.S.A. and the rise of data mining — both as an industry and as a crucial intelligence tool — have created a more complex reality.

Silicon Valley has what the spy agency wants: vast amounts of private data and the most sophisticated software available to analyze it. The agency in turn is one of Silicon Valley’s largest customers for what is known as data analytics, one of the valley’s fastest-growing markets. To get their hands on the latest software technology to manipulate and take advantage of large volumes of data, United States intelligence agencies invest in Silicon Valley start-ups, award classified contracts and recruit technology experts like Mr. Kelly.

“We are all in these Big Data business models,” said Ray Wang, a technology analyst and chief executive of Constellation Research, based in San Francisco. “There are a lot of connections now because the data scientists and the folks who are building these systems have a lot of common interests.”

Continue reading.

Remembering James Gandolfini

At the New York Post, "'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini dead of heart attack in Italy at 51."

And, "‘Reserved’: Gandolfini mourned at Holsten's ice-cream parlor where last ‘Sopranos’ scene was shot."

Plus, at US Weekly, "James Gandolfini Dead: Details on His Shocking Death, Final Day."

Plus, at US Weekly, "James Gandolfini Dead: Details on His Shocking Death, Final Day."

And at the Hollywood Reporter, "HBO: James Gandolfini Was a ‘Special Man’ and a ‘Great Talent’."

And, "James Gandolfini Remembered: 10 Definitive Tony Soprano Moments (Video)."