New York's Finest Warn of Gotham Crime Spiral After Court Ruling

The New York Post has loads on this.

See, "NYPD cops warn Gotham residents officers will become overly cautious with stop-frisk, predict crime hike."

And at the front page, "Cops could soon wear video cameras after stop-and-frisk ruling," and "Federal monitor tapped to rein in stop-and-frisk vows to work with cops: 'I'm a big supporter of law enforcement'."

And from the opinion pages, "Death wish, the sequel":

This one will hurt: A federal judge took a powerful whack at New York City’s crime-fighting efforts in ruling against the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies. If the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand, the price to the city will be incalculable. And the victims of her judicial caprice will overwhelmingly be our city’s poor and minority populations.

In a pair of decisions that ran 234 pages, Judge Shira Scheindlin found the stops of those people police deem suspicious unconstitutional. She blasted the NYPD for racial bias and for its “deliberate indifference to constitutional deprivations” of those who are stopped. Her remedies include a court-appointed monitor to institute the court-decreed reforms she believes necessary.

None of this comes as a surprise. Scheindlin has long been vocal about her opposition to stop-and-frisk. She has always harbored deep misgivings about the police. Even before the trial began, she cited “powerful evidence of a widespread pattern of unlawful stops” and blasted the NYPD’s “deeply troubling apathy toward New Yorkers’ most fundamental constitutional rights.”

San Diego Hooters Won't Serve Bob Filner

Hooters corporate tweeted their support.

And here's Vodka Pundit, "No Hooters Girls for Mayor Filner." (Via Memeorandum.)

Also at Twitchy, "Colossal boobs not welcome: San Diego Hooters will not serve Filthy Filner [pic]."



PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Puetz, Chief of Staff to San Diego Councilman Kevin Faulconer, on Twitter.

#MockObamaDay

On Twitter.

#MockObamaDay: Cult of Personality ~ pic.twitter.com/xz72YOprEF
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) August 13, 2013

Has the Pendulum Swung Against Tough-on-Crime Policies?

An interesting piece at the New York Times, "Two Powerful Signals of a Major Shift on Crime":

WASHINGTON — Two decisions Monday, one by a federal judge in New York and the other by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., were powerful signals that the pendulum has swung away from the tough-on-crime policies of a generation ago.

Critics have long contended that draconian mandatory minimum sentence laws for low-level drug offenses, as well as stop-and-frisk police policies that target higher-crime and minority neighborhoods, have a disproportionate impact on members of minority groups. On Monday, Mr. Holder announced that federal prosecutors would no longer invoke the sentencing laws, and a judge found that stop-and-frisk practices in New York were unconstitutional racial profiling.

While the timing was a coincidence, Barbara Arnwine, the president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said that the effect was “historic, groundbreaking, and potentially game-changing.”

“I thought that the most important significance of both events was the sense of enough is enough,” said Ms. Arnwine, who attended the speech in San Francisco where Mr. Holder unveiled the new Justice Department policy. “It’s a feeling that this is the moment to make needed change. This just can’t continue, this level of extreme heightened injustice in our policing, our law enforcement and our criminal justice system.”

A generation ago, amid a crack epidemic, state and federal lawmakers enacted a wave of tough-on-crime measures that resulted in an 800 percent increase in the number of prisoners in the United States, even as the population grew by only a third. The spike in prisoners centered on an increase in the number of African-American and Hispanic men convicted of drug crimes; blacks are about six times as likely as whites to be incarcerated.

But the crack wave has long since passed and violent crime rates have plummeted to four-decade lows, in the process reducing crime as a salient political issue. Traditionally conservative states, driven by a need to save money on building and maintaining prisons, have taken the lead in scaling back policies of mass incarceration. Against that backdrop, the move away from mandatory sentences and Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling on stop-and-frisk practices signaled that a course correction on two big criminal justice issues that disproportionately affect minorities has finally been made, according to the advocates who have pushed for those changes.

Again, just so much MSM bull.

See Heather Mac Donald, at the New York Post, "Ignoring the realities of NYC crime":

New York’s 20-year reprieve from debilitating violence may well be over. Yesterday, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the New York Police Department has been willfully targeting blacks and Hispanics for unlawful stop, question and frisks based on their skin color alone, in violation of the Constitution.

She has appointed a federal monitor to oversee the department and to develop new policies to end its alleged practice of biased policing. If the monitor adopts Judge Scheindlin’s definition of unconstitutional policing, it is not too soon to start looking into relocation plans.

The key moment of Scheindlin’s ruling comes with her discussion of the stops performed by one of the NYPD’s most hard-working members.

During a three-month period of 2009, the high-crime Fort Greene area of Brooklyn had been experiencing a spate of robberies, burglaries and gun violence. The robbery victims described their assailants as four to five black males between the ages of 14 to 19; the burglary victims reported the suspect as a Hispanic male between 5’8’’ and 5’9’’, in his 30s; and the shooting suspect was described as a black male in his 20s.

During that same period, Officer Edgar Gonzalez of Brooklyn’s 88th Precinct conducted 134 stops, 128 of which had black or Hispanic subjects. That stop ratio is consistent not only with the specific crime patterns then afflicting Fort Greene but also with the overall rate of crime in Gonzalez’s precinct. Blacks and Hispanics commit nearly 99 percent of all violent crime in the 88th Precinct and over 93 percent of all crime.

Scheindlin, however, apparently believes that population ratios are the proper benchmark for measuring the legality of stop activity. She points out that Gonzalez’s racial stop rate “far exceeds the percentage of blacks and Hispanics in the local population (60 percent).”

In other words, though whites and Asians commit less than 1 percent of violent crime in the 88th Precinct and less than 6 percent of all crime, according to Scheindlin 40 percent of all stops should be of whites and Asians, to match their representation in the local population.

Never mind that the suspect descriptions that Gonzalez was working off of gave blacks and Hispanics as robbery, burglary and shooting suspects. To avoid an accusation of racial profiling, he should have stopped whites and Asians for crimes committed — according to their victims — exclusively by blacks and Hispanics....

The rest of Scheindlin’s opinion is equally blind to the realities of New York crime and policing. She evinces little understanding of what it means to live in a high-crime neighborhood, where youths congregating on the corner can be the prelude to gun violence or a street rampage. She has accepted at face value the most far-fetched evidence against the NYPD, such as state Sen. Eric Adams’ absurd and uncorroborated accusations against Commissioner Ray Kelly. She has potentially restricted the NYPD’s ability to monitor the performance of its commanders and officers and to make sure that they are actually working to keep the city safe.

The result is not only an insult to the most effective, professionally run department in the country. It may also signal the end of the freedom from fear that New York’s most vulnerable residents have enjoyed for two decades.

Regressive leftist idiocy in action once again.

Additional case in point: Scott Lame-ieux at Lawyers, Gangs and Muggings.

BONUS: At the Last Tradition, "Crime Softy Eric Holder seeks to avert mandatory minimum sentences for some low-level drug offenders to curry favor with minority groups":

For progressive[s] like Attorney General Eric Holder it’s not about being an effective crime fighter. What’s more important to them is politically correct policing that may garner votes, but leads to real crime.

Ding ding!

Obama's Imperial Presidency

Imperial yes, but it's also the incompetent asshole presidency.

But see the Foundry, "Morning Bell: The Imperial President Will Act on His Own":

In a recent email to supporters, President Obama lamented the frustrating inadequacy of his office. “There’s only so much I can do on my own” without Congress, he confessed.

As a matter of constitutional interpretation, he’s right. But in practice, the President has shown a distinct contempt for the legal limits on his power.

Obama’s imperial presidency has manifested itself in many ways. Often he willfully neglects his constitutional duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” As we’ve seen with education, immigration, and health care, suspending the law amounts to rewriting the law.

Other times, the President is more direct. The legislative power may be vested in Congress, but that didn’t stop him from rewriting welfare legislation on his own, hollowing out the successful federal work requirements.

Unfortunately, it appears that this is only the beginning of Obama’s imperialism.

Continue reading.

The #ImperialPresident indeed: pic.twitter.com/ZiV1xXtvfO

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) August 13, 2013

Queer Feminist @SaraAlcid Screams 'Intimidation' and 'Rape' After Being Mocked Hilariously on Twitter

You know, in the history of blog flamewars and Twitter throwdowns, Ima put my neck out and argue that Ms. Alcid's overreacting just a wee bit.

I tweeted so much earlier:

@SaraAlcid You're not being "harassed." You're being mocked, hilariously, and there's a difference.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 13, 2013

What's particularly interesting to me about this women is that she's merely a robotic automaton for the mindless lockstep ideology of the post-civil rights left. When one claims with a straight face that abortion and reproductive health issues (i.e., birth control) are LGBT issues you've seriously jumped the shark. At this point it's about political correctness on steroids. And the woman's reaction is a sort of plasmatic feedback loop in which just a mere masculine response to feminist inanity, even a snicker, is evidence of "rape culture." In other words, it doesn't get any better than this. Just grab some popcorn and get ready for side stitches.

The background is here, "Robert Stacy McCain Goes Deep Inside the World of Hardcore Feminism."

And Robert updates, "Disagreement as ‘Harassment’? @StephHerold Says Tell the FBI."

Michelle Malkin Slams Depraved Left's Defense of Filthy Filner

Democrats from Pelosi on down have been covering for this for years.



More at the San Diego Union Tribune, "Filner: 'Not the time to go backwards': Embattled mayor responds to recall effort."

The Twilight Zone of Leftist Hypocrisy

At the Looking Spoon, "9 Reasons liberals need to STFU about how much "Rodeo Clown Obama" offends them."



RELATED: At Michelle Malkin's, "The progressive “climate of hate:” An illustrated primer, 2000-2010."

Lake Bell for New York

It's a Rule 5 world!

From the magazine's fall fashion issue, "'New York' Fashion Issue Cover Preview: Lake Bell Wears a Tattoo."

More at Egotastic!, "Lake Bell Painted Nekkid Covered Bits in New York Magazine."



Also at the Los Angeles Times, "Lake Bell on the 'soapbox moment' in her 'In a World...'"

Obama Administration Abolishes Free Speech on America's Campuses

From Walter Olson, at Commentary, "Sentence First, Verdict Afterward":

Perhaps the Obama administration was not expecting a great public outcry this spring when it unveiled a “blueprint” for how campuses across the nation will henceforth need to handle complaints of sexual misconduct. Under the scheme as announced on May 9, colleges must crack down on a wide array of sexually oriented conduct defined as “unwelcome” to one or more persons, including many instances of what the feds quaintly term “verbal conduct,” better known as “speech.”

Colleges will also have to tighten up disciplinary procedures that the feds view as excessively observant of due process toward those accused of sexual misbehavior. For example—in what one critic called an “Alice in Wonderland” standard of “Sentence first, verdict afterward”—colleges will often need to take action against an accused student or faculty member before an investigation reaches any conclusion as to whether the charges against that person are accurate.

The initiative, a joint project of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Justice, took the form of a “resolution agreement” sent to administrators at the University of Montana. As the term “blueprint” indicates, however, the new scheme is meant to bind colleges and universities across the nation, at least those that receive federal money in one form or another—which in practice means nearly all of them.

Whether or not the administration was expecting an outcry, it got one. The civil-libertarian lawyer Wendy Kaminer wrote in the Atlantic that the blueprint unacceptably blurs the line between unwanted date requests and rape: “If a student feels harassed, she may be harassed, regardless of the reasonableness of her feelings, and school administrators may be legally required to discipline her ‘harasser.’” Kaminer dubbed this “an educational nightmare.” The “breathtakingly bold” move has “mandated the effective abolition of free speech on college campuses, as well as the almost certain conviction of large numbers of students, many of whom will be innocent, of ‘harassment,’” contended another noted civil libertarian, Harvey Silverglate, writing with Juliana DeVries. George F. Will called the blueprint “so patently unconstitutional that it will be swiftly swatted down by the courts” and stated that it “underscores today’s widespread government impulse for lawless coercion.” Education blogger Joanne Jacobs said the scheme “makes every student a sex harasser.”

Not quite three weeks later, the Office of Civil Rights backed down, or seemed to, on a couple of the blueprint’s most outrageous aspects. In a May 29 letter sent to members of the public who had expressed concern, the agency said it did not expect universities to discipline students for conduct that was not objectively offensive after all, or for isolated low-level offensive conduct that did not add up to some more serious pattern. (In good bureaucratic fashion, OCR refused to concede that it had modified its position at all, insisting that it was merely clarifying the policy it intended all along.)

Even with that concession, the blueprint is a document full of ominous portent: for the fairness of the disciplinary processes that have now come under federal prescription, for the once proud independence of the higher-education sector, and, yes, for the continued health of what passes for free speech on the American campus.

RTWT.

Man, it's gonna take a while to root out and eradicate the disease of leftism destroying the country. As folks warned during 2012, with Barack Hussein's reelection America's become virtually unrecognizable. But no reason to lose hope. The pendulum is swinging back. When Missouri officials ban a circus clown for mocking the president we've clearly reached some macabre, farcical threshold. Of course we'll see more of such perfidy as the left gasps toward decimation in 2014 and beyond.

RELATED: "Wall Street Journal Weekend Interview: Greg Lukianoff, 'How Free Speech Died on Campus'."

The Left's Program of 'Kill Whitey'

The Mad Jewess sounds the tocsin, "In USA: If You LOOK White, You ARE a Target. If You Don't GET This…You’re an Idiot."

Plus, more on the racist left's program, featuring the execrable Oprah Winfrey, race-baiter extraordinaire.

Oprah, An American #BlackPrivileged Brat, Gets Told Off By 'Shop Girl' From Switzerland http://t.co/hCtZ4sy76M

— The Mad Jewess (@MadJewessWoman) August 12, 2013

Oprah's a rank liar. Sick.

Robert Stacy McCain Goes Deep Inside the World of Hardcore Feminism

Or I should say "patriarchal oppressor" Robert Stacy McCain is entertaining as hell with all his recent reporting on the "radical Marxist lesbians" of the "totalitarian feminist left."

Really.

He's been posting up a storm. See, "Blame Joan of Arc," and "Yes, Ma’am, However…"

Robert's mostly humorous at the two posts cited above, but he whips out some beefy feminist fluency at his more recent entries, "Taking Feminism Seriously," and "Why Does Lesbian @SaraAlcid Want to Help More Women Kill Their Babies?":

It isn’t every day that a “Queer Feminist” with a diploma from Bryn Mawr (undergraduate tuition $42,870 a year) decides she needs my attention, but I’m so grateful for Miss Alcid’s encouragement to expand on what I said this morning:

“Professor Aptheker is exactly right: If you want to be a true feminist, you must be a Communist lesbian.”

The inherent radicalism of the women’s movement — its theoretical foundation in Marxism, its implacable antagonism to traditional marriage and other institutions of bourgeois society — is not generally understood outside such campus cauldrons as Bryn Mawr.

Feminism is a totalitarian ideology. It cannot be co-opted or moderated. You cannot negotiate or compromise with feminism, because the ambitions of feminism are without limit. They can accept nothing short of the complete overthrow of “hitherto existing society” (Marx and Engels) resulting in their own dictatorial authority. Halfway “reform” (to which the bourgeoisie may agree in its attempt to stave off this upheaval) can ever placate the revolutionary, because the radical does not seek reform, but rather destruction. And the problem that most conservatives have, in trying to cope with radical movements, is that the typical conservative cannot imagine how fanatical — how rigidly unreasonable, how full of passionate destructive hatefulness — the radical really is. Notice how Sara Alcid illustrated her Valentine’s Day article...

Continue reading.

The post is da bomb. The woman's a freak. A walking oxymoron, she's claims herself a "queer feminist" while working for some totally obscure reproductive health advocacy group --- because, you know, birth control and abortion is all about LGBT rights, or some bullsh*t.

And now apparently shocked at the "intimidation" of being quoted on the Internet, Ms. Alcid has protected her tweets --- a victim, no doubt, of "patriarchal oppression":

@AmPowerBlog She's now a heroic victim-martyr of the patriarchy!
— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) August 13, 2013

You can't make this stuff up...

Missouri State Fair Bans Clown Who Mocked President Obama

I saw Dana Loesch tweeting on this last night, "Clown Dresses as Obama at MO State Fair, Democrats Cry “Racism®” *UPDATED."

More at Twitchy, "Smash! Dana Loesch pulverizes Dems, media over #MOStateFair racist rodeo clown idiocy."

And at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Missouri State Fair bans rodeo clown who mocked Obama."






More at Legal Insurrection, "Video killed the rodeo clown."

And check Memeorandum.

Nancy Pelosi Outraged Over 'Slap Hillary'

Now she's outraged.

Leftists weren't upset when Democrats put up a "Slap Palin" hate-site.

At Big Government, "Pelosi Outraged by 'Slap Hillary' Site, Silent on 'Slap Palin' Game":

"Pelosi and her fellow travelers on the left don’t denounce games like 'Slap Hillary' because they’re 'sick' like 'all violence against women,'" BizPacReview wrote. "They denounce them because they don’t like their politics."

IMAGE CREDIT: The Hillary Project.

Sinkhole Swallows Florida Resort

Pretty wild.

At NYT, "Sinkhole Swallows Part of a Building at a Resort in Florida."

Lady Gaga Steps Out in Los Angeles

Well, it's a little more than just stepping out. With Lady Gaga she's gotta shock the crowd with a totally sheer mesh bodysuit, black bra and thong underwear.

Wild.

At London's Daily Mail, "Taking fashion tips from Britney? Lady Gaga wears a jewel-encrusted, sheer bodysuit over a black bra and thong."

And folks wondered previously if she'd had plastic surgery on her nose. She seen here with her dog Fozzi, via Twitter.

Plus, at the Hollywood Reporter, "Lady Gaga Releases 'Applause' One Week Early After Leaks, Anti-Piracy Campaign." And at Rolling Stone, "Listen: Lady Gaga Breaks Out Disco Stick for 'Applause'."

Crowdfunding Bookstores

I was just thinking about this the other day.

I still love Barnes and Noble, but nowadays when I got there the selection of magazines I enjoy is sparse, and frankly I can read most of what I like online. And while I buy books over at Barnes pretty often, there's no need really. Amazon will deliver a book within days. But that's just me. I like the big corporate chain, because it means in most big cities I've got a big, beautiful and highly stocked bookstore to visit whenever I feel like chilling for a cup of coffee and a magazine. But times are hard over there. See WSJ, "Barnes & Noble Pulls Back After Losses In Tablet Wars." And while the company might not be going the way of Borders anytime soon, clearly its brick-and-mortor future is not so secure over time.

What to do? Well, I doubt Barnes will be turning to crowdfunding anytime soon, but some smaller bookstore sure are.

See NYT, "To Stay Afloat, Bookstores Turn to Web Donors."

Read it all at the link.

I'd be surprised if any bookstore's able to make that more than a one time deal. Sooner or later folks have to face market realities. Perhaps sad, but true.

#Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Shines in 8-2 Win Over the Rays

Less drama this time, but it's just great to see the team stay hot.

Looking like a World Series champion at this point, but we'll see.

At LAT, "Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers look unbeatable in 8-2 win over Rays."

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg Works the Oslo Taxicabs

Interesting.

We'd never see Barack Hussein behind the wheel of a cab. Seriously, too dangerous. No doubt some mf's would love to take him out, the prick.

At the Independent UK, "You’ll never guess who I had in the front of my cab... the Norwegian PM":

It is often said that you can learn the most about a place by chatting to its taxi drivers.

But Norway’s Prime Minister decided to try it the other way round, using an afternoon spent in disguise ferrying Oslo residents around the city to get a glimpse into voters’ concerns as elections approach.

Donning a pair of sunglasses and ditching his customary sharp suit for a cardigan and red tie, Jens Stoltenberg appears successfully to have hoodwinked a number of residents into revealing their thoughts ahead of elections on 9 September.

Their views will be much appreciated: current opinion polls suggest Mr Stoltenberg will be defeated by the Conservative Party, ending eight years of a Labour government.

Continue reading.

You Must Feed the Never-Ending Demands of the Multi-Media Beast!

Yep, just like blogging!

At LAT, "Pop culture dominance is a fickle thing, even for Bowie and Kanye":

On Jan. 8, his 66th birthday, David Bowie surprised music fans around the world with the announcement that he'd secretly completed a new studio album.

This was a big deal — the first record in a decade from a legendary rock star more or less thought to have retired — and wall-to-wall media coverage over the months to come reflected a pent-up desire to have Bowie back in our lives. When "The Next Day" hit stores on March 8, many critics called the album one of the singer's best, helping it along to an impressive debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The man once known as Ziggy Stardust, it seemed, had risen once again.

Or had he?

Less than six months after its release, "The Next Day" — with a title that suggests moving ever forward into the future — seems almost to have disappeared.

Last week the record was nowhere to be found on the iTunes album chart. It hasn't really taken hold on the radio. And though a music video for the album's lead single, "Where Are We Now?," quickly racked up millions of views online, more recent clips from the record have made smaller impressions.

For the week ending Aug. 3, Google Trends rated Bowie's worldwide search interest at 19 on a scale of 0 to 100, well below youngsters like Miley Cyrus and Skrillex as well as peers such as Bruce Springsteen.

But Bowie isn't alone. This year a number of high-profile albums, movies and songs — pop-cultural properties that each appeared with the fanfare of an event — have had trouble gaining the kind of long-term traction that artists and their backers crave.

Well, you gotta keep feeding the beast, just like blogging!

Republicans vs. the Tea Party

Dana Loesch headlines this debate from Mike Huckabee's show on Saturday.

Never, Ever Leave Out the Race of Criminal 'Black Privilege' Perps

The Mad Jewess goes after Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit.

This is why I dont have much respect for @gatewaypundit -he leaves out the RACE on #BLACKPRIVILEGE crimes http://t.co/4ASF6iXoz1

— The Mad Jewess (@MadJewessWoman) August 12, 2013

@vonzion Thats exactly what it is; #BlackPrivilege. PLEASE: When you post a b/white crime, use "BlackPrivilege" hashtag, thanks :)

— The Mad Jewess (@MadJewessWoman) August 12, 2013

@gatewaypundit These are RACIAL crimes. By you leaving out the RACE of the perps, you are just giving in to that left wing NAZI shit

— The Mad Jewess (@MadJewessWoman) August 12, 2013

The post is here, "St. Paul Man Fights For His Life After Brutal Beating by Gang Members (Video)."

That headline should read "Brutal Beating by Black Gang Members."

Never cave to the despicable leftist commissars of political correctness, the "left wing NAZI shit."

Usain Bolt Wins 100m at World Athletics Championships in Moscow (2013)

At Telegraph UK, "World Athletics Championships 2013: Usain Bolt regains 100m gold medal with season's best 9.77 in Moscow rain."

Video here (and click here if it's been removed).

Judge Orders Baby's Name Changed

Right.

It's not like no one's named "Jesus" or anything.

Let the parent's decide. And take this up on appeal.

Cute kid too.

At Scared Monkeys, "Tennessee Judge Lu Ann Ballew Orders Baby’s Name be Changed from ‘Messiah’ to Martin DeShawn McCullough." (Via Memeorandum).

Donald Trump Pledges to Spend Whatever It Takes for 2016 Presidential Bid

Donald Trump's like a circus barker, but if it was between him and the Democrat-Socialists it'd be no choice.

And he's willing to spend $500 million? Man, that's mind-boggling.

At ABC News, "Donald Trump: Sen. Ted Cruz ‘Perhaps Not’ Eligible for White House ‘If’ Born in Canada."



More at Scared Monkeys, "Donald Trump Warns GOP at Family Leadership Summit in Iowa … Immigration Bill (Amnesty) “Could Be a Death Wish’ for Republican Party”." (Via Memeorandum.)

Rachel McDonald Rule 5

As noted, I'm a little burned out on the major Rule 5 link-arounds, although Pirate's Cove definitely deserves a shout-out. He reportedly spends up to 90 minutes each week on his Sunday blog-less pinup roundups.

See, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup." And don't miss, "If All You See……are evil CO2 infused beers that should be banned, you might just be a Warmist."

In any case, I've blogged Ms. McDonald previously.

She's got lots of lovely photos posted to Twitter.

Australian Journalist Asher Wolf Leaks Video From Inside Bradley Manning Trial

Well, this has a few people pissed off.

Here's the Telegraph UK, "WikiLeaks: Secret video shows inside of Bradley Manning courtroom":

A short video secretly filmed inside the court martial of Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of giving classified files to WikiLeaks, has emerged on the internet in a second major breach of courtroom security.

Here's Ms. Wolf on Twitter:

Yes, there was another leak from Bradley Manning's trial at Fort Meade. And I've published it. http://t.co/rm5M8D1dI7 #Wikileaks

— Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) August 11, 2013

Xeni Jardin is not pleased:

Thanks to you, jackass, whoever you are, an important piece of history may go undocumented. Congrats. Video has zero news value. Happy?

— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) August 11, 2013

Expect updates. This is hilarious!

Scores Killed as New Wave of Bombings Hit Iraq

At the New York Times, "Car Bombings Kill Scores Across Iraq":

BAGHDAD — As Iraqis flooded the streets of their capital and other cities on Saturday to celebrate Id al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a string of car bombs struck in mostly Shiite neighborhoods, killing more than 60 people, officials said.

The bombings were the latest in a surge of attacks in Iraq this summer — before, during and after Ramadan — that have brought monthly death tolls to levels not seen in nearly five years, according to United Nations figures.

The attacks on Saturday killed at least 61 people and wounded more than 200 across Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said.

Nine car bombs struck around Baghdad, the capital, at public markets and near a city park, and many exploded in Shiite neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of the increasingly violent Sunni insurgency led by Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate, killing at least 35 people. Other attacks — in the northern city of Tuz Khurmato, in Hilla, Karbala and Dhi Qar in the south — killed at least 26.

The State Department condemned the attacks and noted that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Al Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate, is now based in Syria.

The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information “that helps authorities kill or capture” Mr. Baghdadi and is prepared to work with the Iraq government to counter the threat from Al Qaeda, Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement Saturday night.

That reward is second only to the one that the United States has offered for information leading to Ayman al-Zawahri, the head of the Qaeda network.

According to the United Nations, 1,057 Iraqis were killed and 2,326 were wounded in attacks in July, the highest monthly casualty figures since 2008.

A direct result of Barack Hussein's clusterf-k foreign policy. See Geoffrey Norman, at the Weekly Standard, "Impotent in Iraq":

Iraq appears, increasingly, to be lost.

For want of a status-of-forces agreement.

We'll see.

There's been a few bright spots, like the northern Kurdish region, where democratization is taking hold. But that's despite the best efforts of this administration to sabotage the movement toward freedom in the country. What a shame.

Water Rationing for Front Lawns in America's Southwest

This reminds me of 1992, when my wife and I moved to Santa Barbara, and we found that the city had all kinds of water rationing. In that respect, it's not a new issue by any means. In Fresno, which is scorching hot all summer, homeowners can water their lawns every other day, depending on the street address, and then only well before Noon or at night after sundown.

At the New York Times, "To Save Water, Parched Southwest Cities Ask Homeowners to Lose Their Lawns":

LOS ANGELES — This is how officials here feel about grass these days: since 2009, the city has paid $1.4 million to homeowners willing to rip out their front lawns and plant less thirsty landscaping.

At least the lawns are still legal here. Grass front yards are banned at new developments in Las Vegas, where even the grass medians on the Strip have been replaced with synthetic turf.

In Austin, Tex., lawns are allowed; watering them, however, is not — at least not before sunset. Police units cruise through middle-class neighborhoods hunting for sprinklers running in daylight and issuing $475 fines to their owners.

Worried about dwindling water supplies, communities across the drought-stricken Southwest have begun waging war on a symbol of suburban living: the lush, green grass of front lawns.

In hopes of enticing, or forcing, residents to abandon the scent of freshly cut grass, cities in this parched region have offered homeowners ever-increasing amounts to replace their lawns with drought-resistant plants; those who keep their grass face tough watering restrictions and fines for leaky sprinklers.

These efforts are drastically reshaping the landscape, with cactuses and succulents taking over where green grass once reigned.

“The era of the lawn in the West is over,” said Paul Robbins, the director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin. “The water limits are insurmountable, unless the Scotts Company develops a genetically modified grass that requires almost no water. And I’m sure it’s keeping them up at night.”

And this is pretty much how I feel about it:

The first five months of this year were the driest on record in California, with reservoirs in the state at 20 percent below normal levels. The lawn rebate program here will save approximately 47 million gallons of water each year, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

But some residents worry that turf removal has already gone too far, robbing children of play spaces.

“It’s getting to the point where kids live in apartments, and they don’t even see grass, except in magazines,” said Betty Humphrey of Los Angeles. She raised her son with an expansive lawn, and said her family would not be pulling up its grass no matter how much money the city offered.

The city is already short on green space, said Ms. Humphrey, 63. “I don’t want to end up like New York or Chicago, with no grass.”

And it's shocking, but "climate change" isn't even mentioned. What a wasted chance to shill for the global warming industry.

Hannah Anderson's Father Speaks Out

An update on the story, at LAT, "Hannah Anderson's father worries what she's 'been put through'."

Also, at NBC 7 San Diego, "Horseback Riders Who Spotted Missing San Diego Teen Speak to Media."



And see the huge write-up at London's Daily Mail, "Revealed: California killer who abducted teenage girl is shot dead in Idaho wilderness 18 years TO THE DAY after his own father committed suicide while holding another 16-year-old hostage."

The Latest on the Bitter American Betrayal Dust-Up

Diana West has a new roundup on her battle with FrontPage Magazine, "American Betrayal: New Links."

And she reports that her older brother, Jed West, tried to comment at the website but was banned. Here's the post at Facebook.

Diana posted a shout out for my essay on Twitter the other day:

@davereaboi Hey, it's a barrel of monkeys, @rsmccain ! Kudos to @AmPowerBlog for tackling and encompassing: http://t.co/1dIDCUBeT1

— Diana West (@diana_west_) August 10, 2013

And I do hope Robert Stacy McCain updates his comments on the debate. ICYMI, he's got a review of American Betrayal at Viral Read, "Top FDR Aide Hopkins Was Soviet Agent; Book Examines ‘Betrayal’."

Meanwhile, Wes Vernon offers an enthusiastic review, "The 80 year sell-out of America."

Preserve the American Family

At the Heritage Foundation.

Google Class and Privacy Worries

At LAT, "Google Glass sees all -- and that raises privacy concerns."

Can Police Brutality Be Stopped?

The editorial from the Stalinist news rag for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, "Tactics and fighting slogans for the anti-police brutality movement."

Look, they're vile Communists, but the dolts know how to exploit the news cycle, and they throw a decent protest march here and there.

More, "The cops and the war on Black America: Ruling class expanded repressive forces as response to upheaval of 1960s."

Interesting how the "war on black America" replicates the exact same line as top Democrat Party leftists. No enemies to the left, you know...

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Not So Empty Nest Syndrome."

Major Hasan Is Honest About Himself, Unlike the Rest of Us...

From Mark Steyn, at National Review, "Know Thine Enemy":

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. Three years, eight months, and eight days later, the Japanese surrendered. These days, America’s military moves at a more leisurely pace. On November 5, 2009, another U.S. base, Fort Hood, was attacked — by one man standing on a table, screaming “Allahu akbar!” and opening fire. Three years, nine months, and one day later, his court-martial finally got under way.

The intervening third-of-a-decade-and-more has apparently been taken up by such vital legal questions as the fullness of beard Major Hasan is permitted to sport in court. This is not a joke: See “Judge Ousted in Fort Hood Shooting Case amid Beard Debacle” (CBS News). Army regulations require soldiers to be clean-shaven. The judge, Colonel Gregory Gross, ruled Hasan’s beard in contempt, fined him $1,000, and said he would be forcibly shaved if he showed up that hirsute next time. At which point Hasan went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which ruled that Colonel Gross’s pogonophobia raised questions about his impartiality, and removed him. He’s the first judge in the history of American jurisprudence to be kicked off a trial because of a “beard debacle.” The new judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, agreed that Hasan’s beard was a violation of regulations, but “said she won’t hold it against him.”

No, wouldn't want to do that. It was only "workplace violence" you see...

Continue reading.

Ana Navarro Confronts Rep. Steve King on 'Cantaloupe-Sized Calves...'

She's John McCain's former Hispanic National co-chair, a bleedin' lefty on immigration, and a "talk-to-the-hand" Beltway hack.

Via Memeorandum.

NAEP History and Civics Exams Postponed Indefinitely

At National Review, "NAEP ‘Indefinitely Postpones’ Tests of U.S. History and Civics." (Via Instapundit.)

I know how well historically-versed my students are (or are not), and it ain't pretty. And I rarely see young people, anywhere, with a book. It's all handheld technology, and I doubt folks are reading classic novels are history books on their iPhones.

Sexy Swimwear

At Nuts.

Open Borders Movement All Messed Up Over 'Dream 9' Clowns

At LAT, "Immigrant rights activists at odds over 'Dream 9'."

They got back in, amazingly.

Here's my previous entry, "Headline Change on the DREAMers' Self-Deport Clusterf-k."

Don Lemon Open Letter to Russell Simmons

At Twitchy, "Don Lemon’s open letter to Russell Simmons polarizes; Touré, Simmons respond [video]."



And the letter, "Don's a Lemon: Before You Go Back on CNN This Weekend, Read This!"

Talk Radio Host Jack Clark Fired After Comments on Albert Pujols

Well, he alleged that Pujols was on 'roids, and that didn't go over too well.

Pujols threatened a lawsuit. And now the dude's fired.

At LAT, "Jack Clark loses radio show after Albert Pujols PED allegation."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the background, "Clark accuses Pujols of steroid use."

And there's video at ESPN, "Albert Pujols: I'll sue Jack Clark."

Suspect James Lee DiMaggio Killed by FB in Idaho; 16-Year-Old Hannah Anderson Found Safe

At the San Diego Union Tribune, "FBI agent kills DiMaggio; girl safe":

Teams of federal SWAT officers and trackers were flown into a 300-square-mile wilderness area of Idaho Saturday, expanding the hunt for missing teen Hannah Anderson and DiMaggio.

DiMaggio was shot and killed during an arrest attempt at the north end of Morehead Lake, Gore said.

He said members of the U.S. Marshals Service flying over the area spotted DiMaggio’s tent early Saturday morning, FBI SWAT officers were brought in then and they were the ones who shot the fugitive about 4:20 p.m., [Sheriff Bill] Gore said.

He declined to give any other details about the confrontation.

Hugo Schwyzer on Twitter!

Man, the dude's got it bad!

MF went off his meds, seriously --- I told you it wouldn't be long before he had a relapse.

At BuzzFeed, "Controversial “Feminist” Hugo Schwyzer Has a Very Public Meltdown."

It's all still up in his feed.

I'll be fine, and I'll dump in some tranquilizers in a sec. But let the truth come out. The critics were right.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

I know I did a little bit of good. I know I helped a few people. But I did so much more harm by being fraudulent, by lying.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

My former friends and employers, I'm sorry. I meant well but I didn't have the credentials I pretended I did.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

By the way do you know you only need a MA in history to teach any history course you like? That's the law.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

At least in my college.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

So I got diagnosed bipolar with psychotic features but damn the Seroquel knocks me flat and I wanted to FEEL alive again

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

So I will be okay. I'll go offline again. Just a manic episode that I'll regret. But I've been such a liar. A terrible liar.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

I hurt so many people with lies.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

I was never qualified to teach any gender studies courses. I talked my way into all these gigs.

— Hugo Schwyzer (@hugoschwyzer) August 9, 2013

And at Cosmopolitan, "Hugo Schwyzer, 'Feminist' Professor, Is Having a Twitter Breakdown."

Folks were calling him out, alleging his account had been hacked. He was DM'ing people to prove it was real.

Louise Mensch was online at the time.

I hope somebody is near, and can help, Hugo Schwyzer. Twitter has been an outlet used in mental breakdowns before.

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 9, 2013

It doesn't read like a hack, it reads like a man having a dangerous mental health episode. If you know @hugoschwyzer offline please help him

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 9, 2013

This also says something about the profession, and community colleges in particularly, where an unhinged academic hack can turn poseur and wreak havoc across all the feminist "space."

Fernando Rodney Wild Throwing Error in Spectacular Walk-Off Win at #Dodger Stadium

This was one hella long game, almost four hours. And I was practically falling asleep. The first time I'd been able to sit down and watch an entire Dodger game all week and I thought, "Shoot, they've been on fire but they're totally blowing this one." And then Skip Schumaker got a lead-off single in the bottom of the ninth and I said to my wife, "Hey, maybe they can do a walk-off win like the Angels on 4th of July?" And they did! My wife was screaming, "I wish we were there!"

At the Los Angeles Times, "Dodgers score four runs in ninth inning to defeat Rays, 7-6," and "Comeback heightens Dodgers' feeling something special is going on."

Hilarious Jeannette Garofalo Meme Cartoon!

At Lonely Conservative, "Saturday Funnies."

Riots in Belfast

At London's Daily Mail, "Loyalist riots in Belfast leave 56 police officers injured and parts of the city wrecked in night of 'mindless anarchy'."

Also at Guardian UK, "Police chief condemns Belfast loyalists after violence leaves 56 officers injured."

And I confess this video's pretty cool. That cop gets f-ked up at about 30 seconds.

'I don't oppose Islam as a country' — Australia's Stephanie Banister Withdraws from Politics After Disastrous TV Interview

She'd only been a declared candidate for two days. But still. It usually takes someone with a life's interest in public affairs to make a decent candidate. It's too bad, since I think she's got her head in the right place.

At Telegraph UK, "Australian election candidate says she doesn't oppose 'Islam as a country'."

And at the Guardian UK, "One Nation's Stephanie Banister withdraws from race after Islam comments."

You really do need a minimal level of competence, for shame.



More at the Sydney Morning Herald, "Stephanie Banister compared with Sarah Palin as gaffe-ridden interview makes headlines around the world."

Cringe-worthy.

Once Futuristic, Hollywood's High-Tech is Today's Reality

At USA Today, "Today's technology lives in sci-fi films of yesteryear."

Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace

"Lovelace" is in theaters.

Background at the Los Angeles Times, "Presenting two Linda Lovelace stories in one biopic," and "'Lovelace': A look back at the porno chic era."

Plus, "Review: 'Lovelace' reveals degradation of porn star's life":

The dodgy biopic with Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard offers a whitewashed version of the life that Linda Lovelace endured.

BONUS: At Egotastic!, "Amanda Seyfried Screencaps in ‘Lovelace’ 2013."

Honda Civic Tops in Small Car Crash Tests

Hondas are great cars. Not so sure about the Kias, however.

At LAT, "Honda Civic tops small-car crash test, Kia Forte scores worst."

And at the clip, interesting information about a spike in traffic fatalities in 2012, most likely from the increase of distracted drivers using mobile phone technologies.

Public Union Corruption in America

Amazingly concise and lucid discussion, via Prager U:

U.S. Trade Commission Bans Some Samsung Products

Interesting.

At the Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Panel Orders Import Ban on Some Samsung Devices":

WASHINGTON—The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday ordered a ban on the import and sale of some Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE +1.07% mobile devices after finding they infringed on two Apple Inc. AAPL -1.42% patents.

The ruling could put pressure on the Obama administration, which only a few days earlier took the unusual step of vetoing an ITC ruling in favor of Samsung that would have barred the sale of some older Apple iPhones and iPads.

The administration will now have 60 days to decide whether to let the Samsung ban take effect. The impression of favoring domestic over foreign companies could raise trade tensions with Samsung's home country of South Korea.

Samsung, while expressing disappointment with the ruling, said the order won't hurt the availability of its products—an apparent reference to design changes made to remove infringing features from its smartphones and tablets.

"We have already taken measures to ensure that all of our products will continue to be available in the United States," a Samsung spokesman said.

Specific Samsung products affected by the ITC order weren't spelled out, though an earlier ruling by an agency judge pointed to older products that include the Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy 10.1 tablet. The order potentially could have an impact beyond older Samsung devices that Apple challenged at the time.

Friday's ruling is another setback to Samsung in its global patent battles with Apple. Earlier Friday, Samsung appeared to have a difficult time during an appeals court hearing in another patent fight between the two companies.

Legal experts say the Apple and Samsung cases are based on different kinds of patents that would justify different conclusions by the administration.

Continue reading.

Well, al Qaeda's Not 'Decimated' After All

Anything to get elected and now, back for second term, never any commitment to previous claims. The truth is infinitely malleable.

Here's President Memory Hole, at Gateway Pundit, "Obama: “When I Said Al-Qaeda Had Been Decimated… I Meant That Al-Qaeda Had Metastacized into Regional Groups” (Video)."



That "decimated" clip from campaign is here, "'Most Serious Terror Threat in Years' Forces Closure of U.S. Embassies, Consulates."

David Horowitz and Ron Radosh Attack Diana West and American Betrayal

Folks will remember I attended the Diana West book signing last month. It was a lively event and I was excited to meet Diana.

At the time I'd read a couple of chapters of the book. I'm frankly not well read in the historiography of Communist Party infiltration of the U.S. government, although from my own training I thought that some of Diana's conclusions were quite broad, especially on WWII strategic issues and the origins of the Cold War in Europe. Indeed, I mentioned to Diana that I thought her book was very "bold" and that I'd be interested to see the reactions among academic historians.

Unfortunately, this isn't what I had in mind.

It turns out that former Communists-turned conservatives David Horowitz and Ronald Radosh have launched a vicious, personal and ad hominem attack on Diana and American Betrayal. And right off the bat I have to say that any writer/scholar is going to face criticism and pushback against their work. But in an ideal world such criticism comes with an abundance of collegiality, reflecting normative expectations of elevating the community of scholars and scholarship. But with Horowitz and Radosh the attack is actually the exact opposite. It's an attempt to destroy any scholarship that isn't the acceptable form of anti-communism. This is conservative political correctness of the most extremely ugly kind.

Lots of interested parties are weighing in on this, and the heated exchange has seen a flurry of salvos issued at FrontPage Magazine, PJ Media, with Diana responding at her blog. But to be clear, at this point it's not wether Diana's book is right or wrong on facts and interpretations. It's that she's being treated as shabbily as can be, and sadly this is by people I've long held in very high esteem.

Let's start with Diana's initial, shocking email exchange with the folks at FrontPage. See, "If Frontpage Will Lie about This, What Won't They Lie About?" Diana was responding to Radosh's attack on her book at Horowitz's website, which included a nasty disclaimer falsely alleging that Diana refused to publish a response to Radosh at FrontPage. Check that link for the full post. (And note that Horowitz pulled his website's initial glowing review of the book, written by Mark Tapson, "MARK TAPSON ON DIANA WEST’S “AMERICAN BETRAYAL”.") But here's the exchange:

The email sequence starts at the bottom. I note that Horowitz cc'd his email (immediately below) to three other people -- presumably to display his cleverness.

On Aug 7, 2013, at 1:08 AM, david horowitz wrote:

Dear Diana,
Our decision to remove the review of American Betrayal was not because it offered an incorrect opinion that we wanted to suppress. The review was removed because the reviewer was as incompetent to provide an informed assessment of your book as you were to write it.
David [Horowitz]

From: jamie glazov
Subject: Fwd: review of your book
Date: August 6, 2013 7:41:00 PM PDT
To: David Horowitz

I guess we're not friends anymore.

From: Diana West ...
Date: Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 9:38 PM
Subject: Re: review of your book
To: jamie glazov

Dear Jamie,
What gall. You and your crew behave like little totalitarians, suppress an "incorrect" opinion of my book, and, now that you have your "correct" reveiw at the ready, ask me to dignify your nasty tactics by engaging in civil debate. If I deem it worth my while to respond to the Radosh review, I will find another outlet.
Diana

On Aug 6, 2013, at 9:41 PM, jamie glazov wrote:

Dear Diana, I just want to give you a heads up that our review of your book, written by Ron Radosh, will be going up on our site at 9:30pm Pacific time this evening (12:30am Eastern).

David would like me to pass on to you that you are most welcome to write a response to this review, and to feel free to write at length to defend your position (but not longer than the review itself).

Sincerely, Jamie.

I've placed Horowitz's email in bold as the condescension and contempt for Diana is really astonishing.

And the exact same contempt bleeds across the page at Radosh's angry review at FrontPage, "McCarthy on Steroids." He's so fired up that he posted another piece at PJ Media even before Diana was able to respond, "Why I Wrote a Take-Down of Diana West’s Awful Book."

And then on it goes. Here's David Horowitz, "Editorial: Our Controversy With Diana West."

There's also a review by historian Jeffrey Herf, "Diana West vs. History." And then Ron Radosh lashes out again, "Diana West’s Attempt to Respond."

And then back over at Diana's blog, "If Frontpage Lies about This, They'll Lie about Anything, Pt. 2," and "'Professor' Radosh Gets an 'F'."

Again, I'm still reading and evaluating Diana's book, and I expect to be reading more books in the genre of Soviet espionage against the U.S. My argument here is that the attacks on Diana are unscholarly and unprofessional. Nothing here works to elevate the community of scholars above the routine bilge we navigate on a daily basis in the blogosphere. There's a prodigious amount of research that went into American Betrayal, and I'd expect that the work would be seen as advancing an important debate and offering much needed provocation in our current era of official state-sponsored ignorance and the media's capitulation to daily Orwellian lies.

In any case, Robert Stacy McCain, who's very well versed in the works on Communist infiltration in the U.S., has weighed in at his blog, "Diana West Dissed by David Horowitz?" And Edward Cline has this, "FrontPage's Spitballs Strike Diana West":

Why would the editors remove Tapson's review? Because it contradicts Radosh's in substance and in style, in truth, and in honesty. The removal of Tapson's review speaks volumes about the motives of FrontPage's editors. Instead of issuing a statement to the effect that while they respect Tapson's views on West's book, there is another perspective and here is Mr. Radosh's, and even providing readers to a link to Tapson's review. But to remove a contradictory and controversial article is a confession of intellectual weakness and moral turpitude. The editors do not wish readers to compare the Tapson review with Radosh's. They wish to play Big Brotherish Ministry of Truth games with readers' minds.

In his rambling, Alinskyite article, Radosh expects West to have read or consulted every book ever published whose subject was FDR's conscious, insouciant, or unwitting complicity in the preservation of the Soviet Union. He claims she didn't read this or that authority or author. Her knowledge and command of the field of Soviet-American studies ought to have been encyclopedic, and if it wasn’t, then, as far as Radosh and his editors are concerned, she should be shot down, discredited, and her work consigned to a dustbin.

Reading his purported review, I was constantly reminded of that old legal saw, "When did you stop beating your wife?" "But I never beat my wife." "Prove it." "I can't prove a negative." "Too bad. Let the implied charge be entered into the minds of the jury." "Objection!" "Objection overruled."

Reading Radosh's "review," one is first knocked silly by the highly personal animus he nurtures for West. It colors his purported review and does him no favors, and certainly, as West herself points out, does nothing to lend his reputation as a neocon any credibility. I could not shake loose the impression that Radosh was attempting to defend Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins, and even Stalin from West's charges. The invective present in his long screed is demonstrable and there for all to see who choose to see.

But rather than attempt to counter Radosh's allegations of West's incompetency and illiteracy – which in itself would require a book-length treatment, something I am not willing to undertake because the soundness and value West's book speak for themselves – I will simply stress that FrontPage's editors have shown their dishonest and manipulative hands by removing Mark Tapson's review. That is an unconscionable and unforgivable journalistic and moral crime.

There's more at the link.

And see the Lonely Conservative, "Front Page Mag vs. Diana West."

And also Kathy Shaidle, "Ron Radosh takes issue with Diana West’s ‘American Betrayal’." And note Kathy's update:

UPDATE: Andrew Bostom sent me two articles critical of Radosh’s reviews of new books about McCarthy, as a sort of “consider the source” thing. So I will check those out.

And yet more from Ruth King, "RON RADOSH: REVIEW OF DIANA WEST’S BOOK “AMERICAN BETRAYAL”….SEE NOTE PLEASE."

VIDEO: Dirt Bike Rider Attacked by Angry Ram

Amazing.

There's some joking around on this comment board, but I think the guy handled it pretty well. (And here as well.)

Silver Fire Still Burns in Riverside County

At the Riverside Press Enterprise, "SILVER FIRE: Blaze waning, but firefighters still cautious."

And "SILVER FIRE: Evacuation meeting 5:30 p.m. in Hemet."

And a dramatic pictorial at the Atlantic, "California's Silver Fire."



And at the Los Angeles Times, "Silver fire: 'God, I'm gonna die,' survivor kept thinking." And, "Silver fire: More than 2 dozen homes destroyed, 5 firefighters hurt."

Out-of-Control Cop Pummels 'Shoplifter' Mom in Front of Infant Daughter

This is why people hate cops.

At the New York Post:

An out-of-control Iowa cop viciously beat a defenseless female shoplifter, all as her 1-year-old infant sat nearby in a stroller and store security cameras rolled.

Brandie Redell,34, had been pinched at a Von Maur store in Davenport, Iowa, when she called her boyfriend to pick up their daughter.

When one of the officers heard her boyfriend’s name, community activist James Gibson, that’s when the cop went crazy, Redell said.

"`This is going to get ugly really quick,’" Redell quoted officer Scott Crow moments before he began pummeling her for a full minute.

Redell can be seen recoiling in fear as Crow approached her and began punching her mercilessly.

Karen Alloy on Vine

Pretty good use of six seconds, which is all you get from Vine.

Glasses. Stupid. https://t.co/yPRzTP9EDm

— spricket24 (@KarenAlloy) July 18, 2013

Majority Calls #ObamaCare 'a Joke'

Well, it would have been nicer if this same majority would have expressed this viewpoint at the ballot box last November, but I guess better late than never.

From Dana Blanton, "Fox News Poll: Majority calls implementation of ObamaCare 'a joke'."

Majorities of Americans think the new health care law is going to increase their medical costs and their taxes -- and add to the federal deficit as well. Those are some of the reasons why voters say -- by a two-to-one margin -- that Congress should keep working on the law.

A Fox News national poll released Thursday also asks voters about how they think Obamacare is being carried out: 31 percent say “it’s going fine,” yet a 57-percent majority feels “it’s a joke.”

Republicans are more than three times as likely to say it’s a joke (87 percent vs. 25 percent). Still, a quarter of Democrats agree.

Nine times as many Democrats as Republicans say implementation of Obamacare is going fine (63 percent vs. 7 percent).

Overall, 63 percent of voters think the 2010 health care law needs to be changed and Congress should keep at it. That’s up from 58 percent who felt that way in July 2012. On the other hand, 31 percent say the law is the law and Congress should “move on” to other issues.

The law needs to be repealed. It should be a top priority of the Republicans, along with Benghazi and the IRS, as I've noted previously.

It's 15 months until the 2014 midterms. That's not that far off and I expect public opinion on this monstrosity to continue to deteriorate.

I'll have more on this, as always.

Via Memeorandum.

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Matt Damon's Science Fiction Socialism

And remember, Damon's a socialist, but only with other people's kids. When push comes to shove, his children go to private schools, the freakin' hypocrite.

At London's Daily Mail, "'Sci-fi socialism': New Matt Damon movie predicts future where the one per cent lives on luxury space colony and earth is just overcrowded slums.... but star insists it's NOT political."



Also at Big Hollywood, "Variety: 'Elysium' Pushes 'Openly Socialist Political Agenda'."

And Kenneth Turan says "meh," at LAT, "Review: Despite Matt Damon, 'Elysium' disappoints: Matt Damon can't save the politically conscious, pedestrian 'Elysium.' Neill Blomkamp ('District 9') directs."

Race Relations Tutorial

AlfonZo Rachel!



And yeah, If I'm going make a point specific about black people, then I'm going make a point specific about black people, and that's just fine --- unless you're a politically correct leftist obsessing with not offending anyone, the horrors!

#NewRedskinsNickname

Pretty good.

At Twitchy, "Rest easy, Slate: Twitter has your inoffensive #NewRedskinsNickname."

#NewRedskinsNickname Washington Creepy Ass-Crackas
— Doreen Dickson (@DoreenHDickson) August 8, 2013

And at Slate (via Memeorandum), "Why Slate will no longer refer to Washington's NFL team as the Redskins."

I'll start worrying about this when blacks stop getting a free pass for calling each other "nigga."

Alleged Miami Killer Derek Medina Posts Grisly Photo of Murdered Wife to Facebook

At the Miami Herald, "South Miami man kills wife, posts photo of bloody body, then turns himself in to police."

And at the New York Post, "Facebook death photo horror after Miami man allegedly kills wife; he wrote self-help book on saving marriage."

And it turns out that Gossip Extra wasn't beneath posting the grisly image, "HORROR: Miami Man Kills Wife — Posts Photo of Her Body on Facebook!"

'Toxic' Hothead Alec Baldwin to Host Show on Far-Left MSNBC

Well, they're all pretty much toxic over there, so it makes sense.

Pat Dollard nails it, "Racist Homophobe Alec ‘Coon’ Baldwin Set to Host New MSNBC Primetime Show."



Also at Twitchy, "Bring it on: Toxic little tweeters rush to name Alec Baldwin’s MSNBC show." And at NewsBusters, "Report: Alec Baldwin to Host Weekly Show on MSNBC."

Jimmy Kimmel 7th Annual Belly Flop Competition

I caught this the other night.

The young woman is a hottie.



And see Part I and Part III.

Is Fashion Racist?

Yes, to some extent.

But it's up to the major label companies to put more women of color out there, for there's no lack of beauty.

But see the take at the New York Times, FWIW, "Fashion’s Blind Spot":

Five years ago, the fashion industry faced a reckoning over the startling lack of diversity among the models on major designer runways. Reacting to complaints that many shows and magazines included nothing but white models, Vogue, in its July 2008 issue, featured a substantial article that asked, in its headline, “Is Fashion Racist?”

This came shortly after Franca Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue, published a provocative issue using only black models and feature subjects; Bethann Hardison, a former model and agent, initiated a series of panel discussions on the subject; and Diane von Furstenberg, the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, urged members to be more aware of diversity in casting.

And since then, almost nothing has changed.

The New York shows are as dominated by white models as they have been since the late 1990s, roughly at the end of the era of supermodels. Jezebel, a blog that has been tracking the appearance of minorities in fashion shows since the debate erupted, noted that the numbers are hardly encouraging. After a notable increase in 2009 that followed extensive news media coverage, the representation of black models has remained fairly steady until this year, when they accounted for only 6 percent of the looks shown at the last Fashion Week in February (down from 8.1 percent the previous season); 82.7 percent were worn by white models.

In Europe, where Phoebe Philo of Céline, Raf Simons of Dior and many others have presented entire collections using no black models at all, the opportunities have been even less favorable for minorities.

“There is something terribly wrong,” said Iman, one of the most iconic models in the world, who later created a successful cosmetics company. Her experience in the fashion scene of the 1980s and ’90s, when designers like Calvin Klein, Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent routinely cast black models without question, was starkly different than that of young nonwhite models today, when the racial prejudice is all but explicitly stated. The increased appearance of Asian models over the last decade, for example, is often described specifically in terms of appealing to luxury customers in China.

“We have a president and a first lady who are black,” Iman said. “You would think things have changed, and then you realize that they have not. In fact, things have gone backward.”

Yeah, I blame Obama too. Racism has exploded during his presidency, leftist, elitist, Democrat racism.

More at the link.

Oprah Winfrey Trashes Fox News While Promoting 'The Butler'

From yesterday's "The Five."